This was the life he should have had.
Ding.
The elevator reached the first floor.
The doors opened, and Yan Heqing politely said goodbye to Lu Lin. "See you next time, Mr. Lu."
Back at the café, business was as slow as ever that afternoon. Not a single customer came in before closing.
After locking up, Yan Heqing and Zhang Qing walked toward the subway.
"Huh, don't you take Line 6 home?" After they passed through security, Zhang Qing noticed Yan Heqing wasn't heading toward his usual line and was a little surprised. "Got something else to do?"
Yan Heqing smiled. "Another part-time job."
"!" Zhang Qing clicked her tongue. "You work way too hard! No wonder you're so thin." She spoke sincerely. "Your health is your most important asset. You really should take better care of yourself. Even when you're young, you can't keep working multiple shifts for long."
Just then, the train pulled into the station. Yan Heqing's gaze flickered slightly. "Mm. I'm quitting after today."
At the bar, Feng Zhixian had brought a large group of people who occupied every seat at the counter.
Yan Heqing would only mix one drink per person, so he had brought dozens of people to order slowly, one drink at a time.
Feng Zhixian sat directly across from Yan Heqing, propping his chin on one hand and watching him without blinking.
"Xiao Yan, have you put on a little weight lately?"
He was even prettier.
It wasn't as if Feng Zhixian had never seen beautiful people. He had slept with several popular young actors, all of whom had risen to fame on their looks.
But Yan Heqing was different. There was something captivating about his beauty.
The longer Feng Zhixian looked, the more entranced he became.
Yan Heqing mixed drinks, his lowered eyes obscuring his expression. He didn't answer Feng Zhixian.
Feng Zhixian didn't mind. Grinning from ear to ear, he thought he really was a bit of a sucker for punishment.
When his previous fuck buddies had eagerly tried to date him, he had only found them annoying.
Now that Yan Heqing ignored him, he was utterly intoxicated.
Yan Heqing finished mixing a B-52, lit it, and handed it to the person beside Feng Zhixian. "Your drink."
They were all shills Feng Zhixian had brought in. The person winked suggestively. "Give it to Young Master Feng."
Yan Heqing calmly passed it to Feng Zhixian.
Looking at Yan Heqing through the bright blue flame, Feng Zhixian felt his heart melt. He didn't take the drink. "Xiao Yan, let me treat you to a trip abroad. You can pick wherever we go. How about it?"
Yan Heqing set the glass down. "Thank you, but no."
Feng Zhixian let out a long sigh. "Xiao Yan, what exactly do you like? I really don't know what to do anymore. Can't you at least give me a hint?"
Yan Heqing finally looked him in the eye. "Quiet."
Feng Zhixian: "..."
For the rest of the night, Feng Zhixian really did stay silent. Yan Heqing worked until two, then went to the changing room right on time to change.
But this time, he didn't leave immediately. He went to the office to see the manager first.
"You're quitting?" The manager's expression shifted slightly. Yan Heqing was now the bar's living advertisement, and naturally, he didn't want to lose him. He poured a glass of water. "Here, sit down and have some water. Tell me why. Are you unhappy with your pay or your hours? It's fine. We can discuss all of that."
Yan Heqing neither sat down nor drank the water. "It's for personal reasons."
The manager hesitated for a while before speaking with difficulty. "Is it because last night..."
He didn't dare go on.
The other employees didn't know that Lu Lin had kept Yan Heqing in the private room overnight, but as the manager, he knew all about it.
Having spent so long in nightlife, he might not be right about people a hundred percent of the time, but he was right at least eighty percent of the time.
Young as Yan Heqing was, he was upright and virtuous, with a pride that would break before it bent.
Now that he had been... now that something like this had happened, the manager was actually a little surprised Yan Heqing hadn't fought Lu Lin to the bitter end.
"No." Yan Heqing smiled faintly. "There's no need to persuade me to stay. We didn't sign an employment contract, so I don't need to give a month's notice. You have plenty of time to find another bartender to replace me before next week."
Then he gave a polite nod. "Thank you for looking after me this past month. Once you've calculated my wages, just transfer them to my account."
With that, he left.
The manager remained still. After a long while, he let out a quiet sigh.
The bar had no shortage of bartenders. What it lacked was a bartender like Yan Heqing, someone good-looking enough to draw in customers.
Still, regrettable as it was, when he thought of Yan Heqing's temperament and how he might offend Lu Lin someday, the manager felt that his leaving sooner was a good thing for the bar, too.
He picked up his phone and left a message for the accountant, telling her to settle Yan Heqing's wages as soon as she woke up the next morning.
Outside the bar, snow had just fallen, leaving the air a little damp. Yan Heqing had just reached the curb to hail a cab when a Mercedes pulled up in front of him.
Lowering the window, Feng Zhixian smiled at him. "I'll drive you."
Yan Heqing politely declined. "My ride will be here soon."
Feng Zhixian's expression shifted slightly. Anyone coming to pick Yan Heqing up in the middle of the night must have an unusually close relationship with him.
Yan Heqing lived alone, and it couldn't be his parents. Could it be...
Feng Zhixian's expression changed drastically. He asked tentatively, "A friend of yours?"
Yan Heqing suddenly smiled. "You don't know what happened at the bar last night?"
Dazzled by his smile, Feng Zhixian took a long moment to recover. "What?"
Yan Heqing shook his head and said nothing more.
A storm surged through Feng Zhixian's heart. Burning with anxiety, he flung open the door, got out, and rushed back into the bar without even closing the car door.
Yan Heqing walked around to the curb, closed the door, and continued on his way.
The next day was Sunday, and the café was closed, but Yan Heqing still had the discipline to get up at six thirty.
After washing up, he put twenty dumplings on to steam, then went to memorize Russian vocabulary.
He studied vocabulary for half an hour. By the time he met his target, the dumplings were ready.
He also made a bowl of seaweed and dried shrimp soup, carried it to the coffee table, and quietly and quickly finished everything.
After eating, he stepped onto the scale. 114 jin.
Several days had passed, and he had gained only one jin. Perhaps the rapid weight-gain phase was over. His weight had been increasing extremely slowly lately, even though he had been eating more.
But that was all right. Patience was the one thing he never lacked.
Yan Heqing took the dishes and utensils into the kitchen and washed them. By the time he came out, it was nearly eight.
It was about time. He made a call.
Ring, ring, ring...