Chapter 271: No Deal, No Fear
Lily rose with a warm smile. “You’re right. Everyone’s come from far away. Let’s eat first and talk business later. Oscar’s just a bit too earnest, that’s all…”
As she spoke, she picked up a wine bottle. “Come, I will pour for everyone.”
“Madam Lily, no!” Someone quickly stood and blocked her hand. “You’re a senior; how could we let you pour for us?”
He then took the initiative, walking around the table to fill everyone’s glasses. When he reached Yunice, he picked up her cup, filled it to the brim, and raised it toward her.
“Yunice, we’ve all known each other since way back. It’s been years. You just got married yesterday, but we didn’t get to celebrate, so tonight, let us all toast to you.”
Oscar clenched his fists. Yunice doesn’t drink.
“What?” The room erupted in laughter. “Oscar, are you serious? You really don’t know your own sister, do you? She can drink.”
“Exactly! You’ve been away too long. Yunice is not the quiet girl you remember. She can party hard. A little alcohol’s nothing to her.”
Oscar’s hands balled even tighter. “Are you all really here to help?”
“Oscar, come on. Drinking’s not a crime. We’re all drinking. You’ve just been out of the loop for too long. You’re too uptight.”
Sensing the tension, Elsie stood with a glass in hand and said sweetly, “Everyone came at my invitation. It means a lot. I’ll lead by example.”
Then, she tilted her head back and downed the wine in one go.
She turned to Yunice with a gentle smile. “Yunice, everyone’s being so welcoming. You can just drink a little.”
Yunice had chronic stomach issues. Even with careful management, drinking was completely off-limits.
Her eyes swept over the group. “I heard everyone here is doing quite well now. You must’ve all turned down important business to come tonight, didn’t you?”
They nodded and chimed in.
“Yeah, I canceled a meeting just to be here. You can’t make us drink alone, can you?”
“I even skipped a date.”
“I ditched a Powell Group banquet for this!”
Yunice smiled and turned to Elsie. “Did you hear that? Everyone sacrificed a lot just to be here at your request. If you only drink one glass, isn’t that a bit… disappointing?”
Elsie froze.
Owen stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean? You know very well Elsie has health issues. She could barely manage one drink!”
Yunice turned her gaze on him. “If she can’t drink, well, isn’t that what her dear brother is for? Can’t you drink for her?”
Oscar stared at Yunice, stunned. In his memory, she had always been soft-spoken and obedient. When did she grow such a sharp tongue?
“Fine, I’ll drink!” Owen grabbed the bottle and filled his glass to the top. “Thanks for coming, everyone.” He downed three glasses in a row, then slammed the cup down and glared at Yunice. “I’m done. Your turn.”
All eyes turned to her. Now it was her move.
Oscar looked around at the crowd and blurted, “I’ll drink for my sister.”
“Don’t be so quick to jump in, Oscar. We’re not forcing Yunice. Owen stepped in for Elsie because of her stomach problems. Yunice isn’t in the same boat, is she? And it’s just one drink. Don’t act like we’re ganging up on her.”
One man leaned in close to Yunice, pushing the glass toward her with an oily smile. “If you won’t drink, it feels like you’re looking down on us. And if that’s the case, how are we supposed to help you, huh?”
Yunice’s lips curled slightly, her gaze locking on his face. It was a look halfway between amusement and mockery. Then she reached out and took the glass from his hand.
The man grinned wider, thinking she was warming up to him.
Everyone around the table started cheering, urging her to drink. But just then, Yunice turned her wrist. With a smooth flick, she poured the wine onto the floor.
“I offer this cup to all of you,” she said loudly.
The room fell silent.
Pouring wine on the floor? That was a toast to the dead.
Disgust and discomfort spread across the table. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
“Cursing us like that, and you still expect us to help you?”
Yunice placed the glass calmly back on the table. “I wasn’t the one who invited you. I’m not the one asking for your help. So don’t come begging for my respect.”
“You!”
Everyone turned to Elsie. Surely, she would not just sit back now?
Elsie looked helplessly to Lily and Owen.
Owen was panicking, mouthing silent words at Yunice, “Don’t you want your identity back?”
Oscar’s brow furrowed deeply, his heart racing with anxiety. He had orchestrated this entire dinner to help Yunice reclaim her rightful status. Now, with the bureaucratic hurdles involved in changing household registration, they needed signed statements and proof from these people. If they refused to cooperate, everything would fall apart.