A Good Drinking Capacity

The Shu Group was one of the largest conglomerates in the country. Over the past decade, it had advanced by leaps and bounds, gradually gaining control of numerous industries around the world. More surprisingly, the man in charge, Shu Sizhuo, was only twenty-seven this year. At such a young age, he had already brought the family business to the pinnacle of the industry.

The sudden sight of Shu Sizhuo left Tong Zhao's mind blank for a moment. Then it was as if lightning had ripped through the dark night sky and thunder had exploded, blasting his head apart.

For Tong Zhao, he and Shu Sizhuo had been apart for only half a year. But for Shu Sizhuo, they had been separated for a full eight years.

In those eight years, Shu Sizhuo had grown taller and more handsome, mature and composed. The bearing of a man in power gave him an air of cold distance.

He was no longer the little boy who held Tong Zhao's hand at night and said he was afraid of the dark, nor the nineteen-year-old who wore a blue basketball uniform and took him out to play.

Shu Sizhuo was now twenty-seven.

"President Shu, please, have a seat." President Lu fawningly pulled out a chair for him.

Shu Sizhuo slowly looked away and walked toward the seat of honor.

"President Shu, I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare. This is just a gathering arranged for a few minor artists, with nothing but modest food and wine. Please have something to eat first. I just had my assistant book a room at an upscale club. We can move over there in a little while," President Lu said ingratiatingly as he sat down beside him.

"No need. Let's stay here." Shu Sizhuo raised his head, glanced around at everyone, and smiled faintly. "I'm not inconveniencing anyone, am I?"

The investors immediately insisted he wasn't, saying that his presence brought honor to the place and that they were immensely honored.

Shu Sizhuo nodded. "Then carry on. Don't mind me."

President Li asked from the side, "Would you like tea or wine?"

"Tea, thank you."

President Li hurriedly poured him some tea.

The tumult raging in Tong Zhao's heart gradually cooled, and his heart clenched uncontrollably. Although he had already guessed this would happen, he couldn't help feeling disappointed and sad.

Eight years. Shu Sizhuo might have long since forgotten what he looked like. Perhaps he had only held his gaze for those few seconds because he looked familiar.

The investors had never imagined that the elusive head of the Shu Group would suddenly take it into his head to come here for a free meal. But now that he had come, they had to seize the opportunity. If their companies' businesses could establish any connection with the Shu Group, even the minimum returns would start in the ten figures.

The investors crowded over to offer toasts. Unable to resist joining them, President Mu patted Tong Zhao's hand. "Baby, I'm going over to offer President Shu a toast too. I'll come back and keep you company in a bit."

Only then did Tong Zhao come back to his senses. Horrified to find that he had been holding President Mu's hand all along, he let go at once.

President Mu smiled and patted his shoulder again, then picked up his glass and walked away.

The moment he left, their manager, Sister Wan, rushed over and sat down, her face pale with shock. "Do you two know this President Shu? He's a big shot who's always in financial magazines. Oh my god, are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

Tong Zhao also felt as though his eyes were playing tricks on him and said nothing.

Shi Ruohe shook his head honestly. "No."

Sister Wan lowered her voice. "Just now, President Shu's assistant suddenly called President Lu and said they could discuss the project President Lu proposed before. President Lu was so excited he was ready to leave immediately, but then the assistant said they'd just returned to the country and hadn't arranged dinner. Since President Lu was already at a dinner gathering, he asked whether President Shu could come over for a free meal."

No matter how Sister Wan thought about it, the whole thing seemed unbelievable. "Does a big shot like President Shu really need to ask for a free meal?"

It sounded strange to Tong Zhao too, but he couldn't help objecting to that last remark. "Why can't a big shot have a free meal? Why discriminate against big shots?"

Sister Wan shot him a glare and hurriedly poured wine for him and Shi Ruohe. "Come on, let's go offer President Shu a toast too. The Shu Group owns a lot of entertainment businesses. Getting to know him definitely can't hurt."

Tong Zhao couldn't put his feelings into words, but he still picked up his glass and followed Sister Wan with his head lowered. Shi Ruohe hurried close to Tong Zhao and followed right behind him.

Only after the investors had each finished their toasts did Sister Wan smile and step forward, lowering her head slightly—

"President Shu, I've long heard of you. I'm Su Wan, a manager at Zilai Entertainment."

President Lu, who was standing nearby, smiled and introduced her. "President Shu, Su Wan here is a friend of mine. She arranged tonight's gathering mainly because she wanted to introduce two of her company's artists to us."

"That's right," Sister Wan said, stepping aside and gently nudging Tong Zhao and Shi Ruohe forward. "This is Tong Zhao, and this is Shi Ruohe."

Tong Zhao took a step forward, and Shi Ruohe followed. But he was too close to Tong Zhao and tripped over his heel, knocking Tong Zhao into a forward stumble instead.

Just as Tong Zhao was about to fall into Shu Sizhuo, the latter reached out and caught him by the arm.

Once again, Tong Zhao found himself looking into those dark eyes.

"How could you be so careless?" Sister Wan scolded Shi Ruohe under her breath.

Behind them, Shi Ruohe hurriedly said, "S-sorry, I lost my balance."

Tong Zhao came to his senses and saw that wine had spilled onto Shu Sizhuo's black sleeve. He quickly pulled his arm back, picked up a clean towel from the table, and gently wiped away the wine. "I'm sorry, President Shu."

Shu Sizhuo lowered his hand and gave Tong Zhao a cold look.

The look was so unfamiliar that Tong Zhao found it a little hard to breathe. He suppressed the feelings in his heart and smiled apologetically. "It was clumsy of me. President Shu, I'll drink three glasses as a penalty first."

Shi Ruohe was introverted and socially anxious, while Tong Zhao was the exact opposite. At the start of the dinner, the investors had put on airs and insisted that someone drink two liang of wine to warm things up. Tong Zhao had risen without a word and downed a glass of fifty-four-proof Maotai, then said a few flattering things and gradually livened up the atmosphere.

The investors were therefore quite pleased with the two artists. As Tong Zhao drank his three penalty glasses, they all cautiously spoke up for him, praising him for being so forthright.

Shu Sizhuo said nothing, quietly watching Tong Zhao finish drinking and a faint flush rise on his face.

Only when Tong Zhao met his eyes again did he give a faint smile and offer a compliment, though it was impossible to tell whether he meant it. "You can hold your liquor."

Tong Zhao smiled too, though inwardly he was groaning. No matter how well he could hold his liquor, after downing half a jin in one go, half his soul had practically ascended to heaven.

"Then..." Tong Zhao poured another glass. "This one's a toast to you, President Shu."

Shu Sizhuo looked at him. "I'm not drinking."

"That's all right. You can toast me with tea instead." Tong Zhao's eyes curved upward, and he looked beautiful when he smiled.

He had drunk those glasses too quickly. Not long after returning to his seat, Tong Zhao went to the restroom and threw up. When he returned to the private room, it was clear he was somewhat out of sorts, even though he forced himself to keep socializing.

Seeing this, Shi Ruohe had no choice but to shield Tong Zhao and steel himself to take his place on the front lines.

Unfortunately, he really couldn't hold his liquor. After taking a few drinks for Tong Zhao, he finally fell face-first onto the table with a thud.

It was Shu Sizhuo who called an end to the dinner. He simply said in a low voice, "Everyone's drunk. Let's call it a night."

The executives immediately agreed. "Yes, yes. There's no need to overdo it when drinking, as long as everyone's happy."

As Shu Sizhuo and President Lu walked out, they arranged another time to discuss the project.

Tong Zhao vaguely heard President Lu ask him, "Shall I give you a ride?"

Shu Sizhuo replied, "No need. I haven't been drinking. You take them."

The voices gradually faded into the distance, and Tong Zhao lowered his gaze.

The autumn night was bleak. Tong Zhao stood at the entrance to Bamboo Green Pavilion with Shi Ruohe slung over his shoulder, trying to book a ride.

After the dinner broke up, the man surnamed Qian had slipped away with his young hunk in a flash. President Lu had gotten into his car with the drunk Sister Wan and two other investors. Before leaving, he had at least remembered to make arrangements for Tong Zhao and Shi Ruohe. "You two ride with President Mu. He'll take you."

Tong Zhao wouldn't get into that creep President Mu's car if it killed him. Those fat hands had practically rubbed grease into the left leg of his jeans. He'd throw them out when he got home, damn it.

So he had hidden in the restroom with Shi Ruohe on his shoulder, only coming out after he saw President Mu search everywhere for him and leave dejectedly when he couldn't find him.

After paying the bill at the front desk, Tong Zhao looked even more forlorn in the night wind.

Twenty thousand yuan, and after that meal he had only twenty-eight hundred left. If he didn't get the role, he'd suffer a massive loss!

Bamboo Green Pavilion had an elegant style and was in a rather remote location to make room for its bamboo grove. Tong Zhao had tripled the fare, but still no one accepted the ride.

Suddenly, headlights swept across his face, and he squinted as he looked up.

A black Porsche sedan stopped in front of him, and the window rolled down.

Shu Sizhuo turned to look at him.

He froze. "President Shu?"

Shu Sizhuo glanced at the hand Tong Zhao had wrapped around Shi Ruohe and gave a faint smile. "Get in. I'll give you both a ride."