038 The Confident Girl
Pei Ningle could never have imagined that before meeting up with her, Wang Heng had made a special trip to the campus supermarket to buy an umbrella and a bottle of beer.
There was no sign of rain, so logically, there was no need for an umbrella. And as for the bottle of bottom-shelf beer, the first thing he did after leaving the supermarket was to pour out all the low-quality liquor inside. Then, Wang Heng put the umbrella and the empty beer bottle in his backpack, leaving the zipper half-open to ensure he could pull these two items out at any time.
After experiencing two unexpected situations, Wang Heng felt that he would be too stupid if he still didn’t know how to prepare for self-defense in advance.
So when he arrived at the school gate, Pei Ningle had already been waiting there for a while.
“Sorry, something came up in the dorm. I’m a little late.”
Spitting out a reasonable lie was a core skill he had honed from being deeply mired in the battlefield of love.
Pei Ningle smiled and shook her head. “I’m just happy you could come. It’s okay. I’m not in a hurry anyway. It doesn’t start over there for another half an hour, so we have plenty of time to walk over.”
So Wang Heng didn’t say anything more and walked with her to the bar.
As a member of the country’s top-tier universities, the University of Electronic Science and Technology was also well-located, right in the urban area of Rongdu, with more than one large commercial district nearby. So naturally, there was no shortage of places like bars.
When the two of them walked into the bar, there were already customers inside. It was just that the atmosphere was a little quiet.
Wang Heng looked at the interior of the bar and nodded. “Should I say, as expected of a bar opened near a school? It’s quite proper.”
The lighting in this bar was very soft. There was no dance floor for people to writhe their bodies. The wall of liquor bottles that lined an entire cabinet wall also looked quite high-class. The light music of a piano and violin intertwined and filled the air. The overall style was not vulgar, even a little aloof.
“Of course. I would definitely look for a quiet bar. Otherwise, how dangerous would that be?” Pei Ningle said as she took out her phone to send a text message.
Wang Heng shrugged. “You actually know about danger. Not easy.”
At this moment, the bar owner received Pei Ningle’s text message and came over to greet them. He was a mature man of about thirty or forty. The main difference between a “mature man” and a “middle-aged man” was the level of charm. This owner had slightly messy, flowing medium-length hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, and his bronze skin glowed under the lights. His casual suit further created a unique charm of a mature man.
“Good evening, Little Pei. And this is?” The bar owner looked at Wang Heng beside the girl.
“My name is Wang Heng. I’m Pei Ningle’s—”
“He’s my older brother!”
Wang Heng was halfway through his sentence when he was suddenly interrupted by Pei Ningle, and he was stunned. He turned to glare at her, questioning her with his eyes—You didn’t mention this part beforehand!
But Pei Ningle ignored his gaze and continued, “He’s my uncle’s son, so our surnames are different. We grew up together, so we’re very close!”
Wang Heng was stunned. This girl could actually lie? Without blushing or her heart skipping a beat, and she even made up a complete story. It was amazing.
The bar owner smiled. “So you’re Little Pei’s older brother. Welcome, welcome. Little Pei will be singing over there in a bit. I’ll arrange a seat at the bar for you, so you can drink and listen.”
Wang Heng: “I’m not much of a drinker…”
The bar owner’s smile grew wider. “I wasn’t planning on giving you alcohol. The drinks here are all expensive. If I gave them out for free for a whole night, I’d go bankrupt. Young man, do you want Coke, Sprite, orange juice, or soda water?”
Wang Heng: “Soda water is fine.”
“Alright, come sit here. Little Pei, you drink some warm water and get ready. You’ll start singing in ten minutes. That’s all for now. I’ll call you later.”
With that, the bar owner turned and walked away.
Three or four meters from the bar, there was a small, round stage. On that round stage, which could barely fit one or two people, there was a high stool and a standing microphone. In ten minutes, that would become Pei Ningle’s home ground.
Wang Heng felt that if it were him who had to go on stage in a little while, he definitely wouldn’t feel relaxed. Even if he wasn’t so nervous that he couldn’t drink water, it would be impossible for him to be as cheerful and talkative as Pei Ningle was now.
The girl sat with him at the bar, took a sip of warm water, and said, “That person just now is named Yan Zitao. Everyone calls him Brother Tao. This bar is his.”
“I can see that,” Wang Heng nodded. “By the way, what are you going to sing on stage later?”
“An old song, ‘Leaves’. Have you heard of it?”
“I’ve heard of it.”
Pei Ningle put down her water glass, a little helpless. “I actually really want to sing my own songs, but the best one isn’t finished yet. And in a bar, people don’t want to hear original songs. They all want to hear old songs. It has to be a song that most people have heard, but it can’t be too overplayed, and it has to match the atmosphere of the bar…”
Wang Heng: “It doesn’t sound easy.”
The girl patted her small chest and became smug again. “But it’s okay. I can sing a lot of songs like this. Did you know, I can sing a pop song after just listening to it once? With a couple more practice sessions, I can guarantee that I’ll be perfectly on key!”
“Are you that amazing?”
Wang Heng agreed insincerely. Of course, he knew this girl’s abilities, so he naturally wouldn’t be surprised.
Pei Ningle had many flaws in her daily life, or in other words, she was a walking disaster. But when it came to her on stage, Wang Heng had never had any complaints or criticisms. When the music started and she sang her heart out, she had never disappointed Wang Heng.
A few more minutes passed, and the bar owner, Brother Tao, walked over quickly. “Little Pei, it’s time.”
Pei Ningle nodded heavily and walked onto the small stage without looking back. The lights in the bar were adjusted accordingly, and a few spotlights shone on the girl, attracting the attention of a few people.
There were less than twenty customers in the bar in total. Most of them were either chatting or playing on their phones. Only five or six people could spare the attention to look at the stage.
There was no introduction, no one reminded the customers to “please watch the performance on stage.” Whether or not she could attract others’ attention depended entirely on the singer’s own strength. If the effect was not good, then after tonight, the owner would obviously not let her come a second time.
But Pei Ningle didn’t shrink back at all. She sat on the high stool, adjusted the height of the microphone, and waited for the intro to start.
The bar owner sat down in the seat she had just vacated and patted Wang Heng’s shoulder. “I’ll call you Little Wang, is that okay? What do you think of your sister’s singing?”
Wang Heng: “She’s a powerhouse.”
Brother Tao grinned. “You’re that confident too?”
Wang Heng nodded.
Just then, the soothing sound of a piano drifted from the speakers. It was the intro to “Leaves.” The intro to this song was very short. Seeing Pei Ningle grip the microphone, she was about to start singing.
Wang Heng said again in a low voice, “I bet you’ll definitely want to keep her later, but she might not necessarily stay here with you in the future.”
