NOVEL NEXT Ch. 31
Chapter 31: Lin Wei
At night, the signboard of Twilight Bar at No.77 Jiefang West Road lit up.
Warm yellow wall lamps, low jazz music, no glaring strobe lights, no deafening electronic beats, only a few scattered guests chatting in booths or by the bar.
After changing clothes and walking into the bar, Bai Lengci had just picked up a clean towel to wipe the counter when her gaze fell on a figure.
Lin Wei.
She sat at the far end of the bar.
Today she wore a black velvet dress. Her long hair was loosely tied up, revealing her slender neck. Between her fingertips was a thin ladies’ cigarette, curling smoke rising lazily.
She was speaking with Ah Ken, who was smiling obsequiously, nodding and bowing.
At that moment, Ah Ken noticed Bai Lengci entering.
“Good evening, Xiaobai.”
“Mm, good evening.”
Seeing Bai Lengci appear, Lin Wei elegantly pressed out her cigarette.
She rose, swaying gracefully as she walked over, then sat directly on the high stool before Bai Lengci at the bar.
“Good evening.”
Lin Wei’s voice carried a lazy magnetism.
She gently pushed a one-hundred yuan bill across the bar.
“Gin and tonic, on the rocks. Just squeeze a wedge of lime, don’t put it in.”
“Alright.”
She turned, took a chilled glass from the fridge, and added ice cubes.
Gin, tonic water, squeezed lime juice, a few casual stirs… Zhou Zheng was right, this really didn’t require much skill.
She slid the prepared drink in front of Lin Wei.
“Thanks.”
Lin Wei lifted the glass and took a sip.
“You’re a student? You don’t look that old.”
“Mm.”
Bai Lengci responded lightly.
“Studying nearby?”
“Mm.”
“What’s your major?”
“…Haven’t taken the college entrance exam yet.”
“Oh? Still in high school~”
Lin Wei seemed a little surprised, then smiled again.
“Then you must be working part-time.”
“Mm.”
And so the conversation went on.
Lin Wei asked a question, Bai Lengci gave a brief answer.
Lin Wei didn’t seem to mind the coldness. On the contrary, she seemed to find it interesting, asking one question after another.
While occasionally responding, Bai Lengci also kept an eye on the other parts of the bar.
There weren’t many people, and Ah Ken was more than capable of handling the rest.
The woman before her, Miss Lin, had just given a hundred yuan tip, and now was actively starting conversation. To ignore her completely would indeed seem inappropriate.
Although Bai Lengci found such meaningless socializing boring, based on the principle of exchange of interest, she still maintained the bare minimum of responses.
Lin Wei’s questions gradually turned somewhat personal.
“You don’t talk much, is that just your nature?”
“Mm.”
“Is bartending fun? You seem very serious about it.”
“Work.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“……”
She lifted her eyes, for the first time truly meeting Lin Wei’s gaze.
As if saying: What does that have to do with work?
Lin Wei was caught off guard by that look, then quickly covered her mouth with a soft laugh. Her eyes glimmered with the charm unique to a seasoned woman.
“Don’t be nervous, I was just asking casually. A pretty… bartender like you, standing behind the bar, I bet plenty of people want to be your boyfriend.”
Her words carried a teasing ambiguity.
“No.”
Lin Wei didn’t seem surprised at the answer, or perhaps Bai Lengci’s overly calm reaction made it less entertaining.
She lifted the nearly untouched gin and tonic, and downed the rest in one gulp.
The cold liquid made her eyes squint slightly.
“Alright.”
She set down the empty glass, pulled another hundred yuan bill from her handbag, placed it on the bar, and slid it in front of Bai Lengci.
“That’s for the drink and the tip. Chatting with you… was quite interesting.”
With that, before Bai Lengci could reply, Lin Wei picked up her handbag, stood, and walked straight to the door, soon vanishing into the hazy night outside.
Bai Lengci looked at the hundred yuan bill on the counter, then at the door where Lin Wei had disappeared.
Then she lowered her gaze at the gin and tonic, barely touched, yet emptied in one go.
......
Silently, she collected the glass, placed it into the sink, and put the bill neatly into the designated cash box.
Night deepened.
The hands of the vintage clock on the wall pointed to 11 o’clock.
The number of patrons in the bar gradually increased.
The smooth jazz music continued to flow, but conversations grew denser, and the air mixed with a more complex blend of perfumes, alcohol, and cigars.
Just as Zhou Zheng had predicted, Bai Lengci’s presence itself was a silent form of attraction.
Her delicate side profile, fair and flawless like jade, under the warm-toned lights carried an almost sculptural quality.
It formed a strange contrast with the lazy, ambiguous atmosphere around her, making her all the more eye-catching.
“One Godfather, thanks.”
“Margarita, with salt rim.”
“Long Island Iced Tea, make it strong, pretty girl!”
Orders came one after another.
On the other side of the bar, Ah Ken was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, loudly responding as his hands moved rapidly.
At Bai Lengci’s side, guests also gradually sat down.
Some were regulars; seeing a new face, their eyes inevitably flashed with surprise and curiosity, stealing glances while ordering.
Others were clearly newcomers, most of them young, some even holding up phones, sneaking photos or recording short clips of the bar.
“What they said online is true… Twilight’s got a bartender with heavenly looks…”
“Quick, take a shot! That side profile’s perfect!”
“But she doesn’t really smile much…”
The murmurs reached her sensitive ears with ease.
Zhou Zheng had been right, most drinks really didn’t require advanced skills.
She memorized the simple recipes, repeating the actions of taking glasses, adding ice, pouring liquor, stirring, or shaking.
Her movements weren’t exactly smooth or natural, even showing traces of deliberate stiffness.
But with her flair bartending paired with that face, it somehow became its own kind of charm.
Occasionally, a guest tried to strike up conversation, but was blocked by her curt replies: “Mm,” “Alright,” “Just a moment.”
Five hours slipped by quietly in the cycle of mixing drinks, washing glasses, and wiping down.
The trash bin beneath the bar gradually filled with lime wedges, mint leaves, and discarded straws.
Finally, the clock’s hands pointed to 3 a.m.
The background music volume was lowered, the bar quickly emptied, leaving only a few lingering patrons sipping their last drops.
At some point, Zhou Zheng had appeared in the bar, nodding in greeting to the remaining regulars.
He strolled over, satisfaction written on his face, his eyes sweeping over Bai Lengci.
“How’s it feel? Getting used to it?”
“Mm.”
Bai Lengci replied.
“That’s good.”
Zhou Zheng nodded, pulled a few bills from the register, and handed them to her.
“This is yours for tonight, count it.”
He then pointed at the small tip box beside him, stuffed with loose bills.
“That’s yours too, keep it. From now on, tips are all yours.”
Bai Lengci accepted, then checked the tip box.
Most were tens and twenties, but mixed among them were a few fifties and hundreds. Lin Wei’s two hundred-yuan bills stood out especially.
A rough count put the total tips at nearly 500 yuan.
“Mm, Brother Zheng, I’ll head back first.”
Bai Lengci said.