Beautiful Bad Woman

"What, you guys know each other?" Milo was also surprised.

"Of course, we do."

Zhang Ruolin said, "Ding Han is our best friend in Stream City, mine and Xiao Bai's."

"I see..."

Milo was a bit awkward. "Then, how about... we share a table? I'll cover all the drinks for this table!"

"Sure!"

Zhang Ruolin smiled and nodded. So, Milo arranged for the three of us to sit at one table. Then, he apologized and went backstage to prepare for his performance.

"Ding Han, how do you know Milo?" Xiao Bai asked.

"He's my roommate..."

"Whoa, what a coincidence."

Beside us, Zhang Ruolin gave me a meaningful look and chuckled, "So the person who slipped you condoms yesterday and told you to sleep with me was him?"

"What else?"

"Damn it, I knew that voice sounded familiar..."

Zhang Ruolin sat down, huffing.

"Ahem..."

I said in a low voice, "Everyone, come closer. Let's talk quietly."

"Alright, boss!"

They squeezed me in between them, one on each side.

"So, you two, can't you tell Milo is also a Player? If he wasn't a Player, how could he sing so many songs from our world?"

"We know."

Zhang Ruolin replied, "Even if we knew, we wouldn't say anything. It's nice to keep a little mystery. Besides, Milo is really talented in music. His voice and playing are excellent, and he captures the emotions perfectly. Honestly, even in our world, he'd be a very, very good singer, just unrecognized."

"That's true."

I nodded. "Let's get this straight first, I can't hold my liquor. Don't you two get me drunk."

"Don't worry, we won't let you get drunk."

Not long after, customers started arriving, and the bar was soon packed. Just then, another familiar figure appeared.

Lu Xiaobei!

She showed up sneakily and sat at a table just one away from mine, all alone.

'Whoa, this is getting interesting...'

I was speechless. When I looked up again, Lu Xiaobei had already seen me. Her beautiful eyes, filled with anger, stared straight at me, as if to say, "So, Ding Han, I didn't expect you to be that kind of person!"

At this moment, Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei were squeezed next to me. This situation was already hard to explain...

"Xiaobei..."

I greeted her.

"Hmph!"

Lu Xiaobei didn't say anything and turned her face away.

"Oh..."

Zhang Ruolin, a cunning old fox, immediately saw what was going on. "Is the prettiest one your girlfriend?"

"No..."

I explained, "When I first came to Stream City, I had no one. I was working at an internet cafe. She's the owner of the internet cafe."

"I see..."

Ling Baiwei said, "Do you want to call her over to join us?"

"Judging by her attitude, that's unlikely."

I was a bit speechless. Lu Xiaobei was probably angry because she had reluctantly let me have an advance on two months' salary, and I had spent that money on a night of debauchery at a bar. It was no wonder she was upset.

A short while later, Milo came on stage with two young men, a drummer and a bassist. Milo himself took on the roles of guitarist and lead singer. After sitting down, he smiled and introduced a new song he had written, called "The Ordinary Road."

"Shameless."

I whispered, "Pu Shu must be crying in his toilet!"

Zhang Ruolin and Xiao Bai struggled to suppress their laughter.

The guitar music began, gradually drawing everyone into the mood. And when Milo started singing, he immediately immersed everyone in the music. I have to say, Milo really had considerable talent in music.

After singing three songs in a row, he received a round of applause.

Milo took a short break and came down to toast the tables.

"Ding Han, Ruolin, and Xiao Bai always come to support me. You absolutely must take good care of these two beautiful ladies. Here, this bottle of beer is on me, a toast to you three good friends."

"Deal!"

The two beauties nodded in unison.

Helpless, I could only pick up a bottle of Heineken.

I drank half the bottle in one go, and my head immediately started to feel fuzzy.

After that, Milo sang one old song after another, filling my heart with melancholy. I started to miss the world we used to have, miss everything there, and especially missed my mom, who was left alone in that world. Before I knew it, I had drunk too much.

My face started to feel numb, and just then, I saw Lu Xiaobei's table. A very handsome young man walked over with a bottle of beer and toasted Lu Xiaobei. Afterward, the two of them were laughing and chatting.

Casually, Lu Xiaobei's eyes met mine. She snorted and looked away, continuing her conversation with the young man.

"Damn, no way..."

I frowned and leaned closer to Zhang Ruolin's ear, saying, "I think I'm starting to get a little drunk. Keep an eye on things, okay? Make sure that guy doesn't bully Lu Xiaobei."

"What do you mean by that..."

Zhang Ruolin said, "If you care about her so much, why don't you just go over and pull her into your arms?"

"..."

I was speechless.

But the alcohol was steadily taking hold, and a hazy feeling was relentlessly conquering the high ground of my sobriety.

"Thump~~~"

Before nine o'clock, I completely blacked out and slumped onto the table.

My head felt heavy and muddled. A hangover was truly uncomfortable, and what was even more shameful was that a mere three bottles of premium Heineken beer could land me in such a predicament.

"Hoo..."

I slowly opened my eyes and saw a familiar ceiling.

This seemed to be my room, and I was now lying in bed. My jacket and pants had been taken off and were neatly hung on a hanger.

Outside, I could hear the laughter of a man and a woman talking. One of them was Milo, and the other... wasn't Ruolin or Xiao Bai. It was Lu Xiaobei!

"Oh my..."

I suddenly sobered up, remembering what had happened before I got drunk. Wasn't Lu Xiaobei having a great time chatting with that handsome guy? Why was she here? And how did she know Milo?

I got up, put on my clothes, and opened the door, only to see Milo and Lu Xiaobei sitting facing each other.

"Emma, the wine god has awakened!" Milo said with a smile.

"Are you kidding me..."

I gave him a helpless look, then glanced at the clock in the living room. It was eleven-thirty.

"Milo, weren't you at work? Why are you back?"

"You..."

Milo said speechlessly, "You passed out after three beers. Lu Xiaobei brought you back... I was worried something might happen if a girl like Xiaobei brought you back alone, so I got off work early to check. And since Xiaobei hadn't left yet, I was singing a few songs for her."

"Singing in the middle of the night, aren't you afraid of neighbor complaints?"

"True musicians fear no worldly gossip~~~"

I gave him a "you're amazing" look, then poured a glass of hot water and sat down next to Milo, staring intently at Lu Xiaobei.

Lu Xiaobei was also staring at me, looking annoyed.

The atmosphere was a bit tense. Milo grinned, "Stop glaring. Xiaobei, I'll sing you another song. This is my signature piece, one I usually don't perform."

"Okay!"

Lu Xiaobei smiled and nodded. At this point, she had likely become Milo's fan.

It made sense. For a girl her age, how many could resist someone like Milo – a bit handsome, full of talent, and possessing an indescribable artistic, melancholic style?

Milo played the guitar and sang Jay Chou's "Shanghai 1943."

"Yellowed couplets still remain on the wall, faintly visible characters wishing peace year after year. In the rice jar of my old home I've never returned to, Grandpa wrote 'full' in block letters..."

I have to admit, his voice was really quite good. He sang this song with a different flavor than the original.

"Beautiful..."

After the song ended, Lu Xiaobei was immersed in it, seemingly unable to calm down for a long time.

"Ding Han, your turn?"

Milo pushed the guitar towards me and smiled, "Come on, show our Xiaobei what you've got. Let her know that even though our alcohol tolerance isn't great, we're actually quite skilled in music!"

"You want me to embarrass myself in public, right?" I glared.

"Just for fun, for our own enjoyment. Don't overthink it."

"Alright, you said it!"

I put on a "what have I got to lose" attitude, picked up my guitar, and started tuning it.

"..."

Lu Xiaobei looked at me in surprise, seemingly astonished that I could even play the guitar.

So, under Lu Xiaobei's expectant gaze, I played a song, singing a song that Milo hadn't sung when he performed. It was Pu Shu's "The White Birch Forest."

"In the quiet village, white snow drifts, pigeons fly under a gloomy sky. The white birch trees are carved with those two names, they swore to love each other with all their lives..."

Despite my constant off-key notes, I didn't mind at all, and sang "The White Birch Forest" with full immersion.

"Clap, clap, clap~~~"

Milo clapped dryly, "Awesome, you actually sang the whole thing. Remember to practice the lyrics later..."

I chuckled.

"Is this song correct? It sounds weird, not at all as smooth as when Milo sings."

Lu Xiaobei commented, "Ding Han, you still have a lot to learn from Milo when it comes to music."

"Hey..."

Milo secretly felt pleased and scratched his head with a smile.

However, Lu Xiaobei quickly added, "But Ding Han's tone is better than yours, cleaner and clearer."

"..."

This time, I was beaming with pride, and Milo wasn't as happy.

"Alright!"

I slowly stood up, "What time is it? I'll take you back."

"Okay~"

Lu Xiaobei also stood up.

In the moonlight, we walked along the road towards the internet cafe. Both of us seemed lost in our own thoughts, and neither spoke until I had walked Lu Xiaobei to the internet cafe and then turned back.

I got too drunk at the bar and have no memory of what happened afterward. So, I picked up my phone and sent Zhang Ruolin a message, saying, "I've sobered up. Did anything embarrassing happen at the bar?"

"Voice message?"

"Sure!"

The next second, Zhang Ruolin sent a voice call.

"Actually, many embarrassing things happened..." she said with a grave tone.

"How embarrassing?"

"Originally, when you were drunk, Milo and I were going to take you back to your place. But who would have thought, your beautiful boss suddenly ignored the handsome guy next to her and rushed over, lifting you onto her. Judging by her stance, she saw Milo and me as outside temptresses and herself as your righteous girlfriend. She fiercely forbade us from touching you and then took you back by herself..."

"..."

I was speechless.

"And that's not all."

Zhang Ruolin said, "After I left the bar to send you off, do you know what Lu Xiaobei said to me?"

"What did she say?"

"She actually called me a beautiful bad woman and told me to stay away from you. Your boss is too cute, hahahahahahaha~~~" On the other end of the phone, Zhang Ruolin burst into laughter, completely disregarding her ladylike demeanor.