Zhan Ruoqing breathed a sigh of relief. Even if someone had filmed her, she could handle it, but it was better to avoid trouble. It seemed this bartender was the person Ye Zhi had mentioned would protect her.
The bartender returned the phone to the girl and, holding a tray with his other hand, elegantly navigated through the crowd, placing two drinks on the table next to them.
"Your... drinks," the bartender paused, looking at Liang Tao with a half-smile.
"Did he order this?" Zhan Ruoqing asked, her face darkening.
"Yes," the bartender nodded slightly.
Zhan Ruoqing was furious.
She wasn't new to bars, nor was she unfamiliar with cocktails. The drink Liang Tao had ordered for her was called a Long Island Iced Tea.
It looked like tea, tasted sweet and sour with little hint of alcohol, and the word "tea" in its name made it easy for women to let down their guard, mistaking it for a non-alcoholic beverage.
But it was actually a potent drink, and if a woman hadn't drunk much before, one glass could easily incapacitate her.
She finally understood Liang Tao's intentions!
Liang Tao choosing a quiet bar was undoubtedly to lower her guard.
He likely planned to chat about their college days once they were at the bar, making her drop her defenses and drink the Long Island Iced Tea without suspicion.
Then, while she was tipsy, he would confess his feelings, arranging a group of extras to cheer him on. This way, even if she refused, it would be difficult for her to reject him too outright.
Afterward, Liang Tao would surely try to escort her home, but where he'd take a drunken her was uncertain.
However, her direct refusal had disrupted his plan.
Zhan Ruoqing's anger simmered. Indeed, academic qualifications could filter out slackers, but not scumbags.
People like him, as long as they believed there was still a chance, would cling to you by any means necessary, like a stubborn piece of gum. To deal with such people, their hopes had to be utterly crushed!
Liang Tao maintained his affectionate facade and said, "Ruoqing, I know you can't accept me right now, but we can try getting to know each other. Don't worry, I definitely won't disappoint you..."
"Why should I try getting to know you?" Zhan Ruoqing interrupted coldly. "Give me a reason why I must accept you."
Liang Tao was stunned. Zhan Ruoqing's words caught him off guard. He stammered for a long time, then said somewhat lost, "I... I can be a considerate boyfriend and cook for you..."
Zhan Ruoqing sneered, "I have a chef at home!"
"I can drive you to and from work..."
"I have a driver!"
"I can take care of your daily life..."
"I have a housekeeper."
"I can give you all my monthly salary for you to manage!"
Zhan Ruoqing couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Your annual salary isn't even as high as my assistant's monthly salary. Do I need your little money?"
"But I truly love you!" Liang Tao once again adopted his lovestruck demeanor.
"The village girl Hua also truly loves you; why aren't you with her?" Zhan Ruoqing sneered. "Liang Tao, please face reality. I have absolutely no reason to choose you!"
Liang Tao stuttered. Zhan Ruoqing's words left him unable to retort. Seeing Zhan Ruoqing ready to leave, he knew it would be difficult to see her again if he missed this opportunity!
Liang Tao gritted his teeth, deciding to go all out. He shouted, "I can move in with you! The child can even take your surname. Ruoqing, it's hard to find another man besides me who would make such a huge concession for love!"
The gazes of the people around them shifted.
Some of them were extras Liang Tao had hired in advance, while others were genuine bystanders. However, they had all assumed this was a man confessing his love to his goddess. But it turned out, from their conversation, this man wanted to leech off a rich woman? What the...
Do men who want to be kept not even look in the mirror these days?
Zhan Ruoqing let out a cold laugh, "I..."
Before she could even utter the words "I don't care for that," a pleasant voice chimed in, "Who says? I can do that too."
Zhan Ruoqing's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but look at the bartender beside her.
The bartender was also looking at her, his clear eyes holding a hint of playful charm. "Sister, choose me. In the future, the child will take your surname, and I'll take the child's surname."
Zhan Ruoqing felt her heart race. Oh, this handsome young man wanted to have children with her! Truly, it was a mutual pursuit!
No, no, Zhan Ruoqing, snap out of it! This is just the handsome young man helping her out of a predicament in this way!
Everyone stared at the bartender in shock. This kid! He really had a way with words...
Suddenly, someone in the crowd whispered,
"Actually, I can too..."
"Sister, can't we be less rigid about gender?"
"Ugh! You're older than this beautiful person, and you still dare to call her sister? Sis, you're my only sis..."
These words struck Liang Tao like a series of slaps, leaving him speechless with anger.
"See? Even for moving in, you have no competitive edge," Zhan Ruoqing said sarcastically.
These words pierced Liang Tao's pride to the core. He roared in fury, "Zhan Ruoqing, do you think you're any better? You simply look down on me for being poor!"
"Why are you so insecure?" Zhan Ruoqing asked in surprise. "Be confident! You're not just poor, you're also ugly! If I were to find someone to move in, I'd find someone as handsome as this young man~"
As she spoke, Zhan Ruoqing's face wore a sweet smile, and her arm instinctively wrapped around the bartender's.
"Zhan Ruoqing, you... you truly have no taste!" Liang Tao was exasperated. "I have qualifications, ability, I graduated from a prestigious university, I have a master's degree! What about him? He probably hasn't even graduated from college yet! What's so good about him? Where am I inferior to him?"
"Let me tell you the difference between him and you," Zhan Ruoqing said with a cold laugh. "When I go shopping with him, people will know how rich I am. But if I walk out with you, people will only mistake me for a gold digger! Liang Tao, instead of bothering me here, you should hurry and find a mirror to look at yourself! You want to be kept? You're not even worthy!"
Liang Tao's face turned green with anger. Seeing that this blind date was completely hopeless, he laughed hysterically, "Zhan Ruoqing, don't be too ruthless! Don't forget, we were college classmates, and I know your dark past!"
Zhan Ruoqing looked bewildered. What dark past? She didn't know. It couldn't be her few relationships during college, could it?
After racking her brain and finding nothing, Zhan Ruoqing sneered, "Liang Tao, I'll warn you too. If you dare to slander me or spread rumors, the lawyers at my company are not to be trifled with!"