A-Li was still gaping when she hung up on her brother. She stayed like this, for a good 10 minutes, frozen, but then she just flung herself on the bed and cried.
"He cannot know!!!" – she was sobbing and thinking to herself. – "He'll kill me! How the fuck did this happen?!"
She spent the next two hours curled in a ball, crying her heart out. She wasn't sure why the hell she was crying, it just happened.
Then she marched into the bathroom, washed her face with cold water and jumped in her car.
****
Wen Ning had nothing against working longer hours today. It was Mister Jiang's day off and his shift was not 8, but rather 12 hours, but it was a quiet day, frosty and still, and the people who came in mostly demanded coffee or tea – and this was easy enough to do.
It was past 2 in the afternoon when the front door got opened with a flourish and then – slammed with a bang, and a young, furious-looking woman approached him and yelled:
- Where the fuck is my fucking brother?!
- Hmmmm. – he hummed, staring at her. – I'd need some more details than this, Ma'am.
A-Li blinked.
- Who the hell are you!? Ain't you 16? How the fuck are you even working here, asshole??? – she barked at him, but sat heavily on one of the high stools – she had suddenly felt dizzy after the effort. – Ugh...
Wen Ning raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
- I am almost 20 years old, Ma'am. Thank you. How can I help? – he mumbled in his graveyard voice, waving off the bouncer who was approaching him, in case he needed help.
A-Li looked up at him silently, with desperation, and he suddenly felt a very natural, human pity for her.
- Give me a minute. I'll make you a cup of hot tea.
She just nodded and buried her face in her folded elbows. Sighing a little, she looked around – the bar was as good as empty.
- Isn't his shift starting at 2? Or is he late? – she mumbled now, wondering whether to wait or not.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
- Ummm? – A-Ning lifted his eyes off the electric kettle distractedly. – How do you mean? My shift finishes at 6 tonight.
- Ughh... - she rolled her eyes. – So he is coming in for a night shift?
- No, all night shifts are mine. Tonight there will be some renovation works going on, or so the boss said. So the bar will be closed for the night.
