Chapter 281 - 271 Brother
The two brothers sat in silence for a while before starting the conversation. Just then, Xin Wan knocked and came in again, this time bringing some food and reminding Su Rongcheng, "Have something to eat first before you drink."
Despite her words, Su Rongcheng had no appetite to eat. He picked up his glass without saying a word, clinked it against Su Ronggui’s glass, and downed his drink in one go.
It wasn’t red wine or champagne. He had specifically asked Xin Wan to bring Erguotou, and the fiery drink burned its way down his stomach.
On the surface, he showed no sign of discomfort. He refilled his glass and slowly caressed the neck of the bottle with his slender fingers. "Do you remember the first time we secretly drank liquor? It was Erguotou. I was in senior high, and you were in junior high. We didn’t know our limits, just trying to act like heroes; our speech was slurred, yet we kept up our bravado, refusing to back down. We drank four jin as if it were water. You passed out completely, and I barely managed to carry you into a hotel and then collapsed on the same bed with you. We slept for two days; you missed two days of classes, and I, well, I missed my monthly exams. Your mom hit you over the head, and I stood in front of you, thinking I was a real hero, shielding you from her. I even shouted that it was I who made you drink, and she should get over me to hit you!"
As he said this, he took another sip of his drink and continued, "Later on, my dad made good on my so-called heroics by stringing me up and giving me a good beating with his belt. You, a six-foot tall guy, cried a river next to him, begging and kneeling for him not to hit me. That was the only time you ever cried in front of my dad and the only time you ever begged him. Now that I think about it, I only remember how damn painful the belt was, but not what prompted us to drink in the first place."
"It was to celebrate your eighteenth birthday," Su Ronggui remembered. "You said you were an adult and needed a rite of passage."
"Really?" Su Rongcheng thought for a moment. "It was."
After their mother’s death, no one celebrated his birthdays anymore. His father was a busy and careless man, uninterested in such trivial matters. In the house, only Su Rongxing and Su Rongyu celebrated birthdays. Su Ronggui never celebrated his.
"You also said you wanted to find a girl to drink with and lose your virginity, but you didn’t, for fear you’d be beaten by dad," Su Ronggui added.