Men are truly creatures who enjoy speaking nonsense, regardless of age.
Ge’er smiled, "There’s no need to lie to your brother. I’m very happy to receive your candy. This drink is on me. You can go find others to hang out with."
She was sincere, thinking a simple greeting was enough and there was no need for further chatter, wanting the boy to leave.
But upon hearing this, he immediately felt wronged.
"Why should I go find others to hang out with? Don’t you want to talk to me?"
Ge’er glanced around. Fortunately, no one was paying attention to them.
It was the first time she had encountered a boy acting coy with her.
"That’s not what I meant. I meant, since you’re here, don’t you want to make a couple more friends?"
"I don’t. I’ve already told you, I’m a very homebody person and don’t like making friends. One is enough."
"Then fine, suit yourself."
Ge’er didn’t believe his nonsense.
So handsome, so young, coming to a bar alone, wasn’t it to make friends?
Only an 18-year-old girl would believe that.
The boy happily stayed by her side, took another sip of his drink, and asked her,
"What’s your name, miss?"
"Don’t call me miss, just call me older sister."
"But I don’t believe you’re older than me."
"Believe it or not."
"Why are you so cold?"
"Not really. After all, we’re strangers."
"If we exchange names, we’ll get familiar slowly. My name is Qin Shen, and yours?"
Qin Shen?
Ge’er couldn’t help but think of the idiom "qíng shēn yuán qiǎn" (deep affection, shallow fate).
"My name is Yuan Qian."
Qin Shen didn’t believe her, "Don’t joke. How can anyone have such a name?"
Ge’er said indifferently, "I’ll say it again, believe it or not."
Qin Shen had no choice but to give up, "Alright, it seems you’re still wary of me. If you don’t want to say, then let’s talk about something else. Do you have a boyfriend?"
The candy slowly melted in her mouth, and Ge’er took another sip of wine.
"As a stranger, don’t you think it’s rude to ask someone such a question?"
Qin Shen answered honestly, "It is indeed not very polite. But I really want to know."
"What for? Do you want to pursue me?"
"Is that a possibility?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I’m already married."
Qin Shen looked disbelieving, "This is the first time I've tried to hit on a girl in a bar, and I didn’t expect to meet someone as difficult as you. Do I look that much like a bad person that you have to lie like this?"
Ge’er used his own words to retort,
"Do I look that much like a little sister that you want to pursue me after knowing me for less than five minutes?"
"...Undeniably, I was first attracted by your appearance. You are very beautiful. But after interacting with you, I find your soul also very interesting, so I want to get to know you better. Besides, you’re not wearing a ring on your finger."
Ge’er looked at her hand. Indeed, there was no ring.
What kind of marriage was this?
This piece of paper only trapped her freedom to make friends, and she gained nothing else.
"You reminded me. I’ll have him get me a big diamond ring when I go back. Alright, little brother, I’m done drinking, and this bar isn’t as interesting as I thought. I don’t want to stay any longer. You go find someone else to hang out with."
She paid with her phone, and Qin Shen followed her persistently.
"Actually, it’s a bit dangerous for a girl to come to a bar alone. Are you perhaps in a bad mood today? I can give you a ride back."
Ge’er ignored him, but he followed her all the way outside the bar.
As the night deepened, more and more people gathered at the entrance of the bar, with a line of luxury cars parked outside.
Looking at the groups of young men and women standing beside the luxury cars, Ge’er felt that his words were insincere.
On one hand, he portrayed himself as a homebody, and on the other, he relentlessly pursued a girl he had just met.
He couldn’t even tell a coherent lie, yet he wanted to charm her?
"I’m not a good person. If a bad person meets me, who knows who will be unlucky. Little brother, you’re still young, and big sister isn’t interested in you. Really, don’t waste your time following me."
Her aura was indeed very strong, especially when she spoke such harsh words, giving off the impression of an experienced, tough woman.
However, Qin Shen was not afraid of her at all; instead, he found her very interesting.
"Since you’re so capable, even bad people fear you, then protect me. I came alone, and it’s quite scary at night."
"..."
Was she exhibiting a sense of superiority through her feigned weakness?
Ge’er couldn’t be bothered to deal with him any longer and took out her phone to call her driver to pick her up.
Seeing her fiddling with her phone, Qin Shen quickly brought up his QR code again.
"Let’s add each other on WeChat. You scan me."
Ignoring him, she continued to scroll through her contacts. At this moment, a whistle came from the opposite side.
Immediately after, a few young men, dressed outrageously and looking hooligan-like, swaggered over with smirks.
"Hey, buddy, hitting on girls? The girl doesn’t like you, her attitude is so obvious, yet you’re still pestering her. That’s not very nice."
Upon hearing this, Ge’er raised her eyelids, glanced at the people opposite them, and then at Qin Shen.
She was about to say something but was curious about Qin Shen’s reaction, so she quietly held her tongue.
Seeing that she had put away her phone, Qin Shen also put away his and ignored the people opposite them.
He reached out and grabbed her arm, putting on an air of wanting to avoid trouble.
"Let’s go, my car is over there. I’ll take you back."
As soon as he took a step, the people opposite them laughed.
The one in the lead was particularly brazen and placed his hand on Qin Shen’s.
"You look so refined, like a weakling. I didn’t expect you to be so bold. The girl clearly doesn’t want you, and you’re trying to force it? You’ve got some nerve, buddy."
Qin Shen looked at his hand, then at his face, his expression blank.
"Please watch your tone. This is between the two of us, what business is it of yours?"
"Oh, such a sharp tongue? I didn’t realize you had such a big contrast."
The man said with a chuckle.
"What business is it of mine? Well, if I’m being honest, none. But it makes me feel righteous. I can’t stand seeing someone like you shamelessly clinging to a girl. Today, I’m going to intervene. Take your hand off."
If judging by appearance, these people looked more like thugs than Qin Shen, but their words were quite respectable.
Ge’er found this unfolding drama increasingly amusing and stood still, letting them talk.
After he finished speaking, Qin Shen placed his other hand over his and pulled his hand down forcefully.
"You’ve drawn the wrong sword, brother. We know each other, it’s not what you think. It’s good to have a sense of justice, but please open your eyes and use it in the right place."
"Hahaha!" The people opposite them burst into laughter simultaneously.
"Even now, you’re still pretending? If you know each other, why would you be asking for her WeChat? Forget it, with us here today, you won’t succeed. Take your hand off."
With this back-and-forth, Qin Shen’s good temper wore thin.
He let go of Ge’er and held hands with the man.
"So what do you want? I’ll leave, and I’ll hand her over to you, is that it?"