As She Wished - Chapter 5

Tao Xian picked up the drink and took a sip.

In truth, there was no need to taste it at all to know it was perfectly qualified.

Long Island iced tea was a common cocktail. Knowing how to make it was not considered that impressive. Everyone gathered around to join the fun, asking curiously, “Then can you make a Spumoni?”

“I can.”

“What about a Margarita?”

“I can make that too.”

A customer sitting at the bar suddenly spoke up. “Then is there any drink you don’t know how to make?”

“…”

Fu Jing thought about it, then casually picked up the drink menu beside her and honestly said, “Anything outside this menu, I don’t know.”

She smiled slightly at the customer who had asked, handed over the menu, and asked casually, “See if there’s anything you’d like to order?”

The customer took it and froze. “Then… I’ll have an Alexander.”

“A sweet drink.” Fu Jing gave a soft hum. The smile on her lips was like melting cream. “It suits you very well.”

It was only something she said in passing.

But the young woman with medium-length hair held her face in her hands, smiling so hard that only her double eyelids were left visible. “It suits you even more~ You’re so sweet. I wanted to order it for you~”

Fu Jing lowered her long lashes. As she chatted idly, the movements of her hands while mixing the drink were not affected at all. “But I don’t drink alcohol.”

“Then what do you usually drink? Carbonated drinks?”

“Water or tea.”

“Wow, I couldn’t tell…”

The two of them slowly began chatting.

Tao Xian sighed inwardly that one truly could not judge people by appearances. Fu Jing actually even came with the professional bartender’s bonus function of chatting with customers.

When Tao Xian turned her head, however, she caught sight of Gu Qingci not far away. She had not left yet.

Her gaze seemed to still be on this side.

“…”

Tao Xian’s heart immediately gave a thump.

She adjusted her expression, crossed through the crowd, and asked with a bright smile while pretending nothing was wrong, “Why haven’t you left?”

Gu Qingci asked, “What are you making her do?”

“Mix drinks. Covering a shift temporarily.”

“…”

The unchanging smile on Gu Qingci’s lips remained as she looked at Tao Xian, her gaze clear with understanding. “Still putting on an act. Looks like you really do like this kid quite a bit.”

“No, not at all.” Tao Xian hurriedly waved her hands in denial. “Aren’t we busy right now? We can’t call anyone else to cover the shift at the last minute. And the bar is open for business. For no reason at all, how could I have the nerve to chase a customer away…”

As Tao Xian spoke, she simply admitted it.

When Gu Qingci had told her to refund the money, the unspoken meaning had been to let Fu Jing stop coming. Tao Xian understood, but had wanted to pretend she did not.

“How about this? You go upstairs and sit for a while first.” Tao Xian suddenly figured out what felt wrong and asked, half probing and half compromising, “I’ll have her mix a drink and send it over to you later. You can taste it and see how it is. If her skill is good, let her stay. If it isn’t, she leaves. Is that okay?”

Gu Qingci was silent for a few seconds, no one knew what she was thinking.

After a while, she gave a light nod. Her expression seemed to say it did not matter either way. “You decide.”

At those words, Tao Xian’s brow lifted, and she suddenly smiled in relaxation.

Then she started talking about Fu Jing again. “I thought she was quite proud at first, but it turns out she’s just afraid of strangers. Look, the moment you’re here, her face is full of smiles. Now she’s even willing to chat with strangers.”

“Afraid of strangers, but not afraid when I’m here?” Gu Qingci found it funny. “How does that cause and effect work? I have nothing to do with her.”

Tao Xian did not respond to that.

She stared at the bar counter, where more and more people were gathering, and toyed with her curled hair with the tips of her fingers. Clicking her tongue, she said, “Look at your little girl. She’s surrounded by wild bees and butterflies, all chasing after her in the crowd.”

Gu Qingci followed her gaze and looked over, then asked, “Don’t you need to go keep an eye on things?”

“She’s pretty good at mixing drinks. It’s not like she’ll set the alcohol on fire.” Tao Xian did it on purpose. “What am I supposed to watch?”

Gu Qingci glanced at her and said lightly, “The show.”

Then she stepped forward and walked over.

Tsk, watch the show?

Tao Xian raised her lips and immediately followed, softly muttering, “I wonder what show you want to watch. That little girl has nothing to do with you anyway.”

—

Around the bar counter,

customers came one after another to order cocktails. Sitting there, they said to Fu Jing, “Watching you mix drinks is such a pleasure.”

Fu Jing only smiled.

When she used tweezers to pick up the garnish, her hand did not tremble at all, and her stirring movements were professional. She was even more skilled when pouring liquid into the jigger; it was almost exactly as much as she intended to pour.

She looked just like an experienced master bartender returning to work.

The bar staff stared at her without even blinking. “Who exactly are you? You’re so young, and normally you don’t order alcohol, only drink tea. How can you know how to make even such difficult drinks?!”

Tao Xian hurried over a few steps. Hearing their words, she sat down and said, “Fu Jing, you’re so reliable!”

Fu Jing had received years of academic training and had performed complicated biochemical experiments. Compared to those, mixing drinks was merely pouring beverages with a few extra steps.

Of course, she picked it up immediately once she came into contact with it.

Hearing all of them say that, although Fu Jing did not understand how cocktail mixing could have anything to do with difficulty, she was still very happy to be praised.

So she nodded.

The corners of her lips curved upward, and she even gave herself a thumbs-up in front of her chest, promising, “Oh! I’m very reliable.”

Her serious expression was especially dazed and adorable.

She looked soft and easy to bully.

For some reason, everyone around her started laughing.

Fu Jing turned around and found a miniature umbrella. Just as she was about to place it by the rim of the glass as decoration, she suddenly saw Gu Qingci, who had come over with Tao Xian.

Their eyes met, and her hand shook.

The decorative paper umbrella was directly thrown into the glass and floated up.

“…”

Fu Jing immediately blushed with embarrassment. She hurriedly lifted her eyes and said softly, “Sorry! That was a mistake. I’ll pay for this one.”

“It’s fine.” Tao Xian understandingly turned her head to glance at Gu Qingci, then clapped her hands. “A mistake—because of Sister Ci!”

“…” Fu Jing bit her lip and said pitifully, “I really didn’t do it on purpose!” Her hands did not stop, and she immediately remade the drink.

She also did not dare look at Gu Qingci again.

Beauty delayed business.

Fu Jing worked hard to hypnotize herself into thinking Gu Qingci was not there. She lowered her long lashes and focused seriously on the task in her hands.

She concentrated, as if she were doing a chemistry experiment…

If she poured in the wrong thing, it might explode.

So she could not make a mistake. Absolutely not!

This self-hypnosis was very effective.

Fu Jing’s cocktail-making skill returned to normal. She inserted the little paper umbrella at a perfect angle, then placed a beautiful cocktail on the tray. A waiter carried it to the customer.

Fu Jing quietly let out a sigh of relief. When she lifted her eyes again, she discovered that Gu Qingci really was already gone.

She turned her head and carefully searched around, but still did not see her figure.

Her brows and eyes instantly fell in disappointment.

Why did she leave…

“Little Fu Jing, mix a drink for your Sister Ci.” Tao Xian took in the change in her expression and could not stop smiling. “From now on, you can work part-time here. Will you do it?”

“My Sister Ci…” Fu Jing’s heartbeat quickened, and she almost failed to hold the glass again. She wanted to try to remain composed, but she could not hide the brilliant smile all over her face. She nodded and agreed. “Of course I’ll do it!”

—

When work ended that night,

Tao Xian delivered the drink Fu Jing had mixed to Gu Qingci upstairs. When she came back down, she found Fu Jing mixed in with the staff. They were enthusiastically discussing what kind of girl Gu Qingci would like.

Ye Xinyi said seriously, “She probably likes silly, sweet, innocent girls.”

Fu Jing nodded and patted her chest. “I’m silly, sweet, and innocent!”

“No way,” someone disagreed. “Why do I feel like she’d like someone very smart?”

Fu Jing’s eyes lit up, and she immediately raised her hand. “Me!”

“She probably likes lively girls.”

Fu Jing said, “That’s me!”

“That’s not right. I feel like she likes quiet, delicate girls.”

Fu Jing said, “That’s me!”

Everyone: “…………”

“About this,” Tao Xian walked over while holding back her laughter and deliberately lied to her, “I once heard Gu Qingci personally say that she likes girls with good figures.”

Fu Jing lowered her head in shock to look at her own chest. After half a second of dejection, she regained a solemn, vow-like tone and said, “I’m still young. If she works hard, maybe there’s still a lot of room for growth…”

The scene fell silent for a few seconds. Everyone looked at one another.

No one knew what to say.

Fu Jing’s expression was obedient, and her almond eyes were as pure as clear water. It was as if she had merely been chatting about the weather just now.

Was this using the purest tone to make a dirty joke about herself?

That did not seem quite right either. Considering that the pronoun “she” in her sentence was aimed specifically at a certain person.

So… did that count as her seriously making a dirty joke about Gu Qingci?

The expressions of several friends who called themselves experienced drivers changed several times. In the end, they all revealed somewhat complicated expressions that were difficult to understand.

Tao Xian laughed for a long while, then cleared her throat and spoke to Fu Jing about the part-time work from now on. She also repeated what Gu Qingci had said before about “not scamming a kid out of her money.”

Then she told Fu Jing her own idea.

Her spending would not count, and her wages would not be settled.

This way, the accounts would be balanced.

“…”

Everyone listened and felt especially happy. No one thought there was anything wrong.

Fu Jing blinked. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly gave Tao Xian a thumbs-up and sighed. “Your math is really terrible, but you’re so good at doing business!”

Gu Qingci had told her to return the money Fu Jing had spent before.

Along with the wages for working part-time as a bartender, Fu Jing should have received two sums of money.

But after Tao Xian calculated it like this, Fu Jing did not have a single cent left.

A genius…