Cen Yu, carrying a bottle of liquor in one hand, had already pushed open the bar door.

Almost instantly, the warm air and sounds from the bar rushed out through the small crack in the door.

Cen Yu turned her head and stared straight at Feng An. Feng An stepped forward and held the door open for her, letting Cen Yu go in first, then smiled and asked Ai Cao, "Are the guests coming in too?"

Ai Cao nodded. She followed Cen Yu inside, and Feng An closed the door behind them, keeping the cold air and snowflakes out. The three walked through a narrow corridor, then pushed open another door and finally entered the bar.

A waiter who had just finished cleaning the table approached with a smile and asked if we had a reservation.

Feng glanced at the bar. It had good reviews online, but on this cold, snowy night, there weren't many people drinking there; only a few people were sitting in the booths.

The bartender behind the bar is shaking an ice glass; the singer sitting behind the microphone is playing guitar with his head down, humming a song softly.

Feng said, "I didn't make a reservation. Are there any seats available?"

The waiter politely glanced at the three of them and said, "There are seats available. Please find an empty seat and I will go get the wine list."

He left in a hurry.

Cen Yu, carrying a wine bottle, looked at the desk and said, "Where's the empty space?"

Feng An sighed softly and said, "Many seats are empty."

Cen Yu walked quickly a few steps and sat down in the nearest booth, leaning to one side. She lazily took two sips of her drink and said earnestly to Feng An sitting next to her, "I'm not a lesbian."

Feng An nodded and said, "Okay."

Cen Yu frowned and stared at Feng An for a while. She suspected that Feng An was treating her like a child, but Feng An's expression was too serious, and she couldn't tell if Feng An was joking.

She hummed twice and leaned against Feng's shoulder, drinking one sip after another.

Ai Cao looked at the clear chasm between herself and Feng An and asked, "Does she want to distance herself from me?"

Feng An shook his head and said, "No. Miss just doesn't want to be mistaken for a lesbian."

Ai Cao pointed to herself and asked again, "If I said I wasn't a lesbian, would Cen Yu be so far away from me?"

Feng An shook his head again and made a shushing gesture.

The waiter hurried over. He placed three glasses of lemonade on the table and then put a wine list in front of Cen Yu. Cen Yu picked up the wine list, checked off the recommended drinks, and then checked off a few more drinks with appealing names.

Feng An took the wine list from Cen Yu and handed it directly to Ai Cao.

Feng said, "I need to drive, so I won't drink."

Ai Cao nodded. She glanced at the wine list and asked Feng An, "Isn't this Long Island Iced Tea tea? Can't you drink it?"

Feng An followed her finger and said, "This is a mixed cocktail, not tea."

Ai Cao thought for a moment and said, "I understand, this is to fool people who don't know better." She looked at Cen Yu's ordering method for a few seconds and copied her by ordering a low-alcohol cocktail and a few snacks.

The waiter took the wine list, confirmed the types of wine with them, and then walked towards the bar with a smile on his face.

Ai Cao picked up the lemonade and said, "He seems perfectly normal."

Feng An helped Cen Yu, who had slipped onto her knees, sit up and said, "Of course, he's an ordinary person."

“So, not all men are like…the man I met yesterday?” Ai Cao asked.

Feng An glanced at Ai Cao again and said, "No. All men are like that."

The waiter hurried over. He placed the wine glasses from the tray onto the table one by one, a smile on his face, and said, "Would any of you gentlemen be interested in listening to some music?"

Ai Cao shook her head. Feng An glanced at the slightly tipsy Cen Yu and also shook his head.

The waiter had already set out the wine glasses, but remained standing beside them. He deliberately ignored the mugwort and showered Cen Yu with his "masculine charm."

The waiter said, "Miss, you can request a song for just one hundred at our bar. Our resident singer is..."

Cen Yu rolled her eyes and interrupted him, "Get lost."

The waiter's smile froze.

Artemisia sat up straighter. She stared calmly at the waiter—until he could no longer ignore her. He looked at the short-haired, tall woman, and after a few seconds, pretended nothing had happened and looked away.

The waiter asked, "This guest?"

Cen Yu waved his hand impatiently at him and said, "Get lost."

The waiter wanted to say something more, but Ai Cao had been staring at him for several seconds. He had the illusion that he was being watched by a wild beast, so he chuckled awkwardly, said a few words, and hurried back to the bar.

Ai Cao looked down at the glasses of varying heights and said, "He's afraid of me."

This wasn't a novel experience, but in the context of this world—where she was of the same race as men and hadn't shown any threat—why would the waiter be afraid of her?

Feng An's gaze lingered on Ai Cao's short hair for a moment.

Ai Cao perfectly fits the current mainstream perception of "lesbians". She is tall, and her short hair and suit are different from the mainstream perception of "women".

Men are afraid of women like this.

Regardless of whether the mugwort exhibits any so-called "threatening" qualities, as long as she is not gentle and soft, like a lump of dough that can be kneaded and flattened—as long as she is powerful, she will be feared by men.

Feng An silently curved the corners of his mouth and said, "Maybe he's just naturally timid."

Ai Cao nodded. She picked up the cocktail she had ordered and slowly took a sip.

It doesn't taste good.

But it doesn't matter. If I add a lot of sugar, it should taste as good as the coffee I used to. Ai Cao thought to herself, trying to find some humor in the situation.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!