Blue Cocktail chapter 11
Cheng Shuo raised his gaze and happened to meet Lu Huaiqian’s deep eyes.
He stared for a few seconds, then lowered his head and slowly stretched his left hand to touch the key. The icy metal met his fingertips, and he wordlessly picked it up. Just then, thunder rumbled outside.
“Boom, rumble…”
An unexpected explosion of sound startled Cheng Shuo, and he grabbed Lu Huaiqian’s palm, his fingertips clenching tightly, and his finger bones became more pronounced due to the tension. His arm trembled slightly from the force.
The key slipped through his fingers, rapidly fell to the ground, and made a crisp sound upon impact.
“Ding…”
Lu Huaiqian glanced at Cheng Shuo, who seemed lost in another world, completely unaware of his previous actions.
His gaze then fell on Cheng Shuo’s hand tightly gripping his, as if in contemplation.
After the intense explosion, there were several muffled echoes. Lu Huaiqian could feel Cheng Shuo’s finger bones tightening even more, and the trembling was transmitted through his palm.
So, Lu Huaiqian showed no signs of displeasure on his face, and a faint, casual smile appeared at the corners of his eyes and lips.
He maintained his half-crouched posture and used his free left hand to pick up the key from the floor.
The smooth surface of the metal key acted like a funhouse mirror, reflecting distorted and contorted images of their facial features. Lu Huaiqian found it interesting, and a smile spread across his face, like a pool of spring water.
He held the key between his thumb and index finger and once again brought it in front of Cheng Shuo’s eyes.
After waiting for a while and not receiving a response from Cheng Shuo, Lu Huaiqian finally looked up.
In his line of sight, Cheng Shuo’s eyes were unfocused, lost in thought. His blue denim jacket hung half-open with the hem and pocket swaying in the night breeze.
Lu Huaiqian smiled helplessly, gently lifted the flap pocket on the denim jacket with his fingertip, and took the key to put it inside.
Cheng Shuo suddenly jerked in surprise, caught off guard by Lu Huaiqian’s sudden closeness. He remained stunned for a few seconds, then reached for his pocket as if coming out of a daze, “Thank you.”
Lu Huaiqian used his fingertip to tap Cheng Shuo’s hand that had been holding his, “Are you feeling better now?”
Cheng Shuo suddenly released his grip, feeling somewhat awkward, “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize,” Lu Huaiqian stood up, stretched his arms, and adjusted his legs, “It’s okay; you can hold my hand whenever you want, even if you want to take the initiative and embrace me. I welcome it.”
He then opened his arms, but Cheng Shuo paid no attention, and Lu Huaiqian slowly withdrew his hands, feeling no embarrassment.
Outside the window, the gloomy sky rumbled a few more times, and the thunder sounded much quieter than before, finally fading away. After the flashes, the rain suddenly burst forth like a rapid drumbeat, pouring down heavily.
All signs indicated that the thunderstorm had passed.
The silent atmosphere was filled with the noise of rain splattering on solid surfaces, and the living room’s ceiling light remained half-dead.
Cheng Shuo’s half of his face was hidden in shadow. He lowered his gaze, his arms folded on his knees, and he remained quiet for a while. Suddenly, he asked, “Where did it come from?”
After a pause, he added, “My key.”
Lu Huaiqian continued his typical chatty style and casually replied, “I conjured it. Because I can perform magic to turn stones into gold.”
Cheng Shuo furrowed his brows,
Lu Huaiqian looked at his expression then laughed.
Cheng Shuo glared at him, about to say something, when a ringing interrupted them.
The phone on the coffee table buzzed, and it was a call for Lu Huaiqian.
Lu Huaiqian picked it up and saw that it was Zhao Ge. After answering the call, he turned in a different direction to avoid shining the flashlight directly on Cheng Shuo, which could be blinding.
“Mr. Lu, why haven’t you arrived at the bar yet? Are you stuck on the road?” Because the bar was crowded, there was a lot of background noise on Zhao Ge’s end. “I can see it’s raining heavily outside.”
“No, no, I’m at Fufu Jiayuan right now,” Lu Huaiqian paused, glanced at Cheng Shuo, then smoothly said, “I have something to attend to right now and can’t make it to the bar. I’m relying on you for now. I’ll pay you double the salary. The customer flow on a rainy day should be smaller, and I believe you can handle it. Goodbye.”
Then he decisively hung up the phone.
Seeing an available seat next to Cheng Shuo, Lu Huaiqian first sat on the sofa. However, he had barely been sitting for half a minute when he lazily lay down. He placed his hands behind his head and gazed at the ceiling. “Although the thunder should have ended, I thought about it and decided to stay with you until the power comes back.”
“Are you moved?” He suddenly turned to look at Cheng Shuo. “This shrewd businessman has decided to forego a portion of tonight’s income to keep you company.”
Their gazes met, and Cheng Shuo felt an inexplicable unease. He quickly turned his head to avoid Lu Huaiqian’s gaze. The strange feeling in his chest persisted, and he stiffly changed the subject. “About what I asked earlier, where did you find my key?”
“Oh, that,” Lu Huaiqian replied, “I found it under the bathroom sink.”
He then adjusted his lying position.
Lu Huaiqian’s head rested on the top of the sofa’s backrest, so no matter how he lay, his lower back was unsupported, which was uncomfortable. He attempted to adjust it a few times, but it was no use. Eventually, he had to sit up and grabbed a cushion for back support. “Getting old, and my back isn’t what it used to be. You have to start taking precautions early.”
Thinking this, Lu Huaiqian picked up another cushion and offered it to Cheng Shuo. “You can use this to—”
Cheng Shuo abruptly snatched the pillow from his hand.
Cheng Shuo held the cushion with both hands, rested his chin on the top, and bent slightly at the waist, tilting his head down. His upper body was curled into a ball, clearly indicating a “Do not disturb” posture.
Lu Huaiqian silently swallowed the words he was about to say, lay back down on the sofa beside Cheng Shuo, and let him be. He figured it was better to leave him alone, as long as he was okay.
The power outage lasted too long, and the residents in the community’s group chat gradually became agitated. Someone started complaining in the group chat, and the messages exploded with everyone questioning the group admin about when the power would be restored. Phones were vibrating incessantly, making it hard to ignore.
Lu Huaiqian couldn’t stand the noise and sat up to check his phone. He first muted it and then quickly skimmed through the chat history. It was all complaints, with no specific information about when the power would be back.
Even if there were such details, they might not be reliable. For example, if the group admin said the power would return at 11 o’clock and it didn’t, what could they do? Would they feel better by venting their frustration on the admin?
Clearly, they wouldn’t.
So, Lu Huaiqian decided not to read any further and just wait. It was a bit boring, but there wasn’t much else to do.
In such moments, chatting was quite suitable, and chatting with Cheng Shuo was one of the few pleasures Lu Huaiqian had. Playing tricks on people was genuinely amusing to him, but he was aware that the person being teased might not find it amusing. He understood this but couldn’t resist doing it anyway, so he considered himself quite naughty.
Seeing Cheng Shuo in such a terrified and pitiful state, the cunning fox experienced an unusual pang of conscience. He decided not to speak for the time being to avoid making Cheng Shuo feel uncomfortable.
Lu Huaiqian lay down on his side and kept silent. He thought about various aspects of the cocktail bar business, such as supplies and promotional activities. As he pondered, he unexpectedly felt a bit drowsy. Perhaps it was because thinking about these things was mentally exhausting.
Time passed quietly, and gradually, the heavy rain turned into a drizzle. The strong winds became gentle, and the silence in the darkness transformed into a peaceful and tranquil night.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Huaiqian’s thoughts involuntarily drifted away. He couldn’t be bothered to think about business matters anymore. His eyelids were heavy, and his consciousness began to drift on the verge of falling asleep, until he heard Cheng Shuo’s voice.
“Hey, Lu Huaiqian, why aren’t you talking?”
Lu Huaiqian abruptly opened his eyes, seeming to have regained some clarity.
“Do you want me to talk?” Lu Huaiqian turned to lie on his side, using his left hand to prop up his head as he looked at Cheng Shuo. “I thought you might find it noisy.”
“In that case, you do have some self-awareness,” Cheng Shuo said.
Lu Huaiqian chuckled.
He raised his right hand and examined it closely. Under the soft light, he could faintly see the marks from the recent grip, making him reflect, “You really have great strength.”
Cheng Shuo fell silent for a moment.
Lu Huaiqian extended his hand, waving it in front of Cheng Shuo’s eyes. “You were the one who did the grabbing, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”
Cheng Shuo froze in place for a while. Nevertheless, he let go of the pillow he was holding, shifted his body closer to Lu Huaiqian, and bent over to inspect the palm of Lu Huaiqian’s hand.
In the dimly lit environment, Cheng Shuo couldn’t see clearly. After a moment of contemplation, he took out his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight.
First, he shone the flashlight around the palm, then tentatively lifted Lu Huaiqian’s right hand, which he found surprisingly unresistant. He turned the hand over and examined it carefully. After inspecting it thoroughly, Cheng Shuo inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, “Thankfully, it didn’t break the skin.”
He fell into silence and spoke very softly, “I’m sorry.”
After saying this, there was no response. Cheng Shuo realized that he was in the wrong and hesitated for a moment. He was about to retract his hand.
Suddenly, Lu Huaiqian flipped his wrist and firmly grasped Cheng Shuo’s fingertips.
Their warmth and proximity made Cheng Shuo’s fingertips tingle, and he instinctively wanted to pull away. However, Lu Huaiqian’s grip only tightened.
Lu Huaiqian partially lifted his eyelids and cast a sidelong glance at Cheng Shuo, a mischievous smile playing at his lips. “I’m helping you remember how you grabbed my hand just now.”