Su He’s eyes were sparkling as she beamed at Shen Juanzhou. She knew she probably looked a bit silly, but even if she kept her mouth shut, her happiness was spilling out of her eyes.
“No, I went to set up a stall today!” Su He said with a laugh. “I actually made some money, just enough to pay you back.”
“Thanks again for before. Anyone willing to lend me money is a saint in my book!”
The corner of Shen Juanzhou’s mouth twitched upward into a slight smile. He glanced at the bag Su He had set down. “What were you selling?”
“Face painting. You know about that? Just painting designs on kids’ faces,” Su He explained.
Shen Juanzhou nodded, understanding now. He hadn’t expected Su He to have that kind of skill. Looking at the leftover paint on her hands that hadn’t been washed off yet and the sheer excitement on her face, it was clear she had indeed turned a profit.
Happiness is contagious. A hint of warmth reached Shen Juanzhou’s eyes as well. “Congratulations.”
Su He shook her head. “Haha, thanks! I’ll keep working hard, and eventually, I’ll treat you to a massive feast!”
“Oh, right—hurry up and accept the transfer. Once I pay off my debt, I’ll feel so much lighter!”
Shen Juanzhou leaned against the doorframe. “Keep it. Consider it payment for all the meals you’ve been bringing me lately.”
“It doesn’t work that way. Those meals were just the interest,” Su He insisted. “I’m incredibly grateful that you lent me money when I was in a bind. Just take it. Otherwise, every time I see you, I feel like I’m looking at a debt collector and I’m too scared to do anything.”
Su He continued to persuade him earnestly. “If you don’t accept it, I’ll just have to withdraw cash tomorrow and give it to you that way.”
Seeing how serious she was, Shen Juanzhou finally nodded. “Alright.”
The moment she saw him accept the money, Su He felt a literal weight lift off her shoulders. She smiled brightly. “I didn’t pass the snack street today, so I ordered takeout. Let’s eat together in a bit?”
Shen Juanzhou shook his head. “No thanks, I still have to stream.”
Su He watched his retreating figure and sighed. Everyone was working so hard to make a living. Her initial excitement slowly settled into a quiet calm. She placed the extra takeout on the table and took her own portion back to her room.
She disliked her job at the restaurant. While face painting could bring in money for now, she didn’t want to make it her main career—though it was certainly better than carrying trays. Today’s success might have been due to curiosity or the lack of competition. If she did it full-time, she’d eventually have to face those issues. She needed to be sure she could sustain herself before she dared to quit. The restaurant job was unpleasant, but it was stable.
With that thousand yuan as a safety net, Su He felt like she had a bit more “backbone” in her step. Her arms were sore, though; even after a night’s rest, she hadn’t quite recovered. As she picked up a tray, she let out a low, “Hiss—”
Liu Rui, the food runner, saw her hand shake slightly. He walked over with a smile. “Let me do it.”
He quickly stacked the dishes and carried them effortlessly to the kitchen. Su He puffed out her cheeks. “Thanks!”
Liu Rui gave his bangs what he thought was a cool flick. “No problem.”
Su He looked at him, amused. Liu Rui asked gossipingly, “How come I haven’t seen you looking for Zhang Chi lately?”
“We broke up,” Su He replied.
Liu Rui’s eyes lit up. “Why’d you break up?”
“My mom said she arranged a marriage for me back home. She won’t let me find a boyfriend out here,” Su He deadpanned.
“Huh?” Liu Rui’s eyes widened in shock.
Su He stifled a laugh. “Gotta get back to work!”
Even as she stood at the front taking orders, she couldn’t stop smiling, thinking Liu Rui’s expression just now was hilarious. Su He was only joking, but to everyone else in the shop, the two of them looked like they were flirting and being very intimate. There were only two male runners in the shop and the rest were women, so the men were quite popular there.
Seeing Su He walk over with a smile on her face, her colleague Zhao Cuicui—who had always disliked her—rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, “Fox spirit!”
Su He looked up at her, feeling somewhat speechless. She had simply exchanged a few words with someone, and now she was a “fox spirit”? These people were truly ridiculous. She didn’t bother wasting her breath on them.
It wasn’t until the shift ended and they went to the locker room to change that Zhao Cuicui couldn’t help but vent her jealousy again. “Tsk, having good looks really is an advantage, isn’t it? Just finished with one man and already hooking up with another.”
“How shameless!”
The other girls changing their clothes suppressed their smiles, but no one spoke up. They all knew she was talking about Su He. But then again, Su He was undeniably beautiful and always stole the spotlight; whenever a man was around, his eyes would invariably land on her. It was hard not to feel envious.
Bang! Su He slammed her locker door shut.
The locker room fell silent instantly.
Su He looked at Zhao Cuicui with a cold, mocking smile. “To be shameless, you first need the capital to be shameless. If everyone looked like you, I bet even if you wanted to find a man, you wouldn’t be able to!”
“Who are you talking about?” Zhao Cuicui snapped, glaring over.
Su He didn’t back down. “I’m talking about whoever answers me! I am beautiful, and men do like me! What of it? What of it?”
Seeing Zhao Cuicui rendered speechless, Su He pressed on. “Envious? Jealous? Well, it’s no use. Who told you to be born with such bad luck in the looks department?”
Zhao Cuicui’s eyes widened. “Su He, don’t get too cocky!”
Su He sneered. “You call this cocky? At most, I’m just ‘committing crimes with my beauty.’ After all, who told me to have the assets for it?”
“You!” Zhao Cuicui puffed out her chest and stepped forward.
Su He grabbed her phone and asked sharply, “What do you think you’re doing?” Her sharp gaze swept over Zhao Cuicui and the surrounding girls.
“We are colleagues. Usually, a nod and a smile are enough to get by, but if any of you insist on looking for trouble, I, Su He, am not afraid!”
Seeing that no one else wanted to speak, Su He shut the door, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked out of the shop.
It wasn’t until she was a few hundred meters away that Su He let out a long sigh of relief. This was the first time she had challenged so many people at once. She was feeling a bit of delayed fear now—if that group had decided to mob her, she wouldn’t have had time to fight back.
Careless, too careless, she thought. Can’t do that next time.
The more she interacted with these people, the more Su He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Working here until ten at night left her no time for a side hustle; she had to rely on her single day off to earn extra cash.
Su He gritted her teeth. There was only one week left until the end of the month; she would finish this month first. If the competition at the park entrance was too fierce, she’d spend some money to get into a shopping mall. “A person moves to live, a tree stays to die”—one way or another, she would find a way to support herself.
Lying in bed that night, Su He was still brainstorming ways to make money. She looked up at the ceiling light and suddenly laughed. She seemed to be practicing a modern version of “reflecting on oneself three times a day”:
Am I making money? Can I make money? Can I make a fortune?
She tried hard to remember what else she could do—what other skill points she hadn’t unlocked yet. Tossing and turning with these thoughts, Su He gradually drifted off to sleep.
A split second before falling unconscious, she suddenly jolted.
She had thought of something!!