Meet at the Bar

An overturned ink bottle dyed the sky; it was no longer a clear blue, with only the stars dotting the inky canvas. And under this veil of night, inside a bar with a dazzling sign—

"So, when are you planning to marry Qin?" Aunt Li blew on her black manicure, not forgetting to show it off to the group. "Look, there's a diamond on every nail. Pretty, isn't it?"

"What's the use of diamonds? They aren't worth much themselves." Chen Hai looked completely indifferent, seemingly feeling that having things stuck to one's nails looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hmph, you have no sense of romance. I asked if it was pretty, and you talk to me about its value." Aunt Li rolled her eyes at Chen Hai in annoyance. No wonder this guy barely picked up any girls back in school; he had zero charm.

Beside them, Ye Shuang held his wine glass, letting out a faint chuckle as he watched the two bicker.

"Alright, I'm not talking about this with you." Aunt Li shifted her attention back to Ye Shuang and said, "Little Shuangshuang, say something. When are you getting married?"

"This year." Ye Shuang didn't really think about it, just answering subconsciously.

"That's good too. After watching you two for so many years, there's finally a result..." Aunt Li said, though she was also thinking about Bai Yuyou. "As for that child..."

"You don't need to trap yourself like this," Aunt Li added, well aware of what Ye Shuang was agonizing over.

"..." Ye Shuang knew it well in his heart. Frankly, it was just him failing to figure out a lot of things. Draining his glass in one gulp, he took a deep breath and set it down.

"It's my own problem. I promised a lot, but I couldn't deliver..."

He always told Bai Yuyou that she would understand when she grew up. Yet, when this child actually had the ability to stand before him and express her feelings, Ye Shuang ultimately chose to hurt her because he had to consider Chen Qin's feelings.

The phrase he had initially said about how they might be husband and wife in the future became a promise he could not fulfill.

"I'm just too terrible." Ye Shuang shook his head.

"People aren't saints. Why would you say that? No one in this world is perfect." Seeing Ye Shuang looking so miserable, Chen Hai spoke up to comfort him, in a rare moment of holding back his usual snarky remarks.

After all, at a critical moment like this, Chen Hai wouldn't deliberately say anything to make Ye Shuang feel worse.

"When you first got together with Ah Qin, I anticipated there would be a day like this." Aunt Li propped her face on one hand, her fingers pinching her glass and swirling the ice cubes inside. The crisp clinking sound seemed to evoke some of her memories.

"People, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, can never avoid pain in the process of growing up."

"Whenever you encounter difficulties at different stages, you always feel like it's the end of the world, losing sleep day and night. But once it passes and you look back, it never feels like that big of a deal anymore."

"Once you figure it out, you'll get over this hurdle."

"..." Ye Shuang pondered for a moment. Looking at his long-empty glass, he called out to Taozi not far away, "Taozi, please bring me some more drinks."

"Okay, coming right up." Taozi was still wiping tables over by the bar. Hearing Ye Shuang's voice, she brought over several more bottles of liquor. The bar was playing music, and although it wasn't loud, the distance between them meant that Taozi, situated at the bar, had no idea what was going on with Ye Shuang.

However, she keenly sensed that Ye Shuang was in a bad mood, so she asked,

"Brother Ye, are you in a bad mood? Is it about work?"

"Little kids shouldn't ask so much." Aunt Li giggled, covering her mouth with her pinky raised. "You'll understand once you start dating."

"Dating?" Taozi paused for a moment, then shyly twirled a strand of her hair. "I don't have any plans for that right now."

Taozi's mind was completely occupied with making money and worrying about her younger sisters, so of course she wouldn't focus on dating. However, hearing this, she somewhat understood that Ye Shuang was troubled by love.

But Taozi found it strange. Logically speaking, Brother Ye shouldn't have any relationship problems, right?

Yuyou was clearly so clingy to him.

Could it be Sister Chen Qin?

Although Taozi felt a bit gossipy at the moment, it wasn't appropriate for her to just stand there, so she could only return to the bar with her curiosity.

After drinking for a while longer, Ye Shuang was already feeling tipsy.

Despite this, his chest still felt tight, filled with a very complex emotion—a mix of guilt for failing Bai Yuyou's feelings and hurting her, as well as questioning himself whether he would have done better if he could do it all over again.

"Don't overthink it. Things actually aren't as complicated as you think," Aunt Li said, gently patting Ye Shuang's back.

"If all else fails, just treat her as a younger sister. After all, you and that kid are basically like family anyway, right?" Chen Hai suggested. "I think that could work, though I don't know what she would think of it."

"That idea..." Ye Shuang said, disagreeing with it, as it felt like a selfish act.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ye Shuang poured himself another glass of liquor.

The night gradually deepened. Ye Shuang, half-drunk, quietly leaned against the corner of the booth and fell asleep. At this moment, Chen Hai and Aunt Li exchanged a glance.

"Neither of the girls minds, yet he's the one who can't get past it." Chen Hai shook his head.

"That's because they love him too much. Otherwise, do you think they'd be willing to share?" Aunt Li said, lightly inspecting her nails. "When you were little, you wouldn't even share a single spicy stick with me."

"Damn, you still remember that?" Chen Hai immediately glared.

But right now, Ye Shuang was already drunk, so Chen Hai and Aunt Li had to figure out how to take him away.

"Find a hotel?" Chen Hai asked. The vicinity was full of guesthouses and hotels, so finding a place to spend the night would be very easy.

"Anything works. I have space at my place too," Aunt Li said, only to notice that Ye Shuang had sat up straight. He opened his eyes slightly, which were clouded over, yet he looked as if he still had some energy.

"It's fine, I can go back," Ye Shuang shook his head, then asked Taozi to pour him a glass of water.

"He really drank a lot..." Chen Hai looked at the bottles beside Ye Shuang. Aside from the batch that Taozi had cleared away, there were still two full cases sitting there.

"Alright, let's take Ye Shuang home first."

"It's fine, I can go back myself," Ye Shuang said, taking out his car keys. "God of racing."

It seemed he was heavily intoxicated.

The two exchanged a look. To prevent Ye Shuang from making a mistake, he was ultimately escorted back personally by Chen Hai and Aunt Li together.

Taozi drove the car.