Ever since he was little, the person Xia Yiyang admired most was his cousin, Jian Yun.
Jian Yun was eight years older than him. When he was still a snot-nosed kid running wild through the hutongs, she had already been admitted to a key middle school. By the time he followed in her footsteps and entered that same school, she had already packed her bags and gone abroad to study.
At every family gathering, the adults’ conversations always revolved around Jian Yun: what scholarship she’d won, which country she’d backpacked through, how after returning to China she’d joined a machinery manufacturing company with a total compensation package of xx million plus equity incentives… In short, she was a role model in every way, a legend through and through.
However, Xia Yiyang knew that his cousin’s life wasn’t just the version the adults talked about. Once, when she’d posted on her Moments and forgotten to exclude him, he discovered that Jian Yun was actually a fangirl!
Jian Yun would say she was going to the Northeast for business on the weekend—but actually fly straight to South Korea for a concert.
Jian Yun would say she was going to Shanghai for business on the weekend—but actually head straight to Hengdian to see her idol off after work.
Jian Yun would say she was going to Guangdong for business on the weekend—but actually go straight to Macau to buy limited-edition merchandise.
No matter how many countries she’d visited or how many offline events she’d attended over the weekend, she’d always be sitting at her desk, clocking in at 9 AM on Monday morning… Xia Yiyang once suspected that his cousin had a perpetual motion machine installed inside her.
This time, when Jian Yun said in the Imperial Relatives group chat that she was coming to Sichuan on business, Xia Yiyang said “welcome, welcome” on the surface, but immediately went online to do some digging. Sure enough, a singer she followed was holding a signing event in Rongcheng.
Delivering his admission letter was just a side quest.
Jian Yun sent a private message.
@Jian Yun: I arrive in Rongcheng Saturday morning and leave Sunday night. Saturday afternoon I have a signing event. Sunday morning I’m going to check out a few birthday cafes. Sunday afternoon I’ve got a hotpot meetup with fellow fans… I’ve done the math—I only have Saturday noon to see you. Is that okay?
@Yiyi: Sis, your schedule is busier than your idol’s! [Shocked][Shocked][Shocked]
Weekends were the busiest time at the ice jelly shop. It really wasn’t convenient for Xia Yiyang to ask for time off on Saturday noon.
@Yiyi: I’m busy Saturday noon. How about Saturday evening?
@Jian Yun: No can do, because I already have plans Saturday evening.
@Jian Yun: I heard there are some hot young guys in fishnets dancing on the bar counters at bars on Chunxi Road. I’ve made plans with fellow fans to go check it out. [Lecherous face]
@Yiyi: …
Xia Yiyang was too embarrassed to tell his cousin that when he’d been job-hunting, he’d almost had to dance in fishnets on a bar counter himself.
@Yiyi: Isn’t it unsafe for a few girls to go to a bar by yourselves?
@Jian Yun: Don’t worry, we’re going to a gay bar.
@Jian Yun: Those little bottoms don’t even have waists as thick as mine.
@Jian Yun: Besides, there are no tops in Rongcheng.
Xia Yiyang hadn’t expected his cousin to drop such audacious words so casually. He clutched his phone and screamed silently.
@Yiyi: Sis, that’s regional discrimination!
@Yiyi: Who says there are no tops in Rongcheng!
@Jian Yun: What, have you met one?
@Yiyi: …
The image of Sheng Lin immediately flashed through the teenager’s mind. His Brother Lin had looks, height, and presence—not to mention what he’d glimpsed through the bathroom door when he was showering… ahem ahem. Xia Yiyang quickly shook his head, tossing out all those impractical thoughts.
He couldn’t help but curse himself—Xia Yiyang, please get a grip! The only reason you chose to work at this ice jelly shop in the first place was because Sheng Lin looked so incredibly “straight” that there was no way he’d ever force you to dance in fishnets on the ice jelly counter!
Xia Yiyang wanted to negotiate with his cousin about adjusting the meeting time, but another new message from Jian Yun flew in.
@Jian Yun: Enough. I said when we meet, that’s when we meet.
@Jian Yun: Saturday noon, the coffee shop across from Building B, XX Convention Center.
@Jian Yun: Xia Yiyang, my word is an imperial edict. Understood? [Smile]
…
The washing machine finished its spin cycle. Sheng Lin took out the clothes and headed to the terrace to hang them up. The biggest advantage of this two-story building was its spacious, extra-wide terrace. Rongcheng had heavy humidity, and without this large terrace, clothes would be even harder to dry.
The clothes were all mixed together—some Sheng Lin’s, some Xia Yiyang’s.
When he’d first moved in, Xia Yiyang had insisted on washing his own clothes separately. But after hand-washing them twice, the young master found it too much trouble, and eventually just threw them in with Sheng Lin’s. He reasoned with a clear conscience: since the washing machine was tumbling them all together anyway, washing together saved water and electricity.
Just as Sheng Lin was hanging the laundry, he suddenly received a call from Qin Zaozao.
He wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear while continuing to hang clothes. “Hello?”
“Boss Sheng, I just landed you a huge order. How are you going to thank me?” Qin Zaozao’s voice came through, eager to take credit. “Saturday, Building B, XX Convention Center—300 portions of ice jelly. You just need to deliver them; nothing else to worry about.”
Sheng Lin was a bit surprised. “What kind of expo is this?”
“It’s not an expo—it’s a celebrity signing event!” Qin Zaozao said triumphantly. “I have a client who works in artist management. She comes to me for fortune-telling before every shoot, so we’ve gotten to know each other over time. Today, when she came for a reading, she mentioned that the singer from their company is holding a small signing event at the convention center on Saturday. The artist’s team wants to prepare some refreshments for the fans attending. Besides coffee and mini cakes, they also want to include something with Rongcheng local flavor—and I immediately thought of you!”
Sheng Lin’s ice jelly shop currently handled about three hundred orders a day, and on weekends it could reach four hundred. The order Qin Zaozao had brought in was almost equivalent to a full day’s worth of business for him.
Qin Zaozao forwarded the contact of the publicity assistant to Sheng Lin and urged him to get in touch right away.
Sheng Lin: “It’s already eleven o’clock. She’s definitely resting. I’ll contact her tomorrow.”
“In this line of work, they’re on call 24/7—there’s no such thing as rest,” Qin Zaozao said. “She often calls me at two in the morning to cast a fortune, asking me to ask the heavens whether she’s going to drop dead from exhaustion.”
“…” Sheng Lin thought, what a tough life. “I’ll transfer your cut of this order directly to you.”
“Don’t mention money, don’t mention money—talking about money is too vulgar.” Qin Zaozao said with an air of mystery. “Just have little Xia come by my place for a visit again sometime. We hit it off so well last time—hey, why’d you hang up?!”
Sheng Lin called the overworked publicity assistant, and sure enough, she hadn’t gone to bed yet. Sheng Lin quoted his price, and she readily agreed, saying she’d send over the contract tomorrow.
As he mentally calculated how much fruit he’d need to prepare for three hundred portions of ice jelly, Sheng Lin took down the already-dried clothes from the rack and folded them.
Carrying two stacks of clothes, he walked into the bedroom. In the eighteen-degree air-conditioned room, the teenager had wrapped himself in the quilt like a fluffy onigiri, tapping away at his phone.
“I’ve folded all the clothes,” the man said, raising the stack in his right hand. “Are you wearing these tomorrow, or should I put them in the closet?”
“How could you fold them for me—that’s so embarrassing!” Xia Yiyang’s mouth said “embarrassing,” but his commands to Sheng Lin showed no trace of embarrassment. “Hang them all up, please. Smooth them out for me, and also, the dehumidifier in the closet needs to be replaced.”
Truly lenient with himself and strict with others.
Sheng Lin opened the closet and hung up the teenager’s clothes one by one on the left side.
Ever since Xia Yiyang had moved into Sheng Lin’s room, all his belongings had come along with him. Sheng Lin didn’t have many clothes, and the closet left by the previous owner was quite large, so he’d simply given half the space to Xia Yiyang.
Behind the closet doors, their clothes hung neatly on separate sides. Sheng Lin’s side was mostly solid-colored sportswear, while Xia Yiyang’s side featured T-shirts and shorts in every color and print imaginable—from Star Wars to Pokémon trainer motifs—youthful and flamboyant.
After tidying the closet, Sheng Lin was about to tell Xia Yiyang about the big Saturday order when the teenager spoke up first.
“Brother Lin, could I take half a day off on Saturday?”
The boy jumped off the bed still wrapped in his quilt. He wasn’t wearing socks, and his bare white feet stood on the cold wooden floor, making him do a little tap dance as he spoke: “I can come back in the afternoon. I’m meeting someone for lunch.”
“Meeting someone for lunch?” Sheng Lin was genuinely surprised. He knew that Xia Yiyang had come to Rongcheng alone after the college entrance exams and didn’t know anyone in the city besides Vincent. This was the first time Xia Yiyang had mentioned someone coming to see him. “A friend?”
The boy shook his head. “No, my cousin. She’s coming from Beijing for a… cough, business trip.”
It was Xia Yiyang’s sister?
“Of course you can go, since you’re meeting family.” Sheng Lin felt a slight pang of regret—if it weren’t for the big order on Saturday, he would have liked to meet Xia Yiyang’s cousin.
The thought surfaced for only a second before he immediately realized it was “overstepping”—in what capacity would he accompany the boy to meet his family? As his boss who paid his salary, or as a friend who shared his bed?
Xia Yiyang didn’t notice the complex emotions flickering in Sheng Lin’s eyes. He pressed his palms together and apologized guiltily: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—I know Saturdays are our busiest days. I’ll hurry back as fast as I can!”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Sheng Lin bent down, picked up the slippers from the other side of the bed, and placed them at Xia Yiyang’s feet, signaling him to put them on. “I was just about to tell you—we’re not opening on Saturday.”
“Huh?”
“Qin Zaozao hooked me up with a big order. A corporate client ordered three hundred portions of ice jelly. We won’t open the shop that day—the aunties and I will go deliver the ice jelly together.”
Xia Yiyang’s eyes immediately lit up like stars. “Wow, such a big deal! Brother Qin’s connections are amazing!”
Hearing the admiration in the teenager’s voice, Sheng Lin felt inexplicably irritated.
He deliberately steered the conversation back to Xia Yiyang’s cousin: “Your cousin came to Rongcheng on business from Beijing—her company must be pretty good, right? Earlier you said your grades were too bad to get into college and your family wasn’t well-off, so you had to come out to work. Then why didn’t you ask your cousin to help you find a job instead of coming all the way to Rongcheng alone?”
Xia Yiyang instantly froze. “Ah, uh, that’s… a complicated question…”
“How complicated?” Sheng Lin could tell from the way his eyes were darting around that he hadn’t made up a story yet, and deliberately pressed further. “I’ve got plenty of time. You can take it slow—I’ll listen to everything.”
“Ahhh, Brother Lin, I suddenly feel so sleepy.” Xia Yiyang let out a painfully awkward yawn and stretched exaggeratedly. “I don’t think I’ve brushed my teeth yet. I’m going to go wash up now!”
With that, the boy threw off the quilt, slipped out of it like a cicada shedding its shell, and scurried right out from under Sheng Lin’s nose.
—Oh my god, he absolutely could not let his cousin and the boss meet, or his whole web of lies would fall apart!
————————
Little master, but your lies already fell apart a long time ago [pat pat] [pat pat]…
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