"Are you sure you want fifty copies?"

Chen Xu had already sat back down at the door. When he heard the man's words, he walked over and confirmed.

"right."

The man smiled innocently on his round face. "Our company is nearby. We are all working overtime tonight. I am going to bring them some midnight snacks. Your noodles are pretty good."

Chen Xu was a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't prepare too many materials today. I think there are only about twenty copies."

“I see.”

The man frowned slightly and said, "Alright, I'll give you the money for twenty copies first, you help me do it, and I'll drive over."

As he spoke, he took out his mobile phone, scanned the code to pay, and left.

As soon as he left, Chen Ziqi jumped up excitedly, "Finally, there's a big deal. Hey, Chen Xu, why don't you prepare more?"

Chen Xu glanced at the noodles on the table, who had only taken a bite, and thought that this person was a little strange, but no matter what, the other party had already paid, so he did it.

The soup he prepared was not enough, and since the soup could not be kept for too long, he did not make too much for fear of wasting it. As of today, there are probably about twenty servings left.

It didn't take long to cook the noodles. When the man drove over in a black Volkswagen, Chen Xu had already prepared twenty servings. He packed them all in disposable containers and kept the soup and noodles separate to prevent them from becoming mushy after being soaked for too long.

Chen Ziqi found a few cardboard boxes to pack the food containers in, and loaded them onto the truck as soon as it arrived.

"Twenty-five in total."

Chen Xu put the last few copies into the trunk and said.

"Okay." The man took out his cell phone, paid for five more orders, and drove away.

Chen Xu announced, "Okay, let's close the stall."

"I didn't expect that we would make a profit on the third day. Let's go celebrate and sing Karaoke," Chen Ziqi suggested enthusiastically.

"I have to go to work tomorrow."

Chen Xu's words shattered her expectations.

"Oh." She pouted, looking a little unhappy, but she didn't insist on going.

Seeing her like this, Chen Xu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Wait until the weekend."

"Long live." Chen Ziqi cheered immediately, with a happy smile on his face.

Suddenly, Chen Xu felt that having a younger sister was actually quite nice. Although she would often cause trouble for you and say harsh words, she could also be very caring sometimes.

Chen Ziqi clapped her hands and said, "When the time comes, come to my house and invite my best friend over as well."

Seeing that she still remembered this incident, Chen Xu felt a little amused and also felt relieved. He patted her head and said, "Let's not bring trouble to your classmates, okay? It's not that I can't find a girlfriend, I just don't have the energy for it at the moment. Don't worry about me. Studying hard is the right thing to do."

"I told you, don't touch my head."

Chen Ziqi grabbed his hand and said dissatisfiedly, "Why don't you understand? Take advantage of her young age and she will be easy to deceive. When she goes to high school next year and has more experience, she will not like you anymore."

Chen Xu was both angry and amused. "So my image in your mind is so bad that I have to lie to find a girlfriend?"

Chen Ziqi patted his shoulder and sighed, "My silly brother, you should know yourself as a human being."

"No respect for elders or younger ones."

Chen Xu flicked her head and felt the need to take back what he had just said. A sister like this would only cause trouble for others.

…………

It was another ordinary working day. Perhaps stimulated by the overtime pay, Chen Xu found that his colleagues' work enthusiasm had increased a lot, and their efficiency had also improved. Just after 6:30, everyone left work.

In fact, the straight-line distance from the company to the rental house is not far, but the bus will take a detour. If you take a shortcut by running, it may take even longer than taking the bus.

He stuffed his changed clothes, documents and other things into a backpack, put it on, tightened the straps, and started running.

He ran for twenty minutes at a stretch, about halfway through the distance, and then stopped to rest for a while before continuing to run.

After running for about another half an hour, I arrived at the square where I went for morning exercise every day. My strength was exhausted again, so I had to stop.

At this point, he was very close to his rental house and planned to walk back.

In total, it only takes about an hour to run the entire distance. He doesn't have to squeeze into the bus, and he can also exercise. He decided that in the future, as long as the weather permits, he will run home.

When going to work, it is not a good idea to run all sweaty to get to the company, so it is better to take a bus.

He was walking on a small path. It was dinner time, so there were not many people passing by. He could hear the smell of food wafting from the houses on both sides, as well as some voices and the sound from the TV.

He turned a corner, walked into a small supermarket, bought a bottle of water, and drank it while walking.

Suddenly, he saw a girl in school uniform with a schoolbag on her back squatting under a telephone pole not far ahead, with her back to him.

"It's already this late, why haven't you gone home yet?"

He felt a little strange, but had no intention of meddling in other people's business. He walked closer and saw three mottled kittens not far in front of her, licking food from a paper box with the McDonald's logo.

In the girl's hands, there was a bag of steamed buns and a bottle of mineral water.

On the wall next to the electric pole, there was an old-fashioned lamp. The lampshade on the top was rusty, and the bulb underneath emitted a golden light, making the profile of the girl who was feeding the cat shine brightly.

In this quiet alley, the scene before your eyes is like a painting.

Chen Xu subconsciously slowed down his pace.

As if she had noticed someone, the girl turned around to look at him, stood up, waved to the kittens, turned around, and walked in the opposite direction from him.

jingle.

When they passed by each other, he heard a few crisp noises. Looking back, he saw a small white kitty cat doll hanging on the zipper of her schoolbag, strung together with a small bell.

In a blink of an eye, the girl disappeared at the alley entrance.

When she turned around, he clearly saw that she was wearing white headphones in her ears.

Chen Xu retracted his gaze and was about to move forward. He saw something where the girl was squatting. Curious, he went over and picked it up. It was a school card.

Cao Ningning, XX Middle School, Class 3, Grade 2.

He had heard of this school before. It was a key high school and should have strict management. If he lost his school card, it might be a bit troublesome.

As he thought about it, he ran after her, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

He shook his head, there was nothing he could do to help.

…………

The girl in school uniform walked through the alley, turned a few alleys, exited the main road and entered a residential area.

After a while, she took the elevator to her home, took out her key and was about to open the door, but she heard a quarrel coming from inside and her hand stopped.

She put the key back in her pocket, walked to the window at the stairs, took out her cell phone, turned up the volume, and the sound of the music seemed to isolate her from the outside world.

She looked out the window, her dark eyes fixed on the night sky, motionless.

(End of this chapter)