The layout of the second-floor VIP area was more private than the first. A few retro chandeliers cast a dim, soft glow, draping the entire space in a low-key, hazy, and ambiguous atmosphere. The rich ladies must have been regulars at the bar because as soon as they sat down, a group of handsome men immediately gathered around them.
Zhuang Ningyu was instantly squeezed to the very edge of the sofa with no place to sit, forcing him to stand up.
As a result, the rich ladies were amused and let out a “pfft” of laughter.
One of the sisters, her eyes hazy with drink, looked him up and down. “First day on the job? Why do you seem a bit reserved? How about this, I’m in a good mood today, I’ll give you some business.” As she spoke, she called over a waiter. “Give him the drink menu. Let him order whatever he wants, my treat.”
Zhuang Ningyu thanked her earnestly. The beautifully bound drink menu felt heavy in his hands, which suggested the prices inside were likely not “light” either.
He casually flipped open a page and squinted under the dim light for a long time, making sure he hadn’t missed a zero. Only then did he look up in disbelief and say, “A bottle of red wine only costs eighteen yuan?”
What happened to the casual five or six-figure price tags on the second floor of Yin Bar? Was the menu in his hand a special discount menu for major clients?
Zhuang Ningyu was a bit baffled, and so was everyone else. What was he talking about, eighteen yuan? What eighteen yuan? The waiter came forward to take a look, then covered half his face, unable to look directly, and squeezed the words out through his teeth in a low voice: “Bro, that’s the table of contents. Red wine is on page eighteen.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “…Sorry.”
“Hahahahahaha.” After a brief silence, a sudden burst of laughter erupted. The rich lady sister wiped tears from her eyes, her finger adorned with a huge yellow diamond trembling as she pointed at him. “You… you, oh my, you’re too cute. How about this, six bottles of Rémy Martin Louis XIII, put it on his tab. It’s all on me.”
A deafening cheer instantly erupted from the surroundings.
Although Zhuang Ningyu knew nothing about wine, just by looking at the reactions of the people around him and the celebratory confetti poppers going off all over the bar, he knew this was a huge sale.
So, he expressed his gratitude very, very sincerely. If it were any other scheming handsome guy, this level of gratitude would clearly seem a bit perfunctory, but the pure little white flower had his own unique charm. A loose short-sleeved shirt was tucked into his dress pants, paired with sneakers. He just stood there obediently, looking less like he was here to party and more like he was here to do calisthenics.
Who would have the heart to be harsh on a newly debuted calisthenics athlete? Moreover, the sisters were indeed drunk and needed to go home for their beauty sleep. So they each took out their phones to make calls, and within a few minutes, they were picked up by their drivers.
Marketing supervisor A’Lin praised him with a beaming face, “Not bad, selling six bottles of Louis XIII on your first day.”
Zhuang Ningyu asked, “Is this wine very expensive?”
A’Lin put an arm around his shoulder. “One bottle sells for over fifty thousand, so six is over three hundred thousand, and that’s the VIP price. The commission is usually twenty percent. This single order alone is enough for you to earn what you would from working outside for a long time, right? The boss knows about this too. He just called me and said he wants to see you alone tomorrow.”
Earning sixty thousand in less than half an hour. Looking at the floor covered in confetti, Zhuang Ningyu roughly understood why the Yin Bar of old had become a holy land pursued by countless young people. Some things, some scenes, were indeed addictive. He asked, “Do those guests come here often?”
“Some are regulars, some are not. You don’t have to focus too much on them. At Yin Bar, guests with this level of spending power are everywhere. As long as you’re willing to work hard, buying a house and a car in Jincheng in the future will be a piece of cake.”
A trace of disbelief appeared on Zhuang Ningyu’s face. “Are all the guests here so rich?”
A’Lin was used to his worldly-unwise look and even found it quite cute. He laughed, “Last week, Brother Jie’s sales for one hour hit seven figures. It’s all small stuff. You’ll get used to it after seeing it more.”
Zhuang Ningyu acknowledged and then asked, “Can I look around the second floor?”
“Of course, you’re the sales champion tonight. Look wherever you want, but be careful not to disturb the other guests.”
A’Lin lowered his voice again. “By the way, you did well, so the boss is definitely happy, but Brother Jie might be… But you don’t have to take it to heart. He’s been throwing a tantrum lately, finding fault with all of us. If he comes to the group meeting tomorrow, I’ll handle it for you.”
After thanking him, Zhuang Ningyu offered to share some of his commission with A’Lin. The latter was, as expected, overjoyed and clinked glasses with him. “Alright, then I won’t be polite. This drink is for you.”
A new round of screams came from the dance floor. The dazzling lights would make all the guests momentarily dizzy, and in that moment of dizziness, the world seemed to be endowed with some new, strange meaning, becoming fresh, exciting, and incredibly charming.
Zhuang Ningyu walked around the second floor with his wine glass and found that the guests on this level were a little less passionate and a little less young than those on the first floor. Or to put it more bluntly, it was these no-longer-young guests on the second floor who were supporting all the revelers on the first floor.
Equating good looks with currency to attract handsome men and beautiful women, and then using them to attract wealthy customers to spend—although it wasn’t a particularly creative or brilliant marketing technique, in terms of effect, it was indeed the simplest and most effective.
The revelry continued until midnight. The bar’s closing time was 3 a.m. When Zhuang Ningyu returned to the dormitory and finished his shower, he picked up his phone. Unsurprisingly, Yi Ke had sent another string of messages.
Zhuang Ningyu hesitated for a few seconds between opening them and ignoring them, but ultimately, he reluctantly bent his index finger and tapped on Yi Ke’s profile picture.
He had actually been prepared to receive workplace harassment, but it turned out his preparation was far from enough, because Yi Ke had upgraded his technique. He was no longer sending texts, nor was he sending voice messages. Instead, he had sent many selfies from different angles.
Zhuang Ningyu finally couldn’t stand it anymore and added him to his blacklist. What’s wrong with this person!
Outside the rule zone, Jing Lan, who had already fallen into a deep sleep, was once again woken up by a call from Yi Ke. He stood up like a sleepwalker, staring blankly out the window, his hoarse voice sounding as if he had just swallowed a whole Donald Duck. “I told you this move wouldn’t work… There’s no why, it just won’t work… With all due respect, what kind of brain would come up with such a bizarre way to pursue someone… The only reason Brother Zhuang hasn’t reported you to the higher-ups is because he’s a kind person… No, it has nothing to do with which photo you choose… I can’t help you pick… Stop! Stop! Stop sending me your photos!”
Yi Ke: “Tsk!”
The next day, the rule still didn’t appear. This was most likely because after the rule was first triggered, its internal logical chain had been altered by some irresistible force—for example, like a computer encountering an unknown bug after booting up and being forced to suspend its operation. During this period, the people inside and outside the rule zone could either choose to wait for the system to repair itself or take the initiative to find the problem.
The drink promoters’ group meeting was at 6 p.m. At 5:30, A’Lin came knocking. Zhuang Ningyu had already changed his clothes. “Is the boss seeing me now?”
“I came to tell you about this.” A’Lin sighed with a troubled face. “Brother Jie is here and is arguing with the boss. I heard they’re fighting pretty fiercely, practically screaming their heads off, and things are smashed all over the floor. No one on the entire third floor dares to go near. It seems Brother Jie wants to resign. I think you should probably avoid getting involved today.”
Zhuang Ningyu asked, “Is he arguing because he wants to resign, or does he want to resign because he’s arguing?”
A’Lin was a bit confused by the question. “Probably… the former. Brother Jie is the sales champion. The boss usually fawns over him. For them to fight like this, Brother Jie must be the one who wants to leave. But then again, in this line of work, no one can do it for long.”
For one, the reversed day-night schedule was bad for one’s health. For another, no one could maintain high popularity forever. Compared to being slowly worn down by time, retiring at one’s peak was also an option.
“Is Brother Jie leaving suddenly?”
“Yeah, we were also puzzled when we heard the news. We never heard him mention it before. Let’s go, let’s go downstairs first.”
Zhuang Ningyu entered the elevator with him, secretly analyzing the situation. Brother Jie’s departure might be the “bug” causing the rule’s delay. If this speculation was correct, should he persuade him to stay or persuade him to leave?
Persuading him to stay was the safest bet. Keeping Brother Jie would ensure the rule would appear and operate according to its initial setting. Persuading him to leave, on the other hand, meant the boss would need to publicly recruit a new drink promoter.
Although having one more colleague should theoretically be a great help to his work, it also depended on who that new colleague was. Zhuang Ningyu thought of the selfie king lying in his blacklist and ultimately decided to handle the whole thing single-handedly.
Reason one, Brother Jie’s “bug” status was just a guess, and guesses could be wrong. Reason two, although the “Disciplinary Regulations for Order Maintenance Personnel” clearly stated that “during missions, all personnel cannot let personal feelings affect overall decisions,” Zhuang Ningyu felt his situation was special and could be understood.
He turned to the supervisor and said, “Let’s think of a way to keep Brother Jie.”
But Brother Jie himself didn’t want to be kept.
After arguing with the boss, Tong Yishuai, he threw down a resignation letter and packed his suitcase at top speed. A circle of promoters gathered at the dormitory entrance, waiting to see him off. After Brother Jie came out, his gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Zhuang Ningyu. He looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled in a friendly manner and said, “Thanks. If it weren’t for you, he probably wouldn’t have let me go so easily.”
Zhuang Ningyu shook his head. “I was just lucky last night.”
“It’s not about luck. With a face like that, you’ll definitely be very popular.” Brother Jie patted his shoulder. “Go on, don’t let me affect you. The boss is waiting for you in his office.”
Zhuang Ningyu reached out and took his suitcase. “No rush. I’ll see you off first.”
Brother Jie looked a bit surprised, but he didn’t refuse.
…
The entire third floor was an office area, and Tong Yishuai’s office was at the very end. Zhuang Ningyu stepped out of the elevator, walked across the expensive Italian carpet in the corridor, and finally stopped in front of the closed silver glass door.
“Please come in.” The person in the room was also watching him through a camera.
Zhuang Ningyu pushed the door open. Behind the large desk sat a man wearing a silver mask. The boss of the Yin Bar back then did indeed often appear in this image. The mask was said to be from a well-known designer and was worth a fortune. Tong Yishuai had also expressed his love for this mask in many interviews, saying things like “it represents a kind of absolute, eternal beauty.”
Right now, the gray eyes hidden behind this beautiful mask were carefully studying the new promoter before him—a perfect, flawless, magnificent face. Beauty has always been a disquieting thing. For example, the rapidly beating heart in his own chest at this moment was proof. He felt the other person was like a piece of luxurious and charming oriental wood, exuding an extremely pleasant fragrance. Humans do indeed grow old, but thankfully, beauty does not. Beauty is forever vivid and alive, and as long as Yin Bar remains open, beauty will continuously flow here.
After a long while, he finally stood up, extended a hand, and said in a tone of unprecedented joy, “Welcome aboard.”
Zhuang Ningyu shook his hand. “A pleasure to work with you.”
At the same time.
“Quick, come look! There’s a new hiring notice at the bar entrance!”
With just a shout, a crowd had gathered in front of the hiring notice, craning their necks.
“Hiring one drink promoter with a high salary. Wait, why are they hiring another male promoter?” The members of the action team were greatly disappointed. What was wrong with this bar? Besides handsome men, didn’t they need to hire some ordinary-looking security guards, bodyguards, nannies, or cleaners?
“But I heard that back in the day, even when Yin Bar was hiring kitchen apprentices, they required them to be tall and handsome. So even if they really need security or cleaners, we probably wouldn’t get in.”
The action leader of Zone Three looked at the hiring notice, which was identical to the last one, with equally mixed feelings. He, who had never conceded defeat to Zone One, lost his iron-willed authority this time and could only, with great forbearance, turn his head to look at the flashy green sports car behind him.
The warm sunlight bathed the earth. Yi Ke swept away the gloom of being blacklisted, his mood incredibly cheerful. He even exuded a kind of saintly aura, as if he wanted to treat the world with kindness.
He nonchalantly took off the sunglasses perched on his nose, tossed them casually into the passenger seat, pushed open the car door with one hand, and with a stretch of his long legs, walked into the white mist.
“Brother Yi, Brother Yi!” the little police officer left in charge of site maintenance shouted desperately from behind. “Can a regular valet even drive this flat car of yours?”
The white mist suddenly dispersed, then gathered again.
At 7 p.m., the bar hadn’t started getting customers yet. Zhuang Ningyu sat at the bar and ordered a glass of ice water for himself.
“Xiao Yu, is it okay if I call you that? I saw that’s the name on your work tag.” The bartender pushed two glasses towards him. Besides the ice water, there was also a glass of sweet orange-flavored gin. “My treat.”
“Thanks.” Zhuang Ningyu took the glass. He had originally filled in “Xiao Zhuang” on his application form, but it was strongly opposed by A’Lin, who said “Xiao Zhuang” sounded like a miscellaneous intern with black-framed glasses in a government agency. It was too plain. You might as well be called Xiao Yu. No, Xiao Yu (Fish) is better. Xiao Yu fits your pure male university student persona.
When the new work tag was handed to him, Zhuang Ningyu accepted his new name well. After all, in an early multinational operation, Huo Ting had once been named “The Sun Prince Who Shines Over the Whole Earth” by the rules. Compared to the Sun Prince, Xiao Yu was simply endearing and cute.
Zhuang Ningyu asked, “I heard you guys were discussing some new poster just now?”
“For the anniversary, the Doll Party poster.” The bartender wiped the counter. “Our boss is a bit… no, not a bit, he’s a major perfectionist. At the beginning, he wanted to shoot a version with models, but he couldn’t find a suitable one, so he had to switch to a pure design version. But then, not long ago, after the design was finally settled, he said he found a model and wanted to change back to the model version. They’re probably shooting it these couple of days. Hey, Xiao Yu, there aren’t many customers right now. Keep an eye on things for me, I’m going to the restroom.”
The DJ played a piece of instrumental music, its tinkling notes creating a quiet atmosphere. Zhuang Ningyu had just picked up his glass of ice water and hadn’t had a chance to drink it when a slender hand covered the rim. The next moment, “thud,” a silver health-conscious thermos appeared before him.
“…”
Yi Ke leaned lazily against the bar, wearing a black jacket. His eyes were deep, his nose bridge high. A diamond stud under his messy hair was like the light refracted from an iceberg. Even his cologne was aggressive.
He unexpectedly matched the vibe of this bar. Even Zhuang Ningyu had to admit that the other person was indeed very suited to appear in the rules—luxurious, beautiful, dangerous, and decadent. This was simply a young master’s ultimate comfort zone.
Yi Ke said slowly, “Let me out.”
Zhuang Ningyu took out his phone and very cooperatively removed him from the blacklist, without a single extra word. “Let’s talk business. Did A’Lin bring you in?”
“That’s right.” Yi Ke’s smile was very fake. “He said you sold over three hundred thousand worth of wine last night and told me to aim for that, study hard, and strive to buy a house, a car, and a wife soon.”
“With that three hundred thousand, I was able to successfully meet Tong Yishuai this afternoon,” Zhuang Ningyu said. “But he was wearing a silver-white mask the whole time, and his mental state seemed a bit strange. I don’t know if it’s related to the sudden departure of the sales champion.”
Yi Ke propped his head on one hand. “Although the sales champion left, you came. From a money-making perspective, he’s not at a loss.”
Zhuang Ningyu ignored the sour tone in his voice and continued to ask, “Isn’t it strange that he has to wear a mask even in his office?”
“Not strange. The real Tong Yishuai, from the very first day Yin Bar opened, would always wear that silver mask whenever he appeared in public.” Yi Ke took a glass from the copper hanging rack and poured himself a glass of Kahlúa with ice. “The mask allowed him to maintain a sense of mystery and also gave the bar an extra marketing gimmick. After all, only features hidden by a mask leave ample room for customers’ imagination and can attract a continuous stream of admirers for him. Once the mask is taken off, even the most perfect face will have flaws pointed out.”
Although various unmasked ID photos of Tong Yishuai circulated online, they had different face shapes and were clearly not the same person—some were very handsome, some very ugly. The same applied to other similar photos from airports or hotel front desks. Ordinary netizens had no way of judging their authenticity. And compared to accepting the idea that “Tong Yishuai is a bona fide handsome man,” the vast majority of netizens clearly preferred to see an shockingly ugly face hidden under the mask. It wasn’t because they had a grudge against anyone, but purely out of the curious mentality of gossip-mongers. So it developed to the point where more and more people discussed Tong Yishuai’s looks, and the words “ugly man in a mask” would trend on social media every few days, seriously affecting the bar’s business.
For this reason, Tong Yishuai had to change his marketing strategy, specially coming out for an interview and promising to officially take off his mask after the anniversary party. This barely managed to quell the situation. Who knew that a disaster would make the secret a secret forever.
Of course, the scope of this “secret” was limited to the internet. In the government system, the information on Tong Yishuai was quite complete—born in Jincheng, moved to North America with his parents after graduating from kindergarten, and returned to the country alone nine years ago to prepare for the opening of Yin Bar. After the rule event was triggered, in the file Zhuang Ningyu received, the first page was his high-definition ID photo. The man in the photo was indeed extremely handsome, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose, and red lips, like the cover of an old Taiwanese romance novel.
Yi Ke changed the subject. “Are you short on sales tonight?”
“What, you want to order my wine?” Zhuang Ningyu glanced at him. “You got money in your pocket?”
This question could only be asked within the rule zone. After all, rule coins could only be earned on the spot and couldn’t be brought in from the outside, so newcomers always suffered a bit. Yi Ke laughed, “You think I can’t earn money here?”
“I’m just reminding you to look for the person while you’re earning money.” Zhuang Ningyu was in no mood to joke with him and reminded him again, “Tian Luxin still hasn’t appeared. Although she probably won’t be in danger before the rule appears, we still need to speed things up.”
But Yi Ke said, “She has already appeared.”
Zhuang Ningyu was stunned. “She has already appeared?”
Yi Ke nodded.
Zhuang Ningyu was still waiting for him to finish his sentence, but the bartender had already come out of the restroom and ducked back behind the bar. He saw the plain silver thermos on the counter at a glance and was greatly shocked. He gave a thumbs-up and praised sincerely, “Bro, your level of dedication is really something else. No wonder you could be the sales champion on your first day. To consolidate your pure little white flower persona, you even got yourself a prop!”
“…Thanks.” Zhuang Ningyu managed to squeeze out two words after a long pause.
Yi Ke was slumped over the counter, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
Zhuang Ningyu picked up the thermos and, while he was at it, gave Yi Ke a kick, signaling for him to follow.
