There was a woman sitting alone in the corner, about 1.68 meters tall, wearing a sleeveless sapphire blue dress. The dress was clearly made of high-end silk, with bright golden metal pieces embedded on her rounded shoulders, emanating a cold, elegant luster under the dim, ambiguous lighting.

The woman's entire body was leaned into the oval-shaped dark red sofa, with her long legs crossed over each other. The small round table in front of her was filled with empty Budweiser bottles. Her slender right hand held a thin lady's cigarette between her index and middle fingers, not smoking, just letting the pale blue smoke linger in the air.

Although due to the distance and lighting, Chu Ge couldn't see the woman's face clearly, he instinctively believed that judging by her vibe, her looks wouldn't be bad at all.

While Chu Ge was observing the woman, a man walked over to her. Predictably, the man considered this woman to be tonight's target and intended to make a move.

Chu Ge smirked and watched the show from afar.

In less than a minute, the man left with a sheepish expression. Seeing the dissatisfaction in the man's eyes, Chu Ge's smile grew wider.

With a snap of his fingers to the bartender, Chu Ge ordered a few kinds of drinks and bartending tools, then started mixing drinks as if performing an artistic show, much to the bartender's astonishment.

Chu Ge's actions were unhurried and not as dazzling as most bartenders, yet they were filled with a unique rhythm that compelled people to stop and watch, quickly drawing the attention of nearby men and women.

However, when Chu Ge stopped his actions, there was a noticeable disappointment in everyone's eyes. The cocktail he made looked flat, lacking bright colors or layers.

Whether it was a failure, Chu Ge was well aware. He didn't care about others' disdainful looks and casually added some ice cubes to the drink. Picking up the glass, he walked towards the woman in the corner.

As Chu Ge got closer to the woman, he finally saw her face clearly, and his mood improved further.

Her looks indeed matched her vibe, even surpassing Chu Ge's expectations with an exceptionally beautiful appearance. Her makeup was neither too light nor too heavy, and although there was a hint of melancholy and coolness in her expression, it did not detract from the beauty of her face.

"Go away!"

When Chu Ge was still three meters away from the woman, she said this without even glancing at him, maintaining her original posture with an unruffled attitude.

Chu Ge was not surprised by the woman's rejection. Such a beauty sitting alone here had not been successfully approached by anyone for so long, which was enough to prove that she was hard to get close to, or at least, in her current mood, she was.

Nevertheless, Chu Ge did not stop walking, as if he hadn't heard her words. With a faint smile, he confidently approached her table and placed the glass on it.

"I think this drink might suit your current mood. It's called Fleeting Clouds."

He said with a smile, took out a lighter, gently flicked it across the surface of the glass, and without another word, turned around and returned to the bar.

As Chu Ge turned away, the woman's always indifferent eyes moved slightly, her eyebrows furrowed, and for the first time, she looked up at Chu Ge's back. Seeing him leave without hesitation, she then directed her gaze towards the glass on the table.

Inside the glass, a bright flame appeared, making the drink look like a burning candle.

If it were just that, it wouldn't be anything new in a place like this. But soon, the flame and the initially colorless liquid inside the glass began to change.

The flame, originally burning in the center of the glass, gradually spread to the sides, and a layer of mist started to emerge from the surface of the drink. The previously colorless liquid began to show alternating colors, at times azure blue, then crimson, and then emerald green, looking dreamlike.

If Chu Ge's reaction earlier had been a bit unexpected for the woman, then when the mist from the glass reflected on her delicate face, a hint of unusual emotion finally stirred in her previously calm, deadpan eyes.

When the flame on the surface of the drink finally extinguished, the liquid inside the glass lost all its color, looking just like a plain glass of water. All the changes just now, like the name of the drink, were indeed just fleeting clouds.

After hesitating for a moment, the woman glanced at Chu Ge, who had already returned to the bar, then picked up the glass he had left for her.

After returning to the bar, Chu Ge never looked back at the woman, waiting quietly, ordering another bottle of beer, and drinking alone calmly.

Chu Ge knew that the woman's mood was clearly not good, very bad indeed. He merely felt that mixing a drink was not a big deal, and if it could lighten her mood a bit, all the better. No matter how difficult a road is, it will become the past; all bad situations will turn into fleeting clouds.

Although Chu Ge couldn't guarantee that his actions would improve the woman's mood, so what? He and she were merely strangers who met by chance. Offering her a drink was just a whim; perhaps once outside this bar, there would be no further connection between them.

After fifteen minutes, the woman finally finished the "Fleeting Clouds" he left her, left the sofa, and amidst the surprised and regretful gazes of the surrounding men, walked towards Chu Ge.

She didn't sit next to Chu Ge. The woman slightly tilted her delicate chin, cocked her head, curled her lips into a slightly mocking smile, and straightforwardly asked, "Do you think I'm beautiful?"

Meeting the woman's gaze, Chu Ge nodded naturally, "Of course, otherwise why would I buy you a drink?"

The woman was briefly startled again. She hadn't expected Chu Ge to answer so straightforwardly, with no hesitation in his eyes, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The woman finally sat down next to Chu Ge, continuing to look directly into his eyes, and asked, "Don't you men usually start by finding a bunch of supposedly polite but actually quite lame excuses?"

Chu Ge smiled faintly, took a sip of beer, and countered, "If I did that, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the honor of having a beautiful woman like you sitting next to me, would I?"

The woman curled her lips, showing a genuine smile for the first time, and nodded, "Alright, now that I'm here, you can keep buying me drinks."

Once again surprising the woman, Chu Ge shook his head, "I think there's no need for us to continue drinking."

"Why?"

"Because my initial intention was to see what you look like when you smile, and now that I've seen it, it's enough."

After saying this, Chu Ge stood up, flashed a faint smile at the woman, and headed straight for the bar's exit, waving goodbye with his back to her.

The woman brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, watching Chu Ge's silhouette, her lips curled into a teasing smile, "Wait."

Chu Ge paused, turned to look at her, "Is there something else?"

The woman gave a slight smile, "Don't you want to take me for a walk?"

Chu Ge shrugged, "If you'd like."

The woman retorted, "What if I don't feel like it?"

Chu Ge laughed, "Then, of course, I wish you sweet dreams tonight."

The woman met Chu Ge's smile, walked to his side, stared at him for a few seconds, and said four words, "You're quite interesting."

Chu Ge's smile remained unchanged, offering neither denial nor affirmation.

As their eyes met, the woman suddenly let out a long sigh, then headed towards the bar exit. As she brushed past Chu Ge, she softly uttered four words, "Walk with me?"

Even though the woman continued walking and her voice was soft, without a doubt, those four words were meant for Chu Ge.

Chu Ge stretched lazily and, under a cascade of envious glances, walked alongside the woman.

Once they were out of the bar, they walked silently forward, the woman seemingly aimless, merely walking for the sake of walking, and Chu Ge didn't mind. Just walking like this was quite nice.

Chu Ge even found it amusing, wondering what kind of sorrowful problem this woman had encountered. If she hadn't met him, would she have found some place to do something drastic after leaving the bar?

If that were the case, then his buying her that drink "Fleeting Clouds" today was truly a noble deed.

As the saying goes, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. Chu Ge had always been about taking lives, saving them was something he rarely did.

The two of them walked for who knows how long. The night breeze was slightly chilly. The woman shivered, turned to look at Chu Ge, and finally broke the silence that had accompanied their walk.

However, she only said one word, "Cold."

Chu Ge smiled, "And so?"

"So..." the woman's gaze turned a bit vacant again, not speaking for a while.

Chu Ge didn't rush her, leaving the initiative entirely in her hands. If she needed him to take her home, he would take her home. If she had something troubling on her mind she wanted to pour out, he didn't mind being the best listener for a change.

"Yeah... so what if it's cold? Isn't it still... forget it."

The woman muttered to herself, her face switching from confusion to desolation. After another pause, she showed Chu Ge a desolate smile.

"Let's find a place that's not cold and talk."

This sentence wasn't posed as a question; it was a statement.

Chu Ge nodded, waving to a passing taxi.

"Screech"

The taxi stopped, and the two got in.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.