Chapter 5 Disaster Strikes

Xue Ning wished for a peaceful end of her shift, but Qiu Tong shot her an eager look when she went back to the bar and she knew, deep down, her wish was not granted.

Sun Jingwei was at the bar.

She shot him an incredulous look. Why was he even here, shouldn't he be lounging in the VIP room specifically reserved for him?

"Xue Ning, look who asked for you!" Qiu Tong exclaims delightedly.

Guess Sun Jingwei wasn't a hallucination, because Qiu Tong could see him too.

"Hello, we meet again," Sun Jingwei says with just the slightest hint of smugness. "It must be fate."

"I work here," she answers flatly, too tired for her brain-to-mouth filter to work. Qiu Tong smacks her arm as a warning, but that man seems to smile even wider at her answer.

"I know! But I must say, I'm surprised that someone as cute as you is a bartender." Jingwei continues, leaning forward to tower over Xue Ning. If not for the bar counter between them, Xue Ning would have felt the heat of his body radiate in her direction.

"What's so surprising about that?" Xue Ning demands, frowning at his words. She refuses to cower before his alpha male posturing.

She purposely tiptoes just a bit, tilting her head higher so she can meet his eyes more evenly, but he's still nearly two heads taller and very amused by her efforts to intimidate him.

Curse him. If only she was 20cm taller!

Beside her, Qiu Tong has her head in her hands.

"Young Master Sun, please don't be offended by her," Qiu Tong pleads anxiously. "She's…"

"Very tired and cranky." Xue Ning says, knowing that Qiu Tong is trying to find a way to diplomatically state that Xue Ning was one comment away from committing violence without offending Sun Jingwei.

"It's alright, I am a magnanimous man," he declares. "I forgive you on one condition - you make me a drink right now."

"What do you like?" She asks. This she can do.

"Surprise me." He smiles , propping a hand on his cheek as he tilts his head to eye her thoughtfully. "I believe you will have something that suits me."

"Oh I do." Xue Ning is the one smirking for a change, as she easily hands him a bottle of mineral water. Sun Jingwei stares at it, nonplussed.

"You are so thirsty. I think this is just what you need," she replies smugly. Behind her, she hears Qiu Tong's cry of dismay.

Right. This man was a VVIP customer. She was going to get fired.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you." Sun Jingwei smiles brilliantly. "Has anyone told you you look like a cute kitten when scolding me?"

"Are you a masochist?" Xue Ning asks while staring at him blankly. There is no reason for him to look this delighted after she all but implied he was a horny lech.

He laughs, loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Who knows? I wouldn't mind discovering it if it's with you." He even winks at her for good measure. The bar feels strangely warm for a reason.

"Then we are both going to live in blissed ignorance then," she retorts easily. "Seriously. Do you want an actual alcoholic drink, or are you here to stare at my face until the club closes?"

"I can do both. A gin and tonic please, paired with your phone number?"

"One gin and tonic coming up." She blatantly ignores the second part of his order, choosing to busy herself with creating the drink.

She can still feel his eyes on her though. Did he never see a bartender work before?

"Young Master Sun! You're down here!" She froze; it was the same two women whispering in the washroom!

"We're really sorry we made you mad. Please let us drink a bit with you to make up for it?" From the voice, Xuan Ning guessed that she was Xiumin.

She had dark curls that tumbled over her back like an inky waterfall, and a face and figure that wouldn't look out of place in showbiz. In comparison, Xuan Ning felt like a tiny tired potato.

"Yes please let us!" The second woman, Hua-jie, continues to cajole him. "If not, we won't be able to forgive ourselves. May we trouble Miss Bartender to make more drinks?"

"She's busy with m-" Sun Jingwei protests.

"That's fine," Xuan Ning cuts in. "This is my job after all. What do you wish to have?"

"Hmm… a Long Island Iced Tea for me." Xiumin says.

"I want an espresso martini!" Hua-jie adds.

"I see, please wait a while," she says placidly, while internally cursing. Both drinks they ordered seemed normal, but they had a long list of ingredients and were both time-consuming to make. It will keep her busy, with less time to entertain Sun Jingwei in conversation.

Now that she has overheard their conversation, she can't help but wonder if this was on purpose. Her gut feeling says yes, so she makes sure to keep an eye out for any shady behaviour between the two of them.

Of course, this doesn't go unnoticed by Sun Jingwei.

"My my Snow? Are you jealous that my attention has been split from you? Don't worry, I'll still have my eyes on you." Sun Jingwei declares firmly. She wants to rub her temples.

How much did he drink before she visited his room? Is this how he behaves when sober?

And how did he end up misunderstanding her actions? She's trying to possibly save his sorry life - why does he have no survival instincts?

"Don't worry, I'll survive," she replies dryly, shooting both women an impassive look while handing him his drink. He takes a sip and smiles. So far so good.

"Qiu Tong, can you help me with the Long Island?" She asks. Qiu Tong agrees and helps grab the relevant liquor.

While she busies herself with working the coffee machine for that espresso martini, she still keeps a careful eye out on the trio at the bar. Hua-jie has her hand on his chest, playing with Sun Jingwei's collar while giving him a good view of her cleavage. He blatantly stares.

Xue Ning rolls her eyes. So much for having his eyes on hers. All men do is lie.

Xiumin isn't lying about wanting to harm Jingwei though.

Xue Ning is exhausted, but not tired enough to miss the way she dumps a handful of powder into Jingwei's gin and tonic while he's distracted by said cleavage, all while pretending to serve him his drink.

What the fuck. She slams the bottle of liquor on the counter and snatches the spiked drink away from Xiumin. Some of it sloshes out of the glass, and the look on Xiumin's face could have curdled milk.

"Oi Sun Jingwei, don't drink this one," Xue Ning says. "I think a fly died inside it."

"It looks perfectly fine to me," Xiumin says with a practised smile, but her knuckles are white, a sharp contrast to the bright red of her nails.

"Oh yeah? Then I'll pour you some from this drink and you can drink it yourself!" She argues.

"Young Master Sun, the bartender is bullying me!" Xiumin pretends to throw a tantrum, her voice attracting the attention of the other party goers and staff "Look there's nothing here!"

"I just saw you spike his drink," Xue Ning says, patience running thin.

"Huh? Why would I do that? Who has ever heard of a woman spiking a man's drink? Everyone, don't you think it's nonsense?"

Xue Ning splutters, but Xiumin isn't done spouting utter nonsense.

"Besides, I think you're just jealous that Young Master Sun is spending time with me instead of you." She crosses her arms, deliberately drawing more attention to her assets. "But who can blame him? He has eyes."

The crowd begins to mutter. The name Sun Jingwei gets heard more than once.

"Li Xue Ning! What do you think you're doing!" The angry voice of her boss reaches her ears. "Do you want to be fired!"

Before she can explain, Hua-jie cuts in cooly.

"Your employee accused my friend of spiking Young Master Sun's drink without proof. This is a very serious accusation."

"That's because I did see you spike her drink," Xue Ning protests hotly.

"But there's no proof! Is this how your employees treat VIP customers? Snatching their drinks and arguing with them unprovoked?" Hua-jie argues, her eyes glinting cruelly.

"Xue Ning! How could you do something like that! Give back her drink this instant!" Her boss yells at her, aghast.

"But she really did -"

"Give it back and apologise!"

"Oh screw you!" Xue Ning cries out, pissed beyond belief. "You know what - fine, I'll prove it."

Before anyone can stop her, she downs the entire spiked drink in one shot.

It hadn't tasted any different.

"See? She's perfectly fine! Now you can see she's clearly lying, Young Master Sun!" Xiumin's voice rings in her head like a fire alarm.

Perfectly fine? What bullshit. Her body feels like it's on fire, her skin prickling with a growing heat. Was she having a fever? She sways on her feet, leaning onto the bar counter for support. The side of the bar counter rubs against the seam of her pants, making her moan.

She feels her nipples stiffen even in her bra, without stimulation. Things were not good.

She tries to go to the bathroom, but her limbs feel incredibly heavy, like her bones were made of lead. She wanted to yell for help, but her mouth didn't cooperate.

Well. Guess she's fucked.

She glares at Sun Jingwei through her rapidly blurring vision. At the core of it all, this was his fucking fault.

Her legs buckle, and she collapses on the floor in a loud thump. Her spiked drink tumbles out of her hand, the glass breaking with a sharp crunch.

The last thing she sees is Sun Jingwei's horrified face looming in front of her, screaming words she cannot understand.