"What are you doing, Aboli?!"
Louis's irritated voice suddenly rang out, startling Aboli. At that moment, Louis had already pulled his hand away from hers.
Aboli lifted her head, only to see the young man looking at her with cold, faintly disgusted eyes.
Her heart skipped a beat. She widened her eyes, staring at Louis nervously, an instinctive flicker of worry in her expression.
Louis pressed his lips together, then said, "You're not suited to stay with me. You're already grown up, anyway. I'll find another place for you to live."
With that, Louis opened the door and went inside, no longer paying her any attention.
Aboli stood frozen at the doorway, like a beautiful statue.
Louis finished getting dressed for work, but she was still unmoving.
He was about to walk past her and leave directly, but in the end, he paused, lips tightening slightly, and said in a softer voice, "Go inside, eat something, and rest. I'll be back early."
Aboli's eyes trembled slightly.
She lifted her gaze, only to see Louis's figure walking away.
Only when his silhouette completely disappeared did she straighten her posture, her eyes narrowing slightly, the emotions within unreadable.
Instinctively, she curled her fingers and pressed them against her chest.
A violent, murderous urge surged through her—yet that wretched illness stopped her from striking at Louis. Yes… It was because of that illness!
You should kill Louis. He just raised his voice at you, didn't he?
But I hurt him first… It's only natural he's angry.
Every mother should be forgiving toward her child.
No… that's not it…
It was as if two voices were endlessly struggling inside Aboli's head.
She shut her eyes tightly, the veins on her forehead bulging and throbbing.
"Bang!"
At last, Aboli's fist found its target—the wall beside Louis's door now bore a small dent.
She lowered her gaze, her eyes cold and devoid of emotion. She needed a reason—a legitimate reason to kill Louis.
Aboli liked games, but she despised those that only brought her frustration. And right now, Louis was precisely one of those games.
Louis had no idea what was going on in Aboli's mind—or perhaps he did, and had already foreseen it all.
After the way he had coldly brushed her off, Aboli had probably developed the urge to kill.
Louis thought about this carelessly as he pushed a glass of "Ocean Tears" forward, sliding it into a customer's hand.
That's right—this was his current job: a bartender at a well-known bar in MidNight.
"Another round here, buddy!"
"Got it!"
Louis replied and went back to mixing drinks with focused precision, his eyes fixed on the liquor, his presence naturally drawing glances from every direction.
The three-piece suit outlined the young man's figure—tall and lean, not overly exaggerated but full of quiet strength. Even the cheap fabric of his outfit couldn't diminish his natural air.
But what drew the most attention was that striking face—sharp features, cool almond-shaped eyes with deep lids, irises a pale icy blue, and below the high straight nose, lips the color of ripe plums, vivid and tempting.
The bar's manager was beyond satisfied with the sight. This was Louis's first day on the job, and for the first time, the bar was packed even without any special event.
Just moments ago, he had turned down five women and one man who wanted him to introduce them to Louis. God, this golden treasure was meant to stay in his bar—what, did they think they could take him away for fun?
Louis himself was rather content with the work. Being stared at cost him nothing—didn't take a piece of meat off him—and the manager was even willing to bump up his pay. In his previous life, he had been just as eye-catching and had even enjoyed the attention; wherever he went, he became the center of focus—having people look at him like this? He quite liked it.
However, someone else wasn't enjoying it as much.
"Make way."
There was a murmur from the distance, and the crowd parted like water. Eventually, a figure stopped in front of the bar counter.
"Hello, one 'No Matter What, I Still Love You.'"
The slightly immature voice of a teenager rang out, though the name of the drink instantly reminded Louis of Sylus, still abandoned at the computer.
He found it a little funny, so when he lifted his gaze, there was still a faint smile on his lips—a smile as dazzling as the morning sun, making people instinctively look twice.
The young man on the barstool narrowed his eyes slightly at the sight, lowering his gaze.
Louis's smile, however, froze for half a second when he saw the teenager's face.
Damn it—female lead, you couldn't hold back anymore, could you?!
The youth before him was the third young master of the William family in Zone 10—a wealthy clan from the upper class. However, in the story, it had been mentioned that this identity was only one of the female lead's many resources. She had acted under this persona more than once: Mason William, the William family's third son.
Louis wasn't sure whether the person in front of him was truly the William family's third son or Aboli in disguise. After all, in this era, disguise techniques were terrifyingly advanced.
Either way, one thing was sure—this person worked for Aboli.
In the blink of an eye, Louis adjusted his emotions, the smile still lingering on his lips.
"Well then, buddy—are you already eighteen?"
Smiling so beautifully… even Mother has never smiled at me like that! Why? Why?! Is it because Mother doesn't like me? Or because I'm not good enough, because I hurt her… No! Even so, Mother shouldn't abandon me!
Mother is wrong. She should pay the price.
Under the counter, Aboli's hand gripped the hem of her shirt so tightly it was nearly torn.
Her expression darkened. "I want to drink—no one can stop me!"
Louis let out a small "oh" at that. "So you're under eighteen, then? If you're under eighteen, you're not allowed to drink alcohol."
The bar manager, standing nearby, almost fainted on the spot. Good heavens—did Louis have any idea who this was? People from this kind of family could drink whatever they wanted; if they wanted to drink something made of human blood, they could get it. Age was never an issue. If they wanted to indulge in banned substances out of sight, no one would dare stop them.
The manager hurried forward, ready to rescue his golden goose, but one glance from Aboli was enough to send him retreating.
He plastered on a professional smile and obediently stepped back. Louis, you're on your own. I've done all I can.
"Here you go."
Louis slid a red-colored drink toward the teenager. From the scent, it was strawberry juice.
Aboli didn't know if Louis had recognized her or if he liked strawberry juice—perhaps it was his favorite, and he thought she would like it too.
Mother is so naïve.
Still, the thought that this was a glass of juice Louis had personally made… even in her irritation, Aboli took a sip.
The manager watching from the side couldn't help but sigh inwardly. As expected, with a face like that, you could live off your looks alone. With Louis's face, it was tough to stay mad—maybe this young master had already fallen for him. Outwardly annoyed, but still drinking the juice?
The manager felt certain he had seen straight through the situation.
Louis, of course, had no idea how far off-track the manager's thoughts had gone.
He continued doing his job flawlessly. If someone struck up a conversation, he could handle it with ease. The perfect smile on his lips and his patient demeanor made the seats at the bar highly sought after, with customers competing for them.
Seeing this scene only made Aboli feel more uncomfortable—she wanted nothing more than to take Louis home, lock him away, and never let him go out to flirt and attract attention like this again.
So this was the "job" Louis had mentioned? Was this why he came home late?
After his shift, would he accept the invitation of some pretty girl?
Bang!
A sudden, loud slap on the table made everyone pause, heads turning toward the source of the noise.
The William family's third young master had slammed both hands onto the bar. A spiderweb-like crack spread across the surface as he spoke coldly, "It's too noisy."
Of course it's noisy, this is a bar! If you want quiet, book a private room, young master!
That was the collective thought of everyone present.
Still, this was the William family's young master. Most people here lived under their influence, so no one dared say anything—they quieted down.
Louis welcomed the moment of peace and did not comment.
Just then, the young master spoke again. "Are you always this easygoing?"
Louis raised his eyes to meet his, smiling. "Do I seem easygoing to you?"
Aboli nodded.
Louis shook his head. "You're too naïve. My heart will only ever belong to one person. I don't like disloyalty in love."
Only belong to one person… then that person… will be me?!
Aboli could feel her heartbeat pounding like a drum, as if it wanted to burst out of her chest.
Under the counter, her hand trembled slightly, her emotions bordering on madness.
The thought of being the only one in Louis's heart made her shiver with excitement and joy.
Ah… no, I can't make that sound here. But still… haha… just thinking about it…
Aboli suddenly stood, and a card appeared in her hand. "I like you. My people will come to pick you up soon."
Pushing the invitation card toward Louis, the young master quickly turned and left.
Louis arched an eyebrow, glanced at the card, tucked it into his jacket pocket and went back to performing his duties flawlessly.
And so, by the time Louis finished his shift and made it home, it was already past one in the morning. Fortunately, the bar provided a thoughtful shuttle service. Otherwise, in the current state of society in Zone 10, the chances of being stopped on the street while walking alone at night were likely close to one hundred percent.