After turning over one night, Monday morning, nine thirty.
Inside the over fifty square meters single-person apartment, everywhere was filled with traces of single girl’s life, the air was permeated with flower fragrance.
In the warm-colored bedroom, Qiao Ling sat on the bed with messy hair, dumb as a wooden chicken.
So still it was as if even the air was frozen solid.
Qiao Ling lowered her head like a stuck tape, looking at the convenience store exclusive small bottle of rum in her hand.
In silence as deep as the sea bottom, more was disbelief, unable to accept.
Those crazy scenes that would only happen in dreams.
Actually were.
Real.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!
Qiao Ling smashed her head into the soft plush pillow, screaming silently.
Don’t want to live anymore!!
What did she say? What did she say to Chen Kuang!!
【Chen Kuang, do you want to sleep with me?】
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!
That clearly wasn’t what she meant to say!
This was Qiao Ling’s first time in life drinking too much alcohol, yet after getting drunk she actually wasn’t like others losing memory in blackout, remembered everything clearly and distinctly.
Could even replay it again in dreams.
Last night outside the convenience store, after she pulled him and said that sentence, there was a very long silence between the two people.
And drunk Qiao Ling didn’t feel anything was wrong, kept foolishly smiling looking at him, waiting for his reply.
Then how did Chen Kuang react?
Qiao Ling hugged her head, recalling——
The convenience store’s lighting white and green intermingled, illuminating the girl’s open and candid smiling face, also making the man’s astonishment have nowhere to hide.
Inside Chen Kuang’s always idle and indifferent eyes appeared an expression she had never seen before.
Like a stone hitting the lake surface that had been calm for a hundred years.
Stirring up wave after wave of ripples, lively and good-looking.
But even if she spoke so astonishingly, Chen Kuang was five years older than her, with deep social experience, even being absent-minded was only a matter of three to five seconds.
Qiao Ling grabbed his wrist not letting go, still immersed in her own perfect measure: “How is it, what do you think?”
Chen Kuang’s Adam’s apple pressed down moving, instead gripping her arm and slowly pulling it away, tone still calm as always: “I think?”
“I think you are sexually harassing.”
Qiao Ling blinked her eyes.
He propped his knee to stand up, grabbed his pocket, looking down at her from above and smiled: “This point you’re really the same as your tang ge [堂哥: paternal cousin].”
“Alcohol behavior is quite average.”
…………
Since the silver jewelry DIY shop opened for one year, it was the first time experiencing abnormal business status.
Xiaohongshu shop account posted announcement: Because boss is hungover and woke up late, as well as post-drinking can’t face people state.
T-T Small shop temporarily cannot welcome God lords.
A casually posted post inexplicably gained traffic, by three in the afternoon, this post already had over two hundred floors [盖楼: building up floors means many replies], all squatting for boss’s post-drinking embarrassment follow-up, waiting to eat melon [吃瓜: internet slang, watching gossip as bystanders].
There were even people asking where the shop was, wanting to go to the shop to gossip in person.
Even if it was hard to resolve the drunken embarrassment, Qiao Ling still had to go out to the office building to open shop.
Today the sun was very big, end of August pouring this year’s last round of poisonous heat onto this city.
She wore a sun protection hat going out, when getting on the elevator opened her WeChat, saw the good thing she did last night and her eyes blacked out again.
She not only face-to-face verbally harassed Chen Kuang,
After going home on WeChat still……
【L.ing: Continue teaching me convenience store bartending tomorrow!】
【L.ing: Don’t worry, I won’t freeload (definitely.jpg)】
【Transfer 52.0 yuan】
Qiao Ling’s finger tremblingly slid down——he replied at two thirty in the morning.
【Gum: ?】
She snapped her phone shut, hatingly closed her eyes.
Ah——!!!
Who can save her!
Qiao Ling with a face like dead ashes rode her little electric scooter all the way to downstairs of the office building, locking the vehicle just about to go up.
The downstairs auntie was sitting under the tree in the shade playing cards chatting, saw her, laughed and said: “Xiao Qiao came late today? Hahaha.”
Qiao Ling forced a smile, waved her hand and walked into the office building lobby.
She stood in the elevator area waiting, thinking luckily there were no customers coming for nothing this morning, otherwise she’d feel guilty to death again.
Just at this time, elevator number one in front of her opened its door, Qiao Ling lifted her head and just saw the tall man standing inside furthest.
Chen Kuang’s face entered her eyes, she instantly got goosebumps all over, turned her head and ran——
She was wearing a sun protection face mask, at first Chen Kuang didn’t recognize her, but as soon as that person ran, he immediately opened his mouth and called: “Qiao Ling.”
Same location, same calling, the reaction Qiao Ling gave was eerily the same, both were a shoulder shiver, running even faster.
What’s called as still as a virgin, moving like a rabbit breaking free, is exactly like this.
Chen Kuang stepped out of the elevator, looking at the lobby entrance where already there was no shadow of a person.
“……”
Qiao Ling darted out from the office building corner and ran into the convenience store, hiding among the shelves, afraid that Chen Kuang would chase after her.
The ice cabinet reflective panel reflected her flushed red face, Qiao Ling clutching the shelf, nervously staring outside the window. Seeing Chen Kuang coming out looking as if nothing happened, walking in the opposite direction away, only then did she let out a breath of relief.
Qiao Ling took off her sun protection face mask, covering her sweating forehead and sighing non-stop.
Before when she wanted to meet, no matter how couldn’t bump into, now when she shouldn’t meet, casually just ran into.
By reason, at this time shouldn’t he be sleeping at the bar! Coming back for what!
She turned her head, met eyes with the sales clerk who had a face full of confusion.
Qiao Ling showed an apologetic smile, awkwardly ran out, under the confused and teasing gazes of the downstairs aunties once again walked into the building.
Really heart startled and soul jumping.
She really had no face to see Chen Kuang again.
…………
Afternoon, epic bar that was closed was empty and clean.
Chen Kuang carried a change of clothes, entered the bar from the back door.
There were people talking inside the bar, he followed the sound over.
Strange, at this time why were they all here.
Xia Tian wearing casual clothes, sat on the dining chair like a criminal, with a face like waiting for judgment.
Qiao Jing and Xie Rouyin were both there, standing in front of him.
Qiao Jing glanced toward Chen Kuang who came out from the employee rest room, voice very loud: “Was it not me sending you WeChat you take me as dead person, not even a comma reply?”
“Didn’t look at phone.” Chen Kuang wasn’t afraid of him at all, walked to the bar counter and poured himself a glass of ice water.
He took a sip, asked: “What are you doing?”
Xie Rouyin spread her hands, pointing at these two men: “Very obvious, asking for crime.”
“Qiao Jing knows Xia Tian made his younger sister drink until drunk and acted crazy, so angry he’s been scolding him for half a day already.”
Qiao Jing scratched his head, as if his younger sister suffered a sky-big grievance, “My mei is our family’s treasured pearl in the palm, don’t say me, even my dad doesn’t dare make her drink!”
“She’s a delicate cub that never touched alcohol before, you just come up and make her such strong alcohol, what’s your intention Xia Tian!”
“She didn’t vomit or get sent to hospital, you should already burn high incense you poser.”
Xia Tian’s face was full of righteous words, rather die than yield, persisted in his own art: “I said already, if not using those types of base alcohol, it simply wouldn’t reach the flavor I want.”
“Flavor your cow ah! Being a bartender so many years all for nothing? Customer’s alcohol capacity comes before everything!” Qiao Jing wasn’t buying his set at all.
Their back and forth, made Chen Kuang’s brows swell, he raised his hand pinching it.
Didn’t sleep well to begin with, now being made even more uncomfortable by their noise.
He grabbed onto the key point in the words, asked Xie Rouyin: “His mei got drunk and acted crazy? Who said that.”
He hadn’t said anything at all.
Xie Rouyin sat on the high stool answering leisurely: “Qiao Jing guessed it, he said the ones who look more obedient, usually after drinking are more difficult to deal with.”
After saying that, she propped her chin up, with interest asked back: “So then, did the meimei actually act drunk crazy or not?”
Chen Kuang leaned with his cup against the back, gaze hard to read, didn’t answer immediately, as if recalling.
Last night all kinds of Qiao Ling’s behavior flashed one by one in his mind.
After a while, he said vaguely: “Don’t know what you all define as drunk crazy to what extent.”
If coming up directly pulling someone inviting to open a room counts.
After he finished speaking, Xie Rouyin’s expression also became interesting, pressed her red lips together, holding back laughter.
Looked like something did happen.
Qiao Jing and Xia Tian halfway through their quarrel joined in, “What? Right, Chen Kuang you explain first, yesterday my mei was with you, what kind of reaction.”
He still didn’t know that Chen Kuang didn’t like Xie Rouyin, pointed at him, with a kind of lingering fear: “You, I tell you, don’t because the two of us have some disagreement you go bully my mei.”
“Whatever grievances, the two of us men can handle it openly.”
Chen Kuang knew the other still misunderstood, couldn’t be bothered with him, “I don’t have that kind of idle time.”
“Your mei today after sobering up didn’t say anything to you?”
Qiao Jing clicked his tongue: “No, just said nothing’s wrong, told me not to nag.”
Chen Kuang washed the cup and set it to dry on the side, waved his hand and walked toward the rest room, letting them argue however they wanted.
Closing the door, the voices of those three were blocked outside.
Chen Kuang locked the door, pulled off his sweat-soaked T-shirt over his head, but his movement suddenly stopped.
He stared at his own bare upper body in the dressing mirror, for no reason recalled Qiao Ling’s words from last night.
【I have a way to let you sleep well, and let me open the shop well.】
【Chen Kuang, do you want to sleep with me?】
Chen Kuang lowered his eyes, trying to understand the intention behind these two sentences.
The meaning is intending to sleep subdue him, take him into the pouch.
Once the person was hers already, let her handle as she pleased, then there wouldn’t exist any neighbor conflict?
The hand holding onto the gray T-shirt tensed slightly, arm veins spreading into the tattoo pattern on his upper arm.
Chen Kuang tilted his head and laughed once, with a kind of letting out air, for amusement meaning.
Her ge wasn’t wrong.
Looks timid, but in the bones actually guts are very fat.
Chen Kuang lifted his gaze, once again re-examining the well-defined muscles on his body in the mirror.
Someone like him—exactly where did he give Qiao Ling the illusion that he was easy to handle?
…………
Nine o’clock in the evening, Qiao Ling was busy inside the shop.
Today there were quite a lot of customers, completely different from the usual bleak Monday on workdays.
Didn’t expect there really were people who came just for eating melon. Qiao Ling got chased after for gossip, took quite a lot of effort to brush them off.
Luckily once getting busy, her mind wouldn’t float around randomly. In the blink of an eye, outside the glass window the sky had already gone black.
There were four or five customers in the shop, ding ding dang dang knocking on their own works, she leaned against the work table scrolling food delivery apps, was currently considering what to eat tonight.
Just at this moment, the entrance’s sensor doorbell sounded its effect—
“Welcome~ Get rich get rich~”
Qiao Ling instinctively raised a smile, head hadn’t lifted yet, the words came out first: “Hello, may I ask how many…”
Chen Kuang wearing a silver-white sports jacket walked into the shop, his tall figure instantly becoming the most eye-catching existence in the warm little shop.
Several female customers saw him, their gazes all went straight.
The moment their eyes met, Qiao Ling’s heart skipped a beat, couldn’t even breathe.
Came after her to settle accounts?!
He wasn’t working tonight?
Seeing her dazed and rejecting expression, Chen Kuang calmly found the seat closest to her, pulled out the chair and sat down, turned his head to look at her: “Normal business?”
The others in the shop were all secretly looking at them, seemed they also discovered some unspeakable secret.
Qiao Ling moved her stiff legs, walked toward him, strangely asked: “You, want to do handmade?”
Chen Kuang casually picked up the rubber mallet on the table, weighed it in his hand, stared at her: “If I didn’t spend a little money to come in.”
“Could you talk to me normally?”
Qiao Ling’s throat jammed, speechless.
The two young ladies sitting at the same big table suddenly exchanged glances, sucked in a breath, eye signals passing—
It’s here!
The male lead from the post has appeared!!
They really squatted this melon ah ah!
“Qiao Ling.” Chen Kuang’s joy or anger didn’t show on his face. Seeing her face turning red in mere seconds, his finger pad rubbing the hammer head, lightly laughed.
“Shouldn’t you apologize to me first?”