After Christmas, Lu Yao took some time to settle the accounts.
Calculating it all up, the income was modest, while the expenditures were significant… overall, the business was in a state of deficit.
The Western restaurant provided a steady daily income, and the bar brought in a bit of petty cash every now and then, but aside from that, the storefront business was truly bleak.
Adding to that, since the shop had just opened, many items needed to be purchased, including the newly installed glass door.
She had even gone so far as to deduct her own personal living expenses from the tally.
Lu Yao sat behind the cashier counter, cradling her head in her hands.
This month had been exhausting, utterly exhausting—so much so that the balance in her bank account had actually decreased by the end of it.
Li Jing, however, was delighted. She had received her wages!
“You’re the first boss I’ve ever met who pays the current month’s salary at the end of the same month!” Even though the first month’s pay wasn’t much, Li Jing was still overjoyed, forming a sharp contrast to Lu Yao.
A moment later, Li Jing returned from a cake shop down the street with a cake, generously inviting her boss to have a slice.
Lu Yao was coaxed into a smile. She rested her head on her hand and watched Li Jing, whose movements had become much lighter now that she’d been paid, finally feeling a sliver of gratification.
Li Jing was helping her easy-going boss weave flower baskets. She wasn’t very good at it, so she had to slow down and check her work carefully.
As time passed, she grew bored and started to strike up a conversation: “Boss, you mentioned before that you wanted to hire a driver. Has anyone contacted you yet? You look so tired waking up early every day.”
Lu Yao shook her head. The salary she offered wasn’t high, and she had specifically requested a female driver, making it naturally difficult to recruit someone.
Fortunately, Lu Yao had prepared herself for this mentally and wasn’t in a hurry.
For now, Li Jing helped watch the shop every afternoon while she went upstairs to catch up on sleep, unless there was a delivery for the bar that day.
A female driver… Lu Yao thought back to the images of herself sitting in the passenger seat while Luo Yueming drove.
Luo Yueming was long-limbed and drove with great ease. Even though her eyes never held Lu Yao, she watched the road conditions outside with extreme precision.
It was better not to think about it; the moment she did, her standards for an employee shot even higher.
Lu Yao shook her head, forcing the stray thought from her mind, and leaned back in her chair, dazed.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have deleted Luo Yueming so decisively. She could have used a secondary account to add her first; that way, she might have been able to peek into her recent life—for instance, to see who the person Luo Yueming was buying flowers for might be.
Feeling afraid when seeing her, yet missing her when she was gone—this was the definition of Lu Yao.
She thought about the people Luo Yueming knew and those she was close to, but after racking her brain, she couldn’t find a candidate. She couldn’t imagine who was worth Luo Yueming personally going out to buy flowers for.
She had to admit there was a tiny bit of jealousy in her heart—just a tiny bit. Any more, and she would be afraid of herself.
The elders had told her that Luo Yueming had never had a romantic interest growing up, and Lu Yao believed it.
Back in high school, she had scouted for news of Luo Yueming and knew she had transferred from another city, seemingly because her parents divorced and she was then raised by her grandmother.
Lu Yao had met Luo Yueming’s parents; she had seen the mother at the wedding.
A woman with her hair pinned up, who left after barely saying two words, drawing a sigh from the old woman.
Then there was Luo Yueming’s father, whom she met at the funeral when the grandmother passed away. That man hadn’t even shown up for the wedding and only managed to come because of the death.
He hadn’t cared for the grandmother while she was hospitalized either; he was heartless to the core.
Of course, he didn’t want the inheritance; he just came to take a look and then left.
It was impossible for parents like that to arrange blind dates for Luo Yueming.
It couldn’t be that her boss introduced someone to her…
The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Lu Yao’s brows knitted together. Feeling somewhat agitated, she stood up from the counter and paced through the flower shop as if checking for missing items, though it was obvious her pupils weren’t focused on what was in front of her.
What kind of person would that boss—whom Lu Yao had never met—introduce to Luo Yueming?
Did Luo Yueming agree? At the very least, she must have been open to it; she even bought the flowers…
Lu Yao’s eyes felt sore, and she was on the verge of tears again. It was true heartbreak. Yet, if she regretted the divorce because of this, it would be too unsightly. She twisted herself into knots, and in the end, the only person she hated was herself.
The newly installed glass door was pushed open. The wind chimes Li Jing had hung at the top swayed, emitting a crisp sound.
Because of that brief chime, the winter flower shop suddenly felt like it had the breath of summer.
Tang Xuesheng looked up, a smile appearing in her eyes. She really liked this small, clever touch; the chimes were small, so the sound wasn’t noisy.
She walked inside and smiled at Li Jing. Li Jing, knowing she was there for the boss, pointed toward the distracted Lu Yao and grinned back, before picking up her half-finished basket and moving to another spot.
“Daydreaming?” Tang Xuesheng walked over and asked.
Lu Yao snapped back to reality. Seeing it was her, she paused for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask: “Your husband… what is his relationship with Chen Shi?”
This was the only way she could think of to inquire about Luo Yueming’s current situation. She didn’t want to be like this, but she simply couldn’t help it.
Even if she was to lose, she wanted to lose with clarity. She just wanted to see the person who received those flowers.
Chen Shi had blocked her, so Lu Yao naturally wouldn’t go chasing after him.
Thinking carefully, Tang Xuesheng’s husband had dealings with Chen Shi; perhaps he had dealings with Luo Yueming as well.
Tang Xuesheng tilted her body slightly and looked at Lu Yao more seriously, her eyes scanning her up and down as if she didn’t recognize her: “I’ve been to the shop so many times, and this is the first time you’ve asked that. I thought you didn’t care.”
The smile on Lu Yao’s face inevitably turned desolate. Originally, she truly hadn’t cared.
Worrying that a sudden inquiry would make Tang Xuesheng think too much, she wanted to explain, but felt awkward. She could only hurriedly shift her gaze away.
But she desperately wanted to know, so she asked in a muffled voice: “I want to ask about something.”
“It’s nothing major,” Tang Xuesheng answered kindly. She had a good temperament, which was why she liked interacting with people of Lu Yao’s character.
“My husband has business dealings with the company Chen Shi is in. Others can’t be invited out privately, but it just so happened that Chen Shi took the initiative to invite him, so he went. When he came back, he mentioned you. I thought, since my husband and I were planning to buy a house in this neighborhood anyway, why not come over early to take a look and get to know the new boss.”
Tang Xuesheng continued: “The house is already picked out. We’ll move in after the New Year. You’re welcome to come over as a guest then.”
Hearing this, Lu Yao looked out of the shop. Of course, she couldn’t see the residential area from there, but she felt a bit envious that Tang Xuesheng and her husband could just buy a house like that.
The property prices in this neighborhood were truly not cheap—nearly 30,000 per square meter. A house would cost at least several million.
Tang Xuesheng had a family—a husband and a child—so the area wouldn’t be small. It would certainly cost around three million, an amount Luo Yueming would have to work many years to save.
Lu Yao realized that Tang Xuesheng’s husband’s position was likely not low.
She couldn’t easily ask about that, though.
“Okay, just make sure you don’t find it troublesome when the time comes,” Lu Yao agreed politely.
“I’m more afraid that I won’t find anyone to chat with and will be bored after moving in. Why would I find it troublesome?” Tang Xuesheng’s lips curled into a beautiful smile.
She followed up on her previous words: “By the way, what did you want to ask about?”
Lu Yao’s neck felt stiff, like a rusted robot turning with a clack-clack. She looked at Tang Xuesheng, appearing as if she might break into pieces, and summoned enough courage to ask: “Does your husband know Luo Yueming?”
Tang Xuesheng: “President Luo? Of course he knows her. Isn’t that your wife?”
Tang Xuesheng chuckled secretly. Nearby, Li Jing, who had been eavesdropping while weaving her basket, suddenly snapped her head up with a shocked expression.
That’s not a wife anymore… it’s an ex-wife.
Lu Yao saw Li Jing look up: “She and I are already divorced.”
Even a lady as dignified as Tang Xuesheng became embarrassed: “This… weren’t you just separated because of a conflict? How are you already divorced?”
Lu Yao frowned, wanting to say that she and Luo Yueming never really had any conflicts.
There was no way to clash; a shield was useless against nothing.
She felt Tang Xuesheng’s words were a bit strange and, after thinking for a moment, asked: “Did Chen Shi say that?”
Tang Xuesheng watched Lu Yao’s every reaction and nodded cautiously.
“He might have misunderstood,” Lu Yao explained calmly, pursing her lips. “I only planned to open this shop after the divorce. Luo Yueming probably thought I would have trouble finding a location, so she asked Chen Shi to help.”
Only then did Tang Xuesheng understand. She felt her husband was truly unreliable for telling her things without knowing the truth.
This series of misunderstandings left her smiling apologetically: “It seems you had a peaceful divorce and your feelings weren’t hurt. She’s still willing to worry about these things for you.”
Lu Yao lowered her head and said nothing. There was no right way to answer such a statement.
Tang Xuesheng was perceptive: “I seem to have said the wrong thing.”
Lu Yao shook her head: “We’re already divorced.”
Tang Xuesheng echoed: “True. So, did you want to ask about President Luo?”
Lu Yao froze. She had wanted to ask about Luo Yueming—wanted to find out if her boss had introduced a partner to her—but after this conversation, she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
We’re already divorced… those were her own words.
Was she still going to crowd around her now, caring about her every move?
They were divorced; what kind of “lingering attachment” performance was she trying to put on?
Lu Yao looked at Tang Xuesheng helplessly. Suddenly, she didn’t know what to do.
She seemed truly stupid; her brain could only think about one thing at a time, causing her to ignore others. She had thought that since she still liked Luo Yueming, she would probably keep liking her for a long time even after the divorce.
Then she would just do as she did in high school—liking her quietly, keeping that affection hidden so only she knew.
She only needed to know that Luo Yueming was still standing at the top, radiant as ever.
But she hadn’t considered what would happen if Luo Yueming truly ended up with someone else one day.
When her side, her surroundings, and her home completely lost Lu Yao’s silhouette, and she had a new life—would Lu Yao’s affection then become a disturbance?
When Luo Yueming had a new partner, if Lu Yao still kept her love hidden in her heart, would she be any different from a rat in a sewer?
Lu Yao had experienced many humiliating scenes, but all those past embarrassments combined couldn’t compare to this moment.
She was so humiliated that she was cursing in her heart: Damn it.
“I…” Why do I like Luo Yueming?
Why? Why is it that after so long, I can’t quit this liking?
Damn you, Luo Yueming. She had always indulged Lu Yao’s secret pining, and as a result, it had grown to the point where that love was now an unquenchable fire. Even a torrential downpour could only struggle to stop it from flaring up again.
I shouldn’t have asked.
A deep sense of regret flashed in Lu Yao’s eyes. It was too late now; she felt as though she had even forgotten how to breathe.
Noticing the concern in Tang Xuesheng’s and Li Jing’s eyes, Lu Yao wanted to retreat even more—she wanted to run away.
At that moment, Li Jing stood up. She loudly accused Luo Yueming to Tang Xuesheng: “That person even came to the shop on Christmas to buy flowers for someone else! It’s too provocative! I want to sneak out and beat her up to vent for the Boss!”
Hearing this, Tang Xuesheng also felt that President Luo seemed a bit like a scoundrel.
However, Tang Xuesheng advised her: “That’s probably not a good idea. It’s almost the New Year.”