Qi Ningze nodded mechanically. He guessed that Yang Le’an probably needed to head out for school around this time, and it wouldn’t do to impose on him further.
He nodded obediently like a small animal, his gaze as pure and bright as a bright autumn moon. “Mm-hmm, you go to school first. I’ll stay safely at home and wait for you.”
Deep within Yang Le’an’s eyes flickered a flash of astonishment, and he couldn’t help but think of the word “dodder plant.” Qi Ningze was just like a dodder flower beautiful and fragile, utterly incapable of surviving without a host, with his only means of survival being to cautiously and tenderly please that host.
Beauty truly was a sin. No wonder the orphanage director had been terrified that Qi Ningze might catch the eye of some bad person and had specifically asked him to let the youth stay at his place for a while.
With a calm expression, Yang Le’an instructed, “Then just wait for me to come back. I might have to do some part-time work tonight, so I’ll be back a bit late. There are instant noodles in my bedroom; if you get hungry later, you can boil some for yourself.”
After making sure everything was settled, Yang Le’an felt at ease enough to step out the door.
Qi Ningze leaned his entire body against the railing, watching his receding figure. A gentle breeze drifted past, stirring his ink-black hair, while a soft ray of light gently kissed his forehead, illuminating his exquisite and peerless face.
Bathed in the moonlight, Qi Ningze’s smooth skin was cast in a soft glow, making him look like a mythical spirit that devoured human essence so captivating that one couldn’t help but be intoxicated. After a single glance, Yang Le’an subconsciously quickened his pace, his heart fluttering in disarray.
As Yang Le’an’s figure shrank until it became a tiny black dot, Qi Ningze finally withdrew his gaze. Perhaps due to a fledgling’s attachment, watching Yang Le’an leave made his heart twist into a tight knot.
Left alone once more in the cramped room, Qi Ningze bit his vivid red lip, his fingers nervously rubbing against the hem of his shirt. “System, am I supposed to stay here right now? Are there any other tasks I need to do?”
Being all by himself here was so scary. If there were just a few more people around, he wouldn’t be afraid.
The System didn’t want to pay him any mind. Qi Ningze had given it a psychological shadow last time by taking its teasing remarks seriously, spending the entire night asking if he had really been picked off the street. Yet the System Manual explicitly stated: A host’s questions must be answered without fail.
With a helpless sigh, the System went along with Qi Ningze’s words and issued a new mission:
[New Mission Assigned: Find a night job to help subsidize household expenses without interfering with subsequent classes and studies.][Mission Reward: Unlock new plot points. Mission Penalty: None.]
Qi Ningze nodded, pressing his lips tightly together as he thought to himself, “I’ve never worked a job before. I wonder how I’m supposed to go to an interview later?”
It was the height of summer, and though the muggy breeze blew past, it carried a tart, refreshing coolness. Standing on the crowded sidewalk like an ignorant bumpkin, Qi Ningze let his gaze dart everywhere, curiously taking in his surroundings.
Seeing other people dressed in glamorous, dazzling clothes, he couldn’t help but marvel, “Amazing. There are so many people on the street, and everyone is dressed so prettily, completely different from what I saw in my memories.”
The orphanage’s activity funds had to be allocated to many different places, ensuring only that every child was dressed normally and cleanly, without guaranteeing fancy outfits.
Qi Ningze was also dressed very simply: a white shirt on top and jeans below. The simpler the clothing, the more it highlighted a person’s figure. Blessed with striking good looks and a slender build, standing amidst the crowd, he naturally possessed an irresistible magnetism that drew all eyes.
Wandering aimlessly with the crowd, Qi Ningze glanced here and there. The glaring summer sun shone down upon him, making him look too ethereal to belong to this world.
Suddenly, a pleasant teenage voice rang out from behind him clear, low, and rich, yet tinged with youthful innocence.
“Um… can I… add your WeChat?” Mo Yuzhu stood directly behind Qi Ningze, his grip on his phone trembling as his breathing grew heavy and warm. He swallowed hard, his sexy Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
Qi Ningze turned around to look at him. Mo Yuzhu had slightly messy, shattered bangs, handsome facial features, and an untamed, sharp edge between his brows, set off by clean-cut jawlines. A silver-white stud gleamed sharply against his right earlobe in the sunlight.
Embarrassed, Qi Ningze lowered his head, awkwardly darting his eyes left and right while nervously twisting his fingers together. A rosy blush slowly crept up his cheeks. “Sorry… I don’t think I’ve ever registered for WeChat.”
“Huh? You’ve never registered for WeChat?” Mo Yuzhu hadn’t expected the other party to reject him with such an excuse.
Who on earth didn’t register for WeChat these days? It was most likely just a convenient excuse the youth made up to turn him down.
The sharp edge in Mo Yuzhu’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by a trace of disappointment between his brows. Rubbing the back of his head, a wave of stubborn reluctance welled up in his heart.
If he didn’t seize this opportunity well, who knew when the two of them would meet again?
Mo Yuzhu asked once more, “If not WeChat, can you leave me your phone number? I’m really not a bad guy! I study nearby at Class 6 of Qinghai No. 1 High School, and my name is Mo Yuzhu.”
With that, a renewed spark of hope ignited in Mo Yuzhu’s chest. He looked up at Qi Ningze with an eager, straightforward gaze, radiating a summer-like intensity that made it impossible for Qi Ningze to utter any refusal.
“Mm-hmm, alright then. My phone number is…” After reciting a string of numbers, Qi Ningze looked at Mo Yuzhu with smiling eyes, resembling a gentle spring breeze that stirred up towering waves in Mo Yuzhu’s previously tranquil heart.
So pretty. Truly so pretty, and carrying such a delicate, fragile beauty as if a single touch would shatter the boy into pieces.
Glancing at the time on his phone, Qi Ningze realized it was already past nine in the morning. He needed to continue looking for a job and couldn’t afford to chat idly with the person in front of him any longer.
Lowering his head bashfully, he whispered, “Um, I still have some things to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”
Mo Yuzhu was left standing in place like a lovesick stalker, watching Qi Ningze’s retreating figure.
It wasn’t until Qi Ningze completely disappeared from view that Mo Yuzhu snapped back to his senses. Sniffing the finger that had just brushed against Qi Ningze, a flush bloomed across his handsome face: “So cute, and he even carries a nice scent.”
A cell phone ringtone rang out ungraciously at that moment. A flicker of imperceptible disgust crossed Mo Yuzhu’s eyes. He answered the call and asked coldly, “What is it? What’s going on?”
“Mo-ge, where are you? The brothers have searched everywhere and can’t find you, and you didn’t reply to WeChat, so we had to call,” came the anxious voices of his subordinates from the other end.
Where was he? He was in the middle of a romantic encounter with his first spring love!
With sharp eyes, Mo Yuzhu spotted Qi Ningze in the distance. How could anyone be born that fair, teasing my heart like a cat’s claws scratching at it? He figured he must be crazy too he had followed the person all the way just to finally muster the courage to ask for contact info.
Masking his expression back to his usual cold arrogance, Mo Yuzhu perfunctorily replied, “I’ll send you my location later; just come find me. I came out to look for someone just now…”
Before long, Mo Yuzhu’s subordinates tracked him down using the shared location.
It was a scorching summer day, and everyone was sweating profusely, panting heavily. One of them, who was on relatively good terms with Mo Yuzhu, panted as he clapped Mo Yuzhu on the shoulder and asked, gasping for breath, “Mo-ge, who were you looking for just now? We didn’t see anyone. You just sprinted ahead, and we couldn’t catch up no matter how fast we ran.”
Who I was chasing is any of your business? Mind your own damn business and stop asking questions! Hearing his subordinate bring up the topic, Mo Yuzhu’s expression instantly turned glacial, cold as biting frost. “Just take care of your own business.”
The subordinate nodded repeatedly. “Right, right, Mo-ge. But we skipped class all morning is that really going to be fine? It was the head teacher’s class all morning; if she looks for us later, what excuse should we make?”
Mo Yuzhu replied with complete nonchalance, “I’ll take the blame for it. She won’t dare say much anyway. Let’s keep hanging around here for a bit; we’ll head back once we’ve had enough fun.”
Mo Yuzhu didn’t want to play at all; he just wanted to seize this opportunity to try his luck and see if he could cross paths with Qi Ningze once more.
The subordinate readily agreed with Mo Yuzhu’s arrangement, though a second later, his thoughts shifted to another topic.
“Then what about Jiang-ge’s birthday gift? Do we still need to buy it?”
Hearing this, Mo Yuzhu froze for a moment, pondering briefly. “Buy it. Just buy something casual; no need to put too much thought into it.”
The subordinate widened his eyes in disbelief, stupidly repeating Mo Yuzhu’s words, “No need to put too much thought into it? But Mo-ge, you clearly said earlier that you wanted to do something to make Jiang-ge happy.”
In the past, Mo-ge loved Jiang-ge so much and their relationship was so close why did his attitude flip completely today?
Mo Yuzhu gave him a detached glance, his tone icy. “Mind your own business. I’ll pick out his gift later.”
“Understood, Mo-ge. Whatever you say, hehehe.”
Meanwhile, walking along the street, Qi Ningze checked the recruitment notices posted outside various shops one by one, but none of them suited him.
Qi Ningze thought dejectedly, They all require adults… or they don’t hire part-time or short-term workers. Finding a job nowadays is so hard.
Fortunately, hard work pays off. After a few more hours of effort, thanks to his persistence, Qi Ningze finally found a job that fit him well: working hours were from 9:30 PM to 12:00 AM every night, his duty was to be a server, and the average hourly wage was 20 yuan.
When Qi Ningze first walked in, he was trembling and timid, having already rehearsed a pitch in his mind about offering to take a lower wage just to secure the position.
The boss happened to be a young woman. The moment she laid eyes on Qi Ningze, she showered him with praise, agreed to hire him without a second thought, and even finalized the details of the job on the spot. The employment was officially secured.
Stepping out of the shop, the corners of Qi Ningze’s mouth curled upward, his brows curved downward, and his pretty peach-blossom eyes brimmed with affection, his whole face overflowing with irrepressible joy.
Bragging to the System, he declared, “System, I completed the mission! As expected of me, I really worked hard myself.”