The gloom on Shi Hengyu's face flashed by in an instant, unnoticed by anyone. Then he flashed his usual sunny smile and nodded to Chu Yaqin: "President Chu."
Chu Yaqin nodded in response and sat down with Mu Liuyun, following Shi Hengyu.
"Can I pay by credit card here? I don't have my phone with me."
Mu Liuyun waved her hand: "It's okay, Brother Xiaoyu will pay for the two large meat rice dishes, right?"
Seeing Mu Liuyun's playful smile, Shi Hengyu acted as if he hadn't heard her voice, and his expression grew increasingly somber.
"Brother Xiaoyu?"
"Oh, oh, you're right, I can afford to treat you to a meal at a Shaxian snack shop!"
When Mu Liuyun called out to him, Shi Hengyu finally reacted, responding as if talking to himself, before turning around and walking back behind the counter to begin preparing the food.
Because Chu Yaqin and Mu Liuyun came down early and hadn't arrived at the crowded restaurant yet, they were the only two customers in the shop.
Shi Hengyu had been practicing serving food for a long time, but today it was unusually slow. He looked across the counter at Mu Liuyun, who was chatting and laughing with Chu Yaqin and sometimes showing a shy expression, and he was suddenly lost in thought, his left hand clenching into a fist.
He couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Mu Liuyun more than a decade ago.
It was evening. Shi Hengyu, who had just experienced a family accident, the confiscation of his house, and the departure of his playmates, was almost penniless. He sat dejectedly by the roadside, staring blankly at the cars driving by, silently counting them in his mind.
'I'll go home for dinner when I count to one thousand.'
Shi Hengyu thought to himself.
"How are you?"
After an unknown amount of time, a voice interrupted the numbers he was silently reciting in his mind.
Shi Hengyu subconsciously looked up and was immediately stunned: "Lin, Lin Jianglu?"
Who is that?
Seeing the other person's puzzled expression, Shi Hengyu suddenly noticed something different. His playmate, Lin Jianglu, had long hair and usually wore skirts.
But the person in front of her, although looking exactly like Lin Jianglu, had short hair, was a little shorter than Lin Jianglu, and looked more like a boy in terms of clothing.
"nothing..."
Realizing that the person in front of him was not Lin Jianglu, Shi Hengyu turned his head back and continued to stare at the vehicles on the road.
But before he could even start counting, he felt someone sit down in the seat next to him.
"I'm a little bored, wanna play together?"
"I'm not playing."
What's your name?
The other person was clearly much shorter than him, but spoke like an adult, which annoyed Shi Hengyu. He turned to look at the other person and said, "Shouldn't you say your own name before asking someone else's name...?"
Before he could finish his sentence, Shi Hengyu froze. The setting sun cast its slanting rays behind her, making her smiling face seem to glow, even more beautiful than Lin Jianglu.
"Mu Liuyun, my name is Mu Liuyun."
My name is...
"Hengyu! Hengyu!"
The store manager's clear, melodious voice interrupted Shi Hengyu's thoughts: "Store manager? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? Look at your left hand, you idiot."
It was only then that Shi Hengyu came to his senses. His fingernails had dug into his flesh without him noticing, and strands of red lines were emerging from them.
"Seriously, how can you hurt your hand while making a big bowl of meat rice?"
The store manager, looking disappointed in Shi Hengyu, pushed him aside.
The pork rice dish is simple to serve. Just put some rice, a piece of pork belly, and some greens on top, and you're done. There's no need for a knife at all. How did he cut his hand?
"Go to the restroom and rinse off quickly, I'll prepare the food!"
Shi Hengyu didn't say anything, and walked into the restroom with his hands in his hands. As he closed the restroom door, he glanced back and saw Mu Liuyun's happy smiling face.
Standing in front of the mirror, Shi Hengyu placed his phone on the sink, and a red dot on the screen flickered.
"Oh."
He turned on the tap and chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"What am I doing?"
...
"For the daughter of a billionaire to eat at a Shaxian snack bar with me feels like a shattered reality."
Chu Yaqin was taken aback by what she was told, then laughed: "Even the daughter of the richest man doesn't eat delicacies every day."
Although Chu Yaqin had never actually eaten Shaxian snacks, she had eaten her fair share of ordinary food. In particular, she would grab a bite of instant noodles when she was busy studying or working.
Moreover, before studying abroad, Chu Yaqin served as a female soldier for two years in accordance with the Chu family rules.
"Our lives aren't actually that different,"
Hearing Chu Yaqin's words, Mu Liuyun nodded noncommittally. He didn't believe Chu Yaqin; he had also lived a life of going to school during the day and delivering food at night, and he certainly didn't believe that Chu Yaqin had ever worked as a stand-in.
Even though Chu Yaqin, as a wealthy heiress, was very humble, she still gave people the feeling of "why don't they eat meat porridge?"
"Hello, your large meat rice is here."
"Thanks."
Mu Liuyun looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman who looked to be in her thirties, but whose ponytail and warm smile exuded the charm of a mature woman.
After placing two large bowls of meat rice, the beautiful shop manager returned to the counter to continue preparing for the upcoming lunchtime.
Having healed his wounds and calmed his emotions, Shi Hengyu returned to the two of them.
"Is there anything else you need?"
Mu Liuyun glanced at the beautiful shop manager and nudged Shi Hengyu with her elbow: "Hey, Brother Yu, so you like older women? I was wondering why none of the relationships at school lasted long."
Shi Hengyu's lips trembled, but he forced a normal expression and replied impatiently, "What does this have to do with me? I'm just here to work!"
"Oh, oh, working part-time, huh? Tsk tsk tsk."
"You have the nerve to criticize me? And what about you! Why are you dressed as a woman!"
Shi Hengyu didn't believe that the CEO in front of him didn't know Mu Liuyun's gender. A CEO who doesn't even know the gender of his new employees only exists in novels!
"none of your business!"
Chu Yaqin watched the two bickering and narrowed her eyes slightly. Mu Liuyun's mischievous behavior towards Shi Hengyu filled her with both delight and anticipation.
'I wonder when I'll be able to make him act like this towards me. When that happens, I'll definitely teach him a lesson...'
"Is this Mr. Chu?"
Hearing the topic suddenly shift to herself, Chu Yaqin quickly interrupted her rosy fantasies and nodded to Shi Hengyu.
"Oh dear, I really didn't expect that my childhood friend would be able to work for the Chu Family Group. I'm sure it's all thanks to President Chu. Thank you so much, this kid has had a tough life since he was little."
As he spoke, Shi Hengyu reached out his hand to shake hands with Chu Yaqin.
Chu Yaqin smiled and responded to Shi Hengyu, but just as the two were about to clasp hands, Mu Liuyun suddenly grabbed Shi Hengyu's arm: "Brother Xiaoyu, please forgive my intrusion, President Chu is the daughter of the Chu family."
"Oh my, look at me, I'm so excited... What? A rich girl!"
Shi Hengyu suddenly stood up straight, looking at Chu Yaqin with a surprised expression.
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