Bartender Peach

Eleven o'clock.

Ye Shuang pushed open the bar door with Chen Hai and An Shiyu.

"Welcome." A familiar voice came from inside, along with the usual strange lighting effects and a haze of smoke.

Ye Shuang followed the voice and saw a familiar figure standing behind the bar counter, holding a cocktail shaker.

"Peach?"

"Ah, Brother Ye." Peach was still wearing a black leather jacket and simple lipstick. When she saw An Shiyu, her face stiffened slightly. "An Shiyu..."

"Oh, you look pretty cool in that. Let me try it on?" An Shiyu said.

"Ah, I can't take this off."

"Let me see!"

Ye Shuang and Chen Hai sat down at the bar counter, and Ye Shuang asked Peach, "Where are Little Lv and the others?"

"They left with Mother for some business. I'm just looking after the shop by myself for a bit," Peach explained.

"That's not good, it's unsafe." Ye Shuang frowned. Peach was such a delicate kid, yet Fugui left her alone here without even leaving a guy to keep an eye on the place.

"It's fine. Actually, there aren't many customers today, probably because the weather's gotten cold." Peach explained and didn't forget to ask, "What would you like to drink?"

"Huh? You know how to mix drinks?" Ye Shuang was surprised.

"Mm, a little."

Ye Shuang looked at the menu and finally said, "Just get us some beer. I'll have some beer with Chen Hai."

"And some snacks to go with it," Chen Hai chimed in with a smile.

"Beer?" Peach was momentarily taken aback but understood Ye Shuang's meaning.

He probably didn't want to trouble her with mixing drinks. Brother Ye was always so gentle with people he was close to.

"What about you, An Shiyu?" Peach asked.

"A glass of water-wash, with mineral water," An Shiyu said.

Peach: "..."

"Alright, just a moment." Peach first brought over a few bottles of beer, then prepared some snacks—basically things like deep-fried peanuts and boneless chicken feet, which were easy to prepare.

As for An Shiyu's so-called water-wash, it was actually something bartenders weren't too fond of making.

You put ice in a glass and stir it manually for about twenty minutes until frost forms on the glass walls.

This thing was rather taxing on the bartender.

"Just give her some juice," Ye Shuang said to Peach, thinking she was being too earnest.

"It's okay, it's on the menu after all," Peach shook her head. She was naturally a meticulous person.

After filling the glass with ice, Peach began stirring.

Five or six minutes passed, and her hand still hadn't stopped. An Shiyu, watching from the side, seemed bored. "What's the point of doing this? Does it taste better?"

"Um..." Peach thought for a moment, "This way, you can charge a good price."

A water-wash cost eighty. The raw material was just ice. Using spirits like whisky made it even more expensive.

For Peach, stirring for twenty minutes and earning nearly a hundred bucks was something she could never have imagined before.

"Not interesting. Is there anything good to drink?" An Shiyu asked.

"..." Peach looked at the glass in her hand and pointed to the menu nearby. "Take a look and see what you'd like?"

"Can you do a water-wash with juice?"

"You could, but it might lose its flavor," Peach said.

"Oh, forget it then. Just juice with some ice is fine," An Shiyu waved her hand, seemingly losing interest.

Peach: "..."

"You still have to pay for it, you know," Peach said.

"Yeah, yeah," An Shiyu nodded, then said to Ye Shuang, "Hear that, uncle? Remember to pay the bill."

"So it's on my tab?!" Ye Shuang retorted.

"Eh—Should a girl pay when a guy invites her for a drink?" An Shiyu made a wide-eyed expression. "Uncle, are you trying to get a free ride?"

Ye Shuang pinched the bridge of his nose, too lazy to argue with An Shiyu about this. He said to Peach, "Just put everything on my tab. And Peach, don't bother with that anymore. Sit down and rest. Also, how late do you usually work? Won't it affect your schoolwork?"

"It's fine," Peach smiled.

It was much easier than collecting bottles.

Actually, Peach hadn't quit her job as a librarian either, so she spent most of her free time working part-time.

"You must be pretty tired like this," An Shiyu remarked.

"It's okay. This isn't really hardship. Or rather, hardship can be a good thing," Peach said.

An Shiyu, however, picked up a peanut and tossed it into her mouth, chewing. "People aren't born to endure hardship. If you can endure hardship, then you'll have endless hardship to endure."

"Anyone who says hardship is a blessing definitely has something wrong with their head. You are what you eat. Eat bitterness, replenish bitterness. If you want to succeed, to be above others, you have to 'eat' people."

Hearing this, Peach just smiled.

She could understand, actually. Collecting bottles for a whole day wasn't worth as much as a single glass of alcohol sold here.

To put it bluntly, connections are important, but most of the time, most people don't have them.

Just like Peach back in the day, besides collecting bottles, there didn't seem to be anything else she could do, especially since she still had to finish her studies.

Just then, Peach's phone rang.

"Sorry, I need to take this call." Peach glanced at it and saw it was a video call from her younger sister at home.

"Go ahead, we're all friends here, no need to worry," Ye Shuang said, noticing Peach's glance, and smiled.

Sometimes, Peach was just too proper.

Peach answered the video call.

"Sis—" Several young faces crowded the screen on the other end, all young girls.

"Sis, aren't you home yet?"

"Soon, I'll be back soon," Peach said with a smile.

Now Peach had brought her sisters to the city. With Fugui's arrangements, they were all enrolled in nearby elementary, middle, and high schools. Peach's favorite thing now was being able to spend time with her sisters in the evenings or on her days off.

Since becoming disillusioned with her parents, this was what made her feel the happiest.

"Don't bother Sis while she's working. Hang up!"

"Okay."

On the other end of the video, there seemed to be an older-looking girl managing the younger ones. After a bit of commotion, the call ended.

"They seem pretty lively," Ye Shuang smiled.

"Heh," Peach scratched her head, a bit shy.

"Brother Ye, would you like to visit my home sometime?"

"Huh? Sure, but won't your sisters be scared of me?" Ye Shuang chuckled.

"They won't," Peach said. The kids at home had all matured relatively early.

"I'll go see them next time," Ye Shuang nodded.

"Okay."

Ye Shuang tossed a peanut into his mouth. Seeing Chen Hai beside him still burying his head in his drink, he nudged him with his elbow. "What's wrong? Your wife's back home and you're still like this."

"Even with her back home, it's tough. And you said all that to me this afternoon," Chen Hai said.

"That's called a strategic maneuver. I don't want to see you two get divorced," Ye Shuang shrugged. "You don't want a divorce either, right?"

"I never really thought about it."

"See? And isn't it good she's back home? At the very least, Qiaoqiao can have a hot meal." Ye Shuang asked, "Or is it disturbing your time with Zhou Min?"

"Bullshit."