How Much Is This Little Bit of Wine

“Your girlfriend’s here~” Su Yang said with a faint smile as he looked at the white woman.

The white woman frowned and sized up Li Yuanying. Seeing that her opponent was not only beautiful but also extremely tall, with a pair of dangerously long legs that nearly reached her waist, she knew she was no match. She could only grumble under her breath before turning and walking away.

“Who was that?” Li Yuanying asked, puzzled that the woman had left without saying another word.

“Just one of the single women hanging around here. But I’ve always felt there was something off about them. They seem like the kind of women who do that sort of work.”

“I think so too. They’re dressed so provocatively—it’s way too obvious!”

“There was another one earlier who was wearing hardly anything and invited me onto a boat for drinks.”

“Really? How awful! Why are there so many prostitutes around a place that serves drinks?” Li Yuanying said angrily.

“Forget it. Let’s go aboard and have a drink.”

“Okay.”

As they spoke, they naturally took each other’s hands and walked toward the riverside pier.

They soon reached the pier, where several staff members were standing.

Su Yang took out the boat tickets and looked at one of the young men. “Hello, handsome. Which boat do we board?”

The young man came over, took the tickets, and glanced at them before smiling. “Hello. You have yacht tickets. Please follow me.”

The two of them followed him to a white yacht.

The young man turned around and extended his hand. “Please come aboard.”

“Is there a time limit?” Su Yang asked.

“No. If you want to get off, just tell one of the staff members aboard, and we’ll bring the boat back.”

“Okay. Oh, right, may I ask what’s going on with those scantily dressed women around here?”

“Women? Oh, you mean the streetwalkers? They’re all in that line of work.”

“Prostitutes?”

“That’s right.” The young man smiled.

Su Yang rolled his eyes thoughtfully. “So your bar allows them to come aboard?”

“Actually, they never come aboard.”

“Why not?”

“They look for single men around here and claim they’re inviting them onto the boat for drinks. But once the men really agree, they make up an excuse and say they want to drink somewhere else.”

“Why do that?” Su Yang asked, confused.

“Think about it. They’re in that business. Why would they waste time sitting on a boat with you, enjoying the view and drinking? The men who accept their invitations don’t care where they drink anyway. Besides, most of the people here are locals, and everyone knows what’s going on. Once they take a liking to someone, they just get a room.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

“Yeah. There’s not much we can do. They don’t affect our business, and they haven’t caused us any trouble, so we never drove them away. Eventually, it just became the way things are.”

“All right, I understand. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Handsome and beautiful, please come aboard.”

“Okay.”

Su Yang turned around and helped Li Yuanying onto the yacht.

The two of them followed a staff member onto the deck.

The deck was quite spacious, with three round tables arranged on it.

The other two couples had yet to arrive.

After glancing around at the yacht’s surroundings, Su Yang turned to the waitress who was serving them drinks. “Miss, do we have to wait until everyone arrives before the boat sets off?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay. About how long will that take?”

“Very soon. We get a lot of customers coming here for drinks, so everyone should be aboard in about five minutes.”

“All right.”

“Su Yang, what were you talking about with that man on the pier?” Li Yuanying asked.

“I asked him what those women around here actually did.”

“What did he say?”

“That they’re prostitutes, just as we guessed.”

“I knew it!”

“But he told me that once those women find a customer, they go somewhere else to have their fun. They don’t come aboard.”

“That’s good. Otherwise, it would really ruin the mood.”

As they were talking, another couple boarded the yacht. Su Yang turned toward the sound.

A bearded man was walking in their direction with a beautiful woman in a champagne-colored evening gown.

Su Yang only glanced at the man before shifting his gaze to the woman beside him.

She seemed perfectly ordinary. Though she wasn’t especially beautiful, she had a pleasant air about her, and her clothes were not revealing. She was probably a normal customer, just like them, out for drinks with her boyfriend.

The couple hurried over, smiled, waved at Su Yang and Li Yuanying, and then took their seats.

“That’s what a normal couple looks like,” Su Yang whispered as he leaned closer to Li Yuanying.

“Mmm, exactly.”

Two minutes later, another couple boarded. They were Black. The man wore a floral shirt with casual trousers and a pair of black leather shoes.

The woman had an afro and wore a white camisole with tight-fitting jeans.

After boarding, they smiled and greeted Su Yang and the others before taking their seats as well.

“Sure enough, everyone who comes aboard for drinks is normal,” Li Yuanying said with a nod.

“Exactly. Once those streetwalkers find someone, they don’t come aboard to leisurely drink. They find a place to do business, collect their money afterward, then come back and continue soliciting customers. Making money is their top priority.”

As the two of them spoke, music began playing on the deck. Three waitresses carried out plates of food and placed them on the three tables.

At the same time, the yacht started up and slowly pulled away from the pier.

Su Yang looked at the waitress beside him. “Miss, does the boat just travel back and forth along the river?”

“Yes, sir. We’ll pass by many famous sights along the way before turning back. We don’t travel very quickly, so a round trip takes about one or two hours.”

“All right.”

“Sir, ma’am, would you like me to open your drinks now?”

“Open everything.”

“Certainly.”

Li Yuanying looked at the drinks and said, “I don’t think the two of us can finish all of this.”

On the table sat a bottle of red wine, a bottle of whisky, six bottles of beer, and two freshly mixed cocktails. In addition to the drinks, there was also a selection of specialty dishes.

There was foie gras terrine, veal with cilantro cream sauce, fried onion rings, French fries, ham, and more.

Su Yang glanced at the drinks on the table and smiled. “That’s not much. I could finish it all by myself.”

“You can really drink that much?”

“I’m usually just an average drinker, but given the circumstances today, I can have a bit more. This kind of bar operates on a semi-buffet model. They advertise unlimited drinks, but ordinary people can’t actually drink very much, so they usually make a profit.”

“But today, they ran into me. Heh heh.”

“You’re trying to drink enough to get your money’s worth out of the tickets?” Li Yuanying asked with a playful blink.

“Of course! Just watch me.” Su Yang grinned.

By now, the yacht had turned around and reached the center of the river, slowly moving forward along the water.

Gentle music drifted across the deck. A breeze swept by, lifting Li Yuanying’s silky hair and carrying its sweet fragrance into Su Yang’s nose.

There was no denying it—the evening cruise was quite romantic. The only troublesome part had been the process at the beginning.

The waitress poured their drinks and smiled. “Sir, ma’am, your drinks are ready.”

“Thank you.”

Su Yang picked up his glass and looked at Li Yuanying with a smile. “Come on, let’s start with a toast.”

“Okay~” Li Yuanying replied with a sweet smile as she clinked glasses with Su Yang.

“These dishes look pretty good. Give them a try,” Su Yang said, pointing to the food on the table.

“Okay.”