"Huh, me?" The supervisor was a little confused. As he was speaking, many more customers came into the corridor because it was the weekend and the store had just opened.
The manager slapped him on the head, somewhat impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense. Didn't you say you were short-staffed for the private room? Here's the person, get to work now."
After changing into her work uniform, Jian Changnian came out. The supervisor first showed her around the KTV and gave her a drinks menu, talking as they walked.
Do you know how to order?
Jian Changnian thought for a while, then shook his head.
It's troublesome to teach someone who has no work experience.
The foreman was inwardly complaining, but he still patiently spoke up.
"If there are men in the business, serve the male customers first. If there are mostly women, observe their attire and appearance, and serve the one who looks the wealthiest and most influential. Ask about their preferences first, then promote our most expensive imported liquor. Let me tell you, the salary is a base salary plus commission; the more liquor you sell, the more money you make..."
He spoke eloquently, but Jian Changnian's gaze remained fixed on the drinks menu.
The waiter, growing impatient, snatched the drinks menu away: "I'm talking to you, don't you hear me?"
"I heard you. You said to give the male customers first, and the female customers to the one who looks the richest..."
Before Jian Changnian could finish speaking, the walkie-talkie on the foreman's chest rang.
"Foreman, the customer with the number three large bag has arrived. I'm swamped with work here, I can't get there..."
"Okay, I understand. Set up a table for the guests first, I'll be right there."
The foreman turned off the walkie-talkie: "Let's go, come with me."
This was Jian Changnian's first time in a KTV. As soon as she entered, she was blinded by the bright lights in the private room and the deafening music.
The head waiter shouted at the customer, "Mr. Liu, what would you like to drink?"
The "General Manager Liu" he was referring to was embracing two scantily clad beauties on either side of him, completely ignoring him.
"That red wine we drank last time..."
The beautiful woman in his arms patted his shoulder and said in a coquettish voice, "I don't want to drink red wine today, I want to drink something foreign."
Mr. Liu, flattered by the pillow talk, said, "Alright, alright, then let's have imported liquor. How much is your most expensive imported liquor?"
I don't know if it was because the night shift was making him a little dazed, or if he was jolted by the music, but the supervisor paused for a moment.
This is the drinks menu that was just adjusted yesterday.
Jian Changnian readily chimed in: "Mr. Liu, our most expensive imported wine is Louis XIII, 23,888."
Good heavens, upon hearing this price, Mr. Liu finally felt like he was back on solid ground.
Seeing that his expression was off, the foreman, being the shrewd one he was, immediately put on a smiling face.
"However, since we've just opened, we'll give you a 20% discount and a free snack and fruit platter."
The beautiful woman beside him was also unhappy, clinging to his arm and pouting, "President Liu..."
"Okay, okay, this is it." With a wave of his hand, General Manager Liu completed Jian Changnian's first order.
After they left the private room, the manager patted her on the shoulder: "Not bad, when did you remember that?"
Jian Changnian smiled and said, "Just now, when you were talking to me..."
***
Cheng Zhen's family lives in a detached villa with a garden in an affluent area of Jiangcheng City. Today, his father went on a business trip out of town, and it was also his birthday. To make up for it, his father gave him a large sum of money to celebrate on his own.
Since Cheng Zhen had nothing better to do, she invited a large group of friends over to her house for food, drinks, and entertainment. The group partied until dark and still weren't satisfied. They even bought more alcohol, clearly intending to drink until they were completely drunk.
Xie Shi'an tossed the melon seeds in his hand aside and said, "Alright, you guys drink up. Yu Chu and I will head back first."
Cheng Zhen grabbed him and said, "Hey, hey, don't go! We were just about to play a game, come on! Come on!"
Xie Shi'an remained unmoved, so Qiao Yuchu asked another question: "What game?"
Seeing that she couldn't pull Xie Shi'an away, Cheng Zhen pushed her instead.
"It's fun. Someone is probably afraid of losing. If they don't want to come, fine, let's play."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Shi'an shoved people aside and squeezed between the two.
"What a joke! When it comes to playing games, when have you ever beaten me since we were kids?"
"Alright, alright, let me explain the rules first. I'll turn on the phone's timer and set it to thirty seconds. Within those thirty seconds, one person will ask a question and then hand the phone to the person who needs to answer. If they can't answer or the time runs out, they'll have to play Truth or Dare. How about it? Are you up for the challenge?"
Xie Shi'an chuckled and sat down first with an air of nonchalance.
"What's there to be afraid of? Come on."
Qiao Yuchu sat down next to her: "The person who asks the question first will definitely have an advantage, since they have plenty of time."
Cheng Zhen scratched his head and thought for a moment: "That's true, let's decide who asks the question first by playing rock-paper-scissors."
Cheng Zhen's other friend winked and smiled, "Any question is fine, right?"
The junior schoolmate whom Cheng Zhen had rescued at the gym that day was also present. Cheng Zhen glanced at her, then pounced on her and scratched his friend with his dragon claws.
"What are you saying! Don't you understand what a serious, proper question is?!"
"Alright, alright, let's play rock-paper-scissors."
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
After one round, Xie Shi'an was the final winner. She smiled, pressed the timer, and watched the numbers rapidly advance, but she wasn't in a hurry to ask any questions.
On the contrary, Cheng Zhen was extremely anxious, since he was sitting the furthest away from Xie Shi'an.
"Ask away! What are you standing there for?!"
"There's no rule that you have to ask questions right away." Xie Shi'an shrugged, and only handed his phone to Qiao Yuchu next to him after half the time had passed.
"The date of the first Olympic Games".
This question is way too easy for athletes, Qiao Yuchu couldn't stop smiling.
"April 6, 1896."
Cheng Zhen shouted angrily, "Wow, you guys are cheating!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Qiao Yuchu threw her phone at him.
"Orange Juice, suddenly realized, guess an anime character."
Cheng Zhen: "???"
Before he could rack his brains, time was up.
The crowd booed in unison.
"Tell me, truth or dare?"
"Truth or dare." He dared not choose any dares in front of these sarcastic people, who knows what silly and outrageous things they might make him do.
It was Qiao Yuchu who asked the question, and Cheng Zhen almost knelt down to her: "Sister, sister, please be gentle with your words."
What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done since you were a child?
After several rounds of games, everyone took extra care of the birthday boy, stripping him clean from head to toe, inside and out, even stripping off his underwear to check its color.
Xie Shi'an thought for a long time but still couldn't figure out the answer to Qiao Yuchu's riddle. He took a moment to whisper in her ear and ask.
"What was that riddle?"
Qiao Yuchu gestured for her to come closer and whispered.
"Ultraman, because... Ultraman is so slow!"
Xie Shi'an couldn't help but burst out laughing.
To her surprise, the phone flew towards her the next second.
Cheng Zhen deliberately seized the opportunity to mess with her, standing up and shouting, "Shi An, is the person you like here?!"
Xie Shi'an was a little dizzy from the question, and everyone else turned their gossipy eyes to her.
Qiao Yuchu nudged her arm: "Hurry up and say it, time's almost up."
The two remained at the same close distance as before, Xie Shi'an's right hand still resting on her shoulder, and Qiao Yuchu's hair slipped down, tickling the back of her hand.
The two looked at each other. Qiao Yuchu's eyes were full of curiosity, while Xie Shi'an lowered his eyes and fluttered his eyelashes.
"I……"
Before she could finish her hesitant words, the alarm clock rang, ending the timer.
Xie Shi'an breathed a long sigh of relief; his palms were sweaty.
"I choose dare."
Her punishment was to chug a whole bottle of beer in one go.
Xie Shi'an pulled the tab on the can, and Qiao Yuchu grabbed her with some concern.
"No, we can't drink alcohol or beverages from outside..."
Xie Shi'an smiled and said, "It's nothing. It was just opened, and there haven't been any competitions lately, so it's just one bottle."
After she finished speaking, she tilted her head back and started chugging the beer. The beer cooled her body and took away those unrealistic thoughts.
While Xie Shi'an was playing a game, Jian Changnian never expected to see Yuanyuan here.
She had just placed the wine on the table: "Sir, here is your wine."
Noticing that someone was looking at her, Jian Changnian looked up and met Yuan Yuan's gaze, which was both smiling and not smiling.
"Hey, isn't this our academic star, the badminton superstar? How come you've ended up working as a waiter at a karaoke bar?"
"What, you two know each other?" The young man sitting next to her with his arm around her asked curiously.
Yuanyuan leaned closer to the man with a wronged expression and whispered something in his ear, but the music in the private room was too loud for Jian Changnian to hear clearly.
What a small world!
Jian Changnian didn't want to cause trouble, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say it.
"Sir/Madam, the wine has been delivered. Please feel free to press the bell if you need anything else."
As soon as she finished speaking, the man suddenly sat up straight, raised his hand and pinched her chin, forcing Jian Changnian to look him in the eye.
"You, stay and drink with us."