Ji Anning said, “No need, it’s just four stops away. I’ll take the bus.”
If Wen Yu could be so easily dismissed, he wouldn’t be Wen Yu. He said, “I’ll drive you, you’ll have to wait half an hour for the bus.”
“I have to go home first and warm up my grandmother’s food. It’s too much trouble. You go ahead, don’t worry about me,” Ji Anning replied.
Wen Yu raised his chin across the road and said, “Isn’t it just the apartment building? It’s alright, I’ll wait for you.”
Ji Anning knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop Wen Yu if he wanted to do something. She fell silent for a moment and then said, “Okay, you can wait then.”
After speaking, Ji Anning walked across the zebra crossing from behind Wen Yu’s car.
Wen Yu smiled and extinguished his cigarette.
Since ancient times, strong women were afraid of persistent men. Ji Anning seemed a bit stubborn and had some traits of a strong woman, but how far could a girl of her age really be strong? Clothes, cosmetics, handbags, fancy cars, entertainment venues… could easily corrupt them.
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Eld Zw bye plld kv yzz.
Tl oydvle vs pll bso zsdt Kk Gddkdt nswze bsze swv.
Tl piwkdvle bkp lulp yde oyvnble yp Kk Gddkdt naspple vbl asye. Tla nzsvblp olal vktbv-qkvvkdt, yde bla cseu’p nwahlp olal zkjl vbspl sq y tkaz eayod kd y nsxkn cssj. G pxyzz oykpv, vbkd ldswtb vs eydnl kd vbl ryzx sq bkp byde.
Wsa vbl eyu obld pbl eydnle kd bkp ryzx, bl nswze vszlayvl Kk Gddkdt’p yqqlnvyvksdp, qyjl kddsnldnl, yde ralvldplp.
Ebyv kdvlalpvkdt yde dsczl pswzp? Rv oyp vbl awpb sq bsaxsdlp vbyv oyp vbl rakxyau eakhkdt qsanl qsa xld vs nbypl yqvla osxld.
Eld Zw qszzsole yde alnstdkgle Kk Gddkdt’p alpkeldnl, cwv Kk Gddkdt eked’v zlv bkx ts wrpvykap.
“Mbl bswpl kp xlppu yde kdnsdhldkldv,” pbl pyke.
Eld Zw eked’v xkde: “Zsw ts yblye, R’zz oykv qsa usw esodpvykap.” Tl zkv ydsvbla nktyalvvl.
Ji Anning ran upstairs, took out the key and unlocked the door. As soon as she entered the house, she smelled something unpleasant. She knew that her grandmother did not flushed the toilet again.
“Grandma, I’m back,” she greeted her grandmother who was watching TV and rushed to the bathroom to flush the toilet.
On the wall above the toilet tank, she had even written “Flush the toilet” on a piece of white paper, but it didn’t work. It had worked when she was in high school, but now her grandmother’s cognitive abilities had greatly declined.
The fact that her grandmother could still eat by herself and go to the bathroom by herself, Ji Anning was already grateful.
Ji Anning quickly washed her hands, unlocked the kitchen’s padlock, reheated the dinner in the lunchbox for her grandmother and told her: “Eat when you’re hungry.”
Grandma smiled: “I’ll cook for you later. Today we’ll have stewed pork bones.”
She remembered how they used to stew pork bones in the past. How long had it been since they had it? Ji Anning’s nose felt a bit sour.
“Okay, I’ll buy pork bones for you later,” she gently kissed her grandmother’s forehead and locked the kitchen again, then quickly ran downstairs.
Wen Yu was biting his cigarette and playing games on his phone. He was a bit surprised to see her come down so quickly: “Wow, that was fast. Is cooking dinner that quick?”
“What was made in the morning can be heated up later. My grandmother prefers to eat food that’s not cold as it’s not good for her stomach,” she explained.
“Why not just get food from the cafeteria?” Wen Yu asked as they walked.
The school cafeteria was subsidized and the prices were actually very cheap. If Ji Anning got food directly from the cafeteria and brought it back, her grandmother could have had something hot to eat. It would have been fresher than what she had made early in the morning, right?
“My grandmother has several illnesses,” Ji Anning said. “Her diet needs to be strictly controlled. The cafeteria food is too oily and salty for her.”
“You’re moving slowly,” Wen Yu said, changing his tone. “Just heat it up in the microwave for two minutes, and it’ll be done.”
The evening sun was so bright that Ji Anning had to shield her eyes with her hand. “We don’t have a microwave,” she said nonchalantly.
“Huh?”
“We don’t have a microwave at home,” Ji Anning said.
When she was in Yushan City, she actually had an old microwave that her neighbor gave her. But later, when she came to the provincial capital to study, she couldn’t bring the microwave with her.
As for why she didn’t buy one when she got here, Wen Yu wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t understand the value of money. He realized immediately that Ji Anning was reluctant to spend the money.
They walked shoulder to shoulder out of the courtyard, watching as the evening sun bathed Ji Anning’s slender neck in a rosy glow, feeling a mix of emotions.
How could they be so poor?
It was really just a short drive from the school to Guangming Road.
“It’s over there. That coffee shop,” Ji Anning pointed to it. “You can park there. Don’t take any pictures at the door.”
The Hummer stopped on the side of the road, and Ji Anning thanked him before saying, “You should head home early. Traffic is going to be bad later.”
After speaking, she prepared to open the car door and get out.
But Wen Yu grabbed her arm and asked, “Have you had dinner yet?”
“Our manager takes care of my dinner,” Ji Anning replied as she struggled to pull her arm out of Wen Yu’s grip.
She pursed her lips and spoke up, “Wen Yu, in the future, let’s talk without any physical contact.”
Wen Yu grinned mischievously and said, “Aren’t we friends? We can’t even touch each other now?”
Ji Anning knew he was being sarcastic, and she replied with a straight face, “Friends shouldn’t be touching each other intimately either.”
Wen Yu stepped back with a smile on his face and raised both hands as if to say, “Okay, okay, you’re right.”
Ji Anning gave him a sideways glance and opened the car door.
Wen Yu, who just as she agreed not to touch each other, grabbed her again.
She glared at him, and he let go, asking, “What time do you finish work? I’ll pick you up.”
Ji Anning said, “No need,” but Wen Yu insisted, “We’re friends. Don’t be so polite.”
Ji Anning held back and said, “I have another part-time job tonight.” It was Friday today.
Wen Yu was taken aback and finally dropped his playful demeanor, raising an eyebrow and asking, “Why are there more jobs? What are you doing and where?”
“At the bar street on South Bridge Road,” Ji Anning said calmly. “There’s a bus that goes straight back to school. You don’t have to worry about me.”
But the issue wasn’t about transportation.
Wen Yu furrowed his brows and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Selling alcohol,” Ji Anning said calmly.
As expected, Wen Yu’s gaze visibly cooled down as he looked at Ji Anning.
“Selling alcohol is just selling alcohol,” Ji Anning calmly explained, “there’s nothing more to it.”
She understood Wen Yu’s thoughts, and of course, this was also the thinking of most people.
They all felt that selling alcohol in a bar was not respectable. They thought that supermarket promotions and handing out flyers on the street were more noble and pure than selling alcohol.
But in reality, which respectable girl would be willing to work hard to sell alcohol and make money? Standing in high heels all night, smiling until her face was stiff, and constantly vigilant of the possibility of lewd hands, she couldn’t relax for a moment.
Wen Yu looked at the distant view outside the windscreen for a few seconds, then turned back and said, “Think again about being my girlfriend.”
He put aside his sarcasm, ridicule, and joking, and made a serious proposal again.
He also said, “Take your time to think about it and reply to me later.”
But Ji Anning didn’t need to, and she rejected Wen Yu for the second time.
Wen Yu frowned.
In her past life, Ji Anning would never have told Wen Yu what was on her mind. But in this life, things were different, and Ji Anning felt that she should communicate with Wen Yu calmly and rationally.
“Wen Yu, I’m poor,” Ji Anning said softly, feeling a bit bitter in her heart. “I don’t have much, but being self-reliant is the most precious thing I have.”
When she was in junior high school, her biological father took away the family’s house and savings and disappeared. Life became difficult after that. Fortunately, her grandmother took care of her, provided for her, and protected her.
Later, when Grandma’s body and mind were both failing, she stood up to take care of her, feed her, and watch over her. The heavy burden of life can bend and break a person’s spine. It was really difficult for her, who was weak and frail. But she has not been bent down by the pressure until now, relying solely on the four words “self-reliance” to support and carry herself.
Thousands of dollars can’t replace it. It’s priceless.
Wen Yu’s gaze passed through the car window and watched Ji Anning disappear into the coffee shop. He withdrew his gaze, lit a cigarette, and felt a little inexplicably annoyed.
His phone rang, and some friends called, “Where are you? It’s the weekend, let’s go out and have fun!”
Wen Yu found out where to eat and agreed to go immediately. But after hanging up the phone, he didn’t move, sitting in the car smoking. It wasn’t until he finished the cigarette that he glanced at the coffee shop and sneered, “What a fool.”
He turned on the headlights, shifted gears, and started driving.
There were more people than usual on the weekend. The coffee shop where Shu Chen worked usually had more male customers, especially today.
There were seven or eight who wanted her phone number, three or four who left their phone numbers, and even two who left small gifts for Ji Anning before running away – otaku.
“Hahaha.” The shameless shop owner laughed, “I understand them.”
Like them, who are obsessed with second-dimensional things 12d – cartoons, illustrations, seeing a second-dimensional girl come to life in the third dimension 23d – a real person is really exciting.
Ji Anning rolled her eyes and hands all the gifts to Shu Chen: “Here, I’ll give them all to you. I won’t accept them. Next time you see them, you better give the gifts back to them. Alright, I should go off work now.”
“Anning–” Shu Chen calls out to her and asks a bit hesitantly, “Do you want to grab a late-night snack?”
After saying this, afraid that she might think he was asking the kitchen to prepare a late-night snack, he quickly adds, “Uh, I mean… go out to eat.”
Seeing him nervous and even blushing, Ji Anning can’t help but purse her lips and smile. Compared to Wen Yu, who can say shameless things without changing his expression, Shu Chen is simply like a three-dimensional cartoon doll, cute and innocent.
“No, I still have to go to South Bridge Road.” Ji Anning firmly refuses.
Shu Chen is a bit disappointed and casually asks, “Are you going out with friends?”
“No, I have a part-time job over there.” Ji Anning explains.
Shu Chen is slightly stunned and asks, “Is it the bar street?” The most famous place on South Bridge Road is the bar street, and there are many love hotels nearby.
Ji Anning calmly confirms, “Yes, I sell liquor there.”
Shu Chen’s lips move, but he hesitates and doesn’t say anything. Even if he means well, not everyone is as domineering and strong-willed as Wen Yu and wants to interfere with other people’s affairs.
Perhaps it takes a certain level of familiarity to speak up. But from Shu Chen’s perspective, Ji Anning has only been working here for less than a week, and even if he wants to get to know her better, the time is not enough to start.
However, Ji Anning is already familiar with him and knows what he’s worried about. She smiles and says, “It’s NL, a very large bar, and the management is very strict, so it’s quite safe.”
Shu Chen has been to NL and knows that the store is very large and has tight security, which puts his mind at ease.
After thinking about it, he says, “I already told my mom about the tutoring job, and she’s looking into it.”
Although he would be scared by Wen Yu’s tough attitude, he really is a very gentle and thoughtful person. Ji Anning smiles and says, “Thank you, Manager. You’re the best.”
As she leaves and the door shakes slightly, the gentle manager who received a good person card is still immersed in her smile.
Really…
“So kawaii 3cute…” the second-dimensional man says emotionally.
Sansukini: Awww… I really like Shu Chen. I wanna ship him with Anning, except that he won’t be able to protect her.
Regarding Anning’s part-time jobs, “there’s no smoke without fire”. Her ultimate goal is to earn a lot of money because she needs to support her grandma, and so she chose these dubious jobs because they pay really well. Although she didn’t really do what they accused her of doing, she’s still partly responsible for the rumors circulating about her. She’ll quit these jobs and find better ones.
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)
I don’t understand why people say that selling alcohol is bad. You go out to drink alcohol right ? Then you need someone to sell it to you. . what is wrong with that ? 😑
It’s because she’s a wine girl. Some wine girls sell more than wine. And some, to be able to sell the wine, you have to flirt with the customer, you know.
That’s true. Sigh what a shady world 😮💨
Aww, darling wen yu is getting on my nerves again 😃
Thank you for the chapter
Thank you dear Sansukini, without your assurance in the end of each chapter maybe I will be heartbroken.
Awww… this novel is not a tragedy, it has a very happy ending. Thanks for reading.