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(SHMOLL: I didn’t do my pushups today. This made me motivated. Gonna hit a set before the next chapter.)
Night fell over the buildings, lights twinkling amongst them.
The moon hid behind thin clouds, hazy and indistinct.
Even on a summer night, the evening breeze blowing from the alleyway carried a slight chill.
Ye Chuan, wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans, stepped out of the narrow lane and onto a bustling food street.
Stalls lined both sides of the street, with customers and delivery drivers weaving through the crowd. It was a lively and bustling scene.
Ye Chuan made his way through the crowd, arriving at the innermost part of the street—in front of a barbecue stall.
He saw a familiar girl, wearing her school uniform and an oil-stained apron. Her slender, white fingers expertly flipped skewers on the grill, smoke curling around her, but her clear, lively eyes still shone like jewels.
The aroma of grilling meat, cumin, and charcoal fire made Ye Chuan stop and inhale. "Smells good."
Hearing his voice, the ponytailed girl behind the grill looked up, her eyes bright.
"Ah, ChuanChuan, come quick, I'm swamped!"
Ye Chuan looked inside. There were about ten small tables, almost all occupied.
"Where's your uncle?" Seeing that Luo Xi was alone at the stall, Ye Chuan asked. Usually, there should be two people.
Luo Xi couldn't handle the peak hour rush alone.
"He had an emergency, so I'm the only one here," Luo Xi said with a pitiful expression, then clasped her hands together and stuck out her tongue cutely.
"Please help me, my good brother."
"Call me Daddy."
Ye Chuan took Luo Xi's place, put on an apron and sleeves, and started grilling. With him manning the grill, Luo Xi could free up her hands to serve customers.
"It's not like you haven't called me that before." As Luo Xi spoke, she heard a customer calling for beer and hurried over. "Coming!"
The peak hour rush was busier than Ye Chuan had imagined. Luo Xi was constantly weaving through the customers, barely stopping.
Ye Chuan's face was covered in oil from the grilling smoke, but he didn't complain, just silently working.
A cool sensation suddenly touched his cheek. Ye Chuan turned to see a clean white towel wiping the sweat from his face and neck.
"Chilled towel, feels good, right?" Luo Xi grinned, wiping his sweat as she beamed at him.
After his face was wiped clean, Ye Chuan felt much less hot. "Get me a soda."
"Roger that." Luo Xi replied and took a glass bottle of cola from the cooler. She inserted a straw and handed it to him. "Here you go."
Ye Chuan took a big gulp. It was like a refreshing ice cube on a scorching summer day, instantly making him feel better.
"Hey, leave some for me." Seeing the level of cola in the glass bottle rapidly decreasing, Luo Xi quickly said.
"Open another one," Ye Chuan said without looking back. This small bottle wasn't enough for him anyway.
"No way, this one's coming out of my allowance."
Hearing this, Ye Chuan glanced at the two mouthfuls of cola left in his hand and gave it back to Luo Xi. "Here, stingy."
"Gotta save where I can, spend where I should." Luo Xi put her hands on her hips and swayed. "Hmph, besides, you're not well. I'm planning to use all my allowance for your medical treatment."
Ye Chuan just smiled.
After the peak hour rush, Ye Chuan glanced at the girl beside him, sipping her cola, and asked, "Do you have any plans tomorrow?"
"What's up?"
"I want you to come with me to the mall. I need to buy some things," Ye Chuan said.
He needed to buy some things for Bai Qianshuang, and it would be more appropriate to bring a girl along, especially since he needed to buy underwear and such.
She couldn't wear that piece of cloth forever.
"Since you helped out, I guess I can accompany you." Luo Xi made a cat-like expression and nudged Ye Chuan. "Hey, ChuanChuan, I found a great deal at a restaurant. Couples eat free, one person gets a free meal."
"We're not a couple."
"Just pretend!" Luo Xi pointed at her face. "I'm so cute, you won't lose out. So many boys at school ask me out, and I always say no."
"Call me Daddy, and I'll consider it," Ye Chuan said.
"Ugh—"
As Ye Chuan and Luo Xi chatted, five guys with a punkish look walked over. Two skinny girls, looking as thin as ribs, were clinging to their arms. However, such young punks were common at the night market, a fairly frequent sight.
"Boss, we're ordering!" The group sat down, one of them yelling loudly.
"Coming!" Seeing more business, Luo Xi took a menu and walked over.
She asked, "What would you like to order?"
The guys at the head of the table glanced at Luo Xi, then stroked their chins, sticking out their tongues and shaking their heads.
"Hey, little sister, what school are you from? Add me on WeChat, let's hang out sometime?"
"What would you like to order? I'm still in school and don't have a phone," Luo Xi said with a forced smile, used to such situations.
"Two skewers of pork belly, one skewer of chives, and a can of beer. You guys got any of that… special stuff? If it's not good, I'm complaining." The guy spoke, and Luo Xi took notes.
After a moment, seeing that the guy wasn't saying anything else, Luo Xi asked,
"Anything else?"
"We're just trying it out, bros. If it's good, we'll order more." He waved his hand, emphasizing again with a lecherous grin, "It's not like we don't have money! Just… hang out with us a bit, and we'll order more."
"Oh, okay." Luo Xi replied casually and returned to Ye Chuan after taking their order of three skewers and one can of beer for six or seven people. She started taking out ingredients from the cooler beside him.
Soon, Ye Chuan finished grilling the skewers, but he took the plate over himself.
After placing the plate on the table, Ye Chuan glanced at the guys and saw their eyes glued to Luo Xi's legs.
His expression turned cold as he picked up the chilled beer.
"Handsome fellas, want me to open this for you?"
"Sure, fill it up." The leader of the group, hearing Ye Chuan offer to open the beer, suddenly became arrogant for some reason.
He puffed out his cheeks, clicked his tongue, crossed his legs, and tapped his fingers on the table.
Ye Chuan smiled. In the next second, the beer can in his hand exploded with a bang as he crushed it!
Beer splattered everywhere, almost splashing onto the group.
"Whoa!" The sudden scene startled them.
"Ah, sorry, my hand slipped, didn't mean to crush it." Ye Chuan said, then grabbed another can of beer and tossed it on the table.
"Open it yourselves."
The guys looked at each other, then at the beer can on the table, and then back at Ye Chuan.