I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"...Probably not."

I know the situation at home at this time. It's impossible for my parents to come home so early because they are at work. But I don't know if Ye Jin is there. After all, she would come to my house and eat for free without even saying hello.

"Does that mean you're not in a hurry to go home now?" she asked with a very serious expression.

"..."

After spending three seconds carefully considering whether there was any mystery in this sentence and whether what she would say next would benefit me in some way, I finally nodded and gave an affirmative answer.

After all, the fact that Ye Jin was starving at home was not enough to make me rush home.

"That's perfect, let's go have dinner together." She looked much more relaxed. "I don't need to go home so early."

"Isn't this...inappropriate?"

Generally speaking, saying something just happened to happen is definitely a premeditated statement. I don't think Rinquanchuan would do anything bad to me, but I still have to be on guard at least.

Besides, out of consideration for human nature, it's not something you can just accept casually. Furthermore, this sentence seemed to imply that she didn't want to go home. As a normal classmate, I naturally had to persuade her to go home.

"Ah ha? What's inappropriate?" Her brows suddenly frowned.

"...you should eat very well at home...there aren't any fancy restaurants around here."

Indirectly remind her that home is important to her and that she shouldn't get angry or anything like that. She's smart and should be able to understand.

"Oh, actually, just being casual is fine." She paused for a moment. "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably adapt to this kind of life in the future."

...It seems like I was overthinking it. It seemed like she didn't understand what I meant and just responded literally.

What exactly does this kind of life entail? It's not about leaving behind the life of a young lady... towards a life like mine, right? Generally speaking... such a thought is impossible. After all, everyone wants to improve their quality of life beyond the basics of food and clothing. Giving up one's current life is quite unnatural.

“…”

I really wanted to take this as a joke. However, judging by her eyes, she seemed to be serious. I just had no idea why.

What on earth could have caused Rinquanchuan, who used to act like a spoiled brat, to become so... calm now? Well, it couldn't be said to be completely calm, but compared to before, she had become more concerned about something.

"Can I ask you, how do you plan to adapt?"

"Well, not really."

“…”

Even though she doesn't know, she still has a calm expression... Just when I was thinking this, she finally began to show her abnormality.

"Of course, I would be very happy if you could correct me on that score."

That's right, she actually spoke nicely to me.

"Please don't say that... I feel quite out of place."

This guy actually made a request. It felt like the sky was falling.

"Uh...what should I say then?"

She didn't get angry at being treated like this, but instead asked how to cook. It was a complete reversal of her previous cooking style.

"Wait a minute... let me guess." I reached out to interrupt her. "Did you have a conflict with your family, and then they cut off your financial support? So you plan to rely on yourself to make a living in society or something?"

"Huh? Is your head filled with third-rate novels?"

“....”Comfortable.

This is her normal way of speaking.

"So, I don't quite understand why you suddenly become like this..."

"This... of course there is a reason."

"Really? Is it something at home, or did your sister make you angry again?" Regardless of the reason, I shouldn't be surprised to hear the answer.

"Are these the only two reasons I've changed?" she asked, feeling somewhat helpless. "But unfortunately, none of these have anything to do with it."

"..." Ahahaha, it can't be me, "What's the reason? Can't you explain it now?"

"Of course that's not possible now, that's why I invited you to dinner."

"Putting aside other things...this is already done very well."

Regardless, having conversations over the dinner table is common sense. At least in this country, many important matters are discussed over the dinner table. Add a little wine, and the chances of resolving the issue increase significantly.

But as someone who's about to turn eighteen, I've barely had any experience with alcohol yet. And she doesn't look like she'd ever been a drinker, so there's no need to worry about that. And judging by her eagerness to send Ye Hui away, she only wanted to let me know about this. In other words, in terms of trust, I'm still far more trusted than Ye Hui.

Yet, I couldn't feel happy.

"So you agree?"

Being looked at with expectation...it's hard for me to refuse.

"...Well..." In this situation, it would be better to first find out what exactly happened to her.

"Yes, I agreed."

"That's good—"

So, with a tone as if some idea had succeeded, the car drove towards the place she mentioned.

..............

Confused and confused

"Let's have a drink before the main course is served."

I actually find it hard to believe Rinsenkawa would bring up something like that. But I already had a bad feeling when she came into the shop and asked if they had any alcohol. She might be acting like this at home all the time. I'd already seen some signs of this at the beach, but I'd always thought it was a fluke.

"I...I can't drink."

Looking at the yellowish liquid in the cup before me, bubbling with bubbles, I inexplicably thought of carbonated drinks, but the bubbles were even denser than those in soft drinks. In short, it was something unfamiliar to me...even though I'd tasted it a little before, I still couldn't get used to it.

"I admit this beer isn't very tasty, but don't use that excuse to fool me." She couldn't help but sigh. "How can a man say he can't drink?"

"..."

But I really haven't tested my alcohol tolerance. Furthermore, the dogma in my head about drinking causing harm has always constrained me, so I try not to touch even low-proof beer.

"Oh, what an unpleasant man. Never mind, just do as you please." Muttering this, she lifted the glass with both hands to her lips, and in a flash, the wine disappeared. Then, she sighed with relief, "Ha—that's great."

"It's...really good?" I didn't seem to understand what she wanted to say.

“It feels like reading an ancient masterpiece that has been modified by later generations.”

"..."

"The wine of old must have been different from the wine we drink today. Even so... we can still get a glimpse of what it felt like back then through something like this." She refilled her recently empty glass. "I read a lot... The same book, translated by different people, can have such different flavors. Don't you think it's amazing?"

"...That makes sense." This was the first time he'd faced Rinquanchuan like this. "So, you actually drink a lot?"

"Well, because it's very similar to books," she admitted without reservation. "It's been passed down from ancient times, and after so many years of development, it has different types and flavors. It has been passed down by people from different countries, and ultimately it has evolved into a different taste...but it always retains that subtle taste. And no matter what kind of wine it is, if you drink too much, you will always get drunk...I like this unchanging characteristic."

"...Sorry, I don't quite understand..."

Looking at Rinsenkawa who was explaining things to me with great enthusiasm, I suddenly realized that I actually didn't understand her at all.

"You'll understand after drinking a little, won't you?" she said, turning her gaze towards me. "Just be quick and drink the beer in your glass in one gulp and try it."

"........"

Having said that, drinking it all in one gulp...

"Could it be... you hate girls who like to drink?" She suddenly showed a worried expression.

"No, no, no, that's not the case. What you like is a personal preference, so I don't think I have the right to dislike anything... Besides, alcohol isn't a bad thing."

"Well, that's good."

“…”

"Anyway, drink this cup first." She clapped her hands, "otherwise I won't be able to say what comes next."

Chapter 10: Confusion

I have a feeling...Rinquanchuan today is completely different from my previous impression. Not only did she reveal a preference I had never known before, but...after she touched alcohol, her speech and words became completely different.

"The spring tide brings rain in the evening, and the deserted ferry is alone."

"...Does this mean there's one boat missing?"

I said to myself.

Let's just say we were playing a game at the dinner table, and it happened to be a rather old-fashioned drinking game. First, you recite a line of poetry, then there must be something missing, and then you can make it up in the next line.

"The monkeys on both sides of the strait can't stop crying, and the light boat has passed ten thousand mountains."

"Oh, that's a good pick."

"Don't rush to praise me, it's your turn." She said as she filled my glass. "If you can't think of anything, drink a full glass."

"Hmm... the mud melts and the mandarin ducks sleep on the warm sand."

"Oh, what's next?"

She stared at me with interest, a smile playing on her lips that I couldn't quite fathom. Was it a smirk from a slight intoxication, or was she...waiting for me to give in?

"The swallows that used to fly in front of the courtyards of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of ordinary people." This answer should be acceptable.

"Sorry, it looks like you lost again."

"...Ah...Isn't this right?"

"Even though it flew into an ordinary citizen's home...it can still be found, right? It doesn't count as disappearing." She said, shaking her fingers.

"...Then your previous sentence, 'The light boat has passed through ten thousand mountains,' doesn't that mean it has disappeared according to your theory?" I couldn't help but refute it. Because this is simply a farce.

"Oh, why doesn't it count?"

"Don't forget that the earth is round. After passing ten thousand mountains, it should have returned to its original place long ago. Doesn't this mean it didn't disappear at all?" Anyway, I know this trick too.

"Then your previous line... 'Children hurriedly chased yellow butterflies, which flew into the cauliflower fields and were nowhere to be found', technically speaking, they were still in the cauliflower fields, so it shouldn't count."

...It felt like a quarrel between two children.

"According to what you said...this game is simply not going to work." He just had to make up his mind. Anyway, it was impossible for physical disappearance to occur in ancient poetry.

"Oh...yes...let's change it then."

“Do you still need to change it…”

It was so simple, but honestly, it was beyond my expectation. I thought she was going to argue with me like this.

"Speaking of which, you must know the 'Flying Flower' game, right? It's a game where you recite poems to each other, and the word 'flower' must appear in it."

"Oh...I seem to have heard of such a rule."

However, such a proposal would never appear at the dinner table nowadays. If you propose such a proposal at an ordinary party, you will probably be regarded as a fool, and everyone’s reserve of poetry is different, so it is very likely to cause a dull moment.

But I'm not afraid.

"But I don't think flowers are close to life."

“...Uh.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. After all, it’s a tradition left by the ancients, so at least we shouldn’t change it.

"You see, the thing the world has the most of is people, so let's change the word to 'people'."

She really said whatever she thought.

"Then it becomes 'Flying Man Order'. This name sounds strange, and I always feel that there is a kind of inexplicable sense of humor." The character "人" is fine, but if it is replaced with a word that rarely appears in poetry, then the one who goes first will definitely win.

"Don't worry about such details. Do you dare to play with me?"

"...It doesn't matter. I have quite a bit of poetry in reserve anyway." He had spoken out his inner thoughts without realizing it... It seemed his mind was no longer clear.

"You're so arrogant... Well, let's play rock-paper-scissors to decide who goes first."

"..." What a simple way to decide.

...........

Time, food and wine are things that can be consumed by humans in a blink of an eye.

By the time I realized this, my body was in a state that my mind could no longer easily control. Even in this dire situation, Miss Rinizumikawa Rin, who had taken the initiative to invite me to dinner, was now almost unable to walk.

"If you can't drink well, don't force yourself!"

Now I really want to complain about this. But how could she possibly hear me, barely holding herself up with the support of her shoulders? Just asking her to call a driver to pick her up resulted in her phone falling to the ground three times, cracking the screen. And let alone paying for the ride, which of course I, still conscious, paid for.