Chapter 0004 Helplessness
He Caiyu was cooking in the kitchen, while Ruyi sat at her desk, carefully studying the contract signed with the market.
According to the contract, the market does have the right to take back the shop, as long as sufficient liquidated damages are paid.
Ruyi sensed something was wrong.
She found the contact information for the person in charge on the contract and called them.
She pleaded tactfully, but the person in charge remained unmoved and eventually interrupted her impatiently.
"Young lady, instead of wasting your breath on me, you should think about whether you've offended someone. Otherwise, why would I kick you out when my shop is rented out perfectly well? It's because someone threatened me with my son's job, and I had no choice but to do this."
Ruyi's pupils contracted as Chen Yan's words of determination echoed in her mind.
"In the near future, you will come to me on your own, kneel on the ground, and beg me to be your boyfriend..."
Beg me—I'll fuck you here!
She hung up the phone, as if bitten, and threw it aside. She stood up abruptly, her arm supporting her on the desk trembling slightly.
She hadn't offended anyone except Chen Yan—or rather, Chen Yan, if not obediently accepting his humiliation and coercion was considered an offense.
Hao Jing said that Chen Yan's background is unfathomable, and he has every motive and ability to do such a despicable thing!
How could there be such a bullying bastard, such scum?! Does he think he's acting in a melodramatic soap opera?
Ruyi was furious, but instead calmed down.
She would meet force with force and water with earth; she refused to believe that Chen Yan could control the entire city of Lancheng with a single hand.
She returned to the dining table, and He Caiyu said worriedly, "I didn't want you to know until I thought of a solution, so you could just focus on your studies. But you still found out. Your aunt is so useless."
"It's okay. If there aren't any suitable shops nearby, we'll look further away. I'll post a help request online later, and I'll also ask my classmates when I get back to school. We'll definitely find something. Until we find one, just treat it as a break for yourself and get some rest. What's wrong with that?"
Ruyi's comforting words were heartwarming, but they failed to ease He Caiyu's worries. Ruyi needed to go to school, her mother needed to eat and live, and she was still thinking about saving money to support Ruyi's university and postgraduate studies, as well as her own future retirement and medical expenses. She couldn't be too much of a burden on Ruyi...
Money is needed everywhere. She feels anxious and short of breath if she doesn't work for a day. How can she bear to stay at home and live off her savings when the shop is not going to stay open?
All she could do was pray that she could find a suitable new shop soon.
However, things didn't go as planned. The shop rental information sent by Ruyi was either too expensive, the location was too remote, or the tenants were unwilling to rent it... Two weeks later, Caiyu Noodle Shop in the vegetable market closed down completely.
The other vendors, seeing the gate tightly shut, felt a pang of sympathy. They were relieved that they weren't the ones to suffer such misfortune. They assumed that the market was willing to break the contract and pay a penalty to drive He Caiyu away because they were up to something big. But strangely, no new shops moved into the shop after that.
Although He Caiyu's tone was normal on the phone, as if she had accepted the fact that the shop was closing down, Ruyi could still detect a trace of anxiety.
She didn't know what to do.
Unfortunately, she was too weak and trapped in the school, unable to do anything.
Even this unexpected disaster was caused by her...
Hao Jing excitedly leaned close to her ear, "Wow, wow, wow, Chen Yan! Doesn't he usually not come to the cafeteria? Why is he here today? And Cheng Jue, Chen Yaqian... Do you think the two of them are dating?"
Ruyi counted the grains of rice on her plate, her mind heavy with worry. Upon hearing her enemy's name, she looked up at the restless crowd.
Chen Yan was talking to Cheng Jue, his lips slightly upturned. His usually cold and handsome profile had a rare touch of serene elegance. He was wearing the black and white school uniform for the first-year students, but he wore it with a crispness that no one else could match. Cheng Jue was also a handsome young man, but compared to him, he paled in comparison.
Of the ten girls who passed by, at least eight were peeking at him, while the remaining two just kept their heads down and blushed.
Chen Yan seemed to sense something and turned to look in the direction where Ruyi was.
Before their eyes met, Ruyi lowered her head, put a piece of tomato into her mouth, and chewed it slowly, only to taste a mouthful of sourness.
Hao Jing exclaimed excitedly, "He seems to have made eye contact with me! He's so handsome!"
"Damn, they look like they're coming. What do we do? Are they going to sit with us...?"
"Is anyone here?" Ruyi felt shrouded in shadow, and a whisper that sounded clear and melodious to others sounded like a demon to her.
She looked up, and a face as beautiful as a lotus flower, even without makeup, came into Chen Yan's view. The only flaw was that her expression was too indifferent.
Before she could respond, Hao Jing eagerly began making arrangements, "Nobody's here, nobody's here, sit down, sit down! Wait, the table's a bit dirty, wipe it with some paper..."
Hao Jing patted her pockets and found that she was out of paper. She turned to Ruyi and said, "Ruyi, can I borrow your paper?"
Without saying a word, he took a small pack of tissues from the side pocket of Ruyi's school uniform and handed it to Chen Yan.
Chen Yan noticed Ruyi's suppressed expression, smiled, took the tissue, and thanked Hao Jing.
He slowly tore open the green tissue box, and with his manga-like appearance, the ordinary action inexplicably created an artistic eroticism, as if he wasn't unwrapping tissues but rather leisurely undressing someone.
After wiping the tabletop facing the Ruyi, Chen Yan casually put the tissue into his pocket, without returning it to its owner.
Cheng Jue said "Hey," and added, "Give me a sheet, I haven't wiped it yet!"
Ignoring the protests, he cheerfully picked up a piece of braised pork ribs, saying, "It's quite clean, stop being so fussy, just eat it."
Chen Yaqian took in Chen Yan's actions, and she couldn't help but care about the pack of tissues that had been confiscated without her consent.
She gracefully sat down next to Chen Yan and spoke calmly, as if she simply wanted to make a new friend.
"Excuse me, which class are you in, and what are your names?"
The talented and beautiful model student took the initiative to strike up a conversation. Hao Jing couldn't hide her excitement and started talking non-stop. She not only introduced the two of them but also expressed her admiration for Chen Yaqian.
"Did you write your own speech for Monday? It was so well-written! Our Chinese teacher praised you to us several times in class and wished she could transfer you to Class 5 to teach you!"
"It's not that exaggerated. You can do it too if you read more and accumulate knowledge regularly."
Cheng Jue said, "Asking me to read the Four Great Classical Novels is worse than beating me up. I get so sleepy after reading just one page."
Hao Jing: "Actually, Dream of the Red Chamber is quite well written. If you get into it, it's very interesting. It's a pity that Gao E added the last forty chapters, which were like a dog's tail."
They chatted enthusiastically, but Ruyi didn't even look up, silently speeding up her eating. Seeing this, Chen Yaqian asked with concern, "Why are you only eating this? It's a long afternoon, won't you get hungry?"
The serving compartment of the Ruyi dish contained only a simple stir-fried cabbage and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which looked bland and tasteless.
Ruyi smiled and said, "I prefer something lighter."
"What do you mean?" Hao Jing thought that these three people were all wealthy and might be able to help Ruyi, so she spilled the beans, describing the difficulties that Ruyi's family had encountered, omitting the details.
As a witness on the first day of school, Cheng Jue guessed pretty accurately who was behind Ruyi's ordeal. He quickly glanced at his friend and muttered to himself that the friend would do anything to pick up girls.
Chen Yaqian was just making conversation; she didn't really intend to help Ruyi, since they weren't related. Besides, Chen Yan's unusual behavior made her uncomfortable. She casually agreed to keep an eye out, secretly scrutinizing Ruyi, but aside from her appearance, she couldn't see anything else remarkable.
Chen Yan didn't care at all what Chen Yaqian said. He stared at Ruyi the whole time, eating slowly, as if Ruyi was an extremely delicious dish to accompany his meal.
Finally, even someone as oblivious as Hao Jing felt that burning gaze.
Ruyi finished the rest of the food in a few bites. Just as Chen Yaqian said, there was a long afternoon, and she would not starve for a scumbag, even if his eyes were about to strip her naked.
"Please enjoy your meal."
She gave a curt, dismissive reply, not intending to have any interaction with any of the three. Just as she was about to get up, Chen Yan called her back.
The other three overheard their conversation, but only Chen Yan and Ruyi truly understood its deeper meaning.
"I know a storefront near your house that's perfect. It's in a great location with lots of foot traffic, and the rent isn't too expensive. Do you want me to recommend it to you?" Just accept it obediently, and then become my girlfriend.
"No need." Dream on.
"Are you really not going to reconsider?" You'll regret it.
"No, thank you." Goodbye, scumbag.
On the way back to the classroom, Hao Jing observed the situation and finally couldn't help but say, "Ruyi, I think Chen Yan seems to have feelings for you..."
"Please don't mention him to me, okay? Do you think a spoiled brat like him who relies on his family to cause trouble even knows what love is?"
"Then why did he keep staring at you and even offer to help you? Chen Yan doesn't seem to be the kind of person who's always willing to help others."
"I don't know, maybe it's just acting strangely."
"ah?"
...
That night, Ruyi's phone, hidden inside her pillow, vibrated twice. She took it out; someone had sent her a text message—
"30 days to go."
The number was unfamiliar, and there was no signature, but she knew who it was.
Her expression instantly turned indescribably ugly. She quickly shut down the phone, buried her face in the thin blanket, and sobbed silently.
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