SWG Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“Leave it to me to handle, it’ll be fine.”

This sentence wasn’t just about the takeout and advertising; it also meant that she’d handle all the remaining matters with Aunt Zhang.

Xiao Wenyu was silent for a moment, before she could speak, Ruan Shengyi turned her hand over and held hers, saying, “I just don’t want you to work too hard. I’ve already dealt with these things once, I’ll take care of it.”

Xiao Wenyu dazedly looked at her and softly hummed in agreement.

Since she had already said that, there was no need to refute it.

Her eyes dimmed, then lifted again, “Then go do the accounts. Calculate everything clearly before taking on new accounts. Think carefully about how to talk to Aunt Zhang, especially since you still want to keep her name and business as they are.”

“People will definitely come and scold you, you…”

Ruan Shengyi leaned over and rubbed her cheek, whispering, “Don’t worry, with you here, I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”

“…”

Ruan Shengyi: “I’ll go do the math, then go home and cook. Do you want to eat here at noon or go home to eat?”

“Here. Business has been good lately, lots of ID photo orders. It’s easier for me and Xiaowan together.”

“Okay, then wait for me.”

So, the questions stuck at the tip of her tongue were never asked.

-That’s what Aunt Zhang told you?

-Then how did you answer her?

Xiao Wenyu slowly breathed out, feeling a bit lost.

Her boss was a little too strong, bearing so much alone lately, yet still unwilling to let her intervene and share even a little bit. If this continued…

She rubbed her temples, finding it absurd.

These past two days, she really could only let things continue to develop like this. Her own side seemed to be a mess too. She still hadn’t deciphered the information Zhuge Jing had left her. What was she going to do?

But these things could be put aside for now. She still couldn’t let Ruan Shengyi be too tired alone. She got up, grabbed her waist bag, and walked to the front desk, “Xiaowan, are there any reservations right now?”

Xiaowan shook her head, “Not at the moment.”

“Then watch the place yourself for a while. I’m going to check on Aunt Zhang’s place.”

“Okay! Teacher, can you bring me a few more of those little flower basket cakes? They’re so delicious.”

Xiao Wenyu smiled helplessly, tapping her in the air, “Little glutton.”

Li Wan chuckled, not annoyed or ashamed, and not feeling embarrassed at all. After saying goodbye, she turned around and started binge-watching dramas again.

*

Xiao Wenyu slung her camera bag over her shoulder and gently pushed open the door of the cake shop.

Aunt Zhang, who was listening to opera, didn’t even open her eyes, babbling before saying, “Welcome, just pick whatever you need.”

“Aunt Zhang.” Xiao Wenyu said softly, “Do you still have those little flower basket cakes here?”

The moment she said the first sentence, Aunt Zhang had already turned off her phone screen and greeted her, repeatedly saying, “Look at you, making a trip! Just give me a call and I’ll deliver it to you.”

“Sit down, I’ll go get you the little cake.”

Xiao Wenyu: “Thank you.”

Aunt Zhang said it was no trouble and walked towards the kitchen, her voice gradually fading away. Once she entered the kitchen, it was like she was in her own territory. Suddenly remembering what she wanted to say, she said, “Just now, that Ruan Shengyi, the boss next door, came to chat with this old woman too. It feels like she’s interested in my shop.”

Aunt Zhang came out holding a few small flower baskets, “It would be good to give it to her too. Look how well she manages Tonight Intoxicated, she can definitely manage my place well too.”

“But,” she shook her head, “I heard that this child doesn’t have a good family, no mother, and she’s been involved in society before. Does she have tattoos on her body that would scare a lot of children if they were revealed?”

Aunt Zhang could talk to her about Ruan Shengyi like this, so it seemed that the question Aunt Zhang had asked earlier hadn’t been answered satisfactorily by her Ruan Shengyi.

Xiao Wenyu chuckled inwardly, secretly rubbing her knuckles, her expression indifferent: “If she has them, she has them. As long as they look good.”

“Oh my, you young people nowadays only pursue good looks, you have to talk about the meaning! Never mind, this old woman can’t control it… Hey, don’t pay!”

Aunt Zhang pretended to block the phone screen. Xiao Wenyu took a half step back, and with a ding, the payment was completed. Only then did she leisurely say, “Aunt Zhang, my health isn’t very good, my bones have problems, I’m prone to falling. Please don’t push back and forth with me.”

“If I fall here, it wouldn’t be very good.”

The payment notification sounded, and everything was irreversible.

Aunt Zhang glared at her in mock anger, waving her hand, “Whatever you want, whatever you want!”

This owner, who hadn’t communicated or interacted with the surrounding neighbors much in the past few months since the shop opened, who could figure out her temperament? Let her do what she wants, lest she extort this place again.

Aunt Zhang was eager to send this person away. She turned her head and exclaimed, “Hey, why are you carrying a camera? Are you going out?”

Xiao Wenyu turned sideways and took the camera, smiling gently: “No, Ruan Shengyi told me you were leaving. I’ve been managing my business and taking care of my health during this time, and I haven’t come to visit yet. Now that I think you’re leaving, as neighbors, I should come and see you and take some photos for you, to remember you by.”

She set up the camera, “Is that okay?”

These words made Aunt Zhang’s face turn red and white. The words and thoughts she had just had were like boomerangs, stabbing her own mouth. Little Ruan was concerned about her shop, and this neighbor, who hadn’t been seen for a long time, had made a special trip again…

Her mouth!

She patted her mouth, clasping her hands together, “Oh my, how embarrassing! No wonder Little Ruan said you were a good person. Oh my, oh my…”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m also very happy to take photos of my neighbor.”

“Then, then thank you!”

Xiao Wenyu smiled again, raising her camera and taking a portrait first, sighing, “This is really the most down-to-earth smile I’ve taken recently. It’s really good.”

Aunt Zhang waved her hand again, “How embarrassing, I heard that you guys are all doing art. You artists really have something in your eyes, and you speak so nicely. Thank you, thank you.”

*

At noon, Ruan Shengyi and Xiao Wenyu briefly met before she went to consult with a friend who was more familiar with the matter. It wasn’t until near the end of the day that she came to pick up the person and went home together.

Ruan Shengyi fiddled with the air conditioner knob, clicking her tongue softly: “Why isn’t it snowing this year? It’s just dry and cold.”

Xiao Wenyu leaned over, “Is the blowing glass warm air broken?”

“Probably, I’ll fix it tomorrow.”

Xiao Wenyu: “I’ll go, you’ve been busy these past two days.”

“It’s okay.” Ruan Shengyi curled the corners of her mouth triumphantly, “I still have this much time. It’s going to snow soon, so let’s go out less.”

Xiao Wenyu silently looked at her, pursing her lips, but in the end, she only said “Okay,” swallowing the rest back into her throat, and similarly swallowing the several harassing phone calls from the afternoon back.

Never mind, it’s been busy enough lately, she could still handle these things well.

Back home, Ruan Shengyi went into the kitchen to cook dinner, then poked her head out, “Teacher Xiao, come help me wash some fruit!”

Xiao Wenyu let down her hair, brushed it to the side, then clipped it up again, “Coming.”

Today they bought oranges and kiwis, there weren’t any other good-tasting fruits this season.

Xiao Wenyu put on gloves and leaned lightly against the glass door, one finger pressing against the peeler, slowly pushing it, then loosely looking at the person who was cooking, watching the soft yellow ceiling light cast a gentle shadow on her face, her naturally superior long neck slightly arched, her veins faintly visible.

Xiao Wenyu curved the corners of her lips: “I really want to bite your neck right now.”

Ruan Shengyi paused, turning her head to reveal more of her neck, “Come on.”

“I can’t just bite it randomly, it’s easy to bite a vital spot.”

“…Teacher Xiao, you’re really a combination of interesting and…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing, I’ll continue cooking.”

Xiao Wenyu smiled again, gently nudging her shoulder, “Bring your mouth over, taste if the kiwi is sour or not.”

“Teacher Xiao…”

“Just taste it.”

A small transparent fork held a small piece of kiwi, pressing against Ruan Shengyi’s lips. The woman folded her arms and leaned against the counter, raising her eyebrows, waiting for her to open her mouth.

Ruan Shengyi smiled helplessly, opened her mouth to bite the green and white fruit, and chewed expressionlessly.

“Is it sour?”

The fruit fork pressed against her lips, gently touching, tentatively pushing her to talk about it, “Say it.”

Ruan Shengyi slightly raised the corners of her mouth, “Not sour.”

The fruit fork was taken back, and the woman spun around, putting it back on the fruit plate. Her hand, covered in fruit juice, was slightly raised, gently rubbing Ruan Shengyi’s cheek, then pressing against the corners of her lips, “Then it’s all for you, I’ll go out first?”

“…Okay, go ahead.” There was a tiny bit of disappointment.

Because, the kiwi was actually very sour, so sour that Ruan Shengyi couldn’t wait to find the fruit seller and demand justice.

She pretended it wasn’t sour purely to trick Xiao Wenyu, but this person wasn’t falling for it tonight, so regrettable.

Ruan Shengyi thought playfully, too regrettable, she didn’t get to see Xiao Wenyu’s unexpected expression.

She poked her tongue out, lightly touching the spot where the finger had brushed across her lips.

Okay, it wasn’t that regrettable.

*

After dinner, a boring entertainment program was playing on the TV as background noise. Xiao Wenyu leaned on the sofa reading a book, one leg curled up, the other bare foot stepping on the soft carpet.

Seeing Ruan Shengyi coming out of the kitchen, she straightened her legs, changed the TV to the movie channel, then patted the spot next to her, “Come sit.”

“Of course I’ll come sit.”

Ruan Shengyi brought the fruit platter and placed it on the table. The annoying sour kiwi had been thrown away, replaced by neatly cut apples placed in the center, with oranges arranged around them like petals, truly looking like a layered blossoming flower.

Ruan Shengyi leaned against her shoulder to watch the movie, watching and sliding onto her lap. One hand lifted the hem of her home clothes, secretly looking at the little white that she had been longing for… its size should be a little lemon now, but in short, it was extremely cute, and it would also spit bubbles.

She gently stroked her not-yet-too-obvious belly, “She’s growing so slowly.”

The hand that wasn’t holding the book came down, pressing on her hand, gently saying: “It’s better this way, not too obvious, and it won’t affect my work.”

“Is work important or is she important?”

“You’re important.”

Ruan Shengyi: “…” Damn, that’s so unfair, how was she supposed to respond to that? Her ears were burning.

Ruan Shengyi struggled a bit, then simply turned over, using her legs as a pillow to watch the movie. But doing this exposed her ears, which were most likely to reveal her emotions, to Xiao Wenyu. Slightly turning away from the book, one could see her earlobes were completely red.

Xiao Wenyu pinched them, helplessly saying: “I finally know how Ruan Shengyi’s glasses came about.”

She had even developed the habit of straightening her legs, which was enough to show how much this boss loved this action. Usually, when she wasn’t around, Ruan Shengyi would lie like this to watch TV, who else’s eyes would get bad if not hers.

However, she was an adult, so it didn’t matter.

Xiao Wenyu stared at the increasingly red and hot earlobe in her hand, smiling a couple of times, “I went to Aunt Zhang’s place around noon today, I didn’t have time to tell you this afternoon.”

…