Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 49

“Is everything written on your board true?”

“If I can finish the beer within the time limit, I’ll get the prize?”

The man leading the group was Wu Zhou. He and a few of his colleagues had just finished a long week at work and were heading to the bar for a drink to unwind.

But as soon as they got out of the taxi, they noticed a booth across from the bar advertising a beer-drinking challenge with cash prizes.

Finish a beer in three seconds and win 100 yuan?

Was there really such an easy way to make money?

After discussing it with his colleagues, Wu Zhou became interested. They were planning to drink at the bar anyway, so why not give the challenge a shot?

If they could all win, the night’s drinking would be on the house!

“Of course it’s real. But a reminder—‘finished’ means no beer left in the bottle or your mouth. That’s the only way to win,” Xia Tian patiently explained to the five men standing in front of him.

Once he got the confirmation, Wu Zhou waved dismissively, a hint of disdain flashing across his face. “As long as you pay up, there’s no problem. Finishing a beer in three seconds? Piece of cake!”

“Alright, brothers, let’s each do two bottles, and tonight’s drinks are covered. Afterward, we can go get some skewers!” Wu Zhou said confidently.

He’d been drinking since he was young; finishing a beer in three seconds was child’s play.

He pulled out 50 yuan from his pocket. “Here, take the money and bring out the beer!”

Xia Tian gave Fang Yu a quick glance, and Fang Yu immediately unloaded a box of beer from the cart and opened it.

“You can take a moment to prepare. Let me know when you’re ready, and I’ll start the timer.”

“No need. Start the timer,” Wu Zhou replied, grabbing a bottle and biting off the cap, bringing the mouth of the bottle to his lips.

Seeing this, Xia Tian didn’t hesitate and pulled out his phone, opening the stopwatch.

“Alright, I’ll start the countdown. When I say ‘one,’ you can start.”

“Three, two, one…”

As soon as Xia Tian finished speaking, Wu Zhou tilted his head back and began chugging, spinning the bottle in a quick circle to aid the flow.

But as soon as Xia Tian saw his technique, he knew Wu Zhou wouldn’t win the prize.

In his previous life, Xia Tian had looked into beer-chugging techniques to beat his college roommates in drinking contests. He knew the tricks well.

The first method involved quickly spinning the bottle to create a vortex inside, which allows the beer to flow out faster when you tilt your head back and keep the bottle vertical. The key was to swallow without letting the beer sit in your mouth and to let it flow directly into your throat.

The second method was to insert a straw into the bottle and spin it to create the vortex. This would also drain the bottle in about two seconds.

Regardless of the method, the drinker had to be able to swallow quickly. If the beer lingered in the mouth, it was impossible to finish in time.

Wu Zhou’s mistake was allowing the beer to stay in his mouth for too long, which meant he couldn’t possibly finish within the time limit.

“Time’s up.”

At the four-second mark, Xia Tian stopped the timer.

Although Wu Zhou had emptied the bottle, the last mouthful of beer was still in his mouth.

“Damn, missed it by just a bit!” Wu Zhou swallowed the last bit of beer, looking frustrated.

Not ready to give up, he rolled up his sleeves and grabbed another bottle. “Let’s go again. That was just a warm-up—this time I’ll nail it!”

Seeing Wu Zhou’s stubbornness, his colleagues started to tease him.

“Brother Wu, give it a rest! Remember last time you drank, you were puking in the bathroom for half the night. If you can’t handle it, step aside and let me show you how it’s done.”

“Come on, Little Wu, you always talk big. Let me show you a real drinking technique.”

“Tsk, Wu Zhou, if you can’t do it, let us take a turn. Don’t get so drunk you can’t even make it to the bar, haha!”

Irritated by their taunts, Wu Zhou refused to back down. He signaled Xia Tian to start the timer again.

Xia Tian didn’t hesitate and started the countdown once more. “Three, two, one…”

Wu Zhou tried again.

This time, Xia Tian knew he still wouldn’t succeed. But to give Wu Zhou and his friends a taste of victory, he deliberately delayed pressing the stopwatch by half a second.

As expected, Wu Zhou finished in just under four seconds.

“Hahaha!”

“I told you I could do it! I earned 50 yuan—what do you losers have to say for yourselves now?” Wu Zhou laughed triumphantly, taking the 50 yuan prize and the change from Xia Tian.

He looked extremely pleased with himself.

Meanwhile, Fang Yu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“Another one who’s fallen into Little Tian’s trap…”

Seeing Wu Zhou, a guy who wasn’t even known for being good at drinking, manage to win some money, his colleagues couldn’t resist. They all pulled out money, eager to take on the challenge.

With all their loud banter, the booth quickly drew even more attention.

Many of the passersby were heading to the bars, and the novelty of the beer challenge immediately caught their interest, drawing them in.

“Fang Yu, hurry up with the beer!”

In no time, half the beer they had brought with them was sold within just one hour.

So far, only a handful of people had managed to complete the three-second challenge.

Most of the participants had burned through 30 yuan each without winning a single cent.

Meanwhile, inside the 1999 Bar, Lin Shan, the bar owner, frowned as he watched the dwindling crowd.

He called over Ah Hao, one of the bouncers stationed outside.

“Ah Hao, why are there so few people in the bar tonight? You’ve been watching the front. Are the other bars on the street having the same issue?”

“Boss Lin, actually, the foot traffic is pretty good tonight. It’s just that there are two kids running a booth outside. A lot of people who were planning to come here have been drawn over there instead…”

“Huh? What kind of booth is it that can pull so many people away?” Lin Shan raised an eyebrow and stepped outside.

Across the street, he saw the booth surrounded by a large crowd.

There was a chalkboard next to the booth, and the words written on it were clear as day.

[Beer Challenge:
Finish in 3 seconds, win 100 yuan.
Finish in 4 seconds, win 50 yuan.
15 yuan per attempt. Limit two attempts per person.
If you succeed in both attempts, win 666 yuan.]

“It’s those two kids from last week again? Last week they were selling fruit platters, and I let it slide. But now they’re running this beer thing right in front of my bar, stealing my customers? Are they trying to ruin my business?!”

“If they were doing this somewhere else, I wouldn’t care, but now they’re impacting my profits!”

Lin Shan’s face darkened with rage.

He had already seen Xia Tian and Fang Yu last week, earning money by selling fruit platters, and it had made him jealous.

But now, they were back again, this time directly affecting his bar’s business.

His regular clientele mostly consisted of students.

On Fridays, these students showed up in groups, pooling together 30 or 40 yuan each to reserve a table at the bar.

But now, these students were blowing their cash on the beer challenge before even stepping foot inside.

How were they supposed to afford drinks at the bar after that?

Ah Hao, sensing Lin Shan’s anger, cautiously suggested, “Boss Lin, want me to grab a few guys and chase them off?”

“No, that spot isn’t ours to claim, and the other bar owners are probably watching the situation closely. If we make a move, we might give our competition the chance to use it against us.”

Lin Shan squinted, glancing at the nearby bars. They were all competitors, keeping an eye on each other.

If any of them slipped up, the others would pounce on the opportunity.

“Ah Hao, call Zhang Dong and his crew. Tell them to take care of these two. These kids are messing with the wrong guy, trying to steal business on my turf.”

“Zhang Dong? Got it, Boss. I’ll call them right away.”

Unaware that they had been targeted, Xia Tian and Fang Yu continued running their beer challenge, oblivious to the storm brewing around them…