Cousin’s love rival actually is the flower-arm stinky-face guy who lives downstairs from her shop, rumored to fight in small alleys in the deep night!?
No way, right?
Qiao Ling held the door handle, staying at the entrance, stiff like a mummy jumping out from the wooden coffin in the bar.
Beautiful cute-girl mummy live-acting as bar doorman, if spread out, definitely is a gold-medal marketing gimmick.
When that person in the bartending counter sent over again that kind of like a dark arrow gaze, Qiao Ling abruptly pulled herself out from the involuntarily scattered thoughts, let go of her hand.
The glass door slowly closed backward, blocking the August evening’s heat outside.
Chen Kuang gripped the shaker cup, single hand shaking, rhythmically swinging right arm, shaking out afterimages, arm muscles tightened, sexy.
While shaking, he was staring at her.
That one gaze from the other side came over, Qiao Ling’s back came out with a layer of sweat.
Hot mist rushed up to her cheeks, bringing along heart also lacking oxygen.
This year is really strange.
Binyang, this kind of so northern city, by end of August actually still would be so hot.
For a moment, Qiao Ling didn’t know whether her sweating was because of the outdoor high temperature, or because of his pair of eyes.
“Mm, cough cough.”
A cough interrupted her gaze that couldn’t move away.
Qiao Ling followed the sound over, saw cousin holding a tray, was giving her eye signals.
Qiao Jing used his eyes, thinking himself not on purpose but actually very obvious, pointed at the bartending counter.
Silently told her: That one at the bar counter, it’s him!!
Little sister, charge forward on behalf of big brother!
Qiao Ling: “……”
Big brother, do you know the aunties say he can fight three people alone in the alley?
You’re telling me to find trouble with this kind of person for no reason?
Although Qiao Jing didn’t know that she and Chen Kuang already had met twice, and there was even slight friction, but from cousin-sister’s expression with emotions hanging on her face, he could see her regret.
Since already came, how could he watch the plan fail!?
Qiao Jing helplessly, turned his back to her, rubbed his index finger and thumb together—money, as much as needed.
Qiao Ling, eyes opening wide at the sight of money, straightened her back again.
Anyway, this is her first time in this lifetime, also last time coming to this shady bar, yes, last time.
Qiao Jing pretended not to know her, smiling to greet: “Good evening beauty, alone? Sitting at the bar counter okay?”
Qiao Ling hooked out a trace of fake polite stiff smile, nodded.
Following Qiao Jing, walked toward the bar counter.
Qiao Ling looked around at the bustling silhouettes in the bar, believing what Qiao Jing said about “recently so busy my head’s gone,” although it was a newly opened bar, the popularity was unexpectedly strong. It was just early evening, the bar had only opened not long ago, not yet nine or ten when people usually arrive, and it was already almost full.
She sat in the middle position of the bar counter, just so happening to not be able to lower her head without seeing, raise her head and see the bartender, “……”
Qiao Jing placed the drinks menu in front of her, “You can look first, if you need recommendations call me…” he slowed, glanced at Chen Kuang, deliberately added: “Or directly communicate with the bartender, anyway you two are close.”
Qiao Ling turned her head, noticing the woman in black dress with heavy makeup sitting beside her was using a gaze full of consideration and competition meaning to look at her.
The black dress woman glanced at Qiao Jing, dissatisfied: “Jing-ge, didn’t you just say your bartender doesn’t like people sitting in the front position? How come now you arranged someone else to sit here?”
Chen Kuang lowered his head making drinks, turned a deaf ear.
How could Qiao Jing not know this woman’s purpose, how can this Chen Kuang be so able to attract bees and butterflies?
He casually smoothed things over: “Who said that? Whose bartender has this kind of stinky bad habit?”
“You drank too much, got confused already.”
The black dress woman gave a “hei” sound, complaining his turning face not recognizing people.
She glanced at the newly seated short little sister, silently grumbling in her heart: This group of stinky men just know how to open privileges for fair-skinned pretty cute girls, really.
Qiao Jing patted the drinks menu, continued talking to Qiao Ling: “You first look at the drinks menu ha, I’ll go get busy.”
Before leaving even secretly gave her an eye signal.
Leaving her alone to battle Chen Kuang at the bar counter.
From just now Qiao Ling was already awkward to death, stiffly flipping open the drinks menu to look, facing these literary drink names and ingredient lists felt like looking at heavenly books.
Simply like making a liberal arts student take advanced mathematics, comparable to making Qin Shihuang study Newton’s law of universal gravitation.
Looking around once, she was afraid of being discovered by that person in the bar counter that she completely didn’t understand bartending, took out WeChat pretending to look at messages, actually opened Qiao Jing’s chat window to ask for help.
【L.ing: Ge, I totally can’t understand the drinks menu! (Little bear crying tears)】
【L.ing: You might as well directly tell me which kind is more able to test the bartender’s skill.】
After sending the message, Qiao Ling raised her eyes, just happened to bump into Chen Kuang’s glance slanted over, so startled her phone almost wasn’t held steady.
She swiftly lowered her head, pretending to be very busy.
Shouldn’t have been found out anything, right?
Qiao Jing was probably busy, only after two minutes did he reply.
Zizi.
Her phone vibrated.
【Qiao Jing: You just order a Gin and Tonic, Gin and Tonic counts as the most basic of basics, really tests the bartender’s fundamental skills.】
Zizi.
【Qiao Jing: Ge is counting on you! (random fist moving image)】
Zizi.
【Qiao Jing: Question him, humiliate him, let him lose face in front of so many beauties! (Wu Jing resting chin smiling. Jing Jing has flavor jpg)】
Receiving professional guidance, Qiao Ling immediately straightened her back, holding her phone, raised her head, said to the man fiddling inside the bar counter: “That, I’ll order a Gin and Tonic.”
“You can do it?”
To ask a veteran bartender whether he can make Gin and Tonic, is no different from asking a science PhD whether he can do addition and subtraction under 100.
The act of asking itself is a kind of provocation.
However, Qiao Ling blinked her eyes, completely unaware that her casual one sentence had already lit the fuse of today’s battle.
Chen Kuang did not answer, focused on finishing the original cocktail in his hand, picked up a stalk of lemongrass leaf for garnish, signaled the server to take it away to serve.
He pulled out a piece of checkered paper to wipe his hands, lifted his eyelids and asked her: “Do you like it stronger or more refreshing?”
Qiao Ling reacted for a moment, thinking he was probably asking about the drink’s taste, answered: “Refreshing?”
Seeing the person inside the bar counter start to make the drink, she lowered her head and mumbled in a mosquito-like voice: “Not saying anything for so long, I thought maybe doesn’t know how…”
“Doesn’t know what?” he suddenly asked back.
Qiao Ling shivered, didn’t expect his ears to be this useful.
Clearly the bar was quite noisy ah!!
“Uh, nothing.” She picked up the water glass, looking left and right playing dumb: “I didn’t say anything.”
What to do, why does it feel like he’s already angry?
However, Chen Kuang wasn’t.
He is a person who separates work and life very clearly, no matter who it is, sitting in front of him is a guest.
Because Qiao Ling ordered a refreshing taste Gin and Tonic, he directly chose a citrus floral type, relatively modern style Nordés Gin as base, matched with light tonic water, avoiding too strong fruit aroma disturbing the base liquor’s own delicate flavor.
Forty-five milliliters of gin slowly poured into a glass containing rectangular column-shaped ice, Barspoon stirring together ice and gin to lower temperature, adding one-quarter yellow lemon juice placed inside, tonic water poured along the cup wall with golden ratio swiftly, finally using the spoon part of Barspoon to go deep and do appropriate lifting, blending aroma.
At the end he cut a piece of guava, skewered it, placed on the cup mouth as decoration.
The whole process was completed almost within Qiao Ling’s blink of an eye, movements smooth and fast, incredibly fast.
Although she didn’t understand bartending, although it was just the so-called bartender basic model from cousin’s mouth, she could inexplicably sense his ease and mastery in this field.
When the drink was placed on the leather coaster and pushed in front of her, she still hadn’t recovered.
Qiao Ling reached out, was frozen slightly by the glass wall’s icy feeling, lifted her eyes, looking at his face seriously watching her.
She always couldn’t help but look at his eyes.
How could someone even the shape of the eye’s outer corners grow so good-looking, yet his gaze always neither warm nor cold.
Chen Kuang lifted his chin, prompted her, voice as cool as this glass of drink: “Gin and Tonic’s bubbles have a taste enjoyment time limit.”
“Try it.”
Qiao Ling thinking of cousin’s instructed “mission,” picked up the glass and took a sip, quickly calculating in her head, coughed twice.
She covered her mouth, deliberately coughed until the corners of her eyes turned red, quickly attacked: “Thi—this, what is this?”
Chen Kuang’s arms propped in an eight-character shape on the bar edge, brows slightly pressing down.