The original owner had no friends in the shop.
Su He had even fewer, and she wasn’t particularly interested in making any. They were just colleagues; they’d cross paths while working, but once she left, she certainly wouldn’t stay in touch. Besides, Su He had no intention of doing this long-term.
Several nearby coworkers kept glancing at her, their eyes brimming with gossip, clearly dying to ask what happened that morning. She had no interest in explaining her private life to every single person. If she had that kind of free time, wasn’t it better to spend it thinking about how to escape poverty?
As noon approached, Su He took a bathroom break and checked her phone.
As expected, Zhang Chi did care about his job. When the money was transferred, it was accompanied by a string of verbal abuse. Su He didn’t bother reading it. In her eyes, only incompetent people tried to use violence or foul language to deal with others. To her, Zhang Chi was exactly that kind of person.
With a thousand yuan finally in her account, Su He’s anxious heart steadied a little. She even felt a bit more energized for work.
City A was a tourist city with many visitors. Around two or three in the afternoon, two foreign girls walked in. They were gesturing wildly and speaking rapidly in a foreign language. Zhang Duoduo went over and listened for a long time but couldn’t understand a word.
Su He stopped clearing tables and walked over. One of the girls gestured with her hands: “Box!”
“Little box!!!”
They gestured for a long time, but still, no one understood. The two girls seemed exhausted; they spread their hands, shrugged, and shook their heads helplessly.
Su He quickly whispered to Zhang Duoduo, “They want a takeout box.”
Zhang Duoduo signaled to the front desk to bring the boxes out. The two girls immediately looked as if they had found a treasure, repeatedly saying “Thank you!” while continuing to gesture with their hands.
Once they left, Zhang Duoduo looked at Su He with curiosity. “You can understand them?”
Su He could understand a few words, but her English was mediocre at best. “Not really, I just guessed.”
Zhang Duoduo nodded, looking Su He over with a new sense of appraisal.
Watching the backs of the two international travelers, an idea formed in Su He’s mind.
A tourist city… plenty of foreign tourists…
Pity her current skills weren’t up to par.
She stacked the dirty dishes and carried them to the kitchen, trip after trip, acting as if the earlier incident had never happened.
When she finished work that evening, she passed the snack street again. She figured she had become somewhat acquainted with Shen Juanzhou over the past few days. She took a photo of the street and sent it to him: “Which one do you want to eat?”
Su He waited a while, then sent another message: “Waiting five more minutes. If you don’t reply, I’m leaving.”
Four minutes later, Shen Juanzhou’s text arrived: “No need, thanks.”
“Thanks for the breakfast, but don’t bring it anymore.”
Su He raised an eyebrow. “Fine then.”
This guy was truly difficult to get close to. Maybe he still looked down on her? To the point where he didn’t even want her help picking up food?
When Shen Juanzhou received Su He’s message, his gaze was fixed on the breakfast container in the trash can.
He didn’t like owing people. More interaction inevitably led to more trouble. It was better to keep things as they were—mutual non-interference.
However, the stir-fried rice noodles Su He brought back yesterday were actually quite good.
He leaned lazily against his chair and glanced at the computer screen. His hand, which was about to rest, stopped. “One more round.”
The bullet chat scrolled rapidly: “Is this streamer trying to kill himself? He’s been live for four hours since 6:00.” “Yeah, I finished my dinner and came back, and he’s still streaming.” “With this kind of attitude, if he had studied hard in school, he wouldn’t have to suffer like this now.” “Upstairs, are you an idiot?!”
“Yeah, people upstairs, are you stupid or what?” “Do you even know how much this streamer makes in one night?” “Can’t you see the screen full of ‘Yachts’ and ‘Beauties’ [donations]?” “The money he makes in a day is more than you earn in a month.” “Zhouzhou, play Mulan! I want to see it!!”
Shen Juanzhou glanced casually at the bullet comments. He had been about to pick a hero, but he switched his selection to Mulan.
“Holy crap! I’ve watched so many streams, and this is the first time he’s actually ‘flipped a fan’s card’ [picked a request]!” “The ancestors’ graves must be smoking [meaning extreme luck]~” “If the streamer makes that much money, why does he still eat instant noodles every day?”
The comments scrolled by too fast, and the earlier messages were quickly buried. After finishing another round, Shen Juanzhou shook his wrists and fingers, which were starting to protest. He couldn’t play anymore.
Placing the phone on the desk, he began chatting aimlessly with his fans. Then, a “clink-clank” sound came from outside; Shen Juanzhou realized Su He was back. He glanced toward the door, then pulled his gaze back.
Buzz!
“I bought an extra portion of stir-fried rice noodles. I’ve left it at your door. If you don’t eat it, I’ll throw it away tomorrow.”
Shen Juanzhou’s fingers twitched. He stood up anyway and brought the steaming hot noodles inside. Feeling perhaps a bit embarrassed, he sent a reply: “Help yourself to the instant noodles and water.”
Su He looked at the message and smiled. She knew this guy was just acting tough. Who could refuse being fed delicious food? No one.
After showering, Su He sat cross-legged on her bed. One thousand yuan had hit her account today; she had bought some things and already spent over six hundred. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but she wanted to try.
After working for two more consecutive days, Su He’s initial patience began to wear thin, and she involuntarily started to feel a bit irritable. Working like a machine on an assembly line for twelve hours a day was grueling.
Fortunately, the original owner had every Friday off, providing a much-needed breather. On Thursday night, Su He rushed home excitedly.
Her packages had arrived.
As soon as she got back, she ignored everything else and tore into the boxes. A folding table and chairs, sketchbooks, paints, and reference guides. There were so many items that there wasn’t enough room to set them up in her bedroom. Su He had no choice but to set things up in the living room.
In just three or four days, Shen Juanzhou had already begun to look forward to tonight’s late-night snack. As soon as he heard the clattering outside, he started wrapping up his stream, waiting to eat.
However, today was strange. The noise outside lasted a long time, but his phone remained silent. He even topped up his phone credit, turned off the Wi-Fi, and checked his data, but there were still no messages.
When silence returned to the hallway, Shen Juanzhou opened his door and glanced at the table outside. It was empty.
His expectant heart sank to rock bottom. Sigh… what is wrong with me?
He walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and stared at the instant noodles for a long time before finally picking out a tomato-flavored cup. He had eaten these every day not long ago, so why did he feel a wave of nausea looking at them now after only a few meals of real food?
Ignoring his stomach’s protest, he proceeded to prepare the noodles. Just as he was carrying them back to his bedroom, Su He happened to step out, holding a bag.
Su He glanced at the cup in his hand. “Oh? You made noodles?”
She had been in such a rush when she got home that she forgot to give him the stir-fried pancakes she bought. She lifted the bag in her hand. “I have stir-fried pancakes. I forgot to give them to you. Do you still want them?”