Chapter 21. The person in front of me is the central air conditioner
She suddenly felt sorry for him and didn't want to let her best friend walk into what she saw as a tragedy in such a grand way.
On Wednesday evening, the coffee shop was about to close and there were not many customers in the store, so Ruan Tang began to study how to clean the coffee machine according to the video.
She said "Welcome" without even turning around. When she turned around, she saw a girl coming in and standing in front of the counter, with her hands crossed in front of her, looking very reserved: Hello, are you Feng Xue, the boss here?
Seeing Ruan Tang nodded, her eyes lit up and she continued to ask: Is he here?
"I'm the one running the coffee shop during the day, so he won't be here for a while. If you need anything, I can help you get in touch. Who are you?"
The girl rubbed the shoulder strap of her bag with both hands, then answered with lowered eyes: I... am the person that Brother Feng rescued a few days ago. My name is Fang Shanshan. I came here specifically to thank him in person.
Ruan Tang took advantage of this gap to look her up and down again. She was wearing a floral dress, and her shoulder-length hair was black on top and yellow on the bottom, like a piece of patchwork cloth with rough threads. She looked a little tired, but the baby fat on her face and the innocence in her eyes neutralized the sense of vicissitudes of life.
"It's you. Please sit for a while. I'll call Feng Xue." Ruan Tang poured her a glass of ice lemon water, led her to sit in the seat next to her, and then went back to the counter to call Feng Xue.
During this time, Fang Shanshan sat there looking around the entire store. Seeing Ruan Tang still on the phone, she stood up, looked at Ruan Tang, pointed in the direction of the toilet, and nodded to her to thank her.
When Fang Shanshan came out, she saw Ruan Tang sitting opposite her, drinking a bottle of soda water. When she heard footsteps, she turned around and waved at her.
"Feng Xue asked me to greet you first. He will be back after delivering the next order."
"I saw the mouthwash that Brother Feng bought from me in the bathroom... I'm sorry to trouble you." Fang Shanshan's face turned slightly red.
"How could that be?" Ruan Tang waved her hand. She had always been a straightforward person who spoke whatever she thought, but now she was slow to speak and move, thinking things over in her head before she spoke or acted, for fear of irritating her. "Anyway, these are just necessities. It's just a small favor for him. You don't have to take it too seriously."
Hearing this, Fang Shanshan didn't seem comforted. Instead, she shook her head: "No! Except for Brother Feng, no one else would be like this. A while ago, because I couldn't sell my goods and had no money to pay the rent, I posted online for help. I said that if I couldn't sell anything, I would really die. But a lot of people in the comments said this was a new sales tactic, saying that I was thinking about getting rich and got cheated and deserved it. They also said that if I had to die, I should die quickly and stop taking up public resources...
As Fang Shanshan spoke, her voice began to tremble, as if she was about to cry. Ruan Tang hurriedly pulled the chair closer to her.
Ruan Tang patted her back gently and whispered soothingly, "It's okay, it's all in the past. I still owe hundreds of thousands from running this store, so I can still live well." "I'm telling you, if you're irritated by these words, you'll only make those people happy. The more they say this, the more we need to live well, the better, and piss them off to death!"
Tears welled up in her eyes, but Fang Shanshan was amused by her tone and asked, "Sister, isn't this store owned by Brother Feng? How come you owe money?"
Ruan Tang sighed: "He and I are partners, but he is actually my landlord. It's a long story..."
As he was speaking, Feng Xue came in quickly from outside.
When Fang Shanshan saw Feng Xue, she stood up suddenly and looked up at him slightly.
"How... did you find this place? Sit down first and we'll talk."
Fang Shanshan sat down after seeing Feng Xue sit down. Ruan Tang saw some sweat on his forehead, turned around, poured a glass of ice water in front of him, and said: You guys chat first, I'm going to get the coffee machine.
Feng Xue nodded and said thank you, and Fang Shanshan also hurriedly nodded to her.
"I posted a missing person notice on Weibo and TikTok later, and someone privately messaged me saying they had eaten at your restaurant, and that's when I finally found you."
"What do you want to talk to me about? Are you still having financial difficulties?"
"No, no, I borrowed money from my uncle for an emergency. I came here today just to say thank you in person. If it weren't for you, I might not be here today."
"No matter what difficulties you encounter in the future, don't have such thoughts again."
"Brother Feng, I heard you're open at night, right? I think I can come and serve you every day, so you don't have to be so tired..."
"No, no, I...this little shop isn't making much money right now, and besides, a girl can't handle this."
“You don’t have to pay me!”
Although Ruan Tang was standing behind the counter fiddling with the coffee machine, her entire attention was on the conversation between the two. She leaned slightly towards them and listened with her ears perked up.
Hearing this, she rolled her eyes in disbelief, pinching her throat and repeating what the two had said in an exaggerated whisper:
"No need to be so tired..."
"Oh, girls can't handle it..."
"Ruan Tang?" Feng Xue suddenly called out.
"Ah?" Ruan Tang stood up straight immediately, her expression calm but with a hint of guilt in her eyes.
"What did you say?"
Ruan Tang was stunned for a moment and said with a smile: Oh, I was humming a song, did I disturb you?
Fang Shanshan quickly waved her hands embarrassedly: No, no.
Ruan Tang nodded with a smile and said: You guys continue.
After seeing Fang Shanshan off, Feng Xue consciously returned the two glasses to the counter and turned on the faucet to wash them. Ruan Tang coldly took the glasses, lowered her head and began to rinse them, saying: You still have to open the store at night, it's too hard, don't get tired.
Feng Xue smiled innocently and said: It’s not a big deal.
Ruan Tang leaned on the counter, wiping the glasses and saying: I think the store still needs to be well planned and laid out. Now the kitchen and counter area are too large, and there are too few tables. In addition, the turnover rate of the store is low. These past few nights I have seen that sometimes customers walk to the door of the store and leave directly when they see there are no seats. This has a great impact on sales.
He sighed and said, "I hadn't thought about that. Didn't you say the air conditioner wasn't working well? I was thinking of replacing it first."
Ruan Tang smiled: Oh, the air conditioner. I don’t think it needs to be replaced now. After all, we have such a large central air conditioner in our store.
Feng Xue:?
Ruan Tang waved his hand and said: It’s nothing, money should be spent wisely.
Feng Xue thought for a moment: If the kitchen is too small, I won’t be in the mood to cook. Besides, as for the turnover, it’s fine as long as it’s acceptable.
"You regard money as dirt? It seems I am too worldly." Ruan Tang's tone was sharp.
Feng Xue frowned and advised: I know you are an ambitious girl, and normally the purpose of opening a store is to make money, so I understand. How about this, if you feel that the current space is not enough and want to expand your business, I can find a way to help you find a new store. If you have any difficulties with the rent, I can also lend it to you first. Do you think it’s okay?
Ruan Tang sneered: That's not necessary. I'm just making a suggestion. After all, if you want to hire a waiter, you must think about making a profit. Oh, by the way, if you need me to move out, I will find a new store as soon as possible and it won't bother you.
"How could that be? I told you before that you can stay here and run the business until the lease expires." Feng Xue heard the sourness in Ruan Tang's tone, but he didn't know where he went wrong. He quickly reviewed and analyzed the conversation in his mind, and suddenly extracted a key word: waiter.
He suddenly realized, took out his mobile phone and transferred two thousand yuan to Ruan Tang via WeChat, pretending to say casually: By the way, Shanshan’s words just now reminded me that my arm has been injured recently. I’m so sorry for helping me so much and staying here to help me every night. The money is not much, just consider it a little token of my appreciation.
"As for me, I don't feel itchy when I have too many lice, and I don't worry about having too many debts. You don't have to feel sorry for me." Ruan Tang took out her phone, clicked the return button, and turned around to continue cleaning the coffee machine.
The next day, when Ruan Tang accompanied Xu Wei to try on wedding dresses, she told her about this incident as a joke.
Xu Wei nodded and analyzed meaningfully: Well, I will repay you for saving my life with gratitude. If you stay with me day and night, maybe I will marry you.
Ruan Tang rolled her eyes at her and commented: What a clichéd story, and you’re an emotional blogger. If you don’t improve your taste, your fans will dislike you sooner or later.
"Why are you so jealous? And you're cursing me!" Xu Wei looked innocent.
Ruan Tang sniffed and muttered, "How am I jealous? They're obviously the ones who are jealous. I just can't stand it and I'm complaining to you."
Xu Wei spread her hands: Okay, my bad. Do you think this set looks good?
Ruan Tang looked her up and down, nodded vigorously, and suddenly asked: Hey, he didn’t even accompany you for such an important thing as trying on wedding dresses?
"Don't you know? The first look is for the wedding." Xu Wei said so calmly that Ruan Tang felt she was discussing the process of a business partnership. Her expression was full of rationality. "Tell me, why is it so beautiful?"
"You are an emotional blogger who makes a living by writing. Why do you test my language expression? Aren't you making things difficult for me, Fat Tiger?" Ruan Tang scolded her, and then looked at her left and right, sighing: No wonder they say that a wedding is the most beautiful day in a woman's life.
She held Xu Wei's hand, and suddenly felt reluctant, unwilling to let her best friend walk into what she saw as a tragedy in such a grand way.
"Weiwei, although you are very beautiful now, but Lin Shen..."
"Shh." Xu Wei stretched out a finger and gently touched her lips, and asked: Let's not mention him at this time. By the way, do you want to try it?
Ruan Tang's eyes lit up: Is it okay?
Xu Wei acted generously: Of course, I’m here, just try it!
Ruan Tang immediately raised her hand to call the consultant over and asked, "I'd like to try some new Vera Wang styles. Oh, and what other famous designer styles are there? Could you please recommend some to me so I can try them all?"
She tried on clothes for about two hours and finally chose an Elie Saab spring/summer wedding piece to wear to show Xu Wei.
The consultant led Ruan Tang to the rest area. Before she even entered, she saw Xu Wei, who had changed her clothes, sitting on the sofa. Opposite her sat a young woman whose back looked inexplicably familiar.
Xu Wei noticed Ruan Tang coming back, smiled at the woman, and seemed to say something. The woman then stood up and walked towards the door leading to the hall on the other side.
The woman's figure disappeared around the corner, and Ruan Tang only saw her profile. She suddenly remembered that it was Sisi, the woman she had stolen a piece of Mont Blanc from, and Lin Shen's cheating partner.
Ruan Tang walked to Xu Wei, shook her hand, and asked tentatively: Who is it?
Xu Wei smiled gently and said: A friend knew I was here to try on wedding dresses and came to say hello.
"real?"
"You," Xu Wei squeezed her hand and jokingly said, "How come you instantly become like a suspicious little bride after putting on your wedding dress?"
Ruan Tang reminded: If you encounter anything, you must tell me. Even if I can't help you, I can listen to your analysis.
"Okay." Xu Wei nodded, pushed her around in a circle, looked at it carefully for a while, nodded and praised: It's really beautiful, let me take a picture for you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
