“Shui Ge, I brought you breakfast; eat it while it’s still hot.” Chen Bing had slept well and was full of energy. Seeing Shui Miao’s tired face, he felt a bit embarrassed and said, “It’s strange; I don’t know why I suddenly developed the bad habit of snoring…”
“Let’s not talk about that. Hey, did you see Chenxiang?”
Shui Miao checked the time and realized it was getting late. Despite feeling sleepy, he had no intention of going back to bed and went into the bathroom.
Chen Bing knew that he had disturbed Shui Miao, but there was nothing he could do about it—he didn’t want to snore either. “I saw her. This hotel provides free breakfast, and both of us have already eaten. She’s watching TV in the next room now. If you need anything, should I go get her?”
“No, I don’t need anything.” Shui Miao was about to brush his teeth.
Chen Bing checked the time and then slung his backpack over his shoulder, picked up his luggage, and smiled at Shui Miao after finishing his morning routine. “Shui Ge, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head to the hotel for work now. If I leave now, I can make it for the day shift.”
“I’m leaving too. Oh, did Chenxiang give you her phone?”
Shui Miao started eating breakfast and planned to leave the hotel afterward.
“She did. Thanks, Gege…”
Chen Bing took out the phone to show Shui Miao. This gift was already quite valuable for an average blue-collar worker.
“You’re thanking me?”
Shui Miao shook his head slightly and said lightly, “I’ll win some money again someday and give you a better one.”
“Hehe, I don’t want another phone. If you win money again, Shui Ge, just save it up. Then the three of us can open a shop together or rent a place and start some business. If Lin Haiyang can raise dogs, we can raise geese too!” Chen Bing said earnestly.
“Wow, didn’t expect you to have such a realization!” Shui Miao looked at Chen Bing with some surprise.
“Ah!”
Chen Bing sighed and said, “If I don’t wake up now, it’ll be too late. I had a lot of thoughts after returning home this time! My uncle told me that my current job is just a temporary career with no future. I must find something more promising to do. I think he’s right. If I keep drifting like this, what will happen after I get married? I can’t just tell my future mother-in-law that I’m just a waiter serving dishes!”
It turned out that Chen Bing had been inspired by his uncle and had suddenly matured.
Shui Miao looked at Chen Bing, thought seriously while eating breakfast, and after finishing, he threw away the trash, washed his hands, and said when he returned, “You and I are thinking the same thing. But let’s be realistic—every profession has its champions; it all depends on whether we have the ability. On the surface, being a waiter might seem unpromising, but it’s a great opportunity to learn about the food and beverage industry. We know nothing about it now. How can we enter this industry without first understanding it? Once we understand it and gain experience, we can aim to become restaurant managers. If we have more money, we can even open our own restaurant. In short, we can’t generalize everything. For example, your uncle sells fruits and vegetables—is that necessarily a promising career? I don’t think so either. It really depends on the actual situation, luck, and personal ability. These are the most important factors.”
“Yeah!”
After hearing this, Chen Bing felt like a light had been switched on in his mind. He said excitedly, “Shui Ge, do you know why I like following you out to work?”
“Why?”
Shui Miao frowned, genuinely unsure of Chen Bing’s thoughts.
“Because, Shui Ge, you always think more thoroughly than I do. It’s strange too—we studied about the same, so why do you seem to know so much more than me? I really suspect that your parents were big bosses or businessmen, but you were unfortunately taken by that evil Liu Hongmei.”
Chen Bing’s suspicion wasn’t unfounded. A person’s abilities are closely related to their parents’ genetic factors.
In the past, Chen Bing didn’t dare to bring this up, but now that they knew Liu Hongmei was the villain, he no longer hesitated much.
“Let’s not talk about it. I will definitely get to the bottom of this. Until we figure it out, we must stay calm and not let her detect any clues.” Shui Miao patted Chen Bing’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go together.”
“Yeah…”
Chen Bing helped pull the suitcase, knocked on the neighboring door, and called out Chenxiang to leave together.
Chen Bing directly took a taxi to the big hotel.
Meanwhile, Shui Miao and Chenxiang arrived at Liu Hongmei’s courtyard. Over 90% of the tenants had already gone to work, so it was very quiet at this time, with only Liu Hongmei and the girls who worked at the nightclubs still asleep.
Shui Miao walked into the courtyard and deliberately glanced at the room at the entrance.
This room was almost no different from the rooms inside the first-floor courtyard, all with red wooden doors, except that this one had two additional copper locks on the door; otherwise, there was nothing particularly noticeable.
Going upstairs, Chenxiang began tidying her room.
Shui Miao also tidied his room. Except for the quilt, this room basically had everything else.
He put the suitcase into the cabinet and went downstairs alone to buy two new copper locks, replacing the old ones.
After locking the door, Shui Miao and Chenxiang went together to a nearby street to buy a bag of rice, some seasonings, some vegetables that could be stored in the refrigerator, and two blankets, then returned.
After returning, Chenxiang suddenly felt bored and wanted to find a factory job immediately. Shui Miao tried to persuade her kindly to stay here for a while and adapt before looking for work. Chenxiang had no choice but to endure her impatience and stay, but she knew she couldn’t sit idle. Living here and spending money without earning it made her anxious about how to live like this.
Seeing his sister’s boredom, Shui Miao took her to go shopping at a big supermarket.
Chenxiang, being new here, found everything fresh and interesting, but since her money was limited, she hesitated to buy the things she liked, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
At noon, Shui Miao brought some food and returned to the residence with Chenxiang. At this time, the girls who worked at the nightclubs had already woken up. Seeing the new neighbors, everyone was curious—these two young people, each renting a room and not going to work, what kind of people were they?
Shui Miao returned to his room and sat for a while before he heard Chenxiang chatting loudly with someone in the corridor.
Her voice was so loud that it could be clearly heard through the door.
Shui Miao thought that maybe it was because the factory was too noisy, and his sister had developed the habit of speaking loudly, which wouldn’t do. This wasn’t a sparsely populated countryside or a factory dormitory; speaking so loudly would disturb others.
Therefore, Shui Miao quickly opened the door and came out.
Seeing Shui Miao, an 18- or 19-year-old girl, about the same age as Chenxiang, quickly greeted Chenxiang and returned to her own room.
Chenxiang, still excited, turned to Shui Miao and said, “Ge, she’s called Xiaorong, and she’s also from Huanghai City…”
“Shhh! Speak softly…”
Shui Miao quickly interrupted Chenxiang, whispering to her, “Little sister, many people live here, and some work at night and sleep during the day. If you speak so loudly, you’ll wake them up!”
“Ge, I forgot. I was just so happy to meet a fellow townsman!”
Chenxiang quickly lowered her voice.
Shui Miao nodded, “I know you forgot, so I came to tell you. Little sister, now that we’re in a big city, we must learn everything and think carefully about every matter. We can’t just act on our impulses. Also, no matter who the other person is, whether or not they’re your fellow townspeople, you can’t trust them easily. There are many bad people these days. You’re the only sister I have; if anything happens to you, what should I do?”
Shui Miao suddenly realized that he would probably have a lot of worries in the future. His sister was too trusting and too innocent. Bringing her to the big city might not necessarily be a good thing. Moreover, Shui Miao was very worried about those girls working at the nightclubs—if they introduced his sister to work there, what would he do?
“Ge, I know, but Xiaorong doesn’t seem like a bad person!”
Chenxiang felt that Shui Miao was being too cautious. She needed friends here, and Xiaorong was not only a fellow townspeople but also about the same age as her, making her the perfect candidate for a good friend. Having someone to chat with would make life easier, and without any friends, staying in the room all the time would drive her crazy.
“I don’t know whether she’s good or bad, but you must promise me one thing: no matter who invites you out or offers you a job, you must first get my approval before agreeing. If you don’t listen to me, I’d rather send you back home.” Shui Miao felt a heavy burden in his heart. Since he had brought his sister here, he had to take good care of her.
“Okay! I promise to do that.”
Chenxiang nodded and readily agreed.
Seeing his sister say this, Shui Miao had nothing more to say, so he opened the door and returned to his room.
However, not long after, someone knocked on the door.
Shui Miao opened the door and saw Liu Hongmei wearing pajamas. She looked very unhappy, obviously having been woken up by Chenxiang’s loud voice. “Hey, Shui Miao! You should tell your sister to walk and talk more quietly. I may not be sleeping, but others need to rest. If everyone has complaints, then I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you two to move out.”
“Sorry, Auntie. I already talked to her. It won’t happen again.”
Shui Miao was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Liu Hongmei to be so blunt and harsh right from the start. Would his sister’s stay here be troublesome in the future?
“Ugh! Really…”
Liu Hongmei turned around and stormed off in a huff.
Looking at Liu Hongmei’s retreating figure, Shui Miao suddenly had an idea. As the saying goes, “When you take something from someone, you feel obliged to them.” Perhaps he should invite Liu Hongmei for a meal to build a better relationship. If he could even introduce his sister to her as a goddaughter, that would be even better. “Auntie Liu, do you have time? I’d like to invite you for a meal.”
Shui Miao hurriedly ran out.
“What? You… say that again…”
Liu Hongmei was startled, turned around, and looked at Shui Miao in disbelief.
“Do you have time? I’d like to invite you for a meal…” Shui Miao felt a bit confused. Was having a meal really such a big deal that she had to react so exaggeratedly?
This time, Liu Hongmei heard clearly…
“So, so what, you want to invite me for a meal?” Liu Hongmei had been a landlady for many years, and this was the first time a tenant had invited her for a meal. Plus, this tenant was a good-looking young man.
“Yes! I just don’t know if you have time or if you’re willing!”
Shui Miao held back his impatience and really wanted to ask if she had a hearing problem.
Liu Hongmei suddenly smiled awkwardly, “Why, why would you do that?”
“Haha… Well…” What the hell, does she have to ask? Other than wanting her to take care of them, would he be interested in this old sow? Shui Miao secretly cursed in his heart but maintained a shy expression on the surface, “It’s just that my sister and I are new here, living in your place, and we need your help in many ways, so I thought…”
“I understand, I understand. Go back first; I’ll talk to you later.”
Liu Hongmei suddenly changed her expression, her face beaming as she ran back…
What the hell, not even a meal, and she’s acting so high and mighty! Who does she think she is? Shui Miao really wanted to kick this old sow a few times.
However, as soon as Liu Hongmei entered her room, she immediately jumped up excitedly. She picked up her phone and called Auntie Pan immediately: “Hey, sister, I’ve got something going on. A young man who just rented my place wants to take me out for a meal…”
Auntie Pan’s situation was similar to Liu Hongmei’s. They were both widows who owned many properties and rented them out.
Hearing this, Auntie Pan, who was having a meal, immediately put down her chopsticks and asked excitedly, “Really? What exactly happened? Are you sure you’re not imagining things?”
“Come on, what are you talking about!” Liu Hongmei quickly recounted the entire story of Shui Miao inviting her for a meal. She even interpreted Shui Miao’s shyness as bashfulness!
After listening, Auntie Pan shook her head and said, “I thought it was something important. That’s just your imagination. It doesn’t prove anything yet. You must verify it to confirm whether this young man is interested in you, an older wealthy woman.”
“How to verify?”
Liu Hongmei and Auntie Pan were childhood best friends and talked about everything.
“It’s simple, three points.” Auntie Pan didn’t hesitate and said directly: “First, check whether he invites you during the day or at night. If it’s during the day, he’s probably not interested. If it’s at night, there might be something going on. Second, check whether he brings his sister along. If he does, then he’s not interested. If not, then there’s something going on. Third, check where he takes you. If it’s a street food stall, then nothing’s going on. But if it’s a romantic place like the Pearl Town, then there’s definitely something going on.”
“Right, right, I’ll ask him right away when he’s inviting me.”
Liu Hongmei nodded repeatedly. If these three conditions were met, then Shui Miao definitely had feelings for her!
Liu Hongmei quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, dressed up, and wore a pink long dress as she came to Shui Miao’s door. Just then, Shui Miao opened the door and saw Liu Hongmei dressed like a young girl. He was slightly taken aback, but then he said somewhat shyly, “Auntie Liu, I’m really sorry. May I invite you for dinner tonight?”
“O-Okay, of course you can.”
Liu Hongmei turned around and hurried back to her room.
Shui Miao couldn’t figure out what Liu Hongmei was thinking. He quickly walked to the next room and knocked on his sister’s door urgently, saying, “Little sister, hurry up and come with me to visit Lin Haiyang. He was in a car accident and is now in the hospital.”
Shui Miao had originally planned to invite Liu Hongmei for lunch, but unexpectedly, Lin Haiyang had been in a car accident.
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