KEIGHTY: Special thanks to VitaB for the ko-fi donations <3 Here’s the first chapter out of the 3 extra chapters I will release today! Lovelots <3
By eleven o’clock, more customers were gradually coming into the restaurant. The phone for ordering food also started ringing non-stop.
He Yu was a little unhelpful on the side, while Li Tang stood outside the door, chatting with the owner of a milk tea shop next door.
Occasionally, Li Tang would look back and see He Yu standing aside at a loss, with no intention of blaming him.
Suddenly, He Yu’s cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Fu Chenshan.
He Yu stepped aside to a corner and answered the phone.
“Hello?” Fu Chenshan’s voice came, “Are you at home?”
He Yu answered: “No, I came out.”
Fu Chenshan was silent for a moment and said, “It’s good to go out for a walk. Don’t stay at home all day.”
He Yu replied, “Hmm.”
Fu Chenshan asked him again, “Have you eaten?”
He Yu: “Not yet; what time is it?”
Fu Chenshan warned him to behave, “Remember to eat on time and don’t be lazy.”
He Yu smiled and said, “I know, you treat me like a child.”
Fu Chenshan sighed softly. “You know I’m worried about you.”
“It’s okay,” He Yu said, “I will take care of myself. I’m hanging up.”
“Okay,” Fu Chenshan uttered, “Wait for my call this afternoon.”
After hanging up the phone, He Yu saw a young worker named Li Tao passing by with two plates of food.
He quickly went up and offered, “Let me help you.”
Li Tao said, “No need, Brother He. You go and pour two cups of tea for Table 3.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Oh, okay.” He Yu heard this and turned around to find the teapot placed in front of the wine cabinet.
Most of these workers are only 18 or 19 years old who came from rural areas to work, and He Yu was mingling among them in designer clothes. He didn’t notice it, but others felt that he looked a little out of place.
When he was on the phone just now, Xia Xiaoxia, the cashier, kept looking at his phone.
It was a new model of a well-known brand’s mobile phone, with a market price of several thousand. These young working people could only look at it but would not be willing to buy it.
At noon, Li Tang asked He Yu to follow Li Tao to deliver takeout.
The little girl who answered the phone was very efficient. She wrote down every address in detail, pasted it on the disposable lunch box with label paper, and then put them into plastic bags and coded them according to different addresses and floors.
Because it was right across the street, there was no need to ride a bike, so the two of them walked over with a bag each.
He Yu didn’t go to Lingyun. The bag he received was full of food orders from the building next door, and the lunch boxes to be delivered to Lingyun were all in Li Tao’s hands.
However, when he passed by the Lingyun Gate, He Yu couldn’t help but take a look inside. The lobby on the first floor was almost the same as it was three years ago, but the front desk lady had been changed. The security guard also didn’t recognize him anymore.
These are all young people who worked hard but were not well paid. They always change people very quickly.
He Yu was busy until two o’clock before he finally had the time to sit down and have lunch.
The chef’s skills are very good, which is probably why the business here is running so well. But like many small restaurants, such cooking often uses lots of oil and has a heavy, salty taste. It smells very fragrant when eaten occasionally, but it is still not as refreshing as home cooking when eaten every day.
The waiters and chefs in the restaurant were all eating together. Li Tang also joined them. He filled a big bowl with rice and sat on the table next to him. From time to time, he would stretch out his hand to pick up a few dishes with chopsticks.
He Yu also felt hungry and busied himself with eating. Li Tang sat behind him and raised his hand to pat his shoulder. He Yu turned around and heard Li Tang ask him, “How was it?”
He Yu smiled and said, “It’s pretty good.”
Li Tang ate quickly. When he finished, he pushed his bowl on the table, put one leg on top of the stool, and took out a cigarette to smoke.
When He Yu finished eating, he wanted to help put away the bowl, but Li Tang knocked on the stool next to him, threw him a cigarette, and motioned for him to come and sit.
He Yu had no choice but to walk over and sit down.
It was Li Tang who still helped him light his cigarette, and then asked, “What did you do before?”
He Yu leaned back on the table. “I worked in sales for a company.”
Li Tang asked, “Big company?”
He Yu nodded, holding a cigarette in his hand. For a moment, he felt a little dazed. “At that time, my supervisor valued me very much and told me to work hard and lay a foundation for two years before he could promote me.”
“Oh,” Li Tang said, “What happened next?”
He Yu lowered his gaze and said quietly, “I was caught embezzling company funds privately.”
Li Tang chuckled. “I can’t see how you were able to do it.”
He Yu’s throat suddenly became choked up. Things that he could easily mention in front of Fu Chenshan felt uncomfortable in front of an outsider like Li Tang, but he still forced himself to continue, “Actually, it’s not too much money; it’s just that I just got out of school to work, and my family situation was not good, so I came up with the idea. I wanted to invest in a partnership with someone, thinking that I could fill the gap quickly, but who knew…”
Who knew that the partner was a liar and took the money and ran away? His dad just had an operation last year, and the family still owes money to others. His mom has a bad heart and can’t bear the stimulation! The company knows about it, and the financial department has started checking the accounts. They will find out soon! What should he do? He can’t lose his job or go to jail! Xiao Yu, what should you do? Xiao Yu, please think of a way!
He Yu raised his hand and supported his forehead, trying to hide his expression.
Li Tang looked at him quietly and said, “You chose the road yourself. Now that you have done it, you can’t do anything about it anymore. Why didn’t you think of leaving a route of retreat for yourself at that time?”
He Yu lowered his head and said, “Yes, what’s the use of thinking about this now?”
After a brief silence, Li Tang asked again, “How is Old Fang doing?”
He Yu recalled, “He is in good health and in good spirits. There are still two years left, and he has spoken out that he plans to return to his hometown and spend the rest of his life with his wife and son.”
Li Tang encouraged him, “Try to look on the brighter side of things. Others are mostly concerned with taking things badly to heart; don’t be like them.”
He Yu smiled and said nothing.
Li Tang told him there would be no more business until about five o’clock in the afternoon. Truth be told, the business here in the afternoon is not as good as at noon. All the white-collar workers in the office building opposite have gotten off work. If they really want to have a meal or date, they wouldn’t come to a small restaurant like this.
So in the afternoon, everyone gathered around to watch TV. Even though this ancient palace drama was replayed countless times, everyone still watched it with gusto.
He Yu sat outside and casually followed them, watching.
After a while, Xia Xiaoxia sat down next to him and spoke, “I have read this once. The heroine will be taken back by the emperor soon.”
He Yu smiled at her.
Xia Xiaoxia suddenly changed the topic, “Xiao He-ge, is your mobile phone from Apple?”
He Yu thought for a while, took out his cell phone, put it on the table, and said, “It’s a copycat.”
“Huh?” Xia Xiaoxia quickly took it over and pressed it. “It doesn’t look like it; the screen is so clear.”
He Yu said, “Really, the dual SIM card is just the same as any other; it costs a thousand, though. If you want it, I will ask a friend to bring one for you.”
Xia Xiaoxia returned the phone. “What do I need a dual SIM card for? I don’t need it. Besides, this copycat phone costs more than a thousand, which is too expensive for me.”
He Yu smiled and put the phone back in his pocket.
At half past four, Fu Chenshan called He Yu and asked him what he wanted to eat at night.
He Yu stood along the street and asked, “You get off work so early?”
Fu Chenshan replied, “I’ll leave early to avoid traffic jams.”
He Yu smiled and said, “No need. I’m going to come home to your house in an hour or two. I can walk by myself. It’s not appropriate for you to neglect work every day to accompany me.”
Fu Chenshan denied, “It’s not inappropriate for me.”
He Yu lowered his head and said softly, “Don’t mind me. You have to work and spend time with your girlfriend. Don’t worry about me anymore. I will find a place to eat by myself. Just do whatever you have to do.”
“Xiao Yu—”
“I have something else to do, so let’s not talk about it for now.”
He Yu hung up the phone.
Soon, Fu Chenshan called again. He Yu lowered his head and glanced at the caller before hanging up again.
Xia Xiaoxia stretched her neck to look at him and asked, “Are you arguing with your girlfriend?”
He Yu smiled and said, “I don’t have a girlfriend, and I’m not quarreling with anyone.”
“Humph.” Xia Xiaoxia turned around. “Forget it if you don’t want to say it.”
There wasn’t much takeout in the evening, so Li Tao raised the bag in front of He Yu and said, “Brother He, I’m sorry to bother you.”
He Yu looked at it and saw that one person could deliver it, so he took it and said, “It’s not bothersome. I’ll ask for more help from everyone in the future anyway.”
He Yu went to deliver the food alone to the people in the office building who had to work overtime and couldn’t leave. There was still no order from Lingyun.
Just when he came out of the building next door, He Yu saw Ling Zhilu standing in front of Lingyun’s gate wearing a shoulder bag and high heels.
He Yu stopped subconsciously.
Sure enough, after a while, Fu Chenshan’s car was seen driving out from the underground parking lot at the back and parked in front of Ling Zhilu. Ling Zhilu opened the door and got in the car.
He Yu didn’t rush back to the restaurant.
It was almost nine o’clock in the evening before he had the time to have dinner. After eating, Li Tang asked He Yu to leave first.
He Yu was a little embarrassed. Even if others didn’t say it, they would definitely have some opinions about it.
“It’s okay,” Li Tang assured, “They live close to each other. You still have to take a bus, so you should go first.”
Xia Xiaoxia raised her head and waved to him.
He Yu then said, “Then I’ll leave first.”
