The salesman recommended some cocktails to James that sounded fancy just from their names.
Vodka + Sprite, Whiskey + Coke, Rio + Jiangxiaobai (a type of Chinese liquor)...
These high-proof liquors, mixed with sweet, fizzy drinks, became very palatable.
The drinks were also beautifully colored and served on a special glowing tray with a heart design, creating a perfect atmosphere.
Each small glass was garnished with lemon, ice, and other embellishments, and with one sip, you could barely taste the alcohol.
Everyone was a bit reserved at first.
But after a couple of drinks and some music,
the atmosphere instantly picked up.
Shirley Taylor's face was flushed. She wore a light yellow halter dress bought for her yesterday, with a bow headband.
The hem of her dress reached mid-thigh, a significant improvement from the previous knee-length dress.
Her fair skin, proper posture, and innocent, beautiful eyes that kept stealing glances at him.
James sighed inwardly: No one could resist such a stunning beauty.
If it weren't for the two annoying people nearby, this VIP room might have turned into a battlefield.
James sat beside her, picked up a dice cup with five dice, and handed it to Shirley Taylor.
"I'll teach you a game called Liar's Dice. Shake it, look at your dice, and then guess the total number of dice between us, like how many 3s or 4s there are."
"We take turns calling out numbers, and you can only call higher. If I say 'five 3s,' you have to say 'five 4s' or higher."
"If you don't believe we have five 3s, you can open my cup. If the total number of 3s between our dice is five or more, you drink. Otherwise, I drink."
This dice game is a basic one, can be played with multiple people, and gets you drunk quickly.
"I've never played before," Shirley Taylor said nervously.
She was worried she might spoil James's fun if she didn't play well.
"Hehehe, that's why I'm playing with you," James said with a smirk.
He wasn't very good at these drinking games either, but he could handle a newbie.
"Okay."
Shirley Taylor took the dice cup, shook it gently twice, peeked under the lid, and quickly closed it.
She looked as cautious as if she were defusing a bomb.
James chuckled, shook his cup a couple of times, and without looking, called out,
"Five 6s."
Although Shirley Taylor had only glanced briefly, she remembered her dice clearly.
She didn't have a single 6.
The chance of him having all five dice as 6s was extremely slim.
But she wasn't sure if James wanted to win or lose. She secretly observed his expression and said weakly,
"Six 6s."
James was surprised.
He felt like he had met his match and quickly opened his cup to check.
He actually had four 6s.
That meant if she had just two 6s, she would win this round.
He thought for a moment and, with a thick skin, called out,
"Seven 6s."
Shirley Taylor felt a bit stuck.
She didn't have any 6s. If she kept calling higher, would James think she was too bad at the game and not want to play with her anymore?
Just then, Bella, hearing "seven 6s," couldn't sit still. She went over, opened Shirley Taylor's cup, looked at the dice,
and stared at Shirley Taylor in disbelief.
"Why are you hesitating? You could have called him out at five 6s,"
she said, lifting the cup to reveal not a single 6 on the table.
Shirley Taylor lowered her head in embarrassment.
James felt a bit awkward being so obviously let off the hook by a girl.
To cover it up, he downed a drink.
Seeing how easy it was to bully James, Bella pushed Shirley Taylor aside and squeezed in.
"Move, move, I'll play with him."
"I don't play with kids."
James refused. His target was Shirley Taylor.
"Hehe, you're probably just scared," Bella said scornfully.
"I'm just afraid I'll get you so drunk that planes will think your chest is a landing strip..."
Bella, hearing the word "planes," knew it wasn't going to be anything nice. Before he could finish, she jumped up, stood barefoot on the sofa, and interrupted angrily,
"I've had enough of you. Don't think that just because you have money, I won't hit you."
Seeing her like a hissing cat, all cute and fierce,
James couldn't help but tease her,
"I'm sorry, planes probably won't land anymore because there are two potholes on the runway..."
"You want to die? I'll grant your wish."
Bella exploded, kicking out at James.
Quick as a flash, James saw a delicate white foot coming at him.
With years of fighting experience, he swiftly grabbed her ankle.
Her foot was just inches from his face.
Up close, her ankle was small and delicate, like a wisp of cloud, light and pleasing to the eye.
It felt soft and smooth in his hand, slender and delicate.
From this angle, looking up, he saw her smooth, fair legs.
Luckily, she was wearing shorts; otherwise, with her legs spread like that, no secrets would be safe.
"Let go!"
It was the first time a man had grabbed her ankle, and Bella was so embarrassed she wanted to headbutt him to death.
James smirked and gave her foot a little outward flick.
As Bella shrieked, she lost her balance and fell backward.
With a "thud,"
Bella landed straight on the carpet.
"Sister Li, are you okay?" Shirley Taylor scrambled to help Bella up.
Bella, feeling utterly humiliated, sat on the floor and said resentfully,
"What kind of man are you, bullying a woman?"
"Sorry, I lost control. Are you okay?"
James apologized like a gentleman, and seeing her full of energy, looking fine, he started reasoning with her:
"Well, you were the one kicking and hitting. It was just a reflex."
"I'm not done with you."
Bella said, about to pounce again.
James held her head with one hand, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move forward an inch.
"Be realistic. You're all skin and bones. You're not even enough for a snack, so stop flapping around."
"Argh! I'm going to kill you!"
Unable to get close, Bella could only flail her little fists, pounding on James's thigh.
The force was actually rather pleasant.
"Enough, enough. If you keep hitting me, I might want to go for a massage. If you want to play, how about the loser takes off an item of clothing?"
After a few punches, Bella calmed down a little.
She turned her head away from James's grip and glared,
"Don't even think about taking advantage of me."
James exclaimed, "Little girl, you should speak with a conscience. Where on your body is there anything to take advantage of?"
Bella was furious. Her eyes darted around, and seeing the man's arm within reach, she grabbed it and bit down hard.
"Ow Let go, let go, I was wrong."
James screamed in pain. Seeing that she had no intention of letting go,
he had a sudden idea and started tickling her, hoping she would open her mouth.
But he accidentally touched her flat chest, which resulted in an even more ferocious bite.
Luckily, Bella didn't do what Tailsa did, biting and shaking her head; otherwise, she might have taken a chunk of flesh with her.