The tall man who hugged Su Yang was also dressed as a bartender.
He had brown hair, fair skin, and his facial features looked a bit exotic. After the first greeting, he started to speak English to Su Yang like a machine gun.
To Xu Lize's surprise, Su Yang's spoken English was quite good. She had a pure London accent with not a hint of accent.
The man pulled Su Yang and asked her a whole bunch of questions, from her graduation to her job, and even if she would come back to work at "Suye" in the future.
Su Yang answered every question until a customer at the bar ordered a drink. Only then did the man stop talking.
But before turning to leave, he put his arm around Su Yang and gave her an enthusiastic cheek kiss, telling her not to forget to keep in touch with him.
Su Yang told him to get back to work with a smile. Only when she turned around did she notice that Xu Lize was still sitting in front of the bar.
"Where's the drink?" The gloom in Xu Lize's eyes flashed by so quickly that no one else could notice.
Su Yang put all the bottles and utensils back in place, dried her hands, and then said to him, "Mr. Xu, don't drink if you're driving, and don't drive if you've drunk."
Xu Lize was stunned. Seeing Su Yang walk to the end of the bar, push open a secret door, and come out from inside, he took a long stride and walked up to her.
"So, you owe me a drink?"
Su Yang's hand paused as she was taking off her vest. She looked up at him suspiciously.
"Does Mr. Xu still care about this one drink?"
Xu Lize looked back meaningfully at the bar. "I'm just curious about my wife's bartending skills. It seems her regular customers miss her so much."
In this short sentence, Xu Lize deliberately emphasized the word "wife".
Su Yang deliberately ignored his tone and just followed his gaze.
At the bar, Mrs. Wang was blowing out the birthday candles with her best friend.
A tiny cluster of faint fluorescent light on the small milky - white cake dimly illuminated their two exquisitely made - up faces.
Su Yang turned back, hung the vest and shirt she had taken off on the hanger in the corner, then took down her high - ponytail. She said with a light laugh, "It's all thanks to the customers' support."
This was a side of Su Yang that Xu Lize had never seen before. She was like a wild rose dampened by a storm, exuding a tough and charming aura from within.
He suddenly realized that at this moment, this little woman in front of him had a completely unfamiliar side.
It was a just - right kind of mystery, and at the same time, she was very frank and knew when to act.
"Let's go. Go back and finish the steak, then go home."
Su Yang was a bit surprised. She thought Xu Lize would continue to dig deeper into this topic, but unexpectedly, he stopped.
It was a very polite way of leaving things unsaid, but somehow, Su Yang felt a strange feeling brewing in her heart.
At the moment when she was led back, Su Yang even felt that she was a bit looking forward to Xu Lize "getting to the bottom of things".
But he didn't.
The private room was still very lively. The person holding the microphone and singing had changed from Jiang Na to Lu Yanke.
As soon as Su Yang entered, she saw Chen Qichuan sitting in the middle of the sofa. She paused for a moment, but then realized she was over - thinking, because Chen Qichuan didn't know her at all.
The huge private room became lively again as soon as Xu Lize came back.
Su Yang silently walked to the sofa by the French window and sat down, then lowered her head and started to eat the steak.
The crispy crust of the Wellington was a bit cold, but fortunately, the beef inside was still very tender. The chef's skills were really good.
Su Yang ate while flipping through her phone boredly.
Suddenly, she saw Zhao Jingxuan post an update on the social platform. The text said, "The expectations of two people, the arrival of a third..."
The accompanying picture was a photo of a candlelit dinner. In the photo, a man's and a woman's hands were tightly held together.
Su Yang stared at the phone for a few seconds. Just as she was about to forward the photo to Fang Shuqin to ask about the situation, she found that Zhao Jingxuan had already deleted the post. It was almost within a minute.
Su Yang was a bit stunned and almost thought she was hallucinating.
Suddenly, someone gently patted her on the shoulder.
Su Yang looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes.
"Hi, hello. My name is Jiang Na." Jiang Na said and reached out her hand.
Su Yang quickly put down her phone, stood up, and shook hands with her. "My name is Su Yang."
Jiang Na nodded, then casually pulled over a small round stool and sat down next to Su Yang. She asked very familiarly, "Are you really married to Third Brother?"
Su Yang didn't react at first.
Before, she had also heard Lu Yanke call Xu Lize "Third Brother", and now Jiang Na did the same. But she was always very confused about why Xu Lize had this nickname.
Jiang Na seemed to see her confusion and directly explained.
"My brother and the others have known each other since childhood. They got together when they played. Later, when they started a business for fun in college, someone proposed to rank them according to their ages. They called each other Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother... As time went by, everyone in the circle knew about it, and then the title of 'The Five Young Masters of Haicheng' spread."
The Five Young Masters of Haicheng...
Su Yang silently repeated this a bit cheesy - sounding title in her heart. She held back her laughter and asked, "So Xu Lize ranks third among them?"
Jiang Na didn't answer her but gave her a meaningful look.
Su Yang got goosebumps from her look. She subconsciously touched her face and asked, "Is there something on my face?"
Jiang Na shook her head. "I rarely hear someone call Third Brother by his full name."
Su Yang was stunned for a moment. For a while, she also felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward. "Well, aren't names meant to be called?"
"So you're really married to him?" Jiang Na was persistent.
Su Yang glanced at Xu Lize, who was sitting on the sofa talking to Chen Qichuan in a low voice. She asked Jiang Na back, "What did Xu Lize tell you guys?"
"Him?" Jiang Na also looked back. "My Third Brother has a tight - lipped mouth. He hasn't formally introduced you yet."
Su Yang withdrew her gaze, picked up the flat sugar - free Coke beside her and took a sip to cover up her embarrassment. "So, are you Xu Lize's sister?"
She thought it should be the case, but Jiang Na shook her head. "My brother is Chen Qichuan."
...
When walking out of the VIP private room side by side with Su Yang, Xu Lize watched coldly as the little woman beside him greeted the acquaintances she passed one by one. She was completely different from the reserved girl who came in earlier.
Xu Lize watched indifferently all the way.
Just as they were crossing the hall, the bartender who had hugged Su Yang at the bar suddenly popped up from somewhere.
"Sue, going back so early? Rarely meet. Why don't you stay a bit later? Wait for me and Xia to get off work and we'll take you for skewers."
The man lowered his head and casually put his hand on Su Yang's shoulder.
Su Yang shook her head with a smile. Before she could say anything, she was pulled into a strong and familiar embrace.
"She's not available." Xu Lize's voice rang out.
At that moment, Su Yang could clearly feel that Xu Lize's hand seemed to have a bit of a punitive meaning as he pinched her waist gently but firmly.
It was ambiguous and dangerous.