A few weeks passed and the exams were over. It was already early February a time designated for their winter break. Students had started leaving both the school and even the surrounding apartment premises to go home for their short break.
"ShanShan since today is our last night before the winter break should we go out?" Liu Daxun suggested. Gu Shan was busy playing games on the computer while relishing his strawberry milk.
"Where?"
"Relish Club where Hui-ge works."
"You know I don't like excessively loud places. I can't go," Gu Shan protested.
"Come on I promise it'll be fun,"Liu Daxun said in a persuasive tone.
"I'm already having fun here."
Liu Daxun took a breath summoning all the energy needed to persuade Gu Shan to go out with him. He knew it would be tough but he still didn't want to give up...yet. Gu Shan was an introvert so it would definitely be really hard to drag his ass out to a club.
"Yes!" Gu Shan giggled stirring in his seat enthusiastically. He clicked on start to proceed to the next level of the game.
And Liu Daxun heaved a sigh. It just got harder.
"Aren't you gonna regret it when you finish your four years of university and realize you've never stepped inside a club?"Liu Daxun asked him in a challenging tone.
"And why would I regret that?"
"Because you're gonna realize your youth will have gone to waste."
"It won't go to waste. I'm enjoying my youth in my own way,"Gu Shan sassed.
"Okay if you don't want to do it for yourself can you at least do it for me and accompany me? I promise I'll buy you strawberry milk everyday when we come back for the spring semester," Liu Daxun said doing a three finger salute to seal his promise.
"You think that's enough to convince me to go out with you?" Gu Shan asked mockingly.
"What do you want me to do then?"Liu Daxun asked in a desperate voice.
"I'll go with you just so you could stop bugging me like a damn mosquito. As for the strawberry milk you don't have to buy it ,"Gu Shan said shutting down his computer. As he walked to the room to grab a jacket ,Liu Daxun squealed with joy and jump like a kid who has been promised something. He then let a victorious smile paint his face. Convincing Gu Shan to go with him to the club was an achievement worth celebrating.
As the two friends crossed over the threshold of the club's door, they were welcomed with a cacophony of loud music and screams probably from those wiggling their bodies to the rhythm on the dancefloor. At first Gu Shan's face grimaced as his senses tried to adjust to the harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.
"Are you alright?"Liu Daxun asked worriedly noticing the strange expression on his friend's face.
"Is this what you call fun?"Gu Shan asked sarcastically and snorted in disbelief walking past him.
They walked over to the counter where Xiao Hui was busy wiping the wine bottles and arranging them in a particular order.
The two friends settled on two bar stools at the counter.
Liu Daxun cleared his throat gaining Xiao Hui's attention. He turned to face them surprised etched on his face. He immediately flashed his signature smile at them.
"How come you guys are here?"
"I dragged this guy here. He's never been to a club before," Liu Daxun said casting a furtive glance at his friend seated beside him and turned to face Xiao Hui with a proud smile.
"Prepare something worth remembering for him."
With pleasure,Xiao Hui grabbed a glass and poured a golden liquid into it. He slid the glass over the counter towards the target. Gu Shan hesitated ,his doe eyes studying the drink in a defensive manner .
"Drink it,"Liu Daxun urged him.
Gu Shan's slender fingers clasped around the glass. He closed his eyes tight and slowly raised the glass to his lips and took a sip. When the liquid finally hit his taste buds he almost spit it but he tried his best and swallowed it.
"How's it?"Liu Daxun asked eagerly.
"It's very bitter,"Gu Shan grimaced his teeth scrubbing his tongue in attempt to get rid of the bitter taste,"I prefer those beers we usually buy from the convenience store."
"Our ShanShan here can't tolerate such hard liquor. He needs something sweet like that tasty wine he brought. Maybe you should give him one of those drinks girls like," Liu Daxun proposed and took the glass from Gu Shan emptying its contents in one go.
After having a few glasses,Liu Daxun went to the dancefloor. He was a great dancer and would never miss out on the chance to showcase his skills. Gu Shan on the other hand was left at the counter taking his drink. Emboldened by the alcohol he decided to strike a conversation with Xiao Hui.
"Where is Yunxi?" He asked looking around.
"He's at the smoking area doing fan service ?"
"Fan service?"Gu Shan raised his eyebrows curiously.
"It's something we usually do to please our fans. There are these coquettish customers who would anything just to get in our pants. Sometimes we satisfy them whenever we feel like it. There's this girl who has been pursuing Yunxi for a while and today she came so he went to deal with her."
"What's her name?"
"Su Liang. She's really cute."
Gu Shan face expression faltered but he regained his composure immediately and Xiao Hui didn't notice it as he was too engrossed in describing the girl.
"Do you guys date?"Gu Shan suddenly asked.
"I've tried dating before but Yunxi has never. He doesn't do dating but I feel like this Su Liang girl will definitely change that. She's really persistent and it seems like Yunxi might consider her."
Gu Shan's hands which were placed on the table clenched into fists,his nails digging the flesh of his palm. He then grabbed the glass and took the final sip of his drink slamming the glass against the counter's surface. His peripheral vision caught two familiar figures walking over to the counter.
"I'll be back later,"Gu Shan said and surreptitiously slipped away before they caught a glimpse of him. Even if he was drunk,it wasn't that much. He was still able to assess Xiao Hui's words. He was really angry. Su Liang was still pursuing the same guy she cheated on him with. And Yunxi even after finding about out Su Liang's cheating and even after becoming friends with Gu Shan still embraced the girl. At the end of the day,Su Liang would get what she wanted after playing dirty. If she had broken up with him and slept with the guy afterwards he wouldn't have any problem with it. He didn't want her to succeed he wanted her to suffer the karma of cheating.