◎ Male Celebrity. ◎
The rush hour had already passed, so Tian Miaomiao took a taxi straight there, afraid that if she arrived even a step too late, she’d miss her chance to recover her two months of unpaid wages.
The employees’ rights protection group chat was still providing live updates on the situation.
The boss had deliberately chosen to visit the hotel at night, thinking no one would be there. Unexpectedly, he was still cornered by the people who had been waiting for him. Some had even put up banners.
When Tian Miaomiao arrived at the hotel, the boss was still trapped in a corner. Someone was holding a megaphone and shouting at him emotionally.
For some reason, the scene reminded Tian Miaomiao of the night Ling Chuang had received a public confession at the night market.
However, the situation at the hotel was clearly much more intense.
The boss was surrounded by a crowd; his hair and clothes were a complete mess, and so many people were holding up their phones to film him.
“Miaomiao, you’re here?”
Jian Kuan, who had sent Tian Miaomiao the message, spotted her arrival and quickly waved her over.
Tian Miaomiao walked up to him and asked about the situation.
“How are things going now? Has President Wang agreed to pay our wages?”
“If he’d agreed, would we still have him cornered here?”
Tian Miaomiao craned her neck to look at President Wang, who was struggling to survive in the narrow space between the people surrounding him.
Although President Wang had never been in such a sorry state in his entire life, he was still just as stubborn.
“I’ve already told you I don’t have any money! If you’re not satisfied, then go ahead and sue me!”
His words made everyone even more agitated.
If filing a lawsuit could solve everything, there wouldn’t be so many people who stubbornly refused to repay their debts in this world.
“Wang Xingying! If you don’t pay the wages you owe us today, don’t even think about walking out that door!”
A sturdily built male colleague had gone to the kitchen to get a kitchen knife and charged straight into the lobby.
When everyone saw the kitchen knife, they became somewhat frightened. Those who were more timid immediately cried out and moved away.
President Wang was also badly frightened, terrified that the man might suddenly lose control and start attacking people with the knife.
“Let’s talk this through! Don’t do anything rash!”
“What’s there to talk about with someone like you?! My life’s worthless anyway! At worst, we’ll all die together!”
As he spoke, the man took a few steps toward President Wang.
The people gathered around President Wang immediately scattered, and Jian Kuan hurriedly pulled Tian Miaomiao aside.
President Wang, who had been so stubborn just moments ago, hadn’t expected the situation to take such a sudden turn. He was now so frightened that he nearly collapsed to the floor.
“It’s just two months’ wages! What’s the big deal?! There’s no need to make this a matter of life and death!”
“Then transfer the money! This isn’t over until we get our money today!”
“Transferring money isn’t something I can just do immediately. It also requires…”
“I don’t care what it requires!”
The man holding the kitchen knife interrupted him directly.
“Your life is precious, Wang Xingying, but I’m not afraid! If I drag you down with me, I won’t be losing out!”
“No, no, don’t!”
Just as the conflict seemed about to escalate again, the police arrived in time and brought the situation under control.
When President Wang saw that the man with the knife had been subdued, all the strength drained from his body, and he sank to the floor.
“Officer, if you’d arrived any later, my blood would’ve been spilled right here!”
Although the man with the knife had been restrained by the police, he cursed President Wang even more loudly than before.
The other employees at the scene were also highly agitated. They blocked the entrance to prevent the police from taking President Wang away, holding up banners demanding that he pay back the money.
The commotion continued for a long time that night before the police finally managed to more or less mediate the dispute between the two sides.
President Wang also promised, in front of the police, that he would pay the outstanding wages.
Tian Miaomiao didn’t really believe his promise.
However, the police said they would follow up on the matter together with the Labor Bureau, and only then did the gathered employees reluctantly disperse.
Tian Miaomiao checked the time and hurried to return to the night market.
Jian Kuan called out to her from behind.
“Miaomiao, it’s so late. Let me take you home.”
Tian Miaomiao waved her hand and replied, “No need. I still have to hurry back to my stall.”
“Huh?”
Jian Kuan froze for a moment.
“You’re running a stall?”
“Yeah, a barbecue stall.”
Jian Kuan was stunned again.
“No wonder I could smell barbecue on you. I thought you’d rushed over here halfway through eating barbecue.”
“…Haha.”
Tian Miaomiao laughed awkwardly a couple of times.
“Where’s your stall? I’ll come take a look too.”
“At North Gate Night Market.”
Tian Miaomiao was worried that Tian Doudou might not be able to manage on his own, so she didn’t waste any more time chatting idly with Jian Kuan and brought him along to Starlight Park.
It was already almost eleven, but there were still quite a few people at North Gate Night Market.
This was Jian Kuan’s first time visiting the place, and he looked around curiously.
“You run your stall here?”
“Yeah. Business is pretty good.”
Jian Kuan frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with the environment.
“With your abilities, running a stall here is really a waste of your talents.”
Tian Miaomiao laughed a couple of times and said, “It’s not too bad.”
Jian Kuan turned his head to look at her.
“Actually, I’ve already reached an agreement with Nebula Hotel. I’ll be starting work there next week. Why don’t you come with me?”
“Huh?”
Tian Miaomiao hadn’t expected him to say that, and she was momentarily stunned.
“Nebula Hotel? That’s pretty good. It’s also a five-star hotel. But I don’t think I’ll go with you. After all, you’re the one they want.”
Jian Kuan replied, “I know how capable you are at your job. If I recommend you to them, they definitely won’t refuse.”
“Hmm… Thank you for the offer, but I still don’t think I’ll go.”
“Why? Do you really intend to keep running a stall here forever?”
As Jian Kuan spoke, they happened to pass Sun Xuchuan’s grilled squid stall.
Sun Xuchuan, with his head of dyed blond hair, was busy grilling squid, while a muscular, tattooed man wearing a black tank top carried two bowls of ice jelly over to some customers.
Jian Kuan instinctively quickened his pace and lowered his voice as he spoke to Tian Miaomiao.
“The people here are too mixed. There are blond-haired hooligans, heavily tattooed guys…”
Just as he reached this point, they arrived in front of Tian Miaomiao’s barbecue stall.
Ling Chuang, who was helping greet the customers, caught sight of them out of the corner of his eye.
He turned around and looked at Tian Miaomiao and Jian Kuan.
Jian Kuan’s words immediately caught in his throat.
And there was also… a male celebrity?
Ling Chuang’s gaze rested on Jian Kuan for only a moment before shifting to Tian Miaomiao beside him.
“You’re back? How did it go with getting your unpaid wages?”
“Uh, it was pretty nerve-racking.”
Tian Miaomiao looked at Ling Chuang standing across from her and asked somewhat uncertainly, “Were you… helping us serve customers?”
“Mm,” Ling Chuang replied casually. “Tian Doudou couldn’t manage on his own, and I’d already closed my stall.”
Tian Miaomiao immediately felt a little embarrassed. No wonder she’d noticed that Ling Chuang’s food truck was still parked there earlier.
“Thank you. You should take a break now. I can handle the rest.”
As Tian Miaomiao spoke, she went to get a small stool for Ling Chuang, intending to let him sit down. But then she wondered whether those long legs of his would even fit…
Tian Doudou, who was grilling skewers, heard her voice and turned to look at her.
“Sis, you’re finally back! Luckily, Brother Chuang helped me today. Otherwise, I would’ve died here!”
“…”
The corners of Tian Miaomiao’s mouth twitched.
It hadn’t even been that long, and he was already calling him Brother Chuang.
“It’s not that serious, it’s not that serious.”
“It is that serious!”
Tian Doudou was about to say something else when he suddenly noticed Jian Kuan standing nearby. The look in his eyes immediately changed.
“Who’s that? Your friend?”
“Oh, this is my former colleague, Jian Kuan.”
Tian Miaomiao took the opportunity to introduce him.
“He heard I was running a stall here, so he specially came over to support my business.”
“Hello, everyone.”
Jian Kuan greeted them with a smile before his gaze returned to Ling Chuang, whose good looks stood out far too much.
“And who might this gentleman be?”
“Ling Chuang.”
Ling Chuang simply replied with his name.
“Oh, Mr. Ling, are you also a friend of Miaomiao’s?”
Jian Kuan discreetly sized him up.
He’d never heard of Miaomiao having such a handsome male friend before.
Tian Miaomiao explained, “Oh, Boss Ling also runs a stall at North Gate Night Market. His food truck is the one beside mine.”
Jian Kuan turned to glance at it, then looked back in disbelief.
“Mr. Ling also runs a stall here?”
Could he be filming some kind of variety show? Were there hidden cameras somewhere nearby?
Jian Kuan immediately raised his hands to straighten his hair and collar.
Ling Chuang merely nodded slightly before saying to Tian Miaomiao, “Since you’re back, I’ll be leaving now.”
“Alright.”
Tian Miaomiao acknowledged him, then smiled and thanked him again.
“Thank you for today. I’ll treat you to some barbecue another day.”
Ling Chuang seemed to chuckle softly before walking away on his long legs.
Standing inside the food truck, Tian Doudou looked at Tian Miaomiao and said, “Sis, we’ve already sold out of barbecue. Why don’t you take your friend to eat something else?”
Seeing that there really was nothing left in the refrigerated display case, Tian Miaomiao smiled apologetically at Jian Kuan.
“Then let me treat you to something else. How about some ice jelly?”
Jian Kuan followed her gesture and looked toward the ice jelly stall.
The stall owner was none other than the muscular, tattooed man he’d complained about earlier.
“…No need. I’m actually not hungry.”
Noticing that the tattooed man was looking at him, Jian Kuan hurriedly looked away.
“Since you’re busy, I won’t disturb you any longer. Think about what I told you, alright? I’ll be going now.”
“Then I won’t see you off.”
“No need, no need.”
Jian Kuan waved his hand and quickly left North Gate Night Market.
After watching him walk away, Tian Doudou asked Tian Miaomiao while grilling the skewers on the grill, “What was he talking to you about?”
“Nothing much. He wanted me to go work at Nebula Hotel with him.”
Tian Miaomiao put away the stool she’d brought out earlier and continued attending to the customers who were still waiting for their barbecue.
Tian Doudou looked at her with wide eyes.
“Is it also a five-star hotel? Are you going?”
“I’ve already turned him down.”
Tian Doudou let out an “Oh.”
“Did you turn down that colleague, or did you turn down the job?”
“…Both.”
Tian Miaomiao clicked her tongue.
Gossip really was a universal human instinct. Even a tall guy like Tian Doudou couldn’t escape it.
After completing their last order of the night, Tian Miaomiao’s barbecue stall finally closed.
On the way home, Tian Doudou was still enthusiastically telling Tian Miaomiao about Ling Chuang.
“You have no idea. When Brother Chuang came over to help at our stall today, so many customers were completely stunned.”
“Oh, were they amazed by his good looks?”
“That was part of it, I guess. But most of them were more interested in what kind of relationship he had with you.”
Tian Miaomiao: “…”
“Someone even asked if he was my brother-in-law.”
Tian Miaomiao: “…”
I’m sorry, Boss Ling, for putting you through so much.