Blue Cocktail chapter 53

It was another ordinary day, and it was time to go to work. As usual, Zhao Ge arrived at the Mo Blue Bar and pushed the door open—

But he was slightly surprised.

In the corner, sitting lazily in a booth, was Lu Huaiqian. His right forearm was wrapped in a cast, pale gauze wound around his neck. Although he looked a bit disheveled, his expression remained relaxed.

Zhao Ge furrowed his brows, walked in with concern, and said, “Boss Lu, what happened to your hand?”

“Broke it,” Lu Huaiqian said in a nonchalant tone.

Zhao Ge sat down across from Lu Huaiqian. “How did you break it?”

Lu Huaiqian frowned and sighed, “For beating up a fat pig.”

“A pig?” Zhao Ge was puzzled.

Lu Huaiqian replied, “Mr. Cao.”

Zhao Ge began to form a guess, but he wasn’t sure. He decided to ask, “Mr. Cao, that old lecher, gained a notorious reputation five or six years ago. I’ve never seen you get involved with him before. Why the sudden intense reaction? Weren’t you always indifferent and uninvolved, keeping a low profile?”

Lu Huaiqian looked at Zhao Ge with a hint of surprise, as if the latter had asked a very foolish question. “Because Mr. Cao had set his sights on Cheng Shuo.”

Zhao Ge burst into laughter. “I knew it! Did you play the hero to save the beauty last night? So, did you win Cheng Shuo’s heart?”

Zhao Ge continued, “By the way, do you know about the suspension bridge effect? In dangerous situations, a distressed beauty’s heartbeat accelerates. There is a high possibility that she attributes the accelerated heartbeat to the hero, mistakenly thinking she’s attracted to him. This is why the hero-saves-the-beauty theme works so well in various forms of entertainment. If it doesn’t work this time, I suggest you try a few more times—”

Lu Huaiqian’s brows furrowed, and he said sternly, “How can you joke about such things?”

They locked eyes.

Zhao Ge, very perceptively, pleaded for forgiveness, “My bad. I shouldn’t have said that. Just consider it a fart I let out.”

Lu Huaiqian pursed his lips and reluctantly made a vague acknowledgment.

Seemingly carrying a lingering displeasure, Zhao Ge looked around and suddenly said, “Boss Lu, do you feel itchy on your head now?”

This time, Lu Huaiqian was puzzled. “No, I don’t. I washed my hair yesterday.”

Zhao Ge then answered his own question. “Why is your head itchy? Because your love brain is about to sprout, right?”

He shook his head and sighed, “boss Lu, you are truly in love!”

Lu Huaiqian snorted, “Wait until you have a partner and a soulmate, then we can discuss the issue of a love brain, alright?”

The implication was clear: Wait until the perennially single Zhao Ge experiences love before making fun of his love brain.

Zhao Ge shook his head, saying, “You don’t understand. Having no love in your heart is the highest realm of having love.”

Suddenly, a more shocking scene unfolded before them.

Cheng Shuo walked over with a fruit knife in his right hand, a plate of apples in his left hand. He decisively sat next to Lu Huaiqian, maintaining a certain distance.

Lu Huaiqian turned his head, his gaze piercing, scanning Cheng Shuo’s profile. Cheng Shuo, initially ignoring the scrutiny, gradually became uncomfortable and reluctantly moved a bit closer.

Then, Lu Huaiqian leaned close to Cheng Shuo’s ear and whispered something—genuine praise.

Cheng Shuo pushed him away a bit, starting to peel the apple with the knife.

His expression seemed extremely focused, more like secretly competing with the fruit knife and his own fingers.

Every time the knife descended, it took skin and flesh together, estimated to be around two millimeters thick. Calling it apple skin might be an insult to the term. Each time the length of the apple skin was about to exceed three centimeters, it immediately broke off and fell into the trash can.

The knife skills were not that great, especially in the eyes of Zhao Ge, a bartender who often carved ice. Lu Huaiqian’s carving skills were even more proficient, and he estimated that Lu Huaiqian shared the same sentiment.

Then, unexpectedly, Lu Huaiqian genuinely complimented, “You peel apples really well. I’ll ask you to do it next time.”

Zhao Ge: ?

Zhao Ge: So, this is the magical love filter?

Fortunately, Cheng Shuo didn’t get lost in Lu Huaiqian’s rainbow rhetoric. “Stop with the commercial flattery. I didn’t say I won’t peel apples for you again.”

He paused for a few seconds and added, “It’s a good opportunity to practice my knife skills. I haven’t sketched in a long time, and my hands are getting rusty from not peeling pencils for an extended period.”

“Don’t make excuses, Cheng Shuo,” Lu Huaiqian straightforwardly exposed, “You’re just worried about my right wrist being broken and not being able to peel apple skin by myself.”

Cheng Shuo’s hand holding the fruit knife paused, and a piece of apple skin fell to the ground with a snap. He picked it up expressionlessly, muttering, “Presumptuous.”

“I’m presumptuous?” Lu Huaiqian suddenly leaned in very close, his lips almost brushing against Cheng Shuo’s cheek. “Say it again, looking into my eyes. Otherwise, I won’t believe it.”

“Hey! You two!” Zhao Ge, unable to bear it any longer, exclaimed, “I haven’t left yet!”

At the words of Zhao Ge, Lu Huaiqian and Cheng Shuo turned their heads at the same time, their facial expressions complex. In unison, they said, “You’re still here.”

Zhao Ge, the third wheel, looked at the two in astonishment. He suddenly had a strange illusion that Cheng Shuo had been corrupted by Lu Huaiqian and turned into a real little fox. So, this was the magical couple look?

Zhao Ge witnessed the precious image of early human domestication of a fruit knife. He watched as Cheng Shuo painstakingly cut the apple into small pieces, pierced them with toothpicks, and placed them on the left side of Lu Huaiqian.

Zhao Ge, being familiar with the situation, reached out to snag a piece of apple from Lu Huaiqian’s plate. However, Lu Huaiqian, quick-eyed and quick-handed, slapped his hand away. “If you want some, go to the kitchen and get it yourself. Cheng Shuo cut these for me.”

“Damn,” Zhao Ge couldn’t help but swear.

Ignoring Zhao Ge, Cheng Shuo patiently waited for Lu Huaiqian to finish the apple. Holding an empty plate, Cheng Shuo stood up and said, “I’ll go get your medicine.”

“Thanks,” Lu Huaiqian shouted at his retreating figure. “After taking the medicine, can you peel grapes for me?”

“Got it,” Cheng Shuo replied without looking back.

Once Cheng Shuo was a distance away, Zhao Ge, curious as ever, asked Lu Huaiqian, “How did you convince Cheng Shuo to peel apples for you and then grapes? What’s your secret?”

Lu Huaiqian replied immediately, “I told him I’m afraid of the bitter taste of medicine, and the apples are my reward for taking medicine in the morning.”

“Damn,” Zhao Ge exclaimed in surprise. “You really treat yourself like a child!”

“I call it retaining my childlike innocence, returning to simplicity.” The old fox faced the questioning calmly, lazily lifting his eyelids, giving Zhao Ge a glance that was three parts complacency and seven parts show-off.

Zhao Ge couldn’t help but mutter a curse under his breath. He sarcastically commented, “I’ve known you for so many years, and I never knew you were afraid of bitterness. You even find bitter drinks like Campari enjoyable.”

“Ah, that seems to be a long time ago. I don’t really remember,” Lu Huaiqian said casually.

“Zhao Ge,” Lu Huaiqian, with a tone of persuasion, said, “people change.”

After some thought, he added, “I call it the flexibility to avoid bitterness.”

Zhao Ge snorted. “Shameless.”

After speaking, the two exchanged a mysterious smile.

Then, Zhao Ge turned to more serious matters. “By the way, your hand is broken. What about the bar? Are you planning to temporarily replace your position with another bartender?”

“I heard that after removing the cast, joints need some time to recover mobility through exercise. If you want me to handle the bar and bartending alone, occasionally once or twice is regrettable, but if you want me to do it continuously for nearly a month, I don’t think I can do it.”

“How is that possible? That would be too much exploitation of an employee!” In the end, Lu Huaiqian added, “Of course, the main reason is that I don’t have such high expectations for your abilities.”

“Damn, that hurts.” Zhao Ge laughed and cursed.

Lu Huaiqian cleared his throat and said seriously, “During this period, I plan to renovate the bar. I’ve had this idea for a while but didn’t want to lose revenue, so I kept postponing it.”

Zhao Ge nodded. “Smart move, boss Lu.”

“By the way, I wanted to tell you, I’ve adjusted Aru’s work hours. From now on, he’ll be on day shifts on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Don’t find it strange when you do the handover.”

“Because of Cheng Shuo?”

“Yes,” Lu Huaiqian lightly furrowed his brow, “To avoid spending money and inadvertently giving them the chance to be alone. I wouldn’t want to be taken advantage of, right?”

“Crafty as always.”

Not long after, Cheng Shuo appeared in front of Lu Huaiqian, carrying a cup of medicine.

The medicine was in a glass wine glass, as requested by Lu Huaiqian because there were no empty bowls on the first floor, and although there were some on the second floor, he was too lazy to look for them or ask Cheng Shuo to find them.

Holding the base of the cup, Lu Huaiqian, to make it seem like he hated bitterness, sipped it slowly, making it appear as if he believed it himself by the end. When there was only a sip left at the bottom of the cup, he shook it gently, mixed the remaining residue at the bottom of the glass, and finished it in one go.

Elegant, truly elegant.

He handed the cup to Cheng Shuo and said, “Cheng Shuo, there’s something I need your help with.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you know how to draw illustrations?”

“A little bit.”

“Do you excel in Photoshop?”

“I’m fairly good at it.”

“I’m planning to renovate the bar soon, and the cocktail menu will be updated. I want to add some watercolor-style illustrations to the menu, about each cocktail.”

“Each cocktail?!” Cheng Shuo’s voice fluctuated.

But he quickly calmed down. “It’s okay, but it might take some time.”

“Ah, indeed, the workload seems a bit large. So, don’t draw all of them; just illustrate the popular cocktails.”

Zhao Ge asked in confusion, “Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to use real photographs before—”

Lu Huaiqian glanced at him lightly.

Zhao Ge immediately understood. “Ah—right, illustrations are better. Definitely better!”

Lu Huaiqian turned to Cheng Shuo. “You can rest assured. After finishing the illustrations, you’ll definitely get your reward.”

“No need to pay me. I’ll help you draw for free. Given our relationship, do I still need to take your money?”

Lu Huaiqian deliberately questioned, “What relationship do we have?”

Cheng Shuo glared back, slightly annoyed. “You know exactly what relationship we have.”

He muttered, “Asking knowingly.”

After a few seconds, Cheng Shuo seemed to think of something. “Are you in a hurry for these illustrations?”

Lu Huaiqian smiled, “Yes, I’m in a hurry.”

It’s unclear whether he was serious or joking.

“In that case, I know a senior, a somewhat famous online artist known for her clean and transparent watercolor style. If you’re in a hurry, I can ask her, and you might need to pay her a bit extra.”

“If you’re not in a hurry, then I’ll take my time. Although I’ve painted both thinly and thickly, I’ve been doing more thick painting lately. So, I’m not sure if I can achieve the watercolor effect you want.”

Lu Huaiqian smiled gracefully. “It’s okay. I’ll love anything you draw.”

Cheng Shuo’s figure stiffened for a moment, but he pretended not to hear.

He somewhat awkwardly changed the subject, “So, should I invite that senior or not?”

Lu Huaiqian almost blurted out that it wasn’t necessary. However, upon second thought, what if that senior knew Cheng Shuo’s artist’s Weibo account? Judging by Cheng Shuo’s tone, their relationship seemed quite good. What if that senior and Cheng Shuo were mutual followers? It could be a ready-made clue, delivered right to his doorstep?

After all, if he waited for Cheng Shuo to confess voluntarily, it would probably take forever.

So, Lu Huaiqian discreetly changed his tune, “Please do, because I’m really in a hurry.”

After saying this, he couldn’t help but think that with Cheng Shuo’s tone, they should be able to invite a somewhat famous artist. Did Cheng Shuo have such a good relationship with that senior?