Chapter 6

After the kiss, Shi Zhi herself also hid behind Shen Jia, pulled on Shen Jia's sleeve, and whispered in his ear.
The day they ate crayfish, she looked even more like a little girl.
The crayfish had to be peeled by her boyfriend personally. She chewed slowly, eating two bites then wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
That day, Shi Zhi's lips were reddened by the spicy crayfish seasoning. When she turned to smile at Shen Jia, her eyes curved, nose wrinkled, like a ragdoll cat.
Today she wasn't so docile—
This girl wasn't shy anymore, wasn't smiling anymore. Tight jeans wrapped around two long, thin legs, taking huge steps, holding two chilled Coronas in her hands, murderous, like she'd come with a knife to take a life.
Fu Xiling just leaned back in the sofa, watching Shi Zhi stride closer, and spoke first, throwing out a question: "Is this shop yours?"
Obviously, both knew the other remembered them, so Shi Zhi didn't say unnecessary words.
Just now while climbing the stairs, she'd thought a lot.
She knew Fu Xiling and Shen Jia didn't seem to get along, but also felt Fu Xiling probably wouldn't have come to the bar to follow her.
But his appearance was too coincidental. Shi Zhi wasn't reassured.
She didn't answer but asked instead: "Did you follow me here?"
Fu Xiling said: "Not really. I don't have that kind of hobby of following girls."
As long as Fu Xiling wasn't deliberately investigating her background, everything else was fine.
Shi Zhi sat in the sofa opposite him, her ring finger and pinky supporting two Corona necks, forcefully slammed them on the table. The cap of the top Corona flew off.
She then picked up the other bottle alone, lightly knocked it against the table edge. Both beers were opened, bubbles rising from the bottle mouths.
She said: "Tonight's on me. I hope you won't tell anyone you saw me here. Can you do that?"
After coming down from the second floor, Lingling came over gossipily: "Sister Shi Zhi, do you know our patron?"
"No."
"Oh..."
Lingling seemed a bit troubled: "Then the bottle of imported liquor and mineral water he ordered, are you still delivering them?"
"...You go."
Shi Zhi glanced at the brand of that imported liquor and was a bit speechless. If she'd known he ordered such expensive liquor, she wouldn't have boasted about paying.
Just now Fu Xiling agreed quite readily, just said one word "Okay," expression natural. Shi Zhi couldn't figure out what he was thinking and didn't know if this person would keep his word.
She frowned slightly suspiciously. When she looked up at the second floor, she met Fu Xiling's gaze again.
The bar's business was slow, only three or four tables of customers.
Wan Ran sat on the stage singing folk songs. Her hoarse voice had quite a story-like quality, but with few customers, Wan Ran sang without much spirit, lazily, quite perfunctory.
Fu Xiling seemed to know what Shi Zhi was thinking. Leaning back in the upstairs sofa, he smiled and mouthed to her across the distance:
Use, people, don't, doubt.
This person's smile was a bit mischievous.
To avoid looking at this face that annoyed her, Shi Zhi directly walked through the employee passageway next to the storeroom and went upstairs to her bedroom.
The bedroom was dim and narrow. She turned on the desk lamp and sat on the edge of the bed.
The conversation with Shen Jia on her phone still stopped at the message she'd sent that afternoon.
Shen Jia hadn't replied.
For such a small matter, according to Shi Zhi's nature, she wouldn't care whether her boyfriend replied to messages immediately.
Besides, concerts were so lively, not looking at the phone was normal.
But whether it was because she'd suddenly met a familiar face in the bar, something always made Shi Zhi feel like things were deviating from plan and control, developing in directions she couldn't predict.
A vague unease in her heart.
Shen Jia's side had no news. Until after twelve at night, the phone had no activity.
Wan Ran came up to knock on the door, saying the customers had all left, asking if Shi Zhi would let her leave early to rest.
"Go ahead." Shi Zhi got up and walked downstairs with Wan Ran.
Usually when Shi Zhi was at school, the bar's daily income details were organized by Lingling and then sent to her.
Lingling wasn't good at accounting, careless and often made mistakes. On weekends when Shi Zhi was at the shop, she would do the accounts herself.
Walking down the last few steps, Shi Zhi remembered something: "Did the person upstairs leave?"
"Left."
Wan Ran touched her neck, coughed twice: "When the patron paid, the system seemed to have a problem. It showed it was already settled. Lingling had to reorder to successfully check out..."
Shi Zhi paused: "When did he leave?"
"Just left."
Shi Zhi chased out in vain. The person had long left, and she couldn't see Fu Xiling's shadow anywhere on the whole street.
Many shops had already closed, shutters down. Only the bar's light box was still flashing, somewhat desolate.
She looked at the time on her phone. It was almost twelve-thirty.
The concert ended at eleven. Even if Shen Jia went to eat supper with friends after the concert, he should have time to contact her by now.
But Shen Jia hadn't.
Shi Zhi held her phone, lost in thought.
Car lights flashed beside her. A matte black sports car drove over from the parking lot direction and slowly stopped in front of her.
The window rolled down. Fu Xiling leaned on the steering wheel: "Waiting for Shen Jia's call?"
Shi Zhi didn't know what he was planning and watched him warily without speaking.
Fu Xiling picked up his own phone from the passenger seat, as if confirming something, flipped through it.
After looking, he threw the phone back onto the seat: "I guess Shen Jia won't contact you tonight. Want to make a bet?"