The bartender switched to a set of tall mixing glasses.
The movements were no longer vigorous shaking, but rather a rapid stirring along the glass wall using a long bar spoon. The ice cubes clinked against the glass, making a crisp sound.
This drink had a cold and glamorous hue, with a hint of azure added to the transparent base.
As the bar spoon swirled, a miniature underwater storm brewed within the glass.
Finally, the bartender squeezed a fine mist of lemon peel oil over the rim of everyone's glass.
"The second glass, we call it 'Deep Sea Whisper'."
The bartender slid the glasses in front of everyone.
Inside the glass was a translucent, tranquil blue, and at the bottom rested an ice cube carved into the shape of a seashell.
Bella picked up her glass. She was first drawn by the fresh scent of the lemon peel, and then she took a small sip.
[Hiss—so cold!]
The extremely low temperature instantly locked onto the tip of her tongue, followed by the slightly salty taste of sea salt. After swallowing, a faint, refreshing bitterness lingered.
Bella pursed her lips to savor the aftertaste, then lowered her head and wrote on the survey paper:
[A crisp and cold taste. The saltiness of the sea salt balances the sweetness, and the aftertaste has a hint of bitterness. Full of sophistication. Suggestion: The fizziness could be slightly stronger.]
After writing, she picked up the purified water in front of her and took a few sips to wash away the bitter taste in her mouth, ready for the third glass.
...
Half an hour later, Bella clutched the one thousand bucks she had just received and almost stumbled as she rushed toward the restroom.
She felt that something was wrong with her, terribly wrong.
She originally thought she was just too full from drinking, but now her lower abdomen felt like a flame was rampaging through it, burning all the way up her spine and spreading throughout her entire body.
"Ugh... my head hurts so much... so dizzy..."
The tearing sensation of heat brought on by the drug made Bella unable to stop twisting her body.
She didn't know that, under the cover of those ten drinks, someone had secretly added a special ingredient to her last few glasses.
The restroom was terrifyingly quiet; the male and female leads had obviously already left.
Bella leaned over the sink and retched a few times, but nothing came up. She then splashed cold water hard onto her face.
Looking at her flushed cheeks and blurred eyes in the mirror, a strong sense of crisis made the hairs on her arms stand up.
[I can't... I can't stay here... It's too dangerous.]
She stumbled out of the restroom, not heading toward the lobby, but instead pushing open the heavy fire door and plunging into the stairwell.
The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell flickered with a dim yellow glow, and Bella felt as if the steps in front of her were twisting and deforming.
The burning sensation in her stomach kept intensifying. Her empty stomach, stimulated by the sudden drug, caused her consciousness to rapidly crumble.
Damn it, what on earth did they put in there!
It really itches and feels so uncomfortable.
It was as if a taut string in her brain automatically popped out a name.
[Ye Jinzhi.]
She had no choice. In this world, the only person she could think of, the only one she knew, was that yandere who had held her for hours when she was a doll.
Noticing something overhead, Bella walked forward.
She didn't know how many flights of stairs she had climbed, even resorting to crawling on her hands and knees at times.
Finally, she vaguely saw the figures of a group of bodyguards behind a half-open door.
"Pant... pant... so hot..."
The moment Bella pushed open the door, the glaring cold light made her squint.
Behind the door was a corridor filled with bodyguards in black.
"I'm looking for... Ye Jinzhi."
Bella's voice was soft and weak, carrying an unconscious, charming naivety.
The bodyguards were obviously startled by this woman who suddenly appeared with a flushed face.
They politely stepped forward to stop her:
"Miss, passage is forbidden here. Please leave immediately."
Bella's vision was completely blurred, and she couldn't hear what the other person was saying at all.
She just stubbornly grabbed a bodyguard's sleeve as if clinging to a lifeline, mumbling incoherently:
"Looking for Ye Jinzhi... doll... I am his... doll."
As soon as the word doll came out, the pupils of the bodyguard who had intended to forcefully drag her away suddenly shrank.
As bodyguards of the Ye family, they naturally understood just how much the young master doted on his doll.
In the past, who knows how many women had tried to approach the Boss under the guise of the doll, but none had succeeded.
The bodyguard didn't take the woman's words seriously. Bella pinched her own arm, the pain forcefully awakening a trace of rationality.
What to do, what to do, she had to see him.
She was obviously drugged, and she could be taken advantage of by a stranger at any moment.
Thinking of something, Bella opened her mouth:
"Tell him that his doll... wants to eat... sob... smoked fish."
That feeling surged up again, and Bella couldn't help but shake her head.
Seeing that she refused to give up even in this state, the bodyguard hesitated for a moment before quickly pressing the communicator by his ear:
"Reporting to Boss. A suspicious woman has appeared in the fourth-floor corridor. She is delirious, but she mentioned... the doll and... smoked fish."
After speaking, he subconsciously licked his lips, held his breath, and waited for instructions from the other end.
At this moment, Ye Jinzhi, who was talking with a man across from him in the room, heard the report through his earpiece. The hand holding his wine glass trembled violently, splashing red wine onto his pale, cold fingers.
He didn't even leave a single word behind before turning and rushing out of the room.
"Hey, why are you leaving?" The man across from him hadn't even finished speaking before he saw the other person disappear.
At first, the young man's steps were steady, but his pace grew faster and faster until he was eventually running.
When he turned the corner, what he saw was the girl curled up on a chair, half-exposed, panting softly in discomfort.
The corridor lights had long since shattered into mottled, blurry phantoms in Bella's eyes.
She could feel someone approaching her, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the carpet messy due to the hurried pace.
Bella struggled to lift her head, the back of her head resting against the cold back of the chair. Her slender neck bent into a fragile arc, weak from the discomfort.
She tried hard to open her eyes.
Her delicate and vivid face, under the influence of the drug, revealed an almost bewitching flush.
The stray hairs on her forehead were soaked in cold sweat, sticking clammily to her temples.
Her eyes seemed covered with a layer of hazy mist, wet and foggy.
Her pupils slightly contracted as she looked at him like a frightened little rabbit. Just like that, the young girl barged straight into his heart once again.
"Sob... Ye Jinzhi..."
"I'm so hot... so uncomfortable."
Her lips parted slightly.
Upon hearing this, Ye Jinzhi froze as if rooted to the spot.
"Bel... Bella?"
His voice trembled terribly, carrying a tone he couldn't even believe himself.
