471. A Gift for Lilith!
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Behind the school’s back gate lies a sprawling urban village residential area.
On the outskirts of the urban village are a bunch of self-built apartments. They don’t quite look like the fancy villas of the countryside, but they are square, covered in tiles, and rented out to nearby students and migrant workers — not many locals live here.
However, as you stroll deeper into the urban village along the alleys, the buildings become old and tiny, with no renovations in sight. The widest road here is hardly more than a two-lane street; most areas are so narrow that only two people can walk side by side. The ground is littered with loose stones, and overhead, ropes crisscross, hung with clothes drying in the breeze.
After turning a few corners in the alleys, the environment gets even gloomier. Finally, a large iron gate appears before you.
Li Na pushes open the gate and peers inside.
It’s a small rectangular courtyard.
On either side stand two three-story bungalows, extending over a hundred meters, enough to house dozens of families. Enclosed by walls and gates, the central area forms a little square.
This courtyard, spacious enough for dozens of families, was rented by Li Na just a few days ago. It had been abandoned for a long time, with heaps of construction materials cluttering the center, and now, no workers to be seen.
“We can only accommodate one or two tables a day. I don’t have enough waitstaff, and it’s just me in the kitchen,” Li Na said, shaking her head.
At that moment, Li Kang De, Lilith’s son, was squatting on a small stool, watching ants in the corner of the wall.
Having worked in a restaurant for the past few months, mostly preparing duck, he’s also picked up various cooking skills. Now, Li Na has roped him in to help.
“One or two tables are enough,” Li Na replied with a nod. “Have you prepared the tourist itinerary? When they arrive, we need to take them around. We can’t just lock them inside and let them play on their computers, right?”
“Maybe they’d prefer to stay in,” Li Kang De said, pulling out a pre-written pamphlet and handing it to Li Na. “I copied a local three-day, two-night travel guide from online. How about following this? In a couple of days, we should have a few rooms ready for testing.”
“Okay, got it.”
Seeing that Li Na seemed buried in her thoughts, he chose not to say more, going back to observing the ants.
Suddenly, Li Na, who was standing behind him, asked, “What does Lilith like?”
“Huh?”
“What does she like to eat? What does she enjoy? Or what kind of gifts does she like?”
Li Kang De blinked, clearly baffled.
“I want to pursue her.”
Now he was even more confused.
Does that mean I’m about to get another stepmom?
He was already a stray child picked up by Lilith, then mistook Lin Nan as his mom, and now it looks like Li Na wants to take on that role too…
Besides, who declares they’re going to pursue someone’s mother so confidently?
“Um…,” he paused for a moment before struggling to reply, “men?”
“I know she likes guys, which makes this complicated,” Li Na sighed.
I’m talking about her interests being men, and you’re talking about her orientation!
Li Kang De’s face turned red as he jumped up abruptly and rushed out, leaving Li Na staring blankly at his retreating figure, scratching her head in confusion.
Lin Nan bolted when this came up, but why did Lilith’s son run away too?
Just then, a drizzle began, with flashes of lightning and roaring thunder clouding the sky. In an instant, the fine raindrops turned into torrential downpour, flooding down from the heavens. Unless something unexpected happened, this downpour would likely last all day.
The sky was especially gloomy; the rainy summers in the south are just a given.
When Lin Nan and Chen Yao stepped out of class, they stood in the first-floor corridor, looking at the heavy rain with a sense of relief.
Lin Nan handed an umbrella to Chen Yao and smugly glanced at Tu Junhui, whose hands were empty, before dragging Chen Yao into the curtain of rain.
“What type of shop is Li Na planning to open?” Chen Yao asked, holding the umbrella high to keep Lin Nan as dry as possible, although his own shoulder was rapidly getting soaked.
Lin Nan, oblivious to his plight, paused for a moment at the question.
“I don’t know.”
Although Li Na had kept her plans under wraps for a while, Lin Nan hadn’t really asked about it: “If it’s by the school, it’s either a restaurant or a milk tea shop, right? Maybe a pool hall at most?”
“A hotel is also possible; there are quite a few around here,” Lin Nan speculated.
“You’re going to work for free without knowing anything,” Chen Yao couldn’t help but retort. “You’re scared of being scammed, yet here you are happily offering to hand out your cash.”
“Li Na doesn’t have the time to scam me, right?” Lin Nan still held a fair amount of trust in Li Na.
“If she’s not scamming you, then why did you agree to work for free?”
Lin Nan, feeling a bit guilty, explained, “We’re friends, it’s just to help her out since she’s starting up…”
But maybe she should have asked more questions.
Otherwise, with Li Na’s personality, she might want her to wear a maid outfit or a bunny girl costume or something outrageous.
She hurriedly lowered her head and texted Li Na, asking about the job details while sighing, feeling like the whole world was ganging up on her.
“With your attitude, you might end up regretting it after graduation,” Chen Yao shook his head helplessly. “Why not just settle down and be a housewife?”
“No way! You can’t afford to keep me.”
Chen Yao pondered for a moment before realizing she might have a point, so he changed the subject: “What’s for lunch?”
“Burger? McDonald’s?”
Lin Nan replied, disdainfully rolling up her pant leg. The raindrops splashing everywhere had soaked the hem of her pants.
The school’s pathways were uneven, collecting puddles everywhere. She accidentally stepped into one, and a wave of water rushed into her shoe, leaving her feeling as if her feet were soaked.
If this rain doesn’t stop this afternoon, she’d have to change into shorts and sandals.
If the school wasn’t so strict these days, Lin Nan would have considered coming to class in flip-flops.
Bending down to roll up her pant legs, revealing her delicate ankles, Lin Nan grumbled, “I just washed my shoes two days ago; now I’ll have to wash them again at noon.”
“I can help you wash them,” Chen Yao suddenly perked up. “I just need a tiny bit of incentive.”
“Like what?”
“How about using a magic wand tonight?”
Lin Nan paused for a moment, then lifted her foot to kick him. “You really bought it! How outrageous!”
Under the same umbrella, Chen Yao had no way to dodge and could only helplessly watch a wet shoe print appear on his pants.
“Nope, I haven’t picked it up at the delivery station yet,” Chen Yao said, thick-skinned. “Isn’t it normal for guys to be weird?”
“Cancel it! Weirdo!” Lin Nan cursed but suddenly stopped, furrowing her brow.
“If it’s a gift for Lilith, well…”
She might actually be really happy about that, right?
