Chen Xu is sometimes quite lazy. If he doesn't feel very hungry, he won't think about eating breakfast. When he returned to his computer desk and saw a cup of warm milk there, he immediately felt very happy.
How could you not be happy if a girl took care of you and even made you milk?
Chen Xu picked up the cup and felt its temperature. Hmm, it was just the right temperature. So he took a sip…
Uh, this taste...
Chen Xu suddenly vomited, throwing it all up into the wastebasket. Holy crap! Why is this milk salty?
Okay, even if the milk is salty. Salty isn't a big deal, right? These days there are even salty drinks for sale, aren't there? A little salt is good for your health, but this is way too salty! He took a sip. It tasted just like the seawater he used to drink at the beach! Bitter and astringent!
"Gao! Xiao! Jie!"
"Coming, coming." Gao Xiaojie ran in with a smile, saw Chen Xu's frustrated and angry face, and blinked innocently, asking, "What's wrong?"
Chen Xu pointed at the glass of milk and almost shouted, "What's going on here!"
"This?" Gao Xiaojie looked at it innocently and said, "Oh dear, this is the milk I made for myself. How did you drink it?" Her expression was pure and innocent, as if she was very surprised that Chen Xu would drink her milk.
Chen Xu was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. He said, "Did you drink salty milk?"
Gao Xiaojie continued to feign innocence, saying, "Can't everyone have their own preferences? Who says I can't drink salty milk? And you still have the nerve to argue after drinking my milk?"
Chen Xu was so angry he almost vomited blood. At this moment, Gao Xiaojie chuckled smugly and said, "This is just a little revenge from me. Who told you to be so unruly? Next time you do that, I won't put salt here, I'll put rat poison on the ground!"
Seeing Chen Xu roll his eyes, Gao Xiaojie smugly wiggled her little bottom and left, making Chen Xu want to pat her pert little bottom a couple of times. This thought reminded him of the enchanting scene from that morning. His hand pressed against that firm little bottom… oh dear, his face turned red again.
Gao Xiaojie returned shortly after leaving, carrying a basin of what looked like hot food in both hands. She squeezed through the door with her little bottom, put the food on the table with a smug look on her face, and said, "Eat up, try my cooking!"
Chen Xu took a look. It was a bright green cake, and it smelled delicious. But he said warily, "This cake isn't salty either, is it?"
"How could that be?" Gao Xiaojie disdainfully pulled two forks from her apron and handed one to Chen Xu. She cut off a piece herself, tasted it, and said, "Mmm, not bad. It seems I do have a talent for cooking. The cake I made for the first time tastes pretty good! I think our cake shop will definitely be very successful in the future!"
"First time?" Chen Xu saw that Gao Xiaojie didn't seem to be lying, so he took a small piece and put it in his mouth. Hmm, it really tasted pretty good. There were red beans in the cake, and it also had a hint of green tea flavor.
Gao Xiaojie laughed and said, "What I made is a green tea cake. Hmm, it looks a bit ugly, I'll improve it next time. Does it taste good? I made it in the microwave. Actually, I prepared the ingredients last night, and just put it in the microwave to heat it up today."
"Not bad, not bad." Chen Xu ate quickly, and Gao Xiaojie called out, "Hey, don't take so much! I haven't eaten yet!" By this time, Chen Xu had already eaten more than half of it.
Actually, Gao Xiaojie was quite happy to see Chen Xu eat so quickly, and felt a great sense of accomplishment. After all, this was her first time making a cake, and it was rather simple, yet she had achieved such a result. This made her feel that the future of her cake shop was very bright.
So seeing Chen Xu enjoying the cake so much, she poured him another glass of milk despite her complaints... because the cake was still a bit hard, and Chen Xu choked on it.
This time, the milk hadn't been tampered with, and Chen Xu felt a particularly warm feeling. In this small house, the two of them were like a couple, taking care of each other, and it felt really good.
After breakfast, Chen Xu wanted to turn on the computer, but Gao Xiaojie said, "Don't sit in front of the computer so early in the morning. It's not good for your health to do that for so long. Why don't we go for a walk?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu wanted to ask, "Where are we going in this freezing weather?" But then he remembered how much he had taken advantage of the girl yesterday, and how she had prepared such a lavish breakfast for him this morning, so he couldn't refuse and said, "Okay, where shall we go?"
Gao Xiaojie chuckled and leaned closer, saying in a somewhat lewd manner, "There should be a cake shop around here, right?"
Chen Xu hesitated for a moment, then immediately understood what she meant and exclaimed, "Damn, you're not thinking of going to work again to steal experience points, are you?"
Gao Xiaojie said excitedly, "Yes, yes, you don't know, cake shops are actually very particular about things. They need to keep track of how many of each type of cake to make each day, and how big their customer base is. Because cakes left overnight have to be disposed of, all cakes need to be freshly baked. Making too few isn't enough, but making too many is wasteful. Big cake shops can afford to waste, but we can't!"
Chen Xu became wary upon seeing her like this and said, "You don't want me to go in with you to steal your skills, do you?"
Gao Xiaojie made an incredibly cute expression: "Two people learn faster! You learn a little, I learn a little, and we can compare and contrast each other!"
Chen Xu rolled his eyes and said, "Then we should do what Yue Su and Cai Zifeng did. What if we can't apply what we've learned? Are we supposed to fight each other? Open two cake shops, one called Sword Sect and the other called Qi Sect?"
Yue Su and Cai Zifeng are characters in Jin Yong's novel "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". Gao Xiaojie wrote the game script for "The Legend of Jin Yong's Heroes" and can almost recite the plot of the fourteen novels by heart, so she naturally knows these two characters.
These two brothers were the leaders of the Sword Sect and Qi Sect of Mount Hua. Years ago, they secretly read the Sunflower Manual together, but after each memorizing half, they discovered a significant difference in their abilities. This sparked a conflict between the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect. Then, a monk named Du Yuan went to learn the manual and created the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique.
Hearing this, Gao Xiaojie laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up, saying, "Fine, fine, then go practice the Sunflower Manual. I'll cut you up first, do you need my help?" Chen Xu shook his head like a rattle-drum, and Gao Xiaojie said fiercely, "Then hurry up and change your clothes, come with me!" After threatening him, she added, "Well, since you're helping so much, I'll make you cakes every day from now on, one flavor at a time."
This was blatant coercion and enticement! What could Chen Xu say? But then he thought about how he'd been rather listless at home the past few days, hadn't been out for fresh air in a while, and had even thought about how he'd been learning new skills—it seemed like quite fun. So he chuckled and said, "I remember there's a Flower Butterfly Pavilion not far downstairs..."
Hua Die Xuan (not Cai Die Xuan) is a fairly well-known cake shop. It's famous not only for its taste but, more importantly… for its price!
A small cake the size of a palm can sell for more than ten dollars. The taste is certainly good, but it always makes people feel that the price is a bit too high... The Golden Crown Bakery next door, although the taste is only slightly worse, is at least half the price!
Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie sneaked over to the nearby Huadiexuan branch. The waitress greeted them warmly, but her attitude immediately turned cold when she heard that Gao Xiaojie wanted to apply for a job. She said indifferently, "Please sit down, I'll go get the manager."
Hua Die Xuan is, after all, a relatively high-end cake shop. Well, this is mainly reflected in the beautiful decoration of the storefront, and there are even special stools inside. After Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie sat down, a petite and cute girl who looked quite young came over and poured them a glass of water.
Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie quickly thanked her. Gao Xiaojie whispered, "That young lady is so kind; she even poured us water. Look at her, big eyes, long eyelashes, and such a cute little face—she's a real beauty."
Chen Xu also thought the girl was alright, just a bit too young. But he wasn't into young girls and wasn't particularly attracted to them. So he whispered, "Too young, not as pretty as you."
Gao Xiaojie was secretly pleased to hear this, but Chen Xu's follow-up comment, "But things might change when they grow up," infuriated her. Before she could react, a well-dressed man, led by the same waiter who had greeted her earlier, approached. The waiter said, "These are the two who want to apply for the job. This is our Manager Li, Mr. Li Jiannan."
"Li Jiannan?" Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie exchanged a rather suggestive glance. What a scumbag! They coughed, trying to maintain a serious expression, and said, "Hello, Manager Li."
Li Jiannan pushed up his glasses and said in a rather old-fashioned tone, "Well, our shop isn't really short-staffed right now..."
Just then, the young woman who had poured water for Chen Xu and his companion suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, what's wrong with the computer? Why are there pandas all over the screen?"
Chapter 97 of the main text successfully entered
The one speaking was the big-eyed little girl who had just poured water for Chen Xu and the other girl. This girl, who looked no older than 17, was staring at the cash register computer on the counter with a panicked expression, like a frightened bird. She said, "I... I don't know anything about this! I... I don't know anything about this!"
Li Jiannan frowned, ignoring Gao Xiaojie and Chen Xu, and walked over to the girl, pointing his finger at her nose and yelling, "What are you doing? Can't you see there are customers paying their bills?" He leaned closer to the computer and glanced at it; the screen was full of panda burning incense images. He said angrily, "I told you not to plug your MP3 player into the computer! Now look what happened!"
Then he turned to the waiter next to him with a stern face and said, "Hurry up and settle this gentleman's bill!" Then he smiled at the customer and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie watched from the sidelines, clicking their tongues in amazement. They both wondered if this guy had trained in Sichuan opera, as his face-changing speed was truly astonishing!
The cashier malfunction wasn't a big deal; they could have just processed the payment quickly. The problem was that Manager Li's reprimand of the little girl was far too harsh. The customer clearly frowned. He hadn't bought much, so he simply handed over a ten-yuan note and left without asking for change.
This gave Li Jiannan a handle to use against her. The seemingly refined man, his face darkening, yelled at the girl without regard for the others around him, "What are you all standing there for? How are you going to explain this to the boss?! Hurry up and fix the computer! Hmph, I told you before not to plug your MP3 player into the public computer, didn't you listen?! I'm giving you five minutes. If you can't fix it, you can forget about this job!"
These words, spoken in a stern tone, frightened the little girl so much that tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyes darted around, and after a long while, she stammered, "I... I don't know how to fix it."
"You can't fix it and you're still messing around?!" Li Jiannan scolded sternly. "You're fully responsible for the consequences you've caused! Hmph, you can leave now, you don't need to come to work!"
The girl finally couldn't hold back her tears and started crying. Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch any longer. Just then, they heard several waiters whispering behind them. One said, "Manager Li is going too far. When he was pursuing Xiaoling, he sent her flowers and showered her with attention, he was incredibly enthusiastic. And this is how he reacts after being rejected." Another said, "Keep your voice down, Manager Li is very petty."
Seeing the girl like this, Chen Xu almost couldn't stand still. He exchanged a glance with Gao Xiaojie, and in that single look, he could tell that Gao Xiaojie was thinking the same thing as him!
That is, even if it means not working here, I would still help this girl.
So Chen Xu stepped forward and said, "It's just a virus, right? I'll handle it." Li Jiannan glared at him and said, "Do you even know how to do it? If you don't, don't mess around. Can you afford to pay for it?!"
Before Chen Xu could speak, Gao Xiaojie stepped forward and glared back, saying, "It's just a Panda Burning Incense virus, what's the big deal? We're students from the Information Department of Hexie University. Dealing with this kind of thing is a piece of cake."
Hearing this, Li Jiannan initially wanted to sneer. However, a certain air about Gao Xiaojie made him unable to utter a sound. So he watched with a cold smile as Chen Xu walked to the computer, then awkwardly picked up the keyboard, without inserting any USB drive or anything like that.
Li Jiannan knew a bit about computers, and seeing Chen Xu's expression, he started to laugh. Removing a virus wasn't easy; if it were him, he would download a dedicated removal tool or copy a specialized antivirus program. But the problem was, this cash register computer didn't have a network cable or a connected USB drive—how could he possibly remove the virus?
But little did he know, if it were any other virus, it wouldn't matter. But the Panda Burning Incense... that was nothing compared to what Chen Xu had memorized—the entire course of the virus's outbreak and its routes of infection. This was the main reason for his absolute confidence.
Seeing Chen Xu typing rapidly on the keyboard, Li Jiannan was quite disdainful. "What's with the pretense?" he thought. But after Chen Xu finished typing for a while and said "It's done," Li Jiannan walked over, somewhat puzzled. Seeing that the payment system was indeed working, he wondered, "Where did this 'Panda Burning Incense' thing come from?"
And how could that be?!
Actually, Li Jiannan himself infected the computer with the virus. The Panda Burning Incense virus had been rampant these past few days, and he naturally got infected by accident. So he devised a plan to frame this girl named Xiaoling and force her to submit. But unexpectedly, this guy who came for the job interview easily dealt with it!
Are college students these days all so good at computers?!
Chen Xu simply followed the principle of the Panda Burning Incense technique, directly deleting registry files and virus files, and then restoring the system. It was incredibly easy and effortless. After finishing, he clapped his hands triumphantly, smiled at the big-eyed girl, and said to Gao Xiaojie, "Done, let's go."
Then the two of them prepared to turn around and leave. As for why they wanted to leave? Isn't that simple?
These two guys are both shrewd, so they easily saw that Li Jiannan was a real scoundrel. They could guess it from the few words the waiter had just said. They had ruined his plans, and he still expected to work at this store? The waiter was the manager!
Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie were both shrewd and perceptive people. Knowing that staying would only lead to trouble, they simply didn't give him the chance. Besides, there were other cake shops besides theirs; there was also Golden Crown Bakery nearby.
Just as the two reached the door, Li Jiannan suddenly called them back: "You two, weren't you here to apply for a job?" "Huh?" The two turned around in surprise. Chen Xu pointed at his nose and said, "What, you're planning to take us in?"
Li Jiannan smiled warmly and said, "Look at what you're saying, you two students have really helped us a lot. Our shop is currently short-staffed, so I'd like to ask if you two are working part-time during your vacation or planning to stay long-term? Our shop really needs talented people like you two."
Unsolicited kindness is either a sign of ulterior motives or theft!
Gao Xiaojie and Chen Xu exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing. Gao Xiaojie said, "We'll just work for a month to pass the time during winter break. What, is the store hiring?"
Li Jiannan smiled and pointed to the job posting on the transparent glass wall, saying, "We'll be working here as waiters. Since it's almost Chinese New Year, we're short-staffed, and the raise is 1400 yuan a month. I wonder if you two can accept that? Of course, if there's another computer virus or something like that, we'll need your help, but that will be free. How about we split the bonuses at the end?"
Hearing this, Chen Xu and Gao Xiaojie hesitated. It sounded like the other party really needed their computer skills. Little did they know that this scoundrel was thinking, "You ruined my plans, so I'll make you work your butts off for a month, not even letting you have a peaceful New Year! Then I'll find an excuse to dump you at the end of the month, without paying you a single penny, haha!"
Li Jiannan was actually a very gloomy person, but neither Chen Xu nor Gao Xiaojie had ever met anyone like him. No matter how smart they were, they were only college students, lacking social experience and the shrewdness to discern a person's true character. So when they heard the offer was good, and since they were there to learn from others, the 800 yuan was nothing to them. If the company wanted them to stay, they would stay; if things didn't go well, they could simply leave.
Seeing that the two girls agreed, Li Jiannan happily asked a waiter to give them some pointers on the details they needed to pay attention to, and then left. The waiter then simply passed the work to the girl named Xiaoling from before.
It's clear that Xiaoling is the youngest of them all, and she seems rather introverted and shy, which explains why she gets bullied.
After Xiaoling came over, she first whispered a thank you, and then gave some instructions on what to pay attention to. For example, to be polite to customers, to wear the uniform, not to go in and out of the kitchen casually, and not to take food from the store. Then she smiled and said, "Actually, Chef Zhang is a very nice person. When the store closes at 10 pm, if there are any cakes left over that haven't been sold, he will secretly give them to us to take home."
Gao Xiaojie looked at the little girl. Her bangs were neatly trimmed, her cheeks were rosy, and her skin was beautiful. Her eyes were big, like black pearls, and when she smiled, a cute dimple appeared on her right cheek. She was definitely a little beauty in the making. Gao Xiaojie also noticed that she didn't have pierced ears, and her hair wasn't styled. She was a very fresh and adorable little girl. Moreover, the happiness on her face when she talked about taking the leftover cake made one guess that this girl might not have a very good life, but she was probably the kind of girl who was very content.
So Gao Xiaojie asked her, "What's your name? How old are you? Why are you still working here when it's almost Chinese New Year?"
Xiao Ling introduced herself as Jing Ling, a name that sounds like an elf, a very cute name. As for still working, the girl smiled wryly and said, "My home is in Zhenjiang, which is a bit far, and the train tickets are too expensive, so I won't go back. Besides, my salary doubles during the Spring Festival, haha, I can earn an extra 800 yuan a month, that's pretty good!"
Hearing her say that, Gao Xiaojie felt a pang of sadness. She was also a girl with little money, and her family had lived in a small, dilapidated house since she was a child. So Gao Xiaojie wanted to comfort her, but after thinking for a long time, she didn't know what to say.
At this moment, Xiaoling suddenly said, "By the way, you're from Hexie University, right? Do you know a guy named Wu Yuan?"
Chapter 98 Melamine
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu's thieving eyes lit up like light bulbs, and Gao Xiaojie was also somewhat surprised. The two then stared at Bi Xuan in an ambiguous manner, chuckling as they looked at each other.
Bixuan seemed to be a very shy girl, and she immediately blushed when the two of them stared at her like that. She covered her face shyly and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
Gao Xiaojie also felt that this was a bit too much, so she pinched Chen Xu. Chen Xu let out a miserable cry before his expression turned serious, but his lips were still twitching as he asked, "You know Wu Yuan? How did you meet him?"
Tang Bixuan smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said that her wallet was stolen on the bus that day. She called the thief, but no one else helped her. It was he who helped her call the police and get her wallet back.
Chen Xu chuckled upon hearing this, then pulled out his phone and dialed Wu Yuan's number. After one ring and being hung up, Wu Yuan sent a text message saying, "Damn it, don't you know I'm on roaming? Not as rich as you! Text me if you want to talk!"
Chen Xu replied, "Do you remember the time you helped a pretty young woman call the police to get her wallet back on the bus?"
After sending the text message, Chen Xu started counting on his fingers. When he reached seven, Wu Yuan called directly from his cell phone. At that moment, he didn't care about the long-distance and roaming charges of 1.3 yuan per minute. The first thing Wu Yuan said after answering the phone was, "Damn, Third Brother, how did you know about this?"
Chen Xu chuckled and said, "This little girl is right next to me. Do you want to say a few words to her?" Wu Yuan shouted from the other end, "Damn you, don't lie to me. Where is she from?" At this moment, Wu Yuan didn't know that Chen Xu hadn't gone home for winter vacation at all. At this moment, Chen Xu handed the phone directly to Tang Bixuan, a little girl next to him who was slightly open-mouthed and somewhat incredulous.
Tang Bixuan seemed to have little experience with cell phones. She carefully held it to her ear and softly said "Hello." Then her face immediately turned red. Chen Xu was eager to hear what the two of them would say, but Gao Xiaojie kicked him and pulled him aside.
Chen Xu grinned lewdly and said, "Boss, you have good taste. You've managed to hook up with such a beautiful young lady. She's truly pitiful to behold. Why haven't I ever met one?"