Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Bar

“What happened?” Yuan Xiaoling asked curiously, tilting her little head.

Bai Ling covered her eyes with her hand, her eyelashes brushing against her palm like a little brush, tickling a bit.

“If you want to see, I’ll let you, but don’t blame me if you can’t eat dinner later.”

“…Then never mind.”

The summer day was very long, the clock pointing towards six, yet it was still bright outside.

Tianhai Square had been evacuated, and more than half of the area turned into a no-man’s land. Only investigators were inside checking for explosives. Those who were driven out of the square either went home or stood around the perimeter chatting enthusiastically with strangers.

“It was so scary. I was shopping at the time, on the second floor near Aisha International, when suddenly there was a loud boom, and everyone in the store got a fright.”

“Indeed! I thought it was an earthquake, my spouse pulled me under the table.”

“Hardly ever coming out once, and this happens. Today’s luck is really bad.”

“Not necessarily bad luck; something like this is hard to encounter even once in a lifetime.”

To avoid causing panic, they announced right away that there were no casualties, so these people watched the commotion with relatively light hearts.

But what they didn’t know was that on the rooftop of the building behind them, a corpse lay silently.

“You’d better eat something,” Bai Ling suggested, “we’re going out tonight, don’t want you collapsing halfway through.”

After killing Ray Sen, she left Tianhai Square with Yuan Xiaoling, not going far, just finding a random Western restaurant nearby for dinner.

Yuan Xiaoling tried picking up the knife and fork, but her small hands trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Bai Ling rolled her eyes, “I told you not to look, but you insisted.”

She should have just turned and walked away, but this Blonde-haired Maiden had to be nosy.

“There’s nothing I can do, the more you emphasize, the more curious I get,” Yuan Xiaoling complained, “it’s normal human psychology.”

“No, that’s called rebellion,” Bai Ling corrected coldly.

“I-I’m not saying I can’t eat, it’s just the first time I’ve seen such a scene, I got a bit scared.”

Now, her soft little hands were trying to cut the steak with the knife and fork, as if giving the cow a massage.

Bai Ling couldn’t stand it anymore, so she pulled the plate over and cut it herself.

Each cut was precise, done effortlessly, like cutting tofu.

Seeing someone helping, Yuan Xiaoling sat quietly on the side watching her cut the steak.

“Bai Ling, do you use telekinesis to help when you cut this?”

“Do you need to cheat when playing Bronze League?” Bai Ling countered.

“Uh, that’s hard to say,” Yuan Xiaoling replied, “last time I did meet one.”

Bai Ling didn’t want to deal with her.

You rebelled, and now you’re sticking to it—girls are stubborn no matter how much you stir-fry them.

“Alright,” she placed the cut steak in front of Yuan Xiaoling, “don’t tell me you can’t bite it.”

“That definitely won’t happen, here I go.”

Yuan Xiaoling picked up the fork, ready to take a bite, but suddenly became curious, “What would happen if I said I can’t bite it?”

“I’d order you another medium-rare steak.”

Wow, so gentle, the Blonde-haired Maiden felt warm inside…

“Then I’d carry you to the next hotel and cure your excessive curiosity.”

“…Never mind then.”

The small dining spot quieted down, only the sound of the Blonde-haired Maiden munching could be heard. Bai Ling ate elegantly, without a sound.

After eating her fill, Yuan Xiaoling felt much better, regaining strength throughout her body. But after being full, she didn’t want to move for now, resting while sipping some juice.

“Bai Ling, aren’t we going there next? That place…what’s it called again?”

“The bar at 114 Queen’s Avenue.”

“That’s right, that place,” Yuan Xiaoling wiped her little mouth, “the drinks here taste pretty good, strong pineapple flavor.”

She looked at her juice cup, blinking, “By the way, Bai Ling, why did you order pineapple juice for me? I prefer strawberry.”

Bai Ling just stared at her expressionlessly, silent.

Yuan Xiaoling felt the atmosphere getting strange and laughed nervously, “I think I read somewhere that eating more pineapple can make that sweet, isn’t that funny, haha.”

But Bai Ling didn’t laugh, just kept staring at her.

Yuan Xiaoling couldn’t laugh anymore.

“That, we, today, aren’t we supposed to do something important?”

“There’s indeed something important to do. I need to find an intermediary to ask for information,” Bai Ling said calmly, “if things don’t go smoothly, I’ll be unhappy.”

Being unhappy means being angry, anger means fire, and fire needs water to extinguish.

Yuan Xiaoling quietly put down her juice, whispering, “Actually, I don’t need this. You know, I have that ability.”

“Alright, next time I’ll order you strawberry juice.”

Though she couldn’t escape entirely, securing her favorite drink was a small victory.

Sitting in the Western restaurant until seven thirty, the sky finally began to show signs of dimming. The last rays of the sunset shone down, and Tianhai City was about to enter the night.

“The first snowfall of 2002 came a bit later than usual~”

A taxi sped past on the overpass road, the car stereo playing old songs from twenty years ago.

The forty-year-old driver gripped the steering wheel, humming along with the music, freely speeding through the night of Tianhai City, feeling completely free.

On the roadside, a pedestrian retracted his hand, cursing, “Damn, there’s someone in the car, yet it still shows ‘vacant’!”

After seven songs, he parked the car somewhere on Queen’s Avenue, unlocked his phone to change the playlist, then hit the road again.

“I’ll send you away, thousands of miles away, you fade to black and white~~”

“Old songs are just more powerful.” The driver muttered to himself.

As for why he drove all the way here and rejected several online orders, he forgot, and it wasn’t important.

Perhaps only when he finished his shift and returned home, discovering an extra 30 yuan transfer on WeChat, would he ponder for a moment.

“Good thing I was quick-eyed and scanned the QR code before you made me get out,” Yuan Xiaoling put her phone back in her pocket.

Bai Ling used mental suggestion to bring them here and erased all memories of passengers. They were originally going to leave directly, but the Blonde-haired Maiden remembered to pay.

Although it was just a small matter, the sense of moral satisfaction made her unconsciously puff out her chest.

Turning around, she realized Bai Ling had been standing there all along, carefully observing the surroundings.

“Is there a problem?” Yuan Xiaoling looked around, “I don’t see any bar.”

Did we take a wrong turn?

“Found it.”

Bai Ling dropped the words and stepped forward, Yuan Xiaoling quickly following.

Passing through an alley without streetlights, turning left and right, they finally saw the entrance to a bar without a sign. Two bouncers blocked the entrance, their gazes sweeping over the two girls.

Hmm, they glanced at Yuan Xiaoling a billion times more.

“Sorry, little beauty, we only serve special guests here, not open to the public.”

Bai Ling didn’t rush, turning to Yuan Xiaoling,

“Perform a bit, little beauty.”

Yuan Xiaoling: “?”