—What if I don't want to let you go?

Zhu Mingyue's reply was so cold and heartless.

Zhu Jinzhao sighed: "Then, I'll be honest and beg you to tear me gently."

To make herself appear sincere enough, she even added a "kitten begging for mercy" emoji to the end of the message.

Zhu Mingyue found her disgusting and stopped replying.

She held her phone for a while, and only when she was sure that Zhu Mingyue didn't intend to talk to her anymore did she put the phone down and go to sleep.

Zhu Jinzhao had no classes the next morning, but she still got up very early because she was going to do a part-time job.

She sneaked into the living room with her schoolbag on her back, and only went out when she saw that no one was there.

Zhu Xingye had just told her yesterday that she should try to take Zhu Mingyue with her when she goes out in the future. But today, she's going out to work, not to play, so how could she ask Zhu Mingyue to come along?

If Zhu Mingyue went, wouldn't her secret of working to earn money be exposed instantly? Therefore, the moment she got into the Didi car, she immediately sent a WeChat message to Zhu Xingye.

"Brother, Jiang Jiang is sick. I'm going to the hospital to see her now." Mingyue was still sleeping, so I didn't wake her.

Zhu Xingye returned after a while.

—Okay. Be careful, don't stay in the hospital for too long.

Zhu Jinzhao suppressed his wildly upturned lips: Okay, big brother!

Now that she had a reason for going out, Zhu Jinzhao could go to work with peace of mind.

The shopping mall where Zhu Jinzhao worked part-time wasn't far from her home; it only took about ten minutes by car. Zhu Jinzhao got off the bus at the mall entrance and called Jiang Jingwen as she hurried inside.

"Hey, Jiang Jiang, where are you?"

Jiang Jingwen: "I'm already at the store entrance, come on, let's get to work!"

Zhu Jinzhao replied cheerfully, "Coming right away!"

She was the one who needed money, and she was also the one who needed a part-time job. But in order to keep her company, even a rich young lady like Jiang Jingwen applied for a part-time job at the dessert shop.

"Jiang Jiang, you really don't need to come with me. Working part-time is too tiring."

When Zhu Jinzhao arrived at the store and saw Jiang Jingwen, the first thing she said was this.

"Don't give me that nonsense." Jiang Jingwen had already changed into her part-time work uniform. As soon as she picked her up, she pushed her back and led her into the store. "Anyway, I'm just killing time. I can earn some money by helping you with your part-time job. Why not?"

Zhu Jinzhao whispered, "You're not short of money..."

Jiang Jingwen handed her the work clothes: "I'm short of money! Every little bit helps, who wouldn't want more money?"

Zhu Jinzhao: "Oh, right..."

The work at the dessert shop isn't complicated. For part-time workers like them, all they need to do is help pack and stock the products, and serve the customers their plates.

I hope you can get the hang of it quickly and become proficient in less than an hour.

Jiang Jingwen was a little slower than her, but her speed was still acceptable, and the store manager was quite satisfied.

"This job is simple, but it's so tiring..." After working for two hours, Jiang Jingwen couldn't take it anymore. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was in the shop, she slumped weakly against Zhu Jinzhao, twisting her legs and moving them around.

"I can't sit down for even a second, my feet are ruined."

“That’s just how this kind of work is.” Zhu Jinzhao was tired, but she could still bear it. She lifted her leg and gently kicked Jiang Jingwen’s calf to help loosen her tense muscles, and whispered in her ear, “You’ve already earned fifty yuan after working for two hours, you can go home now.”

"I don't want to," Jiang Jingwen refused. "This job is so tiring. If I leave early, who will keep you company? The two older ladies in the shop don't really pay attention to us. If I leave, you won't even have anyone to talk to."

Zhu Jinzhao smiled indifferently: "It's okay. I do part-time jobs to earn money. It doesn't matter whether anyone talks to me or not."

"Then I won't leave either," Jiang Jingwen said, clinging to her. "I want to stay with you."

Unable to refuse her request, Zhu Jinchao could only comfort her in another way: "Then thank you for your hard work. I'll treat you to something delicious when I get my part-time pay."

Jiang Jingwen nodded with her eyes closed: "Okay."

Today's part-time job is only four hours in the morning. Once it's noon, Zhu Jinzhao and Jiang Jingwen can leave work.

The two took off their work clothes, greeted the shop manager, and happily left the dessert shop hand in hand.

The dessert shop was on the third floor of the mall, next to a hot pot restaurant. Zhu Jinzhao remembered the hot pot they missed yesterday, so she decided to make it up to Jiang Jingwen now.

"Jiang Jiang, let's have hot pot for lunch, it's on me."

"..." Jiang Jingwen remained silent.

Zhu Jinzhao turned to look at her: "Jiang Jiang? Want some hot pot?"

Jiang Jingwen, however, gave an irrelevant answer: "Chaochao, look at those two people in front of you, don't they look like Lu Yuzhou and... and Zhu Mingyue!"

"Hmm?" Zhu Jinzhao frowned and looked in the direction Jiang Jingwen was pointing. He immediately saw the two people she was referring to.

The two walked side by side, very close to each other; they were Lu Yuzhou and Zhu Mingyue.

“It’s them,” Zhu Jinzhao said calmly.

"How could they be together?" Jiang Jingwen, on the other hand, was not calm. Before she could figure out what had happened, anger was already welling up in her eyes.

"Zhu Mingyue has only been back for a few days, how did she get to know Lu Yuzhou? And she even went shopping with Lu Yuzhou alone, doesn't she know that Lu Yuzhou is your boyfriend?"

Zhu Jinzhao shook his head: "I don't know."

Jiang Jingwen grabbed her arm and held her in place: "Does Lu Yuzhou know you're doing this part-time job?"

Zhu Jinchao honestly said, "He doesn't text me anymore, and I'm too lazy to talk to him about it."

"Does that mean he's still giving you the silent treatment?" Jiang Jingwen's anger was starting to get out of control.

Zhu Jinzhao: "Occasionally, when I'm bored and I'm licking him, he'll talk to me a bit more."

"Damn it! You scumbag!" Jiang Jingwen cursed angrily, grabbing Zhu Jinzhao's arm and storming after Lu Yuzhou. "You don't have time to text your girlfriend, but you have time to go shopping with your junior. You bastard, I think you want to die!"

"Lu Yuzhou!"

She caught up with Lu Yuzhou from behind, grabbed his shoulders, and flipped him over.

Lu Yuzhou was completely bewildered when he turned around and saw his girlfriend and her irritable best friend standing in front of him.

"Today, today..." His eyes widened, and he was visibly panicked.

"You still know she's Jinzhao?" Jiang Jingwen stared intently at him, her first words a accusation: "Lu Yuzhou, didn't you say you were too busy to pay attention to your girlfriend, yet you had time to go shopping with a pretty junior?"

"Isn't that shameless?"

"...Is Chaochao your girlfriend?" Zhu Mingyue asked timidly from the side.

Lu Yuzhou gave an awkward laugh, looking rather reluctant to admit it: "Yes..."

Zhu Mingyue was taken aback, then turned to look at Zhu Jinchao: "Chaochao, I think you may have misunderstood. I didn't know about your relationship."

"It's alright!" Zhu Jinzhao smiled sheepishly, his magnanimity almost unnatural. "Mingyue, you don't need to explain. I believe you."