It turned out that Eric had noticed Lu Ping’s predicament long ago. He had left his friends’ table and come straight over to Lu Ping’s side.
His demeanor was generous and natural. He casually pulled out a chair and sat down beside Lu Ping, setting down his half-finished coffee as well, as if they were old friends who had known each other for years.
Seeing that the two indeed “knew” each other, the server didn’t ask any more questions, left the drink menu behind, and returned to the counter.
Lu Ping was both shocked and delighted. He hadn’t expected that the person he’d been secretly observing just a minute ago would now be sitting right next to him! Up close, the heavy scent of cologne from the foreign young man assaulted his senses, making Lu Ping’s nose itch, but since the guy had just helped him out, sneezing right in his face would be incredibly rude… The result of holding it in was that his eyes watered, and paired with the lingering flush on his cheeks, it easily led to misunderstandings.
“Hi, I’ve noticed you for a while now.” The foreign young man took the initiative to introduce himself; his Chinese was quite good. “I’m Eric. What’s your name?”
Lu Ping: “I’m Lu…” He thought for a moment and decided against giving his real name. “I’m Louis. Why did you notice me?”
Eric winked at him. “Because you’ve been staring at me ever since you walked in.”
Lu Ping felt extremely embarrassed: He’d thought he’d been discreet, but Eric had spotted him ages ago. He was eager to practice his spoken English with Eric, but Eric kept speaking Chinese, and he didn’t know how to naturally switch to English.
The shy flush on the boy’s face led Eric to misunderstand something. He pushed the drink menu toward Lu Ping and offered proactively, “What do you want to drink? It’s on me.”
Lu Ping shook his head repeatedly. He wanted to practice English with Eric; he couldn’t let the guy pay. “No, let me treat you. Your coffee’s almost gone—want another cup?”
“No thanks, two cups in the evening and I won’t be able to sleep. I feel like something else.” Eric flipped through the drink menu.
It was only then that Lu Ping realized this place didn’t just serve coffee—it also had teas, juices, and even alcohol!
Though Lu Ping wasn’t of age yet, he had drunk alcohol before—during holidays when making ancestral offerings, he would join his dad in pouring libations for the ancestors. Their homemade yellow rice wine was fragrant and mellow; Dad would let Lu Ping have three cups, then kowtow a few times to the departed.
But Lu Ping was here today to learn from foreigners, not to pour one out for them. A high schooler couldn’t just drink casually.
His eyes scanned the drink menu and landed on something suitable for him: “—I’ll have this, Long Island Iced Tea.”
Iced tea—it sounded sweet, probably like iced black tea.
But this iced black tea was pricey—one cup cost sixty bucks. The prices here were steep.
After learning that Lu Ping had ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, Eric gave him a surprised look, thought for a moment, and simply ordered the same.
Once the order was placed, the two started chatting again. Eric was very talkative. He told Lu Ping that he was twenty years old, had just come from America as an exchange student, and thought Lu Ping was a student from one of the nearby universities too—why hadn’t he seen him around before?
Lu Ping stammered, “This is my first time here too…”
“The atmosphere here’s great. I like ordering a coffee and reading all afternoon.” Eric asked, “What book are you reading?”
The book in Lu Ping’s hand was one he’d grabbed at random from the shelf; he hadn’t paid attention to the cover at the time. Only now did he realize he’d accidentally picked up an English original edition of Pride and Prejudice.
This was a world classic that made it onto “high school required reading lists.” Lu Ping had seen the movie version and knew the story, but he hadn’t read the novel.
The English vocabulary in Pride and Prejudice wasn’t too difficult, and the page he’d opened to happened to be manageable. Eager to show off his English skills, Lu Ping mustered his courage and read the passage aloud to Eric.
“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”
(Vanity and pride are different concepts, though the words are often used interchangeably as synonyms. One can be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, while vanity concerns what we hope others think of us.)
Lu Ping’s voice grew quieter as he read on.
Vanity, pride, pride, vanity…
He’d just flipped open a book at random, but this sentence subtly mirrored his current state.
He felt like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on, desperately wanting to shout, “No! That’s not me! I’m not like that!” But deep down, a voice whispered: Lu Ping, you are exactly like that. If you weren’t vain, why pretend to be someone else online? If you didn’t care what others thought, why were you too scared to even ask the server what those coffees were?
True pride was probably like Shen Yuze—never caring about others’ gazes, always self-assured, confident, and proud.
Lu Ping sniffed, telling himself not to wallow in these negative emotions. At least… at least he was trying to change.
Eric didn’t notice the fleeting sadness in Lu Ping’s eyes. After Lu Ping finished reading the English passage, Eric naturally switched to English and chatted with him about the famous book.
Truth be told, Lu Ping’s listening and speaking skills were abysmal. Eric had to slow down repeatedly for him to barely keep up. Faced with this fragmented, broken English, Eric’s initial enthusiasm deflated.
Eric suggested helplessly, “How about we switch back to Chinese?”
“No!” Lu Ping, the determined English conversation practitioner, rejected the idea. “I want speak English with you!”
He’d already treated Eric to a drink—the money was spent; he couldn’t waste this precious time!
Eric: “…”
Just then, their Long Island Iced Teas finally arrived.
The glass was filled with a thick layer of ice cubes, pale red liquid swirling within, taking on an ambiguous hue under the dim yellow overhead lights. As the straw stirred, the clear ice clinked crisply.
Lu Ping grumbled inwardly: University City prices are insane—a serving of Crispy Shrimp Balls costs ten bucks, and this iced black tea is sixty, with most of the glass just ice…
After all that English practice, his mouth and throat were parched. Seeing the “drink” arrive, he eagerly grabbed a glass, popped the straw in his mouth, and took a big gulp—the lemon’s tartness and mint’s freshness hit his tongue. He swallowed before he could react, and only seconds later did the alcohol’s kick surge in, rushing straight to his brain.
“!!!” Lu Ping was stunned. Why did this iced black tea taste like alcohol?
Little did he know, Long Island Iced Tea was actually a cocktail based on four strong liquors like vodka, with a high alcohol content—at least forty proof—a hidden “killer” in bars.
While Lu Ping gaped at the “iced black tea,” Eric beside him suddenly moved—he casually raised his arm as if stretching, then let it fall, draping it over the sofa back behind Lu Ping. From a distance, it looked like he had pulled Lu Ping into his embrace.
He leaned in close, and that overpowering cologne enveloped Lu Ping once more as he spoke.
“Dear Louis,” Eric stared at Lu Ping with those deep blue eyes, his tone intimate, “you came here on a Friday night to find me—surely it’s not just to chat, right?”
He was too close, close enough to make Lu Ping feel subtly uncomfortable. …Were all foreigners this enthusiastic?
He was incredibly dense on this front, still innocent and unaware, so he naturally didn’t sense the approaching danger.
Looking at the foreign young man right in front of him, Lu Ping blinked and admitted shyly, “You’re right, I didn’t come just to chat.”
Eric’s face lit up with delight, thinking he’d hooked a little fish at last.
But what happened next was beyond his expectations—Lu Ping turned sideways, pulled his backpack over, took out a thick English reference book, and placed it in front of him!
The boy looked at him excitedly and boldly made his request: “I have some English questions I don’t get—could you explain them to me?”
What good was just practicing speaking? He needed to do grammar exercises too!
Eric: “…”
Eric: “…………”
Eric: “…………..”
Eric’s pupils shook. He looked at Lu Ping, then at the English book before him, and squeezed out through gritted teeth, “Are you joking with me?”
He couldn’t believe it: This handsome boy had been glancing at him nonstop since entering, sending signals! Eric had thought a romantic encounter was in the cards tonight, only to realize… the guy just wanted a free English tutor!
The more Eric thought, the angrier he got. It felt like casting a long line to catch a fish, wasting time and energy, only to reel in lake-bottom trash!
His smile vanished instantly. He shoved the English book away and grabbed Lu Ping’s arm, repeating through clenched teeth, “Are you messing with me?”
How could Lu Ping have anticipated that this friendly, chatty foreign young man would flip like that? Caught off guard, the pain shooting through his arm from the grip made him cry out, “What are you doing?! Let go!”
Eric had no intention of letting go. He tightened his grip even more. He was half a head taller than Lu Ping and much more muscular—Lu Ping was no match. Even struggling desperately, he remained pinned.
Their spot was screened by potted plants, and the lighting was dim; for the moment, no one noticed the conflict.
Lu Ping’s mind went blank. Just as he was about to call for help, a familiar figure burst into view—like a god descending from the heavens, appearing behind Eric.
The man’s handsome features were shrouded in killing intent, his eyes blazing with fury. The instant Lu Ping recognized him, he called out his name: “Shen…”
The rest of his words were cut off by Shen Yuze’s actions.
Lu Ping could barely see how Shen Yuze moved—it was like the blink of an eye before Shen Yuze wrenched Eric’s hand off Lu Ping and violently twisted it behind his back!
Shen Yuze had received the appropriate training since childhood, so dealing with a muscle-headed idiot like this was no trouble at all. The young man exerted only a fraction of his strength—one hand pressing down on Eric’s nape, the other twisting his arm—and pinned the opponent firmly to the round table. Eric was in such agony that tears and snot streamed down his face; in an instant, all color drained from it, leaving it ghostly pale.
Shen Yuze’s gaze was filled with utter contempt. He looked down at the bastard and said, word by word—
“—Can’t you understand his words? He told you to let go, you fucking asshole!”
