20: Come with me to a hotel!

Evening, downstairs at Shuyue Group.

Ye Chen sat in the car waiting for Li Qin, casually calling Yi Yue to tell her he wouldn't be back for dinner tonight.

On the other end of the phone, Yi Yue softly reminded him to drink less and stay safe before hanging up.

But Ye Chen could hear the disappointment hidden in Teacher Yi's tone... Li Qin pulled open the car door and sat inside, teasing with a smile, "What? Being checked on by your girlfriend?"

"Don't talk nonsense, that was my teacher." Ye Chen put away his phone.

Li Qin's eyes lit up. "You don't have a girlfriend?"

"No." Ye Chen started the car.

Li Qin suddenly leaned in, her red lips almost touching his ear as she exhaled like an orchid. "Then... how about I be your girlfriend?"

Ye Chen's hand shook, and the steering wheel almost slipped.

He gave a couple of dry laughs. "Sister Qin, stop pulling my leg. A fairy like you with a driver like me? Isn't that like a fresh flower stuck in cow dung?"

Wait... although this woman wasn't as beautiful as Bing Lan, she was still a top-tier beauty. For her to say such things to a driver like him, there was clearly something wrong.

When things are abnormal, there must be a catch!

"Cow dung is what nourishes flowers." Li Qin gave a soft huff.

Ye Chen: "..."

Seeing his embarrassed face, Li Qin giggled and sat back, pulling the seatbelt over the full curves of her chest. "Alright, I'm done teasing you. I haven't had hotpot in ages, let's go to that new place in the west of the city!"

Ye Chen breathed a secret sigh of relief and drove toward the hotpot restaurant.

It was autumn-winter, and the restaurant was steaming with heat and buzzing with voices.

Li Qin had reserved a booth by the window, but as they approached, Ye Chen froze... two men in suits and leather shoes were sitting in the booth, looking completely out of place in the lively atmosphere.

Ye Chen felt numb.

This meal probably wasn't going to be simple... Li Qin pulled him down to sit, and he immediately felt two pairs of eyes staring intently at him.

The older man among them frowned. "Xiao Qin, who is this?"

Li Qin smiled like a blooming flower, leaning intimately against Ye Chen's shoulder, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Brother, let me officially introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Ye Chen!"

As she spoke, she hugged Ye Chen's arm tightly, causing his entire arm to sink into her soft bosom, not forgetting to give him a look to signal him to cooperate.

Ye Chen: "..."

He knew this meal wouldn't be easy to swallow!

He steeled himself and nodded. "Hello."

Li Qin pointed at the man who had spoken.

"This is my brother, Li Yao."

The other man couldn't sit still and made a move to stand up.

Li Yao raised a hand to stop him, staring at Ye Chen. "To be chosen by my picky sister, you must be someone special. Where do you work, Mr. Ye?"

"I drive for someone," Ye Chen answered honestly.

Li Yao's face darkened.

His sister had fallen for a driver?

Li Qin quickly tried to smooth things over, shaking Ye Chen's arm.

"Brother! Don't look down on people!"

"He's the driver for Sister Bing Lan!"

"And he's very capable, he even has a side business!"

"Oh?" Li Yao raised an eyebrow. "What side business?"

Ye Chen spoke calmly, "Reading Feng Shui."

Li Yao's lip twitched, and just as he was about to lose his temper... Ye Chen pointed at the jade around his neck and warned, "Brother Li, it's best if you take that jade off now. Otherwise... a bloody disaster will surely befall you soon."

Bang!

The man beside Li Yao could no longer contain himself. He slammed his palm on the table and pointed at Ye Chen, shouting.

"Bullshit!"

"You're just a charlatan!"

"How could Xiao Qin ever fancy someone like you?"

"You like Li Qin?" Ye Chen looked up at him.

The man stiffened his neck. "So what if I do? Xiao Qin and I are childhood friends!"

Ye Chen nodded.

"Oh, but she's never mentioned you to me."

Pfft—

Li Qin couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth, but her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

That was savage!

This guy's tongue was way too sharp!

The man completely lost it, suddenly standing up and roaring, "Fuck your mother..."

"Enough!"

Li Yao interrupted sharply, "Ma Ning, sit down!"

Ma Ning glared at Ye Chen and sat back down unwillingly.

Li Yao said coldly.

"Ye Chen, is it?"

"If you were just dragged here by my sister to pretend to be her boyfriend, tell the truth now."

"I'll give you a hundred thousand, and you leave immediately."

Before Ye Chen could speak, Li Qin got anxious and hugged his arm tighter again. "Brother! What do you mean?!"

Li Yao looked at his sister with a stern gaze.

"As if I don't know your personality? He is absolutely not your boyfriend!"

"I understand you don't like Ma Ning, but you shouldn't just find anyone to insult him!"

"He is my boyfriend!" Li Qin retorted huffily. "If you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you!"

Before her voice even faded, she actually grabbed Ye Chen's hand and pressed it directly onto her chest!

The startling elasticity and warmth made Ye Chen's mind go blank instantly.

Following that.

Before he could react, Li Qin had already wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her red lips onto his!

???

Ye Chen's eyes widened, his whole body stiff.

Li Qin's kiss was unpracticed but passionate, like a ball of fire.

Li Yao, watching from the side, was dumbstruck.

His sister... was for real???

Their lips parted.

Li Qin's cheeks were flushed as she glared at Li Yao. "Do you believe it now?"

Li Yao was momentarily speechless.

"Holy shit!"

Ma Ning was completely enraged, pointing at Ye Chen and shouting.

"Kid! What kind of man are you if you only know how to use your mouth?"

"If you're a man, speak with your fists!"

"Do you dare come outside and spar with me!"

Ye Chen snapped back to his senses and pointed at the bubbling red oil in the pot on the table. "I'm here to eat."

"You!"

Ma Ning was fuming, his fists clenching with a cracking sound.

"Sit down!"

Li Yao barked, then signaled a waiter. "Waiter, bring ten bottles of your strongest white liquor first!"

He paused.

He turned to Ye Chen, his gaze sharp.

"Ye Chen, if you want to enter the doors of my Li family, you can't do it without some drinking capacity."

"This is our family's rule. If you acknowledge Xiao Qin as your girlfriend, you have to drink this liquor."

Li Qin's expression changed instantly, and she said urgently, "Brother, he has to drive later! You're making things difficult on purpose, aren't you?"

"Rules are rules." Li Yao was expressionless. "If he can't drive, call a designated driver."

Li Qin was furious.

She didn't even know how well Ye Chen could drink, and if... before she could argue, Ye Chen spoke up. "I'll follow the host's wishes. I'll drink."

Li Qin was completely frantic, leaning into Ye Chen's ear and whispering.

"Don't try to be a hero!"

"My brother is famous for being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. You won't outdrink him!"

Ye Chen smiled slightly.

A thousand cups without getting drunk?

With the Houtu Inheritance in his body, using his energy to neutralize alcohol was as easy as turning over his hand.

If he didn't want to be drunk, even the Lord of Heaven couldn't make him.

Immediately.

He patted the back of Li Qin's hand and said, "It's fine. Having a little drink once in a while is not bad."

Hearing this, Li Yao's eyes flashed with disdain, though his face remained calm.

"Spoken like a real man! Let's do it then!"

Soon, the waiter brought over ten bottles of high-proof white liquor. Once the caps were opened, the smell of alcohol permeated the air.

Li Yao didn't waste words. He took two glass cups, filled them to the brim, gestured to Ye Chen with one, and downed it in one go.

After one cup, Li Yao's face didn't change.

Ma Ning stood to the side with his arms crossed, a look of anticipation on his face, waiting for Ye Chen to make a fool of himself.

Li Qin was so nervous her fingers were almost tearing the hem of her clothes.

However, Ye Chen didn't even touch the glass.

He reached out directly and grabbed a newly opened bottle of white liquor.

Then.

Under the astonished gazes of the three, he tilted his head back and chugged straight from the bottle!

Gulp... gulp... gulp...

His Adam's apple bobbed, and the liquid level dropped rapidly before their eyes!

In just a few seconds, a large bottle of white liquor was finished by him as if he were drinking plain water!

The empty bottle hit the table. Ye Chen's face wasn't red and he wasn't out of breath as he looked at the dumbfounded trio. "Brother Li, drinking like this is truly satisfying."

Li Yao stared at the empty bottle, his eye twitching a couple of times.

Wait... is he trying to kill himself?

He could indeed drink a thousand cups, but he had never chugged white liquor directly from the bottle!

Ma Ning was stunned.

Li Qin's mouth was open in an 'O' shape.

"Ahem!"

At that moment, Li Yao cleared his throat and stood up. "An urgent call came from the company. Ma Ning and I have to go back and handle it. Xiao Qin, you guys... take your time eating."

After saying that.

Without waiting for Li Qin's response, he pulled Ma Ning along and walked out of the hotpot restaurant with a dark face.

As soon as the two left.

Li Qin breathed a long sigh of relief, then looked at Ye Chen with concern. "Are you... really okay? That was a whole bottle of high-proof white liquor!"

Ye Chen smiled.

The alcohol in his body had long since been neutralized without a trace.

He used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef tripe and swished it in the red soup. "I'm fine. Let's eat something to line our stomachs first, and I'll head back in a bit."

"Head back?"

Seeing that he was indeed unharmed, Li Qin suddenly tilted her head and smiled, a cunning light flashing in her eyes. "You can't leave yet."

Ye Chen was stunned. "Why?"

Li Qin leaned in close to him, her red lips curling up as she spoke each word with temptation.

"Because in a bit, you have to come with me..."

"...to a hotel."