Chapter 41

Looking at Sang Sang standing at the door with a smile, Old Zhou couldn't help but smile. In fact, Old Zhou had a good impression of Sang Sang, but he deliberately controlled this feeling, confining it to the realm of friendship. The reason was simply Old Zhou's insistence: he didn't want to talk about feelings when he wasn't ready to discuss marriage. Additionally, he believed in the saying "the rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow." Old Zhou felt that maintaining a friendship with a girl like Sang Sang was also nice.

It has to be said that Old Zhou's decision was right. Sang Sang had a fiery temper but was also热情, and she treated everyone the same, not getting overly close to anyone.

At this moment, Sang Sang had her signature ponytail, a bright T-shirt, and light-colored shorts paired with sneakers, exuding a youthful vibe. She didn't look like a bar owner but more like a college student experiencing the bar scene.

Seeing Sang Sang, Old Zhou forgot about his argument with Qin Hainian. Sang Sang didn't say much, just greeted her warmly, asking the waitress to bring a few more pastries and charge them to her account. Then she plopped down next to Qin Hainian and naturally put her arm around her.

"Look at you, your mouth is full of pastry crumbs. That's not very ladylike. How will you attract boys?" As she spoke, Sang Sang reached out and gently tapped the crumbs from the corner of Qin Hainian's mouth. For the remaining bits, Sang Sang leaned in close, almost like a kiss, and lightly licked them off with her tongue.

As usual, Qin Hainian's face immediately turned bright red, and then she watched as goosebumps spread from her neck to her face, making her jump up as if stung by a bee. She pleaded with Sang Sang, "Sang Sang, I'll call you sister. Please don't tease me, okay?"

Old Zhou and I laughed. We were already used to Sang Sang's antics, thanks to Old Chen's (Chen Zhong) "education" when he was still around. Old Chen taught us, "You two aren't real men. A real man knows how to appreciate the scene of two beautiful girls being intimate. Understand? That's true liveliness and charm."

Whether Old Zhou and I were "real men" in Old Chen's eyes, he was actually a "real pervert" to us. He wouldn't let any beautiful girl go, and if he had the chance, he would definitely save their photos on his computer and phone. He would justify it by saying, "I came to this world to appreciate beauty. Any beauty is worth preserving. This is a model of loving life."

However, Old Chen could also be considered a gentleman. He never did anything overly inappropriate. He would justify it by saying, "Flowers are beautiful, but you don't have to pick them and put them in your house, right?"

This little incident made me think of Old Chen, and I suddenly felt a bit nostalgic. On the other side, Sang Sang had already taken off Qin Hainian's glasses and said with a sigh, "Tsk, what a delicate face. Why cover it with such big glasses?"

Qin Hainian's face turned red again, staring at Old Zhou and me, almost on the verge of tears.

Old Zhou and I laughed again. With Sang Sang around, the atmosphere was never boring. We all knew she wasn't really into girls; she just liked teasing Qin Hainian, but without any ill intent. In private, she was even more affectionate and caring towards Qin Hainian than to us.

Qin Hainian liked Old Zhou, and Sang Sang had given her a lot of advice, even teaching her how to be a more feminine and alluring woman. Unfortunately, Qin Hainian seemed to never get it. So, "real pervert" Old Chen would comment, "Two girls together are lively and charming, but if Sang Sang's partner wasn't Qin Hainian but her sister Amu, it would be perfect."

As for why Sang Sang had such a good impression of Qin Hainian, even from the first glance, Old Zhou and I didn't know. According to Sang Sang, it was simply because she liked Qin Hainian's "aura."

What aura did Qin Hainian have? I didn't know. This rough woman probably didn't use perfume. Maybe it was just her sweat?

After teasing Qin Hainian, Sang Sang finally remembered Old Zhou and me. As usual, she started calling the waiter, ordering various drinks, and saying she would drink until we were all drunk. She always acted like a buddy with us, but I had something important to do tonight, so I stopped her.

"I'll stay here for at most two hours. I have something important to do tonight. No need for drinks. If you can treat me to a meal, I'd be very happy. Also, I need your help with something." Although being at Forest Bar made me feel relaxed, as if I had escaped the recent chaos and was living again, I remained clear-headed about what I needed to do.

I thought Sang Sang would insist, as she had once said her greatest wish was to drink and "knock out" Old Zhou, Old Chen, and me all at once. But strangely, Sang Sang was very calm, just propping her chin on her hand and looking at me. After a while, she said, "That's fine. No need for drinks. I won't delay your important matters. But I'm curious, Ye Zhengling, can you predict things? How did you know my sister was cooking tonight and waiting to have a good meal after singing? Did you send Qin Hainian here first?"

"I can't predict things. You can. I need your help." As I spoke, I pulled out a piece of paper from my pocket and handed it to Sang Sang. The paper wasn't special; it just recorded Grandma Wen's birth date and time.

That's right. The person I thought of who could read birth dates and times, sometimes very accurately and sometimes not at all, was Lin Sang Sang. As a cultivator, I wouldn't let her read the birth dates, but I had seen her read the birth dates of a few people in the store, and she was incredibly accurate. She even predicted that someone would have a minor accident in ten minutes, which was confirmed the next day.

However, more often, she was wildly inaccurate, making predictions that were completely off. So, I couldn't see through her. After these experiences, I had a sudden realization: could this be a cover-up by Lin Sang Sang?

In any case, these recent experiences made me suspect everyone of being a cultivator, making me somewhat paranoid.

"Look at you, so serious." Lin Sang Sang rolled her eyes but still unfolded the paper and read it carefully.

I felt more and more that I couldn't see through this Lin Sang Sang. Her words seemed normal, but she didn't ask me a single extra question about my important matters or whose birth date and time this was, as if everything was very natural.

At this moment, the atmosphere in Room No. 1 temporarily fell silent, everyone waiting for Lin Sang Sang's answer. Sang Sang read the birth date and time in a strange way, never using any "auxiliary tools," just looking with her eyes and occasionally using her fingers to calculate, looking very much like a fortune-teller.

But the atmosphere in the private room fell silent, while the atmosphere in the main hall was at its peak, with many people shouting "Amu" and "Amu" throughout the bar.

"Oh, it's about to start." Old Zhou realized and glanced at me. I was sitting by the window, and as soon as I heard, I kicked open the window of Room No. 1 and leaned out, waiting for Amu to sing.

No matter when, I always felt that listening to Amu sing was a pleasure. Sang Sang just said without looking up, "If you break it, you pay for it."

But at this moment, none of us responded to Sang Sang. Old Zhou and Qin Hainian squeezed over, almost pushing me out of the window.

Amu was in the center of the bar, on a small stage with red railings, a luxurious carpet, and hanging lanterns, all in a traditional Chinese style. The microphone on the stage had an old Shanghai flavor, barely matching the traditional style.

Behind the microphone, Amu was wearing a black long dress, sitting lazily with a slight smile, her eyes glancing around, slowly sipping a glass of red wine. She had an indescribable mysterious aura that made people want to explore.

Speaking of appearance, Amu wasn't a top beauty, and her features weren't as striking as Sang Sang's, but her aura was just right, making people captivated. Except for the three of us, who treated her like a buddy, Old Chen believed in the theory that flowers didn't need to be placed in one's own home, Old Zhou liked Sang Sang's type but was principled enough to only treat her as a friend.

As for me, I might be a bit wooden. Because of this, Amu treated us differently, genuinely considering us friends.

While I was thinking about this, Amu had finished her glass of red wine and casually threw the expensive crystal glass onto the stage. The glass rolled a few times on the thick carpet. Qin Hainian whispered, "Amu is cunning. She must have done this because there's a carpet on the ground, but she's so charming."

I looked at Qin Hainian speechlessly, thinking that the words "grace" and "charm" would never apply to her. At this moment, Amu's hoarse yet mysteriously ethereal voice sang lazily, instantly echoing throughout Forest Bar.

"You have a name,

I am just a shadow.

Your heart has a shadow,

I am just a name.

It's hard to explain,

What it means.

This is not an explanation,

It's hard to see,

What position.

It's just a

Misunderstanding."

It has to be said, Amu's voice was enchanting. A simple song like "Shadow," when sung by her, had a different charm. It was as if you could see a woman coldly observing everything around her, fully aware of her status as just a shadow. Even with a cold attitude, the faint sadness couldn't be suppressed.

When the song ended, the audience was silent for several seconds before bursting into applause, strongly demanding that Amu sing another song. Unfortunately, Amu just smiled faintly and left the stage without hesitation.

I was also captivated by Amu's voice, feeling that there was something extraordinary about it. It wasn't just the voice that captivated people, but her spiritual energy that influenced others, like a person with strong spiritual power who could unconsciously guide people's thoughts.

However, it was even harder to achieve this through a song. Could Amu also be a cultivator? I was very impressed by my own paranoia. At this moment, that hoarse, lazy voice echoed in our Room No. 1, "Wow, you all came so neatly. It's not in vain that I wanted to sing a song today."

It turned out that Amu had also come to Room No. 1.