The light, spirited melody of a shamisen drifted through the air, mingling with the faint aroma of the tavern's drinks.
Jiang Han looked at Chu Yujun's icy expression behind the bar and happily sang to herself, humming the lines:
That's the face! I've always wanted to see that face—the face of someone jealous that I can slack off in broad daylight!
"Good afternoon, Miss Jiang Han."
"Good afternoon, Miss Bartender." Jiang Han propped her face up in both hands and grinned at Chu Yujun's increasingly frosty expression.
She added, "I heard you took a day off before, so you have to work two shifts today, right~?"
This girl was getting more and more unbearable... Miss Chu Yujun commented inwardly. She glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have to put up with you for another eight hours before your shift starts?"
"Life's not easy, is it?" Jiang Han nearly burst out laughing. She coughed, then had the leader of the Feather Society, a likely Archwitch-in-waiting, and the noble Miss Chu Yujun bring her a glass of juice.
Chu Yujun's mouth twitched. She asked, "Juice? You don't drink alcohol at a tavern?"
"Miss Jiang Han, you're wasting your time."
"The last person who drank juice at a bar... Oh, I see. That was you, too."
Jiang Han chuckled.
"You should be glad I'm not drinking milk here. Understand, Miss Adult?"
Chu Yujun polished a glass and glanced at the still-quiet tavern, then gave a snort of laughter.
"We're out of juice, but I can treat you to all the milk you want."
"Great, treat me, then." Jiang Han perked up as soon as she heard the word "treat." Who didn't love free stuff?
Chu Yujun wore a strange expression as she set down the clean glass and continued on her own. "I see. I get it now. Little Miss, you really can only drink juice."
So the free drinks were gone... Jiang Han felt disappointed for half a second, but then cheered up when Miss Du Ningzhuang came behind the bar, too.
"Ha, the number-two bartender's here, too?"
Du Ningzhuang fell silent for a moment, then looked at Chu Yujun and pointed at Jiang Han.
"Hm?"
It seemed the two women—who both had deadpan expressions—had communicated in their own special way. Du Ningzhuang let out a breath, sighed, and took a bottle of orange juice from under the counter. She filled Jiang Han's glass.
"This one's on me."
Free drinks were back. Jiang Han picked up the glass and took a sip, then muttered to Chu Yujun, "See? Learn from her."
She teased Chu Yujun, chatted with Du Ningzhuang about the show, and then Store Manager Qin Shunying arrived. Jiang Han even got to learn instruments like the erhu and shamisen. But happy times always flew by so quickly. After spending a while with her friends, Jiang Han had to change into her work clothes.
In the changing room, Du Ningzhuang, the witch Jiang Han had teased, told her, "You're going to get what's coming to you, sis."
"Sis, I'll be fine. I'll come laugh at you again next time I'm free." Jiang Han changed into a pair of disposable stockings and put on her shoes as she chatted with Du Ningzhuang.
She was in high spirits today. She'd slacked off, didn't have to work tomorrow, and would get to slack off with Miss Cen Jing, too. If that wasn't something to be happy about, nothing was.
When she returned to the bar, it seemed even the heavens didn't want her to work too hard today. Store Manager Qin Shunying had good news.
"Miss Lin Qiang has something to take care of and can't make it today, so you can stay at the bar."
She'd be able to read and slack off behind the bar. Jiang Han nodded enthusiastically, even happier.
Just as she'd predicted, from Monday night to Tuesday morning there weren't many customers. Few witches felt like having a drink after work on a Monday.
There were quite a few witches from the Eastern Isles, though, speaking somewhat unidiomatic English as they drank.
It seemed that, in her previous life and in this life's Eastern Isles, people had a habit of "going for a drink after work." Since the Eastern Isles had invaded in this life only to get beaten up, they'd left the four hundred million witches with nothing but a few jokes and no lasting wounds. In fact, because of the current international situation, diplomatic relations had started up again.
That was probably how the workday would end.
Jiang Han thought lazily as she gave the Eastern Isles witches, who seemed to be praising her, a customer-service smile. She really couldn't understand much of what they were saying.
But it wasn't their fault. Some people thought the Eastern Isles witches' English was poor because of their accents, but that wasn't right. Their English was poor because they weren't speaking English at all! They were speaking Japanese...
The simplest example was that "可乐" was Chinese, while "Cola" was English. They referred to the same thing and sounded similar, but they were completely different languages. Japanese "raito" was the Japanese version of the English word "Light."
So it wasn't their fault Jiang Han couldn't understand them. All she had to do was smile.
It was four in the morning, when many "night-shift" witches finished work. The Witch House, which had been rather desolate, finally grew a little busier. It was the last rush of the day—or, to be precise, the first rush of Tuesday.
Five witches walked in and took their seats at the bar.
"Three Huaizhen, one Absinthe, and one Spicy Sugar," one of them called, then laughed as she introduced the place to her companions.
"We're only 241 taverns away from finishing our survey of the largest market in the south. The last place, Spicy Lute, was pretty good. I hope this one, the Witch House, lives up to the name."
She teased, "We haven't even tasted the drinks yet, but the bartender is really pretty."
The witch had long black hair, delicate features, and particularly lovely light-blue eyes.
Jiang Han lowered her head shyly as she fetched the drinks. Du Ningzhuang, standing beside her, helped pour them into the glasses.
She looked up with a smile, set the tray on the bar, and met the witch's gaze.
In an instant, Jiang Han's icy eyes widened, and the witch's light-blue eyes opened wide, too.
A witch might be no better than anyone else in some respects, but she would never have a poor memory.
Especially when it came to people she saw every day.
Jiang Han recognized the witch in half a second.
Ye Keshu, her second mother.
And the other woman had clearly recognized that the "pretty drink-seller" was her daughter.
Jiang Han's customer-service smile froze. After a moment's hesitation, she lowered her head again with a shy smile. Ye Keshu coughed, took the tray, and the two of them went about their business as if they didn't know each other.
"You're going to get what's coming to you, sis."
Du Ningzhuang's words came back to Jiang Han. She lowered her head, glanced to the side, then looked up at Du Ningzhuang and glared at her.
Du Ningzhuang looked aggrieved and confused. How had she managed to make the little girl mad again?
Not that she was the only one feeling aggrieved.
After glaring at Du Ningzhuang, Jiang Han turned and sneaked a glance at her second mother. What she saw startled her.
Ye Keshu was clearly a skilled actress. She was chatting animatedly with the other witches, who were probably her coworkers. Outgoing and full of enthusiasm, she occasionally cracked a dirty joke or verbally teased the other waitresses. She looked like a regular flirt.
She seemed just like someone who'd never been to this place before.
"How old are you, little girl?" one of Ye Keshu's coworkers asked Jiang Han.
Jiang Han bit her lip and turned away, drawing a burst of laughter.
"She's so shy! Manager, your bartender is adorable!"
Another witch laughed. "You only called her adorable and didn't say she's pretty. You'll make her mad."
The witch covered her mouth with a laugh and made an apologetic gesture.
"Sorry, sorry. Let me buy you a drink... Hmm, do you have juice?"
They were joking around and verbally flirting. What kind of place did my mom work at? How come she knew nothing but flirts...? Jiang Han put on a smile and held her glass of juice in both hands, sipping it slowly.
"Big Sis Ye, isn't this exactly your type? Why don't you have a chat with the girl?"
Her type... Jiang Han's expression immediately soured.
Big Sis Ye, too... She silently scoffed.
"If you're interested, you can request a song from her, too," Store Manager Qin said with a smile. "She hasn't been learning long, but she can play a few pieces."
Ye Keshu's expression stiffened.
Request a song...? Tsk... Has my daughter really grown up this much...? Tsk, she's so much prettier than she was as a child... Even if she's a little short, she has a pretty nice figure... That qipao really suits her... Ye Keshu looked straight at the daughter who had grown up before her eyes.
She realized that the tiny girl had grown into a petite woman who gave off a sweet, honeyed fragrance. Her delicate sweetness was as tempting as honey.
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