fierce
"Is it resolved?"
Gu Anzhou's tone was so calm that Ye Jia immediately recovered. She opened her phone again, blocked Wang Jun's number, and nodded, saying, "Probably."
"Okay. Could you please move aside?" Gu Anzhou said, lifting the trash bag up slightly, the plastic bag and the full cans inside making a rattling sound.
Ye Jia realized that she was blocking Gu Anzhou's way of throwing away trash, and quickly moved aside.
Gu Anzhou walked over, placed the trash bag in front of the large trash can, and returned to stand in front of Ye Jia: "Let's go back and have a drink, it's on me."
"Inviting me again?" Ye Jia asked in surprise. "Why this time?"
"celebrate."
"Oh, thank you. You... are a really nice person." After Ye Jia finished speaking, she unusually didn't avoid his gaze, looking up at his reaction. The reaction to this sentence should be different between a truly good person and someone with a guilty conscience, but unfortunately, she couldn't see any reaction on Gu Anzhou's face.
Ye Jiaqing cleared her throat and said, "But no need. I came here tonight to thank you and patronize your business. There's no reason for you to treat me to drinks again."
"Then let's celebrate next time." After saying that, Gu Anzhou turned to leave without waiting for her to say anything more to refuse.
Ye Jia grabbed his clothes and said, "Wait a minute!"
Gu Anzhou stopped, turned around to look at her, and subconsciously leaned to the left, but before anyone could notice, he pulled her back.
The alley was dimly lit, with only the faint light from the bar illuminating the area, so Gu Anzhou couldn't make out the shape of her lips.
In situations like this, if he wanted to hear someone clearly, he would turn slightly to the side so that the person was standing to his right. But he could hear Ye Jia's voice clearly, even when he was facing her directly.
Moreover, he inexplicably didn't want to do anything unusual that would make her discover something.
"What's up?"
"Why did you apologize to me before?" Ye Jia let go of my hand and asked. "I mean, I accidentally barged into your room that day, so I should be the one apologizing, even though it really was an accident."
“I know.” Gu Anzhou looked at her face. “You wanted to come for a drink, but you missed the timing. But you haven’t come to the bar since then, and you seemed flustered that day. I think you were scared by me.”
Well, you're right, it seems he knows he's a bit scary.
Actually, Ye Jia was also feeling uneasy. Being alone in this dimly lit alley, the sense of oppression brought about by their size difference was even stronger.
Gu Anzhou was a little taller than Han Lanchuan, but Han Lanchuan's physique was no match for his. If they had a physical altercation, Ye Jia certainly wouldn't treat him the same way she treated Han Lanchuan.
Of course, she didn't want any physical altercation between them and wanted to believe it wouldn't happen, but who knows?
"Yeah?"
"No." Ye Jia subconsciously denied it, then tilted her head and said, "Okay, a little. But I mainly feel embarrassed, really embarrassed."
"It's okay." Gu Anzhou hesitated for a moment whether to ask her if she had seen his scar, but he hadn't thought of an excuse to respond, so he didn't say anything. Fortunately, Ye Jia didn't ask either.
Ye Jia nodded: "Now that I know what you're thinking, I'm relieved. Let's just let this awkward situation pass. Okay, I have nothing more to say."
“Okay,” Gu Anzhou said, “but I suddenly have a question.”
"What?"
Do you still like him?
Ye Jia was stunned, then chuckled: "Do you think that's possible? Why do you ask that?"
"Just to confirm, just in case."
"What if?"
I don't want you to get hurt again.
Although the lights were dim, Gu Anzhou clearly saw Ye Jia's expression change. It seemed a bit strange to say this; he was just a bar owner now, with no right or position to say such things.
-
When Ye Jia returned to the bar through the front door, Gu Anzhou was already back to working behind the bar.
Even after taking her seat, Ye Jia's gaze remained fixed on Gu Anzhou.
"Who is it? Why did it take so long on the phone?" Chu Nian asked.
"The person I was just talking about."
Chu Nian's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "What the hell? That scumbag? He dared to call you?"
“Yeah, I admire his shamelessness too.” Ye Jia said, glancing behind the bar again. Seeing him busy with his work, she raised her voice and said, “How could I like someone like that? I regret it so much.”
Aunt Meng chimed in, saying, "There's no need to regret it. Just forget about it."
"Yes!" Chu Nian agreed. "Don't get caught up in those negative emotions, just forget about it, the next one will be better!"
Ye Jia nodded. She wasn't caught up in any negative emotions; she was just a little bothered by Gu Anzhou's words.
Why would he say such things? Didn't he want her to get hurt?
They don't seem to be... that close, do they?
Ye Jia drank her wine and chatted idly with Chu Nian, glancing frequently at Gu Anzhou, only to find that he didn't even glance at her.
Before leaving the bar, she came to a conclusion.
Gu Anzhou is a kind-hearted person whose inner self is completely different from his outward appearance. His saying that he doesn't want her to get hurt is simply because he is kind-hearted.
As soon as they got into the back seat of the taxi and the door closed, Chu Nian immediately said, "Jiajia! You were way too obvious just now!"
"Huh?" Chu Nian reacted a bit strongly, startling Ye Jia. "What's so obvious?"
"You look at the boss every time you say something, haven't you noticed?" Chu Nian reacted strongly, clearly pleased. "Looks like you've successfully shifted your affections, that's great! Coming to Lingfeng Island was definitely the right decision!"
"Huh?" Ye Jia was taken aback. "No, no."
"Hey—" Chu Nian smiled, her eyes narrowing, and waved her hand, signaling her not to deny it.
Just then, the driver in the front seat spoke up, drawing their attention: "Hi! Sister Nian!"
"Oh?" Chu Nian immediately reached out and pulled the back of the seat in front of her forward, only to see the driver's face. "What are you doing driving a taxi?!"
Ye Jia also looked over curiously. Who was it? Chu Nian had acquaintances on the island, but seeing the person's sunny smile even at night, she could roughly guess that this was the "cute little boy" Chu Nian had mentioned.
"Yes, I deliver goods during the day and drive a taxi at night. I do whatever work is available."
Chu Nian was shocked: "Aren't you going to rest?"
"But I'm not tired." You could tell from his expression that he really wasn't tired; he was full of enthusiasm for his work, just like SpongeBob SquarePants.
"Do you still have time to teach me how to ride a bike?"
"Sister Bao! I'm free tomorrow morning, I'll call you half an hour in advance."
"Wait, morning? I can't get up in the morning, I'll sleep until the afternoon."
"Huh?" The young boy was stunned for a moment. "Why are you all like this? Brother Zhou is the same, he doesn't get up until the afternoon. The first time I delivered goods to him, I delivered them in the morning and he yelled at me."
Brother Zhou? Ye Jia thought, he must be referring to Gu Anzhou, and it must be the one she and Chu Nian met at the seafood restaurant last time. No wonder he arrived early that day, it turns out a new deliveryman had come.
It's unclear whether the boy was genuinely scolded or simply intimidated by Gu Anzhou's aura and perceived him as fierce.
Chu Nian was completely torn about whether or not she should get up early to practice driving, but this was really giving her a hard time: "Aren't you free this afternoon?"
"I'm usually busy in the afternoons, but I do have free time sometimes. So you're only free in the afternoons, right? Then I'll call you half an hour early when I find an opportunity!"
After dropping the two off downstairs, Bai Yu continued driving his taxi, picking up passengers. Business on the island was definitely not as good, but there were still some, mostly tourists.
After midnight, there are usually not many people around, because the entertainment activities on the island are over. Bai Yu drove the taxi back to the company, threw the keys back into her cubicle, and ended her workday.
He rode his electric scooter home, enjoying the sea breeze all night. After parking it downstairs, he walked a few more steps to the nearby Fog Sea Lighthouse.
Only two tables of customers remained in the restaurant, and it seemed they were nearing the end of their drinks.
Bai Yu could have waited at the entrance for the last few tables of customers at the bar, but he figured it was better to leave the drunkards to someone else. He exclaimed "Yo!" and sat down at the bar, craning his neck to look at the tables inside: "Bro, I want to drink that you were drinking!"
Gu Anzhou glanced at him: "You still haven't given me the five hundred from last time."
"...I wasn't prepared last time, but I definitely won't throw up this time!"
Gu Anzhou didn't reply. He filled the Collins glass with ice, poured in 30 ml of Laphroaig 10-year-old, and then filled the rest with ginger ale. After stirring, he placed it in front of Bai Yu.
After receiving the wine, Bai Yu asked, "Brother, you're not really going to ask me for money, are you?"
What do you think?
Bai Yu really didn't know if he was serious or joking: "How about this, bro, for the next week, no, for a month! I'll come and clean your house every day after work, okay?"
Bai Yu had his own ulterior motives. He dropped out of university and returned to his hometown, only to find a bar on the island. The owner was exactly the kind of tough guy he admired, and he wanted to spend more time with him.
"No need," Gu Anzhou said. "Go home early after you finish drinking."
Bai Yu gave a disappointed "oh," but thought he would take action soon to show Brother Zhou his sincerity and how useful he was. There was no reason to drive away free labor.
While sipping the whiskey, which was less potent after being mixed with ginger ale, Bai Yu heard a sound behind her that sounded like someone had lost their balance and bumped into a table. She turned around and glanced at it before continuing her conversation with Gu Anzhou: "Brother Zhou, you're radiating charm today too, with so many beautiful guests."
Gu Anzhou was wiping the countertop with his head down.
"I just gave one of your shop's customers a ride. She's a bit of a bookworm, and she actually likes you too. She looked at you every time she said a word... Brother! Brother Zhou!" Bai Yu raised her voice, "Are you even listening to me?"
Gu Anzhou then raised his head: "Do your words matter?"
"It's important!"
"What's important?"
Bai Yu's eyes darted around as he pondered, unable to stop. He couldn't figure out the answer and really didn't know what was important. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly exclaimed, "Brother, do you think that nothing in this world is important?"
"..." Gu Anzhou sometimes felt that not being able to hear was actually quite peaceful.
Actually, Bai Yu's voice was a bit noisy. Gu Anzhou had been hearing him talking ever since he came in, but it was mixed with the music, so he couldn't hear clearly, and he didn't want to hear it clearly either.
But surprisingly, he could hear Ye Jia's words very clearly.
Even though he deliberately avoided looking at her after throwing out the trash from the kitchen, he still heard her saying that she regretted liking that guy.
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