Yan Heqing could no longer remember his parents' faces very clearly.
In his hazy memories, his mother seemed to have been an exceptionally gentle woman who spoke softly, made delicious sweet soups, and had beautiful handwriting.
Yan Heqing's own fine handwriting probably owed its foundation to his mother.
He had little recollection of his father, remembering only something he had once said.
"Giving birth to you was a long and painful ordeal for your mom. We're grateful to her for bringing you into this world, so you and your little brother take her surname, Yan. Always remember your mom."
Yan Heqing feared that as time passed, even he would forget his parents. Then no one in the world would remember them, and that would be too pitiful.
So when he learned that the person adopting him was named Yan Shengbing and shared his surname, Yan Heqing agreed.
A flicker of loneliness crossed his eyes. Yan Heqing smiled and replied, "Have the baby sleep on her side during the first month, turning her over every two hours. Until six months, turn her whenever she wakes up. After six months, alternate which side she sleeps on every other day. Her head should be round by the time she's about a year old."
The owner counted out Yan Heqing's change and handed it back, smiling as he committed the advice to memory. "You're so young, yet you know so much. If my granddaughter ends up with a round head, your haircuts here will be free!"
Yan Heqing smiled faintly without replying. He put away his change, left the barbershop, and headed toward the subway station.
It wasn't snowing that evening, and the subway was unusually empty. Yan Heqing still stood in his usual spot, listening to Russian vocabulary through his earphones.
He used all these stretches of time to teach himself Russian. There were quite a few biology papers he needed to read in the original.
Besides, he planned to pursue graduate studies after finishing his undergraduate degree.
Two hours flew by amid words with trilled consonants. When he reached his stop, Yan Heqing put away his earphones and followed the crowd off the train.
It was past seven when he reached the bar, still in time for the free dinner. Xie Yunjie had booked out the place that day, and dinner was more lavish than usual.
Yan Heqing served himself a plate of seafood fried rice and ate alone in a corner.
He was nearly finished when the manager plopped down beside him and said cheerfully, "Xiao Yan, the bar's booked out tonight. It's a regular customer who's getting married next week. He's having his bachelor party tonight."
"Mm."
Yan Heqing's expression remained indifferent, so the manager decided to speak plainly. "I'll lay my cards on the table. Mr. Xie likes your cocktails. Whatever happens, you need to go upstairs to the private room and mix drinks all night, as a way of congratulating him on his marriage."
The manager lowered his voice. "I know it's a heavy workload and hard work. I spoke to the boss, and we'll give you a ten-thousand-yuan bonus tonight."
Yan Heqing said nothing.
Seeing that he hadn't agreed, the manager sweetened the offer. "Triple pay, too."
Yan Heqing earned a hundred yuan an hour and worked two nights a week, seven hours a night, for seven hundred yuan a day.
Triple pay plus a ten-thousand-yuan bonus came to 12,100 for the night.
Yan Heqing finished eating and stood up with his plate. "All right."
The manager breathed a sigh of relief. A little later, he received a call and immediately stood to answer it. "Mr. Xie. Yes, yes, don't worry. Xiao Yan will be mixing drinks for the whole party tonight. Yes, yes, I'll send him upstairs right away."
Yan Heqing had just put away his plate when the manager pulled him off to the private room.
The private room was livelier than usual, with expensive liquor covering the long table.
The sofas on three sides were packed with men and women, quite a few of whose faces often appeared on television.
They were letting loose at tonight's party, playing strip poker. Several people were already down to their underwear.
When Yan Heqing wheeled the drinks cart inside, the noisy room briefly fell quiet.
Countless eyes turned toward Yan Heqing.
The room had no shortage of beauties of every kind, but they all carried a vulgar, seductive air. Yan Heqing was different, with a quiet, cool air that brooked no desecration.
Yan Heqing pushed the drinks cart to the only empty spot and quietly took out glasses to mix drinks, remaining distinctly separate from this world of decadent luxury.
Chu Ziyu thrust a hand out from the crowd, slurring the moment he spoke. "Master Xiao Yan! You're finally here. I want a Godfather!"
He was already quite drunk.
Yan Heqing gave a slight nod and mixed a Godfather first.
On the innermost sofa, a pair of dark eyes remained fixed on Yan Heqing.
Lin Fengyi hadn't expected to run into Yan Heqing at a bar, much less as a bartender.
Last time, at the Lin house, Yan Heqing had tended flowers and played chess, and he was a top student at Beijing University, too. Lin Fengyi had thought he was so lofty and aloof, but after all that, he was just another nightclub fixture.
He didn't deserve to be his precious little brother's biological older brother at all!
The man whose waist he held followed his gaze, then pressed jealously into his arms. "Has Second Young Master Lin taken a fancy to Xiao Yan, too?"
Lin Fengyi turned and stole a kiss from the man's lips, raising an eyebrow. "You know him?"
The man sounded rather jealous. "Of course. He's been the bar's star lately. Plenty of people have their eye on him. You should forget about him. He only mixes drinks. He's respectable." He rubbed the tip of his foot against Lin Fengyi's calf. "Second Young Master, it's too noisy here. Shall we catch up somewhere else?"
Lin Fengyi ignored him. Looking toward Yan Heqing, he suddenly laughed loudly. "New bartender, just mixing drinks is so boring. Come play dice with us."
At those words, all sorts of gazes fixed on Yan Heqing again. The stakes in every game tonight weren't money, but people.
Would this cold beauty dare to play?
Xie Yunjie hadn't noticed what was happening over here. He walked out of the room while talking on the phone. "Old Lu, where are you..."
Yan Heqing had spotted Lin Fengyi as soon as he came in. He capped the liquor bottle and calmly raised his eyes.
"What are we playing?"
Lin Fengyi raised an eyebrow. "The simplest game. Roll the dice and compare the numbers. The loser picks anyone here and kisses them passionately for five minutes. If that person refuses, the loser does a striptease right here."
Lin Fengyi's proposal met with unanimous cheers. Those whose eyes lingered on Yan Heqing had long been itching to strip off his obstructive work uniform.
Lin Fengyi was full of schemes. He was an expert at dice, and afraid Yan Heqing wouldn't dare play, he had deliberately added a preliminary condition.
In any case, he had ways of making everyone present refuse Yan Heqing's request for a kiss.
He wanted to film Yan Heqing making a complete spectacle of himself and send it to his precious little brother for amusement.
Yan Heqing lowered his lashes slightly, concealing the emotions in his eyes.
"All right."
He spoke calmly.
Meanwhile, outside the bar, a black Bugatti slowly came to a stop.