Blue Cocktail chapter 21
“Oh.”
Cheng Shuo responded and then lowered his head to focus on his own matters.
Seeing this, Lu Huaiqian seemed a bit despondent. “You’re not curious to ask a few questions?”
“I’m not particularly interested in your past loves, hatreds, and entanglements,” Cheng Shuo replied without hesitation. Then, seeing Lu Huaiqian’s disappointed expression, he added, “That’s your privacy, and I’m not comfortable prying. But if you want to share, I’ll listen attentively.”
As he finished speaking, a series of knocks suddenly echoed beside his ear. Cheng Shuo turned his head to see that the car window was being firmly knocked with someone’s knuckles. A figure clung to the window, eyes fixed on Lu Huaiqian inside the car, giving an eerie look in the dead of night.
Shortly after, Lu Huaiqian rolled down the car window halfway. “Tang Yi, what do you want?”
“Lu Brother,” Tang Yi’s umbrella was blown crooked by the wind. He was shivering under the small umbrella and dragging a heavy suitcase. Looking like a pitiful little white flower, he pleaded, “Can you take me home?”
Lu Huaiqian didn’t directly answer. “How did you end up at the bar?”
“I just got off the plane and came straight to find you.”
Lu Huaiqian subtly furrowed his brow. “I remember the airport is quite far from here.”
The implication was—how did you come here, and how do you plan to go back?
Tang Yi pretended not to understand and jokingly said, “When there’s a free ride, I can’t pass it up. Besides, it’s not easy to get a cab in the old city, so giving me a ride would save me the cost of the trip.”
He changed the subject, “I brought back a lot of gifts from London. I’ll visit my uncle, aunt, and Huai Xuan later when I’m free.”
Hearing the last part, Lu Huaiqian relented, “Fine, get in.”
Tang Yi, with a smile, opened the passenger door—
The next moment, his smile froze. “Someone is already sitting in the passenger seat.”
As it was concerning him, Cheng Shuo had to look up to pay attention to this “difficult” pursuer mentioned by Lu Huaiqian. Tang Yi’s facial features were harmonious, looking quite young, probably around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His clothes were partially wet from the rain, and he appeared pitiful, especially with that face.
However, Lu Huaiqian remained silent.
Tang Yi complained, “This seat is usually mine.”
Cheng Shuo, hearing this, curiously glanced at Tang Yi—
He was too lazy to argue and thought, regardless of where he sat, as long as he could go home, it was fine. “Then, I’ll sit in the back.”
As he spoke, Cheng Shuo was about to get up but was caught in time by Lu Huaiqian’s grip on his wrist. “You sit here.”
Lu Huaiqian held Cheng Shuo’s wrist with his right hand, raising his head. He spoke firmly to Tang Yi, “There’s only space in the back of the car. If you don’t want to sit there, I’ll arrange for a ride for you.”
Hearing this, Tang Yi appeared somewhat downcast. He looked down at Lu Huaiqian’s hand, pursed his lips, and eventually decided to move toward the back alone with his luggage.
Cheng Shuo glanced back and then turned to Lu Huaiqian, softly reminding, “You can let go of your hand now.”
Lu Huaiqian released his grip, but couldn’t resist adding one more question, “Why, are you worried he might misunderstand?”
“I don’t care if he misunderstands or not,” Cheng Shuo said. “You’re holding too tightly, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”
“If you had said that earlier,” Lu Huaiqian joked, looking down, “I wouldn’t have let go. I’ll ease up a bit.”
Cheng Shuo helplessly glared at Lu Huaiqian.
Tang Yi closed the trunk after placing his suitcase and turned back, happening to catch the two whispering to each other. He entered the back seat, closed the door, and both of them maintained a tacit silence.
He couldn’t help but size up the person sitting in the passenger seat, waiting. He waited for a long time but neither of them spoke, as if his arrival had brought the atmosphere down to freezing point.
Tang Yi’s eyes dimmed, but he tried to put on a smile, pretending to be cheerful. “Bro, I’m back in the country. How come you didn’t come to pick me up at the airport?”
“I asked Huai Xuan to come pick you. I have a lot of work at the bar and couldn’t leave.”
Huai Xuan was Lu Huaiqian’s younger brother.
“Oh, I see.” Tang Yi fell silent for a few seconds and then asked, “Is the bar really that busy? Why not hire a few more people?”
“Cost-saving.”
Tang Yi hurriedly said, “Your bar is making plenty of money; you should consider hiring more people. It’s mainly about not wearing yourself out.”
Lu Huaiqian responded absentmindedly with a vague acknowledgment.
Tang Yi then continued, “We haven’t seen each other for so many years.”
Lu Huaiqian simply gave another acknowledgment.
Tang Yi began reminiscing about the past. “Do you remember when we were studying in the UK? We departed from Westminster Pier, took a boat trip on the Thames, passed through the Financial District, went by St. Paul’s Cathedral. We were lucky to witness a magnificent sunset on the boat; it was breathtaking, like a grand epic…”
He vividly described the scene for a while, then looked up at Lu Huaiqian, expecting a response from his eyes reflected in the rearview mirror.
Instead, he got a half-hearted reply from Lu Huaiqian, “That’s a long time ago, and I don’t have much of a memory of it.”
Realizing Lu Huaiqian was not engaging him, Tang Yi shifted his gaze to Cheng Shuo.
“Are you a friend of my brother Huaiqian?”
Cheng Shuo was surprised by the sudden emergence of “Brother Huaiqian,” a somewhat forced term of endearment.
He replied, “Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Cheng Shuo.”
“How did you two meet?”
Cheng Shuo briefly replied, “I was at the bar for a drink, and that’s how we met.”
“How long have you known each other?”
Cheng Shuo reluctantly recalled and vaguely said, “It’s been less than a month.”
“Oh.” Tang Yi suddenly smiled. “I’ve known him since I was a child, I was only seven then. It’s been over a decade.”
Um.
Cheng Shuo was puzzled, frowning slightly.
Could it be… boasting?
He was at a loss for words and chose to remain silent.
Tang Yi continued, “Back then, Huaiqian Brother—”
Lu Huaiqian couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted, “Could you stop calling me that?”
“But that’s what I used to call you when I was a child.”
“Childhood is childhood. How old are you now?” Lu Huaiqian emphasized, “Call me ‘Bro,’ ‘Lu Bro,’ or my name. I don’t care how you call others, but I’m almost thirty. I really can’t stand that kind of title. If you keep calling me that, it makes me uncomfortable. I’m getting goosebumps.”
Though Cheng Shuo remained composed, he wholeheartedly agreed internally, never expecting Lu Huaiqian to one day voice his thoughts.
“Alright, if you don’t like it, I’ll change.”
Tang Yi then turned to Cheng Shuo again, “How did you end up in my brother’s car?”
This sounded rather grating. If it were a stranger, Cheng Shuo might have retorted: ‘Why can’t I be in Lu Huaiqian’s car?’ However, considering the person behind him was a pursuer of Lu Huaiqian, he suppressed the response. He didn’t want to get into an argument and decided to speak calmly, “He’s giving me a ride home.”
“Taking you home?” Tang Yi became alert suddenly. He turned to look at Lu Huaiqian’s back and asked, “Bro, didn’t you say you had important matters to attend to, and your bar was too busy to spare time? How can you have time to drive someone home?”
“The important matter is taking him home,” Lu Huaiqian involuntarily frowned. He quickly spoke before Tang Yi could, “Tang Yi, please don’t ask anymore, alright?”
“After you’re off my car, say whatever you want. But I really don’t like it when people talk near my ears while I’m driving.”
Hearing this, Tang Yi lowered his head and remained silent.
Suddenly, Cheng Shuo felt the whole world had gone quiet and found it quite comfortable. Tang Yi stopped pestering him with questions, making Cheng Shuo realize that someone could be more annoying than Lu Huaiqian.
Lu Huaiqian dropped Tang Yi off at his doorstep. After Tang Yi picked up his luggage and closed the trunk, Lu Huaiqian immediately started the car and drove away.
The night was thick, the moonlight swayed, everything was obscure, and a fine drizzle floated outside the car window.
There was a long silence inside the car.
After a while, Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but ask Cheng Shuo, “Why are you so quiet?”
Cheng Shuo was puzzled, “Didn’t you say you don’t like people talking near your ears while driving?”
Lu Huaiqian immediately explained, “I was talking about him. You can say whatever you want.”
Cheng Shuo nodded as if he understood after thinking for a moment. “I have nothing to say.”
“Then let me talk.”
“The person who just asked me for a ride home is Tang Yi,” Lu Huaiqian briefly reminisced. “Tang Yi’s mother and my mother were close friends. When Tang Yi was around seven or eight, there was a car accident, which, unfortunately, resulted in the death of his parents. He was then raised by his uncle.”
“Tang Yi’s uncle was quite young back then, just in his twenties, and had a carefree personality. He wasn’t meticulous in his work and was unable to manage or sort things properly, let alone take care of a child. It seemed quite chaotic and overwhelming for him, causing a lot of misunderstandings.”
“My mother felt sorry for Tang Yi and always asked me to take care of him more, so our families often interacted in my childhood.”
“For instance, sending over cakes my mother made by herself, not to mention various small and large banquets where Tang Yi was always invited.”
Cheng Shuo pondered and said, “So, it means you already see Tang Yi as part of your family.”
“Yes,” Lu Huaiqian continued, “Later, he went abroad for studies, coincidentally, to London, the same place I went. My mother said he was alone abroad, unfamiliar with the place, so she asked me to contact him often. I did as instructed.”
“And then?” Cheng Shuo inquired.
“And then, just like now, my mother always saw him as a child, it became a habit. So many years have passed, and she still wants me to care for him. Later, I found out he had an interest in me, so it’s awkward now. I want to break free, but I can’t entirely. There’s always some reason to meet up, especially during festivals and important occasions.”
At the end of his words, Cheng Shuo suddenly looked down and laughed. It turned out that even the always composed Lu Huaiqian had tricky and challenging situations. Truly, fortunes can change.
“What are you laughing at?”
Lu Huaiqian, perceptive of Cheng Shuo’s expression, pondered for a few seconds. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “You’re laughing because I’m having a hard time with this, right?”
“No.”
“You’re finding joy in my headache, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Your smile is hard to hide,” Lu Huaiqian scoffed. “Are you so delighted to see me troubled?”
“No.” Cheng Shuo pointed ahead, mischievously, “Look, we’re almost at Fufu Jiayuan, so I’m happy because I’ll be home soon.”