Chapter 50: Going to the Bar
Eleanor Rhodes kept her head down as they left Aethelburg University.
Seeing Eleanor like this, Vivian Lowell felt a pang of unease.
BUZZ. BUZZ.
Her phone vibrated. Vivian opened it to find a WhatsApp message from Julian Faulkner.
"My meeting’s over. Are you still at Aethelburg University?"
"..."
Vivian read the message, then glanced at the time.
She realized three hours had already passed since they’d arrived at Aethelburg University.
Just now, after Henry Sterling had said to forget it, Eleanor had pulled Vivian away. Henry seemed to want to say something else as they left.
But then, Wendy Wynn had suddenly called out.
Vivian wasn’t sure if Wendy was feeling unwell again, but in any case, she had once again kept Henry by her side. So, Vivian and Eleanor never found out what Henry had wanted to say.
Afterward, Eleanor kept pulling Vivian all around the Aethelburg University campus. They ended up in a small garden, their favorite place for a stroll after class back in the day, and saw wildflowers that had just recently bloomed for spring.
Eleanor seemed nostalgic as she spoke of the past, a sweet smile on her face.
Vivian did her best to respond in kind, but she could clearly sense that Eleanor wasn’t happy. Her smile was just a mask for the sorrow in her heart.
Sigh.
After a silent sigh, Vivian replied to Julian.
"Tanya and I are still busy. You don’t need to worry about me."
The message sent. Julian didn’t reply instantly. ’He’s such a busy person,’ Vivian thought. ’It’s nice enough that he even texts back. I shouldn’t ask for more.’
"Tanya."
Vivian looked at Eleanor beside her. Seeing her friend’s dazed expression, she asked, "Where are we going now? It’s almost five, rush hour is about to start."
"And it’s the weekend. Should we find a place to eat? If we wait any longer, we’ll probably have to wait for a table."
Lost in thought, Eleanor snapped back to reality when she heard Vivian’s voice. She glanced around blankly and murmured, "Vivian, where else can we go?"
"How about bullfrog?"
Vivian pointed to a place. "I saw a review online that said their bullfrog with perilla is really good."
Eleanor had always loved bullfrog with perilla, with sides of potatoes and lotus root.
Vivian suggested it in the hopes that Eleanor would eat a little more if it was something she liked.
"..."
Eleanor was silent for a moment. She glanced into the distance, shook her head, and suggested, "Vivian, why don’t we... go to a bar?"
’A bar?’
Vivian hesitated, but she took her friend’s hand anyway. After hailing a taxi on the street, she and Eleanor headed for the bar district.
At that moment, across from Aethelburg University, Julian Faulkner sat in a Maybach, frowning as he watched the taxi drive off into the distance.
’She told me not to pick her up... so where is she going?’
’The cat carrier in their hands looks empty, too. Did they have trouble catching the cat today?’
Julian fell into deep thought.
Vance Wyatt, on the other hand, was anxious. He looked like he was itching to stomp on the gas. He turned to Julian and asked, "President Faulkner, shouldn’t we follow Madam?"
"It’s getting dark! It’s not safe for Madam to be out on her own!"
’?’
Julian looked up and gave Vance a baffled glance.
’She’s not a child. What could be unsafe?’
’Forget it.’
’She seems to be in a bad mood. She might end up tripping over a curb while walking. If she falls, Grandma will definitely blame me.’
Having convinced himself, Julian gave a soft "Mm" in agreement.
"You got it!"
Vance was overjoyed. He slammed on the accelerator and sped off after the taxi.
However, when Julian saw Vivian get out of the taxi on the other side of the street, his brow furrowed completely.
’What the hell is this place?’
’All these red and green lights... this is clearly not a place for good kids.’
’?’
Julian shot a questioning look at Vance.
"..." Vance’s heart skipped a beat. He stammered, "President Faulkner... Madam and... and Miss Rhodes, it looks like they went into a bar!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the temperature in the car plummeted as if it had started snowing. Vance was practically shivering from the cold.
"President!"
Vance was on the verge of tears. He quickly added, "But it looks like a quiet lounge bar! Those places usually aren’t too crowded, and the atmosphere is calm. They probably just want to have a couple of drinks."
"A couple of drinks?"
A smirk that wasn’t a smirk played on Julian’s lips.
Still, the atmosphere in the car improved by a tiny fraction.
The feeling that he was about to freeze to death finally dissipated for Vance.
Inside the lounge bar, Vivian and Eleanor went up to the counter and ordered two cocktails.
Eleanor downed hers in one go. She swirled the empty glass and said with a touch of disdain, "This isn’t very strong. Got anything harder?"
"Of course. Ma’am, what would you like? We have..."
The bartender launched into a list of options.
Vivian quickly pulled on Eleanor’s arm, trying to stop her. "Tanya, maybe you shouldn’t drink so much. I see they have snacks. Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you, why don’t we get something to eat?"
"Hey, we’ll have an order of grilled wings, an order of fries, and a fruit platter!"
"..."
Eleanor shot Vivian a speechless look and muttered, "I came here to drink. Why are you ordering so much food?"
"I’m hungry!"
Vivian put on an innocent face.
Eleanor didn’t say anything more. When the wings and fries arrived, the two of them ate and drank together.
Vivian drank very little.
It was just the two of them tonight, and with the state Eleanor was in, she was clearly trying to drink her sorrows away.
Vivian didn’t have the heart to stop her.
Life is short. Everyone has moments of sadness they need to vent. Getting drunk and passing out really could help you forget a lot of things.
If she wanted to let loose for once, then so be it.
The two of them stayed at the bar until seven o’clock.
By this time, the bar was starting to get lively.
The house singer had taken the stage and was singing a song in English.
The melody was long and flowing, not at all jarring. It had an ethereal, comforting quality.
"What a clean voice!"
Eleanor murmured upon hearing the singing, then added dazedly, "It’s just... it sounds a little familiar? Don’t you think, Vivian?"
’Familiar?’
Vivian’s attention was focused entirely on Eleanor.
She had had too much to drink and had almost thrown up a moment ago. Thankfully, Vivian had helped her calm her stomach, and she seemed a bit better now.
As for the supposedly familiar voice?
Vivian glanced over at the stage.
A young man who looked like a student was singing.
Vivian didn’t recognize him at first, but on a second look, she realized the singer was the same male student who had accidentally bumped into Eleanor at Aethelburg University earlier today!
He had a clean-cut look and fair skin.
To use the current internet slang, he was a total "puppy-dog" type.
Vivian never expected to run into him here.
’He must be a student at Aethelburg University.’
’Is he working a part-time job here on the weekend?’
That wasn’t too surprising.
There were plenty of students at Aethelburg University from less fortunate backgrounds, but most of them became tutors. Singing in a bar was a bit more unusual.
"It’s him."
Once Vivian recognized him, she tugged on Eleanor’s sleeve and reminded her about what had happened during the day.
Eleanor blinked in confusion.
She looked up and saw that it was indeed him.
"What a coincidence! I can’t believe the underclassman can sing so well!"
Eleanor was surprised. She took out her purse, pulled out a small stack of cash, and swayed a little as she walked toward the stage.
"Hey, underclassman, I want to request a song!"
The underclassman was just as surprised to see Eleanor.
He recovered quickly. After finishing his song, he didn’t take Eleanor’s money. Instead, he smiled at her and asked, "What song would you like to hear, Senior?"
Eleanor rattled off a long list of song titles.
The bar owner saw this, hurried over to collect the money, and shot the underclassman a glare—probably thinking he was a fool for not taking the cash. Then he turned to Eleanor with a smile.
"Thank you for your patronage, miss! Is there anything else you’d like to drink? Or perhaps I could send a complimentary fruit platter your way!"
Eleanor waved her hand, indicating it wasn’t necessary.
She was getting dizzy and just wanted to listen to the underclassman sing. She didn’t want to be bothered.
"Yes, yes, of course. Enjoy."
The owner quickly bowed and scraped his way off.
Vivian helped Eleanor back to their seat.
Just as they sat down, Vivian’s phone rang.
It was a WhatsApp call.
She looked and saw that it was Julian.