Chapter 5: Are You Done Making A Scene?

The brightest place in the entire bar was the bar counter, where several lotus-shaped spotlights at the top cast layers of light, shining down onto a long black wooden counter.

Jiang Se was sitting at the edge of the bar counter, right next to the window, a place where the light couldn’t even reach. The light was dim, with the only illumination coming from the faint moonlight by the window.

The girl’s profile was illuminated by the hazy moonlight, and in the half-light, the fingers gripping the cocktail shaker looked abnormally pale.

Her bartending skills were precise and skilled, as if the shaker had become an extension of her hand. When she flicked it, there was a sharp, almost cold beauty to her movements.

But the aura around her was out of place in this lively, noisy atmosphere.

Her lowered brows and eyes exuded a chill, like a pile of burnt-out ash.

Han Xiao had been left in charge of the film city project in Tongcheng by his father for the past six months, and with outdated information, he had no idea about the big news of the real and fake Cen family’s daughter.

Once he confirmed he hadn’t mistaken her, he couldn’t wait to walk toward the dimly lit corner.

Lu Huaiyan didn’t follow. After glancing over, his gaze continued to roam around the room. His hand casually slipped into his pocket, with no urgency or eagerness to meet a familiar face.

However, when his fingers brushed against his phone in his pocket, he recalled the long voice message from Han Yin in WeChat. He turned his gaze back to the corner, paused for a moment, then walked over.

As soon as the two tall and handsome men appeared in the bar, they drew countless gazes, especially Lu Huaiyan. When he stepped into the bar, the few exquisitely made-up girls sitting by the door immediately fixed their eyes on him.

His looks and demeanor were simply too outstanding, making him the center of attention wherever he went.

Jiang Se only noticed them when they walked past, but she didn’t say anything.

She had only played with the cocktail shaker for half an hour in the afternoon. After dinner, feeling bored, she came back to play some more.

She didn’t expect to run into acquaintances in such a short time.

In the past, when she frequently visited the Lu family mansion, it was rare to meet Lu Huaiyan even after ten visits.

Yet now, in just two days, she had bumped into him four times.

What bad luck.

Compared to her indifference, Han Xiao seemed much more excited. “Cen Se, it’s really you!”

Lu Huaiyan didn’t speak, only lowered his eyes to look at the girl’s cool expression.

In the past, Cen Se would always wear a polite and suitable smile when meeting anyone, whether she liked them or not. The curve of her lips was so precise it seemed measured.

His old man always praises her when he talks about her.

After praising her, he would angrily curse the old man of the Fu family, saying that the Fu family, despite having lost their grandson who had a betrothal engagement with Cen Se, had shamelessly presented a child born out of wedlock and engaged her.

He would then look at Lu Huaiyan with disappointment, as though not understanding why he didn’t like her.

He wondered if the old man would still praise her after seeing her like this now.

As though not noticing the coldness in Lu Huaiyan’s gaze, Jiang Se set down the cocktail shaker, smiled slightly at Han Xiao, and said, “Han Xiao, long time no see.”

“What the hell, how are you here?!”

The eldest daughter of the Cen family in North City, the glamorous figure at the top of the socialite circle, Cen Se, was actually here in a small run-down city’s tiny bar making drinks?

Han Xiao felt like the world had turned surreal.

“This is my parents’ bar, I’m just here to have fun.” Jiang Se replied casually, pushing the drink menu across the table. “What would you like to drink? I’ll go get it for you.”

Han Xiao froze for a moment. Jiang Se’s “parents” were obviously not Cen Minghong and Ji Yunyi.

He instinctively glanced at Lu Huaiyan, but seeing that he showed no sign of speaking, Han Xiao smiled and took the menu from Jiang Se, quickly scanning it. “I’ll have an ‘Apricot Blossom Spring Rain’, and you, bro, what do you want?”

Han Xiao pushed the menu to Lu Huaiyan.

But Lu Huaiyan didn’t even glance at it. Instead, he looked at Jiang Se and asked, “What do you recommend?”

His deep voice sounded as emotionless as ever.

But Jiang Se caught the subtle impatience that was buried deep within.

Impatience?

She lifted her gaze and met his dark eyes behind the glasses, then asked him in return, “Do you really want me to recommend something?”

Lu Huaiyan didn’t care what he drank. He nodded slightly and mumbled, “Mm.”

A few minutes later, the bartender brought over two small, palm-sized porcelain cups.

One cup contained a golden liquid, emitting a fragrance of apricot blossoms.

The other was a pale blue color, smelling like plum wine.

The blue drink was for Lu Huaiyan.

The man took a sip from the cup, then swallowed the sour liquid without changing his expression, even though it made his teeth ache.

Of all the flavors in the world, the one Lu Huaiyan disliked most was sour.

And almost no one knew about his food preferences.

Jiang Se had ordered this drink, and whether by coincidence or intent, it happened to be the flavor he hated most.

She sat there, resting her chin on one hand, and slowly smiled as she asked, “How is it? This ‘Green Plum’ is a drink many people try for the challenge of their taste buds. Do you like it?”

Lu Huaiyan glanced up, meeting her pure black pupils, and for the first time that night, he smiled.

“It’s good,” he said.

With those words, he lifted the cup again and took another sip.

---

When old acquaintances meet in a bar like this, most people would usually drink and chat warmly for a while.

But Jiang Se wasn’t in the mood for that.

After exchanging a few casual words with Han Xiao, she left for the bar’s backyard.

The backyard was where Jiang Chuan stored the wine barrels, and no ordinary people were allowed to enter.

In this case, “ordinary people” referred to Han Xiao and Lu Huaiyan.

It wasn’t exactly pleasant to run into old acquaintances from North City right after arriving in Tongcheng.

It had rained earlier in the day, and the gray walls of the backyard were half-wet. Dozens of wine barrels were stacked at the corner, and beside them stood a rather old catalpa tree. Its huge canopy blocked the sky and the moon. Under the tree, there was a swing made of woven rattan.

Jiang Se tugged on the grass ropes at both ends of the swing and, finding it sturdy enough, sat down without caring whether it was dirty or not. Her straight, slender white legs rested slightly in the soft soil.

The cool breeze after the rain swept through the treetops.

The swing moved gently a few times, and suddenly, the wooden door to the backyard let out a soft creak.

The light in the yard dimmed for a moment.

Someone Came In.

As soon as she saw who it was, the sound of high-heeled shoes quickly scraping against the gravel made a sharp “scrape.”

The swing, which had been swaying slowly, came to a sudden stop.

Jiang Se looked up, her dark eyes showing a hint of surprise.

“How come you’re here?”

Lu Huaiyan walked toward her slowly, stepping through the dappled moonlight filtering through the tree branches.

“What’s this? Now you recognize me?”

Whether on the plane or just now at the bar, she had acted as though he were a stranger. If Han Xiao hadn’t insisted on catching up, she would have probably ignored them both.

He didn’t really care about her indifference.

As Cen Li had said, this girl was just throwing a tantrum with the Cen family. Once she was done, she would naturally return to North City.

Lu Huaiyan had no interest in dealing with the Cen family’s problems, nor did he have the patience for her spoiled behavior.

If it weren’t for Han Yin, he wouldn’t have bothered stepping into this backyard at all.

The man wore a gray shirt and black trousers. Perhaps feeling hot, he had rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing his slender, pale wrists. One button of his shirt was undone, and his sharp Adam’s apple descended slowly as he spoke.

The moonlight was hazy, and the wind carried the melancholy sound of a song from some distant bar, adding a touch of languor to his presence.

But Jiang Se knew.

He was clearly impatient. Since the moment he asked her for a recommendation, he had been increasingly irritable.

After all, he was someone she had once cared for for two years, and she had spent a considerable amount of time studying him.

Emotions that others might not notice, she could always pick up on.

Jiang Se didn’t respond to him.

The wind blew her skirt as she sat on the swing, facing Lu Huaiyan’s gaze. She changed the question: “How did you get in?”

“I asked the bar owner’s wife where you went. She told me to come here and find you.”

Jiang Se responded flatly with an “Oh,” showing no expression. “This is a place where unauthorized people aren’t allowed to enter.”

She pointed to a “Do Not Enter” sign by the door. “Also, you’ve disturbed me while I was swinging.”

She was politely implying, “You can leave now.”

Lu Huaiyan, of course, understood perfectly.

He looked at Jiang Se, his eyes behind the lenses deep and dark, like thick ink diluted with water.

After a moment, he stepped back a few paces, leaning against the mottled wall of light and shadow. In a low voice, he said, “You go ahead, I’ll smoke.”

As he spoke, the man pulled a cigarette and a black metal lighter from his pocket.

Soon, a blue flame flickered in the dim light.

The tobacco ignited, and delicate white smoke wafted from the burning cigarette.

With a slight hollow in his cheek, Lu Huaiyan lowered his eyes. He took a puff of the smoke, and as the smoke lingered in his throat, two pale fingers, almost sickly white, suddenly moved through the mist and lightly pinched the cigarette’s tip, extinguishing the flame.

The smoke was gone.

The cool breeze blew gently.

Jiang Se’s faint, cold fragrance passed by, brushing against his fingers that held the cigarette.

Lu Huaiyan slowly exhaled the smoke he had only inhaled halfway, and through the thin white mist, his eyes met Jiang Se’s cold, indifferent gaze.

Her eyes were very dark.

A blackness that no light could penetrate, a cold, ashen stillness at its core.

“Sorry, I hate the smell of smoke. You can’t smoke that cigarette here,” she said, without the slightest sincerity, as she rubbed her right index and thumb together, as if trying to wipe off something unclean.

This was the first time Lu Huaiyan had someone snuff out his cigarette in such a way.

It was unnecessary, and no one dared to do such a thing.

In his circle, every man smoked.

Back when the Cen family hosted banquets, Lu Huaiyan and Cen Li had smoked in front of Jiang Se countless times, but at that time, he never saw a hint of distaste for the smoke on her face.

Just now, after Jiang Se left the bar, Han Xiao had asked him with confusion: “Bro, you and Cen Se grew up together, right? Why does she seem so unfamiliar with you?”

Indeed, he wasn’t particularly familiar with Jiang Se.

In Lu Huaiyan’s memory, this girl was as bland as a cup of plain water.

She never behaved out of line or overstepped her bounds, always acting appropriately.

To put it nicely, she was well-mannered. To put it harshly, the Cen family had worn down all her edges.

The person in front of him was still the same familiar face, but now, she was unmistakably different.

The old Jiang Se would never have snuffed out someone’s cigarette with her bare hands.

Now, it seemed like countless small thorns had emerged from her bones.

Lu Huaiyan took the cigarette from his mouth and lowered his eyes, staring at her without saying a word.

His jet-black eyes were heavy and dark, and when he wasn’t speaking, his mere gaze was oppressive.

The swing beneath the tree continued to sway, and the night breeze blew away the last trace of smoke in the air, replacing it with a faint, calming fragrance.

Jiang Se squinted her eyes.

For a brief moment, she felt like a prey, silently scrutinized by someone.

She always despised that feeling.

Despised being a helpless prey.

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Lu Huaiyan suddenly spoke.

“Cen Se, are you done making a scene?”

His voice was faint, his tone steady, as if asking about something utterly boring.

Jiang Se didn’t avert her gaze from his cold, dark eyes. Her thick lashes slowly fluttered. A few beams of moonlight passed through the layers of leaves from the paulownia tree, casting light on her delicate face.

“Making a scene?”

Under the moonlight, she smiled lightly.

It was the same smile that Lu Huaiyan was familiar with, as if it had been measured.

But against the deep mockery in her eyes, the smile was filled with aggression.

“Lu Huaiyan, you can’t even get my surname right, and yet you have the audacity to ask if I know you? And also,” her voice was very light, even carrying a hint of amusement, “whether or not I’m making a scene has nothing to do with you.”

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