True friendship is irreplaceable

"Later she finally discovered Irish coffee and ordered it," Ye Chong finished his drink and continued, "Do you know how much effort a bartender puts into creating Irish coffee? Basically, achieving the perfect blend of Irish whiskey and coffee requires extremely high skill."

"Firstly, the ratio of whiskey to coffee. It's about an ounce of whiskey, around thirty-something milliliters, just up to the first gold line. Five ounces of coffee, 150 milliliters, roughly a one-to-five ratio, up to the second gold line."

"The girl never ordered cocktails, probably not fond of the taste of alcohol, but whiskey is a strong liquor. So the bartender must find a way to dilute the alcohol taste without compromising the aroma and texture. Therefore, the timing in the process of roasting the cup is crucial. That's why Irish coffee cups are more heat-resistant than ordinary glass cups, and there are two gold lines."

"Irish coffee has strict requirements for the choice of whiskey, the ratio of coffee to whiskey, as well as the cup and brewing method, but it's relatively casual about the choice of coffee, as long as it's strong and hot. Apart from the fact that the girl didn't particularly favor any specific coffee, it also represents another form of tolerance."

"No matter how picky one may be about whiskey, coffee is always accommodated."

"The bartender just wanted to make her a cup of Irish coffee, regardless of whether she could appreciate his effort and dedication, or whether she would be moved."

"Do you know how long it took from the bartender inventing Irish coffee to the girl ordering it? Exactly one year!"

"When he made Irish coffee for her for the first time, he shed tears out of excitement. Afraid of being seen by her, he wiped away the tears with his fingers, then secretly drew a circle on the rim of the Irish coffee cup with his tears."

"So the taste of the first sip of Irish coffee carries the flavor of longing that had been suppressed for a long time, and she became the first person to order Irish coffee."

"Because the bartender made two menus, and only one of them had Irish coffee, so only she could order it."

"So... what happened later? They must have ended up together, right?" Su Mo Ning asked eagerly.

Ye Chong shook his head and picked up the second glass of wine. "That stewardess fell in love with Irish coffee after trying it once, and since then, whenever she stops at Dublin Airport, she orders a cup of Irish coffee."

"But the bartender never expressed his love to the girl. He just kept making Irish coffee for her time after time. As long as he could see the happy smile on her face when she drank the drink he personally made, he was satisfied."

"And then?"

"That girl met her significant other, got married, and lived happily ever after like any other woman. She never went back to that bar again, never drank Irish coffee again."

"But the bartender continued to work at that bar, day after day, year after year, waiting to make a cup of Irish coffee for that girl."

"Years later, that girl was old, with white hair. She happened to stop at Dublin Airport during a trip, and remembered the Irish coffee that haunted her dreams countless times."

"She went back to that bar, but the people there told her that the old bartender had passed away just last night. However, he still made a cup of Irish coffee every day and kept it in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours."

"When she drank the last cup of Irish coffee made by the old bartender, she cried because she felt a love that had been fermenting for decades from that cup."

Listening to this, Su Mo Ning, with her tender heart, took a cup of Irish coffee, which was spicy, bitter, and slightly sour.

Ye Chong drank another glass of wine. "Any bartender has heard this story. For many years, they have been adhering to an unwritten rule: whenever a girl is willing to order a cup of Irish coffee, they will spare no effort to make it and will never charge her a penny. Because in their hearts, Irish coffee has transcended the category of a beverage; it is priceless."

"Is this story true?"

"How could such a story be true? It's just made up by someone with ulterior motives to trick customers into spending money."

Su Mo Ning looked at the liquid in the cup seriously, then drank it all at once, resolutely stating, "I believe it's true!"

Ye Chong frowned. "Principal Su, this is alcohol, not a beverage."

"I know." She picked up another glass of wine and clinked it with the man's glass before downing it. "I came here today to drink. I'll treat you. But I have one request..."

"What request?"

"We don't leave until we're drunk."

Compared to this girl, Ye Chong seemed more reserved than before, just taking a sip. "About last night..."

Su Mo Ning's brows furrowed. "Today, besides drinking, we don't talk about anything else."

With that, she downed another glass.

After three glasses of wine, her face was slightly flushed, and her dark eyes seemed to be on the verge of tears.

Ye Chong understood. This girl didn't need persuasion; she clearly came to get herself drunk. The question was, why did this urban elite woman have such a reason?

As she picked up the fourth glass of wine, Ye Chong grabbed her hand. "That's not how you drink alcohol."

"Let go!" The woman said in a low voice, with an air of non-negotiability.

Ye Chong released her hand because he understood very well that you can't wake up someone who wants to sleep, just like you can't stop a woman who wants to get drunk.

Seeing her drink four glasses in a row, he lost his mood for drinking.

Su Mo Ning then picked up his glass, examining the golden liquid. "What's this? I've never seen it before."

"Desert Poison."

She took a sip and immediately choked, coughing lightly to cover her mouth. "So bitter! So spicy!"

Ye Chong chuckled. "It's the bitterest drink in the world because it contains the bile of the Israeli desert golden cobra."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? How disgusting." She grimaced, clearly disgusted but managing not to vomit. After a while, she composed herself. "I don't care what you're drinking, but at least until now, I haven't seen your sincerity in drinking."

"How do you want to drink? Dice, rock-paper-scissors, or drinking games, you choose."

Su Mo Ning pondered for a moment. "Let's play Truth or Dare. If you can't answer, you drink one. If you lie, you drink three."

Ye Chong smiled. "That's interesting. Ladies first."

Su Mo Ning asked slowly, "Tell me, what exactly do you do?"

"I've told you a hundred times already. I'm a worker at Tenghua Construction Company. Otherwise, why would I go to Ma Hong for my salary?"

"I mean before this."

The man smiled faintly. "Why suddenly ask this?"

"I don't believe an ordinary worker can punch someone into cerebral palsy, let alone believe you can win a Ferrari with just a Peugeot."

"What do you think I used to be?" Su Mo Ning asked.

"I can't imagine, that's why I'm asking," Ye Chong replied.

"If I tell you, you won't believe me, so can I refuse to answer?"

"You can, but then you have to drink," Su Mo Ning said.

Ye Chong wasn't really drinking at all; he just casually swirled the glass with his tongue and emptied it.

To be honest, not to mention humans, Su Mo Ning had only seen one type of animal drink like this: a lizard!

Other than that, she had never seen anyone drink with a "swirl" technique.

"Second question, is Ye Chong your real name?"

The man didn't answer, just picked up another glass of wine and swirled it into his mouth with his tongue.

The woman's expression changed, looking less calm now. "Third question, what is your true identity?"

Without hesitation, Ye Chong grabbed another glass.

"I asked you three questions, but you didn't answer any of them. Why?"

"From the moment you asked the first question, it showed that you didn't believe me at all. Whatever I say would be meaningless, so I might as well just drink," Ye Chong flicked his cigarette ash. "It's my turn to ask, right?"

"Go ahead."

"After you dropped me off at the Express Hotel that night, where did you go?"

Unexpectedly, Su Mo Ning also picked up the glass and downed it in one go, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "What's the second question?"

"Why are you so young but already a principal? Also, the starting price for a house in Wangfu Garden is at least three million, right? I checked your house, and it's quite top-notch. Considering your age, even if you were a principal since you were ten, you couldn't afford such a fancy property, right?"

The woman's face had already flushed red. After hearing two questions, she gradually turned pale, without showing any other expression, she drank the second glass of wine. "Third question..."

Ye Chong frowned. "What's your relationship with Xu Jianfeng?"

Su Mo Ning's face turned pale, and she drank another glass in one go, placing the glass on the bar with a thud.

Both of them were the same, neither obtained what they wanted from the other. Ye Chong rubbed his chin, "It seems like we can only be confidant drinking buddies at most."

"What's wrong with drinking buddies? In this city, everyone wears a mask, everyone has their own motives, even finding a pure drinking buddy is difficult." Su Mo Ning picked up her glass. "Let's drink a toast to becoming drinking buddies today."

Ye Chong rubbed the edge of his glass with his fingers. "You're already drunk."

"But you're not."

"I won't get drunk."

"But you were drunk that night."

"Because I wanted to be."

"And today? Why can't you just get drunk with me today?"

Looking at the woman's hazy yet sincere gaze, he lowered his head, his eyes wandering in the flickering light for a long time without speaking.

After examining him for a while, Su Mo Ning's face gradually turned cold, and she silently picked up the glass and started drinking one after another.

Seeing her drink six glasses in a row, spilling more than half when she took the seventh, Ye Chong frowned, knowing she was already drunk.

He slapped the glass out of her hand and grabbed a whole bottle of whiskey, pouring it into her mouth. She choked, coughing repeatedly, and finally pushed the man away with all her strength.

"What are you doing!"

"You wanted to drink, so I'll let you drink your fill!"

"Ye Chong, you...you bully, you're such a bully..." Su Mo Ning suddenly pushed all the drinks in front of her off the table and burst into tears, leaning on the table, crying softly.

Ye Chong didn't say a word of comfort, just lit a cigarette and smoked silently, sipping his "Desert Poison" one sip at a time.

After crying for a while, the woman suddenly stopped crying. She lifted her tearful eyes, brushed the hair sticking to her face with her hand, "Ye Chong, I misjudged you. You're not even worthy to be a drinking buddy. From now on, let's pretend we never met!"

After saying this, she got up and left. Ye Chong remained sitting on the high stool in front of the bar, still staring at the golden liquid in his hand, without moving at all!

Just as she took a few steps, she felt dizzy and couldn't support herself, about to fall, when suddenly she was held up by a hand.

Her heart jumped, thinking it was Ye Chong, but when she looked closely, the person was a completely unfamiliar face.