"Waiter, bring the drinks!"
Chen Yang, having just gotten leave for Su He, was chatting with Zhou Weiqiang when he heard Yang Xiaoxian's boisterous voice. The bar wasn't crowded yet, and Liu Xinyao and her group of seven or eight girls stood out immediately; Chen Yang spotted them instantly.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Chen Yang's lips. Liu Xinyao wore a sleeveless, lotus-leaf-green dress, revealing her delicate, lotus-root-like arms. Her hair was styled in a high bun, and her expression remained as cold as ever, completely out of place in the bar's atmosphere. Chen Yang was surprised that Liu Xinyao frequented such places, but seeing Yang Xiaoxian's excited and curious expression beside her, Chen Yang knew without asking that Liu Xinyao had definitely been instigated by Yang Xiaoxian.
A waiter quickly approached to serve them. Seeing that Liu Xinyao and her group hadn't noticed him, Chen Yang didn't rush over. Instead, he took out his phone and sent a text message to Cao Xiao:
"My second brother's goddess is at the Blazing Flame Bar, come quick!"
After sending the message, Chen Yang crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Liu Xinyao and her group from afar.
"What kind of drinks do you have here?" Yang Xiaoxian asked casually, flipping through the drink menu.
"We have beer, baijiu, red wine, and spirits. What would you like?" the waiter replied. "We also have a bartender. If you'd like, you can order at the bar, and our bartender will mix your cocktails right there."
"Live bartending?" Yang Xiaoxian and the others followed the waiter's finger. Ning Qiaoqian was mixing a drink for a customer, the bottle flying through her hands like a juggling act, dazzling the eye. Combined with her sexy attire, she exuded the aura of a nightclub queen. Yang Xiaoxian stared, her eyes wide, murmuring, "So cool..." "Xinyao, let's go drink J-tail bar!" Yang Xiaoxian excitedly linked arms with Liu Xinyao, but Liu Xinyao didn't react, only staring intently at Ning Qiaoqian, who was focused on mixing drinks. Yang Xiaoxian shook Liu Xinyao's arm and whispered in her ear, "Xinyao! Xinyao..."
"Huh?" Liu Xinyao snapped out of her reverie, turned to look at Yang Xiaoxian, and asked, "What did you say?"
"What are you thinking about so intently?" Yang Xiaoxian muttered, then said, "I said, how about we go drink J-tail bar?"
The other girls who came with them also looked eager to try it out, wanting to experience the feeling of mixing drinks live. "I don't want to go, Xiaoxian, you guys go ahead! I'll wait for you here!" Liu Xinyao glanced at Ning Qiaoqian in the distance and said casually to the waiter, "Excuse me, could you please give me a glass of orange juice?"
"Okay! Please wait a moment!" Seeing that Yang Xiaoxian and the others didn't seem to be ordering drinks anytime soon, the waiter bowed and went to take Liu Xinyao's order first.
"Never mind... I'll think about it later!" Seeing Liu Xinyao's lack of interest, Yang Xiaoxian felt a little disappointed and sat down sullenly. After a while, she began to curiously look around the bar's layout.
Liu Xinyao immediately recognized Ning Qiaoqian as the girl in the MMS message Chen Yang had sent that day. Today, Ning Qiaoqian's outfit was even more revealing and sexy than in the MMS photo. Liu Xinyao frowned slightly.
Looks like I wasn't wrong about Chen Yang after all! Seeing Ning Qiaoqian's provocative attire, Liu Xinyao couldn't help but feel indignant for Su He. Although she wasn't familiar with Su He, they were both beauties of Rong University's campus belle level, and Liu Xinyao knew Su He quite well. Such a quiet and elegant pure girl was being two-timinged by Chen Yang…
Liu Xinyao's contempt for Chen Yang grew even stronger. Ning Qiaoqian's beauty and sexiness were directly proportional to Liu Xinyao's contempt for Chen Yang.
As Chen Yang was tilting his head, watching Liu Xinyao and the others, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder. Chen Yang turned around and found Ning Qiaoqian had walked over at some point. She gestured with her cherry-like lips towards Liu Xinyao and the others, and asked with a grin:
"Which girl have you taken a fancy to? I'll go talk to her for you!"
Although Ning Qiaoqian's face was full of smiles, her eyes were full of threat. Chen Yang glanced at Ning Qiaoqian and said half-jokingly,
"Sister Qian, do you really think I'm such a fickle person? Falling in love with every girl I see?"
"Really not?" Ning Qiaoqian's face was full of disbelief. She naturally snuggled closer, pressing tightly against Chen Yang's chest, and breathed sweetly into his ear, "You've been staring at them for ages!"
Ning Qiaoqian had always been used to this way of interacting with Chen Yang. Before, she couldn't resist teasing him because he seemed honest, and she found his blushing face amusing. But lately, Chen Yang had changed considerably, even subtly entering the depths of Ning Qiaoqian's heart, so she often unconsciously made some intimate gestures.
However, just then, Liu Xinyao, who had been watching Ning Qiaoqian closely, noticed she wasn't at the bar and looked around, just in time to see the two of them in an ambiguous position.
Chen Yang helplessly raised his chin and said,
"They're my classmates from my department..."
Looking over, he met Liu Xinyao's gaze. Chen Yang realized his posture with Ning Qiaoqian was a bit ambiguous, and subconsciously stepped back, an embarrassed expression on his face.
Liu Xinyao snorted and turned her head away. Before, she had only suspected it, but she had just witnessed Chen Yang and Ning Qiaoqian being so affectionate, confirming her conclusion that Chen Yang was two-timing her.
Seeing Liu Xinyao's strange expression, Yang Xiaoxian and the others all looked in Chen Yang's direction. Upon seeing Chen Yang, Yang Xiaoxian's face immediately fell, muttering,
"This is really weird! How come I see him everywhere?"
Since they had been discovered, Chen Yang couldn't hide any longer. He removed Ning Qiaoqian's hands from his shoulders and walked towards Liu Xinyao's table.
"Xinyao, what a coincidence!" Chen Yang walked to the table and greeted Liu Xinyao with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" Before Liu Xinyao could speak, her face cold, Yang Xiaoxian questioned her suspiciously, "Were you following us?"
Chen Yang looked at Yang Xiaoxian, amused and exasperated, and said:
"Please, don't let your imagination run wild! I come here every day!"
Chen Yang was being quite polite. Although Yang Xiaoxian always had a sour face whenever she saw him, she was, after all, the girl Chi Yunfei liked. If they became a couple, Chen Yang would have to call her sister-in-law, so he didn't want to make things too awkward.
"Coming every day? That's really brazen! Doesn't Su He care about him?"
Hearing Chen Yang's words, Liu Xinyao immediately thought of Ning Qiaoqian. She knew Chen Yang's family wasn't well-off; to be precise, they were quite poor. Yet he was actually coming to this expensive bar every day for a bartender—what a spendthrift! Liu Xinyao's impression of Chen Yang worsened, and her expression grew even colder.
"Hmph! Heartbreaker!" Yang Xiaoxian glanced at Chen Yang with suspicion and sneered.
She and several other girls had also witnessed Chen Yang and Ning Qiaoqian chatting and laughing together, and the rumors about Chen Yang and Su He were currently spreading like wildfire on the Rongda campus. Therefore, they all looked at Chen Yang with disdain.
Even with Chen Yang's extensive experience in navigating the world of women from his previous life, he was somewhat overwhelmed by this scene. Chen Yang awkwardly touched his nose.
"Third Brother!" Just as Chen Yang was in a precarious situation, Cao Xiao's signature loud voice rang out from the doorway.
Chen Yang waved vigorously, as if granted a reprieve, and shouted:
"Fourth Brother, I'm here!"
Chen Yang looked and saw that all his dorm buddies had arrived: Han Song, Cao Xiao, Chi Yunfei, and Cao Xiao and Han Song's girlfriends—a group of five people—walked in. When Chen Yang saw Chi Yunfei, he almost burst out laughing. He was a far cry from his usual old-fashioned and conservative attire, wearing a fitted black short-sleeved t-shirt, light blue distressed jeans, and high-top sneakers—a trendy look.
However, Chen Yang recognized him immediately; the outfit belonged to Cao Xiao. The two had similar builds, and it fit Chi Yunfei well.
Chen Yang suppressed a laugh and greeted them, leading them to Liu Xinyao's table. He said with a smile, "Ladies, let me introduce you. This is a few of my dorm buddies… and their families. We just happened to be at the bar for some fun today, and we unexpectedly ran into classmates! What a coincidence!"
At that moment, Chen Yang caught a glimpse of an opened birthday cake on the table, with Yang Xiaoxian's name written on it. He felt a secret thrill.
So it's Yang Xiaoxian's birthday today! Looks like my second brother's luck is pretty good! Chen Yang's eyes darted around, and he announced loudly:
"Oh! It's Yang Xiaoxian's birthday today! No doubt about it, all your expenses today are on my tab! Consider it my birthday present!"
After saying that, Chen Yang winked at Chi Yunfei, but this clueless academic genius was incredibly oblivious in this regard. He looked at Chen Yang with a completely bewildered expression, not understanding his intention. Cao Xiao gently nudged him from behind, pushing Chi Yunfei to the front of the group, and then loudly announced:
"Happy birthday, Yang Xiaoxian!"
Chi Yunfei finally realized what was happening and stammered:
"Yang...classmate, happy...happy birthday!"
Chi Yunfei didn't even dare to look Yang Xiaoxian in the eye as he spoke, and even so, after managing to say those words, his face was as red as a ripe persimmon.
Han Song and the others also offered their congratulations. Yang Xiaoxian felt a little uncomfortable with Chen Yang's sudden enthusiasm. She mechanically responded to everyone's birthday wishes, wondering if Chen Yang had some ulterior motive. Why was he suddenly so polite?
Chen Yang, however, was unaware of Yang Xiaoxian's thoughts. He beckoned to a waiter not far away and said,
"Xiao Guo, come here for a moment!"
Waiter Xiao Guo quickly walked over to the group and respectfully asked,
"Manager Fang, is there anything I can help you with?"