Chapter 44: Drag Her Down, Persuade Her To Go Straight!!
More than ten minutes later, it was still that sofa in the tavern, with soda water still in front of everyone, but several plates of pre-made snacks had been added to the table.
However, the moods of the young girls sitting on the sofa were completely different from before.
Among them, Park Hyomin was the most obvious, her gaze directed toward Xiuyuan at the bar counter over there.
Watching his proficient bartending technique, her shoulder unintentionally bumped Ham Eun-jung, “Eun-jung, when did Ji-yeon meet him?”
When did they meet?
Ham Eun-jung recalled the scene from that evening. Since then, Park Ji-yeon had almost always stayed with them, and she had no time or energy to sneak out in the evening.
So…
“A little more than last week.”
“In just over a week, they’re already this familiar? Ji-yeon couldn’t really have fallen for this young handsome guy, right?”
Park Hyomin muttered while continuing to stare at Xiuyuan at the bar counter over there.
At this moment, he was focused on bartending, his movements skilled and fluid, while Park Ji-yeon sat on the outer side, her hands resting on the bar counter, chatting with him enthusiastically.
Then her gaze skipped over Park Ji-yeon and landed on Xiuyuan’s face, her eyebrows slightly raised.
This young man did look quite clean and refined, especially those eyes as clear as a child’s, bright and almost devoid of impurities. She, who had lived for so many years, was seeing such a pair of eyes for the first time.
And when Park Hyomin’s muttering reached Ham Eun-jung’s ears, it also made her a bit absent-minded.
After all, as far as she knew, the two had only met once.
But regarding their sudden familiarity, she was also baffled, and could only helplessly say in a low voice in the end, “I don’t know, maybe.”
On the other side.
Yoona, who had also heard the conversation between the two, quickly leaned close to Jung Soo Yeon, “Older sister, where did you find this young boy? Clean and sunny, super handsome, simply perfect.”
“He proactively approached me.”
Jung Soo Yeon replied after a little bit of coquettish pride, then also looked toward Xiuyuan at the bar counter over there.
Recalling the scene of their first meeting, and then looking at the now properly dressed and clean-tempered Xiuyuan, a sense of “training-type” satisfaction suddenly surged in her heart, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily lifted.
But when her gaze fell on Park Ji-yeon sitting next to Xiuyuan, the smile faded, and her eyes narrowed slightly.
Not long after, Xiuyuan, with Park Ji-yeon’s help, brought over several carefully prepared alcoholic beverages.
“You can’t come to a tavern and just drink soda water; you have to taste some alcohol to not waste time, and not treat my tavern as mere decoration.”
Xiuyuan smiled as he spoke, placing the alcoholic beverages in his hand in front of them, “Try my skills?”
Jung Soo Yeon looked at the alcoholic beverage this young man placed in front of her, her eyes carrying a hint of amusement as she asked, “When did you learn this skill? Is it drinkable? I remember these hands of yours used to hold a camera, right?”
Facing Jung Soo Yeon, Xiuyuan wasn’t as reserved as with others, so he made a little joke, “Afraid I’ll drug you? Just try a sip yourself and you’ll know.”
This light teasing made Yoona and the others nearby slightly taken aback.
This joke implying a close relationship added another layer of ambiguity to their already vague relationship.
“Generally speaking, cocktails have names. What is this one called?”
“Ah, a name?”
Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment, because this recipe was something he self-taught in 2025, so how could he care about names?
He casually said, “Let me think, it seems to be called A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Jung Soo Yeon murmured softly, lowered her head to look at the pale pink liquid in the glass, and took a gentle sip.
The entrance was the sweet taste of lychee, followed by the faint elegant herbal fragrance of cherry blossoms, with a slightly salty yet clear finish, overall light and refreshing, without the imagined intensity or harshness.
Connecting it to the fact that this was a recipe Xiuyuan casually copied from 2025, after self-teaching it, she yearned even more for the knowledge and information from that time-space.
However, these thoughts could only be set aside for now. She put down the glass very satisfied and gave Xiuyuan a thumbs up, “Impressive, the taste is different from what I’ve had at other bars before, but very comfortable, perfect for afternoon tea right now.”
As Jung Soo Yeon’s review was spoken, the young girls around all raised their glasses to try it.
Then these bartending recipes from over ten years in the future instantly captured their taste buds.
Although these few weren’t alcoholics, they had tried plenty of cocktails and drinks, but the taste tuned by this young man right now brightened their eyes.
Their gazes toward Xiuyuan became even more interested, wondering if they could taste his new creations in the future.
But before that, there seemed to be one issue that needed resolving.
Because this small tavern operated on a membership system.
Thinking of this, Park Hyomin, who was most interested in alcoholic beverages among them, spoke up, “Boss Lin, I heard you say before that this small tavern is membership-based. I wonder what the conditions are?”
“Conditions?”
Xiuyuan, holding the tray and standing to the side, heard this, his eyes scanned Jung Soo Yeon and Park Ji-yeon, then he shook his head, “No conditions, just if I take a liking to you.”
Hm?
As soon as these words were out, Yoona, Ham Eun-jung, and Park Hyomin all turned to look at him in unison.
What do you mean, are you saying none of us catch your eye?
Jung Soo Yeon and Park Ji-yeon, seeing their reactions, also guessed their thoughts and couldn’t help laughing out.
Only then did Xiuyuan realize the ambiguity in his words, but since he had already said it, he was too lazy to explain much, just gave them an apologetic smile, and turned back to the inside of the bar counter.
Scrolling on his mobile phone, spacing out.
He enjoyed the peace, so he simply left the sofa area for them to chat idly.
But this leisure didn’t last long before a fragrant scent interrupted his daze first.
As Xiuyuan looked up, he saw a short-haired graceful figure walk to the bar counter and ask, “Excuse me, do you have water?”
“Ah, yes, one moment.”
He glanced at the empty glass in her hand, quickly turned to fill a pot of water and handed it over, and curiously asked, “Don’t like drinking alcohol?”
Ham Eun-jung, hearing this, nodded lightly, “Rarely drink, basically don’t.”
This piqued Xiuyuan’s interest, “Do you think you’ll ever have a day of getting completely drunk?”
?
Ham Eun-jung was slightly stunned. Though she didn’t know why Xiuyuan asked her this, for Park Ji-yeon’s sake, she still answered, “No, I’m not completely against drinking, but I’ve never been drunk, let alone blackout drunk.”
Xiuyuan couldn’t help smiling after hearing this, gazing at her cool and composed appearance, a sentence suddenly popped into his mind—
Pull good women into the water, persuade women of the night to reform.
Since it’s fixed time, then new book period will have fixed updates.
Update one chapter at 5 PM daytime, one chapter at 10 PM evening.
Updates after going on shelves, we’ll talk about later. Anyway, thank you very much for everyone’s support. Still that sentence—after going on shelves, I will burn everything I have!!!
