Chapter 10.010. "Protecting you" doesn't mean I'm someone you're protecting...
From that day on, Chenzhoudu began to frequently accompany them to set up their stall.
The senior year curriculum at Qingshui Experimental Middle School is actually quite intense. With less than 300 days until the college entrance examination, the school has even added two extra evening self-study sessions every night to keep the senior students focused.
Although it is officially stated that participation is voluntary and not mandatory, everyone knows in their hearts that it is mandatory.
But there are always exceptions. For those students with the best and worst grades, teachers and classmates usually turn a blind eye and let them not come if they don't want to. Chen Zhoudu was one of those students who were tacitly accepted.
He always had his own rules and habits when it came to studying and doing exercises, and the teachers at Shishi Middle School were afraid of disrupting his habits, so they let him do as he pleased. As for Xia Chan... she always did things her own way, and even Vice Principal Liu had spoken to her several times, but seeing that she wouldn't listen, he just let her be.
"If the school leaders found out that you don't go to evening self-study sessions every day not to study but to set up a stall with me, they'd probably want to kill me."
One day, Xia Chan was leisurely setting up her stall at the night market, munching on an ice cream cone with a playful yet amused expression.
Shen Zhoudu quickly and neatly arranged everything, chuckled softly, and said in a clear voice without turning around, "Then I'll say that I was tricked into working at your house, and I'll buy it out for two thousand five hundred yuan."
Xia Chan chuckled lightly, "Our family doesn't buy workers with such delicate skin!"
Huang Mao was still quite reluctant to let Chen Zhoudu join them. In his opinion, this Shanghai kid was a complete outsider, and if he insisted on joining them, he must have something up his sleeve.
Besides the hassle of coming home every day, I also have to provide him with an extra late-night snack.
Ironically, during the few days that Chenzhoudu set up his stall, the stall's revenue did indeed increase significantly. Siyi vehemently rejected Huangmao's repeated requests to "kick Chenzhoudu out of the team." They even held a vote in the end, with the side that voted most in favor having the final say.
In the end, Siyi and Xiachan agreed that the two votes left by Chenzhoudu were against Huangmao's one vote, which made Huangmao so angry that he wanted to run away overnight and was jumping up and down in circles on the stall.
Shen Zhoudu also took out a few old clothes and sneakers that he had brought from Shanghai, as well as the suitcase.
When Xia Chan saw him dragging his suitcase and placing these things on the secondhand stall that day, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise and said that he didn't need to "cut off his own leg" just to fit in with everyone.
However, Chen Zhoudu said that these things were already outdated, and even in Shanghai, it was probably time for him to replace them.
In the past, he would just throw his old things into the junk bin, but he might as well put them here to sell. Maybe he can even make some extra money.
Seeing that he didn't care at all, Xia Chan naturally didn't press him further, only telling him not to regret it later.
The clothes and shoes in Chenzhou Ferry are all from well-known and expensive trendy brands. Although they are not particularly flashy, their styles are still considered trendy in this small town.
The day they were put up for sale at the flea market, even the blond guy was speechless. His eyes were practically glued to the classic shoes, but he choked back a sneer and said, "Show-off!"
"Sour!" Siyi teased him, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "Some people say sour grapes because they can't have them."
"...Why am I being so sour! It is true!" The blond-haired man's neck stiffened even more as he shouted angrily.
Xia Chan chuckled as she watched Chen Zhoudu hand him a garment he'd glanced at several times earlier. The blond-haired man felt even more embarrassed and ashamed, but finally, with unwavering pride, he slapped Chen Zhoudu's hand away and coldly snorted, "Look at us, who dresses like that here! No wonder it won't sell!"
That day, quite a few people came to inquire about these clothes and shoes.
Wow! Is this a counterfeit? It's so realistic!
“It’s correct,” Xia Chan said.
"How could that be!" The two young couples who looked like friends were looking at the clothes, and they looked at them as if they had been scammed. "There is no such brand in Tongcheng!"
Xia Chan didn't quite know how to distinguish the authenticity of these things, so she subconsciously looked at Chenzhoudu.
Chen Zhoudu then stepped forward and opened a hidden tag behind the care label on the side of the garment for them, patiently explaining, "Limited editions of this garment are all numbered, which can be checked on the official website. This is the number of this garment; you can check it."
The young people were still suspicious, but one of the boys was very curious and took out his phone to check the official website. The moment he entered the number, a picture of the same clothes as the one in front of him popped up, and it even showed the place of production, the store, and the purchase time.
The young people immediately looked embarrassed, but Xia Chan remained calm as usual.
The group huddled together and whispered amongst themselves for a while before one of the girls stepped forward and tentatively asked, "How much... is this?"
"Eighteen thousand."
"One..." Although it was a significant discount compared to the regular price, it wasn't something they could afford just by buying it. The group looked at the clothes one last time with lingering reluctance before leaving.
The blond-haired man shook his head and laughed smugly, "Ha! I told you they wouldn't sell!"
Siyi made him shut his dog mouth.
But in the end, to everyone's surprise, these clothes and shoes actually sold.
As the stall was closing up that evening, a tall, stylishly dressed young man who looked like a college student strolled over to the stall. He saw the old sneakers in front of the stall and exclaimed "Hey?" as if he had discovered some treasure.
During his casual conversation, Siyi understood that he was a local from Qingshui, but his family had moved to Tongcheng City several years ago after making their fortune, though they still kept their old house in Qingshui.
He was studying at a university away from home this year, but he ran back after arguing with his counselor over a trivial matter.
To avoid his family's nagging, he simply hid back in Qingshui, becoming a true "runaway young master."
The "runaway young master" liked a pair of sneakers at the stall. They were shoes he had wanted for a long time but had become discontinued. He had never been able to get the same pair, and he never expected to find them here.
What's even more coincidental is that his shoe size is exactly the same as Shen Zhoudu's, and he slapped his thigh and exclaimed that it was such a coincidence! He then pointed to a few more pieces of clothing and said, "This one, this one, and this one, I'll take them all! And that suitcase, you can put all those things in the suitcase, I'll give you an address, and you can deliver it to me! I'm too lazy to carry it."
"Okay! Don't worry, I'll definitely deliver it to your destination!" This was a huge sum of money, so Siyi quickly and happily scanned the QR code to receive the money, carefully noted down the address, waved goodbye, and watched him walk away.
"Look! It's sold out! It's sold out! Sister Xiao Chan! We made so much money! Let me count... one, two, three, four..."
After the "runaway young master" left, Siyi couldn't help but show off to Huang Mao a couple of times before pressing the calculator again. Huang Mao reverted to his usual defiant yet helpless expression.
Xia Chan smiled and rubbed Si Yi's head, saying, "These are all items from Chenzhoudu, considered secondhand. We take 10%, and the rest goes to him."
The group immediately turned to look at Chen Zhoudu. Chen Zhoudu paused slightly when he met six eyes, but quickly smiled and said, "You don't need to give me the rest of the money. Just use it for my room and board. You can decide how to distribute it. Today's harvest was pretty good, so I'll treat everyone to dinner."
Siyi immediately showed a surprised expression, but still looked at Xia Chan questioningly. Xia Chan met his gaze for a moment, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she smiled meaningfully and tapped her profile picture to agree.
The harvest was good today, so they closed the stall early. Before going out for a late-night snack, the four of them planned to deliver the things that the "runaway young master" wanted.
Huang Mao took Siyi's phone to look at the address and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Holy crap! Yahai Tianhewan residential area, they really have rich people..."
Siyi had already been amazed when the young master gave her the address. Xia Chan followed leisurely beside her without much reaction.
Chenzhoudu paused and remained silent.
Huang Mao continued to dream, "In the future, I'm going to make lots and lots of money, a lot of money! Then I'll buy a house in Tianhe Bay! And make everyone in Qingshui envious!"
Siyi chuckled and teased him, "You should think about how to buy breakfast tomorrow morning first! Your daydreams are prettier than Sister Chan's..."
The two of them started bickering again, and Xia Chan silently raised an eyebrow and curled the corners of her lips.
Chen Zhoudu subconsciously glanced at her; in the night, her profile was quiet and aloof, like a crescent moon.
After Siyi had finished laughing and joking, she thought of something and couldn't help but ask, "Chenzhoudu, your family seems to be quite well-off. You should be able to afford a better place to rent here. Why did you choose to stay with us in the end?"
Xia Chan raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly curious about the question. The blond-haired man glared at him rudely and scoffed, "How can he show off if he doesn't live here?"
Siyi glared at him, telling him to shut up. Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but chuckle and lowered his eyes, saying, "Before, it's not like I hadn't looked at other places, but they were all a bit disappointing. It was by chance that I found 'Du,' and I felt a bit of fate with it, and I also thought the environment was nice, so..."
As he finished speaking, he unconsciously glanced at Xia Chan. Xia Chan's gaze remained fixed on him, her expression unreadable.
Siyi, on the other hand, was inexplicably delighted after hearing this.
"That's true! Our 'Ferry,' aside from being a bit small, a bit old, a bit densely packed with houses, and a bit cramped in the alleys... there's really nothing wrong with it. You've come to the right place!"
The blond-haired man scoffed, "Look at what you're saying, is there anything good about it?"
"...Hey, I told you to shut up!"
...
The summer night was slightly cool. Neon lights flickered and reflected the starlight on Tianhe Street, and the street was bustling with people, with the occasional sound of a car horn.
The four people walked along together, supporting the motorcycle, gradually shrinking into a few inconspicuous shadows on the neon-lit street.
-
The next day, just before school let out at noon, Xia Chan received a message from Huang Mao, claiming that he had been delayed by work that morning and would not be able to return to Qingshui in time, so she would have to go back by herself that morning.
Xia Chan replied "okay," packed her things quickly after school, and left the school gate alone.
I paused slightly as I passed the bus stop, but didn't stop and continued walking.
A figure followed her the whole time.
She noticed it as she walked out of the school gate, but ignored it.
She thought he would stop on his own when they arrived at their destination, but to her surprise, he followed her from a distance of a few meters away, like a silent shadow.
They walked several blocks to a quiet, empty spot, where Xia Chan stopped without turning around and asked in a low voice, "How long are you going to follow me?"
Looking back, we see a sunken boat crossing.
Chen Zhoudu stood a few steps away from her. The midday sun shone brightly on him, casting a pale blue hue, almost like the sky, on his dark blue school uniform. His back was straight, and he was handsome and refined, standing cleanly in the summer sun, like a distant mountain peak covered in frost and snow.
She had rarely seen him from this perspective, and felt as if the light was flowing from him in an instant, causing her to unconsciously squint.
Chen Zhoudu simply gazed at her calmly and replied softly, "When you turn around."
Xia Chan's pupils seemed slightly dizzy from the bright sunlight, and when she spoke again, her voice was a little low, "Why are you following me?"
The corners of his lips curved slightly, almost imperceptibly. "Didn't you say I was under your protection?"
Her gaze paused slightly before she fell silent, but after a moment a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips. She then forced herself to lower her head and kick a small pebble at her feet.
Shen Zhoudu glanced at her fleeting expression and almost imperceptibly curved the corners of his lips, but she said nothing and turned to continue walking.
But in the instant she turned around, she gave him a very subtle, deep glance and tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment.
Chen Zhoudu smiled and followed in tacit agreement. Xia Yang walked away, their two shadows overlapping.
A note from the author:
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My darlings, I've made it onto the rankings! The numbers are still a bit low, so before the VIP chapters, I'll update according to the rankings. After the VIP chapters, I'll update daily. I'll probably update four chapters this week, and after the VIP chapters are released next week, I can update daily!
The next update will be on Saturday night at 9 PM. Hope you'll see me then! [heart][rose]
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