The truth was, Hu Yetao had been a little nervous about the upcoming party at Wang Manor. He knew he didn't fit in with Mr. and Mrs. Wang's usual crowd of Purebloods and society page friends. He also knew it wasn't only clan members that would be attending the fancy gathering, so he needed to remember to keep his mouth shut about anything Nundu-related, as well as being on his best behavior.
It was the perfect recipe for a very stressful evening.
And now that he knew that Oscar was worried about him fitting in, well…
"All right," Hu Yetao said unenthusiastically, reaching for one of the glasses.
Jing Long smiled, pleased, as he watched from across the table.
"Are you supposed to just… throw it back in one, like a shot?" Hu Yetao asked, staring down into the swirling liquid and wincing when just the smell of it made his nostrils burn.
"It might be better if you do," Jing-Long advised.
Hu Yetao glanced at Zhang Xinyao, who seemed to be drinking his effortlessly. He rallied his courage and pinched his nose before tossing back the entire contents of the glass. The Firewhiskey burned down his throat and he only just managed not to cough or splutter in response.
His eyes were watering as he set the glass back down on the table and then quickly followed it up by stuffing a few chips into his mouth and chewing.
"How was it?" Jing Long asked, giggling a little at his expression.
Hu Yetao looked up to scowl at him and was startled when the room took a moment to right itself.
"I think that's a rather strong version of Ogden's," Jing-Long thought as he observed Hu Yetao's unfocused blinking. "Better follow it up with another one straight away."
"What?" Hu Yetao exclaimed, gobsmacked. "Are you serious?"
Jing Long glanced over his shoulder then back to meet Hu Yetao's incredulous gaze. "Here comes Oscar," he whispered urgently. "If you want to impress him, take another one. He's made a lot of concessions for you, hasn't he?"
Hu Yetao was reaching for another glass before he even knew what he was doing; trying to process Jing Long's reasoning was making him feel as though his brain was moving in slow motion, through thick treacle. He would just have to trust that he was the intelligent one and knew what he was talking about.
He refrained from pinching his nose this time and quickly swallowed the vile drink down as fast as possible, hoping his throat was still scorched enough from the first one to numb the pain a little.
He banged the glass back down with a cough as Oscar came up beside their table.
"Taotao, are you drinking Firewhiskey?" he asked in amazement, taking in the vast collection of full glasses with a slightly furrowed brow.
"Yeah," Hu Yetao replied thickly, hand clenching around his empty glass in an attempt to anchor himself as he looked up at his mate with a proud smile.
"Would you care for a few Oscar?' Jing Long offered pleasantly, nudging the tray towards him.
"Oscar! Come settle a bet between Yu Gengyin and me."
Hu Yetao frowned as Zhou Keyu came up beside Oscar and slung an arm around his shoulders. Something about the sight made him feel unsettled, but he couldn't figure out why. He shook his head and tried to concentrate. The conversation seemed to ebb and flow around him as he floundered; attempting to latch onto bits of the discussion, which were drifting around him like fragmented particles, just out of his reach.
"If I must." Oscar sighed as though greatly inconvenienced. "Thank you, Jing-Long," he added as he selected a glass of Firewhiskey from the tray. He passed another one to Zhou Keyu before turning back to Hu Yetao. "You all right on your own for a minute?" he asked as he inhaled the fragrant scent of his drink before taking a small, discerning sip.
Hu Yetao frowned, cursing the fact that he'd drunk two glasses of Firewhiskey in rapid succession. You were supposed to savor it and drink it slowly.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Wha?" Hu Yetao blinked at his mate.
Oscar's eyes narrowed slightly. "You just said 'slowly' without any context."
Zhang Xinyao snickered and Hu Yetao turned to grin at him, as though sharing a private joke.
"He'll be fine," Jing-Long interjected when it appeared as though Hu Yetao wasn't about to answer. "We'll watch him."
"You know, this stuffs is not so bad," Hu Yetao slurred, turning back around and reaching for yet another glass after Zhang Xinyao had carefully selected his second.
"I thought you didn't drink Hu Yetao?" Oscar said, bemused, and then watched in horror as Hu Yetao carelessly tossed back a full glass. "Fuck, you're not supposed to gulp it like that Hu Yetao."
He coughed and then promptly hiccoughed before turning to his mate with a doleful expression. "Shit, that's right. Sorry, Oscar, I knew I would mess it all up."
"I think that's enough," Oscar said quietly, stepping forward and pushing Hu Yetao's chips back in front of him. "Here, you'd better eat something."
"Thanks," Hu Yetao replied unhappily, eyes still watering from his last drink. "But you're still not my boss," he muttered sullenly as he reached for a few soggy chips and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Come on Wang," Zhou Keyu urged when Oscar frowned in bewilderment.
Oscar looked at his mate with concern but Jing-Long waved him off. "We promise not to let him drink anymore."
Oscar nodded uncertainly before allowing Zhou Keyu to steer him away.
"So Hu Yetao," Jing-Long said brightly once they had left. "How are things going between you two?"
"Gooood," Hu Yetao replied slowly, tone rising at the end as though he were unsure.
Jing Long smiled and nodded encouragingly. "You mentioned that you were working through some family stuff with Oscar's parents, so I'm glad you've sorted all that out. It mustn't be easy having a father-in-law who has tried to murder you on more than one occasion."
Zhang Xinyao snorted with laughter, causing tiny ripples to dance across the surface of his Firewhiskey.
Hu Yetao smiled uncertainly at his friend; part of him thinking that he shouldn't be amused by that comment but unsure as to why.
"I don't mean anything by that," Jing-Long quickly added, noticing Hu Yetao's expression. "I mean, it's true, right?"
"Erm…"Hu Yetao frowned blearily, trying to keep up.
"But now you've worked everything out, right?' Jing Long continued, unperturbed. "You and Xiaocheng get along now? You're friends?"
"Friends?" Hu Yetao repeated, staring hard into his cooling tray of chips and attempting to focus.
Jing Long reached over and plucked a chip from his tray. "I mean, now that you're going to be his son-in-law, he must have to tell you all the Wang family secrets, right?"
"Secrets?" Hu Yetao replied as though stuck on repeating everything Jing-Long was rapid-firing at him.
"Yeah, Zhou Keyu told us that Wang's family has loads of secrets."
"Like what?" Hu Yetao replied slowly, dragging his bleary gaze back up to his face.
Jing Long smiled and leaned forward. "I don't know Hu Yetao, you tell us."
Hu Yetao swirled one of his chips in the pool of vinegar as he stared back at him with a frown. "Wang Xiaocheng doesn't… doesn't tell me things, or… er, secrets. Oscar does," he replied, as though that should be obvious.
Jing Long nodded receptively. "What sort of secrets?"
Hu Yetao swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck, closing his eyes a moment as the room tilted dizzyingly with his movements. "Uh… secrets?" he echoed, woolly-headed.
"Yes, you know, like family secrets. Dark family secrets," he reiterated meaningfully.
Hu Yetao suddenly heard warning bells going off in the deep recesses of his mind. "You already know the Wang family secrets," he replied vaguely, tongue suddenly feeling too big for his mouth. "They were… uh, Death Eaters and they supported Chong Li."
Jing Long rolled his eyes. "Yes, everyone knows that, but what has Oscar told you that no one else knows? Something only you and Oscar and his family are supposed to know - and your best friends," he added hastily.
"Oh," Hu Yetao said quietly then perked up after a moment of hazy thought. "Oscar loves comfort food. The posh git's favorite food as shepherd's pie if you can believe it."
Zhang Xinyao barked out a laugh. "What?"