075 A Strange Reason
When Wang Heng and Fu Hanwen walked into the bar named Casablanca, Pei Ningle was holding a guitar, singing and playing, and had reached the climax of a song’s chorus.
“If there is an embrace,
Brave and regardless of the cost,
Don’t let me fly,
Gently keep me as a pet…”
The girl’s singing and the sound of the guitar echoed in the bar. Besides that, there was almost no other sound.
The original accompaniment for this song was much more complex, but Pei Ningle had found a guitar arrangement online and was now singing and playing it herself. Of course, she hadn’t bought the guitar; it was lent to her by the bar owner, Yan Zitao.
When the song ended, the space in the bar was instantly filled with applause, interspersed with whistles and cheers.
After ordering two entry-level cocktails from the waiter, Fu Hanwen and Wang Heng sat down at a table near the edge. From here, they could see the small face of the girl on stage, but it was difficult for her gaze to penetrate the layers of the crowd and see Wang Heng in the dark.
Fu Hanwen couldn’t help but complain, “Is this still a bar? It’s become a solo concert.”
Wang Heng estimated the customer flow and said with a smile, “It doesn’t matter to the owner. Anyway, you have to pay for a drink as soon as you sit down. After finishing one glass, it’s not polite to stay here, right?”
At this moment, a waiter brought two cocktails, placed them in front of the two, picked up the tray, and turned to leave.
Fu Hanwen looked at the glass and even measured it with his palm.
“Isn’t this glass a bit small? And they didn’t even fill it up!”
Wang Heng took a small sip from his glass and said calmly, “Bars are like this. Fill it up? Why don’t you just drink straight from the bottle?”
Fu Hanwen also picked up his glass and took a sip. “It’s pretty good… But this way of selling is really making a lot of money, isn’t it? Such a small amount of alcohol, not filled up, and there’s ice in it. How much profit is there in one glass?”
Wang Heng, who had a vested interest, smiled and said nothing.
After finishing the song “Fish,” Pei Ningle took a short break, drank some warm water, and then continued with the next song.
Wang Heng just sat there, sipping the cocktail in his glass, listening to the girl’s singing and the occasional applause and cheers from the surroundings, with a contented smile on his face.
Suddenly, Fu Hanwen asked, “Why do I feel like you’re smiling like an old father watching his daughter grow up?”
Wang Heng: “…It’s an illusion. I’m just appreciating the music.”
“I’m also appreciating the music, but my expression isn’t as strange as yours,” Fu Hanwen finally finished the drink in his glass in one gulp and let out a long breath. “After listening for a while, I feel that the money for this drink was really worth it. The sound effects and atmosphere in the bar are not bad. Think about the concerts of ordinary artists. The price is much higher than this, and it doesn’t even sound this good!”
Just as Fu Hanwen finished his heartfelt lament, a waiter from the bar came over.
“Sir, would you like another drink? You came with that flyer, so you can enjoy a special discount. The second drink is 30% off.”
Fu Hanwen was stunned for two seconds and said blankly, “Then… another one?”
“Okay, sir. I’ll bring the menu right over.”
The waiter nodded, smiled, and turned to leave.
Fu Hanwen maintained his dumbfounded expression and slowly turned to Wang Heng.
Wang Heng couldn’t help but laugh. “The money for this drink was really worth it, right?”
Fu Hanwen didn’t make a sound, but from the shape of his mouth, he was clearly saying—What. The. Actual. Fuck!
Wang Heng: “It’s okay. I’ll treat you to the drinks tonight. Drink as much as you want. It’s okay to have another one.”
Fu Hanwen: “You’re treating?”
Wang Heng: “My salary has come in. I can afford this much.”
Fu Hanwen immediately started to applaud. “Amazing, Teacher Wang!”
Wang Heng waved his hand, signaling Fu Hanwen to stop praising him. In fact, even though his salary had come in, Wang Heng didn’t want to spend money recklessly, for example, on a drink that cost dozens of yuan. But who was to say this wasn’t Yan Zitao’s place, and he was also participating in the profit sharing? It was one thing for his roommates to be in the dark, but if he made Fu Hanwen spend too much of his living expenses here, it would be a bit embarrassing.
After sitting in this spot for more than half an hour, Pei Ningle’s performance finally ended.
Fu Hanwen had been very careful with his second drink and had finally made it to the end, with only a few drops left. He tilted his head back, swallowed the last few drops, put down the glass, and said, “Let’s go!”
But Wang Heng shook his head. “You go first. I want to sit here for a while longer.”
Fu Hanwen: “The girl has already left the stage. What are you still sitting here for?”
Wang Heng touched the cold glass. “Anyway, there’s no class tomorrow. I want to have a drink and stay a little longer. I’ll pay the bill. You can just go. I’m going to order another one later.”
Fu Hanwen: “Alright then… You won’t get drunk, will you? Like Little Tang?”
Wang Heng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “My alcohol tolerance isn’t that ridiculous!”
“Then I’m leaving…”
After standing up and taking two steps, Fu Hanwen was still a little worried. So he grabbed a nearby waiter, left his phone number, and told the waiter to call him if his roommate got drunk, and only then did he walk out of the bar.
After his roommate left, he looked around and saw that there were many fewer customers, and he was sure there were no familiar faces. Then he called the waiter over and said, “Check, please.”
The waiter smiled. “Brother Tao said that you are a lifetime VIP of our shop. All consumption is 30% off, and you can just put it on a tab. No need to pay on the spot.”
Wang Heng also smiled. “He even gave this order… Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
The waiter looked around and lowered his voice. “Brother Tao also said, don’t reveal your VIP identity in front of anyone.”
Wang Heng gave a thumbs-up. “Nice! Then take me to see Little Le.”
This senior waiter was clearly in the know. He led Wang Heng to the rest area next to the back kitchen, opened the door, and then silently walked away.
The rest area was not large, but it had a dressing table and a sofa for people to rest, which was enough to meet the needs of the performers.
Pei Ningle was sitting on the sofa, a notebook spread on her lap, a pen in her hand, frowning in deep thought.
Wang Heng closed the door and asked casually, “What are you thinking about?”
Pei Ningle looked up at him, her expression not relaxed, still frowning. “Writing a song.”
“Oh, I guess a large sum of income is about to arrive. I thought you’d be happy about that.”
After Wang Heng finished speaking, he saw the girl’s expression become even more solemn. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive.
In the first timeline, on the day she confessed, her expression was similar, right?
This could no longer be described by a simple character for ‘Danger’…
But the next moment, the words the girl spoke immediately lifted a heavy weight from his chest.
“I think I’ll call my parents now.”
He was relieved, but then he was puzzled.
Wang Heng couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you want to tell them?”
“I want to prove to them that I can already make money by singing. And, I want to finish this melody.”
The girl’s first reason was not difficult to understand, but the second one was quite puzzling. Although it was very beneficial for Wang Heng for her parents to take her away, he still had to ask one more question at this moment.
Wang Heng: “Writing a song and calling your parents, what’s the relationship between these two?”
