Xia Yiyang lent Wen Sen all the cash he had on him—just ninety-two yuan.
The next evening, Wen Sen not only paid him back, but also stuffed some skewers from his late-night meal into his hands.
The money Wen Sen returned was all in small bills—the largest was only a twenty—every bit of it hard-earned from busking.
“I never owe anyone money!” The blond young man puffed out his chest. “When you’re out in the world, reputation matters most!”
Xia Yiyang clutched the handful of crumpled bills, his face flushing slightly—he’d actually doubted for a second that his friend wouldn’t pay him back. He’d been thinking way too badly of people!
Another day passed, and Wen Sen came to borrow money again. This time he asked for 280 yuan, saying he needed to replace his guitar strings and adjust the neck. Xia Yiyang hadn’t touched the 200 yuan he’d saved from his first week of work, so together with the cash he had on hand, he lent it to Wen Sen once more.
This time, Wen Sen took two days to pay him back—but he returned a full 300 yuan, three crisp pink hundred-yuan bills.
Xia Yiyang quickly said: “You gave me too much.”
“Keep it. Ran into a generous customer today, and I couldn’t be bothered to break it into smaller bills.” Wen Sen tilted his chin up at him. “Use the extra to buy yourself a pack of cigarettes.”
Xia Yiyang reminded him: “I don’t smoke.”
Wen Sen: “Tsk, almost forgot—you’re a good little boy.”
Xia Yiyang didn’t like that: “That’s got nothing to do with being good or not. Smoking is bad for your health.”
“I think you’re just too young.” Wen Sen said in his usual flippant tone. “What man doesn’t smoke? Only little kids like you see smoking as some kind of monster. It’s a symbol of manhood! If you want to be mature, you’ve gotta learn to smoke first.”
Really?
Did a boy have to learn to smoke in order to become a man?
Xia Yiyang thought back carefully.
A few of his male high school teachers were indeed heavy smokers—their fingers were stained yellow from cigarettes. Sometimes when he went to the office to hand in homework and stood too close, the smell of their breath was enough to make him sick.
His male relatives also seemed to smoke to some degree. His father never smoked or drank at home, but when he was out entertaining clients, he wouldn’t refuse if someone offered him a cigarette or a drink.
As for his friends and classmates… as far as he knew, there were indeed boys in his grade who secretly smoked. Even though they were in a key school and key classes, it was hard to avoid.
Xia Yiyang genuinely didn’t understand what was so great about cigarettes. Since when did smoking count as maturity? All it got you was a set of yellow teeth.
His mind was wandering all over the place, and he was distracted during his shift that day.
“Xiao Xia? Xiao Xia?” Auntie Zhao called his name several times. When he didn’t respond, she reached over and tapped his shoulder. “We’re almost out of turtle jelly. Go check the kitchen and see if there’s any left.”
Xia Yiyang snapped out of it with a startled “Ah.”
Auntie Li: “What’s got you so spacey today, kid? What are you thinking about?”
Without thinking, Xia Yiyang blurted out: “I was thinking about smoking…”
That one sentence set off a hornet’s nest. The two aunties acted as if they’d just heard their own beloved grandchild announce he was going down the wrong path. They immediately dropped what they were doing and crowded around Xia Yiyang with stern faces.
When Sheng Lin walked out of the back kitchen, he walked right into the scene of Xia Yiyang being besieged by the aunties.
“What’s going on?” Sheng Lin set down the turtle jelly he’d been restocking and asked.
At the sound of his voice, Xia Yiyang immediately shot him a pleading look: “Boss, save me!”
Auntie Li, always quick with her words, said indignantly: “This kid’s not learning his lesson! He hasn’t even grown all his feathers yet and he wants to learn how to smoke!”
Auntie Zhao chimed in: “If a kid says he ‘needs to take a dump,’ you can bet he’s already got it in his pants! Boss, you should search his pockets—there’s probably cigarettes hidden in there.”
“…” Sheng Lin was momentarily speechless. “Auntie Zhao, the logic may be sound, but couldn’t you have phrased that a little less… vividly?”
Xia Yiyang felt wronged to the core: “I really don’t smoke! I was just thinking about it.”
Both aunties said in unison: “Thinking about it is not allowed either!! What’s so great about being a stinky chimney? Look at our boss—he never smokes.”
Oh, right. Xia Yiyang suddenly realized that in the half-month he’d been working here, he’d never once seen Sheng Lin touch a cigarette. The owners of the neighboring shops often squatted at their doorways, smoking and chatting, but Sheng Lin never joined in. And if any customer tried to light up inside the shop, Sheng Lin would step in to stop them immediately.
Was it because Sheng Lin wasn’t mature enough? Or because he wasn’t manly enough?
Of course neither was true.
He was restrained and steady, rarely showing his emotions. Though he was only five years older than Xia Yiyang, Xia Yiyang always felt he was incredibly mature.
Sheng Lin asked him: “Why did you suddenly start thinking about smoking? Did someone mention it to you? Was it that ‘friend’ who picked you up from work before?”
Xia Yiyang thought to himself, the boss really is pretty sharp.
“Wen Sen was just joking with me. He said I’m too well-behaved, still like a kid, and that only smoking could make me seem like a man.”
But Sheng Lin didn’t see it as a joke. He asked: “This guy Wen Sen—how did you meet him, and how long have you known him?”
“He’s my roommate—we live together.” Xia Yiyang answered obediently. “I’ve known him for about half a month.”
“Only half a month?” Sheng Lin’s brows knitted together. Though he’d only seen Wen Sen twice, he had a very bad feeling about him—not because of his appearance, but because his whole vibe was just… off.
He really wanted to tell Xia Yiyang to stay away from that punk. But Sheng Lin knew that Xia Yiyang only looked obedient—he actually had a mind of his own. This delayed rebellious phase had made the young master completely unrestrained, and if Sheng Lin tried to forcefully stop them from seeing each other, it would only backfire.
In the end, all Sheng Lin could do was warn him: “Don’t be so naive. You’ve only known the guy for half a month, and you already do whatever he says.”
Xia Yiyang bristled at that: “But I’ve only known you for half a month too! So I shouldn’t listen to you either.”
Sheng Lin let out an exasperated laugh: “At least I wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Yeah, right—you only exploit me, oppress me, make me wake up every day and knead ice jelly, peel mangoes, and cut watermelon.” The boy accused. “I’m your little slave, and you’re the heartless plantation owner.”
Sheng Lin: “If you were really my little slave, I’d punish you by making you skip dinner tonight.”
“I still need to eat! Three bowls’ worth!” Xia Yiyang immediately changed his tune, doing a complete one-eighty and saying with obsequious flattery, “If the little slave doesn’t eat enough, how can he keep kneading ice jelly for his great plantation owner?”
“…” Sheng Lin really didn’t know what to do with him—the little guy’s cleverness was all reserved for mealtime. Skipping even one meal was more painful to him than death.
Before meeting Xia Yiyang, Sheng Lin had thought his cooking was just average—nothing more than home-style fare. But somehow, the food he made was exactly to the young master’s taste. Xia Yiyang always asked for at least one extra serving of rice and would clean every dish completely.
Every time Sheng Lin saw that contented expression on Xia Yiyang’s face after a meal, his sense of accomplishment would quietly rise.
Even though the shop was so busy, he always made a point of varying the dishes, sometimes even going to the trouble of preparing elaborate “special occasion” meals.
Even the aunties had noticed that ever since Xia Yiyang started working there, the quality of the staff meals had improved significantly.
Sheng Lin even considered whether he should put his professional skills to use and build a cooking robot, so that when he was too busy to cook, Xia Yiyang wouldn’t have to go hungry.
Tonight’s dinner was a pot of pickled pepper young rabbit. Xia Yiyang, as usual, ate two big bowls of rice, leaving his little belly round and full. With great initiative, he volunteered to do the dishes and wash the pots—which was quite something, considering that back home when he was living like a little emperor, he’d washed dishes no more than three times in his life.
After he finished the dishes, Sheng Lin called him over to the stairwell.
“What is it, boss?”
Because he’d just eaten something spicy, the boy’s lips were a little red. He’d tried to put out the fire on his tongue by drinking a glass of water, leaving both lips glistening.
Sheng Lin averted his gaze, forcing himself not to focus on those rosy lips: “You’re off again tomorrow, right? I’ve already transferred your wages—remember to check.”
Xia Yiyang let out an “Ah!” and belatedly realized he’d completed another six days of work and had tomorrow off.
Since he had some savings this time and hadn’t yet reached the date for paying his hostel bed fee, he hadn’t mentioned the weekly pay arrangement to Sheng Lin. He never expected Sheng Lin to proactively send it to him.
As far as he knew, the two aunties were paid monthly.
“Thank you, boss! You’re the best!” The boy was a total sweet-talker.
“This is what you earned through your own hard work—it has nothing to do with whether I’m good or not.” Sheng Lin reminded him, “Save your money well. Don’t spend it recklessly.”
Of course Xia Yiyang wouldn’t spend it recklessly—his goal had always been clear. He’d first use 400 yuan to pay for ten days of bed fees, and save the rest for his travel fund!
Panda Base, Dujiangyan, Sanxingdui Ruins… Get ready—Your Emperor is coming on an incognito tour!
…
Having received his wages, Xia Yiyang packed up an extra serving of ice jelly from the shop and headed happily back toward the hostel.
He’d share this ice jelly with Wen Sen and ask him if he was free tomorrow—maybe they could go to the museum together.
Just as he stepped into the alley where the hostel was, his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up and saw that speaking of the devil—it was Wen Sen calling him.
“Hello? Wen Sen?” The boy answered the phone, his tone light. “Are you still on Chunxi Road? What time are you wrapping up today? I’ll wait for you to come back and we can eat together—”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off.
[“—Xia Yiyang, I, I hit someone with my e-bike. I’m at the hospital now. How much money do you have on you? Can you lend me some?”]
The boy was startled by this sudden turn of events: “How much do you need?”
He’d just gotten paid today, and together with his previous savings, he could just scrape together a thousand yuan to lend Wen Sen for emergencies.
[“The doctor says I need to pay five thousand first!”]
“That’s way too much.” Xia Yiyang asked, “Doesn’t the patient have insurance?”
But Wen Sen didn’t answer his question, instead saying urgently: [“Today’s your payday, right? Do you have a thousand? Transfer it to me first!”]
Xia Yiyang’s heart suddenly sank, the warmth draining from his body along with the blood in his veins. And with that warmth, all the care, importance, tolerance, and concessions he’d shown this “friend” over the past few days faded away as well.
When the tide recedes, the rocks that were always there beneath the calm surface suddenly jut out. The rocks had always been there—he’d just chosen to ignore them.
In a daze, the boy heard himself speak in a voice that was unusually calm, one he’d never used before: “I didn’t get paid today. Last week’s wages were advanced to me by my boss, and he said starting from now on, wages will be paid monthly.”
[“Then how much do you have on you right now?”]
“Three hundred.” Xia Yiyang said. “I don’t have any extra money. You know my money was all taken by that telecom scam.”
[“Can’t you ask your parents for some?”] Wen Sen pleaded desperately on the other end of the line. [“Xia Yiyang, you might be broke now, but your family’s so wealthy. Can you really stand by and watch your good friend get into trouble?”]
“…” Xia Yiyang didn’t respond.
He looked down at the heavy bag of fruit-topped dessert in his hand and suddenly felt that the ice jelly—which should have been cold—was now scalding hot to hold.
…
Another day passed. The ice jelly shop was bustling with customers until the midday rush finally died down, giving the two aunties a chance to sit down and eat.
“Xiao Xia’s off today, so we’re missing that little chattering sparrow. It’s quiet, sure, but it feels kinda empty.” Auntie Zhao couldn’t help sighing.
Auntie Li chimed in: “With Xiao Xia around, we can chat—that kid’s got such a sweet mouth and tells such funny jokes, he’s just so likeable!” She suddenly turned to the boss across the table. “Boss, do you like Xiao Xia?”
Sheng Lin, who had been eating quietly, paused with his chopsticks mid-air and only replied with a few words: “Eat your food.”
There was one less person at the table today, but Sheng Lin had unconsciously cooked the same amount as when Xia Yiyang was there—so naturally, there was too much to finish.
Unfortunately, even such a hearty meal couldn’t shut the two aunties up.
Auntie Zhao said: “Do you even need to ask? Even the most difficult customers are charmed by Xiao Xia. Of course the boss likes him!”
Auntie Li said: “Last time when the boss’s friend came to the shop for ice jelly, I could tell he really liked Xiao Xia too—he even gave him a free fortune reading.”
The two aunties kept chattering on—this person liked Xia Yiyang, that person liked Xia Yiyang—in their words, Xia Yiyang was the most lovable little ray of sunshine and precious treasure in the whole world.
After all, who wouldn’t like such a well-behaved kid?
Sheng Lin endured their relentless chatter and felt more and more that he didn’t seem like much of a boss at all.
After lunch, Sheng Lin was about to start preparing the fruit for the afternoon service when the shop’s landline suddenly rang.
“Hello, Shengxia Ice Jelly Shop.” Sheng Lin answered the phone.
A crisp, standard Mandarin voice came from the other end: “Hello, may I speak to the owner? I’m an officer from the XX District Street Police Station.”
“…?” Sheng Lin was caught off guard. “This is he. May I ask what this is about?”
The officer said: “Is Xia Yiyang your employee?”
At the sound of that name, Sheng Lin’s heart tightened instantly, and his speech quickened: “What happened to him? Is he in danger?”
“Nothing too serious—don’t be so nervous.” The officer cleared his throat. “He got into a fight this morning and ended up at the station. Since he’s young and not a local, we need someone to come pick him up per procedure. He gave us your contact info. Are you free to come down to the station as soon as possible?”
Sheng Lin: “???”
Wait—what did he just hear?
Xia Yiyang got into a fight?
What happened to the sweet, well-behaved, universally adored young master?
He’s been so well-behaved he ended up at the police station?
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