Fang Yize’s brows were tightly furrowed, and the hand holding her phone trembled slightly. She felt as though she finally knew why Jiang Xule hadn’t been able to take the College Entrance Examination back then.
The timing of her grandparents’ passing coincided perfectly with her senior year. Fate truly loved to play tricks on people; just when you think there is infinite light ahead, it slams a thousand-pound stone onto your shoulders.
Fang Yize tossed the phone back into Fang Xize’s lap and said, “You, Miss Fang, are certainly resourceful, managing to investigate Jiang Xule’s past so thoroughly in less than a day. But please, do not do this again—at least, don’t involve the friends around me.”
Fang Xize pursed her lips and nodded. “Fine, suit yourself.” With that, she stood up and left.
Outside on the balcony, glass bottles collided, making crisp clinking sounds. The book left half-read on the table was flipped several pages forward by the wind.
Fang Yize stood still with her eyes closed. She felt as though all things in the world possessed a soaring vitality, as if they had never known the meaning of human suffering.
So, on this day, she decided to go and see for herself.
In the sweltering heat of over thirty degrees Celsius, the ingredients prepared in the morning at the milk tea shop were beginning to emit a sour, rancid smell.
“Who tightened this lid so much again?” The team leader was a woman. When she opened the lid and saw the mung bean paste already bubbling with white froth, she looked ready to explode.
Jiang Xule had worked in milk tea shops before, so these tasks were second nature to her. Being the newcomer, her relationship with the rest of the staff was quite stiff, so she simply kept her head down and focused on her work, ignoring the commotion.
However, the team leader immediately directed a harsh glare toward Jiang Xule, who was currently handing a drink to a delivery rider.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!”
It wasn’t until the team leader shouted “Hey” for the third time that Jiang Xule turned around with a look of feigned confusion.
“Are you calling me, Team Leader?” Jiang Xule arched her eyebrows, her eyes filled with an innocent, unquestionable look of sincerity.
The team leader, embarrassed that she couldn’t remember her name, glanced sideways to ensure no one was watching. She pursed her lips and said, “Who told you to leave the mung beans out of the freezer and screw the lid on so tight?”
“Did you see me tighten the lid, Team Leader?”
“Out of all of us, you’re the only newcomer. Who else could it be?” The leader continued, “Since you’re new, it’s normal to make mistakes, but you should proactively admit them and apologize, rather than questioning whether I saw you or not.”
“The shop was so busy this morning, who had the time to watch you?”
Jiang Xule smiled and nodded. “Since you didn’t see it, then don’t call me. I’m very busy too.”
“And you keep going ‘cluck, cluck, cluck’ over there—I thought an old hen was about to lay an egg.”
The team leader was used to being flattered by the young staff. Having a “smiling tiger” like Jiang Xule treat her with such cold indifference made her temper flare instantly.
She slammed the pot lid aside and was about to scream a few choice words about Jiang Xule’s family when Fang Yize stepped inside in her high heels. Her first move was to rake the team leader with the exact same look Jiang Xule had just used.
Seeing a customer, the team leader swallowed her words mid-sentence. It was like someone being interrupted at a critical moment in the bathroom by a sudden knock on the door—everything just… retracted.
Jiang Xule looked at the newcomer with surprise. Her first thought was: She didn’t actually come here to ask for a free milk tea, did she?
Fang Yize glanced at the drink menu on the electronic screen and pointed a finger adorned with a perfect manicure. “I’ll have a Mung Bean Smoothie with Milk.”
Everyone turned to look at the customer.
Judging by Fang Yize’s attire, nothing she wore was cheap. The necklace matching her outfit alone was worth five figures, though her overall style wasn’t flashy. To someone unfamiliar with luxury, she simply looked like someone who wore very high-quality clothes.
The team leader was nearly thirty. Although she couldn’t afford such expensive items, she had studied them enough to recognize them. Realizing Fang Yize was no ordinary person, she immediately stepped forward, using her hip to shove Jiang Xule aside.
She gave a dry laugh. “I’m so sorry, our new employee is a bit incompetent and let the mung beans go bad. It’ll take some time to boil a new batch. Your time is precious; perhaps you’d like to look at something else?”
Shoved aside, Jiang Xule didn’t mind. She turned away to handle a delivery slip sliding out of the printer.
Fang Yize could tell this woman was intentionally making things difficult for Jiang Xule. Her smile stiffened slightly. She glanced at the leader’s face and said, “But I really want the Mung Bean Smoothie with Milk. I have plenty of time to wait. Go ahead and boil them.”
Hearing this, the team leader turned and snatched the milk tea cup out of Jiang Xule’s hand, her tone unfriendly. “Go boil the mung beans!”
Jiang Xule looked at her without a word.
“What are you looking at? Look any more and I’ll gouge your eyes out and boil them with the beans!”
At that moment, Fang Yize tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Since the new employee is ‘incompetent,’ why don’t you, the senior employee, boil them for me? I have very particular taste. You’d better boil them carefully; if the pieces are too large, I might choke.”
Having said her piece, Fang Yize sat down on a nearby chair to wait.
The team leader’s mouth twitched. She shoved the items back into Jiang Xule’s hands and went to boil the beans herself.
Once the leader was out of earshot, Jiang Xule held the cup and looked over at Fang Yize. She saw the girl leaning her chin on her hand, looking back at her with curved, smiling eyes.
For a second, Jiang Xule felt an electric shock and jerked her gaze away. She nearly forgot which step she was on with the milk tea and almost added the wrong ingredients in her fluster.
Ahhh, how can a girl be this cute?!
Watching her flustered silhouette, Fang Yize subconsciously shrugged her shoulders, her smile nearly reaching the sun.
The air conditioning in the shop wasn’t very strong. Since Fang Yize hadn’t tied her hair up, she felt the heat intensely, and beads of sweat were forming on the back of her neck. She gestured to the bodyguard standing at the door to bring her a hair tie.
Speaking of the bodyguard—when Fang Yize said she was going out, her parents insisted she take one of Fang Xize’s two personal bodyguards. No matter how much she refused, it was useless, so she had to let him follow.
He was a tall, burly man who provided a great sense of security just by standing there.
However, Fang Yize was used to being alone and felt the world wasn’t nearly as dangerous as her parents imagined.
But just then, two guys who looked to be about 1.8 meters tall walked over from inside the shop and blocked Fang Yize’s path with their phones.
“Hey beautiful, can I get your WeChat?”
The bodyguard at the door watched them. Seeing Fang Yize sitting there for so long, he assumed she was waiting for these two, so he didn’t move.
Fang Yize felt these two were blocking her view of Jiang Xule. She leaned to the side and said bluntly, “No.”
“Come on, just one? Let’s just be friends. Add me, beautiful, come on.”
“I said no. Please stop surrounding me,” Fang Yize said, looking up at them and trying to warn them with her eyes.
The two men tucked their phones into their pockets, their smiles vanishing instantly. One curled his upper lip in disdain. “Dressing like that, aren’t you just here to seduce men? Why act so pure? It’s your lucky day that I’m even asking!”
Fang Yize’s brow furrowed. She turned to look at the bodyguard, but before he could walk over, Jiang Xule’s voice drifted over from behind the two men.
“A good dog doesn’t block the way.”
The two turned around and saw Jiang Xule holding a cup of lemon water. Her presence was cold, and her narrow eyes practically screamed “don’t mess with me.”
Jiang Xule didn’t even give them a proper look. She stepped forward and placed the lemon water in front of Fang Yize, saying, “The mung bean smoothie will take a while. Have some lemon water to quench your thirst first.”
“Who are you calling a dog?!” The man pointed a finger at the side of Jiang Xule’s face. “Goddamn it, you’re just a milk tea girl, and you think you can talk to us?”
“If a dog can talk, it’s only natural that I’d answer back.”
Just as the two men were about to lose it and get physical, the bodyguard finally stepped in and grabbed the man’s raised arm. His 1.9-meter frame completely blocked out the light from the doorway.
These two were the type to bully the weak but fear the strong. Seeing someone much larger than themselves, they immediately bowed and backed away.
The aisle of the milk tea shop was narrow to begin with. To make room for the big man, Jiang Xule had to step back several paces. Her waist and hips pressed right against Fang Yize.
She carried a faint scent of milk tea.
Fang Yize sat bolt upright, not daring to move. Her brain was nearly short-circuiting; her entire focus was on the contact between her right arm and Jiang Xule. Now the air conditioning felt even hotter, and she felt like a suckling pig being roasted on a spit.
“Miss, are you alright?” the bodyguard asked. Through his sunglasses, all he could see was Fang Yize’s flushed face and dazed expression.
After a brief look at Jiang Xule, he retreated to the door.
Since he was usually with Fang Xize, he didn’t know Fang Yize well, so his sluggish reaction was somewhat expected. Fortunately, no major conflict broke out, or his salary would have been docked…
Few people were out shopping in such heat. At the moment, the only customers were Fang Yize and those two guys, but the shop wasn’t quiet, as the printer continued to spit out online orders.
Jiang Xule had only given Fang Yize the lemon water because she couldn’t stand seeing those disgusting men harass her.
She glanced back at Fang Yize. “This lemon water is on me.” With that, she went back to making drinks.
The team leader spent forty minutes boiling the mung bean paste. She finally came out and asked impatiently, “Ice or hot?”
Fang Yize snapped out of her daze and asked, “Which one is more convenient for you?”
“Hot.”
“Then I’ll have two iced ones.”
By now, anyone could see that Fang Yize was deliberately messing with her.
The team leader couldn’t understand why this woman was targeting her until a talkative employee whispered the details of what had just happened. She turned red with rage.
So Jiang Xule and this rich girl with the bodyguard knew each other! They were ganging up on her?!
The team leader added a massive amount of ice to the Mung Bean Smoothies, packed them up, and slammed them on the counter. “That’ll be thirty.”
Fang Yize transferred the thirty dollars, picked up the two smoothies and the lemon water, and walked out of the shop.
She handed one of the smoothies to the bodyguard.
“Second Miss, I don’t drink this.”
“I’m telling you to drink it. Isn’t it hot wearing a suit in this weather?”
It wasn’t according to the rules, and a large man holding a milk tea looked a bit… well, he wanted to maintain his dignity.
“Fine, drink it in the car then,” Fang Yize said, sensing his hesitation.
Once they were in the car, the bodyguard took a sip. It tasted incredibly thin—besides the ice, it was nothing but ice. Fang Yize’s was the same.
But she didn’t care. She had the lemon water Jiang Xule bought for her. She set the watered-down smoothie aside and happily sipped the cheapest drink in the shop.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom remained parked in the spot across the street. Fang Yize was waiting for Jiang Xule to get off work; she wanted to take her to dinner.
However, before the scheduled clock-out time, she saw Jiang Xule walking out of the shop.
She hurriedly rolled down the window and called out to Jiang Xule, who was walking in the opposite direction. “Jiang Xule! Over here!”
The car was very conspicuous. Jiang Xule spotted the person waving from the back seat and crossed the street.
Fang Yize immediately opened the door to let her in. The air conditioning inside was much cooler than in the milk tea shop.
“I thought you didn’t finish until 6:30?”
Upon entering, the first thing Jiang Xule saw was the empty lemon water cup and the full, sweating cup of mung bean smoothie. She replied:
“I got fired.”