Listening to the dial tone after the call ended, she pondered with some confusion over what her boss had meant.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, she hurriedly opened Xiaohongshu.
She typed in the name of the coffee shop.
The next moment, aside from Song Ya’s highly praised post that made her feel a bit embarrassed, several cautionary posts popped up.
【Help! Who said the service at this coffee shop was great?】
【Feels like I owe the server at least five million, doesn’t the boss care?】
…
Huh.
Mystery solved.
Qin Wang’s voice sounded beside Jiang Shining.
“Got a raise?”
Jiang Shining quickly turned her phone face down before looking up.
Staring at the calm Qin Wang before her, she couldn’t quite reconcile him with the arrogant figure in the photos.
She never expected that having Qin Wang cover a little over an hour of part-time work would lead to such a pleasant surprise.
Jiang Shining couldn’t help but grin mischievously. “Yes, I did!”
She picked up the coffee on the table and said generously, “This one’s on me too~”
After saying that, she took a big gulp of the coffee.
The chill of the iced Americano seemed to relax every pore in Jiang Shining’s body.
“Hehe, Qin Wang, I’ve discovered you’re quite charming.”
Who knew he could even help her get a raise!
Jiang Shining pushed Qin Wang back into his seat, pulled the coffee apron off him, and slid the coffee back in front of him.
“From now on, I’ll handle things. You drink your coffee, go on!”
Qin Wang remained silent.
His gaze paused on a corner of the coffee cup.
Seeing Qin Wang motionless, Jiang Shining thought he might be dissatisfied with the small amount of coffee left.
Well, it was a bit little.
Only half of the coffee remained.
“Should I get you a new cup?”
As Jiang Shining spoke, she was about to fetch a fresh one.
But just as she picked up the coffee, her wrist was grasped by Qin Wang.
“No need.”
Qin Wang’s gaze was profound. “This one is fine.”
Holding the coffee, he looked at Jiang Shining and took a sip.
Since he didn’t mind, Jiang Shining didn’t press further. Instead, she turned and headed straight toward Lin Momo.
The two high-fived at the counter and happily swayed their hips.
Then, Lin Momo excitedly hugged Jiang Shining. “Ning! It’s all thanks to you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known when I’d ever get a raise.”
Lin Momo had been working part-time at the coffee shop on and off for a year and a half and had never heard of anyone getting a raise.
“Hard work pays off, hard work pays off~ Sob sob~”
Lin Momo felt that the raise was all thanks to Jiang Shining and patted her chest, promising, “From now on, making coffee at the shop is my job. No matter how tough or tiring it gets, I won’t complain! You just focus on handling the cash register!”
Jiang Shining smiled. “Sure, sure.”
This was just the excitement of getting a raise talking. Once latte art made Lin Momo’s hands ache, she’d be crying about it.
Jiang Shining thought to herself but didn’t dampen Lin Momo’s enthusiasm.
After another half hour at the shop, the two clocked out.
Lin Momo rode her electric scooter, while Jiang Shining took Qin Wang’s car.
“Bye~”
“Bye!”
After saying their goodbyes, Qin Wang drove Jiang Shining back to the apartment.
As soon as they reached the fifth floor, Jiang Shining saw the open door of unit 501 and the figure inside.
Both of them knew that Jiang Wan preferred quiet.
Strangers rarely visited their apartment.
Qin Wang looked at Jiang Shining. “Should I stay with you?”
Jiang Shining shook her head. “No need. If anything happens, you can come over then.”
If Qin Wang came to help at every little thing and even came directly to the apartment, even someone as slow as Jiang Wan would notice something was off.
Jiang Shining tugged at Qin Wang’s arm and lightly scratched his palm.
“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”
“You should go back first!”
Qin Wang looked at her.
After a long moment, he finally turned and went back next door.
Watching the closed door, Jiang Shining then turned around, took a deep breath, and entered apartment 501.
…
“Jiang Wan! I’m telling you, this Old Wang is really something. He’s in the building materials business, making good money and it’s stable. The key is, he doesn’t even mind that you’re frail and have a daughter dragging you down.”
Before even entering, Jiang Shining heard these words, and her expression instantly darkened.
The next moment, she heard Jiang Wan retort.
“Xiao Ning is not a burden! Aunt Zhang, if you keep talking like that, get out of my house!”
Hearing this, Jiang Shining’s expression softened slightly.
From these two sentences, she understood roughly who was in the apartment.
Although Jiang Shining had never met the matchmaker Aunt Zhang from this area, she knew about her from the original host’s memories.
She walked into the apartment and looked in the direction of the voices.
Besides Jiang Wan, there were two more people in the living room.
One was Aunt Zhang, wearing a floral shirt and fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan.
The other was a middle-aged man on the sofa, dressed in a shirt and suit, with his hair slicked back in a pompadour.
Jiang Shining suppressed all her emotions and spoke calmly, “Mom, I’m back.”
Instantly, all three people in the living room turned to look at Jiang Shining.
“Xiao Ning!”
Seeing Jiang Shining, Jiang Wan’s face showed a hint of panic.
Aunt Zhang’s expression shifted, but she quickly put on a smile. “Oh, the girl is back. Come, come, Aunt Zhang hasn’t seen you in so long.”
As she spoke, Aunt Zhang walked toward Jiang Shining.
But the more she looked at Jiang Shining, the more surprised she became.
The last time she saw Jiang Shining was half a year ago. Back then, Jiang Shining had dyed streaks in her long hair and wore messy, inappropriate makeup.
At that time, everyone in the apartment still joked that Jiang Wan had been knocked up by some hoodlum and gave birth to a daughter who looked just like a hoodlum herself.
But now, Jiang Shining was wearing a white dress, her jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders. Not only was she completely different from how she looked half a year ago, but she also resembled her beautiful mother more and more.
Not only did she resemble her, but she was even prettier.
“A girl changes eighteen times as she grows up. Shining, you look nothing like before.”
Aunt Zhang looked Jiang Shining up and down, as if appraising a piece of merchandise on display.
Jiang Shining frowned.
Aunt Zhang took Jiang Shining’s hand and led her to the middle-aged man on the sofa.
“Shining! This is Uncle Wang. You two will have plenty of time to get along in the future! You’ll have to start calling him Dad soon.”
Aunt Zhang covered her mouth and laughed, pointing to two bags on the table.
“These are what Uncle Wang brought for you. They’re all good stuff—this milk powder helps you grow taller, and this whole box of cherries!”
Jiang Shining didn’t spare a single glance at the two bags on the table. Instead, she looked at Jiang Wan.
Jiang Shining: “Mom, are you dating this Uncle Wang?”
Her blunt words left all three people in the living room stunned.
Aunt Zhang patted Jiang Shining’s shoulder. “Oh, you girl, you really speak your mind, hahaha!”
Aunt Zhang thought Jiang Shining was tacitly approving of their relationship.
Jiang Shining couldn’t be bothered with the matchmaker and only looked at her mother.
Jiang Wan bit her red lip. “I…”
Jiang Wan did not know how to explain.
But Jiang Shining could see the hesitation and helplessness in her mother’s eyes.