After finishing his work, Xu An stood up to go to Yihaodian to check the remaining inventory for the day and see what else needed to be replenished, when he was suddenly stopped by someone.
"Xu An".
Upon hearing this, Xu An turned around and discovered that the person who had called out to him was actually Li Xindong.
Why is this guy still in the shop so late today? He's usually the first one to settle his wages and leave. You can't find him to talk to.
"Xindong, what's wrong? Is there something you need?" Xu An walked over to Li Xindong and asked casually.
When Xu An got closer to Li Xindong, he noticed that Li Xindong was pulling a suitcase with a backpack on top of it, looking like he was about to go on a trip.
"Are you planning to make the most of the last days of summer vacation, have some fun, and then go to university?" Xu An laughed and punched Li Xindong on the shoulder. "Okay, I got it. Go have fun, and if you want to work a few more days when you're done, just come find me."
"No." Li Xindong shook his head and said somewhat awkwardly, "Xu An, your shop is closed to the public after 2:30 pm, isn't it?"
"Yes, what's wrong?" Xu An was completely baffled by Li Xindong's question and didn't understand what he wanted to do.
Li Xindong bit his lower lip hard, his mouth twitching several times before he mustered his courage and asked, "Xu An, can I rest at your shop tonight?"
Upon hearing this, Xu An's mind went blank for a moment, and he was momentarily lost in thought: "What's wrong? What happened?"
There was a long silence between them before Li Xindong lowered his head and said casually, "I ran away from home. I don't want to go to my relatives' houses, and I don't want my family to know where I went."
The atmosphere fell silent again. Xu An's mind raced as he searched for memories of his past life.
In my memory, this didn't happen in my past life.
Or perhaps you weren't close to Li Xindong in your past life, so you didn't know about this?
"If it's difficult, that's okay. I'll think of another way." Seeing that Xu An hadn't answered for a long time, Li Xindong assumed he was thinking about how to refuse him, so he quickly gave himself a way out.
After the argument last night, Li Xindong sat on the floor, staring at the scattered pieces of banknotes, lost in thought for a very, very long time.
In the end, he decided to leave home! He wanted to work and earn money! He wanted to repeat his studies! He wanted to go to university!
After making sure his parents were asleep, he quietly packed his various documents, high school books, and other important items into his suitcase.
As soon as the sky began to lighten in the morning, he left home carrying his suitcase, backpack, and bicycle.
But after leaving home, he suddenly realized he had nowhere to go.
If you go to a relative's house, your parents will definitely come looking for you and drag you back home before long. At best, they'll give you a good scolding; at worst, they'll physically assault you until you submit.
After one idea after another was rejected and one candidate after another was eliminated, the name that finally came to mind was his old classmate and boss—Xu An!
Xu's Fast Food Restaurant is closed to the public after 2:30 pm. Theoretically, as long as Xu An gives permission, I can hide there.
The parents only knew that he went to catch mudskippers in the afternoon, and they did not know that he was also working part-time as a delivery rider at Xu's Fast Food Restaurant, so the risk of exposure was very low.
However, this request, whether made as a classmate or an employee, is rather presumptuous.
But now, I have no other choice.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Xu An didn't agree immediately, but he didn't refuse either. He needed to know the specifics in order to make the right judgment.
Li Xindong hesitated for a long time after looking at Xu An, seemingly considering Xu An as someone he could trust, before finally speaking and telling him everything that had happened recently.
After listening to Li Xindong's story, Xu An's thousand words of emotion were finally reduced to a simple gesture: he reached out and patted Li Xindong on the shoulder.
"The owner of the fast food restaurant used to rest on the second floor of Store No. 3. There is a simple toilet there to take care of personal hygiene needs. I also have some bedding that I prepared for Kang Kang and Le Le at Store No. 1. You can make do with it for now."
Before making this request, Li Xindong had mentally rehearsed countless scenarios of Xu An agreeing or refusing, and thought of many ways to persuade Xu An, but now all of these preparations were useless.
Li Xindong nodded and followed Xu An to store number one to move the bedding, and then went to store number three to settle his belongings.
Looking at the incredibly simple setup, Li Xindong couldn't help but smile. He turned to Xu An and said, "I'll get up early tomorrow morning to help. Treat me like a regular employee."
“Okay.” Xu An did not refuse Li Xindong’s request. At this moment, only by granting his request could he put Li Xindong’s mind at ease.
Sometimes, a bowl of steaming hot soup noodles given by a stranger can mend the wounds of someone who has left home.
At this moment, the wounds on Li Xindong that were invisible to the naked eye were slowly healing.
After settling Li Xindong in, Xu An returned to the second floor of Store No. 2 to take stock of the inventory, register all the goods that needed to be replenished, and contact the suppliers. Xu An finally recovered from the Li Xindong incident.
In this life, he found refuge in himself. But in his past life, after experiencing such hardships, how did he manage to cope alone? And how did he ultimately decide to give up retaking the college entrance exam and live entirely according to his family's arrangements?
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