Ke Xue Bartender

Chapter 3 Xiaolan’s troubles

The golden bell at the corner of the door rang softly.

Lin Ye looked towards the door and saw a high school girl wearing a blue uniform and carrying a school bag walking into the store.

He smiled and greeted, "Good evening, Miss Xiaolan."

That’s right, the person who entered the store was Uncle Maori’s daughter, Maori Ran.

Because in the past month, she often came to catch Uncle Maori who sneaked down to drink, so she was acquainted with Lin Ye.

"Good evening, Mr. Lin Ye." Xiaolan looked around the store. There were only a few customers, but no sign of her father. "Did Dad come down to drink again?"

Lin Ye smiled and shook his head: "Mr. Mao Li hasn't come down today."

Xiaolan was still carrying her schoolbag. It seemed that she had come directly to catch Uncle Maori after school and had not returned home yet. What a strict daughter, Lin Ye thought with some amusement.

"Then I'll wait for him here. Dad will definitely come down soon anyway." Xiaolan decided to wait in the store and give her father a "surprise".

"Can I sit here for a while, Mr. Lin Ye?"

"Please go ahead." Lin Ye smiled, thinking that you won't be able to wait any longer today, as Uncle Maori has already retired.

"Thank you." Xiaolan sat at an empty table, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window, as if she was worried about something.

[I'm going to the amusement park with Shinichi tomorrow. Should I take this opportunity to confess to him... er, oh, so embarrassing. How can I let a girl say this first? Is that guy a fool? Doesn't he really understand my feelings? ]

Xiaolan covered her red face and acted shy, not even noticing the surprised looks from the guests at the next table.

She was thinking again about the man named Kudo Shinichi, the bastard detective boy mentioned by Uncle Mori.

The love between a boy and a girl is so beautiful and enviable. Looking at Xiaolan with a shy face, Lin Ye couldn't help but think.

"Miss Xiaolan, would you like a drink?" Lin Ye asked.

Xiaolan, who was feeling shy, was stunned and said in embarrassment: "Mr. Lin Ye, please don't joke with me. I'm still a student and not old enough to drink."

The legal drinking age in Neon is 20. Xiaolan is only in her second year of high school, so she should be 16 years old, far from the drinking age.

And even if Xiaolan is over 20 years old, she won't drink.

"It's a non-alcoholic drink." Lin Ye explained with a smile.

"Huh, you scared me. I thought you were going to commit an illegal act by selling alcohol to minors, Mr. Lin Ye." Xiaolan said half-jokingly.

"Since it's a non-alcoholic drink, let's have a glass." Xiaolan felt embarrassed to sit in someone else's shop for nothing, so she agreed, walked to the high stool in front of the bar and sat down, watching Lin Ye make drinks curiously.

Lin Ye chose the non-alcoholic version of Mojito.

Lime juice, mint leaves, simple syrup, sparkling water, crushed ice, and removing the rum from the original recipe, a simple non-alcoholic mojito is ready.

"Non-alcoholic mojito, please, Miss Xiaolan."

Xiaolan looked at the crystal clear drink in the glass with curiosity. She reached out her hand and felt the temperature of the glass with her fingertips. It was icy cool and very comfortable.

"Mr. Lin Ye, is there really no alcohol in it?"

"Of course, I should have added rum, but I didn't. Even if you wanted to drink it, I wouldn't give it to you. I don't want to do anything illegal."

Xiaolan laughed.

"That's right, I won't be polite then."

She picked up the wine glass and a fresh breath hit her nose, without any smell of alcohol.

I took a sip, it was cool, sweet and sour, the bubbles hit the taste buds, the taste was great.

[It's really delicious. I'll bring Shinichi to try it someday.]

This kid is really addicted, his mind is full of the detective boy named Kudo Shinichi. Lin Ye also feels that the name Kudo Shinichi is familiar, but again, he has an impression but can't remember it.

Lin Ye didn't force himself to remember. The harder he tried to remember, the harder it would be for him to remember.

He didn't care too much about it, because he felt it was not an important matter, so he just forgot about it.

"Miss Xiaolan looked very happy just now. Was she thinking about someone?"

Xiaolan blushed and said, "Mr. Lin Ye, you don't have to be so polite. Just call me Xiaolan."

"Okay, Xiaolan, were you thinking about someone just now?" Lin Ye asked again.

Xiaolan blushed and thought to herself, Mr. Lin Ye, what a fool! Why is he still asking questions when I have obviously changed the subject?

Of course, Lin Ye was not unaware of it, but occasionally he would joke with the guests to help him get closer to them.

Few people like a bartender who is always serious, unless he is very handsome.

"I'm not thinking about anyone. I'm just going to the amusement park with my classmates tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it." Xiaolan said evasively.

"Is the classmate you are talking about called Kudo Shinichi?" Lin Ye pointed out.

"Hey, how do you know?"

Lin Ye smiled and said, "Uncle Maori always complains to me that his daughter is fooling around with that detective boy all day long."

"Dad, what the hell is this? What do you mean by fooling around?" Xiaolan said angrily and embarrassedly. She decided to throw away the beer that her father hid in the closet when she got home.

"You like him, right?" Lin Ye continued to ask soul-searching questions.

"Ah!" Xiaolan felt like steam was coming out of her head. "Mr. Lin Ye, please stop talking nonsense."

"That means I don't like it."

"Well, that can't be said."

"It's neither like nor dislike, so what is it?" Lin Ye smiled.

This is what they call "those involved are confused, and those who stand in my way will die" - oh, no, bystanders see clearly, anyone who is not blind can see Xiaolan's intentions.

Although Uncle Maori complained, he did not stop his daughter from dating Kudo Shinichi, proving that he approved of this young detective in his heart.

"Yes, yes..." Xiaolan stuttered, not knowing what to say.

Lin Ye stopped teasing her and said with a smile: "I'm just asking casually. Don't take it to heart, Xiaolan. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." The whole world knows it anyway, Lin Ye thought.

Xiaolan was visibly relieved and took two sips of her mojito before she calmed down.

"That guy keeps talking about Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle all the time, and he even says he wants to be the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era. He's simply a mystery fanatic!" Xiaolan couldn't help but complain.

"I don't like guys like that!"

Although she said this, her shy expression and innocent eyes betrayed her.

Lin Ye smiled secretly and said:
"Xiao Lan, I have two things to say. I'll just say them casually. Please just listen."

Xiaolan said seriously: "Well, go ahead and talk. I'm listening."

Lin Ye said: "If you hesitate too much, you may miss an important opportunity. The fate between people is very precious, you must cherish it and hold it firmly in your hands."

Xiaolan was slightly stunned, then nodded and said, "I'll remember that. Thank you for your advice."

Lin Ye smiled and said, "I wish you have fun tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)