After speaking, Huang Zhong swirled the wine glass in his hand again.
"I didn't realize Su Mianmian was such a pampered young lady. No wonder she's so fair-skinned. But she's a bit too delicate. Since she's so unsociable, she should just stay home and enjoy her retirement. Why bother venturing out into the world?" Huang Zhong had essentially made it clear that he was determined to mess with Su Mianmian today. Liu Shu sat beside him, a smug look on her face. Having been annoyed by Su Mianmian for so long, seeing her now at her mercy made her feel incredibly satisfied.
"Vice President Huang is absolutely right, Su Mianmian. It's just a few drinks, meant to be fun. You've made the atmosphere so unpleasant, wasting Vice President Huang's good intentions in inviting us to dinner today." Su Mianmian was dizzy, her vision blurring.
Liu Shu's voice reached her ears, buzzing like an annoying fly. "Stop talking, it's just drinking, I can't even drink!" Su Mianmian said, reaching for the wine glass on the table, but He Suyan grabbed her hand, his cold voice ringing in her ear.
"Drink what? Don't you know your own alcohol tolerance? What are you showing off for!" He then frowned at Liu Shu, "Liu Shu, you just want to drink, right? I'll drink with you in Su Mianmian's place." "You'll drink in Su Mianmian's place?"
Liu Shu smiled charmingly, "I wonder what position Manager He holds to drink in Su Mianmian's place?" "I'm her superior, is that acceptable?" "Of course not, I'm her superior too. You're making me look like I'm bullying my subordinate."
He Suyan hadn't expected Liu Shu to be so arrogant. It seemed that with Huang Zhong backing her up, she was determined to make things difficult for Su Mianmian today. "Liu Shu, what exactly do you want?"
Liu Shu smiled innocently. "I didn't want anything. I just wanted Su Mianmian to build rapport with everyone. Since we're building rapport, it's not unreasonable for her to toast each of the seniors here.
Toasting everyone present—there are over twenty people at the table. If she toasts everyone, Su Mianmian won't even be able to keep up, let alone get drunk! Zeng Ke spoke up first, "I don't really like drinking, so Su Mianmian doesn't need to toast me."
Several colleagues who disapproved of Liu Shu bullying the newcomer also chimed in. "Me neither." "I don't like drinking either."
Seeing the situation turning against her, Liu Shu sneered, "Fine, I've remembered all those who don't like drinking today. You'll all have to work overtime another day and generate some revenue for the company."
As soon as Liu Shu finished speaking, those who wanted to speak but didn't had a chance fell silent. They all lowered their heads, not daring to utter another word. Liu Shu gracefully stood up and counted the number of people.
"Besides those who just said they don't like drinking, there are still eighteen seniors left. Su Mianmian, which side do you plan to start with?"
Su Mianmian had a slight headache. At this moment, Gu Yizhou's words echoed in her mind—"Someone like her, if you don't treat her badly, she'll treat you badly in return!"
"Deputy Manager Liu, what if I say I don't drink?"
Liu Shu sneered, "Not drinking means you're looking down on all of us colleagues." Just as Liu Shu finished speaking, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a loud male voice rang out. "In that case, you go first and set an example."
Everyone looked towards the door at the same time. Several men in suits escorted a man in a black wool coat as he walked in.
The man in the wool coat was tall and imposing, with an extraordinary air about him. Even among the group of equally imposing people, he stood out. It was Gu Yizhou, who had come specifically to pick up Su Mianmian after a social engagement.
The man speaking was around forty years old, with neatly combed hair and a very respectable appearance. He was Zhang Bin, the CEO of Huarui.
Zhang Bin's gaze swept around the room, quickly passing over Liu Shu before landing on Huang Zhong. His expression darkened. "Vice President Huang, I heard your voice outside the private room. Who are you trying to force to drink?"
Huang Zhong hadn't expected the department dinner to attract CEO Zhang's attention. Glancing at the man beside him, whom he'd only seen in financial newspapers, he was even more terrified, barely daring to breathe. "CEO Zhang, CEO Gu..." Gu Yizhou didn't even spare Huang Zhong a glance. His face was cold, his hawk-like eyes landing lightly on Su Mianmian, whose cheeks were flushed and eyes were somewhat glazed.
His thin lips were pressed tightly together, and his brows furrowed involuntarily. Those who knew him well knew that he was brewing a great deal of anger.
However, Huang Zhong remained oblivious, still trying to appear clever by laughing it off, "President Zhang is joking, it's just a department dinner, everyone's just having a good time." "Vice President Huang's way of having fun is quite unique," Gu Yizhou said, his voice low but authoritative.
"Who was that woman who suggested drinking just now? Judging from her voice, she seems like a person of character. Why don't you come out and introduce yourself?"
Liu Shu recognized Gu Yizhou the moment she saw him, thanks to the rumored affair between him and Xue Jing a few days ago.
When she saw Gu Yizhou's photo, she was already quite impressed; she hadn't expected the president of the Gu Group to be so young and handsome. Seeing him in person now felt like a dream. Hearing Gu Yizhou praise her for being a person of character made her feel almost ethereal.
She stepped forward, swaying her slender waist. "President Gu, hello, I'm Liu Shu, Deputy Manager of the Language Department at Huarui." Gu Yizhou gave Liu Shu a meaningful look, his eyes icy. "So, you're Liu Shu, the deputy manager of the language department."
Liu Shu, oblivious to the trouble she'd gotten herself into, asked, "Mr. Gu, have you heard of me?" Gu Yizhou glanced at Su Mianmian without batting an eye. "I've heard a lot about you lately."
Su Mianmian had no idea what Gu Yizhou was up to. She'd been completely bewildered since he walked in. She stared blankly at Gu Yizhou, wondering, "Didn't he have a business dinner tonight? Why is he here?"
He Suyan, oblivious to her strange expression, assumed she was just drunk and her vision was off. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was elsewhere, he handed Su Mianmian a glass of juice. "Have some juice to calm down."
Su Mianmian snapped out of her daze, took the juice, and took a small sip. Before she could even swallow, she noticed Gu Yizhou's strange look and quickly put the glass down. He Suyan frowned. "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"
Su Mianmian shook her head. "It's a little cold. I'll drink it later." She couldn't very well say she was worried he might suddenly get jealous. Before the words were even finished, Liu Shu asked excitedly, "Really? Where did you hear about me, Mr. Gu?"
Gu Yizhou's gaze indifferently shifted from Su Mianmian. "It's not important. I just heard that Deputy Manager Liu has an exceptional capacity for alcohol. I wonder if I'll have the honor of witnessing it today?" "Of course! Absolutely!" Liu Shu finished speaking, glancing at the various liquors in front of her. "Mr. Gu, do you prefer baijiu or red wine?" Gu Yizhou smiled faintly. "Which do you drink?" Liu Shu looked smug. "To be honest, Mr. Gu, I can drink either." "Then let's have one of each to try."
Liu Shu immediately agreed, choosing baijiu first. She took one glass for herself and gracefully walked to Gu Yizhou with the other glass. "Mr. Gu, I'd like to toast you."
Gu Yizhou didn't even move his hand, his expression cold as he looked at Liu Shu. "Deputy Manager Liu may not know me well. I don't like drinking; I only enjoy watching others drink." Only enjoy watching others drink? What kind of hobby is that?
Liu Shu's smile froze slightly. "Mr. Gu said he'd watch me drink?" Gu Yizhou raised an eyebrow. "What, Deputy Manager Liu wouldn't refuse to give me this favor, would she?" "No, no, of course I'll give Mr. Gu face."
Liu Shu thought to herself, "I guess everyone with power has one or two quirks that ordinary people can't understand. It's nothing." With that, to show her loyalty, she tilted her head back and downed a glass of baijiu. Gu Yizhou clapped his hands coldly twice. "Good drinking capacity, keep going."
Encouraged, Liu Shu became even more smug, thinking, "What if Gu Yizhou is only interested in my drinking ability? Given time, he might give me a slight promotion, and I could rise to the top!" So, she drank red wine, baijiu, beer, and several other types of alcohol in rotation.
Towards the end, her speech became somewhat slurred. "Mr. Gu, is that enough?" Huang Zhong thought Liu Shu was a complete idiot; Mr. Gu was clearly messing with her, and she still didn't understand. She secretly gave her a wink, signaling her to stop drinking.
Unexpectedly, this small gesture was caught by Gu Yizhou, whose eyes lit up. "Vice Manager Liu drinking alone seems rather pointless. Why don't Vice President Huang keep her company?"
Huang Zhong was taken aback, then a pained expression appeared on her face. "Mr. Gu, I really can't hold my liquor."
"Vice President Huang, you just said it yourself, not drinking means you're not fitting in. If you're not fitting in, why bother working? You might as well retire at home. Mr. Zhang, don't you agree?"