Twelve Units of Sweetness

When Zhen Tian heard the faint movements coming from downstairs, it happened to be exactly six o’clock in the morning. She pulled up her blanket, turned to the side, and quickly went back to sleep.

Downstairs, Ms. Wang Shuzhen is already preparing this morning’s breakfast. The house is an open floor plan with the kitchen facing the 75-inch TV in the living room. While listening to the morning news, she is busying about in the kitchen.

Forty minutes later, the family sat around the dining table and happily enjoyed their breakfast before they left for work one after another. The morning news hasn’t finished broadcasting yet. While washing the dishes, Ms. Wang Shuzhen looked at the news anchor on TV and smiled, “Chen Zui’er is so good-looking, and his voice is still so charming. He looks to be full of energy today.”

Fortunately, Lao Zhen isn’t here to witness this. Otherwise, he would complain to his wife.

Zhen Tian slept until 11. She stepped into her slippers and walked downstairs. Ms. Wang Shuzhen heard her footsteps and looked up. She was dissatisfied when she saw her messy hair, “Congratulations, you missed the morning, breakfast, and morning news again.

Zhen Tian chuckled, her voice filled with sleepiness, “I’m sorry. Morning and breakfast do not exist in my life, least of all, morning news.”

Ms. Wang Shuzhen curled her lips, she was already quite used to this situation. She poured a glass of juice and put it on the kitchen counter. Zhen Tian sat down, picked it up, and took a sip, "Ah, I feel refreshed. Is there anything else to eat?"

“There is still some leftover from your dad and brother.” Ms. Wang Shuzhen brought out a plate of bread. Because it has been sitting out for too long, it had hardened a bit. Zhen Tian didn’t mind and took a bite. “What do you have for lunch today?”

"Roasted eggplant, stir-fry pork, and tomato soup."

“Oh.” Because Zhen Tian’s dad and brother don’t come home for lunch, Ms. Wang Shuzhen always made a simple meal for lunch. Dinner is a bit richer but because the beer house she runs open at 5, she would eat all her evening meals in-store.

“By the way, I will be going out shopping with Auntie Liao and the others in the afternoon. I will eat out tonight.”

Zhen Tian nodded as she ate her bread. She smiled and asked, “Where are you going to eat tonight? How about bringing your old friends over to my store?”

Ms. Wang Shuzhen’s face immediately changed, “Zhen Tian, I’m warning you, don’t say old to me.”

Zhen Tian laughed and made an ok gesture. “Then are you going to come?”

“No, we won’t go to your murky atmosphere of a place.” Ms. Wang Shuzhen put down the work in her hand and walked out of the kitchen.

Holding a juice cup in her hand, Zhen Tian shouted towards her back, "Hey, do you know you are being prejudiced right now? What's wrong with my place? My store is so beautiful!"

After lunch, Ms. Wang Shuzhen dressed up exquisitely befitting of Ms. Wang Shuzhen and went on a date with her sisters. Zhen Tian also got ready and left the house with her bag as she headed to the bar to prepare for the afternoon opening.

Her beer house is located at a small corner of Qingnan Lane. The bar is small and not very bright but it is the most suitable place after searching for a long time.

After opening, customers trickled in one after the other. In addition to all the kinds of beer that are being served, meals are also served. Many beer lovers like to come here for dinner.

A female customer entered the bar. She walked straight to the bar counter in her high heel and sat down. Zhu Ling came here to drink almost every day so the two got acquainted with one another. Zhen Tian smiled at her and asked, “Why are you here so early?”

“I came here directly after meeting a client.” Zhu Ling took off her coat and put it next to her. Zhen Tian delivered a glass of beer to a customer and walked to Zhu Ling, “What do you want to drink?”

“Mmmm….. A fruit lambic along with an order of smoked salmon and salad.”

“Okay.” Zhen Tian handed the order slip to the kitchen and poured Zhu Ling a cup of lambic. "What good thing did you encounter today? You look very happy."

Zhu Ling took a sip and pursed her lips, “You can see it?”

“Yes, it is written all over your face.”

Zhu Ling put down the glass and moved closer to Zhen Tian, “The client I met today is handsome, young, and promising. He looks so manly.”

“Yo.” Zhen Tian raised an eyebrow, “Is he single?”

“He said he is single.”

“Then is it promising?”

Zhu Ling took another big sip and continued, “But I wonder how this person can still be single. I heard from my boss that his family background is good and he is already a general manager at a young age. For this second-generation rich kid, his romantic relationships must be complicated.”

“Not necessarily. You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Zhen Tian disagreed. She pointed to a glass of Schwarzbier beside her. “It’s like this Schwarzbier. It looks very strong, right? But it actually has a very low alcohol content and is very refreshing. Now, look at the barley wine. Because a lot of barley is added to the drink, it has a sweet malty taste. But since it has a large amount of barley, the alcohol content is very high, making it a strong wine. There is no way to judge a glass of beer just by looking at it, let alone a person.”

Zhu Ling looked at her with interest after hearing her explanation, “Boss Zhen seems to have experience in this area.”

“No way.” Zhen Tian coughed and denied it. “When I was in high school, there was a senior whom I heard transferred from another school because of a fight. The first day he transferred over, he put the small gang in our school in its place. Everyone said he was really fierce so no one dared to mess with him.”

“Then?”

"Then I followed him and found that he was actually not as scary as the rumors."

Zhu Ling blinked and looked at her with surprise, “You followed him? You are very courageous. You are not afraid of getting beaten?”

“I was a reporter at school. I was only in my second year and I was filled with hot blood. How can I turn my head away from evil? So I want to make a follow-up report about this senior.”

“....Looks like I have to call you Heroine Zhen in the future.”

“I’m not looking for recognition.” Zhen Tian tucked her hair behind her ear, “When I followed him, I found that he would feed stray animals on the streets. One time, he saved a little dog with a broken leg. This little dog knows to be grateful. After its injury, it would limp and stick to him every day, following him everywhere he goes! Also, as for the Azure Dragon Gang in our school, he changed its name to Little Dragon Group. It became our school mascot. We all laughed about it for a long time.”

“.....” Zhu Ling looked at her and a playful smile played on her lips, “I wonder, do you like this senior?”

“No, don’t talk nonsense!”

“All right, all right. No need to get worked up.” Zhu Ling took a bite of the smoked salmon that was just served and asked, “Then what happened? What does your senior look like?”

"I don't know. I never saw him again after he graduated."

“Do you remember his name?”

“Yes.” Zhen Tian slightly smiled, “Chen Zui.”

Chen Zui’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The woman sitting across from him shyly raised her eyes and glanced at him. She took a sip of the coffee on the table, "Is Mr. Chen usually busy at work?"

“Yes, it is very busy.”

Chen Zui indifferently answered. Miss Wu, the woman he is on a blind date with, felt a little uncomfortable. This Chen Zui is a far cry from the person seen on TV. Although he was also serious when broadcasting the news, there is still a smile on his face. At this moment, Chen Zui who did not have even a sliver of a smile on his face looked scary.

But he is handsome and he happens to be the type Miss Wu likes. For this face, she decided to endure it, “I hear that your line of work is very stressful.”

“Which work isn’t stressful?”

“Hehe, true.” Miss Wu awkwardly laughed and took another sip of coffee.

The table fell into silence. Chen Zui received a notification on his phone and looked down at it. It is the peak dinner time so guests coming into the restaurant are endless. Sometimes when some girls pass by Chen Zui, they would whisper in a low voice and leave with a smile.

This made Miss Wu feel a lot more comfortable. At least the person sitting at the table drinking coffee with this man is herself. She smiled at Chen Zui, and continued to find topics to chat about, "The morning news starts at 6 o'clock every day, so what time do you usually get up?"

"Three o'clock." Chen Zui locked his phone and stopped the waiter who was passing by. "When will our food be served?"

The waiter hurriedly said, “I’m sorry. I will bring it soon. Please wait a while.”

“You said that five minutes ago.”

"I'm really sorry, I will ask the kitchen for you right now!" The waiter flew away with the dinner plates while muttering in his heart that this gentleman is so handsome, but strangely looks scary.

Ms. Wu's cup of coffee was already emptied. She glanced at the coffee that Chen Zui barely touched and asked, "Does Mr. Chen dislike Western food?"

“It’s okay, but I prefer beer over coffee.”

Miss Wu was visibly surprised by his answer, "Beer?" Chen Zui looked more like a wine drinker.

“En.” Chen Zui indifferently responded and didn’t give any more explanation.

Miss Wu thought for a while and smiled, "Then next time we will go eat somewhere else. I know a restaurant that tastes very good."

Chen Zui pursed his lips as if thinking about something.

Miss Wu’s eyes shifted, and she smiled politely. In fact, she herself could see that Chen Zui didn't have much interest in her. Blind dates are usually like this. If both show some interest, then they can continue to develop their relationship. If not, it will end here. This isn’t her first blind date so she feels unconstrained.

Even though Chen Zui looks a bit fierce at this time, he has a good job, a high income, and an attractive face. She is really reluctant to give up. When it comes to relationships between men and women, there will be one in the relationship who will be colder. Since he is acting so cold, then she will take the initiative.

She opened her mouth and was about to say something when a little boy suddenly appeared from nowhere. He rushed over and hugged Chen Zui's thigh and shouted loudly, "Dad!"

The author has something to say: Congratulations on being a father, male lead [sinister smile]

Again, kudos to the female lead for her rightful admonishment [snicker]

This is a short and cute, fluffy story. I hope you like it!