Blue Cocktail chapter 46

“How many people will be at your birthday party?”

“Probably over a hundred.”

Cheng Shuo was shocked, “Over a hundred?”

Lu Huaiqian rubbed his chin, recalling, “Last year was over two hundred, I think.”

Cheng Shuo fell silent.

Lu Huaiqian, noticing Cheng Shuo’s expression, smiled teasingly, “What’s wrong?”

Cheng Shuo thought for a moment and said, “Do you know that there are differences between different personalities?”

“Like extroversion and introversion—”

“You actually know those two English words,” Lu Huaiqian looked at Cheng Shuo unexpectedly.

“…”

Cheng Shuo gave Lu Huaiqian a stern look, “I’ll have you know I passed the English Level 4 exam without any preparation!”

“Who hasn’t?” Lu Huaiqian shrugged.

“Don’t digress.” Cheng Shuo frowned and glanced back, “Consider extroversion and introversion as preferences. You can simplify humans into e-people and i-people. Extroverted individuals like to get energy from the external world, while introverted individuals prefer to get energy from within.”

“Obviously, I am the latter. I’m not socially anxious, and I have social skills, but socializing consumes my energy, especially when I attend a huge gathering, facing many unfamiliar faces. I prefer to stay with people I know; that way, I feel more comfortable.”

Lu Huaiqian listened attentively and then asked, “After saying so much, are you coming or not?”

Cheng Shuo paused for a few seconds and asked, “Is this birthday party important to you?”

Without hesitation, Lu Huaiqian replied, “Yes.”

Cheng Shuo hesitated, “But didn’t you just tell your brother that he has full authority to decide?”

“Form doesn’t matter; guests matter.”

Cheng Shuo pondered for a moment, “If I don’t attend, do you have a better way in mind for me to celebrate your birthday? For example, can I treat you to dinner?”

Lu Huaiqian immediately answered, “Can’t we have both?”

Cheng Shuo helplessly said, “Don’t take advantage of the situation!”

Lu Huaiqian laughed, “Then, just come to my birthday party.”

He explained, “If you invite me to dinner, you’ll have to pay for it. You might as well come to my birthday party; the food and drinks are free. You don’t have to socialize much. Just find a corner to eat and drink. Don’t miss out.”

“Okay,” Cheng Shuo confirmed again, “Next Saturday, right?”

“Yes, you don’t have to worry about the time and place. Just keep your phone on, and I’ll come to pick you up.”

“Alright.” Cheng Shuo paused and added, “As long as the school doesn’t have any last-minute sketching arrangements, I’ll attend.”

Normally, Lu Huaiqian, having received the answer he wanted, would have shifted the topic happily. However, this time, he didn’t. He asked again, “Do you not like crowded events very much?”

Cheng Shuo truthfully replied, “I avoid gatherings with more than eight people. I basically decline if possible.”

“What if it’s a gathering hosted by a very good friend? Would you attend an event with eight people then?”

“But, in reality, personality differences determine that it’s difficult for me to become very good friends with extroverted people. So, your assumption doesn’t hold.”

“Are there no exceptions?” Lu Huaiqian curiously asked.

“Well,” Cheng Shuo thought for a moment, “it depends on the depth of the relationship.”

He continued, “If we have a deep bond, and I care a lot about that person, I’m willing to spend time on them. Even if it’s something I don’t like, I’ll do it with them. Their wishes have a higher priority than my feelings.”

“But if our relationship is average, I’ll definitely find an excuse to refuse. Life is already tough; I won’t compromise on things I don’t want to do. As for whether he will have opinions about me rejecting him—it doesn’t matter, I don’t care.”

Lu Huaiqian nodded with a smile, “But it seems like I am an exception, according to your words.”

“You are an exception,” Cheng Shuo sighed, “Two months ago, I couldn’t have imagined becoming friends with someone like you.”

A playful smile appeared on Lu Huaiqian’s lips. As he laughed, he suddenly squinted his eyes and asked, “Just friends?”

Cheng Shuo was taken aback. A scene from last night flashed through his memory. He slowly turned his head away, pretending not to have heard.

After waiting for a few seconds without a response, Lu Huaiqian stood up nonchalantly, “Alright, let’s not talk about this. I have to go downstairs to deal with the matters at the bar.”

He thought for a moment and added, “You still have to work tonight. It’s almost noon now, so there’s no need for you to go back and forth. If you want to sleep, you can sleep in my bedroom for a while. If you don’t want to sleep, there’s a study across from the bedroom with a computer. The password is my birthday, eight digits.”

Before leaving, Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but emphasize again, “So, we’re clear, you must come to the birthday party.”

Cheng Shuo, afraid that Lu Huaiqian might not see clearly, nodded vigorously, extending the tone, “Okay—”

With two inquiries from Lu Huaiqian and two promises from Cheng Shuo, he thought that the invitation for the birthday party was temporarily settled until next Saturday.

Unfortunately, this naive thought didn’t last long. On Wednesday evening at exactly five o’clock, Cheng Shuo finally saw the mysterious written test paper.

He was called to the study on the second floor to answer the questions.

Lu Huaiqian sat opposite him, casually flipping through financial books, leisurely proctoring.

Indeed, there were fifty multiple-choice questions, and Lu Huaiqian didn’t lie to him.

However, each question was extremely tricky, covering knowledge points as meticulous as finding a needle in a haystack. The level of detail and precision in each question, compared to Aru’s description, was not only similar but even more demanding.

Although Cheng Shuo had persisted in reviewing every night these days, the feeling of answering the questions was still terrible.

After finishing, he added up the certain points he could get and found it far from sixty.

Cheng Shuo’s hand holding the black signature pen trembled.

Coincidentally, at this moment, Lu Huaiqian raised his head as if by telepathy. “A friendly reminder, there are two additional questions at the end. If you can’t guarantee sixty points from the previous one hundred, I suggest you also do the additional questions. It’s more secure that way.”

Cheng Shuo silently mouthed: What?

Lu Huaiqian responded with a slight smile, then lowered his head to continue reading his book.

The financial report in his hand was turned over.

“Whoosh—”

Cheng Shuo could only suspiciously withdraw his gaze and slowly turn the paper to the back—

1. Additional Questions (thirty points each, sixty points in total).

Sixty points for additional questions???

His emotions were complex for a moment.

Thinking that since there were questions, he might as well do them, leaving them blank didn’t look good.

Cheng Shuo’s gaze moved downward.

(I) Share your impression of Mo Blue Bar. Prompt: Please use the bartender as a starting point.

Cheng Shuo: “…”

Knowing Lu Huaiqian’s preferences, he was well aware of what kind of answer the other party wanted. He would undoubtedly aim for a full score on this question.

Suddenly, his thoughts flowed, and without caring about his dignity, he realized that at this moment, he had to be shameless to score points. Cheng Shuo wrote an 800-word essay, piling all the positive adjectives he could think of onto Boss Lu, from praising his hair to the soles of his shoes.

There was a large blank space left on the answer sheet. After finishing writing, Cheng Shuo’s hand was sore, and he gritted his teeth, shaking his wrist.

He reasonably suspected that Lu Huaiqian did it on purpose.

He then looked at the second question.

(II) Attend Lu Huaiqian’s birthday party. Note: This question is a practical task, no written response is required. It will be scored based on your performance at the birthday party. If you do not participate, it will be considered an automatic waiver.

Cheng Shuo: “…”

Cheng Shuo turned the paper back to the front, frowned, bit the pen cap, and continued to struggle with the multiple-choice questions.

Finally, enduring until the written test was over, Cheng Shuo felt that his understanding of the exam underwent three major upheavals in just two short hours.

When handing in the paper, Cheng Shuo couldn’t hold back any longer. “When you recruited Aru and the others back then, were there additional questions about attending a birthday party?”

Lu Huaiqian took the test paper and answer sheet, neatly rolled them up, “No.”

Cheng Shuo smiled awkwardly, “Then may I ask, Boss, why do I have one?”

Lu Huaiqian smiled, “Because they are full-time, and you are part-time. How can the questions be the same?”

Cheng Shuo: “…”