When Xia Yiyang walked out of the police station, he’d cried so much his eyes were red and swollen in a most undignified way.
It was a rare sunny day in Rongcheng, so hot even the dogs were panting with their tongues out. An auntie walked past him leading her toy poodle, and both woman and dog gave this tear-streaked, handsome young man a curious look.
“Xiao Xia, we’ve recorded all your information,” the young officer who’d escorted him out patted his shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll notify you immediately if there’s any progress.”
“Officer, wuuuuu… that was all my saved pocket money… can you really get it back? You have to catch the bad guys!” Xia Yiyang sniffled heavily. He’d been crying since yesterday, and the tissues he’d used could fill an entire plastic bag. He’d blown his nose so hard that the skin around it was nearly rubbed raw.
Xia Yiyang was a rather handsome boy—fair-skinned, big-eyed, with a slightly upturned nose and still some baby fat on his cheeks. When he talked to people, he’d look them straight in the eye and listen attentively.
In the local dialect, Xia Yiyang looked really “good” (乖).
This good, good boy had done exactly two rebellious things in his life. The first was applying to Rongcheng University, a thousand miles away from Beijing, against all the pressure from his family. The second was, after the college entrance exams, taking all eighteen years’ worth of his saved pocket money and running off on a spontaneous trip without telling anyone first.
He was bold—he’d planned to arrive in Sichuan Province during the summer break before university started, and use the provincial capital Rongcheng as his base to visit every tourist spot in the surrounding area. After all, once college started, he’d never have such a long, uninterrupted stretch of time to travel again.
He held out until the high-speed train arrived at the station before turning on his phone, and sure enough, his parents had blown it up with calls. His father chewed him out over the phone, and his mother cried in worry. But no matter how much they scolded or wept, Xia Yiyang didn’t waver.
Xia Yiyang had always been well-protected by his family. His friends often teased him for being “a young master who doesn’t know the hardships of the world.” This time, Xia Yiyang was going to prove with his own actions—that even a young master could have a rebellious phase!
And what happened?
On his third day in Rongcheng, the rebellious young master got scammed out of all his money via telecom fraud. 🙂
It was a classic scam—the scammer sent him a text saying his flight had been changed, and to log into a certain website to enter his account and password…
Poof! And just like a magic trick, Xia Yiyang’s bank account was empty.
By the time he realized what had happened and filed a police report, it was too late.
Now, Xia Yiyang was completely broke—between WeChat and Alipay, he had less than 500 yuan combined. The good news was that his hotel in Rongcheng was prepaid, so he could stay another three days. The bad news was that after three days, he’d be out on the streets.
The young officer couldn’t bear to watch him cry so hard he couldn’t catch his breath, and tried to console him: “You’re not from around here, and you’re so young—why are you traveling alone in Rongcheng? In a situation like this, you should still tell your parents so they don’t worry.”
“No, no, absolutely not!” Xia Yiyang shook his head frantically. “If my parents find out I got scammed three days after arriving, they’ll fly over and drag me back home. I won’t be allowed to step outside the neighborhood all summer!”
He grabbed the young officer’s hand and, before he could even say a few words, started crying again: “Officer, you have to get justice for me!”
The young officer: “…”
He said: “First, we’ll definitely do our best to help you. Second, I haven’t even graduated from the police academy yet—I’m just an intern. I’m not much older than you. Can you please stop calling me ‘uncle’?”
“Oh.” Xia Yiyang said awkwardly, “Sorry, I’m just used to saying ‘police uncle’—that’s how the nursery rhymes go since elementary school, after all.”
The young officer: “The nursery rhyme also says ‘pick up a penny on the road,’ but now you can’t even buy a popsicle with one yuan.”
Xia Yiyang did the math—he couldn’t even buy 500 popsicles with what he had now. He felt even worse.
…
After leaving the police station, Xia Yiyang went back to the hotel and slept hard. When he woke up, his eyes were swollen into slits.
He didn’t feel like eating at all, but worried his body might give out, he casually opened a delivery app and ordered a bowl of wontons in chili oil.
But the wontons were so delicious they whetted his appetite, and he couldn’t resist ordering some Rongcheng-style barbecue (important note: first time trying grilled pig brain—absolutely divine!);
After the skewers, he was a little thirsty and saw a Houttuynia (fish mint) milk tea. Out of curiosity, he ordered one, took two sips, and immediately questioned his life choices—his brows furrowed so hard they could tie a knot;
He couldn’t finish the drink and didn’t want to waste it, so he scrolled through the app again and ordered a bowl of brown sugar ice jelly. Luckily, the ice jelly wasn’t a letdown—sweet and cool, with plenty of fresh fruit on top that made him smile with delight.
Well, another hundred yuan gone from WeChat.
—This couldn’t go on!
Xia Yiyang sternly berated himself for three whole minutes. He’d just been scammed out of all his money, and yet he’d eaten so well… But there was no helping it—Rongcheng was just too delicious… Still, he shouldn’t have eaten that much… Sigh, it was all that chili-oil wonton’s fault for starting it!
He sprang up from the hotel bed, washed his face, and decided to find a way to save himself.
With empty pockets, asking his parents for money would only worry them, and borrowing from friends would only make him a laughingstock.
After all, he was an eighteen-year-old adult now, not a seventeen-year-old baby. If he ran to others for help at the slightest sign of trouble, when would he ever grow up?
But the problem was… if he wanted to keep his solo travel dream alive, where would the money come from?
Delivery driver? He was an outsider—completely unfamiliar with every street and alley in Rongcheng.
Manual labor? He’d seen those “stick-shoulder” porters online before—oh wait, that wasn’t Rongcheng, that was the neighboring mountain city.
Game booster, carrying people to higher ranks? Uh, he opened his phone and checked his Honor of Kings rank—it was a tragic sight. He was terrible. That idea died immediately.
After racking his brain, his only option was to look for offline part-time work.
He had to find a job within three days. Ideally, one that provided food and housing, wasn’t too tiring, and paid him a ton of money!
Woo-hoo—the young master was heading out to find a job!
…
Reality was far harsher than his imagination. Xia Yiyang hadn’t expected job hunting to be full of pitfalls.
He was smart enough to start with chain stores—McDonald’s, KFC, Luckin, Mixue Bingcheng—thinking at least they wouldn’t stiff him on wages. But those jobs were snapped up by everyone. Summer part-time positions were already filled; they didn’t need him.
So he lowered his expectations and decided to dress up in a mascot costume and hand out flyers on the street—decent hourly pay, paid daily. Unfortunately, the costume reeked of body odor. He couldn’t last ten minutes without wanting to throw up, and the shop owner mocked him: “No wonder you’re from Beijing—can’t handle a bit of hardship.” His face flushed red with anger, but he couldn’t find a single word to retort.
Desperate, he spotted a bar hiring waitstaff and mustered up the courage to apply.
The owner’s lashes fluttered like little fans, and her super-long acrylic nails somehow found their way to his thigh: “With your looks, wouldn’t it be a waste to just be a waiter? … Our place is actually short on KPOP dancers. What, you can’t dance? No worries—just wear shorts and thigh-highs and stand on the bar counter shaking your butt to the music… Little bro, don’t be shy—this is Rongcheng. The moment I saw you, I knew you were one of us!”
Xia Yiyang kicked the owner between the legs and fled in terror.
He’d spent a whole day job hunting, earned nothing, and almost got groped. The confidence he’d left the hotel with was now completely deflated. He wilted like a withered morning glory, unable to lift his head.
Sigh. He hadn’t even started college yet, and he was already getting a taste of how hard it was for graduates to find work.
He didn’t want to go back to the hotel. He didn’t want this failed day to end so meaninglessly. But… where else could he go?
Xia Yiyang hopped onto a random bus and let it take him wherever it went. Whether it was fate or just coincidence, the bus’s final stop turned out to be Rongcheng University.
Rongcheng University—his future alma mater.
As the most famous 985 university in the province, even during summer break, visitors kept pouring in. The food street outside the school gate was packed with people, bustling with business all year round.
The aroma of street food filled the air—egg waffles, noodles, sweet-skinned duck, spicy rabbit heads, crispy potatoes, and cold skewers in spicy broth… all making Xia Yiyang’s stomach growl with hunger.
No, no, no.
Xia Yiyang pressed a hand to his rumbling stomach and warned himself not to eat anymore. He was here to work and study, not to splurge!
But his feet seemed to have a mind of their own, carrying him into an ice jelly shop at the entrance of an alley.
The shop wasn’t large—spotlessly clean, with eight tables neatly arranged and the tiled floor shining bright. Handwritten menus and the shop’s name hung on the walls in calligraphy, giving it a nostalgic feel.
…Midsummer Ice Jelly?
Wait, if he remembered correctly, the ice jelly he’d ordered for delivery today was from this very shop.
Inside, two quick-handed aunties were attending to customers.
They were of medium height, slightly plump, and looked very warm and friendly. When they saw Xia Yiyang walk in, they enthusiastically asked what he wanted.
Xia Yiyang stared at the dazzling array of toppings behind the counter—fresh-cut fruit, buckets of ice cream, crystal-clear ice jelly and herbal jelly… he couldn’t help swallowing.
“Auntie, how much for a bowl of brown sugar ice jelly?” He thought of the meager balance left in his WeChat wallet and tried to sound composed. “The plainest kind—no ice cream, no coconut milk.”
“Six yuan.” The auntie may or may not have noticed his empty pockets, but she filled a generous bowl with ice jelly, added crushed ice, topped it with fruit, melon seeds, and raisins, and finished with a generous drizzle of brown sugar.
When Xia Yiyang took it, the weight made his wrist dip—he nearly spilled it.
He carried his ice jelly to a seat and ate slowly, savoring every bite. This bowl of ice jelly… might be the last dessert he’d have for the next month. Starting today, he’d be eating plain steamed buns with pickled vegetables every day—enduring hardship to appreciate the sweet!
As he ate, his eyes couldn’t help but dart around.
The shop had a great location—right at the entrance of the food street outside Rongcheng University. Customers streamed in and out without pause. The two aunties—one handling payments, the other scooping ice jelly—were run off their feet, with no time to clear the disposable bowls from the tables. Though each table had a little sign asking customers to toss their own trash in the bins, some people just pretended not to see it.
Xia Yiyang watched as a family of three walked in. The father was carrying their child, and the mother took one look around—spotting a few leftover disposable bowls on the last empty table—and immediately said, “Let’s not eat here. There are plenty of other ice jelly shops on this street.”
The father hesitated: “But I saw reviews online saying this place has the best flavor…”
The mother: “We adults can eat at dingy little hole-in-the-walls, but we have the kid with us now. This place is just too messy.”
Seeing them about to leave, Xia Yiyang didn’t know where he found the courage, but he suddenly stood up, walked over to that empty table, quickly stacked the dirty bowls together, and tossed them into the nearby trash bin.
“P-please, have a seat!” He’d never spoken so loudly before. “This place is really good—you’d regret it if you missed out!”
He’d never done anything so bold before. His face was burning red, about to explode.
Whether it was because of his youthful, earnest face or his initiative, the couple exchanged a glance and actually sat down.
By the time the wave of customers had thinned out, Xia Yiyang had lost count of how many bowls he’d cleared.
The two aunties had also noticed him bustling about and quickly called out: “Aiyo, you’re a guest—how can we let you help like this?”
“Actually… actually, I don’t have to be a customer.” Xia Yiyang hid his hands behind his back, fists clenched tight, and stammered: “Aunties, your shop is so busy—do you need another pair of hands? Washing dishes, sweeping floors, taking out the trash—I’m willing to do anything!”
To his surprise, the two aunties exchanged a look: “We can’t decide that—you’ll have to ask our boss!”
In the local dialect, “boss” was pronounced with a rhotic ending. Who said only Beijingers talked with a retroflex accent? Rongcheng people did it too!
“Kid, sit down and eat first. Our boss went out to stock up—he’ll be back in a bit.” The auntie warmly served Xia Yiyang another giant bowl of ice jelly… no, an iceberg!
Xia Yiyang pretended to decline three times, then dug in with gusto.
He thought to himself: even if the boss turned him down, at least he’d gotten a free meal!
Just then, the sound of brakes screeched at the shop entrance. Xia Yiyang looked up from his mountain of ice jelly and saw a sleek, cool motorcycle parked at the door.
Two large storage boxes hung on either side of the bike, stuffed full. Despite the scorching heat, the rider wore a sleek black leather jacket that hugged his tall, athletic frame tightly.
When the aunties saw him, they immediately wiped their hands clean and went out to greet him. They said something, then turned and pointed at Xia Yiyang sitting inside.
Xia Yiyang felt inexplicably nervous. His hand trembled, and the piece of mango on his spoon slipped and fell back into the ice jelly.
Soon, the rider walked into the shop and stopped in front of Xia Yiyang’s table. The black helmet hid his expression. He was extremely tall, looming over Xia Yiyang, and under his gaze, Xia Yiyang nervously swallowed.
Xia Yiyang had originally assumed that the owner of such an affordable, sweet little dessert shop would be a kind-hearted, beautiful woman. He never expected it to be such a tall, imposing young man!
Should he greet him first, or wait for the boss to speak? Should he introduce himself? Would it be rude to ask about employee housing right away? The boss looked like he could do the work of three people—maybe he wouldn’t even need him!!!
Just as Xia Yiyang’s thoughts were spiraling, the rider finally made a move—
—The young man took off his helmet, revealing a sharply defined face.
His hair was cropped very short, his features rugged, and with his tanned skin and commanding gaze, he looked anything but approachable.
Xia Yiyang: “!!!”
Wait, no—this is really the boss, and not some thug here to cause trouble?
TOC | More chapters later
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