Chapter 5 I Have A New Sweetheart
Maria and James were divorced, and Alina, his fiancee-to-be, was right there. Even if Maria''s
beloved back then was really James, it wasn''t appropriate for her to say it out. Obviously, Ste''s
purpose was to embarrass Maria.
Ignoring her difort, Ste continued to provoke Maria. "Come on, Maria. Tell us who the guy
was! We''re dying of curiosity."
Maria took a sip of the beer and then put down the ss with a faint smile. "Who didn''t have a
secret crush as a teenager? Let bygones be bygones. He''s married now, and I have a new
sweetheart."
As soon as Maria said it, everyone started booing. They didn''t believe her at all.
Seeing that Maria didn''t fall into the trap, Alina came out with another idea. Silently, she refilled her
ss with liquor and raised her head to look at the man sitting with an indifferent look by her side.
Clearly, he wasn''t interested in anything going on in that room. "James, I have a stomachache. I
remember that Maria can hold her drink. I want her to have this ss of liquor on my behalf. What
do you say?"
As the decisive man he was, James took the ss and ced it in front of Maria. Then he looked at
her sharply and ordered, "Drink it!" Alina lowered her head, and the corners of her lips raised
slightly. ''Let''s see if you can get out of this now, Maria!''
Maria looked at the liquor bottle in Alina''s hand. If she read it correctly, it was a limited edition of a
Remy Martin cognac with 52% alcohol by volume. She stared at the full ss in front of her and
then nced at her heartless cousin.
At that moment, Ste added, "Alina just opened a limited edition brandy. Maria, I''m sure you''ve
never tried such a refined liquor, have you?"
"Judging from Maria''s shabby look, the Song family doesn''t care about her very much. How could
she ever afford to drink such a high-end liquor?" echoed someone close to them.
"Exactly!" said another one.
Under the many curious gazes, Maria walked up to James and took the ss of liquor he had
ordered her to drink. With a smile, she said, "Actually, I don''t mind drinking it. Maybe I''ll ask you for
a favor too someday, Mr. Xi."
Maria was very straightforward. Without saying another word, she gulped down the whole beverage
in front of everyone''s eyes.
The hot liquid flew through her throat and into her stomach as if she had just tasted some hot chili
pepper. The strong heat stimted her right away. Putting down the empty ss, Maria coughed
violently and picked up another drink at random in front of her. Not taking the time to see what it
was, she poured it into her mouth quickly in order to ease her difort.
Compared with the brandy she had just had, whatever she drank afterward felt much better! At
least, it greatly relieved the burning sensation in her throat.
However, the next moment, Maria realized that the room was awfully quiet. Even Alina seemed a
little weird. ''What happened?'' she wondered.
Soon, Ste answered her inner inquiry with a roar. "Maria! How dare you take Mr. Xi''s drink?"
Unable to suppress the irritation in her throat, Maria coughed a bit more. Then she looked down at
the empty ss in her hand and realized that it indeed seemed different from the others.
In it, there was a non-alcoholic beverage the bartender made especially for James. After all, he
would be driving after the party.
The point was that he had already drunk a third of the ss before Maria grabbed it and gulped it
down. In the eyes of the others, this was considered a very intimate gesture, which was often
exchanged between two lovers. Hence, it was equivalent to an indirect kiss.
Under James'' deadly gaze, Maria put down the ss with an awkward smile and foolishly said, "Mr.
Xi, it''s alright. I don''t mind it. It''s not like we haven''t kissed before." ''Otherwise, where could''ve
Arthure from?'' Her inner voice finished her words.
Everyone in the room was too shocked to tell whether she meant what she said or waspletely
idental, including James himself, who was still staring at her.
If Maria was not mistaken, he had a murderous look on his face.
Bending her head slightly, she hurried to exin, "Oh no! I mean...I''m sorry, Mr. Xi. I didn''t mean to
do that. It''s just a drink."
This woman kissed James before. At that moment, Alina wasn''t the only one dying of jealousy.
Ste also couldn''t help thinking furiously, ''How could this bitch have ever kissed Mr. Xi?'' "Maria,
you did it on purpose! You are angry because of the drink Alina just gave you, so you are showing
off, right?" Ste yelled.
If it weren''t for James'' presence, she would have pped Maria hard across the face.
Maria humbly shook her head and answered, "No, I''m not." But at the same time, her inner voice
dered otherwise. ''Oh, yes. You can bet I''m a show-off!''
Suppressing the surging jealousy in her heart, Alina put on a bitter smile and intervened, "Ste,
stop it. Let''s just forget it. I''m sure that Maria meant none of it. Now, Ste, please, tell the waiter to
bring James another non-alcoholic drink, and remember to ask for a new ss." She deliberately
emphasized herst words.
Maria was slightly flushed as she stood aside in silence. Ste nced at her with a deadly gaze
and stamped her feet, leaving to call the waiter.
Although Alina had sent Ste away to pretend she was on Maria''s side, thetter knew that Alina
was the reason why everything happened in the first ce. However, as if she appreciated Alina''s
hypocritical act of kindness, Maria took a step back and said apologetically, "I''m sorry, Mr. Xi and
Alina. I really didn''t mean to make such a mistake. It won''t happen again!"
James, who had been silent all this time, uttered coldly, Now that you realized your mistake, drink
another three sses of liquor as your punishment."
''Drink another three sses as her punishment?'' People around gasped at the sound of that. They
quietly did the math in their heads and realized that a full bottle of liquor contained 320 milliliters,
while a ss could hold about 150 milliliters. If Maria did what he told her, by the end of the third
ss, she would have had more than a whole bottle of liquor. James was so ruthless that he
wouldn''t even spare his ex-wife for making a mistake. At this time, the room went quiet again.
Everyone intently watched the exchange between James and Maria, wondering what would happen
next.
As soon as the words fell from his lips, James took the brandy from Alina and put it in front of Maria.
Ste came back just in time to see the scene and cried out brainlessly, "How can you let her have
such a good liquor? She''s not worthy of it!"
N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.
James frowned slightly and asked impatiently, "Do you mean I can''t afford the liquor?"
"I..." Only then did Ste realize she had put her foot in her mouth. She couldn''t help but tremble
with the fear of being the next who had to drink three sses of liquor because she wasn''t able to
hold her tongue. Therefore, she rushed to apologize, "No! I didn''t mean that at all. I''m sorry, Mr. Xi.
As long as you''re happy, I have no objections!" Her apology, however, was much humbler than
Maria''s.
Alina looked down and rubbed her forehead, ashamed of her friend''s behavior. She thought Ste
would eventually get herself killed by her own stupidity.
At that moment, Maria picked up the bottle of liquor and filled a ss for herself. "Okay. In
exchange for your forgiveness, I will drink up to three bottles if it is necessary, Mr. Xi," she said as if
she was trying to please James.
To everyone''s surprise, James agreed immediately. "So let''s make it three bottles then! " He
seemed to enjoy watching Maria digging herself into a hole.
Maria couldn''t help feeling frustrated. The man''s unquestionable order made her want to p
herself across the face. How could she be as stupid as Ste and not keep her mouth shut?
Someone else, dying to please James, called the waiter, who shortly brought over a few more
bottles of liquor.
Ste cast an arrogant look at Maria and put the three unopened bottles of liquor in front of her.
"Ms. Song, now drink! Everyone is watching!"
Maria put down the ss she filled up earlier and took one of the bottles. Looking at James, she
reunited the courage to ask, "Mr. Xi, after I finish these bottles, will you promise me one thing?"
Leaning back on the leather sofa, James squinted his sharp eyes at her and asked slowly, "Who do
you think you are to demand anything from me?"
Maria was speechless. How dare he continuously embarrass her? He definitely wasn''t a gentleman!
''James Xi, one day, I''ll make you swallow your pride and bow to me!'' she thought angrily.
A trace of resentment shed through her eyes. Although it faded as quickly as it surged, James
was able to notice it. His mouth twisted in a sneer as he coldly watched her start drinking.
No one dared to defy James'' order and plead for Maria. While some believed it was her honor to
drink the liquor offered by him, others were looking forward to seeing how she would make fun of
herself after she got drunk. Nevertheless, everyone observed the scene with interest.