Chen Zhuo’s tone was unusually serious.
It was something Jiang Qiuli had never seen before. Even when she had broken a porcelain cup and couldn’t afford to compensate for it, his tone had still been calm, as if it were nothing more than a trivial matter to him.
But this time, it was completely different… stern, almost like a command issued in the military.
Frightened, Jiang Qiuli didn’t dare to argue and obediently sat down on the chair.
Today, she was wearing a pair of pink high-top canvas shoes. The pink had faded slightly, but they were very clean, like intentionally washed-out denim.
Chen Zhuo reached out, untied the laces on her right shoe, then slowly loosened them and carefully removed the shoe from behind.
Jiang Qiuli lowered her head, burying it into the backpack held against her chest, not daring to speak.
She had a strange feeling… if she resisted, the man in front of her would definitely force the issue.
High-top canvas shoes were already difficult to remove, and Chen Zhuo was afraid of hurting her, so he moved slowly.
It took him quite a while before he finally managed to take it off.
The moment the shoe came off, Chen Zhuo’s frown deepened.
“What’s going on? Why aren’t you wearing socks?”
He had assumed she was wearing no-show socks that simply weren’t visible. But now that he looked closely, her foot was completely bare… all he could see was her soft, pink skin. There were no socks at all.
Jiang Qiuli glanced around to both sides. The road was empty now, not a single person in sight.
She let out a small sigh of relief and said, “The socks I hung out to dry are gone.”
“Gone? Where did you hang them?”
“I… I hung them downstairs near the dorm. I wanted to let them dry in the sun. Maybe I came back too late yesterday, and the wind blew them away.”
“Blew them away? Then… forget it. I just happen to have a pair here. I’ll give them to you.”
As he spoke, Chen Zhuo took out a pair of white socks from his pocket. Finding her right foot, he was about to put them on for her.
“I—I’ll do it myself!”
Jiang Qiuli quickly snatched the socks from his hand and, in almost an instant, slipped them onto her foot. [Must-Read Urban Passion: Skylark Pavilion]
The white socks Li Yueyue had worn over stockings were quite loose, so they went on easily.
Chen Zhuo sighed inwardly.
Why is the female lead so fast?
“Alright, put the other one on too.”
He stood up and handed her the sock for her left foot.
Jiang Qiuli nodded obediently and began taking off her other shoe.
As she did, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Why do you have a pair of white socks on you?”
Chen Zhuo put his hands into his pockets and replied calmly, “They’re stock I brought in to sell.”
“Stock to sell? Um… how much for a pair? Add it to what I owe you,” Jiang Qiuli said softly.
How much for a pair?
Well…
The actual cost of such white socks was probably around 5 yuan.
But considering Li Yueyue’s looks, and the fact they had been worn inside small leather shoes without being washed… if paired with photos of Li Yueyue, then based on market prices, they could probably sell for 300 to 500 yuan.
Jiang Qiuli shook her head as she put them on.
“No… that’s not how it works. Samples still cost money.”
Chen Zhuo sighed inwardly again.
Why is she so precise about everything?
Would it kill you to just accept it?
“Didn’t you see? These socks have already been worn. A model wore them. If you don’t want them, I’ll just throw them away.”
“Don’t! The cotton feels really good. You can tell they’re high quality. When I have money, I’ll buy a pair.”
By then, Jiang Qiuli had already put her shoes back on and was tying the laces.
Buy a pair?
Then he’d have to check whether Li Yueyue still had more.
After she finished, Jiang Qiuli followed Chen Zhuo to the supermarket warehouse.
“What’s my job?”
Looking at the familiar warehouse, she asked seriously.
Chen Zhuo pointed to the shelves and said, “See those labels on the racks? Check whether the goods match the labels. Also, clean up all the packaging bags and boxes on the floor, and organize everything properly.”
“And then?”
“That’s it.”
Jiang Qiuli: “………”
Seeing her fall silent, Chen Zhuo frowned slightly and asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I… I’ll definitely do it well.”
Chen Zhuo nodded and added, “You can handle those cardboard boxes however you want. Sell them to recyclers or whatever. But the warehouse must be organized properly.”
“Mm, okay!”
After leaving the warehouse, Chen Zhuo went to the front desk, took a key from the drawer, and asked the staff, “We’re short one person these days. Can you manage?”
“We can manage, but the workload is a bit heavy. Sometimes we don’t have time to restock properly.”
“I’ll see if I can arrange another person later. Go ahead with your work. I’ll take the electric bike key.”
After saying that, he returned to Jiang Qiuli’s side.
“Let’s go. We’re heading to the hospital.”
Jiang Qiuli quickly shook her head. “N-no need, I can go by myself.”
Yesterday’s incident at the hospital had already frightened her. She had no idea what kind of spell Chen Zhuo had cast on her mother.
She even suspected that if he went again, her mother might directly marry her off.
“I have something to do at the hospital anyway. We’ll go together. Ye Fei, the one who got crushed yesterday, fell again today and is still in the hospital. I should go take a look.”
“O-okay.”
“Let’s go through the back.”
She followed Chen Zhuo to the back of the supermarket. Behind it was a small grove, with a road over 3 meters wide running through it.
Cars and a few electric bikes were parked by the roadside.
Chen Zhuo took out the key and inserted it into a white electric bike.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Ah? This…”
“What, are you planning to walk again?”
“Mm.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Get on. Otherwise, I’ll tell your mom you’re not cooperating with me.”
Looking at his fierce expression, Jiang Qiuli quietly sat on the back seat.
This was a lightweight electric bicycle with a small rear seat.
Although the bike wasn’t big, Chen Zhuo had upgraded the battery. A round trip to the hospital was no problem.
“Let’s go.”
Chen Zhuo twisted the throttle and headed toward the hospital.
Yesterday, the ambulance had taken the main road, which was longer. Today, riding the electric bike, they could pass through the underpass beneath the railway, which was much shorter.
Moreover, the road was narrow, so there were few large vehicles… mostly small electric bikes like theirs.
Because of that, Chen Zhuo rode quite fast.
The speed frightened Jiang Qiuli so much that she tightly grabbed the corner of his clothes and didn’t let go the entire way.
When they arrived at the hospital lobby, Chen Zhuo pointed at his clothes and said, “You’ve practically torn my clothes.”
“You were riding too fast… I was scared.”
“Do you know how to ride?”
Jiang Qiuli nodded.
“Then on the way back, you ride. I’ll sit behind you.”
“Okay!”
She agreed without hesitation.
Riding with Chen Zhuo had genuinely scared her.
Chen Zhuo took out his phone and checked the time.
It was still early. According to the school schedule, there were still fifteen minutes before the end of the third afternoon class.
“So early… your aunt doesn’t need dinner this early, right?”
Jiang Qiuli shook her head. “No. If she eats too early, she’ll get hungry later at night.”
“In that case, come with me to check on Ye Fei first. After all, he’s your class monitor.”
Jiang Qiuli thought for a moment and felt that Chen Zhuo’s words made sense.
So she agreed.