Blue Cocktail chapter 20
“Impossible.”
As soon as the words were spoken across, Cheng Shuo immediately denied it.
“How is it impossible?” Lu Huaiqian said with a trace of grievance, “I really spent a long time with you in the bedroom.”
Under Cheng Shuo’s scrutinizing and dubious gaze, Lu Huaiqian nodded affirmatively and repeated, “Really.”
“But it’s impossible for me to ask you to stay,” Cheng Shuo furrowed his brows involuntarily. “Even if I was half asleep, drowsy, or not in my right mind, I wouldn’t ask others for a favor. I hate asking others for favors.”
Indeed, he hadn’t asked.
Lu Huaiqian looked at Cheng Shuo with a calm expression, his eyes deep and inscrutable.
Under Cheng Shuo’s inquisitive gaze, Lu Huaiqian met his eyes directly, showing a bit of guardedness. After a moment of confrontation, there was a fleeting silence.
“Alright,” Lu Huaiqian suddenly raised a corner of his lips, “It seems like I made a mistake. You didn’t ask me; I chose to stay with you. But there was really thunder in the afternoon.”
At this moment, Cheng Shuo’s posture seemed to relax slightly, but he still maintained some caution. His expression conveyed a mix of skepticism. He pursed his lips, squinting slightly, cautiously asking, “Did I say anything strange in my dream?”
“Yes,” Lu Huaiqian answered almost without hesitation.
Cheng Shuo immediately straightened his lips into a tight line, looking somewhat nervous as he glanced at the other. On the surface, he seemed unperturbed, but inside, he was frantically constructing sentences, calculating how to explain and cover up his afternoon outburst.
He knew the kind of bizarre dream he had in the afternoon — maybe some phrases that shouldn’t be repeated had broken the boundaries of memory and made their way into reality.
Under Cheng Shuo’s intense and wary scrutiny, Lu Huaiqian casually uttered the second half of the sentence, “You said you really like me.”
Cheng Shuo: “…”
But before Cheng Shuo could refute, Lu Huaiqian was the first to ease the tension, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist making a joke.”
“That’s not funny.”
“You didn’t say anything at the time,” Lu Huaiqian glanced at Cheng Shuo’s changing expression and caught every nuance. “I just thought of that night at the apartment last time, so I decided to stay.”
“Thank you.” Cheng Shuo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He thought for a moment and said, “Next time there’s thunder, you don’t have to worry about me. Just leave, so as not to waste your time.”
After a few seconds of silence, Lu Huaiqian didn’t confirm or deny but directly changed the subject, “Are you in a hurry to go back now?”
“Not really,” Cheng Shuo replied truthfully.
Lu Huaiqian then suggested, “Stay for dinner before you go.”
Cheng Shuo immediately declined, “No need—”
“It’s the perfect time to sign the lease agreement,” Lu Huaiqian added.
Speaking casually, Lu Huaiqian said, “I’ve already printed the lease agreement. Let’s sign it today, so you won’t have to make a special trip to the bar later. Plus, you didn’t have lunch; it’s over an hour on the subway from here back to the apartments. You’ll be hungry on the way.”
“Okay,” Cheng Shuo was convinced, mainly because he was indeed a little hungry.
Lu Huaiqian nodded contentedly, “As the saying goes, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’ Let’s solve the food problem first and then think about signing the lease agreement. So, I’ll go to the kitchen now to make you dinner. Let’s sign the agreement after we eat.”
“Okay,” Cheng Shuo said, signaling him to go.
Each step Lu Huaiqian took, he turned around thrice before finally entering the kitchen. Before turning around, he winked at Cheng Shuo. “By the way, I almost forgot to tell you, feel free to sit anywhere in the bar during my absence. Don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.”
Chatterbox. Cheng Shuo restrained the throbbing vein on his forehead and nodded with a mix of tolerance and disdain.
Finally, Lu Huaiqian once again returned to the kitchen to cook, making him the bar’s rare chef. He figured everyone at the bar deserved to enjoy themselves.
Not long after, Aru sniffed the aroma and approached. He saw a bowl with transparent red oil broth and large slices of beef.
He couldn’t help but recall the braised beef noodles he had stored at home, thinking of the beef chunks that hardly fit through the gap in the seasoning packet. “Boss Lu, what joyous occasion happened today that made you have the urge to cook yourself?”
“Because I want to treat Cheng Shuo to dinner.” Lu Huaiqian was busy but replied, without looking up, “The bowl on the left is yours. Before you eat, could you help me call Cheng Shuo? Thank you.”
Aru eagerly went to Cheng Shuo, as he was about to leave, he couldn’t help but mutter, “It would be great if Cheng Shuo could have dinner at the bar every day.”
A small wooden table was set up in the kitchen, and after exchanging greetings with the staff, there were only two people sitting at the table: Lu Huaiqian and Cheng Shuo.
Once Cheng Shuo sat across from Lu Huaiqian, the latter handed him a pair of chopsticks. “Give it a try and see how it tastes.”
Cheng Shuo thanked him, accepted the utensils, and sat down across from Lu Huaiqian. He lowered his head—
The beef slices neatly arranged on the surface of the soup were arranged in a circle around the edge of the bowl, with cucumber slices placed over the beef, creating another circle. In the middle was a carrot flower.
Following that was the familiar sound of Lu Huaiqian, three parts showing off and seven parts proud.
“I prepared it for a long time. Do you like the carrot flower I carved myself in the middle?”
It was the first time Cheng Shuo had seen a dish presented in this way. He couldn’t help but palm his forehead.
He looked up at the person opposite, who clearly wanted praise. Cheng Shuo felt a complex mood and didn’t directly respond, instead, he found another angle for commendation. “Your knife skills are good.”
Lu Huaiqian grinned, “Thank you.”
Zhao Ge had been guarding the bar, but once Lu Huaiqian and Cheng Shuo finished their meal and drinks, Lu Huaiqian relieved Zhao Ge.
Then, instead of taking out the lease agreement, he leaned against the bar and explained earnestly to Cheng Shuo, “There should always be a bartender at the bar. If you can wait a little longer, Zhao Ge finishes his meal quickly.”
So Cheng Shuo believed Lu Huaiqian’s tall tales. While waiting, Lu Huaiqian talked and talked.
Finally, when Zhao Ge returned to the bar, Lu Huaiqian brought out the two contracts. All the spaces requiring Cheng Shuo’s signature were already filled out. He handed the contracts and a pen to Cheng Shuo.
Lu Huaiqian thought Cheng Shuo would sign in a matter of minutes, but to his surprise, Cheng Shuo took the signing process very seriously.
He was actually reading it line by line.
Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but find it funny. He observed for a while and then, suppressing his laughter, he earnestly stated, “I haven’t written any tricky clauses.”
“Mm,” Cheng Shuo replied perfunctorily, still reading it carefully.
Lu Huaiqian observed his words and demeanor, not saying anything. He leaned back in the sofa chair and waited patiently.
Finally, when Cheng Shuo finished reading the last line and signed the document, Lu Huaiqian collected his copy of the contract. He stood up, stretched his legs, rotated his shoulders, and happened to notice the dark, thunderous glass window. “Looks like I’ve kept you for a long time.”
Cheng Shuo silently criticized, so you know after all.
“To make it up, I’ll take you home,” Lu Huaiqian said sincerely. “You must let me take you back, or my conscience won’t be at peace.”
Cheng Shuo had gotten somewhat used to Lu Huaiqian’s way of speaking. Wasn’t he just beating around the bush? Who wouldn’t know?
So he decided to match him silently, raising his eyebrows, indicating, “Just say you want to take me home; no need to beat around the bush.”
“Okay,” surprisingly, Lu Huaiqian blurted out, “I really want to take you home. Could you please give me face and agree?”
Cheng Shuo was taken aback for a moment and was briefly at a loss for words. He had underestimated Lu Huaiqian’s thick skin.
Turning his head, he softly uttered an affirmative sound, which was a kind of agreement.
Following Lu Huaiqian’s figure to the garage, among many black, white, and gray cars, a silver-gray car caught Cheng Shuo’s eye. It wasn’t purely silver-gray but a gradient of gray to purple. The depth of purple varied depending on the angle of observation, shimmering as Cheng Shuo gradually approached, the color displaying its vivid radiance on the car body.
The color was indeed beautiful, quite audacious too. Cheng Shuo felt it was a style Lu Huaiqian would appreciate.
As expected, the next second, Lu Huaiqian stopped in front of this car. While unlocking it, he couldn’t help but ask, “Do you think this color is nice?”
Cheng Shuo smiled awkwardly, once again choosing not to address the question directly, but rather indirectly, “It suits your personality.”
“What kind of personality?”
“A blatant disregard for others’ life or death.”
Lu Huaiqian nodded knowingly, as if he truly understood, “You’re praising me for being independent and having a unique personality, right? Thank you, thank you.”
Cheng Shuo glanced at Lu Huaiqian in irritation, “You’ve misunderstood my words.”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is how I interpret it.”
So arrogant.
Cheng Shuo didn’t continue the conversation. He got into the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and lowered his head to look at his phone.
At this point, just as Lu Huaiqian was about to start the car, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, frowned, and ended the call directly.
Unfortunately, before leaving the parking spot, the phone rang again. Lu Huaiqian pressed the red button without hesitation.
A few seconds later, the same number called once more. Lu Huaiqian decisively locked the screen.
Surprisingly persistent, the same ringtone rang out for the fourth time. It was annoying and loud, and Cheng Shuo couldn’t remain indifferent. He raised his head to look at Lu Huaiqian, “Why don’t you just answer?”
Lu Huaiqian frowned slightly and finally shifted the gear back to neutral. He rubbed his temples with his right hand, picked up his phone with his left, and answered, “Sorry, I couldn’t take the call just now. Is there something urgent you want to tell me?”
“Brother Lu,” the voice on the other end naturally elongated the syllables and seemed a bit coquettish, “Can’t I just call you even if there’s nothing urgent?”
Lu Huaiqian remained unfazed, “I’m currently busy with something urgent. If you don’t have any pressing matters, I’ll hang up.”
“Wait!”
“What?”
Lu Huaiqian’s tone held a hint of impatience.
“I’m in the garage next to Mo Blue Bar. I see you.”
A figure was faintly approaching from behind the car window. Lu Huaiqian focused and sighed deeply.
Cheng Shuo glanced at Lu Huaiqian, “Who is it?”
“An unshakeable pursuer.”