Chapter Fifty-Five: The Gathering Feast, The Fateful Toasts About to Begin

Hearing the two supposed victims speak in this way, Jessica didn’t feel comfortable pressing further. She merely cast a slightly doubtful glance at Sooyoung and Victoria, then exchanged a knowing look with the perfectly in-sync Chen Zhe and Krystal, ultimately saying nothing more.

Seeing the group fall into another silence, Heechul, the eldest present, hurried to smooth things over, urging everyone not to just sit around but to try some of the cold appetizers on the table.

With Heechul, the most senior by both age and experience, breaking the silence, the atmosphere loosened up. Led by the resident foodies—Chen Zhe, Yoona, and Sooyoung—everyone else, knowing that moving too slow meant missing out, quickly started picking up their chopsticks as well. The clinking of cutlery and lively chatter soon brought the mood back to life, and laughter and conversation once again filled the room.

“Oh, this lemon chicken is really quite good. Tastes pretty authentic too!” Chen Zhe exclaimed after tasting the dish, the tangy lemon and the spicy chili awakening his taste buds and making him squint in delight.

Marveling at finding such authentic lemon chicken even in Korea, Chen Zhe reached out for a second helping, but his chopsticks met only empty space. Glancing at the plate, he saw it had been utterly ransacked—nothing but a few lonely shreds of ginger and scallion remained. As for the chicken, it had vanished without a trace.

Staring in disbelief at the empty plate, Chen Zhe was completely stunned. He truly hadn’t expected everyone to be so fast. He’d only had one bite, made a comment, and the lemon chicken was already gone.

“Zhe, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating?” Seeing his dazed look, Krystal chewed and swallowed her food before tilting her head in confusion, her gesture adorably innocent.

“It’s nothing; I’ll eat right now!” Krystal’s words snapped Chen Zhe from his stupor. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he quickly replied while scanning the table for other dishes to try.

But just as he finished answering, Chen Zhe froze again. All the other plates looked exactly like the lemon chicken—completely empty. Some had a few bits of ginger or scallion left behind, but many were stripped bare, not even a garnish remaining.

Snapping back to attention, Chen Zhe glanced warily around at everyone. In the span of two distracted moments, the entire table had been cleaned out. Were these people really this formidable? He silently resolved that next time, he would focus solely on eating, come what may. He refused to believe he’d lose out again.

“I remember there’s an old saying in China: good dishes deserve good wine, right?” Putting down her chopsticks, Sunny licked her lips, the delicious Chinese fare piquing her interest in a drink. Since today’s gathering was all about helping Chen Zhe build connections and friendships, she decided to liven things up with a bit of alcohol.

“Oh, I think it’s actually ‘good wine deserves good dishes’,” Heechul retorted, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. Having learned much about Chinese culture from his former teammate, Han Geng, he was somewhat familiar with these sayings. He rolled his eyes at Sunny, sounding a little exasperated.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter,” Sunny waved dismissively. “As long as we know good food goes with good wine, that’s enough. And Chinese food, of course, must be paired with Chinese liquor!” With that, she pulled out a blue-and-white box that looked very familiar to Chen Zhe.

“Isn’t that Fenjiu with blue-and-white porcelain packaging?” Chen Zhe immediately recognized the liquor. It was none other than the Xinghuacun Fenjiu he was quite fond of. What piqued his curiosity, though, was how Sunny had gotten her hands on it.

“We picked it up when we went to China for a concert!” Sunny opened the box and took out a bottle, its porcelain smooth and delicate, the cobalt blue patterns vivid. She looked rather pleased with herself.

“Don’t listen to Sunny’s tall tales. She bought way more than just that one bottle—she picked up all kinds of Chinese specialty liquors,” Sooyoung exposed her without hesitation. After all, she and Yoona had gone out shopping with Sunny that time and knew exactly what she’d done.

“By the way, Krystal, Sulli, and Zhe are all underage—they shouldn’t be drinking, right?” As Sunny began pouring drinks, Seohyun raised an eyebrow and gently reminded her, just as she was getting into the spirit of things.

“Noona, we’re eating Chinese food, and I’m Chinese. I should follow Chinese customs—drinking is allowed!” As soon as Seohyun finished, Chen Zhe eagerly chimed in. Whether in his current life or before his rebirth, he’d always enjoyed the occasional drink. And with his favorite Xinghuacun Fenjiu on the table, he simply couldn’t resist.

“Oh? Is that so? Yuqi, what do you think?” Sunny, who had been about to pour drinks for the three underage guests, paused and turned to Chen Yuqi, as if seeking her opinion.

“Zhe can have some—just don’t drink too much. Fenjiu is a bit strong.” Knowing her little brother’s fondness for a tipple came from their grandparents’ habits, and having grown used to it over time, Yuqi nodded her approval.

“Well, since Yuqi says it’s fine, so be it!” With Chen Zhe’s own sister giving her consent, no one else felt it was their place to object. After all, though Korea has laws against underage drinking, several people at the table had secretly tasted alcohol before coming of age. Besides, Chen Zhe wasn’t Korean, so they had even less reason to interfere.

Seeing Chen Zhe’s approval, Krystal and Sulli grew eager as well and prepared to seek permission from the adults.

“No, Krystal and Sulli, you two absolutely cannot drink!” Just as they were about to speak, Jessica caught on to their intentions in an instant and cut them off with no hesitation, firmly putting an end to their plan.

Faced with Jessica’s unequivocal refusal, Krystal and Sulli immediately wilted, like eggplants struck by frost. Because Jessica had spoken, neither dared to argue, resigning themselves to simply ordering their favorite drinks or juices when the waitstaff brought out the next round of dishes.