Blue Cocktail chapter 57

“How about I treat you to a nice dinner?” Lu Huaiqian suddenly sat down next to Cheng Shuo, and the soft sofa cushions trembled slightly due to the sudden weight. He held Cheng Shuo’s fingers, “It’s just around Qingpu West Road. The beef hot pot there is really delicious, and most importantly, I’m acquainted with the owner.”

Cheng Shuo frowned, withdrawing his hand, “It’s too far. Going out is tiring. I don’t want to go.”

Lu Huaiqian suggested again, “Then I’ll arrange for someone to deliver it.”

Cheng Shuo objected, “Takeout arrives cold. It’s not freshly cooked, affecting the taste.”

“How about I hire a chef to come to the house and cook on the spot?”

“I don’t want strangers in my house.”

Lu Huaiqian frowned, realizing that things were not simple. After spending a long time with Cheng Shuo, he could probably understand the other’s temper. Moreover, as a bar owner who had been in the business for many years, his ability to read people was top-notch.

“Did I, unintentionally, upset you?”

Cheng Shuo remained silent.

“Looking at your expression, I guess I really upset you.”

Cheng Shuo glanced at Lu Huaiqian, his eyes clearly saying, ‘No kidding.’

Lu Huaiqian had a vague guess in his heart but didn’t say it directly. He also hoped that Cheng Shuo could be more straightforward. “If you don’t speak, I don’t know where I went wrong. Getting angry is meaningful when I know what you’re angry about. Otherwise, you’re sulking alone, and I’m still happy-go-lucky, carefree. Your anger is in vain, isn’t it?”

Cheng Shuo’s tightly pursed lips seemed to loosen slightly.

Lu Huaiqian turned his head slightly, staring at the other’s face, assessing it back and forth. He stroked his chin, “I just realized today, even when you’re angry, you’re so cute.”

Cheng Shuo’s tense cheeks twisted for a moment, hovering on the verge of breaking character.

“Come on, please tell me. What did I do?”

Cheng Shuo stayed silent for a few seconds, then turned and complained, “What did you do behind my back?”

“Behind your back?” Lu Huaiqian defended himself confidently, “I haven’t done anything indecent behind your back. If I want to do something, I do it openly, especially with you.”

“Yes, you’re so open that you even went to the rooftop?” Cheng Shuo added, “Don’t deny it. I saw everything on the balcony just now. Surprisingly, our balcony faces the rooftop, with a wide view. I could see everything clearly!”

Lu Huaiqian suddenly burst into laughter, “So that’s it.”

“Still laughing!” Cheng Shuo glared back, “What’s so funny? You clearly told me before that you really hate meeting him, and you even said he’s a pursuer you can’t get rid of.”

Lu Huaiqian restrained some of his laughter, soothingly said, “I came to you before going out, wanting to consult you. If you didn’t want me to go, I wouldn’t have. But you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to disturb your rest. I left you a WeChat message and took the liberty to decide. It was indeed my mishandling of the situation, and I apologize.”

Cheng Shuo was slightly surprised, “WeChat?”

Lu Huaiqian also looked puzzled, “Didn’t you see it? Or did the system swallow my message?”

To be precise, Cheng Shuo didn’t see it. He stayed silent for a while and then forcefully argued, “Who looks at their phone right after waking up?”

Lu Huaiqian pointed to himself, “I do.”

Cheng Shuo pushed Lu Huaiqian away with a reproachful look.

Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but laugh.

Suddenly, Cheng Shuo stood up.

Lu Huaiqian asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see what explanations you gave in WeChat,” Cheng Shuo murmured softly, “It’s better not to find any contradictions, or else you’re finished, Lu Huaiqian.”

With a threatening tone mixed with a bit of coquetry, Lu Huaiqian felt quite pleased and enjoyed it.

Lu Huaiqian grabbed Cheng Shuo’s wrist, “I’m here with you. Why are you going to check WeChat? Let me explain it to you again in front of you. You can focus on checking for loopholes and inconsistencies. If you find anything suspicious, feel free to question me.”

While saying this, he opened the chat record with Tang Yi on his phone and handed it to Cheng Shuo.

“Tang Yi said he already knows about us. He’s leaving Pei Jiang soon and wants to say a final goodbye to me. He claims that as long as I meet him today, he won’t bother me again. The main point is this last condition, settling things once and for all. I found it quite tempting.”

Cheng Shuo read through the chat record three times. He bit his lip and said, “But I also saw him giving you a gift, and you accepted it.”

“Do you remember I mentioned before that I gave him a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky? He said he wanted to return the favor, and this bottle is a symbol of closure between us.”

“Oh,” Cheng Shuo responded, “That’s nothing, right? Why didn’t you bring it back?”

“If I brought it back, wouldn’t you be even more jealous?” Lu Huaiqian shrugged, “So, I threw the box and the bottle into the trash bin downstairs in the community. If you don’t believe it, I can take you downstairs now.”

“Who’s jealous?” Cheng Shuo was silent for two seconds, then switched to denial mode, “I don’t care who you meet. Even if you run away with Tang Yi, I’m mainly worried about who will pay me for the illustrations I worked so hard on.”

“Ah?” Lu Huaiqian pretended to be surprised, “Aren’t they supposed to be free for couples?”

“Free is for couples. If you run off with someone else, I’m not giving you a couple’s discount. That would be stupid of me, right?”

Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but chuckle.

He raised his head, smoothed Cheng Shuo’s messy bangs, and said, “After waking up, not seeing WeChat, unexpectedly caught me secretly meeting another guy. You must have imagined a lot, right?”

“Although I am slick and talk nonsense, I am absolutely unambiguous about important matters. So, if you have any questions, just ask?”

“I have one.”

“Ask me.”

Cheng Shuo turned his head silently, “What are we having for lunch today?”

In other words, let’s turn the page on this matter. Lu Huaiqian smiled happily, “what do you want?.”

“Hot pot.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to eat it?”

“Well, it’s because I see that you really want to eat.”

In the end, Lu Huaiqian decided to use his financial power and invited a chef to come over.

After enjoying a hearty meal, they had a wonderful afternoon.

Originally, Lu Huaiqian had planned to watch a family movie with Cheng Shuo. Thoughtfully, he dug out the neglected projector from the storage room and even went downstairs to the convenience store to buy size-7 batteries for the remote control.

Everything was ready, and Lu Huaiqian had already chosen a movie.

However, plans changed unexpectedly. Zhao Ge suddenly called, informing him that there were some issues with the bar’s renovation. The designed plan couldn’t be implemented in reality, and Lu Huaiqian needed to come back immediately to make decisions in person. The sooner, the better, as his decisions would affect the subsequent progress of the renovation.

Lu Huaiqian had no choice but to put on his coat, explain the situation to Cheng Shuo, and hastily leave. He promised that they would make up for the missed movie later.

So, the afternoon Cheng Shuo had originally filled with plans suddenly became free.

Feeling bored, he leaned on the computer desk. Perhaps due to the recent rush in drawing illustrations for Lu Huaiqian, he absentmindedly picked up the stylus, and his brain automatically started to doze off, with his eyelids fighting to stay open.

After forcing himself to draw for a while, Cheng Shuo yawned and stretched lazily. He realized his right hand was holding the stylus and tears welled up at the corners of his eyes.

Unable to endure any longer, he closed the computer, tossed the pen aside, lay down on the bed, set the alarm with his remaining consciousness, and quickly fell into a dream.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

“Deng deng deng—”

In a daze, Cheng Shuo thought, “Didn’t I set the alarm for an hour later?”

In the semi-dream state, he reached out to touch the phone on the bedside table, barely opening his eyes a crack. The sleepiness dissipated instantly, realizing it wasn’t the alarm; it was an incoming call.

Cheng Shuo sat up abruptly. The absurd feeling of struggling back to reality after a beautiful dream surged as he wondered, “Why is Cheng Yu calling me?”

At the same time, heavy knocking sounds echoed in his ears.