Chарtеr 17: Саn Scumbags Just Get Оff Тhis Planеt Alreаdу?
Тhis nаmе…
Shе loоkеd uр, her mоuth stuffed full оf bubble teа tоpрings.
Thе sо-сallеd stоragе rооm wаs оnlу sеpаratеd frоm the work areа by а curtаin.
А hаnd liftеd the curtаin—slender fingеrs with distinсt knuсklеs.
Soоn, a уoung man wаlkеd оut саrrying а cardboаrd bох in оnе arm. He wоrе thе bubble tеa shоp’s uniform аnd, likе thе оther staff, hаd а mask cоvering his faсе, rеvеaling оnlу a pair of dark, exрressivе еуеs.
“Fоund it,” he rеplied.
Thаt voiсe wаs so fаmiliar.
Jiang Er froze.
She struggled to swallow the mouthful of bubble tea toppings, and without time to think, she abruptly turned around and tugged hard at Jiang Jue’s sleeve.
“Let’s go.”
“Why are we leaving already? Don’t you want the keychain?” Jiang Jue asked, puzzled.
“No,” Jiang Er shook her head hurriedly, not waiting for his reply as she turned to leave. “Let’s go. We can’t park there for too long.”
Jiang Jue looked utterly bewildered but grabbed his own drink and hurried after her. “Wait for me!”
Behind the counter, Fu Tinghan silently watched their retreating figures, half his face hidden behind the mask, his expression unreadable.
“Staring so intently—do you know them?” The shop manager, having just finished her work, stretched lazily and took a moment to tease him.
“Yes,” Fu Tinghan lowered his gaze.
“You really know them?” the manager said in surprise. “From the same school?”
He placed the box down. “She’s my… deskmate.”
His voice softened slightly on the last two words.
“No wonder,” the manager chuckled. “But she’s quite interesting—loading her drink with so many toppings without worrying about choking.”
Fu Tinghan recalled Jiang Er’s cheeks puffed full, and the corners of his eyes curved slightly.
“But why did she leave without taking the freebie? She seemed to really like it,” the manager wondered.
Fu Tinghan looked at the kitten keychain in the box and fell silent for a moment. “Can I take one?”
“Of course,” the manager handed him one, winking. “For your little deskmate, right?”
Fu Tinghan didn’t reply, carefully tucking the keychain away before heading to his workstation.
But the manager stopped him.
“Alright, that’s enough for today. You should hurry back and do your homework,” she said, looking relieved. “Thank goodness you came to help today. If it were just the rest of us handling the anniversary sale, we’d probably have collapsed from exhaustion.”
“But are you sure this is okay? You’re already in your second year of high school—don’t let your studies slip.”
“It’s fine,” Fu Tinghan replied.
“Alright, as long as you know what you’re doing.”
The manager knew about his family situation and didn’t press further. She sighed and took out a bank card.
“This is your advance pay. Like I said, focus on your studies. You can make up the hours during winter or summer break if needed.”
“Thank you,” Fu Tinghan accepted it with both hands and headed to the changing room.
The manager watched him leave and sighed again. “What a shame.”
“It really is,” another staff member chimed in. “He’s so handsome, working hard at such a young age, ambitious and smart. How is it that he’s deaf?”
“Exactly. Without his hearing aid, he’s practically useless,” another added. “And with his family situation, he probably won’t find a wife in the future.”
“Maybe not. What if someone truly cares for him?” the manager said hesitantly.
The other staff members laughed. “Do you even believe that yourself?”The shop manager sighed helplessly, “Alright, looking at today’s society, it really isn’t very realistic. The girl isn’t a fool either.”
Behind the curtain, Fu Tinghan clenched the small cat keychain in his hand, his face expressionless.
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, his long lashes falling like a curtain, concealing his dark pupils along with the emotions in his gaze.
When he opened his eyes again, he released his tightly clenched hand.
With a soft thud, the black cat fell into the trash can.
“I’m done for.”
At midnight, Jiang Er, who still hadn’t finished her homework, flopped backward onto her bed, her eyes vacant.
Why? Why on earth was it so difficult?!
She rolled over and pounded the bed in frustration.
Were high school sophomore problems really supposed to be this hard?!
Wahhh, why did she have to be reborn at this exact moment?
After wallowing in despair for a while, Jiang Er wiped her tears, got up, and continued with her homework.
Laughable—she couldn’t write a single thing.
As everyone knows, intelligence doesn’t increase just because you’re reborn.
To make matters worse, in her previous life, she hadn’t taken the domestic college entrance exam, so she didn’t know the future test questions or the answers.
And the little knowledge she had left in her brain had long been wiped clean by the passage of time.
In short, she was truly done for.
Jiang Er lay back down again.
Since things had come to this, she might as well sleep.
She’d figure out the unfinished homework at school tomorrow.
After all, the boat will sink when it reaches the bridge.
She peacefully closed her eyes.
Her brain cells, having narrowly escaped disaster, collectively sighed in relief and began happily playing little movies in her mind.
Jiang Er’s thoughts drifted back to that milk tea shop.
Even buying milk tea led her to the shop where Fu Tinghan worked—her non-luck streak was truly terrifying.
Thankfully, she reacted in time. Otherwise, if she had run into Fu Tinghan, someone with such high self-esteem would surely have felt embarrassed.
Tsk, she really was such a considerate, kind, pretty, cute, and beautiful person.
“He leaves school so quickly every day because he’s rushing to work.”
Jiang Er absentmindedly clicked her mechanical pencil:
“So, while his peers are going home to watch TV, play games, or study, he not only has to compete with old men on the streets for bottles but also works part-time, and only after finishing homework longer than life itself can he rest.”
“…Does the family that adopted him just not care about him at all??”
She abruptly sat up and opened the flight ticket order she had booked.
If Fu Tinghan returned to the Fu family, he wouldn’t have to struggle like this anymore.
But…
Did he really want to go back?
—As an illegitimate child.
In her previous life, he certainly didn’t seem very happy.
And wouldn’t this be disrupting Mrs. Fu’s family?
If she found out that her childhood sweetheart and lover had betrayed her and fathered an illegitimate child, how would she feel? But if she remained unaware, kept in the dark, wouldn’t that be unfair in another sense?
“So, can scumbags just get off this planet?!”
Torn between choices, Jiang Er let out a groan of frustration, rubbing her aching eyes. She couldn’t stay awake any longer and tossed her phone aside.
Forget it, let Fu Tinghan make his own decision. She really couldn’t choose.
If he decided not to go back, she would do her best to make his remaining high school days a little easier.
—At the very least, she wouldn’t let him scavenge for bottles on the streets anymore.
That way, she could repay him for collecting her body, and they’d be even again.After all, she wasn’t short on money—it was just like raising another Laifu.
And his fur color happened to be quite similar to Laifu’s.
Thinking this, Jiang Er finally felt a bit more at ease. She hugged Laifu, who was dozing beside her, and rubbed her face against him left and right.
“What a shame about that keychain,” she said, ruffling the little black cat’s head. “It looked just like you. I was planning to hang it on my keys.”
Laifu let out a soft “meow,” eyes closed as he purred.
Jiang Er thought of the pile of homework she still had to finish and couldn’t stand seeing him so relaxed. She shook him awake vigorously.
“No sleeping.”
Laifu opened his eyes, dazed.
Jiang Er glared fiercely. “From now on, you sleep when I sleep. While I’m doing homework, you’re not allowed to slack off either. You’ll stand guard beside me, nice and obedient.”
Laifu: “Meow?”
Jiang Er kicked off her shoes and climbed into bed. “Alright, I’m done talking. Now we can sleep.”
She closed her eyes, her breathing steady within seconds.
Laifu: “…Meow.”