Xu Lize noticed that Su Yang was missing when he was halfway through a conversation.
The single sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window was empty. On the plate in front of the table, a whole Wellington steak wrapped in puff pastry was intact, not even a single cut on it.
The sugar-free cola beside it hadn't been opened either. There were only a few lonely ice cubes in the glass, most of them melted.
However, the small canvas bag she carried today was lying quietly on the sofa.
Xu Lize immediately stood up, so abruptly that he almost bumped into Jiang Na sitting next to him.
Jiang Na was holding the remote control to select a song. She was jolted by Xu Lize and almost dropped the remote control.
"Third Brother, you..."
But before Jiang Na could finish her sentence, Xu Lize had already stepped over the coffee table and walked out.
Jiang Na's eyes, adorned with delicate eye makeup, dimmed. After casting a sideways glance at Xu Lize's back, she leaned forward and asked Lu Yanke across from her.
"Fifth Brother, who is that girl who came with Third Brother? What's her relationship with him?"
Lu Yanke was playing a mobile game against someone. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head and blurted out, "She's your third sister-in-law."
Jiang Na was stunned for a moment, thinking Lu Yanke was joking. She sneered directly, "Fifth Brother, stop telling such lame jokes."
Taking a break during the game's ranking, Lu Yanke looked up at her quickly and raised his eyebrows nonchalantly. "Joke? Go and ask Xu Lize. They've already got their marriage certificate!"
At the door of the private room, before Xu Lize's hand could reach the doorknob, someone outside pulled the door open first.
Xu Lize lowered his eyes and immediately saw Chen Qichuan leading some people in.
"Are you leaving?" Chen Qichuan rarely saw Xu Lize in such a hurry. He thought something had happened.
But Xu Lize shook his head with a cold face, stepped aside to let Chen Qichuan in, and then said, "I'm going out to look for someone."
Walking from the corridor of the VIP private room to the large hall outside, Xu Lize's eyes scanned every booth with customers sitting in it.
But what he never expected was that he finally saw that slender and delicate figure behind the bar of the bar.
Su Yang had changed her clothes.
A white shirt and a black vest. Her long hair that reached past her shoulders was pulled up high and tied at the back of her head.
Behind the bar, her fair and jade-like hands were shuttling back and forth among the bottles of different heights. Pouring, mixing, shaking, stirring, and serving...
Every fancy move she made was beautiful and clean, without any hesitation. Even Xu Lize, an outsider, could tell that her bartending skills were very professional.
Xu Lize was stunned. When he saw Qionghua chatting with Su Yang before, he had secretly guessed what kind of job Su Yang was doing here.
Considering her identity as a college student and her available spare time, Xu Lize initially guessed that she might be a waitress or a cleaner helping out in the kitchen.
But he never expected that Su Yang would be a bartender!
At the bar, Su Yang handed the mixed drink to a young woman.
The young woman picked up the glass with a smile, took a sip, and then nodded repeatedly. The smile on her face widened.
Xu Lize stood still and watched for a few seconds, then subconsciously walked towards the bar.
"… Sue, what a coincidence! I brought my little sisters here to celebrate a birthday today. But Teacher Kai is on leave today, and we were about to leave. Then Xia told me that you're here in the store today."
The young woman seemed very happy. Half of the orange-and-red drink in her glass was already gone.
Su Yang was wiping the shaker while chatting with the young woman.
"I came to see Sister Hua about something today. Just then Xia said you were here and wanted to drink the drinks I mixed. It's been a long time since I touched these tools. I was afraid I'd be rusty."
"You're not rusty at all. It's just perfect!" The young woman patted the table repeatedly. "Oh, speaking of which, I made Teacher Kai unhappy last time. I told him that his 'Sunset Twilight' wasn't as good as yours!"
Su Yang pursed her lips and smiled gently. When she lowered her head, a few strands of disobedient hair fell slightly from her ears.
She reached out and tucked the hair behind her ear. Her eyes sparkled with a charming and lively glint.
"You're really flattering me. But Teacher Kai doesn't know your preference for sweeter drinks. The base liquor of this 'Sunset Twilight' is whiskey, which has a relatively strong taste. I changed the base liquor when I mixed it for you before, so you felt the taste was different."
"Look at you!" The young woman pointed at Su Yang and sighed with squinted eyes. "I said that when you quit your job back then, Sister Hua must have been heartbroken! You're so meticulous. Even Teacher Kai can't compare!"
"Sister Wang, don't undermine my teacher. I still have to learn skills from him in the future!" Su Yang gave a coquettish smile, with a hint of playfulness in her tone.
"Alright, then look. It's my little sister's birthday today. What kind of drink can you make for her?"
As she said this, the young woman put her arm around a beautiful woman in a pink Chanel dress beside her and asked Su Yang with her chin propped up in one hand.
Su Yang sized up the Chanel beauty from head to toe and said with a smile, "I'll make a 'Pink Lady' for this sister."
As she spoke, her hands were already in action. After a smooth and skillful operation, a gradient pink cocktail was steadily placed in front of the Chanel beauty.
"This drink is so beautiful!" The beauty praised it before taking a sip, then took out her phone and took a flurry of photos of the glass.
The young woman was also happy looking on and secretly gave Su Yang a grateful smile.
Su Yang nodded silently and then stepped aside with the shaker.
Just as she was about to clean up the bottles and utensils on the bar, a large palm suddenly reached across the wide marble bar and clasped her slender wrist tightly.
In the dim light, Su Yang hadn't even seen the face of the owner of the hand clearly when she first recognized the silver watch face on her wrist that glinted faintly.
The low-key and luxurious diamond face hands were ticking on the small watch face. Su Yang didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. Her hand holding the shaker was trembling slightly.
"So, could you make me a drink?"
The deep male voice sounded amidst the gentle jazz music, mingling with the faint smell of nicotine, instantly overwhelming Su Yang's senses.
At this moment, she didn't even dare to look up at Xu Lize. She was like a child who had done something wrong and instantly lost the dazzling glow she had just had.
"Sue!"
Suddenly, someone called her from the other end of the bar.
Su Yang looked up. Before her brain could react, she was embraced by a warm and enthusiastic hug.
"Oh my god, it's really you! I didn't believe Du Ge when he said you were coming today. Are you really back to work?" The other person hugged her, patting her on the shoulder and laughing.
Actually, there was nothing ambiguous or intimate about the gesture. Any discerning person could tell that this was just a way for friends to greet each other warmly.
But for some reason, the scene in front of him made Xu Lize feel extremely annoyed!