Chapter 10

As dusk fell, Gu Mengzhu sat in front of the shop peeling a pineapple. Occasionally, she would peel off too much flesh and eat it. The pineapple was perfectly ripe, sweet even without soaking in salt water. But eating too much would eventually numb her mouth, so she had to be careful not to waste any. In the distance, someone rode a bicycle towards her. The twilight sunlight shone through the gaps in the sycamore leaves onto the flat ground, landing right in her eyes. Gu Mengzhu squinted and recognized him. The person parked his bicycle and walked over with his hands behind his back, his movements somewhat furtive.

"Brother Sheng—"

Hearing her call, Huang Jiansheng immediately made a shushing gesture. Gu Mengzhu, being gossipy, peeked to the right, just in time to see the bouquet hidden behind him. She gave a knowing smile and bent down to put the pineapple into the salt water container next to her. Chen Luo was currently cutting fruit on the counter, completely unaware of the little secret between the two outside. Huang Jiansheng quietly walked to the back, tapped her on the shoulder, and as soon as she turned around, immediately handed her the bouquet. Chen Luo was startled:

"What's that? Flowers!"

Her eyebrows lifted, her face beaming with undisguised joy. Even as she clutched the bouquet tightly in her hands, she couldn't help but express her heartache.

"Wow, they're so pretty! But I still prefer potted plants. Fresh flowers are so expensive; you could buy several kilograms of meat with that money."

Hearing that all-too-familiar tone, Huang Jiansheng grinned, showing his big teeth.

Do you want some?

"Yes. It was given to me by you!"

She glanced at Gu Mengzhu, who was slowly walking over with a peeler in her hand, and asked with a grin:

"Hey, why are you staring at us like that?"

"I find your mushy stuff too cheesy."

Gu Mengzhu looked disgusted. Chen Luo pulled a lily from the bouquet and handed it to her:

Here, have one, no need to be jealous.

"Oh thanks, you look like a good noodle!"

She happily accepted the flower, washed the knife and put it away, then tiptoed to the setting sun to admire it. Seeing the remaining sunlight radiating outwards from the lily's petals, making the flower in her hand bloom with dazzling beauty, she couldn't help but hum a tune:

"Oh, Lily, Lily, you're my lily covered with the sunshine beauty."

Chen Luo was smiling at her, but then suddenly remembered something and turned to ask:

"Why are you here at this hour? Doesn't the restaurant need more staff?"

Her forgetful personality.

Huang Jiansheng smiled somewhat helplessly and nodded in response:

"The boss has a happy occasion at home, so we're giving everyone three days off. I told you about it last night."

She pursed her lips and blinked:

"Oh, I don't remember."

"You have such a bad memory. I've never seen you think of me all day. You might as well take the flowers back."

Chen Luo quickly hid the bouquet behind her back and grinned at him:

"Hey! No way!"

"Sister Fang said the fresh milk in the fridge is about to expire, and since it won't fetch a good price anyway, and she's worried that customers might get diarrhea from drinking it, she told us to take it home and drink it. Come on over and have some!"

Li Zhun, a long-time employee at the fruit shop for five or six years, was currently carrying a box of milk, his messy blond hair flashing as he walked towards them, calling out to them. Chen Luo counted eight bottles. She glanced at them and then turned away.

"I don't want it! Neither Sheng-ge nor I like milk. Give it to Ah-meng. She's not worried about the staff having to go to the toilet, but she can't bear to see regular customers suffer. Sister Fang is truly loyal to God!"

Lee Joon laughed so hard he trembled, and the milk sloshed around with him.

"Ah Meng? You've been working for so long, and I've never seen her drink milk."

"Then you can take them and drink them yourself!"

Lee Joon's eyebrows almost flew off:

"This milk expires the day after tomorrow! Eight bottles in two days, are you trying to kill me with diarrhea?!"

Seeing him pull the milk closer, Chen Luo quickly leaned back tactically:

"Then give a few bottles to Uncle Jiu."

"Hey, Uncle Jiu is so old, are you trying to kill him by making him drink fresh milk? They're singing folk songs the day after tomorrow, and we're supposed to stand at the gate tomorrow chanting the Rebirth Mantra? Diluted milk is better!"

She waved her hand dismissively, annoyed.

"Oh, give it to Meng! Her friend who often works part-time here should drink it."

Chen Luo originally wanted to say the man Gu Mengzhu kept at home, but then thought it inappropriate to say such things aloud, so she changed her words. Li Zhun then shouted outside:

"Ah Meng, hurry up and help me get rid of all this fresh milk!"

"I don't drink milk much."

"Please, I'm begging you, I'll give it all to Brother Guang!"

Gu Mengzhu reluctantly accepted the three bottles of milk, then took out her phone to send a text message to Qi Yaoguang:

Hey, wanna come out for dinner? It's on me. We'll have fresh milk.

The landlady's invitation meant he wouldn't have to eat cold, stale food from the refrigerator, which delighted Qi Yaoguang. He rushed over at breakneck speed, every cell in his body radiating smugness. Gu Mengzhu muttered as she handed him the milk:

"I never see you walk this fast usually."

"Hey! Three bottles? Drinking too much will give me diarrhea, I only need one."

He unscrewed a bottle, drank from it, and immediately walked outside.

"What are we having for dinner? I'm telling you, I don't eat fast food!" (What? I don't eat?)

"Let's have boiled fish."

He turned his head and, seeing that she didn't answer, asked:

"You told me to drink milk, but I haven't seen you drink it?"

"I don't like to drink it."

"Since boiled fish is so spicy, drink some milk to protect your stomach."

“Ah,” she nodded, “what you said makes some sense.”

After taking a sip, Gu Mengzhu's eyes widened:

"It's delicious! I used to—"

She paused, her emotions seemed off, and took two difficult breaths before speaking again:

"When I was in elementary school, my family only bought pure milk, which tasted like raw eggs, so I didn't like it. I didn't know fresh milk was so delicious."

Qi Yaoguang shook his head at her and said sarcastically:

No wonder you're not tall.

She responded with a "tsk" sound:

"If I could drink it like water right now, I would grow two meters tall."

"Oh, if that's really the case, then you won't need to work at the fruit shop!"

He laughed teasingly, but she didn't react at all:

"Then what should we do?"

"Let's play basketball!"

Qi Yaoguang laughed twice, then punched the unopened bottle of milk in her hand against his back:

Go to hell!

After walking for a while, Gu Mengzhu couldn't help but speak:

"Hey, you've been talking about me all this time, can you talk about yours too?"

"What's there to say?"

"Tell me about it."

She poked his lower back, and he swiftly grabbed her hand and squeezed it twice without turning around. She wisely begged for mercy, and only then was she able to pull her hand back.

"Fine, don't tell me then, don't be so stingy."

Gu Mengzhu rubbed her reddened hands, walking with her head down, kicking any pebble she saw and stomping on any bottle she passed. Qi Yaoguang, annoyed by her antics, spoke in a low voice above her head:

"It's not that I'm stingy, it's just that I really don't have much to say. I'll tell you when I remember something interesting."

Hearing this, she looked up and laughed:

"OK."

But he kept his back to her and saw nothing. As they passed a shop window, she patted his arm, and Qi Yaoguang turned around helplessly.

"What are you doing now?"

"Look how beautiful these lights are."

He followed her finger and looked down, unconsciously bending down with her:

"You do have some taste. But compared to what I've seen before, it's still far inferior."

He seemed to be reminiscing about the past, a faint smile playing on his lips. Gu Mengzhu glanced at him, then straightened up and stretched.

"Keep it on all day long, I wonder how much electricity it uses and how much money it costs, don't you think?"

"How can you be so unromantic? When you see such a beautiful light, you can just compliment it. Why do you have to bring up such unromantic things?"

"Romantic?" Her eyes widened, then she tapped his chest. "Tell me how much money you have in your pocket, how much romance can you afford to spend? You've never been poor, have you? You don't know how expensive daily necessities are!"

When Qi Yaoguang heard her say that, he pretended to turn his pants pockets inside out, and when she looked, they were empty.

"My two IKEA bags don't even make a jingling sound, aren't I poor enough?" (IKEA - now, still not - not yet)

"Playing tricks again. Ugh, it's such a hassle to explain to you."

Seeing that Gu Mengzhu was genuinely amused, he turned his pockets back inside out and laughed, then pointed to the Ferris wheel across the street, which was emitting colorful lights, and gestured for her to look. But someone's expression was off; the more he looked, the stranger it seemed.

"I've noticed you always seem to like sparkly things. Why do you look so grumpy when you see a Ferris wheel? Haven't you ever been to an amusement park?"

Gu Mengzhu forced a smile and looked down at her phone to hide her embarrassment.

"Ah! It's getting late, let's hurry up and go."

She immediately took a quick step and left, with Qi Yaoguang following leisurely behind. He had long legs, and with each stride he covered two steps of hers, so he wasn't worried about being left behind.

"What's there to hide? I've never even been to an amusement park."

Gu Mengzhu turned around in surprise:

"You've never been there?"

"Yeah, I shrugged nonchalantly. When I was little, my dad was always out doing business, and my mom was always playing mahjong. Other rich kids were either traveling or going to amusement parks, but I was different. I stayed at home all the time."

"Oh—" she drawled, her finger trembling slightly as she pointed at him, "No wonder you went gambling, it turns out it was for inheritance—"

Realizing something was wrong, she immediately shut her mouth, then tried to make amends, unwilling to give up:

“I haven’t said anything yet. But your parents don’t spend time with you, how are you going to manage on your own? Do you have a nanny? Or are you playing with the neighbor’s kids?”

"No, not at all." He shook his head. "I prefer being alone."

Qi Yaoguang gazed into her eyes, his gaze so deep it seemed he could see right into them:

"But gambling is something I get itchy if I don't gamble for a day. You'd better be careful and take good care of your money, or one day I'll even lose your rented apartment."

She didn't flinch, meeting his gaze directly, clearly taking him as joking.

"Is it real? Is it scary to die?"

He raised his eyebrows, curled the corners of his mouth, but the smile in his eyes didn't quite reach his eyes:

"You guess."

Hey! Don't walk so fast, wait for me!

Upon arriving at their destination, the two ate their fill at a Sichuan restaurant, and by the time they emerged, it was already dark. Fortunately, the underpass lights were still on, and with little time to spare, Gu Mengzhu hurried down the steps. Seeing him follow her down, she was somewhat puzzled:

Why not go back?

Qi Yaoguang patted his belly:

"You've eaten too much, so I'll kindly walk with you to help you digest."

She clearly didn't believe it:

"I bet you're just trying to sneak some fruit back with you, aren't you?"

He widened his eyes and took a step back in an exaggerated manner:

"No way, you actually guessed that?"

Gu Mengzhu tilted her chin to the right, her nose almost pointing to the sky:

"Of course! In the martial arts world, everyone calls me the Master Calculator."

Qi Yaoguang cupped his fist in his hand and bowed to her:

"I see. I admire you, I admire you."

"Hey, what about this bottle of milk? (What should we do?)"

"I'll leave it for you to use for breakfast tomorrow! Oh, by the way, it expires the day after tomorrow, so remember to drink it."

"No, that's not true—they're worse than animals..."