At the gloomy, bustling bar.

Lina fidgets uncomfortably, tugging on the scraps of cloth clinging to her body. This attire, with every move, exposes either her bottom or her peaks. She wonders who created such a garb, so devilishly provocative.

"Miss, could I... Could I change into something else? This outfit is a bit too reveling."

Lina tries to pull her hair forward, seeking to cover the expanse of bare, snowy skin. But Miss, the woman she's addressing, pushes it back.

"What do you know? In a place like this, this is what you have to wear. Or do you think you can wrap yourself up like an old hag and still get some attention?"

"But..."

"But nothing. Do you think money is easy to come by? This is how other girls are earning theirs. If you’ve decided to join them, stop being shy. I don’t like that. Now hurry, I’ve reserved a good job for you."

Without further ado, Miss drags Lina to the entrance of a large private room on the second floor, winking at her smugly, "There are all rich young masters inside. Serve them well and keep them happy with drinks. Plenty of money to be made. Perform well, understand?”

Without waiting for an answer, she pushes open the door, practically shoving Lina inside.

The previously noisy room instantly falls silent. All eyes in the room lift to settle on her. Lina stands awkwardly at the entrance, taking a moment to scan the occupants before speaking. But her gaze freezes on a male figure on the left, forgetting to react.

"Why are you standing there like a statue? Come and drink." Samuel sizes up Lina with a glance, motioning for her to come closer.

Lina lowers her gaze, concealing a world of emotion in her eyes as she takes a seat beside Samuel.

But why him?

How could it be... him?

Lina accepts the long-stemmed glass Samuel hands her, raising her head only to meet the gaze of Ethan. She grips the glass tighter, her heart hammering in her chest as she hastily averts her eyes, her gaze darting around the room to avoid meeting the eyes of the man seated across her.

The moment he saw Lina, Ethan thought he was mistaken. However, seeing her evasive gaze, he smirked coldly.

"When did you start taking an interest in such a woman?" Ethan sneered, his eyes trailing over Lina. Seeing her dressed in a near-rag clothing, his eyes briefly flared in surprise, before quickly calming down. Frowning, he decided to avert his gaze, no longer looking at her.

Samuel subtly smiled before deliberately drawing Lina closer to him in a joking manner, "What's wrong with this kind of woman? She's quite innocent, and I quite prefer the innocent type. Don't you agree, young lady?"

Having said that, he places his cup near Lina's lips, urging her to drink. Helpless, Lina closes her eyes and drinks up the content of the glass. When she opens them again, she finds the man across her gazing at her even more coldly.

Lowering her head, she gave a bitter smile.

"So you like drinking?"

The other man beside Lina smirked in disdain, pointing at the bottles of varying sizes on the table, "Come on, clear all the liquor here, and I'll buy all these booze at five times the price. Then, I'll buy an additional ten cases of wine. If you can't finish it..."

Ethan paused, looking at the bright red liquid in the glass. He scoffed coldly and continued speaking, "If you can't finish it, I'll tell Miss that you are not fit to work in a place like this."

Seeing Lina's complexion go pale instantly, a wave of satisfaction surged in Ethan's heart. He leaned back comfortably into the couch, "As you know, considering our relation with Miss, don't expect to get a single penny from her!"

Looking at the numerous bottles of liquor piled up on the table, Lina felt her lips trembling.

With so much alcohol, she'd be ending up in the hospital by tomorrow if she drank it all.

But thinking about Ethan's words, she felt even more helpless. She had school in a few days and hadn't gathered enough tuition. She wouldn't have taken up a job in this place except she heard others say that bartending pays fast.

Ethan continued sitting in his earlier position, observing her leisurely, his sharp eyes devoid of warmth.

Samuel let his charming eyes roam over the two people, finding the situation amusing. He couldn't help but laugh out loud and added, "Yes, drink it all. If you don't finish it today, you can forget about earning a penny!"

No matter it's just a game for them, they would play, and he would watch.

"I . . . "

She was almost unable to speak. She swallowed hard and wiped the cold sweat from her face, laboriously responding, "I can't drink."

"You can't drink?"

Ethan seemed to find this funny, like hearing a big joke. He stood up with his hands in his pockets and walked towards her. Bending down to her level, he retorted, "You can't drink, yet you're selling alcohol at this bar?" Are you treating us like fools?"

The distance between the two was so close that Lina could feel his warm breath on her face. He instinctively withdrew, but ended up coming closer to Samuel.

Seeing this, Ethan eyes turned red, as if there was a fire burning in his heart, making him lose his reason. He slowly raised his hand and splashed the alcohol on her head.

"It's been five years, but you haven't changed a bit. Always playing the victim, flocking to any man as long as he has money. Underneath that innocent facade lurks a heart that knows only to behave disgracefully!"

The red liquid flowed down from her head, mixed into Lina eyes, and then slowly dripped onto her thin clothes. She gasped and quickly stood up to dodge.

"I really can't..."

Lina was extremely frustrated. She wanted to explain, but when she met Ethan cold eyes, she swallowed her words back.

She knew her explanations would be in vain, he was still holding onto the resentment from the past.

"There's no need to explain." Ethan casually threw away the glass in his hand and returned to the couch, pouring himself another glass of wine. He swirled the liquid in the glass nonchalantly, saying, "Whether you drink or not is your business, but keep in mind; I will stick to what I've said."

She would not get a cent and might even lose her job...

At this moment, Lina wished she could throw the wine in her hand into Ethan face. As much as she wanted to leave, she couldn't. She lacked funds for the tuition and Emily would not be able to enroll. Emily has reached the age of schooling, and she cannot let her suffer due to her own incapabilities.