Chapter 6: He Will Take You Away

Chapter 6: He Will Take You Away

The tavern’s atmosphere was relaxed.

Warm yellow ambient lights cast a gentle glow everywhere, swaying softly to the rhythm of light music.

A gray-haired young man, dressed in a vest matching his hair color and sporting a samurai-style topknot, chewed gum with a mischievous grin.

When Fang Ye walked in, he grabbed a ceramic cup for him, then glanced over at Bai Li.

He hesitated briefly, then fetched one for Bai Li as well.

Once the two sat down, the gazes of the three boys began to flicker repeatedly over Bai Li.

Their eyes were filled with surprise and teasing.

“Ye-ge, who’s this?”

Fang Ye didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he quietly ordered more food from the waiter who had just followed them in:

“Another serving of fried noodles, a barbecue platter, seafood porridge, some snacks, and a glass of pear juice.”

The waiter smiled knowingly as he took notes. “Ye-ge, do you want to bring out the stash you saved some time ago?”

Clearly, they were regulars here.

Fang Ye lifted his chin slightly. After the waiter left, he turned and introduced the three boys to Bai Li with a calm voice:

“Her name is Bai Li.”

He paused briefly, his gaze silently sweeping over Bai Li.

“She’s my sister.”

His cool voice blended into the old house’s background music.

The words reached Bai Li’s ears clearly.

Startled, she looked up sharply at his profile. It had been a long time since she’d heard those two words. Nervously, she clenched her sleeve tightly.

He said she was his sister.

That simple statement seemed to dissolve her earlier turmoil, bringing a faint sense of calm to her otherwise confused heart.

But the peace lasted only a moment before a storm erupted.

The three boys, having grown up with Fang Ye, suddenly understood everything. The gray-haired boy’s smile exaggerated, his eyes bright as he said to Bai Li, “So you’re the sister? Hello, sister.”

The tattooed boy pointed to his face: “I’m your second older brother. Just call me Chengzi-ge. The shaggy one next to me, call him Xiao Bai-ge. And the tall one, call him Xiao Ying-ge. We all hang out with Ye-ge.”

Hearing the word “hang out,” Bai Li lowered her eyes and politely nodded, “Chengzi-ge, Xiao Bai-ge, Xiao Ying-ge, nice to meet you.”

“Sis, you’re really pretty! We always heard Ye-ge brag about you; we thought he was full of it.”

“First time in Lingjiang, right? Do you drink?”

“Have a little with us, give your brothers some face. The cocktails here are sweet.”

The warm greetings made Bai Li feel awkward.

Many of the words were polite formalities.

She had few friends at school and almost no social experience. She didn’t know how to handle such “face-saving” pressure to drink.

She could only sneak a glance at Fang Ye.

Fang Ye’s expression remained as lazy as when they first met. He leaned back in his chair, head bowed over his phone, seemingly busy, showing no intention of intervening.

Chengzi had already opened a bottle of beer and placed it in front of her, his smile bright but tinged with a roguish curve. The half sleeve tattoo on his arm bulged, an unspoken intimidation.

Bai Li took a deep breath—she would have to rely on herself.

Just as she was about to refuse, she started to speak.

“I…”

Suddenly, Fang Ye looked up, interrupting her with a cold glance at the group.

“That’s enough.”

He casually moved the beer bottle toward himself.

Just then, the waiter brought a glass of pear juice from the kitchen. Before it was set on the table, Fang Ye grabbed it and pushed it toward Bai Li.

“You’re underage. Wanting to drink alcohol? Drink juice.”

His tone was gentle, like scolding a careless junior.

Bai Li’s tension eased immediately. She hurriedly took the cup and sipped, her heart pounding in time with the music in the air.

She wanted to argue that she never intended to drink alcohol.

But the sweet pear juice tasted freshly squeezed and delicious enough to silence her protest.

One dish after another arrived.

Plum-flavored sweet potatoes, fries and snacks, a barbecue platter, fried noodles, and seafood porridge.

During a brief glance from Fang Ye, each dish was quietly slid toward Bai Li.

His words had their effect.

Chengzi and the others no longer pressured her to drink, even placing the bottles far from her side.

Bai Li was genuinely hungry. She picked up a few chopsticks of fried noodles and then a bowl of seafood porridge, lowering her head to eat in small bites.

The feeling was strange—every dish on the table was her favorite.

This would never have happened in her family, where step-siblings preferred spicy food.

Especially that glass of pear juice.

Its flavor reminded her of childhood summers when she refused to eat the porridge her brother cooked. She would cry and point at the pear trees, demanding pear juice.

Her brother would always find a way to pick a few pears, scoop out the juice with a spoon, and feed it to her one spoonful at a time.

Suddenly flooded with memories, she hugged the pear juice and looked up at Fang Ye’s profile.

He held a glass of alcohol, listening to the three boys.

As if hearing something, Fang Ye suddenly looked down at her.

Their gazes met.

A dim yellow light spilled over his eyes; his features were sharp, his nose high and straight, his bone structure exquisitely perfect.

Dazzling.

In that moment, Bai Li forgot to look away.

Fang Ye quietly lit a cigarette; the smoke curled upward.

Their eyes locked for several long seconds before he finally released the gaze, set down his glass, and leaned in to ask:

“What… do you want?”

Bai Li was taken aback, her mind filling in the unspoken part:

“You’ve been staring at me—what’s going on?”

It was awkward.

She couldn’t say, “Because you’re good-looking.”

Quicker than her body could react, she quickly made up an excuse. Picking up the pear juice, she whispered, “This tastes good. Can I have another glass?”

Fang Ye understood.

He snapped his fingers toward the front desk and pointed at Bai Li’s cup.

The desk girl responded with an “OK” hand gesture.

Then…

Another large glass of pear juice appeared before Bai Li.

She felt like crying but had no tears.

The tavern’s glasses were impressively large, even wider than traditional beer mugs.

Having just eaten half a bowl of noodles and porridge, she truly felt she couldn’t drink more.

But wasting it seemed inappropriate, so she grit her teeth and drank slowly, sip by sip.

During a lull, Chengzi glanced at her and noticed the dishes in front of her barely touched. She was only focused on downing the pear juice.

He teased, “Ye-ge, your sister’s just here to fill her stomach, huh? If not, order a couple more glasses—I think she really likes it.”

This time, he didn’t wait for Fang Ye to respond.

Bai Li instinctively waved her hand, her face showing an indescribable panic.

“No, no, no. Thank you very much, this is enough.”

The three boys found her flustered appearance endearing and burst out laughing.

Fang Ye didn’t join in. He pinched the spent cigarette, tapped the table in front of her, and lazily drawled:

“If you can’t drink anymore, don’t force it. No one here will scold you.”

He saw through her unease at a glance, yet offered a casual reminder.

Bai Li lowered her eyes and stopped swallowing.

For some reason, a prickly sting welled at the corner of her eyes.

Yes.

It was truly amazing.

Here, no one scolded her.

(End of Chapter)