There were a lot more customers in the shop outside than before they went to the bathroom. When the two returned to the counter, there were two girls talking to Shao Yujie in front of the counter, saying they were applying for a job.
“I used to work in a milk tea shop, so my work experience is top-notch! Auntie, just accept me.”
Shao Yujie smiled and said, “Then why don’t you try to make a cup of red bean milk tea first?”
The girl’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Okay, okay.”
It happened that Shao Ming and Zhu Tong appeared behind the counter, and when the girl saw them, her eyes became more cheerful.
–The rumors are true, this milk tea shop is filled with handsome guys.
Fortunately, she went to her cousin’s milk tea shop to work there for half a month. If she can work here, she can feast her eyes every day. Maybe she will meet her goddess Zhuo Yunan, too.
The other girl reservedly waited for the boss to arrange work for her.
Zhu Tong also heard their conversation, turned to look at Shao Ming and said, “Did I my work… inadequate?”
Shao Ming asked back, “Which part?”
Zhu Tong: “Uhm, all of it?”
Shao Ming smiled and said, “Why do you think so?”
“Because…” Zhu Tong glanced at the girl in front of the counter and said, “Auntie is recruiting new clerks.”
Isn’t it because he “slacked at work” and it’s not easy to “fire” him. The store is too busy, so she has to recruit new employees?
Thinking of his very irresponsible behavior just now, Zhu Tong felt very ashamed.
Shao Ming also looked at the girl who seemed to be applying for the job, and understood what Zhu Tong was thinking. He couldn’t help but raise his hand and pat his head. When he found out he was reluctant, he just pressed it lightly on his head… Ah, his hair was quite soft.
Shao Ming said with a cheery tone, “What are you thinking? The new clerk is to replace Lao Er. The recruitment advertisement was posted on the door of the store yesterday. It has nothing to do with you.”
“…”
Zhu Tong was suddenly “touched”, his brain was suddenly short-circuited for a second, and he was surprised when he reacted.
‘Replacing Lu Zheyu?’
“Why? Has he stopped working part-time?”
Shao Ming: “He will go to the city tomorrow to meet his client. If the client is not satisfied, he will have to revise the lyrics and melodies, which may take two days.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘That sounds awesome, actually.’
Speaking of going to the city, Zhu Tong almost forgot that his aunt invited him to eat at her home during the holidays. At that time, he also agreed.
E City was not far from Gongshui County, and it could be reached in half an hour via the expressway. It was close enough that he felt obligated to agree to visit for a meal.
He suddenly looked at Shao Ming, then asked, “Is his audition in E City?”
Shao Ming raised his eyebrows and asked back, “Why ask this? Do you want to go?”
Zhu Tong implicitly expected so. “Are you going?”
“…”
–Well, now he can’t not go.
Shao Ming smiled and said, “If you want to go, I will go with you.”
Zhu Tong’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really?”
Shao Ming: “…”
‘He really can’t hide his emotions.’
He reaffirmed, “Really.”
Zhu Tong continued with: “What about the store?”
Shao Ming: “Well, the job advertisement is still hanging there.”
“…”
There were a lot of people who worked part-time during the National Day holiday. Even if they only need one or two days of work, there will be many people who apply for this job, so there is no need to worry about the business of the store.
Zhu Tong became relieved.
In this way, he could take time to go to his aunt’s house for a meal tomorrow, and then go with Shao Ming to visit Lu Zheyu.
Not only has he completed the agreement with his aunt, but he also doesn’t need to delay grinding for Shao Ming’s favorability.
The current value is already at 46%. He wants to increase it to at least 50% by the time this holiday ends.
After Zhou Sui was expelled from school, Qin Junhong also seemed to suddenly repented. Of course, Zhu Tong didn’t believe that Qin Junhong would actually repent – more like, he was laying low right now. But, he was also worried that Qin Junhong would do something drastic like a cornered dog.
In the original novel, although Xiao Xin’s accident happened after the college entrance examination, he couldn’t be at peace. Since Qin Junhong could succeed, he must have made sufficient preparations in advance, and his preparations cannot be completed overnight.
That’s why it’s better to overcome this problem as soon as possible.
‘I don’t know how Xiao Xin is doing now…’
As he thought that, Zhu Tong looked at Shao Ming, took out his mobile phone and handed it to him, “Can you take my picture for me?”
Zhu Tong’s request was a bit out of the blue, but Shao Ming agreed readily. He took the phone and said, “What is this for?”
Zhu Tong: “Just take pictures of me at work.”
He walked to the counter again and used the cash register to settle the bill for the new customer. Halfway through the operation, he turned around and said, “Take a good picture.”
Shao Ming held up his phone and smiled, “Okay.”
Not only did Shao Ming put up with it, but so did some of the girls in line at the store. The difference being that the girls were enduring not to let out their Auntie laughter1that I-know-yaoi-when-I-see-it Auntie Smile™.
‘They’re in public, so they’re reserved. But it’s so sweet, ah!’
‘Is it okay to ask your boyfriend to take a work photo of you?’
Some people couldn’t help but hold up their phones.
Zhu Tong, who was targeted by the camera, didn’t realize it. After completing a customer’s order, he couldn’t wait to leave the “post” and ran to Shao Ming quickly. “How is it? Is the picture good?”
Shao Ming sent the photo to himself as quickly as possible, and then returned the phone to Zhu Tong. “It’s good.”
Zhu Tong said thank you and took it over. Shao Ming’s chat interface was still open, confusing him.
He paused, “Why did you send this picture to yourself?”
Shao Ming answered calmly, “Oh, I think my photography skills are not bad, so I want to keep it as a proof of sorts. You don’t mind, do you?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
–Yeah, he didn’t mind.
This was indeed Shao Ming’s work, and it’s really well done.
The half-body photo taken from the side angle fully highlights Zhu Tong’s handsome side profile. He was looking down at the cash register with a serious and focused expression. Anyone who sees this photo will sigh with emotion, “What an elegant, quiet, and beautiful boy”!
Zhu Tong smiled and shook his head, directly from the chat interface between him and Shao Ming, he long-pressed and forwarded the photo to Xiao Xin.
When he was in the hospital before, Xiao Xin often shared some photos of her school activities.
Xiao Xin loves to be beautiful. The photos sent to him are almost always her best selfies. He has no habit of taking selfies, and his photography skills are not good. So the photos sent to Xiao Xin so far are all pictures of life scenery without him. He just suddenly remembered that, so he asked Shao Ming to take his picture on a whim.
After he sent it, he waited with anticipation for the reply from the other side. However, he was met with silence for a long time.
Since he was still working, he could only check it occasionally.
Suddenly a familiar drink was placed in front of him, with a familiar voice saying: “Here’s your usual pudding sago.”
Zhu Tong was instantly refreshed.
He glanced at the phone again, thinking that Xiao Xin might be out to play. He put down the phone and took a sip of the milk tea.
Meanwhile, on a flight from A City to E City, Zhu Xin just received WeChat. Before she had time to appreciate her brother’s prosperous beauty, she first received a call from her grandfather.
“…Grandpa, I know. I’m already 18 years old… No, if I round it up to the nearest year, it’s 18. Alright, alright, I’ll go find Auntie. I’ll call you later when I find my brother. Bye-bye, Grandpa.”
Hanging up the phone, she just breathed a sigh of relief. She immediately opened WeChat to return the message, but she received a reminder from the flight attendant that the plane was about to take off.
Zhu Xin: “…”
She could only turn off her phone and reply when she got off the plane.
During the National Day holiday, some people leave their homes and some went home.
When Xia Yang returned to the Xia family’s house, he had a conflict with his father, Xia Weiyi, because he insisted on changing schools. However, because Xia Yang has restrained himself in school recently, the father and son were at peace this holiday.
“I heard that the child of the Zhu family has been transferred to your school?”
At the dinner table, Xia Weiyi saw his son’s absent-mindedness and broke the silence by speaking first.
When Xia Yang heard him mention Zhu Tong, his face changed, and he gave a low “Mn”.
“Then the two of you must be pretty good friends.” Xia Weiyi sneered.
He didn’t know what these two people were thinking. Instead of studying in a good, International school, they chose to transfer into such a broken school in a rural corner of nowhere.
All for the same person.
“Is he still Shao Ming’s deskmate?”
Xia Yang’s hand clenched the silver chopsticks tightly.
His son’s reaction has given him an affirmative. Xia Weiyi said, “Since this is the case, you should also give this stupid crush a rest. Return to A City as soon as possible. If you really refuse to come back, you should have more contact with Zhu Tong and befriend him. It will help with your future later.”
According to his investigation, Zhu Tong’s background is likely to be more than just a Zhu family.
Hearing him constantly mentioning Zhu Tong, Xia Yang felt annoyed and said with a sullen face, “I won’t go back, and I won’t be friends with Zhu Tong.”
Xia Weiyi’s face darkened immediately. “What do you mean? Are you still thinking about Shao Ming? Why are you so stubborn about this puppy love of yours? I tell you, you can’t be with that kid with anyone. Also, what’s wrong with being friends with Zhu Tong? He…”
“What is there to be a friend of a dying person!” Xia Yang suddenly said loudly.
Xia Weiyi was startled. “What did you say? How did you know he was going to die? Who told you?”
Xia Yang was startled, his face changed several times, and finally he calmly explained, “He just transferred out of the ICU, who knows when he will really die?”
Xia Weiyi: “…”
After Xia Yang finished speaking, he didn’t wait for his father to continue questioning him. He put down his chopsticks and said, “I’m full, I’m going back to my room to do my homework.”
“…”
Xia Weiyi didn’t stop him, just thinking about what his son had just said. He couldn’t help frowning, and about Shao Ming on top of all that… He had another headache.
Xia Yang went back to his room and didn’t do any homework. He turned on his phone and opened the album to have a look.
These were photos he collected from various group chats in the past few days. He didn’t want to see these before, but some of these – all of Zhu Tong and Shao Ming together – can make Zhu Tong go back to A City.
Just like his father didn’t agree with him to transfer schools to find Shao Ming, the Zhu family also wouldn’t agree that Zhu Tong had a close relationship with a “poor boy”.
Zhu Tong was someone who should have died long ago, he should never have appeared in Gongshui County!
Xia Yang chose a few photos and sent them to Zhu Shoushan with a backup account.
In the milk tea shop, Zhu Tong was busy until nine o’clock in the evening, when the day’s work finally ended successfully. They all went out for supper together, and then went back to their respective houses.
Shao Ming didn’t forget to bring his bicycle even when he went for supper. After sending the others away, he stepped on his bicycle and looked at Zhu Tong on the side of the road: “Young Master, I wonder if I have the honor to take you home?”
“…”
Zhu Tong thought that Shao Ming must be taking revenge for his earlier evasion.
Thinking of what happened in the morning, although it is still embarrassing, it wasn’t to the point of him non-functioning.
Zhu Tong skillfully got into the back seat of the bicycle and grabbed the sides of Shao Ming’s clothes.
Unbeknownst to Zhu Tong, Shao Ming smiled.
The two rode their bikes back to the homestay. As soon as Zhu Tong jumped off the seat, he saw a girl in a short-sleeved white dress under the dim light.
“…”
This scene is indescribably terrifying.
However, Zhu Tong felt that the figure was a little familiar, and he took a step forward in disbelief, “…Xiao Xin?”
The girl walked from the dimly lit shadow to the bright spot illuminated by the street lamp, revealing her body that was shivering in the cold wind of the autumn night. She called out, voice pitiful and full of aggrievement: “Ge.”
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Just a note: there is a side CP, but the main story will not tell their emotional journey~ If you want to read it, go read the side-story!
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