You Call This a Green Tea? - Chapter 7

The place Zhuo Luyuan chose was the bar where he and Sheng Junwen often hung out. The owner was another friend of theirs named Qu Zeliang, but everyone called him “Liang-zi.” Naturally, he was there today too.

Zhuo Luyuan pulled He Zhen over to introduce him: “This is He Zhen. We played together as kids, so you should recognize him. He just returned to the country. These are my friends: Yan Sheng, the one with glasses, and the one dressed like a flamboyant peacock is Liang-zi. The others are on their way.”

Liang-zi muttered unhappily, “What do you mean ‘flamboyant peacock’? You guys just don’t understand my taste.”

He Zhen looked at Liang-zi’s black shirt patterned with large red flowers. He didn’t understand, nor did he want to understand, that taste.

Zhuo Luyuan mocked him mercilessly: “And that’s why more people pursue the guys you like than people pursue you.” He signaled toward Yan Sheng, who looked polished and professional. Liang-zi gave an unwilling huff.

Yan Sheng smiled but didn’t take the bait. Instead, he looked at He Zhen. “Luyuan said we know each other, but you look a bit unfamiliar?”

Zhuo Luyuan, feeling mischievous, teased, “You saying that might break his heart.”

Seeing Luyuan’s familiarity with He Zhen, Liang-zi took a closer look. He found the face somewhat familiar but couldn’t place it. Seeing Luyuan waiting for the show, Liang-zi lowered his sunglasses slightly. “You aren’t making fun of us, are you?”

Yan Sheng didn’t speak. He was connecting the dots: played together as kids, moved abroad, surname He…

A bolt of lightning struck Yan Sheng’s mind. He scanned He Zhen from head to toe, his expression looking as if he’d seen a ghost. No way!

He looked at Zhuo Luyuan incredulously. Meeting Luyuan’s affirming gaze, he mumbled dazed, “Wasn’t… wasn’t he the same height as us back then?”

The He Zhenzhen of their childhood was a little girl with twin pigtails, roughly the same height as everyone else. But the current He Zhen was significantly taller than even Zhuo Luyuan. Yan Sheng couldn’t bridge the gap between the two.

Does eating Western food abroad really make you grow that much? Well, it wasn’t impossible; many foreigners were quite tall.

Liang-zi still hadn’t guessed it. He was about to ask Yan Sheng for help when he realized Yan Sheng looked like he’d lost his soul. Sheng Junwen couldn’t take it anymore and nudged him under the table, whispering a hint: “The one who always clung to Luyuan! Three-character name!”

The one who clung to Luyuan?

A flash of realization hit Liang-zi. He resisted the urge to play the Detective Conan “death” theme song in his head and slowly looked up at He Zhen. He finally realized where that faint sense of familiarity came from. He pointed and shouted: “You’re He Zhenzhen?!”

Perhaps the impression He Zhenzhen left on their childhood was too “colorful,” as even someone as forgetful as Liang-zi remembered the name. He Zhen didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. He offered a polite, fake smile. “I’m He Zhen.”

Sheng Junwen, seeing the two men’s shell-shocked faces, considerately ordered a few drinks to calm them down. He also ordered a sparkling water for Zhuo Luyuan, who gave him a grumpy look.

Sheng Junwen explained patiently, “Oh, come on, with your low tolerance, why drink? We’re all friends today; just have some bubbles.” After getting the water for Luyuan, he asked about He Zhen’s tolerance. Learning he could hold his liquor, Sheng Junwen ordered him a real drink.

As the four chatted, Liang-zi complained half-jokingly, “Why aren’t Cheng-ge and A-Heng here yet? I want to see their faces when they find out.” He shouldn’t be the only one suffering from shock.

Zhuo Luyuan, sipping his tasteless water, sent a voice message to the missing pair: If you’re late, you’re doing penalty shots.

While they were talking, an annoying voice drifted from near the entrance: “The owner said you were here, so I came to say hi. How about it? A few drinks?”

Zhuo Luyuan turned and frowned. He Zhen caught the expression and whispered, “Who is he?”

Many people knew Luyuan had a low tolerance, and this punchable guy was no exception. He was clearly here to try and make Luyuan look bad. Zhuo Luyuan didn’t give him any face. He sneered and raised his voice to introduce him to He Zhen: “This is Li Shangle. A while ago, he made a bet on who could become a female streamer’s top donor. He lost and had to shave his head. Young Master Li, has your hair finally grown back?”

The bar was dimly lit. Li Shangle had been standing in the shadows, so He Zhen hadn’t noticed his outfit. Now, he noticed the hat on Li Shangle’s head.

Li Shangle, feeling the weight of four pairs of eyes on his scalp, couldn’t maintain his playboy act. His backside actually started to throb in phantom pain—his father had beaten him so hard he’d spent nearly a month at home recovering before daring to sneak out. If this “snake” Zhuo Luyuan snitched on him again, he was dead.

Li Shangle’s face turned green, but he forced a smile to challenge Luyuan: “I lost, and I paid up. What about you, Young Master Zhuo? Are you too scared to drink with me?”

“Why would I bother drinking with you? Boring.” Luyuan glanced at his phone. “If the other two aren’t here in five minutes, I’m leaving.”

The blatant dismissal enraged Li Shangle. He had hated Zhuo Luyuan for a long time—why did all the girls follow him around?! He stepped forward aggressively. Before Sheng Junwen or the others could stop him, He Zhen stood up like a solid wall, blocking Zhuo Luyuan. His voice was flat: “You want to fight?”

He Zhen stood up so fast that Li Shangle couldn’t brake in time. The brim of his hat hit He Zhen’s chest, and he stumbled backward. He Zhen actually had to grab him by the arm to stop him from falling.

Li Shangle stayed upright, but his hat didn’t. It fell to the floor.

Despite the dim lighting, Li Shangle felt as if a spotlight was shining directly onto his bald head.

“Oh no!” Li Shangle immediately covered his head with his hands in a futile attempt at “hiding by plugging one’s own ears.” Realizing how ridiculous he looked to the silent group, he hurriedly snatched up the hat and jammed it back on, threatening them with a trembling voice: “If you take a photo, you’re dead!”

As Li Shangle pulled his arm away, He Zhen noticed he was wearing a string of beads on his wrist, which looked like they had been handled for many years.

…A “Beijing Circle Buddhist” playboy?

Li Shangle protectively guarded his bracelet; his grandmother had prayed for it for him.

“Pfft! Hahahahaha! What kind of look is that!” Liang-zi was the first to lose it, laughing loudly. That bald head was just too bright.

Yan Sheng belatedly reached for his phone. He hadn’t thought about getting a photo for blackmail until Li Shangle mentioned it. What a missed opportunity, he thought regretfully.

Zhuo Luyuan didn’t laugh out loud, mostly because he didn’t want Li Shangle to snap completely. They disliked each other, but there was no deep blood feud.

Li Shangle barked back at Liang-zi, “What do you know! I’m a man of my word!”

Yan Sheng was curious about the bet. “What happened with that streamer anyway? Did she add you two ‘suckers’ as friends?”

Li Shangle looked gloomy. “No. She got banned for ‘suggestive content’ later.”

He Zhen: “…”

Zhuo Luyuan: “…”

What a mess.

Li Shangle sat down next to He Zhen, ignoring their looks, and ordered several drinks for himself. He took a gulp and greeted He Zhen: “You’re pretty tall. Which family are you from? I haven’t seen you before.”

Zhuo Luyuan, finding the entertainment better than any drink, propped his head on his hand. “He Zhenzhen. The little girl who used to cling to me.”

“Pfft! Cough, cough, cough!“

Li Shangle choked on his drink. He looked at He Zhen, cursed his luck, and pushed a glass toward Zhuo Luyuan. “I won’t force you, but I’m annoyed. Drink with me.”

Before Luyuan could take the glass, “Cheng-ge” and “A-Heng” arrived. Cheng-ge, living up to his name as the “Big Brother” of the group, saw Li Shangle wearing a hat in a bar and found it weird. He walked up and snatched it off. “Why are you wearing a hat in a—”

Li Shangle: “…”

A-Heng, the lively one with two tiger teeth, laughed: “So the rumors were true! You lost the bet and became a monk!” He looked at the glass in Li Shangle’s hand. “Wait, you’ve ‘entered the monastery’ but you’re still drinking? That’s not right.”

“I didn’t enter a monastery! I just shaved my head!” Li Shangle groaned. He’d lost the money, got beaten by his dad, and the streamer got banned. He was miserable!

Zhuo Luyuan, the host of the gathering, didn’t want to hear anymore whining. He raised his glass to clink with Li Shangle. “Alright, learn your lesson. Why compete to be a ‘Top Donor’? Drink up.”

Zhuo Luyuan downed his drink. Li Shangle followed suit.

Cheng-ge moved the other glasses away and introduced himself to He Zhen: “I’m Lu Juncheng. My family is in real estate. They call me ‘Cheng-ge’ because I’m a bit older. This is Ning Zhiheng. we all grew up together.”

He Zhen clinked glasses with them, officially meeting the group.

He had heard from Sheng Junwen that Zhuo Luyuan had a low tolerance, but he figured he could at least handle a few.

Who would have thought that after just one glass, Zhuo Luyuan’s eyes would glaze over and his face would flush a deep red within ten minutes? He started slurping his words and shouted at He Zhen, who was sitting right next to him:

“How dare you be so much taller than me!”

He Zhen: “…”

He only had one glass, right? And even drunk, he still remembered the height issue.

He really, really cared about that.