340. Daily Life
“Welcome! Do you have a reservation?”
Wen Yang stood there in a crisp white shirt and a sleek black vest, his hair neatly slicked back, greeting the new customers with a warm smile.
He was no stranger to waiter duties; he had worked odd jobs since elementary school out of necessity.
From dumpster diving for bottles to tutoring students, he had done it all. Even though his relatives would always leave him a pair of chopsticks and a bowl back home, once he moved to the county for middle school, he had to fend for himself.
Now in university, while tuition and living expenses had skyrocketed, with financial aid and Ning Chu looking out for him, things weren’t as tight anymore.
Today marked his first official day on the job; the past couple of days had been spent familiarizing himself with the work environment under the guidance of seasoned staff, learning the ropes of being a competent waiter.
“Please, come in.”
As he opened the private dining room door and led the guests inside, he positioned himself by the door, ready and waiting for any beckoning.
Taking orders and serving dishes? Nope, he still needed a bit more time to get familiar with the hotel’s menu.
He had glanced at the menu—just a single set meal was a thousand bucks, and the service fee was 20%! Sadly, that fee didn’t see a single cent of it go to the waiters.
The hotel also offered accommodation on the upper floors, starting at several hundred to a thousand a night. He wondered how it compared to those cheap motels that went for a hundred…
“What’s Ning Chu up to right now?”
Wen Yang stood there, hands clasped behind his back, perfectly straight, but his mind was wandering off to la-la land.
When could he bring Ning Chu here for a meal and an overnight stay?
But judging from the reviews, the dishes here seemed rather mediocre… Given her personality, she’d probably prefer to snag some fried noodles from a street vendor anyway.
Maybe once he gets paid, he should save up for a game console for her? But she’d probably sulk over the money spent and wouldn’t let him.
Lost in thoughts of Ning Chu, a smile crept onto Wen Yang’s face, and he found himself drifting further afield in his daydreams.
At their last gathering, Little Succubus had acted rather oddly.
One afternoon, she suddenly dragged him off, all flustered and embarrassed, insisting they find an adult shop to buy him a… cup.
That night, he had no idea who had slipped him a mickey, but boy was he in dire need of a release.
Long story short, Little Succubus ended up passing out with a funny look on her face, while the cup didn’t see any action due to, well, size issues. But thinking back, something about Ning Chu’s behavior seemed oddly prophetic.
Like she knew he was going to get drugged at the gathering.
“Hey bro, another jug of corn juice over here!”
Snapped back to reality, Wen Yang promptly responded and rushed off to refill the drinks for the customers.
He returned to his post as the door guard and let his mind wander again.
It wasn’t just the last time; Ning Chu had played the oracle role several times before, helping him prep in advance and dropping hints about things to watch out for.
It was as if she had the inside scoop on which girls were into him and how they’d try to flirt with him, as if she knew what situations he might stumble into.
It felt like a story she had written… Ah, there was this one little emperor novel she wrote with him as the main character, which made it seem like she knew what would happen next.
Wait a second, she actually did! At the start of the semester, he had once peeped at her screen late at night when she was reading that very story starring “Wen Yang.”
Wen Yang fell deep into thought.
……
Ning Chu was wandering through the vegetable market, checking out the stalls on either side, peering at the goods.
She was quite familiar with this market; her mother used to work at a braised meat stall here back when she was in elementary school. She and her brother would often wander around, snatching snacks and stuffing their faces.
It’d been ages since her last visit, and what once was a dirty, chaotic mess was now quite orderly—though the tiled floors were still a water hazard, demanding careful navigation to avoid slipping.
Hurrying to catch up with her mother, she asked, “Mom, what are you planning to buy?”
“Pig kidneys? To give your boyfriend a little boost.”
“No way! Totally unnecessary!”
That was clearly meant for the uncle!
Wen Yang’s constitution definitely didn’t need any boosting. She absolutely did not want to end up like that time, woozy and clueless! The aftermath of that experience left her feeling severely shortchanged.
“Just buy some.”
Ignoring Ning Chu’s protests, her mother made her way to the pork stall and picked out a kidney, then grabbed a couple of pounds of pork tenderloin, mumbling, “Ning Xin just loves her meat; we can barely afford to feed her anymore.”
Ever since Black Bean had arrived in their home, their expenses had skyrocketed—mainly food and clothing, but the real kicker was Black Bean’s tutoring classes.
Even just the morning sessions were so expensive they felt like going bankrupt.
Life’s little worries whirled in her mother’s mind. She didn’t complain to Ning Chu but casually remarked, “New Year’s coming soon; we still haven’t bought any festival goods.”
“Let the uncle buy them; isn’t he coming to celebrate the New Year with us?”
“Why not have Wen Yang buy them?”
“Wen Yang’s broke~,” Ning Chu asserted boldly, “He’s only a freshman, for crying out loud! Isn’t that a bit embarrassing?”
Her mother shot her a look that seemed to say “Who do you think you are?” “So what do you want for the New Year’s dinner? Hotpot?”
“Sounds good?”
“Have the uncle bring some wine too; I’ll share a little toast with him later.” Her mother grinned, teasing her daughter, “You want a drink too?”
Ning Chu wasn’t a fan of alcohol at all and shook her head, reminding her, “Mom, Black Bean’s home~. Who knows what you two will get up to if you get drunk?”
The next moment, her mother playfully smacked her on the head, causing her to instinctively cover it, fuming in annoyance.
Sure enough, teasing her mom was a surefire way to get smacked!
She glanced up at her mother’s slightly flushed but stern expression and felt a pang of sympathy inside.
It’s always a double standard, huh?
“Can Wen Yang come for the New Year’s dinner?” Ning Chu asked somewhat anxiously.
Although her mother had warmed up to Wen Yang, she still worried about potential rejection.
“Of course. That kid’s quite poor too, spending New Year’s alone out there…”
Her eyes brightened, sparkling with excitement. “Yay!”
Adding Wen Yang to the traditional New Year’s dinner—essentially her mother had given the seal of approval for his future son-in-law status!
“Always bending the elbow to favor outsiders~.”
After securing their hotpot ingredients and a few other trinkets, the mother-daughter duo each wound up with bags bursting at the seams.
Kidneys, lamb, leeks, scallops… all quality kidney-boosters!
Ning Chu couldn’t help but wonder if the uncle was soon to be milked dry. She shot her mother a rather peculiar look.
Forty-year-old women really could be like wolves in sheep’s clothing, especially that mature succubus. Her uncle was no twig either! He looked bulkier than Wen Yang and still couldn’t keep up?
“Just looking at your eyes tells me you’re up to no good.”
Her mother caught on to her inner mischief, raising a hand with the intent of giving her another playful tap, sending Ning Chu flailing to the side in a panic.
“Alright, let’s get home to cook.”
“Okay~”
