Chapter 69 [VIP]
Leaving was much easier than Pei Xingzhi had imagined.
He had been preparing for this moment for so long, just to leave this place completely.
Change your old contact information, forget the people from the past, discard everything from the past, and choose a life that is completely your own.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Pei Xingzhi and Chu Ling were assigned to two different places. Pei Xingzhi was assigned to an unknown small city, while Chu Ling was assigned to an even more remote mountain village. Their contact was neither frequent nor infrequent; they would occasionally meet, but neither of them ever mentioned the past again.
The work here isn't very busy; it's mostly just the monotony of repeating the same procedures countless times. Pei Xingzhi is quite content here; he likes this kind of life. The people in this small city are all unassuming; they don't like to argue with others or pry into other people's family affairs.
A very comfortable city.
Pei Xingzhi has been here for almost two years and has basically adapted to the pace of life. The department's work isn't busy every day, and there are a few quiet days each month. Pei Xingzhi doesn't like having too much free time; whenever he has a spare moment, he can't help but think about the past.
As the year drew to a close, a superior was coming to inspect the bureau. Pei Xingzhi, who did not have a formal position, found it inconvenient to stay, so he finished his work and took leave to go home early.
Winters here are much colder than over there, and it snows more frequently. Pei Xingzhi is afraid of the cold, so he always bundles himself up in a big ball, making him so conspicuous that you can see him from more than ten meters away. His colleagues tease him, saying he looks like a polar bear who has immigrated here. Since he's so afraid of the cold, he might as well go to the capital, why bother staying in this small city? Pei Xingzhi just smiles and shakes his head. The capital is nowhere near as good as here; he doesn't want to go back at all.
The public transportation here is much less advanced than in the capital. Pei Xingzhi was too lazy to squeeze onto the bus, so he simply took a taxi home.
The roads were slippery due to the snow, and the car drove slowly. Pei Xingzhi left home in the afternoon, and it was already getting dark when he arrived. Although it was late, his shop still had plenty of customers.
Although this place is remote, the higher-ups here are much more humane than those in the capital. Pei Xingzhi doesn't have a formal position, and his superiors always feel they're doing him a disservice because of his talent, so they're very generous with his salary and bonuses.
Pei Xingzhi didn't have many expenses on a regular basis, so he simply saved up all the money he had and rented a shop to open a dessert shop.
He originally just wanted to be a leisurely shop owner, so he deliberately decorated the dessert shop to be very high-end, making it seem like the prices were beyond the average person's level, in an attempt to scare away people who wanted to enter the shop with its appearance.
Contrary to expectations that his shop would be deserted after opening, business was booming, and even coffee resellers started appearing.
Pei Xingzhi couldn't quite understand their thinking, because he couldn't make desserts at all, nor could he taste the difference between good and bad desserts. Everything tasted the same to him. He only regretted not having a ridiculously corny name and a ridiculously corny decorating style; perhaps then no one would have come.
Pei Xingzhi leaned against the door, watching the busy shop assistants inside, hesitating whether he should go in now.
He had just gotten off work and didn't really want to work overtime here, even though this was his shop.
Fortunately, he didn't have a choice in reality. He had only been standing at the door for less than three minutes when a sharp-eyed shop assistant spotted him and immediately opened the door to pull his boss inside.
"Please let me go, I just got off work..." Pei Xingzhi reluctantly took the apron Su Yan handed him and put it on, making a nearly useless attempt at denial.
Pei Xingzhi was an unofficial employee, and his superiors didn't have any strict requirements about his appearance. Therefore, Pei Xingzhi still kept his cool red wolf tail, only requiring him to wear a hat to cover it up a bit when he went to work.
Without the constraints of others, Pei Xingzhi truly let loose here. He not only dyed his hair all sorts of colors but also pierced several holes in his ears, making him look incredibly trendy. Most importantly, he was still young; even after experiencing so much, he was only twenty-one years old, still practically a teenager.
He's young, handsome, and has a good temper. As the boss, he's down-to-earth, and the staff all like to ask him for help. Of course, Pei Xingzhi's role is just to act as a storefront to boost sales; he only needs to sit to the side with a smile and be the signboard.
He resignedly sat on the chair by the door, pretending to leisurely sip his coffee.
As it turns out, Pei Xingzhi's face is the best marketing tool. As soon as he sat down, several girls who were originally planning to leave sat back down, ordered a few desserts, and continued to enjoy them while Pei Xingzhi's face was on their face.
Finally, it was time to leave work. Pei Xingzhi rubbed his face, which was about to freeze from laughing, and leaned on the bar counter to complain to Uncle Ge, who was tidying up the warehouse. He was on vacation for the next few days, and he was afraid that Su Yan and the others would squeeze every last drop out of him.
Uncle Ge listened to his complaints with a smile, locked the warehouse door, and then made a few hand gestures at him.
Uncle Ge is a mute Beta. While others pick up stray dogs and cats, Pei Xingzhi found Uncle Ge on the street when he first moved here. Pei Xingzhi originally wanted to take him to the police station to find his family, but Uncle Ge said he had no family. Pei Xingzhi took pity on him and took him in, becoming his temporary family.
Pei Xingzhi didn't know Uncle Ge's name or age. He only asked Pei Xingzhi to call him Uncle Ge and refused to say anything more. Pei Xingzhi didn't press him about his past either. Everyone has things they don't want to talk about, so why should they know everything about each other?
Uncle Ge is an excellent cook. Pei Xingzhi initially wanted to open a restaurant, but Uncle Ge suggested he open a dessert shop instead. For Pei Xingzhi, it didn't matter what kind of shop he opened; since Uncle Ge had suggested it, he went along with it and opened the shop, with Uncle Ge as the head chef. In the early days, the shop attracted customers thanks to Pei Xingzhi's good looks, but the main reason for retaining customers was Uncle Ge's culinary skills. The shop's current size is largely thanks to Uncle Ge.
"If you're too tired, just tell her and rest well at home for the next few days."
"Actually, it's not too bad. I just need to sit there, and I'm not very tired." Pei Xingzhi is just that kind of awkward person. When he's asked to do something, he doesn't want to do it, but when he's not asked to do it, he feels it's okay.
Uncle Ge had a firm grasp on Pei Xingzhi's little temper, ensuring that Pei Xingzhi could never cause any trouble.
"Then come tomorrow, and I'll cook you something delicious."
"Hmm! What was that new lemon dessert you mentioned last time? I've wanted to try it for ages. How can I, a boss, be the last person to have dessert?" Pei Xingzhi muttered, yawning. Urged by Uncle Ge, he closed the shop and went upstairs to rest, while Uncle Ge continued preparing the ingredients for tomorrow.
He didn't originally live here, but Pei Xingzhi was too lazy to go back and forth, so he simply rented the second floor and slept here when he felt lazy. Over time, his permanent residence actually moved from his home to this temporary rest room.
Back in his room, Pei Xingzhi lay on the bed in silence for a few seconds. Urged on by a barrage of messages on his phone, he finally got up and took a shower. When he came out, the phone's vibration had stopped.
The room was heated, and Pei Xingzhi came out wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and shorts. He sat down at his computer desk, stretched, and opened the game he had forgotten about for almost a week.
With someone else doing the daily tasks for him, Pei Xingzhi wouldn't lack any rewards even if he didn't log in himself. Over time, he lost even more enthusiasm for logging in. If it weren't for the guild's wedding tonight, and his guild leader being urged by his underlings to log in quickly, he probably would have delayed going back for another ten days or so.
The game hadn't been online for a while and needed updating. While updating, Pei Xingzhi picked up his phone and opened his guild's chat group. He scrolled up four or five times, and all he saw were people tagging him, urging him to send red envelopes (cash gifts).
Pei Xingzhi was baffled by the screen full of mentions. Why were these people mentioning him? It wasn't his wedding. If they wanted a red envelope, they should ask the bride and groom, not some random stranger. They couldn't just take advantage of him because he had money.
Thinking this, Pei Xingzhi moved his finger and typed a question mark.
[peipei (leader)]: ?
[Dark Circle Curse (Member)]: ?
[kk_ai (member)]: What does this mean, bride?
[Cleverly Out of Lao Mu (Member)]: Boss, hurry up and send out red envelopes! Why are you sending question marks?
[Pumpkin Party (Deputy Leader)]: [Red Envelope]
[Pumpkin Party (Vice Leader)]: Sorry, my wife was too happy and mistook the red envelope for a question mark.
[peipei (leader)]: ?
His wedding?
Or should we go with the pumpkin party?
What's going on? How come no one told him he's getting married?
Pei Xingzhi racked his brains for a long time but couldn't find any memories related to this incident. He could only reluctantly message Pumpkin Party to ask what was going on.
[Private Chat]
[peipei]: What's going on? Why are we getting married? Who told you that? I didn't know anything about it!
[Pumpkin Party]: You said it yourself before, why are you denying it now? T^T I'm so sad.
[peipei]: What did I say? Are you sure?
[Pumpkin Party]: Yeah, yeah, when we formed our gang you said you'd take my surname if it lasted three months, which basically meant you'd marry me. Now three months have passed, we can get married.
[Pumpkin Party]: I've already announced it to the whole world through the megaphone. The entire game knows we're getting married. Are you going to back out now?
[peipei]: I...
Pei Xingzhi gritted his teeth and stared at his phone screen, the fatigue from work instantly vanishing. He suddenly felt a heat in his body and his face flushed.
[Pumpkin Party]: Are you shy? It's okay, you just need to click OK in a moment. I've prepared everything else you need for the wedding.
Pei Xingzhi looked at the words on the screen and felt his heart race, a surge of anger rising within him.
He really wanted to kill the pumpkin party!
Pei Xingzhi's hand trembled and he accidentally opened the camera, snapping a picture of his leg. He intended to exit immediately, but water droplets from his hair inconveniently fell. As Pei Xingzhi tried to wipe the droplets away and turned to grab a tissue, the photo was sent out thanks to the mischievous power of the water droplets. When Pei Xingzhi returned with the tissue, all that remained was a pitiful scene.
[peipei]: [Photo]
[Pumpkin Party]: We haven't even consummated our marriage yet, so we don't need to post these first...
[peipei]: Get out!
He only regretted why he had accepted the Pumpkin Party's mission invitation, why he had created a gang with them, and why he had so foolishly thrown himself into it.
A note from the author:
Their twenties are the age when they love playing games, please forgive these two internet addicts!
Since I'm not going to be on the list anyway, I'm not going to limit the word count. I'll just write it and post it directly.
I have to go to work on Monday, so I probably won't be able to type much.
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