Chapter 10 Sister, I Think Differently
"Is your name written here? You're asking about your location right away?"
“I used to sit here.” The boy’s eyes darkened.
"So what? I was the one who sat here first today." Li Jiajing's eyes were full of anger. He was convinced that this kid was the one causing trouble, and he didn't have any intention of letting the other person have the upper hand just because the other person was younger than him.
The two stared at each other, unable to reach an agreement. Zhang Zhi looked around and decided to act as a peacemaker: "Kid, you're being too domineering. These seats don't belong to you or him; they all belong to Boss Xu... Look, there are so many empty seats over there. Why don't you just find one to sit down and eat? The three of us are waiting for you to get out of school and have this meal. Hurry up and finish eating so we can go eat too."
"No one is forcing you to wait, get out of the way." He was not swayed by the words of the person in front of him and insisted on taking his seat.
Zhang Zhi trembled, as if stung by the boy's uncouth and sharp aura.
He had no choice but to persuade his good friend: "Let's give him a break, let's go to the other side, it's just a kid, don't make a fuss."
Li Jiajing looked at the boy with a mocking gaze: "No, I won't let him. Let's see what he'll do today."
Downstairs, customers heard the commotion and were waiting to see what was going on. Zhang Zhi was on the verge of tears: "Ayu, please come and do something! I'm at my wit's end. If we don't intervene, these two are going to start fighting!"
After reheating the food, Xu Zhiyu hurried downstairs to greet the customers. She was busy settling accounts with the children when she heard the calls from upstairs. She said irritably, "What's wrong with you two? Are you two just born to fight? You always bicker whenever you see each other. I'm already so busy, and you're making things worse for me! If you want to fight, go outside, don't fight in my shop!"
Li Jiajing provocatively asked, "How about it? Want to go outside and fight?"
The veins on the boy's arm, which was holding the tray, bulged. He glanced downstairs at the busy Boss Xu, and his eyes softened.
For the first time ever, he gave up arguing with a man six or seven years his senior. He turned around, pulled out a chair at the table opposite them, and without even glancing at the tall Li Jiajing, uttered two cold words before leaving: "Immature."
Li Jiajing, who was full of enthusiasm, never expected that the young man would make the first concession, and that a boy so much younger than him would turn around and say that he was naive!
He pointed at the child in a fit of anger and said to Zhang Zhi, "Hey, no, you mean this elementary school student?"
Zhang Zhizao laughed so hard he slapped the table. He was satisfied to see his good brother in such a comical situation in his lifetime.
"You've said everything to him, both good and bad!"
"Alright, Li Jiajing, save your breath..." Zhang Zhi whispered in his brother's ear, "From what I've observed, judging from the current situation, I don't sense that Boss Xu is interested in you..."
"So you mean she's interested in this high school student?" Li Jiajing interrupted him.
"No, not necessarily." He whispered, "Ms. Xu is a soft-hearted person. She might just be protecting him because he's young. Their relationship is just ordinary. You definitely still have a chance. Although I don't know if that boy likes Ms. Xu, as long as he hasn't confessed yet, why don't you confess before him? That way you can clarify Ms. Xu's feelings."
"But... are you sure confessing won't ruin our friendship?" Li Jiajing asked anxiously. "Wouldn't that be too hasty?"
“Listen to me, I think after dinner tonight I’ll go home first. You can ask her to go to the movies and then talk things out. After meeting her twice, I don’t think Mr. Xu is the kind of person who would turn against you and stop being friends over something like this.”
"Can……"
Li Jiajing was still hesitant, but Zhang Zhi made a decisive statement for him: "Let's settle this tonight, Li Jiajing. Please, act like a man! Stop being so timid and hesitant. Are you planning to keep this little secret forever? To put it nicely, it's called unrequited love; to put it bluntly, it's called inaction!"
These words were spoken a little loudly, but they were indeed powerful, not only persuading Li Jiajing, but also resonating in the heart of a certain young man.
He paused for a moment, then gripped the spoon tightly again.
Tonight he had two dishes and a soup: stir-fried pork with chili peppers, braised eggplant, and shrimp soup.
These dishes are not exactly complicated to make, but they are not easy either; each dish is prepared in portions for one person.
This is Mr. Xu's father, who personally and lovingly prepared dinner for him alone.
The taste of this food was similar to the bread from the supermarket every day, enough to warm him through 17 years of shivering.
After he finished eating, the little wooden sign outside the supermarket that he came to every day had been flipped over: [The shop is closed~]
After a busy period, Mr. Xu is only now starting to check the goods.
He had almost finished all the food, leaving only some soup at the bottom of his bowl. After finishing, he conscientiously took the dishes to the sink behind the bar to wash them. His slow and clumsy movements revealed that he didn't do these things often, and since he wasn't at home, he had to figure out how to find the cleaning solution and put the dishes back in their place.
Fortunately, everything went relatively smoothly.
After finishing the preparations, he noticed a cute double-skin milk pudding frozen in the refrigerator. He guessed it was left for him by Boss Xu, but he just thought it looked nice, so he took a second look.
As I came out from behind the bar, I saw that the two people by the window in the corner had started playing games. At this time, there were no other customers in the shop, and it was quiet. Only their voice chat from the game echoed on the second floor.
The boy put on his coat and went downstairs.
When she got to the cashier to retrieve her schoolbag, she found that the schoolbag, which had been on the floor, had been neatly placed among the pile of toys.
He slung his bag over his shoulder, stood in front of the cashier, and said to Xu Zhiyu, who was intently checking the computer accounts:
"I'm done eating. How much?"
Ah Yu turned her head to the side, her gaze unconsciously falling on his red, rosy lips after he had just finished eating.
"Is it good?" she asked him with a smile. "It's 8 yuan, didn't we agree on that?"
They agreed on the price: a carton of milk and bread.
[52 yuan received via Alipay.]
"Hiss, you child..." She met his deep eyes, knowing she couldn't win against him, and said helplessly, "Fine, I won't argue with you anymore. But I never overcharge customers. I'll deduct the amount I need from what you paid, and the rest can be considered as your deposit. If your parents... no, your elders come looking for you in the future, I'll return it to them with a valid reason."
Boy: "Whatever you like is fine."
Seeing that his hands were empty, she called out to him and beckoned him to come closer.
The boy paused for a moment, then cooperated.
"I forgot to mention, the double-skin milk pudding in the fridge is something I made for you. Are you full? Do you want to take it with you?"
"Can we still eat it tomorrow?"
"Yes, but the taste might not be as good as it is today."
He paused for a moment, then said, "I'll go get it."
Actually, I didn't really want to take it away today because he'd be coming back tomorrow morning. On weekends, Boss Xu likes to sleep in, so he wouldn't deliberately come over early on weekends. He usually comes after she opens the door at nine or ten o'clock.
On the surface, it seemed that Xu Zhiyu had won the previous contest, but that was not actually the case.
Mr. Xu's decision to open the shop earlier, coinciding with his arrival time at school, was indeed much more convenient for him. He no longer had to rush to see her during the ten-minute break between classes; he had plenty of time to linger in her shop in the morning, and even just watching her sleep would make him happy.
Under Li Jiajing's sour gaze, he swaggered open the refrigerator door, took out the only enormous and adorable double-skin milk pudding, and blatantly walked past them.
Mr. Xu stared intently at the computer screen, the mouse clicking away.
The boy stopped at the supermarket entrance, turned around and said to her, "Uncle, your cooking is excellent, I ate it all."
Ah Yu looked up at him in surprise.
He met her gaze, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Thank you... sister."
Pushing open the door, the wind chimes swayed, and a wave of humid heat rushed in.
He left amidst the tinkling of bells, and the girl behind him smiled with immense relief, her eyes crinkling with joy.
.
After closing the shop, the three of them went to Jiangnan Plaza for dinner as planned.
Just as he had said at the beginning, Zhang Zhi made an excuse to go home after dinner, leaving the space to Boss Xu and his two brothers.
Li Jiajing bought two movie tickets and watched the entire romance film with great tension.
Xu Zhiyu held a bucket of popcorn and laughed heartily at the scenes in the movie. Li Jiajing thought she would cry during the emotional parts, so he prepared tissues in advance.
Sure enough, when it came to the emotional part, Zhizhi covered her mouth and leaned close to him. He was secretly pleased, glad that he had been prepared!
Unexpectedly, she said, "My God, this is so awkward! Does dating have to be this cheesy?"
Watching the male and female leads in the movie being all lovey-dovey, she couldn't help but wonder in her heart if she would be like this when she fell in love in the future.
Is this cycle of separation and reunion really that painful?
It's only been a few months since we last saw each other, we'll see each other again after a while. She and her best friend haven't seen each other for months either, she misses them, but it doesn't warrant crying like this.
Eating and drinking every day, and chatting about love when you meet, isn't that quite comfortable? Why do you have to see each other every day when you're in a relationship?
She was completely unable to understand the problem.
Listening to Zhizhi's complaints, Li Jiajing recalled that when he was dating his ex, they used to call each other nicknames like that. He thought that normal young couples would be like that, so it seems that Zhizhi might not be the type of girl who likes to act cute.
He coughed awkwardly twice and explained, "Perhaps in the eyes of lovers, this is love, not greasy."
Xu Zhiyu nodded in agreement, chewing her words: "I haven't talked to you and don't know much about it, but what you said makes sense."
.
Two hours later, the film ended, and she lazily went to the restroom to use the toilet.
Li Jiajing and the others stood in the cinema corridor, their hands in their pockets, touching a small square box, rehearsing what they were going to say in their minds.
During the screening, he tried several times to hold her hand, but Xu Zhiyu's hand was almost always on the popcorn bucket; she was either eating popcorn or drinking cola, she was quite busy.
After the pink dress came out, the two of them walked side by side, preparing to stroll back.
Walking slowly through the sparsely populated night, Ah Yu belatedly realized that after so long, she had finally sensed the unusual atmosphere between her and Li Jiajing.
Once this doubt arose, it gave a reason to many inexplicable emotions in the past.
For example, why does he still play cards with her even though he always loses money? For example, why does he have such strong hostility towards a high school student? For example, why doesn't he call her Ah Yu like everyone else?
Perhaps sensing each other's excessive nervousness, the awkward atmosphere between them gradually intensified.
Every now and then, Ayu would glance at him, and Li Jiajing would sensitively look away. Her thoughts became more and more certain, but despite her strong desire for love, she was not happy about the secret she had discovered.
The two arrived at Jiangnan Square. Purple floor lights illuminated the small garden in the square, the fountain had stopped operating, and a few people were still selling balloons in the vast square.
“Zhizhi, I…” He slowed his pace and spoke hesitantly.
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