Upon returning home, Ding Shuang’s first priority was to obtain a legal identity for Ding Shuang. The new identity was 17 years old and distantly related to her original self. Unexpectedly, the story Ding Shuang had fabricated for the landlady had come true with the system’s help. Except for the absence of a real mother, everything was flawless, even including her college entrance exam scores! This system was amazing. Ding Shuang wanted Ding Shuang to also use the disguise technique so she could impersonate her own mother. But there was no rush, so she didn’t buy that identity.

Ding Shuang created another identity for Wei Bingfei: 27 years old, an orphan, who grew up in the underworld, and whose friends were all dead. This kind of record would be much harder to detect. This cost 30,000 time-travel points, leaving him with a little over 60,000.

Ding Shuang asked the system to remind him of the time; he needed to register his motorcycle in the morning. Then he entered Overwatch to start ranking up. All night, Ding Shuang’s score remained unchanged, but his blood pressure was skyrocketing! He’d spent the entire night crashing into other players, winning and losing a bit.

In the morning, Ding Shuang went to the vehicle management office to register the car. He called Ding Fei and, upon learning that she had no classes in the afternoon, invited her to lunch so they could go for a drive together in the afternoon. Ding Shuang stayed home; after getting the system’s communicator, he left his old cell phone with her, and she also used the third SIM card he received when he got broadband.

At noon, Ding Shuang and Ding Fei ate together. Ding Shuang specifically told them not to call Rong Bing. Ding Fei, seeing Ding Shuang, curiously asked if they had argued. Ding Shuang denied it, only saying that the motorcycle couldn’t fit three people. He knew he was simply unsure how to face Rong Bing. In his nine years in the dark world, he had thought a great deal. He thought he could let go, but back home, the thought of Rong Bing still made him incredibly agitated. His level was too low; he couldn’t do anything about it.

After dinner, Ding Shuang took Ding Fei for a ride, letting her take a spin along the way. Ding Fei had a motorcycle license, so there was no need to worry about being pulled over by the police. While Ding Fei was riding the motorcycle with Ding Shuang on the back, Ding Shuang secretly passed on her B-level driving skills to her. Ding Fei instantly felt completely at one with the motorcycle, wondering if it was her talent or the motorcycle’s superior performance.

After spending the afternoon walking around, Ding Shuang escorted Ding Fei back to school, reiterating that Ding Fei was strictly forbidden from leaving the school without her permission. Ding Fei pouted and agreed, returning to her dormitory. All of this was witnessed by Rong Bing upstairs.

As evening fell, the bar was still not crowded, but much better than the day before. Ding Shuang didn’t want to call Wan Xialiu to stop her malicious competition against Ba Liu Feng Xue Bar, fearing it would expose him. He could only apologize to the old bartender for now; he had been diligently mixing drinks for the customers these past few days, hoping to attract some more business with his reputation for A-level bartending skills.

After get off work, Ding Shuang continued climbing the ranks the next day. By the time he logged off, his competitive MMR had reached 4600, placing him in the top 100 of the national server. Reaching the top of the ladder this season shouldn’t be a problem; he had already figured out the trick to ranking up. He also discovered that his ID had been posted on a famous forum, and the official team even stepped in to clarify things for him. Ding Shuang couldn’t help but marvel at the system’s power; to be able to get the official team involved, it was undoubtedly the system’s doing.

By evening, the Ba Liu Feng Xue Bar was completely full! Upon asking, it turned out everyone had come for the drinks Ding Shuang had made. Ding Shuang was also delighted to have won back customers this way.

Wan Xiaoliu, sitting across the street, was displeased. How come her bar was still packed even though she was offering half-price drinks? Xiao Ma, standing nearby, said, “Mr. Wan, the bartender across the street is amazing. All the customers come specifically for him. Why don’t you call Mr. Wei and ask him to come help out?”

Wan Xiaoliu gritted her teeth and said, “No need! He can only mix drinks for me; no one else deserves to drink. Let’s go, let’s go take a look.”

Just as Wan Xiaoliu was going downstairs to cross the street, Yu Xingwen arrived at the Ba Liu Feng Xue Bar first. After greeting Ding Shuang, Yu Xingwen sat down at the bar closest to Ding Shuang and began talking to her, “Little Shuang, did your cousin buy you a cell phone yet?”

Ding Shuang was immediately at a loss. She had just rejected one guy who tried to chat her up, and now another one was doing it, and it was Brother Yu! Brother Yu had always taken good care of her, and Yu Shuilan was also deeply involved in a dangerous situation because of Ding Fei, so Ding Shuang still felt guilty towards Yu Xingwen. Seeing Brother Yu trying to chat her up, she couldn’t refuse directly, so she said, “My cousin let me use his phone first; he’ll use his old one.”

“Then let’s exchange contact information. You can contact me during the day if you need anything. I work across from Jinshui Residential Area. A few days ago, your cousin had carbon monoxide poisoning, and I was the one who took him to the hospital.” Yu Xingwen continued to ask Ding Shuang for her phone number.

Ding Shuang was internally screaming, “Damn it! Did I ask you to take me to the hospital? Didn’t you drag me there?” Ding Shuang still didn’t refuse again and gave Yu Xingwen her phone number.

Just as Ding Shuang and Yu Xingwen were exchanging phone numbers, Wan Xiaoliu came over from across the street. Instead of going directly to Qiu Xueliu, Wan Xiaoliu sat down at the bar, waved to Ding Shuang, and indicated that she wanted to order drinks.

Ding Shuang approached Wan Xiaoliu and said, “Mr. Wan, what would you like to order?”

“I’ll have a ’18-year-old’ drink.” Wan Xiaoliu glanced casually at the wine list and pointed directly to the top drink.

“Okay, Mr. Wan, please wait a moment.” Ding Shuang didn’t say much and immediately started mixing drinks for Wan Xialiu.

Wan Xiaoliu felt a little strange upon seeing Ding Shuang. This young man had rejected her before, which had left her quite unhappy. But seeing him again this time, she felt a strange sense of closeness. Wan Xiaoliu didn’t speak, but instead carefully observed Ding Shuang as he mixed drinks.

Last time, Ding Shuang used flair bartending techniques when mixing drinks for Wan Xialiu. He himself rarely used flair bartending at Ba Liu Feng Xue, only once or twice. He usually mixed drinks in a very conventional way, and this time was no exception. He didn’t want Wan Xialiu to know that he and Wei Bingfei were actually the same person.

After mixing the drink, Ding Shuang pushed it towards Wan Xialiu and said, “Please enjoy, Mr. Wan.” Then Ding Shuang left to attend to the other guests.

Wan Xialiu picked up her wine glass and took a small sip. That one sip brought tears to her eyes! Ding Shuang knew Wan Xialiu’s past; this drink was specially prepared based on Wan Xialiu’s eighteenth birthday. The various emotions contained within pierced Wan Xialiu’s soul, instantly causing her to lose her composure.

Of course, this is also because Wan Xialiu understands wine; if it were someone who doesn’t understand wine, it wouldn’t have such a powerful effect.

At this moment, Qiu Xueliu also came out of the office. Earlier, when Wan Xiaoliu sat down at the bar, Xiao Fang went to the back to report to the proprietress. She was afraid that Wan Xiaoliu would cause some trouble again.

Qiu Xueliu was taken aback when she saw Wan Xialiu silently shedding tears. What was wrong with this girl today? Was she upset because the bar, which had lowered its prices, couldn’t compete with hers? She quickly came over to ask, “Xialiu, what’s wrong?”

When Wan Xiaoliu saw Qiu Xueliu approaching, she quickly wiped away her tears and said, “Sister Xue, name your price. Let me have this bartender.”

Qiu Xueliu was taken aback again. She hadn’t heard Wan Xialiu call her “Sister Xue” in a long time. Usually, when Wan Xialiu called her that, it meant she needed something. But this time, she couldn’t fulfill Wan Xialiu’s request. Qiu Xueliu said, “Xialiu, I can’t make that decision.”

Wan Xiaoliu glanced at Ding Shuang, then said to Qiu Xueliu, “Sister Xue, why don’t you just fire him?”

Qiu Xueliu shook her head and said, “No, I can’t do that.”

Wan Xialiu said, “I will pay him a very high salary, definitely higher than what you offer! Sister Xue, I rarely ask you for favors, but this time I’m begging you, okay? I won’t compete with you anymore.”

Qiu Xueliu was somewhat taken aback. What was wrong with Xia Liu today? She rarely saw her like this. She asked, “Xia Liu, what’s wrong? Tell me first, why do you insist on having Xiao Ding come to your place?”

Wan Xiaoliu pointed to the glass in front of her and said, “You’ve had the drinks he made, right? That’s why.”

Qiu Xueliu nodded and said, “Xiao Ding is indeed the most talented and creative bartender I’ve ever seen, no less than those internationally renowned bartenders. I even contacted my friend in Europe yesterday to have him participate in this year’s bartending competition held on a cruise ship from Cape Town to Lisbon.”

Wan Xiaoliu nodded and said, “If he goes, he will definitely get a ranking.” Wan Xiaoliu also compared Ding Shuang and Wei Bingfei in her mind. Although she was unwilling to admit it, she still felt that Wei Bingfei was not as good as Ding Shuang at bartending.

Last time Ding Shuang mixed drinks for Wan Xialiu, he hadn’t even reached Rank A yet. Later, Ding Shuang unknowingly reached Rank A, but Wan Xialiu was already too drunk to taste much of the flavor. Plus, Ding Shuang had spent nine years in Diablo 2, where he would mix drinks and exchange information with NPCs, honing his bartending skills to an even higher level.

Wan Xiaoliu controlled her emotions, took a few more sips of wine, and said, “Sister Xue, are you really not going to give it to me?”

Qiu Xueliu gave a wry smile and said, “Xia Liu, you know what kind of person I am. I really can’t just fire Xiao Ding like that. Why don’t you go talk to him yourself? If he’s willing to come to your place, I won’t stop him. You can just give me free drinks when I come over. What do you think?”

Wan Xiaoliu smiled and said, “Okay, thank you, Sister Xue! You can drink as much as you want next time you come!” After saying that, Wan Xiaoliu waved to Ding Shuang.

Ding Shuang had seen Qiu Xueliu arrive earlier. She had also overheard Qiu Xueliu’s conversation with Wan Xiaoliu. Although the two women weren’t speaking loudly, Ding Shuang had incredibly sharp ears. Ding Shuang walked up to Wan Xiaoliu and said, “President Wan, what can I do for you? Sister Liu, you’re here too.”

Qiu Xueliu nodded to Ding Shuang, showing no intention of leaving. She also wanted to know if Wan Xiaoliu could poach Ding Shuang. Wan Xiaoliu then pulled out a checkbook, handed it to Ding Shuang, and said, “Write down a number, then come with me.”

Holy crap! This is a Mary Sue plot! A domineering CEO falls in love with me? At this point, the female lead should be throwing her checkbook in the male lead’s face and saying, “Who cares about your stinking money?” Ding Shuang didn’t replicate the classic Mary Sue plot. Instead, she picked up her checkbook and said to Wan Xialiu, “Mr. Wan, could you please give me a pen?”

Both of the Liu women were taken aback, seemingly not expecting Ding Shuang to write numbers on the checkbook. Wan Xialiu was the first to react, taking a pen from her bag and handing it to Ding Shuang, saying, “Come with me after you’re done writing.”

Ding Shuang took the pen and said, “Mr. Wan, wait a minute, there’s something we should discuss beforehand. Is it me writing down a number and then going with you, or me writing down a number and you giving me this much money, and then I going with you? There’s a big difference between these two options.”

Qiu Xueliu, standing to the side, was amused by Ding Shuang’s words, while Wan Xiaoliu said somewhat angrily, “Nonsense! Of course I’m giving you money, come with me! What are you asking me to write numbers for? To check if you graduated from elementary school?”

Ding Shuang wasn’t angry. She turned to Qiu Xueliu beside her and said, “Sister Liu, you heard it too. President Wan said he would give me money. You be our witness.” Qiu Xueliu smiled and nodded, agreeing.

Then Ding Shuang started writing. He first wrote a 1, followed by a string of 0s, making Wan Xialiu’s eyelids twitch. Ding Shuang didn’t care whether the format was correct or not; he just kept drawing circles after the numbers, drawing countless circles, before saying to Qiu Xueliu, “Sister Liu, I’m not very well-educated and don’t know how to write numbers in capital letters. Could you help me write them?”

Qiu Xueliu was already doubled over with laughter at Ding Shuang’s antics and didn’t respond. Wan Xiaoliu, however, angrily shouted, “You, Ding! Are you playing me? Don’t think you can fool me just because you have some skills!”

Ding Shuang said to Wan Xialiu with a slight apology, “Mr. Wan, thank you for your kindness. Sister Liu is really good to me, and I have no intention of changing jobs. Unless Sister Liu doesn’t want me anymore, I will continue to work here. If you really like the drinks I make, you can come over anytime, since it’s close by.”

Qiu Xueliu gave Wan Xialiu a helpless look. Wan Xialiu said hatefully to Ding Shuang, “You’re ruthless! You just wait!” and left after uttering those harsh words.

After watching Wan Xialiu leave, Qiu Xueliu sat down and said to Ding Shuang with a smile, “Aren’t you tempted?”

Ding Shuang smiled and said, “Sister Liu, you’re a good person. With my abilities, I could easily find a decent job. But finding a good boss isn’t easy. Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

Qiu Xueliu said with a smile in her eyes, “You little rascal, your words are getting sweeter and sweeter.”

Ding Shuang retorted, “Wasn’t I sweet before? I’ve always been sweet!”

Qiu Xueliu laughed heartily, “It’s not as sweet as it is today.”

“Tch, as if you’ve actually tasted it.” Ding Shuang regretted saying that as soon as she finished speaking! She wished she could slap herself twice! How did spending so much time with those stinky mercenaries lead to this bad habit of liking frivolous things!

Qiu Xueliu blushed deeply at Ding Shuang’s words, and Ding Shuang quickly changed the subject, saying, “Sister Liu, what would you like to drink?”

Qiu Xueliu stood up and said, “Let it snow. Have Xiaofang bring it to me.” Then she fled in panic.

This “Snowflakes” drink was a special gift from Ding Shuang to the bar owner, containing his gratitude. It’s best to prepare this drink in front of her, because once it’s mixed and placed on the table, under the light, you can see faint images of willow trees swaying in the glass, with snowflakes drifting around them. The inspiration for this drink comes from the bar owner’s name and the bar’s name.

As the saying goes, “March is the month of white hair, parting from spring is even more poignant.” This drink would be more aptly named “Spring Snow,” which was the original name, but the proprietress changed it to “Floating Snow.” She made it the bar’s signature drink, with limited quantities and the highest price—500 yuan a glass, and only 20 glasses made each night. Of course, that doesn’t include the ones she drinks herself.

Ding Shuang called Xiao Fang to take away the freshly mixed “Floating Snow” drink, without instructing her to handle it gently. Even if Xiao Fang were extremely careful, she couldn’t maintain the perfect appearance of the drink. Watching Xiao Fang’s retreating figure, Ding Shuang inexplicably thought of a line of poetry.

My galloping hooves were a beautiful mistake.