Could it be just a polite gesture?
Ming Lan was exasperated, "I gave it sincerely, but she accepted it all too naturally!" Couldn't she at least pretend to decline a few times?
"Not only did she take the items for free, but she also left you with a message." The bartender's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"Oh?" Ming Lan sat up straighter, "What did she say?"
The bartender, with a playful attitude, said, "She said, although the boss's taste is a bit 'unique', he handles things quite smoothly."
The word 'unique' was deliberately emphasized, clearly not a compliment.
"Ha!" Ming Lan hung up the phone abruptly.
He reached his left hand into the hoodie's pocket, feeling the stubbly bald head, incredibly frustrated. No wonder that day in Golden Gate City, his grandfather insisted on taking him to get a haircut.
Turns out, it was that 'Old Ancestor' who found him distasteful.
