Supreme Warrior in the City

Chapter 24: Chapter 24 A Bet

Fatty exhaled softly and waved his hand, ”Forget it, Su Yang, we can’t beat them. I’m already happy to see you again, I don’t want you to end up like me!”

Su Yang patted Fatty’s shoulder, ”Don’t worry, I’m not the same person I was three years ago, I have the ability to avenge you!”

Having said that, Su Yang stood up and went directly to the kneeling youths, his voice cold, ”Crawl over there and call me ’Grandpa’.”

The young men’s faces turned ugly; they were all messing around at the Peking University Campus, where saving face was crucial. If they had to crawl over to Fatty and call him ’Grandpa’, how could they continue to hang around here in the future?

”Big brother, what we did earlier was wrong, but what you’re doing now is too much!” one of the youths said gravely, ”Just to let you know, my brother is Fifth Master Nie. Everyone in the University Town knows my brother, so if you do this...”

”Shut up!” Su Yang shouted angrily, and with a kick to the young man’s mouth, all of his teeth were knocked out by Su Yang’s foot, blood gushing out.

Su Yang looked at the others. They were so frightened they were trembling, and without any hesitation, they immediately crawled over to Fatty, nodding and bowing as they called him ’Grandpa’.

Fatty watched Su Yang in shock. Su Yang had a bad temper three years ago, but he wasn’t as ruthless as now. What on earth had Su Yang gone through in these three years?

”Su Yang, these... these are Fifth Master Nie’s brothers... If you do this...” Fatty said, his face full of concern.

”Has Fifth Master Nie ever bullied you?” Su Yang asked directly.

”Not really, he’s a big shot, he wouldn’t even glance at a nobody like me,” Fatty replied in a low voice. ”But Sister Liu runs a bar here, and if she offends Fifth Master Nie, it would be hard for her bar to operate...”

”Who is Sister Liu?” Su Yang asked, surprised. Seeing Fatty’s expression, he seemed to respect this Sister Liu quite a lot?

”Sister Liu is a very kind person,” Fatty hastily responded. ”She used to be my neighbor. After the incident with my family, when my mother and I had nowhere to live, Sister Liu took us in, allowing us to stay in her old house. Moreover, most of the money for my mother’s hospital bills was advanced by Sister Liu. She runs a bar here and gives me all the drink bottles from the bar every night. Without Sister Liu over these years, my mother might... might not have been able to hold on...”

Su Yang said, ”So, Sister Liu is your benefactor!”

”Yes!” Fatty nodded repeatedly.

”Good!” Su Yang nodded slowly, ”Since she has been kind to you, then I will repay her a hundredfold, a thousandfold!”

”Huh?” Fatty was stunned, not understanding what Su Yang meant.

Just then, the barbecue stall owner suddenly ran over and whispered, ”Xiao Lu, you better hurry to Liudu Bar, I heard someone is causing trouble there...”

”What!?” Fatty jumped up, startled.

”What’s wrong?” Su Yang asked, puzzled.

”Liudu Bar is Sister Liu’s bar...” Fatty said in a fluster, ”Sister Liu is a very good person, and it’s a clean bar, so why would anyone cause trouble there? No, I have to go see!”

”I’ll go with you!” Su Yang followed immediately.

Six Degrees Bar was considered the cleanest spot in the University Campus area, and although it was called a bar, it was more like a café. The owner was a young woman in her twenties named Liu Liu, who had opened this bar incidentally after graduating from college.

Entering the bar, Su Yang could immediately sense an unusual atmosphere. The bar was not sparsely populated, but most of the patrons were men dressed in black, looking menacing and not at all like the usual college students.

Liu Liu was probably twenty-two years old, very pretty, with fair skin and a tall figure. She liked to wear professional attire, which made her look clean-cut, and her legs were so long they made one question life. With such a perfect figure, merely standing there was enough to leave one in awe.

Across from Liu Liu was a slickly dressed youth who was decent-looking, but the hint of malice in his eyes made one uncomfortable.

Fatty had entered the bar but didn’t dare to speak; he just stood at a distance, watching worriedly. He was clutching a bottle in his hand, clearly ready to help Liu Liu the moment a fight broke out.

”Liu Liu, consider what I’ve told you. Why must you suffer like this?” the young man said with a light laugh. ”If you want to run a bar, I’ll open one for you that’s ten times bigger than this one, and I’ll pay this girl ten times the salary to sing. Doesn’t that sound good?”

”Cheng Xuan, I’ve made myself very clear. Let go of that thought!” Liu Liu replied, gritting her teeth.

”Hehe...” Cheng Xuan, the youth, laughed. ”Liu Liu, I think it’s you who should give up. You want to prove yourself by achieving something, but do you really believe that with this shabby bar, you can make a name for yourself?”

Liu Liu replied firmly, ”Cheng Xuan, whatever I do, it’s by my own ability. Whether I succeed or not, it’s my own business, and not for you to worry about!”

”Fine, have it your way. You’re just someone who won’t turn back until you hit the south wall.” Cheng Xuan stood up, slowly adding, ”One month, I bet with you, this bar won’t last a month. Do you believe me?”

Liu Liu frowned, ”Cheng Xuan, what dirty trick are you planning to play now?”

”I’m just making a bet with you...” Cheng Xuan smiled, ”If it doesn’t last a month, you’ll obediently be my girlfriend. How about that?”

”You...” Liu Liu was about to speak when a cold voice came from the side, ”What if it can last a month?”

Everyone turned their heads, and without them noticing, Su Yang had already taken a seat next to the bar.

”Who are you?” Liu Liu asked in surprise. She did not recognize Su Yang. However, seeing Fatty by Su Yang’s side, she felt a bit relieved.

Cheng Xuan glanced coldly at Su Yang and said, ”What are you? It’s none of your business to speak here.”

”About that bet just now, are you making it or not?” Su Yang looked at Cheng Xuan coldly, ”If it doesn’t last a month, she’ll be your girlfriend. But what if it does? What then?”

”Hey!” Liu Liu became anxious, ”How can this kid make decisions for himself?”

”You’re the one who said it!” Cheng Xuan immediately seized the opportunity, shouting, ”Fine, if she can’t last a month, she’ll marry me. If she lasts a month, huh, I’ll give you ten million!”

”No need for ten million...” Su Yang said softly, ”If we last a month, you come here and kowtow three times, calling her ’Grandma’ three times, and we’ll call it even!”

”Pfft...” Liu Liu couldn’t help but snicker with a mix of annoyance, thinking that bet was a bit petty.

Cheng Xuan’s face turned bright red with anger as he bellowed, ”Kid, are you looking for death?”

”What’s the matter? Afraid of losing?” Su Yang retorted.

”Afraid of losing?!” Cheng Xuan’s eyes widened as he declared, ”Fine, I’ll take your bet. But I want to raise the stakes—if I win, you’ll kneel and knock your head on the ground three times, calling me ’Grandpa’ three times!”

Su Yang also gave Cheng Xuan a cold look and replied, ”If you lose, then you’ll kneel and kowtow to me, calling me ’Grandpa’!”

”We’ll see about that!” Cheng Xuan stormed out, turning back to say, ”Starting today, for one month, I’ll see how you hold up!”

Watching Cheng Xuan leave, Liu Liu didn’t even have time to stop him, as those men also scurried out with Cheng Xuan.

”Oh, what are you doing?” Liu Liu said helplessly, ”Why did you make this bet with Cheng Xuan? Do you know who he is? He’s the young master of the Cheng family; this university campus belongs to his family. If he doesn’t want me to run this bar, not to mention a month, I can’t even last a day!”

Su Yang said calmly, ”I said we can last, and we will last.”

”How can we last?” Liu Liu said, ”This morning, the landlord came and tripled the rent, probably under Cheng Xuan’s orders. Also, all my mixologists have left, now we can only sell ordinary drinks. What I said earlier was out of anger, why did you take it seriously? Even if Cheng Xuan doesn’t send people to cause trouble, just the rent alone is something I can’t afford. Without a mixologist, we don’t even have any business to speak of—we won’t last a month.”

”Mixology is nothing, I can do it,” Su Yang said calmly.

”You?” Liu Liu’s eyes widened in surprise, looking towards Fatty.

Fatty was also perplexed, whispering, ”Su Yang, let’s... let’s not mess around...”

”Don’t worry!” Su Yang patted Fatty’s shoulder, ”Don’t you trust me?”

The records in Destiny’s Tome were complex and filled with various skills. Among the vast culinary section, it also included the skills for brewing and mixology, all of which Su Yang remembered.

According to Destiny’s Tome, these mixology techniques were quite remarkable. Even the most ordinary mixing method outlined was enough to astonish the world.

Su Yang moved behind the bar, observed all the available liquors, picked a few bottles, took a careful sniff of each, and poured out some to blend together gradually.

Watching Su Yang’s skillful movements, Liu Liu couldn’t help but turn to Fatty in surprise, ”He... he really knows how to mix drinks?”

Fatty was just as baffled; he had never seen Su Yang do such things.

A drink was quickly prepared; the liquid in the glass exhibited a shade of ocean blue. Within that blue, there was a soul-enticing charm that made it hard to look away.

The sight of it captivated Liu Liu, who exclaimed with delight, ”This... this is so beautiful, isn’t it?”

Fatty, too, was drawn in and asked in disbelief, ”Su Yang, what is this?”

”Bitter Sea,” Su Yang replied calmly.

”Bitter Sea?” Liu Liu echoed in surprise, ”Such a beautiful drink, why such a name? Other drinks are called things like ’Blue Dream,’ ’Scarlet Temptress’ and the like. Isn’t your name a bit too unconventional?”

Su Yang offered no explanation, simply pushing the glass towards Liu Liu, ”Try it.”

Liu Liu picked up the glass, seemingly reluctant to drink, captivated by the beauty of the liquor.

”Drink, there’s more,” Su Yang encouraged.

Only then did Liu Liu bring herself to take a sip. As the drink touched her lips, her mind went blank; memories hidden deep within surged to the forefront. Those moments she’d rather not remember, not think about, resurfaced in that instant. Yet, there was no pain, no discomfort, as if none of it mattered anymore, as if it was all in the past. Her once unyielding obsessions dissipated in that moment.

Liu Liu’s eyes flew open, staring at the glass in her hand with an expression of disbelief.

”Is this... is this Bitter Sea?” she murmured quietly, tears welling up silently.

”Boundless is the sea of suffering, yet turning back is the shore,” Su Yang spoke softly, ”To let go of attachment is to truly grasp it.”

Liu Liu looked at Su Yang, wondering how he could utter such philosophical words. But in that moment, her heart was truly at peace.

”Bitter Sea, Bitter Sea,” Liu Liu suddenly stood up, turning her head, ”Change the sign, tonight’s special, Bitter Sea!”

”Is this the only one?” the waitress at the door asked in surprise.

”This one is enough!” Liu Liu replied with confidence.