E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 181: Episode 181: Being Deceptive at the Drinking Table Turns against You

Chapter 181: Episode 181: Being Deceptive at the Drinking Table Turns against You

Li Jiniang realized that she too was in a precarious position, barely able to handle Pang Xin in front of her, let alone fuss over others. She could only hope that Zhang Yongzhong was lustful in heart, not in courage.

Last time, with Zhou Xueyin’s help, she could hold the liquor under her tongue, but this time she had to drink in front of Pang Xin—she probably had no choice but to actually drink it.

Without a shield, Pang Xin truly became reckless, nearly pressing his whole body against Li Jiniang, pouring drinks into her mouth one cup after another.

Without much ado, three cups of baijiu were gulped down, and Li Jiniang felt something was amiss, "President Pang, look, I’ve already drunk these three cups as a penalty for my lateness. Isn’t it your turn now?"

"Alright! Whatever the beautiful Li says! Your brother Pang will drink one too!" Pang Xin picked up the drink Wan Hua had prepared and downed it in one go. "How about that, okay?"

"President Pang is straightforward! Come on, another one!" Li Jiniang reached for the bottle nearby, intending to pour more into Pang Xin’s glass.

"Eh? Hold on... Pretty Li, fill up your own first!" Pang Xin swiftly covered his glass with his hand, "Hua Zi, have some foresight!"

Wan Hua, holding the bottle, gave Li Jiniang a meaningful look.

"President Pang, aren’t you satisfied with me filling your glass? You really want your own men to top up your drink?" Li Jiniang stood up, took the bottle from Wan Hua’s hand, and sniffed it, "President Pang, what’s the meaning of this?"

Li Jiniang had already felt something off when Pang Xin drank earlier, the taste wasn’t right.

Even though she had downed three cups, she could still tell whether the other party was drinking liquor or just plain water.

"Hey, isn’t it just that Hua Zi is looking out for me as the leader... I’ve been suffering from gastritis these past few days, the doctor told me not to drink... but I couldn’t dampen everyone’s spirits..." Pang Xin hastened to find an excuse, trying to clear himself.

"Little Brother Pang, that’s where you’re being unfair... If you’re sick, just say it. We don’t have to drink today! Right, Jiniang?" Unexpectedly, Zhang Yongzhong chimed in at the crucial moment.

"Yong Ge, I’m sorry, Yong Ge... How about this? Today, I’m throwing caution to the wind. I’ll risk my life to keep you company! Shall we not return until we are drunk? How’s that?" Pang Xin acted like he was all in, but he didn’t mention a word about signing the contract.

"I think, let’s not bother with the effort, let’s just sign the contract directly. We’ve had so many drinking session before, but in the end, you refuse to sign with me. Little Brother Pang, do you have a problem with me?" Zhang Yongzhong stood up, walked over to Pang Xin, "I’m risking my life drinking with you; in the past, did you also fool me with just plain water?"

"No, no, I wouldn’t dare..." While he claimed not to dare, his gaze shifted guiltily away, clearly having used plain water to cope with the previous drinking engagements.

"Ah... and here I was, treating you like a brother, but you’ve been playing me for a fool! Today, you either finish these five bottles of baijiu or hurry up and sign the contract!" Zhang Yongzhong placed all five bottles of baijiu in front of Pang Xin, "Otherwise, don’t even think about mixing in this industry anymore! I, Zhang Yongzhong, am not someone to be trifled with in this line of work!"

"Brother, brother, Yong Ge... my bad, let’s sign, let’s sign the contract! Hua Zi! What are you waiting for?" Pang Xin quickly had Wan Hua take out the contract from the briefcase.

He too wanted to continue in this industry; if word got out that he’d been drinking plain water, it would not only be utterly embarrassing but would also put an end to freeloading on public funds.

"That’s more like it!" Zhang Yongzhong took the contract and began to scrutinize it.

Actually, he had been impatiently waiting for this opportunity, as every meal had been full of excuses to avoid signing the contract.

"Hang on, this contract isn’t right, is it?" Zhang Yongzhong pulled Pang Xin closer to himself, "This is a standard contract! The figures we agreed upon previously are not what you’ve written here on this contract. What’s going on!"

"Tomorrow, tomorrow you come to my company, and we’ll sign the contract..." Pang Xin saw that he couldn’t bluff his way through anymore, so he could only arrange with Zhang Yongzhong to sign the contract the next day.

"Fine! But tomorrow you better not come up with excuses for not being at the company again! Otherwise, I’ll expose everything you did today on the internet! Don’t forget what kind of company we are!" Zhang Yongzhong threatened him.

"Alright, alright! I wouldn’t dare!" Pang Xin nodded like a woodpecker.

The deal that had been dragging on for nearly half a year was finally about to be settled, and Zhang Yongzhong was also about to celebrate.

"Jixiang, you take a cab back later, here’s..." Rarely generous, Zhang Yongzhong gave Li Jixiang 20 yuan for cab fare.

After getting home, Zhou Xueyin hurried over: "Jixiang, he didn’t take advantage of you, did he?"

"No, let me tell you, Pang Xin is just a coward!" Li Jixiang changed her clothes while telling them about the happenings at the dinner table.

"Stupid actually got tough for once, huh!" Zhou Xueyin said admiringly after hearing the story, "I really underestimated him. I thought he was just a freeloader waiting to die."

"That’s right, he must have heard about your year-end bonus and got jealous. He has to show some performance too, otherwise how embarrassing would it be when the year-end bonuses are handed out?" Li Jixiang shrugged.

"True, he’s got to earn some retirement money for himself," Zhou Xueyin agreed with a laugh.

"But I miscalculated today. I thought with the way I looked, Pang Xin would lose interest in me, but no, he still kept me in mind. Yet he didn’t recognize me at first sight, could that be considered a successful disguise? Hehe..." Li Jixiang laughed helplessly.

"I hope Stupid will successfully sign the contract tomorrow, but who knows what kind of tricks Pang Xin might pull." Zhou Xueyin said worriedly, "But even if it does get signed, it’s not necessarily a good thing. With Pang Xin’s behavior, who knows what nasty ideas he might come up with when we execute the ad."

"Who’s to say, I hope..." After the last unpleasant experience, Zhou Xueyin really didn’t want to take on this contract this time.

The next day, Zhang Yongzhong went straight to Pang Xin’s company, and sure enough, the guy claimed to be sick at home.

"Wan Hua? Is President Wan Hua around? Get him for me!" Since you don’t want to see me, I’ll find a way to get to you!

Before long, Wan Hua showed up at the front desk with the contract that needed to be signed: "President Zhang, I know why you’re here... The contract is ready. I’ll take you directly to Pang Xin’s house..."

"The young man sure is clear-headed! I’m impressed with you!" Zhang Yongzhong praised, patting Wan Hua on the shoulder.

On the way to Pang Xin’s house, Wan Hua made a special request: "President Zhang, please don’t say I brought you here. Just show up with the contract and block the door..."

"Got it, got it, don’t worry, I won’t sell you out!" Zhang Yongzhong agreed immediately.

Arriving at Pang Xin’s place in North Taiping Village, Wan Hua spotted his car right away: "4th door, apartment 601, that’s it! He’s home! I won’t go up, just remember, don’t say I brought you here, say you got the address from the reception desk!"

"Got it, got it, you head back first! Kid, thank you!" Zhang Yongzhong said, taking the contract and heading upstairs.