Chapter 5
Chapter Summary: What do you really think of me?!
The weather is gradually getting cooler.
Today, Yao Ye stood in front of the order counter, looking at the advertisement for Kazamado's new product, and said thoughtfully, "Hmm, red date milk tea... sounds so healthy."
"Red dates can replenish qi and blood, which is best for girls," Aunt Sun said with a smile. "Want to try it? We add real red date pulp. Look..." She pointed to the worktable, "The boss is personally removing the pits and crushing the red dates."
"Then let's have a drink." Yao Ye smiled as she watched Li Fengjian's busy figure, then lowered her voice and said, "My period has been really irregular lately."
Although he spoke softly, Li Fengjian still heard him. He wanted to say, "Hey, a cup of milk tea won't help your irregular period. You need to go to bed early and get up early, and you need to eat healthily."
But he still didn't say it. After all, it would be too abrupt for a grown man to care about a girl's menstrual cycle. So he just silently added a handful of red dates to Yao Ye's paper cup.
Yao Ye stood aside and waited. She was in a very good mood today, always smiling, and even chatted with Aunt Sun.
Aunt Sun, with her sharp eyes, exclaimed, "Oh my, little Yao is carrying a designer bag today! No wonder she's all smiles!"
"Yes, yes," Yao Ye said smugly, unable to hide her pride. "No wonder people say clothes make the man. I carried this LV bag out today, and my back straightened up without me even realizing it! Doesn't it suit me perfectly?"
"It looks nice, but it must be very expensive," Aunt Sun asked.
Yao Ye was just a college student working part-time at her family's art class, earning a meager salary barely enough for her daily expenses. Why was she so extravagant today? This prompted Li Fengjian to turn around and look at her, noticing that she was even standing with her hands protectively holding her LV bag, looking as if she were cherishing it very much.
"It's definitely not cheap, so sometimes when I think about it, he's really good to me..." She was smiling and talking to herself when her cell phone rang from her precious LV bag. She hurriedly pulled out her phone and answered, "Hello... Oh, okay, okay, I'm coming right now! Right away!"
Upon hearing this, Li Fengjian quickly handed her the jujube milk tea. She took it with a bright smile, holding the milk tea in one hand and her phone in the other, then turned and ran out, shouting, "Coming, coming! I'll be right there!"
While processing takeout orders, Xiao Dong casually remarked, "Miss Yao seems to be in a real rush today."
“Indeed,” Aunt Sun bent down, “when she was getting her phone just now, something seemed to fall out of her bag… Ah, I found it… Um, this…” She picked it up, then exclaimed in surprise, “How could it be this…”
"Give it to me." Because it belonged to Yao Ye, Li Fengjian instinctively wanted to keep it for her. "I'll return it to her next time... Wait... Are you sure this... this fell out of her bag?"
Aunt Sun nodded solemnly. Even Xiao Dong curiously peeked over, "What is it?"
Li Fengjian shut his mouth and silently put the box of condoms into his pocket.
…………
Because of this box, Li Fengjian was distracted all evening. He really wanted to send a WeChat message to Yao Ye asking: Is this what she lost? How could this be what she lost?
Then, thinking about the designer bag Yao Ye suddenly picked up today, the person she mentioned who was very kind to her, and even her recent menstrual irregularities...
Oh my god, Li Fengjian is definitely the one whose mind is in turmoil now!
A wind chime rang, and a guest pushed open the door and entered. Lost in thought, Li Fengjian greeted them perfunctorily, "Welcome!" But when he looked up, his eyes widened in astonishment.
It looks very similar, really very similar.
The young woman who pushed open the door looked exactly like her, making Li Fengjian momentarily think that he was just overthinking and hallucinating!
Until that illusion stood in front of Li Fengjian, raised a polite smile, and greeted him, "Hello, I am the owner of Tulip Children's Art Class upstairs."
Oh, Li Fengjian understands now. The woman in front of him is Yao Ye's older sister, Yao Qin. No wonder she looks exactly like Yao Ye, a few years older, with a new hairstyle and wearing a business suit.
Yao Qin resembled her, but possessed a more composed demeanor, and her smile was much more reserved and polite. "We're currently running an event and need five refreshing tea drinks. Do you have any recommendations?"
"These fruit teas and pure teas are all very refreshing," Li Fengjian said, pointing to the menu.
"Then I'll have five plum green teas, no ice and less sugar." Yao Qin scanned the code to pay. "Can you hurry up and make them? I need them now."
"Of course, it will be ready soon." Li Fengjian didn't dare to delay and immediately began making it.
Aunt Sun asked curiously, "Hey, usually when you need tulips, Yao Ye comes down to buy them, right? Is she busy?"
Yao Qin brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "My sister skipped work today. She told me at the last minute that something came up and she couldn't come."
Li Fengjian paused in his packing, and only after a long while, urged by Xiao Dong, did he quickly seal the packing bag.
"Oh, but I just saw Miss Yao come by," Xiao Dong said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was just passing by.
"Really..." Yao Qin was taken aback. "That little girl has been acting all mysterious lately. I wonder what she's up to. She doesn't come to work when she comes. Where has she gone to play again? Ah, thank you!" She took the bag from Li Fengjian and left in a hurry.
Watching Yao Qin's departing figure, and recalling Yao Ye's unusual behavior today, Aunt Sun couldn't help but murmur worriedly, "Is Yao Ye alright...? No, has she made some bad friends that she can't let her family know about? Young girls are most afraid of making the wrong friends..." She asked Li Fengjian anxiously, "Boss, do you want to talk to Yao Ye?"
"Hmm..." Li Fengjian's hand unconsciously touched the condom in his pocket, his heart tightening. But he quickly realized, "...Why do you want me to talk to her?"
Aunt Sun smiled. "You know Yao Ye well, right? She's the No. 1 in Kazamado. Can you just stand by and watch her sink deeper into trouble? Can you bear to do that?"
Li Fengjian's silence was unbearable; his mind was in complete turmoil.
………………
After finally getting off work that day, Li Fengjian absentmindedly completed the last few takeout orders, tidied up the shop, and was the last to lock the door and leave.
He walked out of the mall, distraught, and sighed repeatedly under the starry night sky. Countless times he picked up his phone, only to put it down again, unsure of what to say. When he returned home, sat upright on the sofa, and was about to follow Aunt Sun's advice and have a proper talk with the girl, he suddenly noticed Yao Ye had posted a message on her WeChat Moments!
"Going to sleep now, I'm so tired tonight! But all the effort was worth it, may this world be full of love!" The accompanying picture is a bouquet of bright red roses.
Li Fengjian's fingers stiffened; the questions and words he wanted to ask ultimately remained unsent.
………………
That night, Li Fengjian couldn't sleep.
He tossed and turned, not knowing what time he fell asleep. In his dream, there were rose petals falling randomly, flashy designer bags, Yao Ye running around with her phone in hand, and a condom falling out of Yao Ye's pocket.
He dreamt that Yao Yetian innocently ran up to him and asked, "Boss Li, did you find my things? Give them back to me quickly! I need them urgently! May this world be filled with love!"
She spread her hands, her smile as radiant and beautiful as a rose, leaving Li Fengjian sitting on the bed in silence for a long time after he woke up from his dream.
…………
"Oh dear, Mr. Li, your dark circles are really bad today!" The next afternoon, Yao Ye, with a radiant smile, had just walked to the bar when she was drawn to Li Fengjian's disheveled appearance. Unaware of the situation, she joked, "Judging from your appearance, you look like you're suffering from both anemia and weakness. You should drink more jujube milk tea."
Li Fengjian looked at her with mixed feelings. "What would you like to drink today?"
"I'd still like red date milk tea, with extra red dates, please!" She ordered and stood smiling as she waited.
Li Fengjian silently made milk tea, while Aunt Sun, still concerned about Yao Ye, couldn't help but move closer to her. She noticed that Yao Ye was still carrying her beloved LV bag, but now it had a fluffy little doll attached to it. Aunt Sun hesitated, unsure how to bring it up with Yao Ye, when just then Yao Ye's phone rang. She answered it, and the conversation seemed to revolve around what had happened the previous night.
"Hehe, yeah, I was kind of lent that bag yesterday, and I was being extra careful with it! But after last night, it's completely mine now. I immediately put my favorite StellaLou on it, and now I'm even more of a match for LV!"
So, Li Fengjian, who was eavesdropping on her phone call, almost cut his finger with the knife he was using to cut the jujubes...
Oblivious to everything, Yao Ye continued chatting happily with her friend, "Last night took me all night to get this bag. It's my hard-earned reward, hehe, I'll cherish it for life! Actually, I've wanted it for a long time, I've been eyeing it for ages." As she spoke, Yao Ye lowered her head and gently touched the bag, murmuring, "Actually, I think Chanel is also very nice, but it's too expensive, I'm afraid he won't agree..."
Li Fengjian simply couldn't bear to listen anymore. The string of words—"hard work," "earned money," "afraid he wouldn't agree"—was fueling his wild thoughts. He even slipped and spilled the entire cup of milk tea he had just made. As he hurriedly squatted down to clean it up, he still kept his ears perked up, eavesdropping on her conversation.
"Of course it was tiring, last night was exhausting..." Li Fengjian, who was squatting on the ground, couldn't hear Yao Ye's words clearly, but the second half of her sentence pierced his ears, "Everything went smoothly, but I forgot that part... I don't know where I put it... It's such a pity, but it can't be that coincidental. It's only once, it can't be that coincidental that I won! Thinking about it that way, it's okay, if I didn't use it, I didn't use it... Anyway, everything went smoothly last night... Yeah, right? He's really good to me, even though he looks fierce sometimes, hehehe, but he really loves me..."
Li Fengjian felt a sudden, overwhelming sensation in his head, almost causing him to lose his mind. He abruptly stood up, strode around the bar to Yao Ye's side. He was flustered, anxious, and even heartbroken; these complex emotions overwhelmed him so much that he didn't even notice them.
Unaware that Aunt Sun's expression had changed, from a worried "motherly concern" to a relaxed one, Aunt Sun was about to say something to Li Fengjian, but Li Fengjian, focused on Yao Ye, grabbed her arm.
Yao Ye was stunned. Having just hung up the phone, she had no idea why Boss Li was standing in front of her with such an angry expression. She stared blankly at her arm that was being grabbed, "Um... the milk tea spilled, just make another one. I... I'm not in a hurry, I don't mind waiting a little longer."
"That's not what I want to tell you." Li Fengjian took a deep breath, released her hand, and then took the box of condoms out of his pocket, held it up to her eyes, and stared into her eyes as he asked, "Is this yours? It fell out of your bag yesterday!"
"Oh, so that's where it is!" Yao Ye's face flushed bright red. She snatched it away in a flash, threw it into her bag, and said through gritted teeth, "Why did you take it out so blatantly in broad daylight... You, you could have given it back to me quietly!"
Li Fengjian's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died. He thought to himself: So it really was yours...
But looking at Yao Ye's innocent and childlike face, he truly couldn't utter a single word of abuse. Ultimately, he seemed to have no right or status to criticize her. After a moment of hesitation, the only thing he could seem to say was...
"Miss Yao..."
"Um?"
“You…” He even paused for breath, “If you really want LV or Chanel, I can lend you money to buy them.”
"Huh?" Yao Ye stared wide-eyed in astonishment, looking at him with complete bewilderment.
“I can lend you money, it’s only ten thousand yuan or so, it’s not difficult for me. You can pay it back slowly, you can pay it back until you graduate from university, or you can pay it back in installments after graduation.”
"Is it still okay?" Aunt Sun, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, interjected jokingly.
Li Fengjian ignored her, continuing to stare intently at Yao Ye with an indescribably sincere gaze. "So, when you face the temptations of certain people and things, I hope you can... open your eyes wide, clear your mind, and think things through carefully... Don't be foolishly deceived... I don't want you to regret it later..."
He finished speaking, impulsively and with great difficulty.
Yao Ye blinked her big eyes, and after a long pause, she finally replied, "Mr. Li, you...you're willing to lend me money, and you're not in a hurry to pay me back, I'm really touched...but, I didn't really understand what you meant...I don't need to buy another LV, I already have one, although it's a second-hand bag my sister gave me, I'm content..."
"Wait...wait, you mean..." Li Fengjian was taken aback.
“As for Chanel, it’s more expensive. But my sister promised me that once I start working hard, she’ll give me the one she carried…” Yao Ye tilted her head. Although her sister, as the boss, was usually stern and critical of her little quirks, she was actually very kind to her. “So, Mr. Li… what exactly do you mean?”
Li Fengjian stood there dumbfounded, barely able to speak, and it took him a long time to vaguely realize that he seemed to have made a huge misunderstanding. It was Aunt Sun who quietly leaned close to his ear and said...
"Oh dear, boss, didn't you hear what Yao Ye said on the phone? She skipped work last night because her sister's boyfriend was secretly planning a marriage proposal. Yao Ye had been secretly preparing for it for a long time, and last night she was called in to help out. The proposal went very smoothly last night, and her sister was so happy that she gave her the LV bag..."
As for the condoms in the bag... of course, Yao Qin, who has a loving boyfriend, always keeps them in her bag.
As for what Yao Ye said, that something important was missing.
"I'm such a scatterbrain! When I helped book the entire restaurant, they gave me a raffle ticket, which I forgot at home. But it's only one ticket, one chance to win, so the odds of winning aren't great, right? That's how I consoled myself," Yao Ye added, then glared at Li Fengjian with her hands on her hips.
"So, Mr. Li, what exactly did you mean by those strange things you just said?"
"No, it doesn't mean anything."
"You should explain yourself clearly! The more I think about it, the more something seems off! What temptation, what deception, what regret? And who are you calling a fool?"
"Come and have some milk tea..."
"Mr. Li?"
"Free meal, free meal..."
"Li Fengjian!" Yao Ye's face turned as red as a pig's liver. "I...I think I understand now, you...Li Fengjian, how exactly do you see me?!"
……………………
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
