25. Past troubles

At eight or nine o'clock in the evening, it's not yet time for bars to get "excited" in the nightlife scene.

The young male bartender behind the counter was skilled, his silver shaker dazzling the eye.

A boy was sitting at the bar.

The bartender poured him a martini, noticing his casual gaze lingering on the guitar displayed in the band's playing area not far away. "Interested?"

The boy looked up: "Is it easy to use?"

The other person held up two fingers: "For you, it'll be at most two months."

The boy picked up the cup in front of him and took a casual sip.

Before the boy could say anything, a young woman with heavy makeup, hot clothes, and a hot figure sat down next to him.

The bartender, sensing the situation, stopped talking, took two steps back, and went back to his fancy way of shaking his drinks.

Sure enough, within a few seconds, the girl could be heard talking to the boy.

The two chatted idly for a few minutes.

The beautiful woman suddenly asked, "How old are you? Younger than me, right?"

The boy looked at her, raised an eyebrow and smiled noncommittally.

"Are you in university? Freshman? Sophomore?"

"no."

"Huh?" The girl was surprised for a moment. "Why?"

"I don't have money, so I'm not going to study anymore," the boy said casually.

The girl paused for a moment, then unconsciously looked at the person opposite her. After a few glances, she suddenly giggled, "Liar."

"How did I lie to you?" The background music in the bar was low and ambiguous, and the seductive music added a touch of allure to the boy's originally cool voice.

The girl continued staring at him: "No money? You seem more like a rich kid. What are you doing here? Picking up girls? Or looking for thrills?"

She had actually been paying attention to him for quite some time tonight.

The boy remained noncommittal, only smiling slightly.

The girl's face suddenly turned a little red, as if it were happening to her.

But not wanting to lose face in front of a younger man, she deliberately put on airs and lectured him: "Why don't you study properly at school and instead hang out in places like this? Won't your dad beat you when you get home?"

"My dad?" The boy repeated it to her in a low voice, his handsome eyebrows suddenly twitching, but he didn't say anything more.

"Yeah," the girl continued, smiling, "Doesn't he care about you?"

"He's dead."

"What?" The girl's eyes widened in surprise, and her fully made-up eyes suddenly looked even bigger.

At that moment, the boy suddenly moved a few inches closer and whispered in her ear, "I was just kidding."

The boy had brought them very close, so close that she could almost count the number of his eyelashes and clearly see the mischievousness in the smile on his face.

She paused for a moment, then realized what was happening and raised her hand to punch the other person in the chest. But the punch was easily dodged.

He could only laugh and mutter a curse.

"You're talking nonsense, you bad boy!"

The girl was a regular customer who had been there a few times. After laughing, she called to the bartender who was watching the scene, "Leon, open two new bottles of Macallan for me."

"Alright!" the bartender, named Lyon, replied cheerfully.

The wine was opened, and the girl poured herself a glass.

The glass was pushed over, and the aroma of wine, mixed with woody notes, filled the air.

The boy tilted his head back and drank it.

The girl turned around in the direction he pointed, and seeing that what he said was indeed true, she stood up somewhat disappointedly.

Before leaving, she didn't forget to wink at the boy who was still sitting next to her: "See you later."

After the girl left, the male bartender came over again, "Xiao Yi, I want to talk to you about something."

"What's up?"

"Could you come for a few more days when you have time in the future?"

"I haven't come enough?"

"Oh, well, you're the son of our boss's friend! Doesn't our boss, Sister Lan, invite you to come often? Besides, every time you sit here, all the female customers' eyes are drawn to you. Isn't that much more interesting than you playing the piano downstairs?"

And most importantly, he didn't say it outright, it was that every time he came over, he would casually chat with the women, and they would open bottles of fine wine as if it were free...

As he spoke, Leon couldn't help but glance at the boy opposite him, noticing that he was looking down at the wine glass in front of him.

I couldn't help but think to myself, some people are just born with superior qualities and are naturally attractive to girls.

Upon seeing who it was, Leon's eyes couldn't help but linger on her face.

Although he had only met this girl twice, he had a deep impression of her.

I don't know if it's because of her beautiful, endearing face, or because of her clean and pure aura, unlike people from this glamorous world...

Unexpectedly, Chu Chiyi turned around, and upon seeing the other person, the faint smile that had been in his eyes vanished instantly. "Why are you here?"

Before the girl could answer, Leon greeted her, "Pretty girl, here to see Xiao Yi again? What would you like to drink? The aroma of coconut palms, or a beautiful lady?"

Chu Chiyi finally waved his hand at him, "No need, she won't drink."

After saying that, he stood up from the bar, took the girl's hand, and left.

The two walked to a booth that wasn't crowded and sat down.

"Why are you here again? Didn't I tell you last time not to come looking for me here?"

Mu Jia pouted, looking a little aggrieved: "But I can't find you anywhere else."

Besides, why can't she come? Why is he allowed to come and play?

The waiter brought over a glass of wine, but for Mu Jia's side, it was a glass of orange juice.

Chu Chiyi turned his head and saw Leon behind the bar winking at him with a mischievous grin.

Suddenly, I heard the girl across from me ask again, "So, are you going to teach me physics or not?"

"Don't you go to your teacher's house to study every weekend?"

"But what he said was pretty much the same as what we usually learn in class, and I already know it all!"

"..." Discussing school tutoring in a place like this is really weird.

"I don't have time. Besides, a national first prize doesn't mean being number one in the country."

"Oh, they're all pretty much the same! Why be so pedantic..." she said, then suddenly became agitated again, "Liar! You clearly have plenty of time!"

She had seen everything clearly: he was flirting and chatting happily with another girl at the bar.

“I can’t,” he said, looking at her. “I can’t teach others.”

"And," she glanced around at the throng of men and women, then at the glass of wine on the table, "this is too much alcohol for a minor!"

"Yeah?"

"Of course! What are you laughing at?"

"Okay." The boy nodded.

The next second, he suddenly pushed the glass of wine on the table toward her, saying, "If you drink this, I'll agree."

Mu Jia paused for a moment, then looked up at him with some surprise.

After spending some time together, she had actually come to understand his occasional, unexpected wickedness.

Since she said he was acting recklessly, he might as well drag her along and "go along with him."

Seeing Chu Chiyi's dark pupils staring directly at her, she couldn't tell if he was joking with her.

She looked down again and saw only the deep amber liquid swirling in the glass, but she didn't know what kind of wine it was. When she brought the glass closer, she smelled a rather unfamiliar aroma that was somewhat pungent.

"What? Too much to finish?"

After saying that, he picked up the cup, drank half of it, and pushed the rest towards her again.

Mu Jia was stunned. How could he do this?! He gave her the drink he had just had!?

This, this is equivalent to... indirectly...

But the person opposite seemed oblivious, simply looking at her and raising an eyebrow: "Drink up."

"I..." Mu Jia hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted her teeth and picked up the half-glass of wine.

She raised the cup to her lips, closed her eyes, and suddenly realized that her hand was empty.

She opened her eyes in shock to find the cup back in his hand.

He took the cup and left, leaving her with only his back view.

"Chu Chiyi! So, are you going to agree or not?"

The person left, leaving Mu Jia sitting in the same spot, staring at the glass of orange juice in front of her.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Chu Chiyi was truly hateful. He had so many suitors and could waste so much time with others, but when it came to giving her a little time, he expected her to be subservient and was incredibly stingy, only ever giving her the cold shoulder.

No, it's a closed-door banquet!

She felt increasingly aggrieved. Just then, it seemed as if someone gently patted her on the back.

She was slightly taken aback, then suddenly became happy, "Chu Chiyi, see? Who said you're the only one with suitors? People are coming up to chat me up too!"

She wanted to turn her head away, but her body suddenly wouldn't obey her commands.

The man continued to film her from behind.

The next second, Mu Jia suddenly woke up.

Suddenly, Chu Chiyi's enlarged face appeared before her eyes, making her dizzy and momentarily unsure whether she had truly woken up.

Chu Chiyi was still patting her shoulder, "Mu Jia? Mu Jia!"

The other person squatted down beside her, and when they saw that she had finally opened her eyes, they seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "What's wrong?"

"You're back... The business trip is over..." She had been sleeping on the sofa and her back was a little sore, and she was still not fully awake. "It's nothing, I was watching a show and accidentally fell asleep."

"Then why are you crying?"

"What?"

Chu Chiyi reached out and wiped away the tear stains on her cheek.

She then realized that she had actually cried in her dream, and she was speechless for a moment.

After a while, he said, "It's nothing. I just dreamt about something from the past."

"What's up?"

"What a nuisance!" she said irritably.

"What's going on?"

She suddenly raised an eyebrow at him: "You really want to know?"

He nodded.

Mu Jia looked at him and said, word by word, "Back in the day at the bar, there was this bastard who would pick up girls all by himself, and then he'd come and force me to drink."

After listening, Chu Chiyi paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

A few seconds later, perhaps because I felt guilty, I heard him ask, "Have you had dinner tonight?"

Mu Jia looked at him blankly for a moment, then recalled, "I ate fruit."

Chu Chiyi stood up and went into the kitchen.

Halfway through a Conan movie, Mu Jia looked at the steaming bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup that he brought out, and her stomach rumbled rather uncooperatively.

Chu Chiyi put down his bowl: "Eat something hot."

She herself said that eating something hot would improve her mood.

Mu Jia pressed the pause button, picked up her tablet, and sat down at the dining table: "Don't you not eat animal parts like heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys?"

“Not eating it doesn’t mean I can’t cook it.” He looked at her.

After the remaining half of the movie finished playing, Chu Chiyi came out after taking a shower, and Mu Jia had just finished eating and even washed the dishes.

"Are you full?" he asked.

"Um."

"Okay." He nodded, then suddenly asked, "Isn't it my turn to eat?"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly felt a lightness in her body. Chu Chiyi walked over and picked her up in his arms.