Chapter 199 - 193: 76Jazz Club

Chapter 199: Chapter 193: 76Jazz Club

"Yue?"

The woman called Sister Man looked up. Upon seeing who had spoken, an expression of disbelief washed over her face.

"When did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me in advance?"

With that, she hurried out from behind the bar, grabbed Jiang Shiyue’s hands, and looked her up and down. "Why do I feel like you’ve lost weight again? Didn’t I tell you to eat properly!"

Jiang Shiyue basked in this long-lost warmth and gave a gentle smile.

The moment her smile bloomed, the hearts of several male patrons nearby fluttered. Most of the people at the bar were regulars. They rarely saw the Boss Lady so excited, and they cast curious glances their way. Moreover, this young woman had such a pretty face and gorgeous legs; they were all wondering who she could be.

But at this moment, the Boss Lady, Sister Man, shifted her gaze to Su Yunzhou, who was standing to the side, looking slightly dazed.

She deliberately emphasized a certain syllable. "Yue, aren’t you going to introduce me to this... *boy*... friend of yours?"

Jiang Shiyue hurriedly introduced him. "This is Su Yunzhou!"

"Hmm?" Sister Man murmured the name to herself. She hadn’t heard it before. Then, she threw her hands up and blinked—silence speaking louder than words.

Su Yunzhou caught on immediately. He cleared his throat and introduced himself. "She and I are just ordinary, run-of-the-mill friends."

"Oh, I see!" Sister Man said with sudden realization, wearing an ’I get it’ expression. She continued, "It is always a pleasure to greet a friend from afar. What would you like to drink? It’s on me!"

Su Yunzhou said, "It’s my first time here."

Sister Man smiled. "Then try a ’007’. Yue loves drinking this too!"

With that, Sister Man returned to the bar. She chatted with Jiang Shiyue while mixing the drinks, but Su Yunzhou couldn’t shake the feeling that she was looking at him a bit strangely.

However, he picked up quite a lot from their conversation. She and Yue’s parents were likely old friends, as they recounted many amusing childhood anecdotes. Yet, whenever the topic of parents came up, it was cleverly deflected.

This made Su Yunzhou a bit curious. Thinking carefully, it seemed Jiang Shiyue had never mentioned her parents, though many details suggested she came from a well-off family.

A moment later, two beautifully colored, distinctly layered cocktails were placed on the table.

"Give it a try?" Sister Man looked at Su Yunzhou kindly.

He picked up the glass and took a sip. His taste buds were met with the flavors of orange, 7UP, and vodka—perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, with a faint, pleasant aroma.

Su Yunzhou gave a thumbs up and said, "I rarely drink cocktails, but from now on, every time I do, I’ll probably think of this taste."

Sister Man covered her mouth and chuckled, her form of address changing along with her amusement. "Zhuzhu, you sure have a way with words!"

Su Yunzhou took another sip. "From the bottom of my heart!"

Sitting beside him, Jiang Shiyue reached for her glass and took a small sip. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she praised, "I’ve tried mixing a ’007’ back at the Pharmaceutical Factory, but it never tastes the same as it does here.

"Sister Man, hurry up and tell me the secret!"

Sister Man twirled a stray lock of hair at her forehead, eyeing the two of them with a smile. "Didn’t I tell you? I’ll let you in on it once you start dating!"

"Dating is for the dogs!" Jiang Shiyue huffed. "I’ll go back and slowly experiment. I refuse to believe I can’t figure it out!"

Sister Man helplessly rubbed her forehead. "You child! If I remember correctly, you’ve been single since birth!

"Wait! Are you really a lala?"

"I... am... not..."

Jiang Shiyue gave Sister Man a massive eye roll, filled with reproach and exasperation. If anyone else had dared to say that, she would have torn into them long ago, but with Sister Man, she could only submit.

"Sister, can we change the subject?"

Su Yunzhou listened with great relish. This was the first time he had seen Jiang Shiyue on the losing end of a conversation, and the amount of information revealed was staggering.

On Tong’s interface, it showed Jiang Shiyue was twenty-nine years old this year. To think she was still a...

"What’s with that look?"

Jiang Shiyue wasn’t nearly as polite to Su Yunzhou. Seeing the blazing fire of gossip in his eyes, her face bore a clear warning.

Su Yunzhou hastily replied, "I... this is a look of admiration!"

"Uh-huh?!" Jiang Shiyue wore an expression that said, "Keep making things up."

Su Yunzhou’s brain spun so fast it almost sparked. "It’s true! In this dazzling world, you remain as pure as a lotus rising unstained from the mud, emerging unblemished and elegant..."

"Hahaha!" Sister Man laughed so hard she rocked back and forth. "Zhuzhu, you truly are an interesting person!

"Come! Drink up!"

And with that, the somewhat awkward topic came to an end.

The three chatted for a while. Just then, the live performance on stage concluded, and enthusiastic applause and whistles echoed through the bar.

Sister Man’s eyes suddenly lit up. "Yue, it’s been ages since I last heard you sing. Give us a song! Back in the day, you had quite a few fangirls... no... fanboys here!"

Jiang Shiyue shook her head helplessly—there was no escaping this topic—while a look of reminiscence crossed her face.

Su Yunzhou looked over curiously, the fire in his eyes igniting once more.

Sister Man said, "It seems you didn’t know. Yue used to play in a band..."

"Ahem!" Jiang Shiyue interrupted her.

After all, anyone would feel a bit embarrassed having their past brought up.

She then pointed at Su Yunzhou, who was watching with the expression of someone thoroughly enjoying the drama, and said, "Sister, let me tell you, his singing is incredible. I guarantee that if you let him on stage, tomorrow’s attendance will double!"

"Hmm?" Sister Man frowned slightly, sizing up the handsome young man before her. She knew exactly what kind of personality Yue had, and she rarely heard her praise someone like this.

This made Sister Man somewhat curious. "Zhuzhu, since she’s hyped you up this much..."

A short while later.

Su Yunzhou, unable to decline their gracious invitation, stood at the edge of the live house stage. Looking through the setlist on an iPad, he happened to catch sight of a very interesting song title: "A Song For You".

This was an obscure classic by the King of Soul, Ray Charles.

He walked onto the stage, sat at the piano, closed his eyes, and began to build up his emotions.

The audience below the stage was full of curiosity about this impromptu performer. The 76 Jazz Club hosted performances every day, and occasionally, there would be impromptu acts like this.

It felt like opening a mystery box, which was something many of the patrons relished talking about. Because they didn’t know if it would be good or bad, the anticipation was even greater. Furthermore, a few regulars had witnessed several romantic confessions during these songs, which always made for great stories to accompany their drinks.

Not far from the stage.

The musicians who had just finished their set were gathered around a table, sipping drinks.

One of them remarked, "Ooh, this is a tough song to sing!"

A girl with heavy makeup retorted, "Which song by the King of Soul is easy to sing?"

A man holding a glass said, "Let’s just hope it’s not a complete disaster!"

Over at the bar.

A trace of reminiscence appeared on Sister Man’s face.

She wondered, "Why did Zhuzhu choose this song!"

She let out a sigh. Looking at Yue, whose expression remained unchanged, dusty memories uncontrollably flooded her mind. She took a sip of her drink, shook her head slightly, and cast her gaze toward the stage.

The next second, a touching piano melody flowed from Su Yunzhou’s fingertips.

The gripping notes instantly drew everyone’s attention.

Su Yunzhou slowly raised his head, his ink-black eyes reflecting the dancing curves of the piano keys. His voice rang out, raspy yet full of power.

"I’ve been so many places in my life and time.

"I’ve sung a lot of songs, I’ve made some bad rhymes.

"I’ve acted out my life in stages, with ten thousand people watching..."

The very second his singing began, all the non-musical noise in the entire bar vanished, leaving only the moving melody of the piano intertwining with his voice.

This was followed by the dumbfounded expressions of the patrons, one by one.

One audience member excitedly let out a sound, only to be immediately silenced by a glare from his companion.

A guy froze in the middle of pouring his drink, allowing the alcohol to overflow and drip all over his pants.

Another guy who was smoking let his cigarette burn all the way down to the butt; he only snapped back to reality when he felt the scorching heat.

At this moment, on the stage, Su Yunzhou delivered a flawless rendition of this classic jazz piece.

As the singing reached its peak, a single thought arose simultaneously in everyone’s minds. They thought, "Tonight was worth it."