"Gah?" Egg clutched the cup with both paws, looking blankly at Shen Yibin. ’That belly scratch felt so good, why did he stop?’
"Hmph!" Hah’Er raised its bowl high, opening its mouth wide to catch the last drop of beer. It smacked its lips, savoring the taste, then presented the bowl to Shen Yibin again.
"Uh, is this your first bowl or your second?" Shen Yibin was already feeling a bit dizzy. He’d had the sake Sakai Kaori poured for him, followed by so beer.
"I think it’s his first?" Sun Qian’s cheeks were also a little flushed. Even though she perford at a bar every night, she never drank. She was starting to feel dizzy, too, having just flubbed a few notes. She’d set aside her guitar in favor of the much simpler African hand drum. Unsure, she looked up and asked, "Cheeky, am I right?"
"Yep, it’s his first. Don’t worry, the big dummy can still handle plenty more," Cheeky said, sitting up from behind the salad bowl. Its eyes darted about, scheming sothing.
"Alright then, one more bowl. But this is the last one, you hear?" Shen Yibin decided to take their word for it. He picked up the bottle and filled Hah’Er’s bowl. "Hah’Er, can you grill twenty more skewers? Go easy on the chili flakes."
"Hmph!" Hah’Er was satisfied now that it had another drink. It carefully placed the bowl on the table, then picked up the marinated skewers and began flipping them on the grill.
"Xiangzhi-chan, don’t just sit there! Co on, let’s toast. Your dancing today was incredible!" Sylvie slung an arm around Sakai Kaori’s neck and held her glass out.
"Hai!" ’She’s a princess!’ For a traditional girl like Sakai Kaori, a princess was an extraordinary figure. There was no way she could refuse a toast initiated by royalty. She quickly raised her glass, clinked it against Sylvie’s, and drained it in one gulp.
"Qian, that song you just wrote was amazing! Did you write it for Hah’Er? I’m sure it’s going to be a hit! Co on, here’s to our future superstar!" Shen Yibin raised his glass and clinked it with Sun Qian’s.
"It’s all thanks to your support, Boss, and Cheeky’s guidance. I’m so sorry for being such a bother lately." Sun Qian still felt a little guilty, so even though she was already dizzy, she followed Sakai Kaori’s lead and downed the entire glass.
"Gah?" Egg looked left, then right. ’Why is everyone clinking glasses?’ Not wanting to be left out, it also raised its cup and offered it to Hah’Er.
"Hmph!" Hah’Er freed a paw, picked up its bowl, and gently clinked it against Egg’s cup. Then, it took a reluctant little sip. ’The night is still young,’ it thought. ’I can’t just drink it all at once.’ Egg’s view was blocked by its own raised cup, so it couldn’t see what Hah’Er was doing and foolishly downed the entire cup of sake.
"Gah!" After finishing its drink, Egg handed its cup to Sakai Kaori. Its attitude toward the young woman had gradually started to change. One-third of the reason was her dancing; the other two-thirds was entirely due to the sake, which was perfectly to its taste.
There was the delicious barbecue from Hah’Er, the fine Sokovian royal wine that Sylvie had produced from sowhere, the sake brought by Sakai Kaori, and the beer that Hah’Er and Shen Yibin loved. Add to that the cool night breeze, the bright moon in the sky, and the beautiful lody jointly provided by Sun Qian and Cheeky. Everything was so perfect that it made you want to have just one more drink.
’Heh heh, why does Hah’Er look fatter? And did he grow another head?’ Without realizing it, Shen Yibin had beco quite drunk. He was seeing double when he looked at Hah’Er.
Hah’Er’s pace flipping the skewers had slowed. It was more concerned with clutching its bowl and taking tiny sips of beer. Soon, the sll of burning at filled the air, but everyone seed to be full, and no one paid it any mind. Besides, the coals in the grill were dying down to their last embers.
Sylvie said sothing to Sakai Kaori that made them both burst out laughing. Sun Qian’s drumming had devolved into a chaotic ss, and the racket was so bad that even Cheeky couldn’t help but cover its ears.
"Excuse... ’scuse ... gotta... use the restroom." Shen Yibin struggled to his feet. He swayed as he tried to squeeze between Sylvie and Sakai Kaori, but after only two steps, he lost control of his body and stumbled, falling right onto Sakai Kaori.
Though Sakai Kaori was also quite drunk, years of training had honed her physical instincts. She subconsciously grabbed Shen Yibin’s arm to fling him aside. However, her drunken movents lacked the agility she’d had when dealing with Boss Song and his n. Her feet got tangled, and she tumbled to the ground along with Shen Yibin.
Sylvie and Sun Qian rushed to help, but they were also too drunk. They struggled for what felt like an eternity but couldn’t manage to pull either Shen Yibin or Sakai Kaori up.
Seeing the commotion, Hah’Er tried to get up and help but only managed to walk headfirst into a balcony pillar. As for Egg, the little creature was simply staring blankly at the moon.
In Egg’s drunken eyes, the half-moon now appeared full. It stood up involuntarily to face it, raising its right paw, wanting to beat its belly like a drum, just as it had on the night of the actual full moon.
However... the first slap didn’t produce the usual deep, resonant drumming. Instead, there was only the sound of retching. It was no surprise, really. Egg’s belly was stuffed to the brim with sake; how could it possibly make any other sound?
Unfortunately, Egg didn’t seem to notice. It continued to stare at the moon, performing its clumsy dance and slapping its belly, which produced a series of bizarre noises.
"Haha, let be your backup!" Its antics amused Sun Qian. She picked up her African hand drum and began to play along with Egg’s dance. Unfortunately, she was in no better state than Egg. Her drumming was erratic, and the rhythm was a total disaster.
"Huh? I don’t think I’ve seen this dance before!" The alcohol had made Sakai Kaori bold. She started to imitate Egg’s dance moves. Then Hah’Er joined in with a goofy grin. ’This is way more fun than climbing trees!’
As for Shen Yibin, he was already passed out on the floor, snoring loudly. At this point, the only ones still sober were Cheeky and Sylvie.
Sylvie put a hand to her forehead. ’Looks like everyone’s drunk.’ She looked helplessly at the sprawling, disheveled figures around her. ’I can’t possibly clean up this ss by myself! What am I going to do? Maybe I should just get drunk too?’
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