Chapter 18 — I have alcohol; do you have a story?

?

This bowl of egg fried rice was different from the one Xia Wei had previously eaten at Tian Xia Restaurant. It wasn"t arranged with the utmost care, and the receptacle was also just a common porcelain bowl. The egg fried rice, however, was still as golden-bright and dazzling in color as before; the aroma was so rich, it was visible to the naked eye.

Xia Wei put both her palms together to pay respect to the egg fried rice.

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

"What are you doing?" Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at her ridiculously. Xia Wei paid respect to the egg fried rice once again before deadpanning, "This bowl of egg fried rice was personally stir-fried by the boss of Tian Xia Restaurant, solely for me. It is only natural for me to pay respect."

Thinking of its value, Xia Wei felt as if she had won a hundred million yuan.

After she finished paying respect, she picked up a spoon to dig in. Jiang Zhi Zhou frowned and asked her, "You just stroked the cat; have you washed your hands?"

Xia Wei: "…"

How was this person so vexing. He wasn"t her mother, yet he still scolded her for eating without was.h.i.+ng her hands. Yet under Jiang Zhi Zhou"s burning gaze, she honestly couldn"t eat, so she could only set down her spoon and go to the kitchen to wash her hands.

"May I eat?" She deliberately washed her hands clean and shook them in front of Jiang Zhi Zhou before returning to the dining table.

Jiang Zhi Zhou glanced at her clean nails and asked her, "How come you didn"t do your nails?"

Xia Wei countered, "You say manicures are harmful, yet you still cannot leave me be?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

Didn"t you say you women are fearless in regards to wis.h.i.+ng to appear beautiful?

Xia Wei curled her lips and tried a spoonful of egg fried rice… Oh! Extremely delicious! Although the texture of the rice was not as good as it was at Tian Xia Restaurant the last time she ate there, it did not affect the taste. Egg fried rice like this, she could eat a basin in one breath!

In front of Jiang Zhi Zhou, however, she must be unperturbed. She swallowed the egg fried rice and coughed, asking, "How did you make this? Why is the flavor completely different compared to when I make it?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou looked askance at her. "Formally becoming an apprentice to a master is very expensive."

Xia Wei: "…"

Pah, who cares!

The orange cat also moved closer to get its share of the profits, but Jiang Zhi Zhou barred its path. "You cannot eat this. It is not your mealtime right now."

Miao~miao~ The orange cat unyieldingly mewled, seemingly unwilling to give up the issue of not giving it food. Jiang Zhi Zhou wanted to block it, but it directly leaped onto the table with nimbleness and moved its large, flatbread-like face closer to Xia Wei"s bowl. Xia Wei used a hand to push it to the side while saying to Jiang Zhi Zhou, "Go give it a bowl. This is the first time I"ve seen it so vigorous and lively since its whiskers have been snipped off. Do you have the heart to not give it a bit to eat?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou originally wanted to say that the cat cannot eat salty foods, but upon seeing the orange cat incessantly approach Xia Wei"s bowl, he compromised.

"It can only have a small bite." He used a spoon to scoop out two small spoonfuls and placed it into the orange cat"s dish. The orange cat meowed twice and resentfully lifted its head to stare at him.

"This is all you"re bestowing after I begged for food?" it seemed to say.

Jiang Zhi Zhou chuckled lightly and crouched down to stroke its head. "You begged for food first."

Orange cat: "…"

Catching the transient smile at the corner of Jiang Zhi Zhou"s lips, Xia Wei quirked a brow slightly. This Mr. Jiang…looked handsome when he smiled.

She finished eating her egg fried rice and began teasing the orange cat again. Jiang Zhi Zhou"s mutton was nearly done marinating, so she deliberately sneaked toward the kitchen to stealthily observe how he was making it.

Jiang Zhi Zhou"s method to cooking lamb kebabs was very simple: preheating the oven, adding oil to the grill frame, placing the mutton on it to grill, and then sprinkling c.u.min and salt on it. After the mutton was taken out of the oven, he sprinkled on chili powder and c.u.min grains.

Oh, it seemed very ordinary.

Xia Wei thought for a long while before returning to the living room to wait for him to throw food her way. When Jiang Zhi Zhou brought out the mutton, she realized he had actually skewered the meat on bamboo sticks, creating a dozen or so in total. This fragrance was even stronger than the egg fried rice some time ago. If she had not just eaten, she might have begun drooling at that moment…

Since Jiang Zhi Zhou left the kitchen, Xia Wei"s gaze remained fixated on the lamb kebabs. She had not eaten lamb kebabs when her heart and mind sought it out three separate times; yet finally, it would reach her mouth!

This time, she didn"t wait for Jiang Zhi Zhou to tell her to wash her hands; she picked up a skewer with lightning-speed and bit into it. The lamb kebab had been grilled for quite a while and was still somewhat hot, but Xia Wei did not pay any mind to all this. She only felt that the split second she bit into the lamb kebab, a tremendous wave of satisfaction pervaded her heart.

Jiang Zhi Zhou frowned and watched as her tears fell down.

Xia Wei breathed in through her nose and used her hand to casually wipe at the corners of her eyes. She stared at the lamb kebab in her hand and hummed, "Mn, your grilled lamb kebabs are delicious—so delicious that I"m crying."

Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t reply and simply retrieved some napkins from the tabletop, which he then handed over to her. Xia Wei cried, but she didn"t forget to eat the lamb kebabs while doing so. After she finished eating a skewer, her tears finally stopped. "M-my apologies."

She still continued to sob spasmodically. Jiang Zhi Zhou stood up and handed over two more napkins. "It doesn"t matter. In any case, this is not the first time I"ve seen you cry. That time at the movie theater, your crying then was significantly more excessive than now."

Xia Wei: "……"

She cried twice in a single year, a rare occurrence, yet why were they all accidentally witnessed by him!

"My grilled lamb kebabs were truly so delicious?" Jiang Zhi Zhou asked her. "Should Tian Xia Restaurant also begin selling lamb kebabs?"

Xia Wei: "…"

Obviously the Chinese restaurant style was for the high-cla.s.s; selling things like this, on the other hand, was for the common people.

She once again used a napkin to wipe away tears and mucus before reaching out for a second skewer. "I have been encountering the reverse river for the past two days. The rent for the salon increased, and a nail artist suddenly quit as well. A customer has been making trouble without reason too. All of this made me crave lamb kebabs, but I sought it out and was unable to eat any on three occasions."

But now, she was eating lamb kebabs through a one-of-a-kind, very accidental manner. Mn, I even swindled a bowl of egg fried rice. Maybe life is not so hopeless, and I can have an unexpected profit?

Jiang Zhi Zhou muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment before voicing, "When you run a business, these things are common. If rent rises, your charges can also be appropriately adjusted. If a nail artist quits, you can recruit another. Troublesome customers, Tian Xia Restaurant comes across these types frequently."

Xia Wei was a bit surprised. "Some people actually dare to cause trouble at Tian Xia Restaurant?"

"How so?  As long as a business opens their doors, there will always run into bullies and rascals. Not long ago, there was a guest who alleged that our soup had a hair in it and demanded we waive his bill. All the dishes he ordered had been expensive; his bill alone was eight thousand yuan."

Xia Wei: "…"

That was…throwing caution to the wind.

"And then? How did you call him out?" She curiously asked.

Jiang Zhi Zhou replied, "I called all the chef on duty that day as well as the waiters attending to the guests and had that guest take a DNA test along with everyone else to see who the hair belonged to."

Xia Wei: "…"

Boss Jiang"s manner of calling someone out…so thorough.

"So he was terrified?"

"People who do bad things always have a guilty conscience."

"Receiving instruction…"

Once Xia Wei heard the entire tale, she finished up her skewer. "But your craftsmans.h.i.+p is truly wonderful. Whoever ends up being your wife in the future has chanced upon fine food." Once she said this, she suddenly burst out laughing. "But a trade-building straight guy like you probably won"t be able to marry a wife."

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

He s.n.a.t.c.hed away the lamb kebab she was reaching for and expressionlessly said, "I said I"ll only give you two skewers to eat."

Xia Wei: "…"

f.u.c.k, he was actually serious?!

She lifted her head to gaze at him, her eyes minutely s.h.i.+fting. "Did I prod a wound of yours?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

Xia Wei recalled that woman who he had talked to at Tian Xia Restaurant last time, causing her to blink at Jiang Zhi Zhou. "Last time, that woman I met at Tian Xia Restaurant, was that your girlfriend you"re secretly in love with?"

"…No."

"Fine, you don"t be shy. Last time, you were stood up at the movie theater; was it by her?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

Although this was true, it was not as she implied.

Xia Wei saw that he remained silent and was even more convinced that her guesses were correct. "Although I only had a brief glance of that girl, she was a very beautiful woman. How could you chase such a person."

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

He didn"t like her interpretation and was currently thinking about taking back his lamb kebabs.

Xia Wei promptly protected the lamb kebab in front of her and shouted at him, "Ai—you"re already a grown man, how can you be so stingy!"

"I am not a grown man; I am simply a trade-building straight guy."

Xia Wei: "…"

"Okay, okay, I"m wrong, okay? Don"t take the lamb kebabs!" Xia Wei mischievously quirked her lips. "Let me eat some more lamb kebabs, and I"ll teach you how to chase a girl!"

Jiang Zhi Zhou barked out a laugh, sneering at her. Xia Wei immediately became unhappy. "What? I, as a woman, know better than you…" She swallowed back her "steel-straight guy" remark and revised, "Do you know how to chase a girl?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou didn"t grab the lamb kebabs again and instead stood up, looking down at her. "That woman you saw at Tian Xia Restaurant last time was my blind date match. We had already broken up, and I was the one to end it."

"…" Xia Wei digested his words before imitating the sneer he had a moment ago. "You talk big. Although you are the boss of Tian Xia Restaurant, others are not found lacking either."

Jiang Zhi Zhou inadvertently got into a conversation with her about this again and went straight to the point. "Because I was unable to accept that she had an ex-boyfriend, we broke up."

Xia Wei: "…"

This era unexpectedly had a clean-freak man like him; it really was perverted! Hey, wait a minute, why did she think that this man was a bit familiar?

"…You, did you post on Promontory Forum?" She observed Jiang Zhi Zhou as she probingly asked.

Jiang Zhi Zhou froze. She couldn"t have been so lucky to have also seen his forum post?

Xia Wei carefully examined his complexion, and then three black lines appeared on her forehead. "…It really was you, goudan"er?"1

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

"That name, I simply chose a random one," he stated.

Xia Wei: "…"

To her surprise, it really was him.

She coughed drily and asked, "Do you have alcohol?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou looked at her askance. "Do you have a story?"

"…I indeed have one."

Jiang Zhi Zhou retrieved from his refrigerator two beer cans. Xia Wei opened one and drank a mouthful before sighing blissfully. "I have meat; I have wine. Life is very beautiful."

Jiang Zhi Zhou also opened a can of beer and sipped some. "Your story?"

"…" Xia Wei got her story together. "You might not believe me, but I was the post neighboring yours."

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

"Hahahaha, we have both been brought together by fate, ha. Cheers~" Xia Wei b.u.mped her beer with his and took advantage of the situation to snag another lamb kebab skewer to eat.

Jiang Zhi Zhou did not respond to her words and simply looked a bit curiously at her. "You were that poster who was unwilling to be too intimate with your boyfriend, so you two broke up?"

"Mn…"

"…" Jiang Zhi Zhou was silent for a moment before he said, "I previously saw you on quite good terms with a few different men; I had thought…"

"Because of that reason? You are thinking of something dirty!" Xia Wei slapped the table with righteous indignation filling her chest. "I have a n.o.bel Prize for the strongest imagination that I must award to you!"

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

He turned his head, a somewhat unnatural expression appearing on his face in a rare occurrence. "Sorry…"

It"s just that for most others, whoever wanted to date you has something wrong with his head….

After Xia Wei finished chomping on the lamb kebab in hand, she drank another mouthful of beer. "So you previously didn"t like me because you are a neat freak? Truly ridiculous. You care if your girlfriend had any ex-boyfriends as well as if anyone else had an ex-boyfriend!"

"…I think all men wouldn"t be too fond of a woman who switches boyfriends too often."

"Hehe, if it were not for you men always having weird thoughts in your head, who would switch that often?!"

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

Xia Wei once again reached out to grab a lamb kebab skewer and turned her head to glance at him. "Don"t patronize me. Say, what decade are you living in? So fastidious."

"…I have had this shortcoming since I was a child. It cannot be changed. Even seeing a psychiatrist was useless."

Xia Wei recalled his post had indeed spoken about seeing a psychiatrist. She suddenly sympathized with him a bit. "Being able to recognize that this problem lies in you is very good, but is finding a girl who had never had a boyfriend that difficult? Don"t tell me you never ran into one?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou replied, "I also have other requirements when searching for a girlfriend; I am not saying that as long as she never had a boyfriend, she will do.

"…I also have several requirements regarding my mysophobia.

"You don"t want to become too intimate with someone; could that also be a type of mysophobia?"

Xia Wei: "…"

She stared at him blankly for a moment before once more raising the beer can and toasting it against Jiang Zhi Zhou"s. "Your words are reasonable; you deserve to be called an experienced person."

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

"The beer"s gone. Go and grab two more." Xia Wei grabbed the beer can and shook it twice, revealing that he had actually drunk every last drop.

Jiang Zhi Zhou straightforwardly grabbed all the beer from the refrigerator and set it in front of her. Xia Wei cautiously glanced at him and said, "What are you intending? Do you think that after I get drunk, I"m willing to do some naughty things?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou"s brows jumped up. "I think you are already intoxicated; if not, you wouldn"t be speaking such awful nonsense."

Xia Wei: "…"

The two of them downed alcohol and ate meat as they chatted. Unexpectedly, a camaraderie arose between them, one of hospital wardmates. Xia Wei opened a third can of beer and said to Jiang Zhi Zhou, "Actually, your illness is severals times simpler than mine. You only need to find a girl who never had a boyfriend, resolving the issue perfectly. I truly am unsuited for dating. I might spent my last years alone."

Jiang Zhi Zhou raised his head and drank the last of the beer in his can in one gulp. "How can it be so easy? For more than a year, my family has been continually arranging blind dates for me, yet all of that has been unsuccessful. I now no longer want to date."

Xia Wei stared at him and then said, "Don"t be so pessimistic. Considering you invited me to drink and eat meat today, when you run into a girl you like in the future, I"ll help give you advice! Oh, that"s right; how about we exchange contact details."

Jiang Zhi Zhou internally felt that he had no use for her advice, but they could still exchange contact details. Otherwise, if there was an issue in the future, he would have to seek out property management. "What"s your WeChat?"

Xia Wei took out her phone and remarked to him, "WeChat is for all you middle-aged and elderly people. Us youngsters all use QQ."

Jiang Zhi Zhou: "…"

Xia Wei had first began using WeChat, but after being ridiculed by other girls in high school, she and her best friend group, in a pique of fury, all moved to QQ.

Jiang Zhi Zhou searched for her QQ ID. When he saw her name, he chuckled faintly. "Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year? No wonder you have the cheek to call yourself a girl."

"What, still a disbeliever? I know you are jealous of my youth." Xia Wei then went to add his QQ account, asking him, "What"s your full name?"

"Jiang Zhi Zhou."

"Jiang Zhi Zhou?" Xia Wei glanced at him. "Entering the river boat?"2

"Mn, what"s your name?"

"Xia Wei."

Jiang Zhi Zhou glanced at her as well. ""Wei" as in Only Love?"3

"Mn."

The two mutually added each other as friends. Xia Wei didn"t intend on staying any longer either. "Thank you for entertaining me today. My mood is much better after eating lamb kebabs. Next time there"s an opportunity, I"ll treat you."

Jiang Zhi Zhou replied, "There"s no need to treat me. It"s fine if you just wash the dishes."

Xia Wei: "…"

She thought to herself, after she finished was.h.i.+ng the dishes at Jiang Zhi Zhou"s place, Next time, I"ll just gift him a dishwasher!

It was already late into the night when she returned to 1908. Xia Wei bathed and lay down in bed, lost in thought. Mr Jiang, despite being nothing special, still made a bit of sense. Since she opened her business, she found it hard to avoid unpleasant elements.

She recalled when her nail salon had just opened. It had only been her at the salon, from ordering products to doing nails—it had all been her. At that time, she had just graduated beauty college; her skill then was far behind her skill now. She had, from time to time, made mistakes… Due to her customer traffic back then, she had thought that she might starve to death in a few months unless something changed.

During her most challenging time, she had held on, so shouldn"t she also continue be able to hold on right now?

She closed her eyes and suddenly felt her heart untighten significantly. I can do it. After I wake up, I"ll be a heroine!

Probably because she drank quite a bit of alcohol, she fell asleep very quickly. The next day at first light, she went to the salon and posted a recruitment poster on the gla.s.s door. She contacted her leaser that morning and did her very best to persuade him not to increase the rent. In the end, she was able to convince him to sign her for a two year lease—if the rent increased year by year, she might truly collapse.

When she had free time, she grabbed her apprentice and taught her more complicated, fancy skills. She wanted the apprentice to carry heavier responsibility more quickly. This way when a new nail artist joined, she could relax a bit more.

The day ended. Although Xia Wei was still as busy as before, her mood was better than it was several days ago. Things were finally developing in the right direction.

When she returned home in the evening, she received a voice message from Xia Ming Ming, asking her if the nail salon ran into some trouble. Xia Wei smiled and replied: 「I did run into a bit of trouble, but you can"t help.」

Xia Ming Ming: 「How can I help?! I can tell my female colleagues to all go to your nail salon and get manicures!」

Xia Wei: 「… By all means, don"t. Thanks, but I already have more work than I can deal with right now.」

Xia Ming Ming: 「…」  

Xia Wei: 「After I find a new nail artist, you can introduce them.」

Xia Ming Ming: 「Okay!」  

Xia Wei: 「How are things going at work?」

Xia Ming Ming: 「I think it"s going pretty good. The ambience here is very good. Plus, our Director He is especially handsome!」

Xia Wei: 「…」  

Xia Wei: 「Starlight General Merchandise should have a relatively high amount of female employees. If one of them looks suitable to your tastes, and if you"re brave enough, then just go chase after her. You"re not young anymore, after all.」

Xia Ming Ming: 「How come you"re acting like my mom; you should settle your own problem first! Last time when I brought that male colleague over, did you really not consider him?」

Xia Wei: 「I truly didn"t. I"m tired, going to go bathe and then sleep.」  

Xia Ming Ming: 「Oh…do you like someone?」

Xia Wei stared at this text blankly for a while. Do you like someone? Who could she like?

Xia Wei: 「I simply think that I"m so amazing, apart from myself, who can match with me? :)」

Xia Ming Ming: 「:)」  

Xia Wei exited the chat and actually carried her pajamas with her as she took a bath. Before she went to sleep, she conveniently checked her phone. The group chat had been relatively quiet these past two days. She a.s.sumed that everyone was probably busy. After all, everyone in this group was encountering calamities at the moment… When she finished scrolling through the chat history, she withdrew from the group chat and saw that guy she just added on QQ.

Jiang Zhi Zhou"s profile picture was that orange cat they fed. The picture should be one that he had taken himself, and the orange cat was photographed after his whiskers got snipped off… Xia Wei looked at those clearly asymmetric whiskers and couldn"t help but giggle.

If the orange cat knew that this photo was being used as a profile picture, would it get angry enough to scratch Mr. Jiang? She didn"t think Mr. Jiang had such…tendencies.

She clicked open a chat window to Jiang Zhi Zhou, stared at it for a moment, and closed it.

Did she have flaws? Xia Wei quirked her mouth and turned her phone to sleep mode, turning off the lamp as well.

?

Jiang Zhi Zhou intended to go to bed, but he suddenly received a call from his sister-in-law as he was about to go to sleep. Last time, after his blind dates with Fang Wan failed, he had already expressed quite clearly that he didn"t want to continue going on blind dates. His sister-in-law also didn"t introduce him to any more women. Now, she was calling him, but what for?

"Zhi Zhou, ah, you"re not asleep yet?"  his sister-in-law asked.

"Not yet, do you have a problem?"

"Mn, it"s like this…" His sister-in-law seemed to have something unpleasant to say. "Earlier, you had told me you didn"t want to go on another blind date for the time being, but I have this friend who I want to introduce to you. Her qualifications are very good. This time, I had carefully investigated her. She truly never had a boyfriend. Look, how about you meet her?"

Jiang Zhi Zhou wanted to decline at first, but he seemed to suddenly recall something. In the end, he voiced, "Okay, I want to see her picture first."

Hearing his approach soften, his sister-in-law also felt greatly relieved. "Ai, this is fitting. When meeting failure, you can only climb up and continue on. This time absolutely won"t play out like last time. This girl"s upbringing is very strict, and she is very obedient and pure. I"ll send over her picture and profile to you; take a look at it first."

"Mn."

Soon after Jiang Zhi Zhou hung up, he received an email from his sister-in-law. The girl in the photo didn"t appear to be very old, and it looked like she had just graduated university. With long black tresses and dressed in a white floral dress, she indeed looked very pure and innocent.

This kind of girl would certainly receive a lot of reception among men. Jiang Zhi Zhou examined her profile. She had studied at a famed school and had received a "rich young lady" type of education, such as flower arranging.

Looking at her background, he knew that her homelife was very strict.

Sister-in-law: 「Did you look at the profile? This girl is indeed pretty good. I have chatted with her several times, and she seems to be especially thoughtful and courteous. If you think it"s a possibility, I can help you two meet up?」  

Jiang Zhi Zhou: 「Okay.」  

?

Xia Wei"s recruitment had been posted online for three days, and, one after another, someone came to apply for the advertised position. Yet, this person would either look down on Xia Wei or look down on her small salon. Xia Wei"s posted wage for the opening was set at Xiao Qiu"s original entry wage. She had researched online; the other salons also had, more or less, similar wages, so she did not plan to increase it at all. Furthermore, she couldn"t afford to increase it again.

Luckily, her apprentice"s learning curve was relatively high, and she was also hardworking. These past two days, she gradually climbed up in skill. Xia Wei reckoned that her apprentice would soon be able to a.s.sume personal responsibility. Xia Wei was thus able to somewhat loosen the tension in her heart.

That afternoon, another nail artist came to apply for the position. She appeared to be pretty good and had experience working at a nail salon too. Xia Wei was very satisfied after looking over her CV. Moreover, the applicant accepted her entry wages. Xia Wei thought for a moment before showing the applicant a photo on her phone. "Can you do something like this?"

The applicant studied it for a moment before nodding, saying, "I can."

"That"s good; you can paint this on my nails. Just the nails on one hand; I"ll watch."

"Alright."

As the applicant painted Xia Wei"s nails, the little apprentice was watching from the side, treating this as if it were a lecture. Once a customer came, the little apprentice ran off to begin work.

Xia Wei observed the applicant from beginning to end. Her movements were very skilled; she looked experienced at this. She buffed the nails and clipped away dead skin without harming Xia Wei. Although the movements were swift, they were also very accurate. She finished painting the nails of one hand in approximately twenty minutes. Xia Wei examined the results, not bad.

"Your work is very good. Look over the contract again, and if there are no problems, we"ll sign it with due haste. When can you start work?"

"I can start today."

"That"s fantastic. It has just been us two for the past two days. We"ve been so busy, we haven"t been able to catch a breath of air." Possibly because Xiao Qiu"s resignation cast a shadow on Xia Wei, she deliberately emphasized, "I acknowledge that nail artists may have better options, but there must be one month"s notice for resignation. You cannot quit just because you say so. Otherwise, you will not be be given your last month"s wages."

"I understand. Everyone is an adult, and I have this sense of responsibility."

"If it"s like that, good. I"ll help you look for a set of tools and work clothes then."

"Okay."

When everything with the new nail artist was finalized, the large stone in Xia Wei"s heart dropped. She tore down the recruitment poster on the salon door and sighed deeply.

Her fortune had reversed; was it finally going to be over?

She sent Xia Ming Ming a text. She said that she had already recruited a new nail artist, so he could thus introduce his female colleagues to get their nails done. Afterward, she opened the group chat that had been quiet for a long time.

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「Comrades, I have recruited a new nail artist! Clap for me!」  

Invincible Little Sweetie: 「『clap』」  

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「『clap』」  

Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Someone clap for me, for I have spoken to other people. How come I haven"t seen you complaining about Mr. Jiang from downstairs in the group chat?『grin』」

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Hahahahahaha what you"re saying is true!」  

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「You roast me when I mention him and roast me when I don"t 『smile』 What do you want me to do『smile』」

Invincible Little Sweetie: 「『laughs up sleeve』」

Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「After I returned to China, I also went to eat at Tian Xia Restaurant and saw this Mr. Jiang.」

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Why on earth did you go to Tian Xia Restaurant to see him? He lives downstairs from your apartment 『picks nose』」

Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Oh, right! Hahahahahaha『grin』」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「…」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「You returned to China?」

Not Losing 5kg Not Changing Name: 「Mn, I didn"t want to stay over here orz. Talked with my parents, and they both didn"t want me to return『 goodbye』 I might not have parents anymore『smile』」

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「Hahaha my mom urges me to return home every day『smile』」

Invincible Little Sweetie: 「What about you, Xia Wei? Uncle and auntie have not mentioned about allowing you to come back?」  

Xia Wei blanked. Her parents had actually not mentioned this, but Tao Yu had suddenly brought it up that day.

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「Before, when I felt that my nail salon might not stay open, I had indeed thought about returning, but after…」

But after Mr. Jiang from downstairs treated her to alcohol and meat and discussed the problem with her, she suddenly felt that her mind had been broadened significantly.

However, she didn"t know why she really didn"t want to mention this to the group chat.

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「After what?」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「Afterwards, I relied on my astonis.h.i.+ng perseverance to hold on」

Eight Treasures Congee Female Hero: 「:)」

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「I have a client, can"t talk」

Xia Wei put away her phone just as a client sat down beside her.

?

The next day, Xia Ming Ming brought with him two female colleagues to get their nails done. He said that these two were the vanguard sent to try out her services. If she did their nails prettily, then even more people would be introduced to her salon. Xia Wei smiled helplessly, and when she saw that male colleague lingering behind Xia Ming Ming"s back, her smile became even more helpless.

That male colleague was the one who helped Xia Ming Ming move earlier, his roommate. This Xia Ming Ming, his matchmaker heart had not died.

She and the new nail artist each did the nails for a Starlight General Merchandise employee. Both of the ladies were very satisfied and happily allowed Xia Wei to take photos of the nail art. After the pressing business matter was concluded, Xia Ming Ming shamelessly approached and said that since he brought business to the salon, Xia Wei should treat him to a meal.

Naturally, he was bringing along his roommate.

His intentions were very clear to Xia Wei, so she used an excuse about how busy the salon was to refuse. She gave Xia Ming Ming five hundred yuan so that he could treat his roommate.

Xia Ming Ming, not particularly happy, left, but he didn"t forget to grab the five hundred yuan.

On the road, he texted Xia Wei. 「 There is no need for you to remain so distant to him!」

Xia Wei: 「There is no need for you to be such a resolute, determined pimp!」

Xia Ming Ming: 「…」  

When arguing, he was, like when he was younger, not Xia Wei"s match.

Xia Ming Ming: 「Forget about it. I won"t worry about you『smile』After your mother refuses to allow you to enter the family home, don"t come looking for me to introduce you to a guy『smile』」  

Xia Wei: 「If you have this ability, find yourself a girlfriend first」

Xia Ming Ming angrily threw his phone.

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After recruiting a new employee, Xia Wei was very relaxed. Her work schedule could also return to a nine o"clock closing time as well. She realized, upon emerging from the subway, that it was unexpectedly downpouring outside. Fortunately, she had packed an umbrella in her bag.

Opening her umbrella, a rainbow design bursted forth above her head. Xia Wei had intentionally chosen this umbrella because the interior design was one drawn of the sky once it cleared of rain. She felt that such an umbrella on a rainy day would greatly improve her mood thereafter.

The subway was quite a distance away from the salon, and only so much rain could be blocked by her umbrella. Her body was still somewhat drenched. Upon entering the salon, Xia Wei tidied herself first before starting to work. Because of the heavy rain, there were basically no customers that entire morning.

By noon, the morning rain had finally stopped. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, as the sky gradually turned blue.

"Wow, look, isn"t that a rainbow?!" The little apprentice suddenly pointed at the window, her voice pleasantly surprised.

Xia Wei approached to take a closer look, her eyes brightening as well. "It really is a rainbow!"

Rainbows weren"t considered to be rare, but seeing a rainbow always left people excited. Outside, quite a few people were already gathering, all taking photos of the rainbows with their phones. Xia Wei also moved closer to the bustling crowd and chose to take a photo of half the sky.

After adding a filter to the photo, she posted it on Moments. 「Every cloud has a silver lining.『rainbow』」   

She realized her Moments feed was already flooded with rainbows after she posted her update.

Xia Wei: "…"

A City people, have you all not seen such a worldly sight before?

Tao Yu: 「So beautiful」

Xia Wei replied to Tao Yu. 「『coquettish smile』」

A moment later, Xia Wei received a message in the chat window from Tao Yu. 「Has the matter about your nail salon been resolved?」  

Xia Wei: 「Mn, just recruited someone two days ago, so it can be considered over『thumbs-up』」  

Tao Yu: 「That"s good」  

The conversation came to an abrupt end. Xia Wei seemingly felt like she should say something, but she didn"t know what to say.

Tao Yu: 「『image』」

Tao Yu: 「Stray cats in the school; taken two days ago, very cute」

Xia Wei: 「Hahahaha, the cats are so small」

Xia Wei: 「『image』」

Xia Wei: 「This is our neighborhood"s stray cat」  

Tao Yu: 「Very chubby『smile-cry』」  

Xia Wei: 「Exactly, hahahahaha」  

Looking at the plump orange cat in the photo, she recalled that profile picture Jiang Zhi Zhou used.

Pfft. She couldn"t help but snicker, as she opened the chat window with Jiang Zhi Zhou. Although the two had mutually added each other as friends several days ago, they have not chatted since then. Xia Wei pondered for a while before sending him a message.

Asking For Suicide At Eighteen This Year: 「hi, Mr. Jiang, are you there? I recruited a nail artist for my salon, so I intend to eat hotpot in celebration. Last time, you treated me to alcohol and meat. This time, I"ll treat you to hotpot, okay? Are you free?」

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Author"s Note:

Entering VIP, 3-in-1; three chapters in one! Expressing thanks to all of you that support the official release!

Early tomorrow morning at 10:30, new update, muah~!

Expressing thanks to sponsors

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