If I can flip a car over, can I knock down or send this artificial hill flying with one punch?
Concentrate... Focus your attention...
Chen Xiao took a deep breath...
*Smack!*
A few seconds later, a suppressed cry of pain echoed through the neighborhood at night.
"Ouch...it hurts...I'm bleeding..."
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Business Hours on Thursday Evenings
Arriving home late at night, Chen Xiao saw Ya Ya curled up on the sofa in the living room, already asleep. Thinking about the incredibly steamy "dry cleaning" the previous night, Chen Xiao couldn't help but smile wryly…
It's not that he's being hypocritical. It's just that he's not the kind of man who only thinks with his lower body. When it comes to relationships, Chen Xiao prefers to prioritize feelings rather than lust.
Besides, Ya Ya is still a minor, a fifteen-year-old girl whose mind is like a blank sheet of paper, she doesn't understand anything. If I were to take advantage of her, I would feel really guilty.
Chen Xiao put his things away and carried Ya Ya from the living room sofa into the room. Ya Ya woke up when Chen Xiao picked her up, glanced at him, and mumbled sleepily, "You're back..."
She hooked her pale arms around Chen Xiao's neck and fell into a deep sleep.
Looking at the little girl curled up in his arms like a kitten, it would be a lie to say Chen Xiao wasn't moved. But he wasn't a beast, so he put the girl back in her room on the bed before running out to change his clothes and take a shower.
When Chen Xiao woke up the next morning, he found that Ya Ya had somehow gotten back into his bed and was sleeping quietly with her head resting on his shoulder, just like the night before.
Chen Xiao sighed... Sigh, it seems I'll have to put some effort into teaching her the concept of "differences between men and women".
Otherwise, even if there is a beautiful little girl to warm the bed, and the eroticism is extremely intense, then sleeping every day would become a test for me, and I would have to fight with myself every night. That kind of feeling is not good.
This is practically a test of my humanity… Chen Xiao muttered—what if I lose control one day and my animalistic instincts kick in…
To be honest, Ya Ya was indeed very cute, especially her extreme innocence and naivety, which evoked Chen Xiao's pity—but that was all. Chen Xiao had certain expectations regarding romantic relationships, and a girl like Ya Ya, with a mind as blank as a sheet of paper, would be difficult to connect with. Although her youthful and delicate figure could stir his heartstrings, after all… humans aren't like animals that only know how to mate.
Thinking of all this, Chen Xiao couldn't help but think of the girl named Phoenix—he had to admit that Phoenix was probably the only girl who had ever made his heart flutter. Although they had only met once, the few words they exchanged in the coffee shop that day had given Chen Xiao a very comfortable feeling. Phoenix's approachability, her warm and gentle smile, and her playful charm were all unforgettable for him…
After gently getting out of bed, Chen Xiao quickly got dressed. Ya Ya was still asleep; she seemed unusually sleepy today. Chen Xiao carefully avoided disturbing her, but stood by the bed and quietly observed Ya Ya's sleeping posture for a while...
Hehe, after all, he's a man. The beautiful scene of a pretty girl falling asleep is still quite pleasing to the eye.
But after leaving the bedroom, Chen Xiao casually reached into his pocket and touched something—the envelope that Sister Lu had given him, which contained money.
I opened it and saw that there wasn't much money, only three thousand. However, considering I'd only attended one class, three thousand was a considerable sum. Sister Lu had made it clear that she was thanking me for saving her, and that her family had suffered a sudden and devastating financial crisis, leaving them with little money. Although her family was wealthy, her husband was a gambler and womanizer, and they were about to get a divorce and divide their assets, so they were probably quite strapped for cash.
Chen Xiao thought about it, but another problem arose: his source of income!
Chen Xiao had originally quit his job at the fast food restaurant because he planned to support himself with his tutoring job. But now he'd lost that job, and there was another person to feed at home. Although the coffee shop salary wasn't low... the shop was out of money! As for Chen Xiao to shamelessly and heartlessly take the gold and diamonds that old man Edward had kept in the safe—he wasn't that kind of person.
"It's decided, I'm skipping class today!" Chen Xiao stretched vigorously. "I'm skipping class! I'm going to sell gold! Otherwise, I'll really starve! Besides, Old Man Edward personally told me to sell it on the phone last night, so I don't need to worry about it."
With a perfectly good reason, Chen Xiao quickly made breakfast, left a note for Ya Ya telling her that she would be back very late that night, then grabbed a backpack and rushed out the door.
Since he had nothing else to do today, the first thing Chen Xiao did after leaving home was to run to the bank in the city center to look for his bicycle. As expected, the bicycle was gone.
Although he lost his car, Chen Xiao was already mentally prepared and was upset for a while before letting it go. He then took the subway to a coffee shop.
The commercial street still looked like a scene from a horror movie—it was a little past nine in the morning, the sun was shining brightly, but there were still hardly any shops open on the huge pedestrian street. Chen Xiao walked along and only saw two or three municipal cleaners sweeping the road. He quickly went to the coffee shop and took a gold brick from the safe upstairs.
Chen Xiao spent the entire morning at K City's jewelry street, browsing through several gold shops. He sold a gold bar, receiving over 200,000 yuan in cash, which he stuffed into his backpack. Afterward, he remembered the day Phoenix came to the coffee shop. The huge coffee shop had absolutely nothing to offer besides coffee... How could that be?
Having worked in the catering industry before, Chen Xiao went to a large warehouse supermarket and bought a batch of ingredients, carrying seven or eight bags before heading back to the coffee shop.
He spent the afternoon cleaning the coffee shop—it was Thursday, and old man Edward had sternly instructed himself to be open tonight, presumably because some important guests would be coming.
Since she took this job, Chen Xiao is a responsible person and will not slack off just because the boss is not around.
After everything was settled, Chen Xiao sat behind the counter. The afternoon sunlight streamed into the coffee shop lobby through the large, floor-to-ceiling windows, creating a warm and peaceful atmosphere. Chen Xiao sat there, but couldn't help glancing at the door every now and then, as if harboring a faint hope that the girl who liked to joke and call herself "Sajia" would unexpectedly push open the door and come in…
Unfortunately, Chen Xiao was disappointed; the phoenix did not reappear until dusk.
Furthermore, this also confirmed another of Chen Xiao's guesses: the business of this coffee shop was absolutely disastrous! Not a single customer all day... On the deserted pedestrian street outside, Chen Xiao carefully counted that from noon to night, only three people came in: one was selling tableware, one was selling encyclopedias, and one was selling insurance...
It's not surprising, really. Who would come here to stroll around on such an unfinished pedestrian street, which is on the edge of the city?
Opening a coffee shop in a place like this is clearly a losing proposition. A normal person would close down in less than a month. Only someone like Edward would do something like this.
Thinking of the enormous wealth in the safe upstairs, Chen Xiao couldn't help but sigh: Old man Edward probably never expected this shop to be profitable. Even if he lost money for decades, he could afford it.
Yeah, service companies, they're all pretty weirdos.
When she was bored in the afternoon, Chen Xiao even considered bringing Ya Ya along to keep her company, which would be better than being alone here in a daze.
Chen Xiao had originally planned to read some books to pass the time, but who knew that after flipping through a pile of books that old man Edward had left under the counter, he just rolled his eyes.
"Jin Ping Mei," "The Carnal Prayer Mat," "The Monk with the Lamp"... Wait, there's even an unabridged version of "The Legend of the Dragon Warrior," and "The Chronicles of Alibuda"??
"At his age, he's still reading this stuff. Isn't he afraid of having a stroke?" Chen Xiao looked at the pile of "banned books" in front of him with a wry smile and shook his head helplessly: "Edward's tastes are really something else."
Finally, it was dinner time, and the first customer walked into the restaurant.
The first customer to enter was a middle-aged man wearing a dirty blue-collar worker's uniform with some machine oil stains on his body. When he walked in, he nodded and smiled slightly at Chen Xiao as a greeting.
"Welcome." Chen Xiao immediately came out. "Please make yourself at home. What would you like to drink?"
"You're Chen Xiao?" The middle-aged man smiled gently. He had a beard, dark skin, a sturdy build, and a square face. He looked like a mature and steady man, but his eyes were very gentle, suggesting he was a very good-tempered person.
Chen Xiao was slightly surprised: "You know me?"