Chapter 044: A Chance Encounter and an Unexpected Incident

Generally speaking, an outstanding bar must have excellent design, refined décor, and sophisticated lighting and atmosphere. The Phoenix Bar’s initial market positioning, investment analysis, determination of interior style, spatial layout, the negotiation of design schemes, and even construction were all crafted by the internationally renowned designer Huang Zhiqi, a master of entertainment space design specializing in hotels, nightclubs, and karaoke lounges.

In terms of class, taste, and lighting, every detail was meticulously considered. The soft, dim, and ambiguous lighting in particular gave the entire place an air of luxurious elegance.

Bars can typically be divided into three categories by layout: campus bars, music bars, and commercial bars. The Phoenix Bar, however, managed to incorporate all these themes seamlessly, without any discord, achieving remarkable success as a whole.

Thus, when a strikingly attractive woman in her late twenties, exuding elegance with every step, walked toward Lin Yu, she possessed a unique charm, even if her looks were not quite as stunning as those of Yang Zhiling or Qi Yue—thanks to the ambiance, she radiated a distinct allure.

“Not bad. Overall, I’d give it an eighty-one out of a hundred,” Lin Yu said with a smile, throwing a meaningful glance at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan, who usually preferred innocent, student-type girls, found himself, under the spell of the atmosphere, drawn to the professional woman who carried herself with the aura of a celebrity or aristocrat. Inspired by Lin Yu’s hint, Wang Yan moved Lin Yu’s cigarette case over to his side. Though he didn’t smoke, he decided to play along for the sake of a romantic encounter.

Compared to the somewhat bookish Lin Yu, Wang Yan had a certain presence, reminiscent of Dao Ming Si from “Meteor Garden”—imposing and charismatic.

The professional woman had originally been interested in Lin Yu, but upon approaching and seeing the cigarette case by Wang Yan, she took in his tall, muscular frame and decided he was appealing as well. She pulled out a cigarette and lit it for him.

Wang Yan, who was utterly unaccustomed to smoking, immediately choked and coughed after his first puff, making for a comical sight.

Embarrassed, and seeing the woman’s bemused look, Wang Yan stood up and tried to recover his composure. “You’re so beautiful, I just got nervous. Let’s go outside.”

“Sit down first, what’s the rush?” The woman smiled unhurriedly, then added, “At midnight, there’s a young singer performing. She’s excellent—I really like her. Why don’t we listen to her song first, and then go?”

“This girl must be a regular here. Who knows how many men she’s slept with?” Wang Yan thought, feeling a twinge of sourness at her calm and practiced demeanor. As a high schooler, he was not entirely comfortable with the fast pace of nightlife.

Lin Yu, on the other hand, was long accustomed to the myriad happenings of night venues. Noticing Wang Yan’s discomfort, he took a sip of his drink and said to the woman, “My friend here is new to bars, so he’s a bit out of his element. Please look after him. We have another friend over there—I’ll go check on him.”

Not wanting Wang Yan to feel stifled by his presence, Lin Yu rose and headed for the restroom to find Zhang Zhilong, both to give his friend some privacy and to ensure Zhang Zhilong didn’t fall back into old habits.

The woman watched Lin Yu leave, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She had sensed something special about this young man—though not old, he had a natural poise, an easy elegance, and an innate confidence. But in nightlife, everyone is just looking for fun; she wasn’t about to indulge in some melodramatic notion of love at first sight. She elegantly lifted Wang Yan’s glass and took a sip, as though toasting Lin Yu in his absence.

Lin Yu drained the last of his nearly empty margarita with a smile and strolled off at a measured pace to look for Zhang Zhilong, who had disappeared to parts unknown.

The restroom was not far from the main hall, at the end of a first-floor corridor. Walking on the plush carpet, it took less than a minute for Lin Yu to reach the restroom door.

The Phoenix Bar had both men’s and women’s restrooms, each with three stalls separated by partitions, the kind with gaps at the bottom—perfect for someone like Zhang Zhilong, with his more dubious inclinations, to get up to mischief.

Lin Yu first searched the men’s restroom but, as expected, found no sign of Zhang Zhilong.

“This guy! Just as I thought… I don’t even know what to say,” Lin Yu sighed. After a moment’s thought, he decided to go into the women’s restroom to drag Zhang Zhilong out. He couldn’t bear to watch his friend go astray again.

Wang Yan, Dai Peng, and Zhang Zhilong were all rebellious youths with psychological issues. The only loyal and honest one among them, Zhang Chao, was now lying in a hospital bed, having been attacked. Lin Yu felt almost like a parent, shouldering too much worry.

Though most bar-goers were open-minded, Lin Yu still felt it would be inappropriate to enter the ladies’ restroom directly. So he lingered in the corridor, smoking as he waited, planning to slip in only once he was sure there were no women inside.

But just then, Lin Yu suddenly spotted a familiar figure hurrying toward the restroom—it was his geography teacher, the strikingly attractive Tao Bo.

“…Could it be that the two of them will meet early because of me, and then…” Pretending to smoke while waiting, Lin Yu couldn’t help a wicked little hope rising in his heart.

In his previous life, though the romance between Zhang Zhilong and Tao Bo had been turbulent, they had eventually overcome all obstacles and married. Lin Yu was genuinely happy at the thought of them meeting earlier this time.

If his friend could shake off his inner shadows sooner, it could only be a good thing.

A famous person once said: seventy percent of a person’s success depends on their circle of friends.

Lin Yu, who believed that only by cultivating one’s immediate environment could one hope to achieve greatness, aspired to subtly transform those around him through everyday influence, laying a foundation for future prosperity.

As if to confirm Lin Yu’s thoughts, several people came and went from the women’s restroom, but Tao Bo did not emerge. Growing more curious about what might transpire between her and Zhang Zhilong, Lin Yu seized a moment when no women were entering or leaving, and, nerves tingling, slipped into the ladies’ restroom to eavesdrop.

He swore to the heavens he wasn’t there to peep or take advantage—just driven by curiosity about how things were unfolding.

“Don’t…” He had barely approached the stalls when he heard a faint, breathless moan.

He instantly recognized the voice—it was his geography teacher, Tao Bo, infamous among the boys as something of a heartbreaker.

A sly chuckle followed, unmistakably belonging to the sly Zhang Zhilong.

“Things are progressing fast…” Lin Yu thought, feeling rather like a fortune-teller whose predictions always came true.

Since events seemed to be unfolding exactly as he’d expected, there was no need to linger. With a smile at the corner of his lips, he turned to leave.

But as luck would have it, just as he stepped out, he found himself face-to-face with Lin Huiyin at the door.

Her eyes flashed first with surprise, then with fury, blazing like a powder keg just ignited.

Within a few short minutes, the bar’s restrooms had witnessed two fateful encounters.

Zhang Zhilong and Tao Bo’s was a beautiful accident—though the road ahead would be winding, the future was bright.

As for Lin Yu’s encounter, it was nothing short of a collision between two worlds, a firestorm in the making.