Chapter 27

Su Yican really had been furious with Cen Shi that day. She had talked at him for ages, only for him to leave without saying a single word. And that night, he truly did not come back.

She did not see him at school the following day either. When she returned home, however, she discovered that two of his three enormous suitcases were gone.

During those two days, Cen Shi spent almost all his working hours in the gymnasium. Ever since hordes of young girls had begun visiting the office to look for him, he hardly came back there anymore.

That evening, though, as Su Yican was walking home after buying groceries, she spotted him in the small plaza.

He was actually sitting beside the basketball court with Yin Zuo and the rest of those boys.

The street was dark, and the basketball court’s enormous floodlights shone down upon the group of young men. Some had lifted their shirts, while others had rolled up their sleeves. Their laughter, swearing, and roughhousing radiated the reckless arrogance of youth.

Cen Shi sat right in the middle of them.

Someone offered him a cigarette. He casually took it and placed it between his lips.

Perhaps sensing someone watching from the sidelines, he slanted his gaze over and met Su Yican’s eyes.

Their eyes locked for only two seconds. Then, with a mocking curve to his lips, he looked straight at her and lit the cigarette.

Su Yican had never imagined that the same person could embody aloof refinement and roguish wickedness so completely.

She became so furious that she immediately tore her gaze away and strode toward home.

Behind her, someone called out, “Teacher Su, did you go shopping? That looks heavy. Want us to carry it for you?”

A burst of laughter followed.

Su Yican turned around and glared coldly at them.

She saw that Cen Shi was smiling too, exhaling wisps of smoke in her direction. His wickedly handsome face was filled with brazen mischief.

He was not even bothering to pretend anymore.

Su Yican had taught all kinds of students over the years—the good ones, the bad ones, and the troublemakers—but she had never imagined that one day some bratty younger man would make her tremble with rage.

When she got home, she locked the courtyard gate, dumped the groceries in the yard, then angrily dragged the snail chair into the backyard.

For good measure, she even kicked it.

The next day was Friday.

Near the end of Su Yican’s afternoon class, her salary arrived in her account. She glanced at the text notification on her phone and paid it no further attention.

But just as she was about to return to the office, her phone vibrated again.

She took it out and discovered, to her astonishment, a transfer from Cen Shi.

The note contained only two words:

My salary.

Su Yican froze outside the office door.

She suddenly remembered that, during summer vacation, he had said he would hand his salary over to her.

She immediately leaned into the office and looked around. Cen Shi was not there.

After putting down her things, she hurried to the gymnasium.

Zhao Qi and the others were training with unusual diligence. They had even skipped their non-core classes to practice there, but their coach was nowhere to be found.

According to Zhao Qi, Cen Shi had assigned their training tasks for the day and then left early because he had something to do.

The moment Su Yican stepped out of the gymnasium, she sent him a message.

What is this supposed to mean?

There was no reply.

She hurried back to the office. Seeing Jiang Chong there, she asked, “Did Coach Cen apply for a dorm room?”

“I think I heard Old Ding mention it yesterday,” Jiang Chong answered casually. “I’m not sure.”

Just before the end of the workday, Su Yican received a call from Sheng Miyue.

“Come out tonight. I already arranged it with Yunniu. You can also meet the guy my family introduced to me.”

The office was very quiet that afternoon. The other teachers had all gone off to attend to various tasks, leaving only Su Yican and Jiang Chong.

Sheng Miyue’s voice carried clearly from the phone.

Su Yican lifted her eyelids slightly and saw that Jiang Chong, who had been writing with his head lowered, paused for a moment.

Then he continued working.

After ending the call, Su Yican glanced at the time. It was almost time to leave.

She picked up her things, but before walking out, she turned back and said to Jiang Chong, “Miyue told me that her family plans to settle the marriage after New Year’s if this guy seems suitable.”

Jiang Chong raised his gaze.

A dark light gathered in his eyes, but in the end, he said nothing.

Su Yican returned home first. She changed out of her sportswear and put on a pure black slip dress, then casually threw a light beige blazer over it before heading out again.

That evening, Yunniu had reserved a private booth at one of the hottest bars in the city center.

Tables there were notoriously difficult to book, but Yunniu was a regular. Once they arrived, they sent Su Yican their location.

Fengxi was already some distance from the city center, and traffic downtown was heavy, so Su Yican was practically the last person to arrive.

By the time she entered the private room, Sheng Miyue and the others had already finished their first round of drinks.

The music was deafening and the lights flashed wildly. The moment Su Yican arrived, a group of women dragged her onto the sofa and made her down an entire glass.

Only then did Su Yican notice the man sitting beside Sheng Miyue.

How should she put it?

At first glance, he and Sheng Miyue seemed to belong to completely different worlds.

He was not particularly tall, wore thick-lensed glasses, and had an honest, almost simple-looking face. He probably was not accustomed to bars, because he sat quietly in the corner with barely any presence.

After Sheng Miyue introduced them, Su Yican greeted him, then leaned over and asked, “What does he do?”

Sheng Miyue turned to the man. “My friend wants to know what you do for work.”

The man leaned forward and answered, “My research concerns molecular beam epitaxy and metal oxide chemical vapor deposition.”

“…”

One look was enough to confirm it.

They had absolutely nothing to talk about.

After a few drinks, Su Yican removed her blazer and placed it aside.

At that moment, Yunniu announced to the group, “A new bartender started working here recently. He looks like Wentworth Miller.”

One of the other women asked, “The guy from Prison Break?”

“Exactly. That handsome guy. Want to go take a look?”

The women immediately reached a unanimous decision.

Su Yican had no desire whatsoever to go admire some handsome man, so she gave Sheng Miyue a push and said to Yunniu, “Take this woman with you. She just had her heart broken and needs some fresh blood.”

And thus, against her will, Su Yican was hauled off the sofa by the group of women.

The bar had become increasingly crowded.

At center stage, the DJ was mixing tracks and shouting into the microphone. The giant screen played scenes of pounding music and provocative dancing. Trendy young men and women thrashed wildly across the dance floor like demons in revelry.

To Su Yican, this chaotic spectacle designed to stimulate people’s hormones could be summed up in one word:

Noisy.

With little enthusiasm, she followed Yunniu and the others as they squeezed their way toward the bar.

A huge crowd of young women had already gathered around it.

From the corner of her eye, Su Yican saw a flash of blue flame. The women surrounding the bar immediately erupted into deafening screams.

Then, like starving wolves pouncing on prey, they began shouting out prices.

“Two hundred!”

“Five hundred!”

“…”

Before Su Yican could understand what was happening, Yunniu grabbed her arm and desperately pulled her forward.

Fortunately, Su Yican was fairly tall, and most women could not outmuscle her.

The moment they squeezed their way to the bar, Yunniu roared, “One thousand!”

Su Yican had barely steadied herself when she looked up sharply.

There, behind the bar, stood the legendary bartender.

He wore a white utility jacket printed with patterns. His slightly curled brown hair was tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head. Beneath the flickering lights, his exquisitely sculpted features carried a lethal wildness.

Every glance and smile radiated irresistible temptation.

Had the bar counter not stood between him and the crowd of infatuated women, they looked ready to reach out and put their hands all over him.

Strictly speaking, Su Yican did not think he resembled Wentworth Miller.

From certain angles, he did possess the same lupine intensity in his eyes, but his features held a distinctly Eastern elegance.

And the man was none other than the bratty younger man who had made her want to set his hair on fire these past few days.

Cen Xiaoshi himself.

No wonder he had disappeared the instant work ended.

So he had come to a bar in the city center.

Su Yican suddenly remembered asking him some time ago what he had been doing every evening. He had said he had found a job where he could make some money.

Some money?

This was far beyond merely making some money.

In the span of a few minutes, he had taken a cocktail worth less than two hundred yuan, performed a dazzling sequence of tricks, and sold it for one thousand.

Why did he not simply rob people?

Su Yican pushed aside a younger woman beside her and leaned against the bar.

Cen Shi lifted his eyelids slightly.

He froze for a brief instant.

The bottle he had just tossed into the air landed neatly in his palm. He spun it once and poured out the liquid.

Many of the women nearby were still shouting prices.

With his eyes lowered, Cen Shi pushed the cocktail forward, angling it slightly toward Su Yican’s group.

Yunniu immediately snatched it, shoved aside the girl beside her, and sat down directly in front of the bar.

Drinks at the bar had been selling so well lately that the owner had spotted a business opportunity and instituted a bidding system for seats.

Since Yunniu and the others had won the drink, they naturally earned the right to sit in front of the bar and flirt with the handsome young bartender—

No, not flirt.

Toy with him—

That was not right either.

They could merely sit there and innocently watch the handsome younger man perform flair bartending.

Su Yican stood beside them, staring coldly at Cen Shi, until Yunniu dragged her onto one of the high stools.

Then Yunniu called out to him, “Make one for each of my other two friends too.”

Cen Shi did not look at Su Yican again.

Lowering his gaze, he began preparing another drink.

He carelessly selected several bottles of different colors, then tossed them into the air with one hand.

The bottles flew directly over their heads.

Yunniu jumped in fright and hurriedly leaned backward.

But before the bottles could fall onto them, Cen Shi tilted the corner of his mouth and hooked them neatly back toward himself.

Every movement was effortless.

The surrounding girls shrieked without end. Even Yunniu and the others laughed while patting their frightened hearts.

Su Yican realized she really had underestimated him.

The last time Ma Bin had said Cen Shi was incredibly skilled with dice, she had remained skeptical.

Now, after seeing him masterfully perform this form of flair bartending that had originated in the United States, her understanding of Cen Shi was overturned yet again.

Su Yican had never liked watching bartenders perform.

It always made her nervous. Every time a bartender tossed a bottle, she would hold her breath, terrified they might miss.

Cen Shi, however, casually performed the difficult technique of juggling three bottles at once.

There was not the slightest trace of nervousness on his face. Instead, he carried a cool, languid air.

A blue liquid poured into the glass.

Only then did he raise his eyes.

The music around them was deafening. Many women swayed to the beat, raising their hands in hopes of attracting Cen Shi’s attention.

Cen Shi slowly lowered his head and took a sip of rum.

When he raised his head again, a roaring stream of fire shot directly toward Su Yican.

The women beside her screamed excitedly once more and scattered in all directions.

Su Yican, by contrast, remained calmly seated on the high stool, lowering her eyes to watch the flames that had stopped barely a fist’s distance from her.

The blaze vanished in an instant.

Terrified, Yunniu grabbed Su Yican and exclaimed, “Oh my God, you’re way too brave! Why didn’t you move? What if it burned you?”

Su Yican’s gaze remained fixed firmly on Cen Shi’s face.

Supporting herself against the bar with one hand, she replied, “Would he dare?”

Cen Shi placed a lemon slice along the rim of the glass.

His gaze lowered, and the corner of his mouth curved into a silent smile as he pushed the drink toward the woman sitting to Yunniu’s left.

Yunniu pointed at Su Yican. “Handsome, there’s still one more person.”

“I don’t want one,” Su Yican interrupted coldly. “One thousand yuan a glass? Wouldn’t plain water at home taste better?”

With that, she prepared to leave.

Yunniu immediately pulled her back and whispered into her ear, “We’re already here. Give me some face.”

Cen Shi never lifted his head.

His hands moved rapidly, but this time he did not put on any dazzling performance.

Instead, he resembled a gentlemanly British bartender.

Before long, he pushed a glass of cherry-pink liquid toward Su Yican.

A teasing light flickered in his eyes.

“Buy two, get one free.”

Yunniu and the others immediately chorused, “Thanks, handsome.”

Expressionless, Su Yican studied the glass in front of her.

Yunniu and the others lowered their heads to taste their drinks.

“This is pretty strong,” one of them said.

Noticing that Su Yican’s drink looked different, they asked her, “How’s yours?”

Su Yican lifted the cherry-pink cocktail glass and took a sip.

A faint fruity fragrance spread across her tongue.

She tasted it more carefully.

Aside from the aromatic fruitiness and a restrained sweetness that was not cloying, she could not detect even the slightest trace of alcohol.

She glanced at Cen Shi in bafflement.

What was that supposed to mean?

Because she had not paid, he would not even give her alcohol?

Had he mixed her a glass of juice?

Su Yican raised the glass and drained it in one gulp, then pushed it back across the bar.

Turning to Yunniu and the others, she said, “It is pretty strong. Burns the mouth.”

Cen Shi was busy at the other end of the bar.

Without turning around, he reached back and retrieved the empty glass.

Not long afterward, another drink appeared before Su Yican.

This one contained a gradient of orange and yellow, decorated with a small Hawaiian-style flower.

Yunniu and the others looked at Su Yican strangely.

Su Yican, meanwhile, accepted everything without hesitation and was just about to taste it when Yunniu hurriedly shouted, “Don’t drink it yet! It’s pretty. Let me take a picture.”

After Yunniu finished taking the photo, Su Yican picked up the glass and took a sip.

Good grief.

Still fruit juice.

She drained it in one gulp again.

Realizing something was wrong, Yunniu and the others hurriedly warned her, “You can’t drink like that. It’s definitely going to hit you once we leave.”

Su Yican spoke toward Cen Shi’s back. “It’s fine. I can hold my liquor.”

At that moment, Cen Shi finally turned around and returned to stand before them.

He took back Su Yican’s glass.

Seeing this, Yunniu teased him, “Handsome, what time do you finish work? Come sit with us afterward.”

Cen Shi prepared a third drink, this one the deep blue of a starry sky, and pushed it toward Su Yican.

“My tigress at home keeps a close eye on me,” he replied. “Hope you understand.”

Su Yican’s head snapped up.

Cen Shi slowly lifted his eyelids.

His gaze struck her with an unrestrained, almost aggressive force.

Only at that moment did Su Yican suddenly understand why Cen Shi had been able to adjust his expression so quickly during their photo shoot that day.

This freaking bastard had not been acting at all.

He had simply been playing himself!