Playing the Weakling to Trap the Tiger

Brother Long slammed the table and roared, "He's just bluffing! Trying to intimidate us? Dream on! Ask around—I've never been afraid of anyone when it comes to drinking."

"Well said!" The fat man beside him applauded with heartfelt enthusiasm.

But then Brother Long slapped the fat man on the shoulder. "Good, huh?"

The fat man jolted, his clapping hands freezing midair. He gave an awkward laugh. "Heh, Brother Long, just pretend I didn't say anything."

A second later, Brother Long raised an eyebrow. "Then you go first."

The fat man looked ready to cry. Pointing at the brimming wineglass, he pulled a long face. "Brother Long, don't joke around. That glass holds over half a jin. Downing it in one go would wreck me."

Before he could say anything else, Chen Hao across from him raised his glass. "Big guy, I'll drink first as a show of respect."

Glug, glug, glug!

In just a few seconds, Chen Hao drained the entire wineglass of baijiu under everyone's dumbfounded stares.

Brother Long's expression immediately soured. He smacked the back of the fat man's head hard. "Get on with it. Don't embarrass me."

The fat man reluctantly picked up a glass of baijiu from the table. After hesitating for several seconds, he finally raised it and started drinking.

To be fair, the fat man really could hold his liquor. He finished the glass in a little over ten seconds, though he paused a few times along the way.

With the whole glass in his stomach, the fat man swayed and settled quietly at the table, not making a peep for a long while.

Having finished off one opponent, Chen Hao picked up another glass and declared imperiously, "Next."

Yellow Hair slammed the table, grabbed a glass, and shouted, "Come on! You think I'm scared?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, both men drained another glass.

Chen Hao's condition went without saying. Drinking liquor was no different from drinking water for him. His only discomfort was the slight bloating in his stomach.

Yellow Hair, on the other hand, immediately took a turn for the worse after that glass.

He braced himself against the table and kept burping. It looked as though he would throw up before long.

Zhang Liang and the others watched Chen Hao put away two full glasses of baijiu without even a trace of redness on his face. He looked as lively as ever, leaving them all baffled.

Even in that state, Yellow Hair still glared arrogantly at Chen Hao, clearly refusing to admit defeat.

Without another word, Chen Hao lifted a glass and smiled at him. "Brother Yellow Hair, let's have another."

Yellow Hair looked about the same age as Chen Hao, only in his early twenties. Young and hotheaded, he naturally couldn't stand being challenged.

"Bring it on! You think I'm scared?"

And so Yellow Hair and Chen Hao started on their second glass together.

But halfway through that second glass, Yellow Hair spat it out, grabbed a trash can, and began throwing up violently.

That display immediately made Brother Long and Zhang Liang nervous.

Among Brother Long's crowd, the fat man and Yellow Hair were actually the best drinkers. Both could put away at least a jin and a half.

Yet neither of the two best drinkers had lasted even two rounds against Chen Hao. Brother Long found himself deeply embarrassed.

Brother Long's gaze kept roaming over Chen Hao. Seeing the young man standing before him without a change in color or the slightest shortness of breath, he began to lose his nerve and instinctively glanced at Zhang Liang.

But Zhang Liang was even more bewildered than he was. His face practically said, "Don't ask me. I have no idea what's going on either."

Could this little bastard really be playing the weakling to trap the tiger?

Though he felt uneasy, Brother Long had been running with this crowd for years. There wasn't much he hadn't seen.

Besides, with so many people watching, there was no way he could back down.

"Damn it, you're all useless! Get in there!" Brother Long snapped at the lackeys beside him.

The lackey nearest to Brother Long was kicked by him, leaving the man no choice but to reluctantly step up.

After only two gulps, the man sprayed liquor all over Brother Long's face. Brother Long slapped him so hard his head spun, and he cowered under the table, not daring to come back out.

Seeing Brother Long's fury, Chen Hao suddenly put on an award-worthy performance. Pretending to be dizzy, he slumped over the table, waved a hand, and began babbling. "Oh, I can't do it. I really can't. Give me a minute."

Honestly, even if Chen Hao was now completely immune to baijiu, four glasses of plain water would be too much for anyone's stomach.

Zhang Liang had been fretting, but the moment he saw Chen Hao slump over the table, his eyes lit up. He picked up a glass, ready to strike back.

What had happened today was actually a personal feud between Zhang Liang and Chen Hao. Brother Long was only helping out as a friend.

If Zhang Liang didn't drink a single glass and left all the work to Brother Long's men, he would be too ashamed to face them.

Besides, Chen Hao looked almost done for. If Zhang Liang could deliver the final blow, everyone would be happy.

But just as Zhang Liang smiled and raised his glass, Chen Hao, who had been playing dead on the table, suddenly sprang from his seat. Zhang Liang flinched so hard he nearly dropped his glass.

Seeing Chen Hao standing there and smiling at him, Zhang Liang's expression froze.

Then he watched Chen Hao pick up a glass with a grin and let out a full-bellied burp. "Mr. Zhang, you finally stepped up. I've been waiting ages for you."

The sly grin on Chen Hao's face sent a chill through Zhang Liang. He tried to put his glass down, but Chen Hao pushed it back up. "The way you drink shows your character. Once you pick it up, you have to finish it. Are you a man or not?"

That one remark left Zhang Liang at a loss for words. He could only grit his teeth and reluctantly force the liquor down.

Only after finishing that glass did Zhang Liang truly understand what it meant to wish he were dead.

Zhang Liang's throat felt as though it were on fire, and his head spun. If there hadn't been a chair behind him, he would have fallen straight to the floor.

The moment Zhang Liang collapsed, Brother Long's heart sank. He hurriedly ordered the lackeys beside him to keep the drinking chain going.

But the next four or five men barely lasted a single round each. In less than five minutes, they were all sprawled motionless on the floor.

By now, Brother Long's bald head was covered in sweat, and he was utterly unnerved.

Still refusing to concede, he gave Chen Hao a thumbs-up. "Little bastard, you've got some skills. Three or four jin of baijiu, and you're still this steady. Impressive."

Chen Hao took a good while to recover and let out several burps before snorting. "Thanks for the compliment, Brother Long. How about we call it quits? My stomach's so full I can barely stand it."

If they really kept playing like this, Chen Hao certainly had nothing to fear.

But on second thought, this Brother Long fellow looked like a thug and might even have ties to organized crime. Making an enemy of someone like that wouldn't do him any good.

Now that he had finally found a way for them to save face, stopping here would be best for both sides.

What Chen Hao hadn't expected was that Brother Long would be so stubborn and completely reject the offer. "I, Long Guangsheng, have never gone back on my word. I said you'd be carried out today, and that's exactly what's going to happen."

As he spoke, he raised his glass and stared hard at Chen Hao. "I've seen people who can drink three or four jin. But five or six? Never met one. If you've got the guts, show me something new today."

Since the man remained so obstinate, Chen Hao abandoned any thought of stopping. He raised a glass and smiled. "After you, Brother Long."

With that, both men raised their glasses and began drinking.

This time, Chen Hao drank noticeably more slowly. His stomach really was unbearably bloated.

Across from him, Long Guangsheng actually finished his baijiu before Chen Hao did.

After downing half a jin in one go, Long Guangsheng staggered and nearly lost his footing.

He sat in his chair for a good while to gather himself. Just as he was about to lift his head, he saw Chen Hao watching him with a sly grin that made his skin crawl.

This bastard's a damn beast! He drinks liquor like water, and there isn't even a hint of it on his face. This makes no sense!

As that thought ran through his mind, he saw Chen Hao approaching with another bottle of liquor.

Long Guangsheng's lips began twitching uncontrollably, and even his legs trembled. "I—I'm warning you. Don't try anything."

Chen Hao sat down beside Long Guangsheng with a grin. "Don't be scared, Brother Long. I just want to have a drink with you. Nothing else."

Long Guangsheng gave an awkward laugh and looked around for help, but what he saw nearly made him explode with anger.

All eight of the men he had brought were sprawled in various corners of the room. Some were vomiting nonstop, while others clung to each other and snored like thunder. Not one had any fight left in him.

Looking at the aftermath, Long Guangsheng flushed with embarrassment, unsure what to say.

"Brother Long, it's just the two of us now. How do you want to drink?" Chen Hao slammed the bottle onto the table, making the other man jump.

At that moment, Long Guangsheng could no longer maintain his composure. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and cold sweat streamed down his body.

When the man failed to utter a word for a long while, Chen Hao chuckled. Keeping his eyes fixed on Long Guangsheng, he poured an entire bottle of Moutai over Zhang Liang's head in a steady, glugging stream.

By then, Zhang Liang was already unconscious and could only let Chen Hao do as he pleased.

Beside him, Long Guangsheng was also cowed by Chen Hao's presence and didn't dare say a single word.

It took a full minute for Chen Hao to empty the bottle over Zhang Liang's head. Then he spat viciously at him before swaggering out.

The moment Chen Hao left, Long Guangsheng grabbed a bottle and smashed it against the floor.

Crash! The sound rang through the room.

A man like Long Guangsheng had never suffered such humiliation. "You little bastard, this isn't over."