The Game of Life - Chapter 501

Chapter 501: Chapter 499 BAR

Please continue reading on ΒOXΝʘVEL.ϹΟM .

Jiang Feng actually had little memory of the high school canteen as he rarely ate there during his high school days, only opting for the cafeteria when his teacher’s lessons ran over and left him with little time to eat.

This time, being taken to the canteen by Wu Minqi was a rather different experience.

Before heading to the canteen, Wu Minqi took Jiang Feng for a walk around the school. To be fair, as a high school, her alma mater covered a large area. It not only had an athletic field but also a small tennis court, and the gymnasium was quite well-equipped.

By the time the two arrived at the canteen, there weren’t many people left, just a few students eating quietly.

Since only the seniors were in school and it was their last day of classes, only the first floor of the canteen was open to patrons, with just one auntie in charge of the food service window. For meat dishes, there was only stir-fried pork with chili left, and there were five or six types of vegetarian and “flower dishes,” none of which looked particularly appetizing.

Jiang Feng chose the stir-fried greens and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which seemed the least spicy of the limited options. The cafeteria auntie, mistaking Jiang for a teacher, gave him an extra helping, and seeing he didn’t take any meat dishes, she added a small spoonful of the stir-fried pork with chili. Wu Minqi didn’t eat but instead bought the last pumpkin pastry from the pastry window.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi found a spot under brighter lighting to sit down. Because they were sitting behind a senior student who was quietly studying vocabulary while eating, they kept silent the whole meal, afraid of disturbing his study.

Until Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi had finished eating, the student who was memorizing words still sat there, unmoved.

After leaving the canteen, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi did not go straight to Wu Jialiang’s bar but instead walked hand in hand to the dark athletic field devoid of lights. The field looked like it had seen better days, with the green turf no longer appearing so green.

The field was desolate, with not a soul in sight, although it was possible that there were people Jiang Feng couldn’t make out in the dimness, which limited his vision to no more than five meters ahead.

“Qiqi, has your school’s athletic field always been without lights?” asked Jiang Feng as they walked along the track.

“There are no lights inside the field, but there are some along the road outside. I guess they didn’t turn them on today since there’s no evening self-study and not many people around,” Wu Minqi explained.

The two strolled around the athletic field leisurely, digesting their meal, and by the end of their second lap, Wu Minqi looked down at the rubber track and chuckled, “Fengfeng, do you know what it felt like when I saw other couples holding hands and walking in the UAL University athletic field at night?”

(vitag.Init = window.vitag.Init || []).push(function(){viAPItag.display(“vi_765923973”)})

“Envious?”

Jiang Feng said he felt envious not only during his time at UAL University but even back in high school when he saw couples holding hands.

“No, I thought they were pretty silly, just walking around the track holding hands and doing nothing,” said Wu Minqi.

“And now?”

“I think we are pretty silly too.”

Wu Minqi and Jiang Feng exchanged smiles and, holding hands like two fools, they left the athletic field.

After leaving Wu Minqi’s high school, they took a taxi straight to Wu Jialiang’s bar.

According to Wu Minqi, Wu Jialiang’s bar was in a good location, on a locally famous bar street packed with bars, which made for fierce competition. This was why Wu Jialiang’s family had reservations when he first opened the bar; they doubted the success of someone who used to play the violin suddenly switching to bar-owning, especially since he didn’t fit the profile, despite having the face for it.

Wu Minqi had only been to Wu Jialiang’s bar once, so she wasn’t very familiar with it. Wu Minqi and Jiang Feng used their phones and the pictures sent by Wu Jialiang to look for the place, scouring from one end of the street to the other like two amateur paparazzi, double-checking several times before daring to step inside.

The name of Wu Jialiang’s bar was: BAR.

It was simple and easy to understand as if it was fated to close down.

The moment he stepped inside, Jiang Feng was excited.

As an adult male who had never been to a bar, not even knowing which way the door opened, Jiang Feng felt that this small step he took today was a giant leap in his life.

Jiang Feng had many imaginations about bars, mostly derived from TV dramas.

Deafening music, blinding lights, and a crowd of young men and women in the dance floor who seemed to be just waving their hands but doing it with much enthusiasm while they were high on drinks.

Neon lights, indulgence, not for children, illegal and disorderly…

Later, Jiang Feng realized that was called a discotheque…

And one from a parallel world TV drama at that.

When Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi entered, Wu Jialiang’s bar had not yet opened for business. The lights were fully on, giving a clear view of the entire venue.

There was no music, no noise, and several bartenders were idling behind the bar while the band was still tuning equipment on stage. Wu Jialiang himself was sitting in a booth near the entrance, engrossed in messaging on his phone, oblivious to Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s arrival.

“Hello, please feel free to find a seat. Our establishment hasn’t opened yet,” a smiling waiter said to Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi.

“We’re here to see someone.” Wu Minqi smiled at the server and waved to Wu Jialiang, “Jialiang brother.”

Wu Jialiang, hearing the call, looked up, saw Wu Minqi and Jiang Feng had arrived, and quickly put down his phone to walk towards them.

“Yo, Qiqi and the future brother-in-law are here early. Go sit at the bar, and I’ll show you a trick or two.” Wu Jialiang rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to make some cocktails.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi sat down at the bar while Wu Jialiang walked behind it, took out his tools, and started mixing drinks. Jiang Feng wasn’t clear about the specific steps of cocktail-making but thought that the way Wu Jialiang shook various glasses in his hands looked quite cool. He was considering whether he should sign up for a cocktail-making class to learn how to make drinks in front of his girlfriend in a cool and impressive way when suddenly the lights dimmed.

It was opening time.

Onstage, the band started playing a slow guitar tune, the resident singer still hadn’t arrived, and other than Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi, there were no other patrons in the bar. Everything slowed down with the music, even time itself.

“This bar your cousin runs really doesn’t feel like a bar,” Jiang Feng remarked.

“Jialiang brother says there are fast bars and slow ones, and he likes running this kind of more sophisticated slow bar,” Wu Minqi explained. “Uncle Bohe and Auntie have advised him to transform this place into a music restaurant, but he insists on running a bar.”

“Why?” Jiang Feng felt that if Wu Jialiang wanted to change the bar into a music restaurant, all he would need was to replace the furniture and brighten the lights, without changing anything else.

“I don’t know,” Wu Minqi shook her head.

“I do,” said the lady cousin, appearing out of nowhere in a changed outfit.

It was still the same coat, but now she was wearing a lawyer’s suit underneath, which looked somewhat out of place.

The lady cousin came over to Wu Minqi’s side, removed her coat, draped it over her legs, and sat down, resembling a woman lawyer who had just finished work and had come to the bar to unwind.

“Honey, what would you like to drink?” Wu Jialiang placed two identical, freshly mixed cocktails in front of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi.

Under the illumination of the bar lights, the blue cocktails shone like the deep sea, mesmerizing and unable to be ignored.

“A new recipe?” the lady cousin asked, smiling at Wu Jialiang.

“Care for one?”

After receiving a nod of affirmation, Wu Jialiang continued his role as a master mixologist, focusing on making drinks.

“Sister, why does Jialiang brother insist on running a bar? Just because he wants to make drinks?” Wu Minqi asked.

Running a bar was not considered a respectable job in the eyes of older relatives.

“He wants to prove himself,” the lady cousin said with a smile, glanced at the deeply-engrossed Wu Jialiang and turned away to lower her voice as if watching the stage.

“These past few years, I’ve taken on many commercial cases, my reputation has been growing, and I’m earning more year after year. His music studio, however, has never really taken off; the number of students has always been the same. Even if he worked himself to death, he wouldn’t make a quarter of what I earn. I’m busy with work every day, leaving early and returning late, so he ends up handling most of the household. You know how many relatives we have and you’re aware of those who have loose tongues; the things they say behind our backs are unpleasant. You know the kind of person Wu Jialiang has been since we were kids, handsome and skilled with the violin. In high school, the number of girls who liked him could have formed a soccer team, so imagine how he feels being gossiped about as a freeloader.”

“Jialiang brother isn’t like that,” Wu Minqi said softly.

“Of course, he isn’t, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to let people talk about him that way,” the lady cousin looked at Wu Minqi and smiled, “You’re still young and not married, you wouldn’t understand. Marriage isn’t just about two people, marriage and dating are not the same. When I was dating your cousin, my parents didn’t object, but when it came to marriage, they became like cats with their claws out, unwilling to agree, almost pushing me to a corner demanding to know who I would save first if they and Wu Jialiang were both drowning.”

“Why?” Wu Minqi looked puzzled.

“Don’t you think your brother has the kind of handsome face that screams troublemaker?” the lady cousin asked compellingly, “Sometimes that’s how parents are. They think it’s fine for you to date whomever, but marriage is different. You can date someone who looks like a troublemaker, but you can never marry someone who looks like one.”

Wu Minqi: …

“That’s why your vision is good. Jiang is exactly the kind of guy that uncles and aunties love. Auntie must really like Jiang, right? Today I saw Auntie’s eyes brimming with joy every time she looked at him.”

“It’s… it’s okay,” Wu Minqi’s face reddened a bit.

“Clink, clink.” Wu Jialiang tapped on an empty glass, interrupting their conversation.

“Dear wife, your special Margarita is ready,” Wu Jialiang said with a smile, pushing the drink toward the lady cousin.

It was a drink that, at first glance, seemed clearer and more carefully crafted than the ones he had made for Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi.

At that moment, three words followed by two punctuation marks crossed both Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s minds unbidden.

Heh, men.