Chapter 3 Accidentally

Chapter 3 Accidentally

Qin Zhan looked at the money that had quickly arrived in his account and, after a moment, put his phone back into his pocket.

Bai Ling's brother usually had tutoring sessions on Wednesday evenings and weekend afternoons. Qin Zhan also took on other part-time jobs; he would do anything for money.

He found this job purely by chance, simply because his grandmother’s hospital bed was next to Bai Ling’s mother’s at the time. Du Li had just undergone tumor removal surgery, and whenever he had free time, he would visit his grandmother. Over time, the other family got to know him and would often ask his grandmother about him. After learning about his family situation and university, they offered him the tutoring job.

At the time, he did not know Bai Ling, but she mentioned that her daughter attended the same school. On his second tutoring session, Bai Ling happened to be home fetching something, and that was when they met. However, Bai Ling had already learned about him from her mother.

The two-hour tutoring session ended quickly. Before leaving, Du Li made him a bowl of noodles with plenty of meat sauce and gave him a basket of fruit, insisting he take it to the elderly.

The hospital where his grandmother stayed was not far away. Due to end-stage renal failure, she frequently experienced respiratory failure and needed to stay in the intensive care unit, relying mostly on dialysis to maintain her life.

He had considered kidney transplantation, but even the regular treatment costs were suffocating him, let alone the exorbitant transplant fees.

"You're here?" The nurse practically knew him by now. "Your grandmother's appetite has improved a bit these past few days. Also, you need to settle last month's dialysis bill."

Qin Zhan glanced into the ward at his grandmother, who was resting in bed with her eyes closed. After a moment, he turned and headed to the front desk. The hospital bill amounted to over six thousand RMB, and without medical insurance, it meant full out-of-pocket expenses.

He lowered his gaze as he swiped his card, glancing briefly at the remaining balance without saying a word.

"Your grandmother's episodes of respiratory failure are becoming more frequent. Overall, her condition is not optimistic," the nurse couldn't help but say, seeing him settle the bill each time. "Don't your parents come to help?"

"They're dead," Qin Zhan replied coldly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the nurse said awkwardly, handing him the receipt. "Go see her now."

When Qin Zhan entered, the elderly woman seemed to sense his presence and slowly opened her drooping eyelids, her cloudy eyes focusing on him.

"Finished class?"

"Yes." Qin Zhan placed the fruit basket on the table, peeled an apple, cut it into pieces, and stuck toothpicks into them. "How have you been feeling these past few days?"

"Very well, everything is fine."

Silence between them was a common occurrence.

The elderly woman picked up a piece of apple and held it in her mouth. Her yellowed hands, spotted with illness, trembled slightly: "Tomorrow is your father's anniversary. Will you visit him this year?"

"No."

The elderly woman fell silent for a moment. Qin Zhan stood up without saying more, leaving only a brief reminder to eat well before he left.

As he closed the door, the elderly woman suddenly called out to him. When Qin Zhan turned around, she looked at him pleadingly.

"Living has become increasingly painful for me lately. Keep those funds for yourself."

Qin Zhan gripped the doorknob, his lowered gaze revealing nothing. When a passing nurse looked at him curiously, he calmly responded, "Don't think too much."

By the time he left the hospital and reached his destination, it was nearly ten o'clock at night. Qin Zhan checked the time and soon turned into a bar district, where many alleyways lay behind the bright neon lights, looking somewhat eerie.

He opened the back door, and the cleaning lady glanced at him. "You're here."

Qin Zhan nodded silently and opened the locker to retrieve his work uniform. He worked backstage at the bar, occasionally helping out front when short-staffed. Though exhausting, the hourly wage on weekend nights was high, and he only needed to work until two in the morning before someone relieved him.

"Qin Zhan, sort out these bags of trash and take them out," the manager called as he changed.

In front of him were several large black garbage bags, some with trash hanging off the edges, mixed with alcohol and vomit, emitting a foul odor. Qin Zhan lowered his gaze, put on disposable gloves, and bent down to sort through the trash.

The bags were heavy, and by the time he carried them all to the alley, he was drenched in sweat.

"Where's Qin Zhan?"

"Taking out the trash."

"Why is it taking so long?" the manager said impatiently.

"What's wrong?" Qin Zhan heard his name being called as he returned, removing the disgusting gloves and looking at the manager.

"You need to help at the front counter tonight; it's very busy. Wash your hands thoroughly."

He rarely went to the front counter since waiters had to smile and entertain customers. The manager knew Qin Zhan's looks were an asset, but the bar sold service, not just drinks.

"Sorry, Qin Zhan, it's too busy tonight. Can you help me deliver these drinks to Table 12? I still need to clean up at Table 16," a handsome young man said, sticking out his tongue.

Qin Zhan looked at the tray filled with bottles and glasses. The young man grimaced, "The guests are wealthy, so they ordered many expensive drinks. You can make two trips."

"No problem."

The interior of the bar was dimly lit, with loud music and raucous laughter from other tables. Qin Zhan bent down to place the tray on the table, carefully setting out the bottles one by one. Just as he reached the fourth bottle, someone grabbed his arm.

"Hey, isn't this... Qin Zhan?" the voice sounded surprised yet playful.

Qin Zhan looked up and met another equally surprised gaze, though the person quickly smirked, holding a cigarette.

Zhou Liao never came to this area of bars, as it was outside the five main districts of City C, known for its migrant workers and local poor. However, this area was recently undergoing development. If not for Chen Xian suggesting they play nearby after driving in the suburbs, Zhou Liao wouldn't have come here.

But fate had it that they would meet.

"Here's your drink," Qin Zhan said expressionlessly, glancing at the two identical girls in Zhou Liao's arms.

"Is this your bar?"

The person deliberately asked, and those around him, smoking hookah, laughed along. "Would your father wear such a uniform to work?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Chen Xian, sweating, knew they were taking advantage of Zhou Liao's presence to mock Qin Zhan.

He didn’t particularly like associating with people like Qin Zhan, believing in the old adage about energy fields. Thankfully, the dark lighting hid Qin Zhan's face, concealing his usual gloomy demeanor.

Qin Zhan didn't react to these words. His expression remained unchanged as he placed the bottles of wine on the table one by one.

"Who is this, little brother?" One of the twins covered her mouth and laughed.

"Ah..." Zhou Liao tilted his head. He looked at Qin Zhan. "The beauties are asking you a question. Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

Qin Zhan glanced at him with an inscrutable gaze, dark and thick like a pool of black sludge, making people uneasy, but the disgust in his eyes was clear to Zhou Liao.

"All the wine is here."

Qin Zhan spoke calmly and then turned around.

This was the third time Qin Zhan had ignored him, each time in front of everyone, especially the awkward looks from the girls nearby. All the anger Zhou Liao had accumulated over the past two days suddenly flared up.

He had lived a life surrounded by adoration, benefiting from both his looks and wealth, never expecting to be despised by a gutter rat. Did the previous two times not teach him a lesson?

"Smash!"

The sound of a bottle shattering could be heard, though it was barely noticeable amidst the loud music. Some nearby people turned their heads. Zhou Liao deliberately knocked over the bottles at the edge of the table when he put down his leg.

"Waiter, you didn't place these bottles securely on the edge of the table," Zhou Liao said with a seemingly innocent tone, but his words were full of malicious mockery. "I ordered Hennessy and Macallan Blue Label. Who's going to pay for this?"

Chen Xian took a deep breath and secretly tugged at Zhou Liao's sleeve, but Zhou Liao shrugged him off.

Zhou Liao found it quite amusing to tease a rat. Seeing Qin Zhan standing there silently and helpless, the humiliation he felt began to dissipate. He leaned forward, determined to make eye contact with him.

Zhou Liao enunciated every word: "I'm asking who the hell is going to pay for this?"

Qin Zhan's gaze finally fell completely on Zhou Liao. His tone was flat, and his expression remained unchanged. "Let's check the surveillance footage first, sir."

"Check the surveillance footage?" Zhou Liao sneered. "Are you saying this wasn't your fault? Is this how your bar operates?"

The commotion grew louder, and the boy who had asked Qin Zhan for help earlier noticed and hurried over. "Sorry, sir, what's going on here?"

"The waiter dropped all our wine on the floor," someone nearby chimed in.

The boy glanced at the shattered bottles on the ground and sucked in a sharp breath. Good heavens, weren't these the big clients at Table 12? The wine they ordered was worth nearly ten thousand yuan in commission for today's shift manager.

"Qin Zhan?" He cautiously looked at Qin Zhan. "What happened?"

"Here's what." Zhou Liao spoke first. "Drink all the remaining wine at this table, and we'll forget about it. This isn't cheap wine."

The boy glanced at the remaining bottles on the table. Drinking all that would likely kill someone or at least require a trip to the hospital for a stomach pump.

He swallowed hard and forced a smile. "Sir, isn't there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? Do you think this isn't the waiter's fault?"

"I certainly don't mean that."

The boy hurriedly smiled apologetically, trying to explain, but Qin Zhan stopped him and nodded at Zhou Liao. "Can I clean up the mess first before drinking?"

Zhou Liao twirled a strand of a girl's hair between his fingers and casually replied, "Sure."

Qin Zhan bent down and extended his calloused hand to pick up the broken glass shards. Tiny pieces of glass embedded into his skin, but he showed no sign of pain, his face expressionless.

After a while, the light on the ground turned into shadows. He heard sudden exclamations around him, followed by a cool sensation on his head. A sweet liquid trickled down his temple to his jaw, quickly pooling on the ground.

"Ah..."

Zhou Liao squatted down, seeing Qin Zhan's disheveled appearance. The malicious impulses within him surged through his veins, and he lifted Qin Zhan's chin, still dripping with alcohol.

"I accidentally spilled it on the ground. Can you lick it clean for me?"