Chapter 14 Refusing the Invitation

Starting at eight o'clock, the coffee shop employees gradually took their places.

Whenever Su Pu opens a shop, they hardly have to worry about anything; all they need to do is show up.

The shop was clean and tidy, and the little mute boy smiled and quietly did all the work.

The store manager was also there on the early shift today. After changing into his uniform, he was about to relieve Su Pu. He baked him a panini and told him to go and rest.

Su Pu waved his hand, pushing the panini back to indicate that he had already eaten.

"Have you had breakfast? What time did you get up?"

Su Pu typed: [I woke up at 5:30.]

"My goodness, so early! You're so lazy!"

Su Pu chuckled sheepishly, but after trying to hold it in for a while, he couldn't help but laugh.

I woke up with my husband.

The store manager stared at the words, still unable to believe it, and exaggeratedly repeated "Holy crap!" several times.

"You've been keeping a low profile, haven't you? You didn't even tell us you were getting married!"

Su Pu smiled and shook his head.

[It happened so suddenly...]

"Have you registered your marriage? Are you planning to have a ceremony, or a destination wedding?"

Recent marriage policies have become more lenient. In addition to same-sex marriage becoming commonplace, newlywed couples often choose to have destination weddings, using the funds allocated for the ceremony for personal enjoyment.

To be frank, marriage is ultimately a matter between two people.

Su Pu smiled shyly and typed another string of words.

We don't know yet; we'll see what he thinks.

The store manager is 32 years old and has given up on her fantasies about love and marriage.

"How can you judge based on his opinion? This is your marriage too, and you have the right to make decisions!"

"Anyway, call him over here as soon as possible so we can take a look. I can also help you assess him..."

The coffee shop has a high turnover of staff, but fortunately the regular members have a very strong relationship and get along like family.

Su Pu trusted the store manager completely.

He nodded, which was taken as an agreement.

[If the time is right, I'll definitely bring him to say hello to everyone~]

The shop manager glanced at him, "Just how much do you like it? You're even hiding it..."

Su Pu wiped the coffee machine, just smiling warmly.

...

At nine o'clock, the coffee shop officially opened for business.

As soon as the machine started accepting orders, it spat out a string of pre-orders.

The store manager gave the two baristas a wry smile, "Let's make the pre-ordered coffees first before any customers arrive."

Su Pu and another barista agreed, quickly divided the tasks, and officially began their work.

"Hey, there are still orders from upstairs..."

The shop manager muttered to himself, tossing the order slip over his shoulder, "Hand-drip, premium beans..."

Su Pu noticed the keywords and leaned over to take a look.

"Oh my god, it's the same one again..." the store manager said with distress.

Su Pu had already realized what was happening.

Behind this order is not the annoying Frank, but his husband Li Jichuan.

Her husband wants to drink the coffee he makes!

Su Pu patted his chest and asked the store manager to place the order, entrusting everything to him.

The store manager was quite puzzled; why was he suddenly so energetic today?

Don't you usually hate the takeout orders from upstairs?

Just then, the event consultant sent by headquarters arrived at the store. The store manager was busy coordinating with the event and didn't pay any more attention to Su Pu.

This time, the little mute carefully prepared the coffee, meticulously packaged it, and carried it upstairs.

The access card that Li Jichuan gave him allowed him to take the private elevator and reach the top floor without any obstacles.

The building was unusually quiet on the day off; even the receptionist on the top floor was not there.

Su Pu, carrying a packing bag, knocked on the door of Li Jichuan's office.

The other person was on the phone and looked anxious.

This is not a good time for dialogue.

Su Pu placed the coffee on his desk, but Li Jichuan didn't even have time to look at him.

Li Jichuan is so busy.

It seems like every time I see him, he's working...

"I can't believe your story. Whether you hire external organizations or collect data directly from campuses, our product's target audience is these college students. If we can't collect their data, how can we conduct research and development..."

As he got more excited, Li Jichuan slammed his hand on the table repeatedly, emphasizing his point.

"We brought you all the way back to China not so you could make excuses for us, but to find a solution!"

Li Jichuan was giving some more instructions when Su Pu silently left his office.

Li Jichuan looks so fierce when he's angry!

Su Pu shrank back, determined never to make Li Jichuan angry again...

...

Su Pu was working as a substitute today, and Ouyang rushed back during the lunch break.

He had just changed into his uniform when he ran into the food preparation area and approached Su Pu.

"Bodhisattva, I've arrived. You must be exhausted after a long morning."

Ouyang was in charge of taking orders and maintaining order, while Su Pu also had the responsibility of making coffee, so he spent the whole morning spinning around like a top.

Su Pu sighed mournfully.

I'm exhausted...

Ouyang was terrified. "My God, is it that tiring?"

"Did you get a lot of orders today, or is there a lot of cleaning work in the food and beverage area... By the way, is that guy on the top floor giving you a hard time again?"

After hearing what he said, Su Pu grinned mischievously.

[I'm not busy, and no one's giving me trouble. I was just kidding!]

"Hey, brother!"

Ouyang rubbed his hair, feeling helpless.

"When did you learn to joke around?!"

Su Pu shrugged and gracefully withdrew from the scene.

Perhaps it's a case of "marrying a chicken, follow the chicken; marrying a dog, follow the dog"...

With Ouyang taking over, Su Pu only had a few cleaning and finishing tasks left to complete.

While cleaning the coffee machine, he suddenly heard Ouyang muttering to himself.

"Brother, I have a soccer game tomorrow night, do you want to come?"

Su Pu slowed his movements. He was clearly quite interested.

“I will also be on stage, and there will be a cheerleading performance.”

Ouyang rarely showed a bit of naivety.

"Exactly, this football match is a long-standing tradition at the university. After it ends, there's a summer performance, and at the very end, there's a one-minute confession segment—"

He explained, "Oh, it means the lights in the entire playground and school buildings will go out for one minute, and you can confess to the person you like during that minute. If they agree, you can kiss them."

"If the other party doesn't agree, when the lights come back on, just pretend nothing happened..."

As she spoke, Ouyang's cheeks flushed red.

"I... I also want to confess to the person I like, but she probably won't agree..."

He looked at Su Pu and pleaded, "Brother, could you come and keep me company for a bit? What if she doesn't agree? Don't make me feel too embarrassed."

Ouyang's expression was so sincere that Su Pu couldn't find a reason to refuse.

Besides, he had nothing else to do tomorrow, so it didn't matter if he went to make up the numbers.

Su Pu nodded in agreement, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and looked at Ouyang with bright eyes.

[Is there going to be a lot of college students at the event tomorrow?]

Ouyang stared at the line of text for a long time, then looked up blankly.

"Bro, isn't that obvious? There should be no shortage of college students at the event tomorrow..."

Su Pu smiled happily.

I will definitely be there tomorrow!

...

As evening approached, Li Jichuan finally finished all his work and had time to take out his phone to look at things.

After swiping through a few work progress updates, I was surprised to find several messages from Su Pu still lying in my inbox.

Ask him if he has time tomorrow night and if he would like to go somewhere with him.

Li Jichuan sneered, "You can't hide your intentions anymore, can you?"

Tomorrow happens to be Su Fengxian's company's anniversary party, and since Su Pu has received the card, of course she'll take him there...

They're quite dedicated!

Li Jichuan was inexplicably irritable and started typing in the chat box.

You still dare to take advantage of him?

wishful thinking!

This will show you what it means to scheme and plot, only to die with regrets!

Li Jichuan replied: 【Sorry, I'm busy.】

About two minutes later, Su Pu responded.

Okay then, I hope your work goes well.

Li Jichuan snorted triumphantly. See? He wouldn't be easily manipulated...

But did Su Pu accept it too readily?

It's as if they have no hope of him agreeing at all...

But Su Pu clearly accepted the card. If things don't go through, will he be punished?

Li Jichuan recalled the punishments he had received since childhood.

The little mute girl is so thin, I don't know if she can handle it...

Although he had explicitly refused, Li Jichuan couldn't help but waver.

What if the little mute boy is also bullied by his family...?

This guy seems a bit slow; I wonder if he'll come over and complain to him, begging him to stand up for him...