Sheng Lin had quite a lot on his plate lately.
On one hand, there was the ice jelly shop. He and Xia Yiyang were going to take two days off together next week, and as the boss, he had plenty of things to arrange before leaving.
On the other hand, there was his side business—though to others, this “side business” was actually his main source of income. He’d been introduced by some senior colleagues to a factory owner in Guangdong Province and had helped optimize the factory’s small assembly line control system. The Guangdong boss always paid promptly and was quite courteous to him as a technical expert. But recently, the factory had run into problems—first one machine broke down, then another. Sheng Lin had run remote diagnostics several times, and each time the results showed no hardware issues and no bugs in the assembly line’s operation. He simply couldn’t figure out where the problem was coming from.
The second matter was clearly more urgent. If he couldn’t resolve it, there was no way Sheng Lin could just leave work behind to take Xia Yiyang to the mountains and escape the heat.
So these days, he spent every night holed up in his study, burning the midnight oil, troubleshooting alongside the factory’s mechanical engineer in Guangdong.
Since the young master slept in the living room, Sheng Lin kept the study door closed to avoid disturbing him, with only a sliver of light seeping out from under the door.
Most nights, the young master would stare at that sliver of light until he drifted off to sleep. Then, groggy and stumbling to the bathroom at two or three in the morning, he’d see that the light under the door still hadn’t faded.
…What exactly was his boss doing in there?
Xia Yiyang turned over on the sofa bed, resting his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling light. The oscillating fan rustled the curtains, stirring the boy’s curiosity as well.
From the very first day he moved in, he’d noticed that Sheng Lin’s study housed a very expensive-looking computer setup, along with a 3D printer on the corner workstation. Once, Xia Yiyang had come across a post online where someone shared a “3D-printed panda keychain,” and when Sheng Lin saw how much he liked it, he printed one out for him. Xia Yiyang treasured it—it now hung on his sports bag.
Would an ordinary person have such expensive computer and 3D printer at home?
Obviously not.
Would an ordinary ice jelly shop owner spend every night working mysteriously in his study?
Obviously not either.
Xia Yiyang suddenly realized that although he and Sheng Lin lived and ate together day in and day out, he still knew far too little about the man.
All he knew was that Sheng Lin was 185 cm tall, weighed 78 kg, and had a great build. He was a Sichuan native, cooked well, had no dietary restrictions, and could even eat Houttuynia cordata (fish mint) without batting an eye. He went out for exercise every morning at seven, rain or shine, and took a cold shower before bed, always buttoning his pajamas all the way to the top. He could ride a motorcycle and fix any appliance in the shop. Though he’d seemed fierce when they first met, Sheng Lin was actually very attentive and considerate…
All these little details piled up to form the Sheng Lin in his eyes. But Xia Yiyang was too greedy—he wanted to know more, so much more.
He couldn’t wait to get closer to Sheng Lin, to understand him better.
—At this point, he had no idea what the root of this greediness really was.
The night breeze blew gently, and the young master fell into a deep sleep in the balmy summer wind.
In the study, Sheng Lin was on a remote call with the local mechanical engineer in Guangdong, trying to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“Engineer Sheng, we’ve checked all the wiring per your requirements, but the machine just won’t start.”
Sheng Lin pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his chair, and said to the person on the other end of the line, “Have you considered temperature and humidity? Could the upper management have adjusted the industrial power supply quota?”
“We’ve checked everything,” the other party said. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back to the old method.”
Sheng Lin: “What old method?”
The other party: “Pray to the gods!”
Sheng Lin: “…? Do gods even handle that kind of thing?”
“Of course!” The other party affirmed. “You pay respects to the local deities when starting a business, and you pray to the gods when running a factory too.”
Sheng Lin suddenly remembered that back when he was in school, he’d participated in the National College Student Robot+ Competition with some alumni. He’d seen students from certain universities performing grand bows to their robots before going on stage—and that team did end up achieving pretty impressive results…
Could it really be that the end of science is the beginning of metaphysics?
The voice on the phone said politely, “I don’t know which master could sort this out… If even praying to the gods doesn’t work, we might have to trouble you, Engineer Sheng, to come to the factory in person.”
A business trip from Rongcheng to Guangdong wasn’t that troublesome, but it would definitely mean postponing the crayfish trip he’d promised Xia Yiyang.
With that in mind, Sheng Lin made a decision on the spot.
“If you’re looking for a ‘master,’ I can recommend someone. He was my college roommate, graduated from the same mechanical engineering program. With him on the job, you can rest assured.”
…
At first, Sheng Lin had only recommended Qin Zaozao as a last-ditch effort. To his surprise, the machine issue that had stumped Sheng Lin for nearly a week was resolved by Qin Zaozao in just one afternoon!
Sheng Lin requested the surveillance footage from the factory. In the video, the young man with dreadlocks walked around the machine, pinching his fingers and muttering incantations, shaking his head and bobbing about. He didn’t perform any repairs—just unplugged the machine and plugged it back in—and voilà, the bug was miraculously fixed.
Sheng Lin: “…”
Even if it was metaphysics, this was way too metaphysical.
“Sheng Lin, you owe me big this time.” Qin Zaozao’s triumphant voice came through the phone. “Let’s keep it clear between brothers. I went on a business trip for you—how are you going to thank me?”
Sheng Lin immediately replied generously, “All the maintenance fees for this job are yours. And if any similar business comes up in the future, I’ll pass it on to you.”
“Hold on, hold on. I’ve told you before—money is external to me. Don’t taint my noble soul with worldly currency.” Qin Zaozao said. “The money isn’t important. What matters is your sincerity.”
“…Sincerity?”
Qin Zaozao: “My request is simple. Last time I was at your place, I saw that bowl of red bean matcha sweet tofu pudding you made for Little Xia. Make me an exact replica.”
Sheng Lin was surprised: “That’s it?”
“I’m not done yet.” Qin Zaozao grinned mischievously. “Have Little Xia deliver it to my shop in person~ It’s been ages since I saw Little Xia, and a day apart feels like three years.”
“…” Sheng Lin frowned. “Qin Zaozao, what exactly are you after?”
“What could I be after?” Qin Zaozao said. “Just wanna chat and shoot the breeze with your precious little darling.”
“What ‘precious little darling’? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“If he’s not your precious little darling, then there’s no need to get so tense.” Qin Zaozao let out a villainous cackle, like a final boss in a movie. “Don’t worry, I just think that little young master is really fun to be around, and I’d like to have tea with him—what’s wrong with that? Besides, what’s the point of being so protective here? For all you know, Little Xia might be happy to come hang out with me too.”
Before the call even ended, the kitchen curtain was flung open, and a boy burst in like a whirlwind, bouncing around excitedly.
“Boss, boss!” Xia Yiyang said excitedly. “Brother Qin just messaged me on WeChat, asking me to come by his shop!”
Sheng Lin: “…”
Xia Yiyang: “He also said you made him a bowl of sweet tofu pudding, and that I should bring it over.”
Sheng Lin was so exasperated he laughed. This was the first time he’d seen the kid so eager to go out in the scorching heat—clearly he hadn’t learned his lesson from the heatstroke last time.
“You’re skipping work to go out and play, and you have the nerve to report it to your boss?”
“Who said I’m skipping work?” The young master had his own logic. “I’m clearly running a delivery errand for the shop!”
Sheng Lin had no choice but to let Xia Yiyang go out.
He personally packed two portions of tofu pudding, sealed them securely, and tucked them into the boy’s small crossbody bag: “One for him, one for you.”
Worried about heatstroke, he also stuffed several cooling patches into the bag: “Put them on your neck and forehead if it gets too hot. If it gets unbearable, don’t push yourself—just find a milk tea shop on the side of the road and sit in the AC, then call me to pick you up.”
After a moment’s thought, Sheng Lin still wasn’t at ease. He rummaged through drawers and found a straw hat, sunglasses, and cooling arm sleeves, forcefully putting them on Xia Yiyang. The young master thought they looked tacky and put them on reluctantly, secretly planning to stuff them into his bag once he was out the door.
Once everything was ready, Sheng Lin personally walked Xia Yiyang out, reminding him to go early and come back early, and not to let Qin Zaozao lead him astray.
Xia Yiyang’s mind was full of the thrill of getting paid to go out and play, so the warnings went in one ear and out the other.
“Relax, relax. Brother Qin’s not a human trafficker, and I’m not that easy to fool.”
“Not that easy to fool?” Sheng Lin reminded him. “Who ended up at the police station twice?”
Xia Yiyang: “Aaaah can you stop bringing up ancient history?!”
The aunties chuckled at the exchange: “Boss, Little Xia’s not a three-year-old. Why are you more worried than parents dropping their kid off at kindergarten?”
Sheng Lin paused, unable to come up with a retort.
The young master took the chance to hop onto a shared bike by the roadside and waved at Sheng Lin: “Goodbye, boss! Today I’m setting sail for the horizon!”
With a push of his foot, the wheels carried him smoothly forward.
Unexpectedly, his cycling posture was far from proper—he insisted on standing up on the pedals, gripping the handlebars, leaning forward with his upper body, and putting all his strength into stomping the pedals. As he rode, he kept ringing the bell dingling-ling, his crossbody bag flying behind him, black hair streaming in the wind—carefree and without a worry in the world.
The camphor trees along the road formed a canopy that blotted out the sky, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, scattering beneath his rolling wheels and into the memories of youth and vitality.
Sheng Lin watched his spirited departing figure, as if he could see joy itself spilling out of the boy in tangible form.
“Ride slower!” The man cupped his hands around his mouth and called out loudly. “Stay safe!”
The boy must have heard him—he raised one hand and waved it in the air, but didn’t look back.
How could there be a kid in this world who made people worry so much?
—Someone so hard to look away from, not even for a second.
…
Qin Zaozao had sent Xia Yiyang his shop address on WeChat (Sheng Lin: He actually has a shop?), which wasn’t far—just at the south gate of Rongda University.
Afraid the boy might not find it, the young man added an extra reminder.
@Jia Wanwan: My shop is right between Mixue Ice City and Zhengxin Chicken Chop! Super obvious! You’ll see it when you get here!
The ice jelly shop was at Rongda’s north gate. To get to the south gate, he could either ride around the outside of the campus or cut straight through the university grounds.
Of course, Xia Yiyang chose to ride through Rongda!
Entering through the north gate with its red pillars and glazed tiles, passing by the Lotus Pond, the solemn and majestic Mingde Building came into view. Continuing south toward the gymnasium, Xia Yiyang was getting dizzy from the sun. Spotting a wide, tree-lined path nearby, he turned onto it without a second thought—and promptly veered off course. It turned out that Rongda’s affiliated elementary school was located right on the university campus. A bunch of kids in summer extracurricular classes were hanging on the playground railings, staring at him curiously and chattering away in Sichuan dialect. Riding further along, he suddenly spotted a bell tower, with a towering statue of a great figure beside it.
Two bouquets of fresh flowers were placed in front of the statue—no one knew who had left them.
“Not tired at all! I’m serving the people!” Xia Yiyang waved at the statue, happily circled around it on his bike, and finally remembered he actually had real business to do.
Oh no—if he didn’t hurry up and make the delivery, the sweet tofu pudding in his crossbody bag would melt.
He quickly turned his bike around and pedaled urgently toward the south gate.
To his surprise, the south gate area was bustling with all kinds of small storefronts crammed together. Xia Yiyang found a corner to lock up his bike, then walked down the street with his little crossbody bag, searching shop by shop. It didn’t take long to spot Mixue Ice City and Zhengxin Chicken Chop.
But… Mixue Ice City and Zhengxin Chicken Chop were pressed right up against each other, separated by only a single wall. Xia Yiyang walked from left to right, then right to left, staring at that thin wall until he could practically burn a hole through it—yet he still couldn’t find Qin Zaozao’s shop anywhere.
For a moment, he even suspected that Qin Zaozao’s shop might be like the Leaky Cauldron—only visible to those with mystical wizarding blood, while Muggles like him couldn’t find it at all.
Just as he was hesitating, a strange voice suddenly sounded behind him.
—”Dummy! Dummy! Dummy!”
The voice was more unique than ordinary human speech, slightly distorted.
Xia Yiyang had a strange feeling that it was calling out to him.
He turned around and saw a shabby little newsstand by the roadside. Outside the stand were posters of the hottest current idols, Jiang Lechen and Wen Gui, looking so handsome they seemed almost authoritative. A young woman was lingering by the stand, buying a dual-cover magazine.
Hanging from the newsstand was an exquisite little wooden birdcage, and inside, a completely black myna bird was hopping around, repeatedly calling out in standard Sichuan dialect: “Dummy! Dummy! Dummy!”
At the same time, a young man with dreadlocks popped his head out of the tiny window of the newsstand, a popsicle dangling from his mouth, making exaggerated faces at Xia Yiyang: “Little young master, where did you wander off to? Your boss Sheng has been calling every minute asking if you’ve arrived. If you’d been any later, he’d have come over and torn me apart. Tell me, why does he worry so much? If he’s that uneasy, he might as well stick a tracker on you.”
“Hehe.” Xia Yiyang didn’t have the nerve to admit he’d snuck off to play around at Rongda.
He changed the subject, looking around the tiny newsstand: “Brother Qin, this is your shop?”
“How is it?” The young man puffed out his chest proudly, shaking the half-eaten popsicle in his hand. “Books, birdsong, chilled bottled water, and one-yuan old-school popsicles—pretty cozy, huh?”
“It’s definitely cozy,” Xia Yiyang said honestly. “A cat would have to measure itself with its whiskers to see if it could even fit through the door.”
Leave a Reply