82. Pinned to the Ground
National Day quietly approached without anyone noticing.
As a high school senior, Ling Ning only got three days off for the holiday, and after returning to school, she’d have to endure two consecutive weeks of classes. For most people, that would be hell. Even Ling Ning was dreading the thought of two straight weeks of classes.
But for now, she didn’t need to think about what would happen after the holiday. All she needed to do was enjoy the break.
Sticking to her plan, Ling Ning decided to spend her holiday at the café. In her eyes, it was better to spend the time making money at the café than spending it elsewhere. Moreover, Chu Mengyao had mentioned that the wages during National Day would be triple, which made her even more eager.
Upon arriving at the café, which she hadn’t visited in a while, she almost didn’t recognize the place with its brand-new renovations. If it weren’t for seeing Chu Mengyao cleaning up at the entrance, she might have thought she was in the wrong place.
“What happened here?” she asked, somewhat surprised as she took in the café’s drastic makeover.
“Well, I just felt the old layout had some issues and felt kind of outdated. So, after discussing with my idiot partner, we decided to renovate the place. What do you think?” Chu Mengyao said proudly.
“Let me take a look.” Ling Ning took a stroll around the café. Compared to before, it was definitely much better. The decorations and layout of the different sections were all a significant improvement.
“Yeah, this feels really nice.” After her little tour, Ling Ning gave her approval.
“Of course, it’s nice. I mean, look at who designed it,” Chu Mengyao laughed heartily.
“Who?” Ling Ning pretended not to notice Chu Mengyao standing right in front of her, looking all smug. Instead, she made a show of looking around.
Chu Mengyao shook her head and said, “Stop looking around. Go change into your uniform; we’re about to open.”
After putting on the long-missed maid outfit, Ling Ning checked herself in the mirror. Yep! Still full of charm! While she was changing, Xia You and Ye Xuan also arrived. Zhou Xiaoxiao couldn’t make it today due to some matters.
Chu Feng had also been naturally dragged over by Chu Mengyao. The moment he saw Ling Ning, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt, afraid that she might say something that could cause misunderstandings.
As for Luo Xiaoning, she had been peacefully sleeping in the “New Land of Eternal Silence,” but was dragged out by Chu Mengyao. Although Luo Xiaoning initially wanted to resist, her pitiful combat strength couldn’t compete with Chu Mengyao, who easily pinned her to the ground.
In the short time they hadn’t seen each other, Chu Mengyao’s skills at pinning someone to the ground had reached new heights. Everyone present was once again convinced that they could mess with anyone—just not Chu Mengyao.
It was, after all, a major holiday, and there were already people waiting outside even before the café opened. As soon as they opened the doors, the café instantly filled with people, becoming a sea of customers. After such a long time away, Ling Ning once again felt the rewarding hustle and bustle of her job.
Taking advantage of a brief lull, Ling Ning snuck up beside Chu Feng, a sly smile on her face. “Hey, Little Brother Chu Feng, why didn’t your handsome boyfriend come with you today?” she teased.
“How should I know—wait! He’s not my boyfriend, Sister Ling Ning! You must be misunderstanding something. There’s really nothing between us!” Chu Feng hurriedly explained, his face flushed.
With an “I know what’s up” expression, Ling Ning watched Chu Feng squirm, which only made him feel worse, as if she was sure there was something going on. Come on!
Chu Feng was utterly helpless recently. He had actually confessed to Zhao Dezhu that he was a guy, but Zhao Dezhu seemed to get even more excited. This left Chu Feng with no choice but to avoid him every day.
But would Zhao Dezhu give up that easily?
Chu Feng had accidentally let slip where he lived, and Zhao Dezhu had turned into some kind of stalker, waiting outside his house every day. Because of this, Chu Feng had to sneak out by climbing over walls just to avoid running into Zhao Dezhu on his way to and from school.
As the saying goes, “speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
Seeing Zhao Dezhu at the door, Chu Feng felt a deep sense of hopelessness. He hadn’t told Zhao Dezhu about coming to the café—how on earth did he find him here?
Ling Ning was just about to tease Chu Feng some more, but the next moment, she found herself speechless. Because Zhao Tiancheng had also appeared at the door. He looked a bit worse for wear since the last time she’d seen him, maybe because of the whole incident where he was mistaken for a creep.
No matter what, Zhao Tiancheng was still her number one cash cow, so Ling Ning decided to tolerate his presence during these three days of triple wages to see if she could squeeze some extra commission out of him.
“Ling Ning, I knew I’d find you here!”
The moment Zhao Tiancheng saw Ling Ning, the tiredness in his expression vanished, replaced by confidence. A man must never show his weakness in front of the girl he likes.
Ling Ning flashed a smile and said, “Why did you leave so suddenly last time? Xiao Qing and I looked for you everywhere afterward but couldn’t find you.”
“Ahaha~ Something came up, so I had to leave.” As soon as she brought it up, Zhao Tiancheng remembered the time when he was chased down eighteen streets.
From one end of the street to the other, then back again. Many bystanders who didn’t understand the situation thought some celebrity was being chased, and more and more people joined in, making the crowd bigger and their chants weirder. Starting with “Catch that creep,” it escalated to “Catch that big-headed freak,” and eventually to “Catch that Wu Yanzu!”
[TN: Wu Yanzu is Daniel Wu, a popular Hong Kong-American actor known for his looks.]
If it were a normal situation where people were calling him Wu Yanzu, Zhao Tiancheng would have been quite happy, but under those circumstances, it was anything but pleasant.
In the end, it was the police who saved him, though being saved by the police meant he had to spend half a day explaining that he wasn’t some kind of pervert. But because of how he was dressed that day—very much like a stereotypical pervert—no one believed him. In the end, his father had to come down to the station to bail him out.
He could still remember clearly the way his father looked at him, like he was looking at a complete freak…
Seeing Zhao Tiancheng’s expression turn strange, Ling Ning deftly changed the topic, casually tricking him into ordering a bunch of the most expensive items. After listening to him ramble for a while, she found an excuse to slip away and went into the kitchen to help Xia You.
As for Chu Feng, he was now completely stuck with Zhao Dezhu and couldn’t get away at all. Right now, he wished for a beautiful big sister to come rescue him, and he vowed that if someone saved him, he would devote himself to her.
Perhaps Chu Feng’s prayers were heard by some merciful being, as Chu Mengyao slowly approached him.
“As expected from my real sister. I swear, I’ll never badmouth you in front of Mom and Dad again,” Chu Feng thought, almost moved to tears.
“Xiao Feng, be sure to take good care of the customer, and stop looking around. It’s rude,” Chu Mengyao said, shaking her head before turning and walking away, leaving behind a stunned Chu Feng.
“Is she really my sister?” Chu Feng wondered, feeling utterly betrayed.
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Author’s Note:
Because of a generous reward from a certain fan, there will be two extra chapters tonight. Give them your thanks; I’m almost at my limit!