Chapter 11

Jiang Rong was stunned for a moment, as if she hadn't expected him to ask her that. She was a little surprised, but mostly flustered, and hurriedly replied, "I can cook for you. You can call me whenever you need anything. I live next door anyway. And, if your store isn't short of staff, I can also help you out as a clerk..."

The real purpose was revealed. Jiang Rong had never expected that she would speak out her little plan so eloquently. She was obviously planning to go to the store for an interview. She didn't know if she saw Shen Jianye in front of her, so she said that.

After she finished speaking, her face turned redder and she lowered her head to stare at the back of her feet. She had no idea that she could be so shameless.

Fortunately, Shen Jianye didn't seem to notice her little trick. He just sat there and couldn't help laughing: "It seems like you have been observing me for a long time?"

Jiang Rong didn't dare let him know the truth. She would be beaten out as a pervert, so she quickly shook her head and tried to explain her innocence, "No, it was just that day when you helped me, and I accidentally saw it. Mainly... I didn't realize you lived next door to me. Thank you for helping me today."

Shen Jianye raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn’t say whether he believed it or not, and just said calmly: “But I don’t need child labor.”

Jiang Rong looked over with pitiful eyes and explained again anxiously: "No, no, I will be 18 in two months. I will not be considered a child laborer when I become an adult. Besides, I can come to help you after school..."

But Shen Jianye stood up and said, “Since you are almost an adult, you are a senior high school student. Your top priority now is to study hard. Although I am short of people, it is not to that extent. However, if you want to come when you are free during the winter vacation, I will not refuse it too much.”

Seeing the girl's panicked expression again, he smiled gently: "Don't be so scared. I'm just worried that you'll be too restrained. I don't really want you to do anything. Just relax for a while. I'll go get you some hot milk."

Probably because he noticed her awkwardness, or because he failed to find something to say, Shen Jianye stood up and went to the kitchen, leaving Jiang Rong alone sitting on the sofa. Unconsciously, her palms were sweating a lot because of nervousness. She opened her palms and blew gently with her mouth.

The sweat on her palms dried up quickly, but when Jiang Rong realized what she had done, her face turned red again. She quickly patted her cheeks, trying to come back to her senses.

Afraid of being seen by him, she secretly glanced at Shen Jianye in the kitchen. He didn't look in her direction, but she didn't know what the man was thinking. His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was staring at the milk in the microwave in a daze?

Jiang Rong frowned slightly, thinking that she must have seen it wrong.

She withdrew her gaze and lowered her head, staring at her toes, pursed her lips, blinked her long eyelashes, and recalled the conversation between the two of them just now. She was obviously rejected, but for some reason she didn't feel very sad. What's more, he was not wrong. They all said that she should study hard.

But if I had money to eat and pay tuition...

She changed from licking to biting, but after realizing that the surrounding environment was in someone else's house, she silently sorted out the expression on her face. She didn't want Shen Jianye to come back and open her mouth to reveal her bloodstained lower lip.

But Shen Jianye is really a good person.

It seems that he asked himself that kind of question to ease the atmosphere.

Jiang Rong quickly calmed down and pushed a light smile on her cheek with her fingers. Since Shen Jianye would help her and let her in, if she said she was distressed, he would definitely help her, but she didn't want to show weakness and use other people's kindness to ask for a job.

It seems that I still have to go to the suburbs tomorrow night. I don’t know if I can find a job, when my cousin will get the subsidy, and when the money will come.

However, thinking about these things, the feeling of being picked up and taken home by Shen Jianye, which was a bit smug, disappeared in an instant. She didn't dare to think about what Shen Jianye would think if he knew about her.

Although Lin Yao had given a general idea, it was only a rough outline.

She clutched the corner of her clothes and rubbed it nervously.

Shen Jianye came back quickly with the milk. He didn't expect that he asked Jiang Rong to calm down here, but when he was gone for a while, she was still anxious about herself.

Jiang Rong didn't notice Shen Jianye coming behind her at all. She patted her face and quickly put away her thoughts. After all, there was no use thinking too much. Then she looked up and saw Shen Jianye coming over. She smiled awkwardly subconsciously.

Shen Jianye raised the corner of his mouth slightly. Under the exquisite cup in his hand was a plate with flowers painted on it. The smell of milk was very mellow. Jiang Rong was already nervous and stretched out her hand to take the cup and put it to her mouth. Shen Jianye was even more helpless and said "Wait." Then he put the cup on the coffee table: "It's still hot, drink it later."

Jiang Rong blushed and quickly took her hand back, subconsciously placing her hands on her knees properly, like a primary school student. Shen Jianye glanced at her, suppressed the smile in his eyes, and sat back.

But after all this, the atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

The girl licked her lip and stared at the steaming milk in front of her, fearing that Shen Jianye would have a bad impression of her, so she tried hard to find something to say: “By the way, are you renting a house too?”

Shen Jianye raised his eyebrows, but before he could say anything, he heard Jiang Rong continue, "I heard that the landlord came back these days to collect the rent. Manager Shen, you should have moved here recently. Did you just rent his house?"

"Although the environment here is nice, why did you want to open a coffee shop in this old factory and live here?"

Jiang Rong originally wanted to say that this place was nothing, shabby, old and full of mixed people, but then she thought, the man had just rented this place and opened a store, and saying that would probably make him disgusted, so she added another sentence to make it seem like she wasn't so hostile.

Shen Jianye curved his eyes and suddenly smiled. Jiang Rong didn't know what he was laughing at, but seeing him laugh, she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

The man let out a long sigh and looked away: "You don't have to call me Manager Shen, just call me brother, or call me by my name."

"But anyway, I did just rent a house and move in here because someone in my family grew up here, and I wanted to come back and look for any trace of her existence."

Jiang Rong leaned forward a little, finally finding where she could help. She asked curiously, "What are your family members' names? Maybe I know them?"

Shen Jianye shook his head: "No, when my family members died, according to your age, you were not even born at that time."

I thought Jiang Rong would be depressed, but the little girl said, "It's not easy for you either."

"She must be a very important person to you, right?"

Shen Jianye was stunned. No one had ever said such words to him since he was a child, as if they were pitying him. Although the girl in front of him was much younger than him, Shen Jianye rarely felt offended, as if the two were of the same age.

Thinking that the person in front of him didn't know his past, Shen Jianye rarely calmed down and nodded slightly in a serious tone: "It's very important."

But after he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something, and Shen Jianye cleared his throat: “Well, since you all know the reason why I moved here.”

"Then may I ask you, what were those people who just came to your door doing?"

Jiang Rong bit the soft flesh in her mouth, a little entangled in whether to say it, but Shen Jianye smiled and added another sentence:

"I don't mean to pry into your privacy. I'm mainly afraid that they will make up nonsense in front of me, and now I'm involved in it..."

Before he could finish his words, Jiang Rong answered first: "It's a debt, and they are debt collectors."

The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, and her head drooped.

Jiang Rong once again realized the huge gap between herself and Shen Jianye. She just wanted to be closer to the bright moon, but her life was like a pool of mud.

Shen Jianye was a little surprised, and asked in disbelief: "How old are you? How much money do you owe that you have people come to your house to collect the debt?"

Those two people don't look like good people. They definitely wouldn't pursue the debt so badly for such a small amount.

Jiang Rong pulled the corners of her mouth awkwardly, staring at the patterns on the floor tiles. "It's not me, it's my real dad. He... likes gambling."

Some things don’t need to be said explicitly, but as an adult, Shen Jianye already understood, and he said helplessly: “It’s not easy for you either.”

Jiang Rong didn't want Shen Jianye to feel sorry for her, so she danced and explained: "No, not much, just, just..."

She didn’t know what to say, but Shen Jianye looked like he saw through it, and didn’t ask any more questions, but said, “Is that so…”

Some of his words stopped abruptly, his fingers tapping on the sofa. No one knew what he was thinking in those few seconds.

Jiang Rong watched Shen Jianye fall into silence, and her fingers couldn't help but curl up. He looked a little familiar, and the girl hurriedly looked at Shen Jianye righteously: "Brother, Shen Jianye, I can, I, I, I am actually fine now."

As she spoke, her fingers grasped the corner of her clothes anxiously, not daring to look at Shen Jianye’s eyes.

In fact, it’s not good, but she doesn’t want to act pitiful, nor does she want Shen Jianye to get too close to her, because… people who get too close to her will never have a good result.

The man put away the helplessness that flashed across his face and directly issued an ultimatum: "Can you stay at my house for the next few days?"

"It just so happens that your high school life should be early and late enough, and our schedules should be similar. For safety, I will take you to and from school these few days. Leave your phone number."

Jiang Rong was completely stunned, having no idea how the topic had drifted here. The thought of living under the same roof with the person she'd been thinking about made her blush and quickly shake her head to refuse: "No, really, no, I'll be back after just a little while."

Shen Jianye raised his eyebrows: “Are you sure you can go back?”

Both of them heard what the debt collector said just now. Jiang Rong obviously realized the problem. She was silent. Shen Jianye bent down slightly, pointed at the milk in front of her, and raised the corner of his mouth: "Anyway, you call me brother, so you can stay at my house for the next few days. My house has two bedrooms and a living room, so there is room for you to sleep."

"By the way, change your clothes quickly to avoid catching a cold."