Chapter 67
The second day that Li Qinyue started working at “Shengge”, the bar was packed.
A group of uninvited guests arrived, all Li Qinyue’s former friends and associates, each bringing a entourage, filling up the tables downstairs and lining up along the railing upstairs.
Li Qinyue was wiping glasses behind the bar, greeting each person with a “heh” as they walked in. Finally, tired of greeting them, she sat down, made herself a cocktail, and left the work to the other bartender.
The moment she stopped working, those people swarmed her, calling her “President Li” and “Sister Yue.” Li Qinyue was annoyed.
Zhuo Zhi happened to walk past, and Li Qinyue immediately called out to her, “Xiao Zhuo.”
Zhuo Zhi hurried over, “What’s wrong, Sister?”
Li Qinyue pointed at the group in front of her, “Get rid of these people, they’re disturbing my work.”
“Okay,” Zhuo Zhi raised her hand, “Please.”
Li Qinyue’s friends chuckled, “We just want to chat with Sister Yue.”
Zhuo Zhi said, “But Li Qinyue is working, she doesn’t want to chat with you.”
“Sister Yue’s just playing around, this is her bar, what work is there?”
“Then you shouldn’t disturb her play either,” Zhuo Zhi took out her baton, “If you don’t listen…”
“Damn,” Li Qinyue’s friends looked at her in shock, “Are you serious, President Li?”
Li Qinyue ignored them.
They could only retreat, chuckling awkwardly, “We didn’t believe it when we heard you were bartending at ‘Shengge’, but now we’ve seen it with our own eyes, with our own eyes.”
After they left, Zhuo Zhi put away her baton and said to Li Qinyue, “Let me know if you need anything, Sister.”
Li Qinyue said, “Don’t leave yet, that group on the right is about to come over.”
Zhuo Zhi turned her head and saw a group of people looking at them, eager to approach.
Zhuo Zhi frowned, “What do they want?”
Li Qinyue said, “To watch me make a fool of myself, of course.”
“What’s so funny about someone working? They’re so bored,” Zhuo Zhi said.
“Yes,” Li Qinyue chuckled, “They’re bored to death.”
Zhuo Zhi leaned against the bar, baton in hand, arms crossed, staring at the group, “Don’t be afraid, Sister, they won’t dare to come over with me here.”
Li Qinyue squeezed her shoulder, “That’s right, our Xiao Zhuo is very capable.”
Zhuo Zhi, pleased with the praise, straightened her back.
With Zhuo Zhi there, the group indeed didn’t approach.
Li Qinyue returned behind the bar and started making cocktails, halfheartedly.
After a while, Aijia, who had been absent all day, finally appeared. She walked up to Li Qinyue and said, “It wasn’t me.”
Li Qinyue raised an eyebrow, silent.
Aijia, feeling a little anxious, said, “It really wasn’t me, I swear. After your shocking announcement yesterday, I went home to contemplate life. I only found out they were all here when Xiao Sui called me just now.”
“Then what are you going to do, Boss Ai?” Li Qinyue pushed the cocktail she had just made towards Aijia. “Try my invention, hmm… let’s call it ‘Sweetheart’.”
Aijia frowned at the brightly colored drink, then bravely took a large gulp, “It depends on you. If you’re not happy, we can just kick them all out.”
“Hey, hey, that’s not how you appreciate a good drink,” Li Qinyue protested.
Aijia took a deep breath, “It’s delicious. Are you going to…”
“Aren’t you afraid of offending them if we kick them out?” Li Qinyue asked with a smile.
“They’ll blame you even if we offend them,” Aijia said bluntly, “You’re not worried about that anymore, are you?”
“Right,” Li Qinyue snapped her fingers, “You understand me.”
“Then I’ll go get someone…” Aijia turned to leave.
Li Qinyue grabbed her arm, “Get who? Is our Xiao Zhuo just standing there for decoration? She’s worth ten men, let her handle it.”
“But she’s just a little girl…” Aijia said.
“Is my girl an ordinary girl?” Li Qinyue patted Zhuo Zhi’s shoulder, “Go, Pikachu!”
Zhuo Zhi, who had been annoyed by this group for a while, turned to Li Qinyue with a mischievous smile, “Pika, pika!”
Aijia burst out laughing.
After her laughter subsided, she looked at Zhuo Zhi with concern.
Li Qinyue joined her in watching Zhuo Zhi, saying, “My Xiao Zhuo is very capable, she’s not just all brawn and no brains. Don’t worry, trust her. Did I tell you? She caught a thief on the bus the other day…”
By the time Li Qinyue finished recounting Zhuo Zhi’s heroic deeds of catching thieves and defeating police officers, Zhuo Zhi had already gotten rid of most of the people who had come to gawk at Li Qinyue.
There were no major conflicts, and she was efficient in identifying and removing people, probably because she had memorized all their faces while they were staring at Li Qinyue earlier.
Li Qinyue nudged Aijia’s arm, “Impressive, right?”
Aijia chuckled, “Very impressive, I’ve never seen you so smug.”
“Of course, I usually don’t have anything to be smug about, money is just a material possession,” Li Qinyue said, her chin held high, “People are what matter most. You’ve been running this bar for so long, have you ever met anyone as amazing as my Xiao Zhuo?”
“No, no, no, you’re so childish,” Aijia said, turning to her, “Thank you.”
“Thank me for what?” Li Qinyue squinted at her.
“You sent Zhuo Zhi so I wouldn’t have to deal with them.”
“Then shouldn’t you consider our employee benefits, Boss Ai? We haven’t signed a contract, we don’t even know our salary, commission, or bonus, it’s hard to be motivated,” Li Qinyue said.
Aijia’s lips twitched, looking at Li Qinyue with amusement.
After Zhuo Zhi removed the last group, she stayed outside for a while.
When Aijia was about to go out and check on her, Li Qinyue stopped her, “I’ll go.”
Aijia stayed put, pulled a chair over, and finished the rest of Li Qinyue’s “Sweetheart” cocktail.
Li Qinyue, thinking that Zhuo Zhi had run into some trouble, stormed out of the bar.
But when she reached the door, seeing the scene before her, her anger turned into smoke.
Fang Yi was standing at the entrance of the bar, talking to Zhuo Zhi, who had her back to Li Qinyue. Against the backdrop of the colorful lights of Bar Street, they actually looked quite… romantic?
Romantic my ass.
Li Qinyue stormed over, pulled Zhuo Zhi into her arms, and asked Fang Yi, “Officer Fang, even you can’t explain this away as a coincidence, right?”
Fang Yi blushed at the sight of her and said, “It’s really a coincidence, I was in the neighborhood…”
“I didn’t know you liked to hang out in bars, Officer Fang,” Li Qinyue looked him up and down, “You seem so uptight usually, I didn’t know you were such a party animal.”
Her words were laced with mockery, but Fang Yi still didn’t get angry, he just blushed even harder, looking flustered.
Li Qinyue tilted her chin at him, “Officer Fang, don’t tell me this is your first time here…”
“It’s not my first time,” Fang Yi mumbled, “Don’t call me officer.”
Zhuo Zhi nudged Li Qinyue with her elbow, giving her a look.
“Oh…” Li Qinyue understood, “Okay, Fang Yi, want to come in?”
Fang Yi looked inside hesitantly, “Is that okay?”
“Of course, as long as you pay,” Li Qinyue gestured towards the door, “Go in, our Xiao Zhuo has work to do, she can’t just stand here and chat with you.”
“Okay,” Fang Yi glanced at Zhuo Zhi, nodded at her, and entered the bar.
Li Qinyue didn’t move, her arm still around Zhuo Zhi. After a moment of silence, she whispered, “Tsk, is this a real mission?”
“I think so,” Zhuo Zhi said, “But he definitely can’t tell us about it.”
“Hmm,” Li Qinyue nodded, “Then since he’s on a mission, you shouldn’t disturb him.”
“I didn’t disturb him, we just bumped into each other and exchanged a few words.”
“What words?”
“Like, ‘Hey, what are you doing here? What a coincidence.’”
“Nonsense,” Li Qinyue slapped Zhuo Zhi’s head, “Don’t ever let me hear those words again, it’s disgusting!”
Zhuo Zhi covered her head and burst into laughter.
After Fang Yi entered the bar, Li Qinyue didn’t want Zhuo Zhi to go in.
But it was cold outside. Even standing by the door, the wind would blow in every time someone entered or exited.
Li Qinyue couldn’t bear to let Zhuo Zhi freeze, so she took her inside, but restricted her movement to areas without Fang Yi.
Her jealousy was so obvious that Aijia teased her about it for a while.
Li Qinyue didn’t see Fang Yi again, and when she asked Zhuo Zhi, Zhuo Zhi said she hadn’t seen him either.
Just when she thought the night would finally be peaceful, her hopes were dashed. Someone wearing a hat and a mask entered the bar, carrying a guitar, and stood at the counter.
Li Qinyue glanced at her, then ignored her.
Aijia was surprised, “Lan Xi, what are you doing here?”
Lan Xi took off her mask, “It’s been a while. Our contract hasn’t expired yet.”
Aijia looked around, “The others didn’t come with you?”
“No,” Lan Xi looked at Li Qinyue, “How are you doing, President Li?”
Li Qinyue smiled faintly and leaned against the counter, looking at Aijia, “See, another one here to watch me make a fool of myself.”
Aijia chuckled. Lan Xi frowned, “You know that’s not why I’m here.”
Li Qinyue shrugged and continued making cocktails.
Lan Xi said to Aijia, “Boss Ai, can I perform now?”
Aijia glanced at the stage, “Of course you can, but with your current popularity, I’m worried something might happen.”
“No one knows I’m here, I’ll wear my hat,” Lan Xi said, “I don’t think many people will recognize me.”
Aijia chuckled, “You underestimate yourself. That behind-the-scenes clip from the show went viral yesterday.”
Lan Xi pursed her lips, silent, her eyes on Li Qinyue.
Li Qinyue found it amusing. Lan Xi’s eyes were pleading for praise.
She had done well on “I’m a Musician”, her popularity had skyrocketed, and she was even a contender for the championship. She must have received a lot of praise and rewards from the company.
And now she was here, looking at Li Qinyue with a mixture of grievance and adoration, as if Li Qinyue had done something to her.
Li Qinyue took out her phone and, in front of Lan Xi and Aijia, sent a voice message to Zhuo Zhi without even bothering to lower her voice.
“Baby, it might get crowded later, stay away from the crowd, don’t overwork yourself.”
Aijia sighed, “Hey, you’re telling her to slack off in front of the boss?”
Li Qinyue raised an eyebrow, “Deduct it from my salary then. I can’t let my baby be in danger.”
She had called Zhuo Zhi “baby” before, but now it was “baby”.
Li Qinyue was deliberately flaunting their intimacy, trying to make certain people give up.
Whether or not those certain people gave up, they looked quite heartbroken.
Aijia quickly changed the subject, “Well, Lan Xi, I’ll have Xiao Sui close the doors, no entry allowed, you can sing freely.”
“Okay, thank you, Sister Ai,” Lan Xi smiled and walked towards the stage with her guitar.
There were often live performances at “Shengge”, but they were usually announced beforehand.
No one expected that on this random night, the newly famous Lan Xi would return to this place where she had once worked, pick up a guitar, and start singing.
Not many people noticed her when she first went on stage, but after singing a few lines, she was recognized.
People quickly took out their phones, screams and applause erupted, and many rushed towards the stage.
The security guards held back the crowd. Fortunately, most of the customers were adults, so it was easy to control the situation.
Lan Xi didn’t say anything, she just sang her song.
“You, you, you finally appeared, we only exchanged a glance, and my heart shattered, my world collapsed…”
Her accompaniment was simple, her voice natural, her emotions subdued, unlike the passionate lyrics. But she was a talented singer after all, and her performance, on this night, resonated with the audience.
Aijia looked at Li Qinyue, who was calmly making cocktails, her eyes and ears seemingly not focused on the stage.
Aijia chuckled, “That’s ‘I’ll Die in Your Arms’, don’t you have any reaction?”
“Hmm?” Li Qinyue glanced at her, “I can’t kill her even if you handed me her head. Murder is illegal, you know.”
Aijia tapped her glass, “Some things are about timing.”
“This isn’t about timing,” Li Qinyue leaned closer to Aijia, looking into her eyes, “Don’t you understand? It’s about the person. Some people, you meet them and you know you can’t miss this opportunity, not at all, no matter what.”
“Damn…” Aijia cursed softly, “Tone down the PDA.”
“I can’t help it, I’m happy, I’m content. I’m even cleaning glasses for you, can’t you let me be happy?”
“Where’s your baby?” Aijia interrupted her gloating.
Li Qinyue frowned, glancing at her phone. She had sent Zhuo Zhi a message earlier, but she still hadn’t replied.
Thinking that Fang Yi might still be in the bar, Li Qinyue felt annoyed. She immediately called Zhuo Zhi, “I’m calling my baby over.”
“Calling her over to listen to someone else sing a love song to you?” Aijia asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You don’t understand,” Li Qinyue sighed, “The situation is complicated tonight, there are wolves everywhere, I can’t lose sight of the bigger picture. I’d rather make her jealous than be jealous myself…”
“What are you even talking about…”
“Shh…” The call connected, “Baby, come to the bar, I need you. Be careful on your way…”
The bar was small, it only took a few steps to get from one end to the other. What could possibly happen to a martial arts expert on such a short walk?
Aijia, speechless, could only take a bite of the lemon slice from her glass.
Sour, so damn sour.
If this couple kept playing these games, the whole bar would turn into a lemon orchard.
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