Pale Requiem: Transformed into a Girl

Chapter 23: Negroni

As soon as Zhou Zheng finished speaking, Bai Lengci responded.

“Manager Zhou, actually, it doesn’t matter much to me where I work part-time. The only thing that matters is the salary.”

This bluntly honest reply made the smile on Zhou Zheng’s face freeze for a moment.

He pushed his glasses up, trying to regain a sense of control.

“Student Bai, that’s not how the math works. Five days a week, 250 a day, that adds up to 1250. Add another 500 for the weekend, and that makes 1750! And that’s just the basic hourly wage! Among part-time jobs for students in Jiangcheng, this is definitely considered high pay. It’s not even lower than many formal jobs fresh graduates get! Don’t you think it’s too little.”

He paused, his tone taking on a weighty, almost lecturing earnestness.

“Of course, I also know that with your… conditions, if you went to those less proper venues, the ones that cater to special clients, and became some kind of male host, you’d definitely earn much more than what I can offer, maybe even several times more! But!”

“Let me tell you, those places are a swamp! Once you fall in, the money may come fast, but your life is ruined! Those clients…”

He shook his head, as if unwilling to say more.

“Think about it, being forced to drink, being taken advantage of, even… sigh, it’s not worth it! How many years can you live off youthful looks? Once your reputation is ruined, you’ll never wash it clean for the rest of your life!”

He stared intently at Bai Lengci, trying to see some sign of agreement or fear on her face.

However, her face remained completely calm, without the slightest ripple, not even disgust or disdain.

The “frightened” or “enlightened” expression Zhou Zheng had expected never appeared.

Bai Lengci merely looked at him quietly.

She did not despise the profession of male or female hosts itself.

In her eyes, that was simply another survival choice based on supply and demand, a transaction mode where certain capital (appearance, emotional intelligence, even one’s body) was exchanged for money.

It was neither sacred, nor lower than other professions.

It was simply that both the risks and the returns reached a certain extreme.

In essence, it was no different from her attempt at this very moment to sell her time, looks, and a bit of learning ability in exchange for payment.

The only difference was that the risks in such an environment (chaos, drugs, personal safety) far exceeded her tolerance and risk preference.

In her eyes, it was a choice with an extremely low and uncontrollable “input-output ratio.”

It ran completely counter to her pursuit of absolute self-control and minimum social interaction.

Naturally, she excluded it outright.

Bai Lengci spoke.

“Manager Zhou, I’m not interested in being a male host.”

“What I mean is, I want one thousand a day. And all the guests’ tips belong to me.”

“Pff—!”

This time Zhou Zheng truly choked, coughing violently until his face turned red.

“O… one thousand a day?!”

He finally managed to stop coughing, but when he heard that number, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

His voice rose several pitches, attracting curious looks from nearby tables.

He quickly lowered his voice, laced with disbelief and a hint of anger at her outrageous demand.

“Student Bai! Do you know the market rates? Resident singers, internet influencers with some fame—they only make that much per night! Can you sing? Are you an influencer?”

He looked Bai Lengci up and down, searching for any justification for such an astronomical rate.

“No. I can’t sing. I’m not an influencer.”

Bai Lengci’s reply was clean and sharp.

Zhou Zheng felt his temples throbbing as a surge of irritation rushed to his head.

He drew in a deep breath, struggling to maintain his professional composure, but his tone already carried clear displeasure and mockery.

“Then… on what basis? Just because you look good? No matter how pretty a face is, it can’t pour wine for clients by itself! Do you even know the most expensive drink in our bar…”

His words were calmly cut off by Bai Lengci.

“Just this face, it’s worth 500.”

Her voice was still unshaken, as if she were stating an objective fact.

“The other 500, because I can bartend.”

“You can bartend?!”

Now Zhou Zheng really laughed in anger.

Who was it this morning in the mall who had firmly said, “I don’t know how to bartend”?

He pointed at Ah Ken, who was polishing glasses behind the bar.

“Ah Ken is our star bartender here, professionally trained, with five years of experience. His daily base pay isn’t even 500! And you say you can? Didn’t you just say you couldn’t this morning?!”

“This morning I couldn’t.”

Bai Lengci admitted frankly, as if it were a trivial matter.

“I learned this afternoon.”

Zhou Zheng stared at Bai Lengci’s face, which showed no trace of jest, only steady confidence, and the curses that had welled up in his throat were stuck fast.

That face… was too convincing.

Even if she claimed the sun was square, with that face and that gaze, people would feel compelled to check.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his boiling anger, and rubbed his brow forcefully.

Fine! He would give her a chance! Let’s see what trick she could pull!

He didn’t believe it.

A high schooler who had known nothing in the morning, could she really produce something impressive in just half a day?

“Good! Very good!”

Zhou Zheng stood up, his face once again wearing that professional smile, though now it clearly carried the meaning of “let’s see how you embarrass yourself.”

“Student Bai is confident! I like that! Then come—let’s head to the bar.

Let me see whether your thousand-a-day skills are worth it!”

He gestured “please” and strode toward the bar.

Bai Lengci followed.

At the bar.

The young bartender Ah Ken, dressed in a white shirt and black vest, was making cocktails for two female office workers.

His movements were skilled, though a bit formulaic.

The two women sipped their colorful drinks while chatting and laughing softly, occasionally sneaking curious glances at Bai Lengci as she approached with Zhou Zheng.

When Bai Lengci neared the bar, the lights illuminated her face clearly.

The two women, who had been chatting merrily, suddenly fell silent.

It was natural for women to compare themselves with other beautiful women, sometimes with jealousy.

But when beauty reached a level that transcended the ordinary and neared the realm of an artwork—

Such comparison and jealousy would collapse instantly, replaced by pure awe, almost worship.

That was the case with Bai Lengci.

She was beyond “beautiful.” She was the Creator’s most biased masterpiece.

The two office ladies’ eyes held only astonishment and curiosity.

They even forgot to drink their cocktails.

Zhou Zheng caught this scene completely, and the absurdity he felt earlier was somewhat diluted.

He tapped on the bar and said to Ah Ken.

“Ah Ken, make some space. Student Bai here wants to give it a try. Prepare the basic spirits, mixers, shakers, measuring cups, bar spoons… everything.”

Ah Ken glanced at the expressionless Bai Lengci, then at Zhou Zheng, his eyes full of confusion and a hint of pity.

This… didn’t look like a novice coming to learn at all.

Still, he obeyed, quickly arranging the common tools and several bottles of base spirits and mixers neatly in front of Bai Lengci’s station.

Zhou Zheng leaned against the bar, arms folded.

“Student Bai, please begin your performance? Do you need to see a recipe? I can have Ah Ken fetch you a basic cocktail recipe sheet.”

Bai Lengci’s eyes swept over the array of tools and bottles on the bar.

She didn’t look at Ah Ken, nor did she touch the shaker or measuring cup.

Her gaze fell instead on the unopened reserve bottles on the back shelf of the bar—perfect for practice.

A deep green bottle of bitter liqueur.

A red bottle of sweet vermouth.

And a clear, transparent bottle of gin.

Under the puzzled gazes of Zhou Zheng and Ah Ken, Bai Lengci reached for the bottle of gin.

It was a standard 750ml glass bottle, sharply cut, heavy in her hand.

Then she made a move that nearly caused their eyeballs to fall out.

With the faintest flick of her wrist, so subtle it was almost unnoticeable—

The heavy gin bottle instantly began spinning rapidly in her palm!

And that wasn’t all!

At the peak of its spin, her fingers flicked lightly, as though pulling invisible strings.

The bottle leapt gracefully, arcing perfectly through the air, and landed steadily on the back of her hand—still spinning without pause!

“Wow~”

The two office ladies gasped aloud.

Next, with a twist of her wrist, the bottle seemed glued to her skin, rolling smoothly from the back of her hand down her arm, bouncing off her elbow with a soft tap, before springing back into the air—landing securely in her palm once more!

The entire motion flowed like water, so fast it left afterimages in the eye.

Zhou Zheng’s jaw dropped.

He was petrified.

This was “learned just this afternoon”?!

Ah Ken’s cloth slipped from his hand with a slap onto the counter.

His mouth gaped wide enough to fit an egg.

This… this was a beginner?!

That fluidity.

That stability.

That effortless control…

Even with two more years of practice, he couldn’t achieve this!

But Bai Lengci did not stop.

The vodka bottle in her hands seemed to lose its weight, and even its fragility, becoming nothing more than a perfectly obedient plaything.

Single-handed throws and catches, behind-the-back swaps, underarm spins, fingertip balancing rotations…

All the highly difficult moves usually seen only at top-tier flair bartending competitions were displayed by her with ease.

Finally, after garnishing with orange peel, she presented a finished “Negroni.”

By then, the bar was packed with onlookers, both men and women, filming with their phones.

The mocking look on Zhou Zheng’s face had long since vanished, replaced by shock and the joy of having struck gold.

As for Ah Ken, his face flushed red, his whole body trembling with excitement.

He felt like the last two years of his training had been in vain! This—this was the true pinnacle!

When Bai Lengci pushed the cocktail toward the manager, the air seemed to freeze for a second, before applause crackled all around.

Bai Lengci gave a slight bow in thanks, then said to the manager.

“Manager Zhou, Negroni. Please taste.”