Shen Zhili was taken aback.
Before she could react, Jiang Xianzhuo had already stepped up to the cutting board and begun skillfully handling the duck meat.
His movements were swift, his knife work precise.
The heavy cleaver seemed to come alive in his hands, slicing the duck meat into evenly sized pieces in just a few strokes.
Shen Zhili stood to the side, watching his slender fingers grip the cleaver, leaving faint afterimages under the light.
Suddenly, she felt her throat go dry.
“You…”
She had barely uttered a syllable when Jiang Xianzhuo cut her off coldly.
“Shut up.”
“Don’t speak.”
Shen Zhili: “…”
Fine.
She wisely closed her mouth and quietly stood to the side as an observer.
After finishing with the duck, Jiang Xianzhuo moved on to the pork ribs and beef, each motion clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Shen Zhili’s gaze lingered on his profile—on his lowered eyes and tightly pressed lips—when a sudden thought flashed through her mind.
Jiang Xianzhuo…
Deep down, he was actually a very gentle person.
Both now and in the future.
Even though he said he didn’t need help, told her to leave, claimed she was in the way…
In the end, he still couldn’t help but take over the mess she’d left behind.
Just like many years later, when that man who had already reached the pinnacle of success used every means to keep her by his side, saying he wanted revenge, that he would make her pay the most painful price for abandoning him back then…
Yet in the end, on that night of pouring rain, he broke down and held her tightly, asking over and over in a voice that bordered on pleading:
Shen Zhili, why can’t I bring myself to hate you?
Just then, a sudden clamor of footsteps from outside interrupted Shen Zhili’s thoughts.
Followed by the sound of several boys laughing and roughhousing.
“Hey, Brother Li, is this the place?”
“Yeah, this is it.”
“I heard there’s a really handsome guy working here. I brought you all today to check him out.”
Shen Zhili paused.
She turned and peered through the half-open door of the break room, her gaze shifting to the shop outside.
Several boys wearing Qinzhuo Academy uniforms swaggered in. The one leading them had striking gray hair and walked with a slight limp.
It was Li Junye, the same boy Jiang Xianzhuo had kicked down in the square that morning.
The arrogant hostility on his face hadn’t faded; if anything, it had grown fiercer now that he had brought his friends along.
Shen Zhili’s brows instantly furrowed.
She instinctively turned to look at Jiang Xianzhuo.
Jiang Xianzhuo had naturally heard the commotion outside. He set down the cleaver and wiped his hands expressionlessly.
“I’ll step out for a moment.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the break room.
Shen Zhili remained where she was, not immediately following him.
She moved closer to the door, quietly observing the situation outside through the narrow crack.
As soon as Li Junye entered, his eyes, scanning the shelves, locked directly onto Jiang Xianzhuo.
He walked up to the counter and deliberately knocked on it. “Well, well, Jiang Xianzhuo, still working here, huh?”
“Quite dedicated.”
Jiang Xianzhuo ignored him.
He calmly walked behind the counter. The blue uniform he wore somehow gave off an aura of cool, restrained elegance.
“Are you here to buy something or to check out?”
Hearing this, Li Junye’s smile widened even more.
“To buy something, of course.”
He lazily drawled out his words, sweeping his gaze around the store.
“But I didn’t bring any money today. Can you let me have it on credit?”
Jiang Xianzhuo lifted his eyes, looking at him coldly. “No.”
“Oh dear,” Li Junye feigned surprise, slapping his forehead. “What should I do then?”
“I just want to take a few things today. What do you think I should do?”
Without waiting for Jiang Xianzhuo’s reply, he turned around and casually swept a few bottles of drinks off the nearest shelf, tossing them to the lackeys behind him.
He then twisted open a bottle of cola right in front of Jiang Xianzhuo, tilting his head back to take a big gulp.
The bubbles hissed.
“Ah, so refreshing.”
Seeing this, the boys following Li Junye immediately understood. They scattered around the store, grabbing things at will.
Chip bags were torn open roughly, cookie crumbs scattered all over the floor, and someone even ripped open a cup noodle package, spilling seasoning packets everywhere.
The entire convenience store was instantly in disarray.
The middle-aged woman behind the cash register paled. She looked up from her phone screen, her voice trembling.
“What are you doing? If you’re not buying anything, don’t just take stuff!”
Li Junye turned back and smiled at her.
“Auntie, don’t get worked up.”
“We’ll pay for it later.”
Then he turned his head again, his gaze sticking back to Jiang Xianzhuo’s stern face, full of provocation.
“Right, Jiang Xianzhuo?”
“Tell me, aren’t we going to pay?”
Jiang Xianzhuo didn’t speak.
He watched Li Junye quietly, his face expressionless.
Shen Zhili stood behind the break room door, staring at the smirking boys outside, her fingers gripping the doorframe tightly.
Should she go out?
If she rushed out now, would Jiang Xianzhuo think she was meddling again, looking down on him with that condescending attitude?
But if she didn’t go out…
Her gaze fell on Jiang Xianzhuo’s tightly clenched fist, the veins bulging on it, his whole body like a string stretched to its limit.
Forget it.
Who cares what he thinks.
Since when has someone I care about been bullied by these scumbags?
Shen Zhili took a deep breath, ready to push the door open and step out, but then she heard Jiang Xianzhuo speak.
“If you take something, pay for it.”
His voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.
Li Junye laughed even louder. “Oh, still sticking to your principles, huh?”
He walked up to Jiang Xianzhuo, leaning his entire upper body over the counter until he was almost face-to-face with him.
“What if I just don’t pay? What can you do about it?”
Jiang Xianzhuo didn’t speak. He lowered his eyes slightly, looking down at the malicious face before him.
Finally, there was a flicker in those narrow eyes.
Cold.
Bone-chilling cold.
Within that coldness, a storm of danger was brewing.
Li Junye felt an inexplicable jolt in his heart under that gaze, instinctively wanting to step back.
But he quickly remembered that his friends were watching. If he backed down now, where would his pride be?
Shame instantly turned into anger.
“Fuck, what are you glaring at?”
Enraged and humiliated, Li Junye raised his hand to shove Jiang Xianzhuo’s shoulder.
The next second, Jiang Xianzhuo moved.
His movements were lightning-fast. Before Li Junye’s hand could touch him, he grabbed the other’s wrist and twisted it hard.
“Ah!!”
Li Junye screamed in pain, forced to bend over.
“Jiang Xianzhuo, are you fucking looking for death?!”
The boys behind him immediately dropped what they were holding and closed in with menacing looks.
The middle-aged woman behind the cash register screamed in fright, fumbling for her phone to call the police.
“Th-there are security cameras here! Don’t you dare do anything!”