Zhen Tian and Ah Zhong put away the glasses. Chen Zui watched her movements and asked, “Do you often have guests trying to hit on you?”
No, only occasionally.” Zhen Tian smiled and cleaned the bar, “Senior, I will give you these coasters as a souvenir.”
“Okay.” Chen Zui looked at the coaster and asked again, “What happens when you encounter a customer who continues to pester you? You’re a girl, it is not safe.”
Deng Liyang, who was drinking beside him, glanced at him silently.
Zhen Tian isn’t very worried about this. After all, she has opened this bar for many years now and has encountered everything. “Senior, don’t worry. The people here are all my people. Ah Zhong and the others will protect me. Also, many customers are as righteous and brave as you!”
"En." Chen Zui replied without saying anything.
He doesn’t act heroically all the time.
Deng Liyang listened to their conversation, and the smile on his face became more and more playful: "Senior, you still have the mind to worry about your junior but don't you also get up to work every night?"
When Zhen Tian heard him, she felt that what he said was reasonable, "Yes, senior, boys should also pay attention to safety when they are alone."
Chen Zui, “....”
Chen Zui silently stared at him, but Deng Liyang became more interested, "Junior sister, do you know that whenever your senior leaves in the middle of the night and comes back in the day, he has been misunderstood by the community security for a long time?"
Zhen Tian was taken aback. She deliberately lowered her voice, and looked at him, "Misunderstand that he is... the dark horse club?"
"Pff!" Deng Liyang almost spits out the beer in his mouth.
Chen Zui stared at them blankly, "Enough you two."
Zhen Tian snickered. She looked at them and asked, "But how did you think of becoming a news anchor?"
Deng Liyang shrugged, "When I was in college, I studied broadcasting, so I naturally became a host."
“Oh, how about you, senior?”
“About the same. When I studied journalism in college, I wanted to be a reporter but I became an anchor instead. "
Zhen Tian was curious, “Reporter?”
"Yeah." Chen Zui looked at her and smiled, "I think journalism is quite interesting."
When he was in school, Chen Zui had no clear plans for his life. In the third year of high school, his classmates all had colleges and majors they wanted to apply for but he was different. But some things are destined. Two weeks after transferring schools, he met a junior who claimed to be a campus reporter.
To interview him, the young student bravely followed him for a week. After he refused, she continued to follow him with perseverance until he nodded in agreement.
At that time, Chen Zui couldn't help thinking, is it so fun to be a reporter?
Zhen Tian didn’t know about this and Chen Zui might never tell this to her.
“Why did you suddenly think to open a bar? Aren’t you afraid of getting a beer belly from being in here all the time?” Deng Liyang asked her.
“No. Beer belly is obviously caused by drinking and eating.”
Deng Liyang looked at the dishes in front of him and didn’t feel like picking up his chopsticks. "If you say this, I don't know if I should eat anymore."
“Haha, it’s fine. Just drink with moderation.” Zhen Tian poured a glass of beer for a new customer and rang back to Deng Liyang and Chen Zui, “But the World Health Organization classifies alcohol as a first-level carcinogen. Senior and Brother Deng should drink less.”
Deng Liyang chuckled, "You operate a bar, and you still say such things?"
"What's wrong with the opening of a bar? We usually remind our customers that heavy drinking is strictly prohibited in our bar."
The customer who had just sat down heard her say this and said jokingly, "Yes, so when I want to get drunk, I don't come to your bar."
Deng Liyang laughed when his mobile phone rang. He put down his chopsticks and took out his phone. He glanced at it, his brows furrowed.
“Li Miao?” Chen Zui asked.
"Yeah." Deng Liyang continued to frown at his phone.
Zhen Tian looked at him strangely, "Isn't Miaomiao your girlfriend? Why don't you answer her phone?"
Deng Liyang sighed, “Little girl, the adult world is very complicated. You are still young and don’t understand.”
Zhen Tian, “....”
She is only two years younger than Chen Zui. Brother Deng looks to be older than Chen Zui and at most, five years older than her.
Deng Liyang finally answered the phone after some time, “Hello, Miaomiao. What is it?”
The person on the other line seemed to say something causing Dneg Liyang to frown. “I’m drinking with Chen Zui. Why would I avoid coming home? Chen Zui has the day off tomorrow so we came out to have a drink. Fine, I’ll let him talk to you.”
Deng Liyang handed the phone over to Chen Zui. He looked at the phone in front of him and still answered it, “Hello. En, I am Chen Zui. Okay, we are almost done. We’re coming back right now.”
He returned the phone to Deng Liyang, “What's the matter with you, Li Miao urged you to get married again? She doesn’t sound very good."
"She's in a bad mood but my mood is worse." Deng Liyang put away his phone and picked up his chopstick. "Whenever we talk about marriage at home, the two of us get into a fight. I went out to have a drink, and she thought I was avoiding coming home on purpose. I don't know what she wants."
Chen Zui lightly said, “She wants to get married.”
“...” Deng Liyang was silent for a while, “But I don’t want to get married yet. What’s wrong with how it is right now? Why does she want to get married?”
“If you don’t want to get married, just tell her straight up. Breaking up is better than leading her on.”
Deng Liyang’s lips twitched but he didn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to get married but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like Li Miao. He can’t bear to break up with her.
Chen Zui saw his thoughts and turned to Zhen Tian, “Brother Deng is a scumbag. Stay away from him.”
Zhen Tian obediently nodded, “Okay.”
Deng Liyang, “....”
How did he become a scumbag? He isn’t having an affair, he just doesn’t want to get married!
“We’ll get going and come back another day.” Chen Zui stood up and waited for Deng Liyang. Seeing that they were about to leave, Zhen Tian called to attention, "Senior, how are you heading back? Although you didn't drink much, you still can't drive."
Chen Zui looked at her, and the corners of his mouth raised, "Don't worry, we will call for a driver."
"Hmm, that's fine. Be careful on the way."
Deng Liyang couldn’t listen anymore and abruptly stood up. He pulled Chen Zui and walked out, “Let’s go.”
The two walked outside and called for a driver. While they wait for the driver to come, Deng Liyang lit a cigarette and stood on the side of the road to take a puff, "What is going on between you and that junior?"
Chen Zui took a step away appearing to dislike the smell of his smoke, “You should handle the matter between you and Li Miao first.”
Deng Liyang laughed and looked at him, "That's how Miao Miao and I usually are. The way you act today is strange."
Chen Zui looked forward and did not speak. Deng Liyang slapped his shoulder and sincerely and earnestly said, "You’re finally enlightened. It's just that those girls at the station are probably going to be sad."
“Those girls at the station are not for you to worry about.”
"...You are not cute at all."
After a while, the driver arrived and the two got in the car. When Chen Zui arrived home, Chen Yiran keenly heard the sound of the doorknob turning. He put down the pen in his hand and ran out in a hurry, "Uncle, you’re back?"
"Yeah." Chen Zui put on his slippers and walked in. "Have you had your meal?"
“Yes, I also cleaned up!”
Chen Zui glanced at the coffee table in the living room. It really is clean and tidy, "Good job. I will take you out for a good meal tomorrow."
"Really?" Chen Yiran's eyes lit up. Although his meal isn’t usually poor, it is obviously more tempting to go out with his uncle for a delicious meal.
"Yes. I have a day off tomorrow so I pick you up from school in the afternoon. Think about what you want to eat in advance."
"Okay!" Chen Yiran responded happily and sniffed twice next to Chen Zui, "Uncle, you drank?"
"A little, have you finished your homework?"
"Oh, there’s a question I don’t know. I was waiting for you to come back to help me."
Chen Zui changed his clothes and walked to his room with him, "Which question?"
“This one.”
Chen Zui lowered his head and saw the eraser next to the exercise book. It is pink. "Isn't this eraser yours?"
Chen Yiran heard what he said and realized that he had put the eraser on the table. He quickly put it away in his stationery bag, "Oh, I lost my eraser today, so I borrowed it from a classmate."
Chen Zui looked at him, “Female classmate?”
Chen Yiran, “....”
This isn’t right. He was supposed to interrogate him, how did it turn to his uncle interrogating him?
Chen Yiran said uncomfortably, “It’s the class monitor’s. I forgot to return it to her.”
“Oh.” Chen Yiran stared at him. “Then remember to buy a new one and return it to her tomorrow.”
“I know.” Chen Yiran moved the workbook in Chen Zui’s direction and urged, “Look at this problem!”
After explaining it to Chen Yiran, he checked his other homework along the way. Then, he reminded him not to stay up late and go to bed early. Chen Yiran also wanted to ask him where he went today. Chen Zui only said that he had a drink with Deng Liyang and went back to the room to take a shower.
After drinking some alcohol, he took a hot bath and healed both body and mind. Chen Zui dried his hair, put on a T-shirt, and went to the closet to search for something.
He remembered that when he moved, he put some old things from the past in a small box and brought it with him. After going through three drawers, he finally found the small box he was looking for.
The box had been left untouched in the drawer and a thin layer of dust accumulated on top of it. Chen Zui wiped off the dust, lift up the lid, and put it aside.
There are many miscellaneous gadgets stored in the box, mostly from his school days. These include things like student IDs, school logos, alumni records, and even a few test papers. Chen Zui looked through it for a while and took out a small card.
The card was put in a clear vinyl holder with a hole punched on top of it for a string to be strung through it. The string has long been gone but the words written on the card were still visible because of the plastic protection.
It says Campus Press Card and the name on it is Zhen Tian.
This is Zhen Tian's campus press card. The words "Zhen Tian" were handwritten by her and there is also a one-inch standard photo on a red background.
Chen Zui chuckled. He still has this card. He remembers that because Zhen Tian continued to follow him at that time, some people thought that Zhen Tian was his girlfriend and ran to make trouble for her. Of course, later on, these people were beaten up and scared away by Chen Zui. However, in the chaos, Zhen Tian dropped her press card and he picked it up.
He didn’t remember why he didn’t return it to Zhen Tian. If he could do it again….he still wouldn’t return it to her.
Zhen Tian, who lost her press card, went to reapply for one. She must have never imagined that her press card would be here with Chen Zui.
How is it that you forget about someone and save their sfuff...?
ReplyDeleteNvm I am like that too