Welcome

If Lu Yibai had not chosen to come in, this might have been an entirely different story.

In the bar's restroom, he took care of business.

The bar might originally have been a residence, with the layout altered later. The restroom probably hadn't been changed much.

After all, where else would you find a bathtub in a bar's restroom?

The large bathtub was filled with empty liquor bottles of all kinds: red wine, baijiu, beer, and even champagne.

The design was pretty ingenious.

As it happened, this was a "hidden bar."

The so-called hidden bar originated in the United States. When Prohibition went into effect, some bars hid themselves and disguised themselves as other stores to sell alcohol. Gradually, this became a style of interior design.

For example, what appeared to be a convenience store might actually have a passage to an underground bar behind a drinks machine. When leaving, customers could use the back door.

Pretty interesting.

As it turned out, Dad had originally wanted to open a hidden bar, and he had actually stumbled across one.

As expected, fate was truly wondrous.

As soon as Lu Yibai entered the shop, he saw four racks.

Four long-handled black umbrellas lay horizontally across the racks.

The ends of their handles were decorated with silver ornaments.

The first umbrella had a coiling dragon and snake at the end of its handle.

The second had a cat's head.

The third had a skull.

The fourth had a lion's head.

This reminded Lu Yibai of a brand called Pasotti. It made only thirty thousand umbrellas a year, with each one costing anywhere from several thousand yuan. It was known as the Hermes of umbrellas.

The umbrellas from that brand were designed with exquisite carved decorations at the ends of their handles.

Apart from the four umbrellas displayed on the racks, there were also many hooks on the walls, each holding a relatively ordinary black umbrella.

From the outside, this looked more like an umbrella shop—or, more precisely, a shop that sold umbrellas. There was no way to tell that it was actually a bar.

The overall style was dark, and it looked quite classy!

The bar owner touched the dragon and snake on the handle of the first umbrella, and a secret door opened.

Oh? So the snake's head was the mechanism?

He tried to pick up the umbrella and was surprised to find... that he couldn't lift it.

Am I too weak?

Hmm, it must be fixed in place.

After entering, Lu Yibai didn't bother with anything else. Once he found out where the restroom was, he went to use it first.

On the way to the restroom, he discovered that there was hardly any business in the bar. He seemed to be... the only customer.

Honestly, this kind of hidden bar was pretty interesting. With just a little promotion, business shouldn't be bad at all. At least the "secret mechanism" gimmick alone would be quite attractive at the beginning.

Besides, aside from the overall environment being a little dim, the bar's interior design had plenty of character.

He had no idea how it had been run to end up in such a state. No wonder they wanted to transfer it.

Huh, wait...

Transfer?

Lu Yibai had not been particularly interested in opening a bar, but after slowly learning more about it from Dad, he found it rather interesting.

He was a fairly depressed person. The thought of chatting in his own bar with customers who came carrying their own stories seemed pretty fun.

I have liquor, you have a story—damn, wouldn't that be a great way to kill time?

Of course, his interest in opening a bar went only that far. Unlike Dad, whose obsession had turned it into his lifelong dream.

But now, Dad was dead.

Should he inherit Dad's dying wish?

Yes, the human mind was that subtle.

Besides, he didn't know why, but he really liked this bar. Most importantly, he could feel a rare sense of peace here.

If this hidden bar were properly promoted, it shouldn't lose money, right? Lu Yibai thought.

Of course, he needed money first. Whether buying the bar or promoting it, everything required capital.

Money—he had it!

First, there was Dad's insurance payout.

Second, he was now a "demolition heir." The old house he had shared with Dad had inexplicably been included in a demolition project.

Spending the insurance money made him feel rather uncomfortable, but the demolition compensation wasn't insignificant. He could use that money instead.

The demolition compensation wasn't that much, only a few million yuan.

Heh heh, hehehe.

In a place like Crow City, even opening a small bar from scratch would require an investment of only a little over a million yuan. With a better location and nicer decorations, it would cost around two million.

After all, Crow City couldn't compare with major cities like Magic City and Kyoto, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.

I'll talk to the owner first, Lu Yibai thought.

The somewhat effeminate bar owner was sitting at the counter.

Standing behind the counter was a very beautiful woman.

She should be the straightforward person who had said, "Isn't it because autumn has arrived?"

Wow! Even the waitress was this beautiful, yet business was still this bad. Could it be because the owner flirted with male customers?

"Customer, what would you like to drink? Pick anything you want!" The waitress was exceptionally enthusiastic.

Her enthusiasm was a little like that of a madam at a brothel.

So this waitress was also the bartender?

"I won't drink for now. I'd like to talk with the owner about transferring the bar first." Lu Yibai spoke while doing his best to remain calm.

After all, he was young and didn't have much experience in society. This was absolutely his first time discussing a transfer with someone.

Fortunately, he was depressed enough to look listless. In particular, those "Gintama-style" dead-fish eyes made his emotions hard to read.

The moment he heard the word "transfer," the bar owner immediately showed an excited expression. However, he quickly calmed down again.

"If only transferring it were really that easy..." he muttered.

"Hm?" Lu Yibai didn't quite understand.

Regardless, the gaze with which he looked at Lu Yibai was still filled with anticipation.

"Seventy-third hopeful candidate..." the waitress continued wiping the glass in her hands as she muttered.

Huh? What did that mean?

No matter how slow Lu Yibai was on the uptake, he could still sense that something was wrong.

He glanced at the bar owner, and that effeminate, flamboyant man was looking back at him as well.

At first, Lu Yibai felt that he couldn't quite see the man's eyes behind his black-rimmed glasses.

But during this exchange of gazes, he felt that he could see them more and more clearly.

Those eyes were so black, like black holes.

Blackness that devoured everything!

Lu Yibai felt dizzy, and also... ashamed.

He had the feeling that those eyes had seen right through him.

Through and through!

Damn, the other guy might even be gay!

Lu Yibai admired himself a little for still being able to come up with such wild thoughts at a time like this.

The dizziness grew stronger and stronger. He felt as though his soul were about to be drawn away—by someone who might be gay!

What the hell was going on?!

Soon, he felt himself fall into a dark abyss.

In a daze, he heard the bar owner's startled exclamation.

"My heavens! This kid completely meets the requirements! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

"Bang—" It sounded like a glass had been placed on the table. The waitress exclaimed in surprise, "No way! He meets the transfer requirements? What luck!"

"It's him! I want this person! Yo, yo, yo!" The bar owner's tone grew increasingly excited.

Before completely losing consciousness, Lu Yibai's final thought was:

Damn! I've stumbled into a shady establishment!

Then he fell from his chair.

Normally, when a person fell, they would instinctively use both hands to protect their vital areas, such as their head and chest.

But Lu Yibai instinctively covered his own back passage.

The room gradually grew quiet. Outside, the old locust tree waved its branches in the wind, its leaves rustling as if saying:

"Welcome~"

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