Blue Cocktail

Cheng Shuo is a digital artist and sophomore at the Peijiang Academy of Fine Arts who maintains a low profile on campus. He has no active social life, having left the Student Union after his freshman year to focus on his art career, which has garnered him a significant online following. His days are spent drawing in his dormitory, enduring demanding clients and a chaotic living situation with three roommates. Cheng Shuo harbors a long-standing, unrequited affection for Song Wenyuan, a former Student Union president from his high school days who is now rumored to be a promiscuous playboy. Cheng Shuo’s emotional life is quiet and repressed, defined by his obsession with Song Wenyuan and his frustration with his current living conditions.

The narrative tension begins when Cheng Shuo’s roommates discuss rumors that Song Wenyuan frequents a bar called Moonlight Bar, engaging in casual encounters with multiple men nightly. Cheng Shuo initially dismisses the gossip but becomes visibly agitated when he hears the name. That evening, he receives an anonymous text message inviting him to the bar with the promise of a surprise, specifically referencing his inability to forget Song Wenyuan. Although Cheng Shuo suspects a prank, his curiosity and unresolved feelings drive him to investigate. He prepares for the outing by adopting a tougher persona, acquiring temporary tattoos and edgy accessories to protect himself in the bar’s rumored dangerous environment.

At Moonlight Bar, Cheng Shuo encounters Lu Huaiqian, the enigmatic owner and bartender. Lu Huaiqian is observant and charming, immediately noticing Cheng Shuo’s interest in Song Wenyuan. Cheng Shuo spots Song Wenyuan inside, seeing him flirt with and escort different men to hotels, confirming the rumors. The sight shatters Cheng Shuo’s idealized memory of Song Wenyuan, replacing his romantic fantasies with disgust and heartbreak. During this encounter, Song Wenyuan accidentally spills a drink on Cheng Shuo and attempts to flirt with him, treating him as just another potential conquest. Cheng Shuo rejects him coldly and flees to the restroom, where Lu Huaiqian warns him that Song Wenyuan is dangerous. Cheng Shuo retorts sarcastically, questioning who is more dangerous, before leaving the bar.

Back at the dormitory, Cheng Shuo discovers he has lost his room key. The situation escalates when his roommate, Lin Han, confronts him. Lin Han reveals that he has been stealing Cheng Shuo’s personal items, including underwear, and confesses his own obsessive romantic interest in Cheng Shuo. Lin Han attempts to force himself on Cheng Shuo, leading to a physical altercation. Cheng Shuo defends himself by kicking Lin Han and recording the confession on his phone. He takes the evidence to his academic advisor, demanding a dormitory change. The advisor attempts to minimize the incident as a misunderstanding, but Cheng Shuo refuses to compromise, insisting on moving out immediately.

With no other housing options available, Cheng Shuo contacts a landlord he found online. To his surprise, the landlord is Lu Huaiqian, the bar owner. Lu Huaiqian offers Cheng Shuo a room in his apartment above the bar at a significant discount, recognizing Cheng Shuo’s need for safety and a fresh start. Cheng Shuo moves into Lu Huaiqian’s residence, where the power dynamic shifts. Lu Huaiqian is caring yet enigmatic, providing Cheng Shuo with clothes and space while maintaining a boundary that Cheng Shuo finds both frustrating and intriguing. The story concludes with Cheng Shuo beginning a new chapter in his life, physically removed from his toxic dorm environment but emotionally entangled with the two men who have disrupted his solitude: the object of his past obsession and the protector of his present.