ATPN Chapter 8
by VolareAfter breakfast, Yu Zhanrong took the initiative to clear the table. He couldn’t just freeload on food, lodging, and everything else without doing anything.
While he was washing dishes, a phone call came in. Unable to hold the phone with wet hands, he put it on speaker.
“Rongrong, how did you sleep last night?”
The water from the faucet gurgled loudly.
Yu Zhanrong: “It was alright.”
“Hehe, be honest, is Senior Brother Song’s bed comfortable? Huh? Hehehe.”
“Beep—” Ignoring the water dripping all over the screen, Yu Zhanrong hung up the phone with lightning speed.
What kind of nonsense was that?
Wasn’t his life still worth something?
The words seemed to echo in the room. Yu Zhanrong felt that lewd voice constantly reverberating around him. He subconsciously looked at Song Baiyan, and seeing the teasing look in his eyes, he gritted his teeth in anger.
How could he forget that Xu Yixuan was always the one to say shocking things? He never learned his lesson.
After this morning, only one of him and Xu Yixuan could survive.
“No,” Yu Zhanrong said with difficulty, wanting to defend himself, but he felt like anything he said would sound weak.
“It’s really not what you think…”
Song Baiyan crossed his arms and said leisurely, “So it wasn’t comfortable?”
Pretending to consider the matter, he suggested, “Then let’s go to the furniture store today and get a more comfortable one?”
Yu Zhanrong: “…”
“No, the bed is comfortable…”
“That’s good then.”
Yu Zhanrong: “…?”
Xu Yixuan! You’ve really killed me!
He couldn’t imagine what kind of person Song Baiyan thought he was now. He must seem incredibly perverted.
Yu Zhanrong closed his eyes and opened them again, feeling a wave of darkness before him. Could he turn back time to before he answered the phone yesterday?
If he could, he’d turn off his phone for two days.
Just as he was feeling sulky and regretful, a large hand pressed on his back, gently patting him to calm him down. The warmth permeated through the thin t-shirt, suppressing the raging fire in his heart.
The hand on his back had a strong presence, and the skin underneath seemed to be faintly burning, drawing away all of Yu Zhanrong’s attention.
“Don’t be angry.” A low, clear voice completely extinguished the last sparks of anger. “You’re someone who has to earn a living now, you’re a mature adult.”
“…”
Why did it feel like he was being coaxed like a child?
Yu Zhanrong suspiciously sized up Song Baiyan, seeing that he was serious and didn’t seem to be acting. He hesitated and nodded in his comforting gaze.
The moment Yu Zhanrong nodded, Song Baiyan quickly lowered his head, made a fist and covered his mouth, turned away, and walked straight to the sofa. As he walked, his shoulders trembled suspiciously.
Yu Zhanrong: “…”
Did he think he couldn’t see just because he turned away?
Yu Zhanrong threw two punches at Song Baiyan’s back. When Song Baiyan turned around, seemingly aware of the attack, he put on an obedient expression. The speed of his change shocked even himself.
Tsk, he was not far from developing a split personality.
After Song Baiyan left, Yu Zhanrong had nothing to do, so he sat alone on the sofa and pondered.
With Song Baiyan’s help, he didn’t have to worry about renting a place, but finding a job was imminent. What could he do?
He picked up his phone to check if there were any part-time jobs nearby. His eyes fell on the “Homeward Goose and Books” wallpaper, next to which was a line of small print: The microphone is our bond with the characters, and also the bridge between us.
He secretly cheered himself up. Small difficulties could be overcome. For the sake of the microphone!
He suddenly remembered that when he ordered milk tea on Student Street yesterday, there seemed to be a job posting at the milk tea shop. He could try it out. Shaking milk tea shouldn’t be too difficult.
With the determination to find a job no matter what, Yu Zhanrong went to the milk tea shop.
He didn’t expect finding a job to be so easy. He went to the shop, found the manager, and explained his intentions. The manager agreed with a smile.
There was no interview as he had imagined, nor was he asked to try it out on the spot. It was ridiculously casual.
He got the job just like that? The speed made Yu Zhanrong a little bit disbelieving. He even began to suspect that the shop was a scam.
The manager was quite a pretty young woman. No matter what he said, she always nodded with a smile, her friendliness making Yu Zhanrong feel a little uneasy.
“When can you start working?”
“I can start now, but can I work part-time?” Yu Zhanrong paused. “I might not be able to be here all day.”
Working part-time at the milk tea shop was to earn some living expenses and alleviate his financial embarrassment, but he had more important things to do. He couldn’t spend all his time on a part-time job, otherwise, there would be no point in leaving home.
Yu Zhanrong thought that she would reject his request, but the manager nodded in agreement without even thinking about it.
Was hiring so casual now? She agreed to such an outrageous request?
The manager seemed to see his doubts and smiled, saying, “Don’t be afraid, we’re a legitimate milk tea shop. Many students come here to work part-time.”
Yu Zhanrong blushed slightly, “No, that’s not what I meant…”
“It’s okay,” the manager said nonchalantly. “I happened to see you in the shop yesterday. With your looks, you’re a living billboard even if you don’t do anything. Besides, making milk tea doesn’t require much skill, just follow the recipe.”
Hiring based on looks?
Yu Zhanrong carefully observed the others.
Tsk, this manager was definitely appearance-obsessed.
“The shop is usually busier during meal times and evenings. You can come to work during those times. You can come all day on weekends if you’re free.”
“Okay.”
And just like that, he got his first part-time job in a daze. Yu Zhanrong was eager to try it out, feeling excited.
He had to wait for news from Song Baiyan about the apartment, and there was nothing else to do today. Yu Zhanrong told the manager that he could start working now.
After all, his wallet was limited. The sooner he started earning money, the better. Everyone was doing it for money.
The manager saw that there weren’t many customers at the moment, so she found someone to train him.
The person who came to train him was Qin Yuan, who was very refined and gentle. He had a clean and attractive appearance, and his voice was very gentle. Yu Zhanrong had a very good impression of him.
After they greeted each other, Qin Yuan showed him around.
“Well, I’ll call you Xiao Yu. Your voice is very nice, clear and pure.”
Yu Zhanrong was a little embarrassed, and he thanked him in a low voice.
Qin Yuan glanced at the manager, who had already walked away, and whispered to him, “Don’t you think our manager is a bit strange, sometimes like a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! I feel like a piece of fat meat! I almost thought she was going to sell me!”
Qin Yuan looked too harmless. As soon as he started talking to him, Yu Zhanrong couldn’t help but speak without thinking. Qin Yuan was a chatterbox who could respond to anything.
Yu Zhanrong felt embarrassed after agreeing with him, after all, he had only just met him and was already talking about the boss behind her back.
“It’s okay, the manager is a hardcore appearance-obsessed person. You’re so attractive, she’s bound to pay attention to you.” Qin Yuan smiled, his whole person bright and sunny.
“Don’t be embarrassed, we’re all used to it, and she’s used to it herself.”
For almost the whole day, Yu Zhanrong followed Qin Yuan through the procedures, familiarizing himself with the environment, recognizing various materials, and learning about taking orders and handling cash registers.
Shaking milk tea was indeed not difficult. By the evening, he was already able to make some simple flavors of milk tea.
Although Hua University hadn’t started school yet, there were still many students who came here to shop, so the shop’s business was pretty good.
Around nine o’clock in the evening, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance of the milk tea shop. Yu Zhanrong was focused on studying how to make milk caps. Qin Yuan nudged his arm, signaling him to look at the door.
Putting down the container in his hand, Yu Zhanrong followed Qin Yuan’s gaze and saw a familiar figure. His eyes curved up involuntarily.
Qin Yuan was always sensitive, especially to other people’s emotional changes. Seeing this, his eyes lit up. The milk tea shop was indeed a good place to collect material, he had come to the right place.