Chapter 18

The next day, at seven in the evening after dinner, Chen Fan went to the Coco Bar.

The University Town is a suburban town, surrounded by several universities.

Chu University, Chu Normal University, Chu Engineering College, Chu Vocational College, and Chu Medical College are all nearby. In fact, Changqingteng High School is also considered part of the University Town, just in a more remote area. The bar street is right in the center.

"Judging by the size of Coco Bar, it can rank in the top three on this street. And it's already so crowded at just seven o'clock, clearly the business is very good," Chen Fan rubbed his chin.

Inside the bar, there was indeed no deafening DJ or dynamic music like in a club.

This type of bar has more soothing music, perfect for sipping a drink, chatting with friends, watching beautiful women, and listening to the performances of the stage singers, making it very suitable for the tastes of college students and other young people.

He nodded inwardly and stopped a server, saying:

"Miss, I am Yingying's cousin. My sister asked me to come find her."

He used the excuse Chen Ying taught him last night. The server was a pretty, soft-spoken girl, only a little older than Chen Fan, probably a college student working part-time. She was taken aback and then exclaimed in surprise:

"You are Yingying's brother? Looking at your school uniform, you must still be in high school, right?"

"Everyone calls me Ziqi. You can call me Sister Ziqi. I'll take you to find Yingying right away..."

"Ziqi, what's going on?" A young man with a pale face and heavy bags under his eyes, looking very weak, walked over and said sternly.

"Ah? President Yang!" The girl named Ziqi was startled and quickly said, "This is Yingying's brother, he's here to find Yingying."

"Then why haven't you taken him yet? Hurry up and go, and come back quickly. What if you delay serving the customers?" President Yang said impatiently.

"Yes." Ziqi bowed her head in agreement.

After President Yang left, she stuck out her tongue and said, "President Yang is our vice president. They say he has a very strong backer and holds shares in the bar. He usually likes to boss us around, much worse than Yingying."

Chen Fan smiled but didn't say anything.

This girl named Ziqi clearly had no worries.

When they reached the second-floor general manager's office, Yingying greeted him with a delighted face, gave him some instructions, and then had Ziqi take him to familiarize himself with the work environment.

The job of a server like him was simple; he just needed to serve the drinks and fruit platters when the customers ordered.

"Three people in our bar you can't provoke: besides the boss Yingying, there's President Yang," Ziqi said as she taught him, warning him, "They say President Yang's backer is Brother Dong, a very powerful figure. No entertainment venue in the entire University Town can open without his approval, and even Yingying dares not easily provoke him."

"The last one is our star performer, Sister Dingding. Yingying had a hard time getting her. They say she participated in the Super Girl competition and placed 20th in the Jiangnan region. Many regular customers come specifically for her. But Sister Dingding has a bad temper and often scolds the servers. Be careful."

Chen Fan nodded, indicating he understood.

College student bars are different from clubs; after 7 PM, they become nightclubs. Soon, the place was packed, and Chen Fan started to get busy.

President Yang indeed liked to boss the servers around. Even when Chen Fan was a bit slow, he found reasons to scold him. Chen Fan even noticed that President Yang often harassed the pretty female servers, touching them whenever he got the chance.

"How can Yingying allow such a person in the bar?" Chen Fan frowned but didn't say much, as he and Chen Ying weren't very close.

Chen Fan spent his days attending classes and working at the bar in the evenings. He quickly made a group of friends.

These servers were all students from the nearby universities, with not-so-good family conditions, so they worked part-time at the bar. Compared to the arrogant princes and princesses at Changqingteng High School, Chen Fan preferred to be with them. At least they didn't give him cold looks.

Moreover, since Chen Fan was the youngest and Yingying's brother, everyone seemed to like teasing him, enjoying his awkwardness. This made President Yang even more displeased.

"Move faster, Xiao Chen! Don't you see the customers at Table 7 are urging you?" Seeing Chen Fan chatting with a female server, President Yang frowned and scolded him.

"Okay." Chen Fan turned and responded.

In this bar, if there was one person everyone hated the most, it was undoubtedly President Yang.

The female server gave him a comforting look. Chen Fan got up reluctantly, carrying a black beer to Table 7.

When he reached the second floor, he suddenly heard a surprised voice:

"Chen Fan?"

Turning his head, he saw a group of teenagers sitting in a booth, and one of the girls, who looked surprised, was none other than Jiang Churan, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Churan stood up, her eyes uncertain as she looked at him.

"Churan, is he your friend?" A man with wire-rimmed glasses, who looked more mature, asked gently.

Jiang Churan's face changed slightly before she said, "He's the child of a friend of my mother's, and he's also a senior three student at our school."

The man nodded and said, "I'm Li Yichen, a friend of Churan's. Since we're classmates, why don't you come sit with us?"

"No need." Chen Fan politely declined.

He recognized this man at first glance.

Li Yichen!

Chen Fan's biggest rival in his first love, the son of the vice mayor, and the student council president. He was also Jiang Churan's future boyfriend, and they later both entered Zhonghai University, living together.

Moreover, in Chen Fan's memory, he was Shen Junwen's good friend.

Seeing Jiang Churan accompanying Li Yichen to the bar, Chen Fan felt a strange sense of displeasure.

"I have something to do, you guys enjoy yourselves." He said, nodding at Jiang Churan and then turned to leave.

"Hey, wait a moment!"

Jiang Churan stood there, hesitating for a moment, and finally chased after him.

"Brother Chen, this guy seems to have a special relationship with Sister Churan," a tall man next to Li Yichen said roughly.

His name was Mo Xiaoshan, the head of the sports department of the student council. Most of the people at the table were leaders of the student council, who had gathered for a meal and then came to play. Jiang Churan was also a member of the academic department and was dragged along, not expecting to meet Chen Fan here.

"A bar worker, how could Churan be interested in him?" A pretty girl with heavy makeup sneered.

"But you said Churan has such good family conditions, how could she have such a friend? I wonder if she met him somewhere else."

The girl glanced at Li Yichen subtly.

She was Lou Xiaoxiao, the head of the arts department, who had always liked Li Yichen. Now that she had the chance, she naturally wanted to defame her rival.

Li Yichen's face was expressionless, but a shadow of gloom flashed in his eyes.

Jiang Churan chased after Chen Fan downstairs and grabbed him, saying, "Why are you working in this bar? Does your mother know? Are you not caring about your studies and future?"

Chen Fan looked at her with a half-smile, "You know my grades. Do you think I could get into a top university even if I studied hard this year?"

Jiang Churan was taken aback.

At the time, in front of Jiang Haishan, Chen Fan had said that his grades ranked around 500th in Sishui County, and he was at the bottom of his grade at Changqingteng High School. With such grades, even if he studied hard, he could only get into a second-tier university.

"Besides, I only work two hours in the evening, just to experience life and get a head start on entering society. Aunt Tang wouldn't say anything if she knew." As he spoke, his friends upstairs were already calling for Jiang Churan.

Chen Fan pulled her hand off his shirt and said, "Your friends are calling you. Go upstairs, I need to work."

He then turned and left with the tray, leaving Jiang Churan standing there, lost in thought.

At that moment, the calls from upstairs came again. She looked back and saw Li Yichen and the others watching her from the second floor. She stomped her foot and turned to go upstairs.

As she walked, she felt something was missing.

The Chen Fan who once showed his prowess at the Royal Entertainment KTV and the Chen Fan who now served drinks overlapped in her mind. It seemed to tell her that this was reality, no matter how brave Chen Fan once was, he ultimately had to bow to life.

Jiang Churan walked up to the second floor and saw everyone silent, especially Li Yichen's distant gaze, which made her heart tremble. She forced a smile and said, "Forget it, let's continue drinking."

"Right, why let a bar worker ruin our mood?" Mo Xiaoshan slapped the table and said, "Come on, Miss Jiang, you should toast Brother Chen. If it weren't for Brother Chen, we wouldn't have easily secured the 100,000 yuan sponsorship for the student council."

"Okay, I'll toast Yichen." Jiang Churan raised her glass in a toast, but sighed inwardly.

'Maybe, we are from two different worlds after all.'

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