Found Him! My 'Glass-Hearted' Ex is a Pop-Up Star - Chapter 7

Wild Bar.

As soon as Ying Ruo stepped through the door, he saw a pumpkin head perched on a skeleton, grinning at him with glowing blood-red eyes. For a moment, he thought he had walked into the wrong place.

Tonight was the Wild Bar’s Halloween theme event, a celebration that would continue from now until Halloween night. Every guest was required to follow a Halloween-themed dress code. The event was split into two sections: a quiet bar on the ground floor and a dance club upstairs.

The interior decor resembled an eerie, haunted forest. Jack-o’-lanterns and skeletons were piled haphazardly in corners like corpses, while bats hung from spiderwebs on the ceiling. People walked around in bizarre costumes and exaggerated, terrifying makeup, making the place feel like a secret trading post for monsters.

Ying Ruo, dressed in a simple hoodie with a backpack, looked strikingly out of place. He carefully navigated past zombies, pastors, bloody priests, and a cat-faced man to find Ian at the bar.

“Ah, darling, you are finally here!” Ian was dressed relatively normally, though a long, prosthetic scar stretched across his face. He looked Ying Ruo up and down and laughed. “Mmhmm, are you cosplaying as a cute nerd? How adorable.”

Ying Ruo looked at his clothes. He was indeed a nerd, though a very poor one.

On his way home, he had received a text from Ian saying they were short-staffed and offering double pay for the night. Ying Ruo quickly did the math: double pay meant £60 per hour. Three hours would be a staggering £180!

He did not hesitate. Poor as he was, Ying Ruo agreed immediately, wolfed down a sandwich, and rushed to work.

“I am sorry, I might have misread the text,” Ying Ruo said, looking at the monsters in the bar. “I did not know I needed a dress code.”

Ian put an arm around Ying Ruo’s shoulder and led him toward the staff changing room. “It is fine. I have prepared a uniform for you.”

Ian pulled a set of clothes from a box and handed them to Ying Ruo. After a while, a small head peeked out from the changing room. Ying Ruo’s brow was furrowed, and he looked quite flustered. Hiding behind the door, his pale face flushed pink as he asked tentatively, “Um, is it right for me to wear this?”

He took two hesitant steps out.

The youth kept his head down. He had a slender, thin frame and was dressed as a “little witch.” His top was a white satin shirt with lace embroidery at the collar, and a corset cinched his narrow waist. He wore black shorts and a pair of suspender stockings that fastened at the tops of his thighs, adorned with cute black bows that hugged his slender calves.

Ying Ruo kept his legs neatly together, using both hands to straighten the large wizard hat on his head. Where the stockings did not cover, a small portion of soft, fair thigh was visible, peeking out from beneath his cloak.

“My god, it suits you perfectly!” Ian exclaimed with exaggerated praise. “You look beautiful. You are the sexiest little witch here!”

Ying Ruo remained silent. It was truly difficult to earn money. He had never worn shorts this short, let alone stockings like these. But for £60 an hour, he told himself he was just experiencing the local culture.

“Your job today is at this bar counter,” Ian explained. “We have launched several Halloween-limited drinks and snacks. Your task is to take orders, garnish the food, and serve it to the customers. Don’t worry, it is not difficult.”

Ying Ruo pulled at his short shorts and nodded. Ian showed him photos of the snacks and taught him how to prepare them.

“If someone wants to order, they will ring the bell at the table, and the pumpkin lamp in front of them will light up,” Ian said. “I wish I could stay with you, but I have to go upstairs now. You can do this. If there is a problem, I will come down to help.”

“Good luck, cute little wizard.”

Ying Ruo sighed. Although he felt shy in the outfit, he cheered himself up and began to work.

The ground floor was not as crowded as the club upstairs. The “monsters” mostly chatted at their tables, occasionally ordering food or drinks. After a few orders, Ying Ruo became quite skilled. Mist and whispers lingered in the bar’s air. As he tinkered with bottles and jars, he really did look like a witch brewing potions.

At that moment, a bell rang at the corner of the bar, and a pumpkin lamp lit up. Ying Ruo looked over.

A hunter had appeared in the corner. The man wore a metal mask that covered his entire face. His shirt was covered in dried blood, and his collar was extremely low, revealing full chest muscles. He had thick arms, and his legs were crossed, creating a terrifying aura. Dim lights reflected off the blood-stained medals pinned to his vest. He was a bounty hunter, fully masked, with a long shotgun strapped to his back.

Ying Ruo felt a bit unnerved. He was not sure if it was because the man was a hunter specifically designed to catch witches or because his presence was simply too overwhelming. He walked over with the menu and said softly in English, “Hi, what can I get for you?”

The hunter looked up. Ying Ruo met the cold gaze of the metal mask. The mask was marked with sword gashes and reflected a chilly light, as if blood had just dried on its surface. Ying Ruo gripped the menu tightly. With so many monsters around, he was genuinely afraid a real one had slipped in.

The hunter did not speak. He did not even look down; he just tapped a finger randomly on the menu. Ying Ruo could not see what he had pointed at, so he leaned forward to confirm. “Would you like the ‘Beheaded Mummy’?”

The hunter gave a low grunt of affirmation.

Wait. That voice sounded familiar.

Ying Ruo instinctively looked up. Because he was leaning over the table, the distance between them was very small. He was looking up at the man against the light.

The first things he noticed were the studs in the man’s ears. Dark light caught the metal on his ear cartilage. The piercings were exactly the same, though he had changed the jewelry to a pair of exorcist crosses.

Why is Duan Zhuyan here?

Whether it was because Ying Ruo stared too long or stood too close, Duan Zhuyan unpleasantly pulled back to create distance. However, he did not seem to realize he had been recognized. Since his face was completely hidden by the mask, he simply tapped the menu again with an arrogant finger.

Ying Ruo had no idea why Duan Zhuyan was here. His mind raced, trying to think if he had offended the man at all during the day. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Under the mask, Duan Zhuyan was practically grinding his teeth. His jaw was tight and his gaze was icy as he stared at the little witch’s fair, delicate skin. Did Ying Ruo have no common sense? How could he walk around a place like this dressed so beautifully? Who allowed him to wear those stockings? He had never even worn them for him, yet here he was wearing them in public for all these monsters to see. And those shorts! Were they made to be underwear? They were so short he wanted to sew two more pieces of fabric onto them.

Thud!

The more Duan Zhuyan thought about it, the more annoyed he became. His veins bulged as he slammed a fist onto the bar table.

Ying Ruo thought, “My god, I really did offend him, didn’t I?”

Ying Ruo hurried to bring the snacks. The “Beheaded Mummy” was actually a hash brown with the head and body separated, decorated with toasted biscuit “bandages.” Despite his fear, Ying Ruo maintained his service. He kept his thin arms folded politely in front of him, holding two bottles of ketchup. He asked, “Would you like it ‘bloody’ or with ‘clotted blood’?”

The masked hunter remained silent for a moment.

“Bloody,” a deep, magnetic voice replied. The tone was intentionally lowered, carrying an icy breath.

Ying Ruo nodded and squeezed a massive amount of ketchup onto the little hash brown man’s body and head. It looked quite terrifying. He placed the dish in front of the hunter. “It is ready. Please enjoy.”

Duan Zhuyan held a fork, his movements freezing as he realized he could not eat while wearing the mask. However, he did not remove it. He simply used the fork to cut the person-shaped hash brown into tiny, tiny pieces.

Ying Ruo thought, “Why do I feel like that little hash brown man is me?”

Fortunately, a pumpkin lamp lit up on the other side. Ying Ruo hurried over to serve another guest, escaping the situation.

Duan Zhuyan’s gaze never left Ying Ruo. It was glued to him. The new customer was a foreign girl dressed as a vampire who was smiling brilliantly. After ordering, she began to flirt. What was worse was that Ying Ruo was actually smiling back.

The guy likes everyone, Duan Zhuyan thought. His eyes darkened, feeling a fire burning within him. He irritably pressed the bell, lighting his pumpkin lamp again.

Ying Ruo saw the light and walked back to ask what he needed. The man stared at him, his Adam’s apple moving slowly as he sat silently in the dark. He did not speak but pointed randomly at a dessert.

Ying Ruo looked at it and said, “Oh, okay. Please wait a moment.”

He brought a pumpkin cake and placed it before Duan Zhuyan. “I can draw a pattern on top with strawberry jam. What would you like?”

Duan Zhuyan seemed to think for a moment. Since he was wearing a mask, he assumed Ying Ruo would not recognize him. He typed a word on his phone.

“Heart.”

Ying Ruo looked at it, thought for a while, and began to create on the cake with a piping bag. Duan Zhuyan, hiding behind his mask, was purely satisfying his own selfish desires. He wanted to see how cute the heart Ying Ruo drew for him would be.

Then he received a crooked, extremely bloody, terrifying Halloween heart with a dagger stabbed through it.

Duan Zhuyan remained silent.

Ying Ruo, on the other hand, was very satisfied with himself. He really did have a talent for drawing. After serving this difficult customer, he prepared to go back to the center of the bar to check on other guests.

Ding.

Duan Zhuyan’s pumpkin lamp lit up again. Ying Ruo wondered what was wrong now and hurried back. Duan Zhuyan sat lazily at the table, one hand on the bar, the other pointing to a tiny puddle of water on the surface. He had originally wanted to knock the whole glass over, but fearing it would be too much trouble for Ying Ruo to clean, he had only poured out a tiny bit.

Ying Ruo stared at the table for a moment. Then he placed a single napkin on the puddle and walked away.

Duan Zhuyan thought, “I should have poured it on myself.”

Ying Ruo was walking away too quickly, which displeased Duan Zhuyan. With a stern face, he rang the bell again. This time, he had dropped his fork. He rang it again. This time, there was cream on his hand. He rang it yet again. This time, he wanted to give him a £100 tip.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Ying Ruo realized he was being toyed with. He had practically become Duan Zhuyan’s personal little witch. Since Duan Zhuyan had hidden his face, he had also hidden his shame.

Ying Ruo returned to the hunter for the umpteenth time. This time, he did not leave. His eyebrows were knit together, and he said in a muffled voice, “What is it now?”

The youth’s voice was naturally soft. Even when he tried to lower it, it still sounded gentle. Duan Zhuyan thought this “fuzzy” way of being angry was incredibly cute, like a little kitten.

Just as he was about to move, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

“Mr. Hunter, please do not bully our little witch.”

The manager, Ian, had come down from upstairs. He had a cigarette in his mouth and whispered in Duan Zhuyan’s ear, “I know our darling is very cute, but please be polite.”

Duan Zhuyan knew this French manager. Hearing him call Ying Ruo “darling,” he let out a displeased click of his tongue and mercilessly swiped the hand off his shoulder. Ian shrugged.

Ying Ruo was not actually unhappy, nor did he feel bullied. But this Duan Zhuyan guy was indeed being a bit too arrogant. It was time to give him something to remember.

The light in the bar was dim, surrounded by hanging pumpkin lanterns. Ying Ruo looked at Ian with a perfect smile. His voice was gentle and clear as he tilted his head and said sweetly in English, “It is okay, Ian. We know each other.”

Duan Zhuyan felt a huge question mark rise in his mind.

In the next second, Ying Ruo’s gaze dropped sharply and met the man’s eyes directly. The sweet smile on his face vanished, replaced by a lack of tolerance. He knit his brows and said in Chinese, word by word:

“Isn’t that right, Duan Zhuyan?”

Duan Zhuyan: “…”

Damn it.