How Did The Young Lady Go Bankrupt? - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Rewards

Lu Zhiyao was somewhat impressed.

Although she wasn’t in pain anymore, Duan Zishu was still weak from the ordeal, looking as if she were ethereal and about to ascend to the heavens. Even in this state, she was still thinking about a goodnight kiss—Lu Zhiyao had no idea what was going on in that head of hers.

Maintaining the mindset of not arguing with someone who was sick, Lu Zhiyao helplessly lowered her head. “Am I going to have to read you bedtime stories next?”

She had assumed Duan Zishu was half-dead, but as Lu Zhiyao leaned in, Duan Zishu straightened up first. The distance between them closed abruptly, and a hand landed on Lu Zhiyao’s shoulder, preventing her from retreating.

It was embarrassing to admit, but at that exact moment, a plotline from those “Domineering CEO falls in love with me” novels genuinely popped into Lu Zhiyao’s mind.

However, Duan Zishu had been downgraded from the “CEO” category, and she didn’t actually force a kiss against the other person’s will. She simply said from a dangerously intimate distance, “I’ve missed you so much. Really.”

Really. But Lu Zhiyao didn’t feel it was true. Missing someone for days they hadn’t been in contact, day after day? Even the most devout believers weren’t that pious. Her high-school self would have been deeply moved, but unfortunately, becoming an adult who no longer found it easy to believe lies was sometimes quite boring—it meant losing so many simple, low-level joys.

The hand on her shoulder moved slowly downward, from her upper arm to her forearm, and finally, she lifted Lu Zhiyao’s hand and planted a light kiss on the back of it.

“Goodnight,” Duan Zishu said.

“…”

Lu Zhiyao didn’t speak. She scratched the back of the hand that had been kissed, feeling somewhat uneasy.

A goodnight kiss—was that the kind of place you were supposed to kiss?

She really needed to read fewer novels; otherwise, her mind would always be running wild.

Because of the illness, the matter of finding work was naturally pushed back. Lu Zhiyao didn’t bring it up immediately, and Duan Zishu, of course, went with the flow and stayed silent. This created even more trouble; Duan Zishu’s “glass stomach” couldn’t be trifled with, yet she wasn’t willing to eat noodles every meal.

What is going on? It felt like she’d acted on a whim and picked up a stray cat. It had been obedient the first day, but by the second day, it was struck by a severe illness that increased its value, and it began to get picky about its food.

Lu Zhiyao sighed, wondering if she was destined to be a servant for the rest of her life. As a child, she wove bamboo baskets to help make ends meet; in college, she cleaned up the messes of eccentric colleagues in her department; and now, she was being entangled like a water ghost by a high-maintenance ex. In a while, she’d have to go back home and deal with her mother, who had spent her entire life in frustration.

She had no idea what to prepare for breakfast; she couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t greasy. Steamed buns, fried dough sticks, pancakes—weren’t those all hard to digest?

In the end, she made noodles again.

As soon as Duan Zishu saw the noodles, she lay on the sofa and played dead.

“I’m allergic to rice,” she said.

“Cut the crap, these are made of wheat. Get up and eat, today’s are different.”

Lu Zhiyao was quite unhappy. She didn’t owe anyone anything; the person not doing the cooking was being picky—what the hell was this?

“How are they different?”

“They were plain noodle soup before; today they are tomato and egg noodles.”

Duan Zishu prepared to lie down and play dead again.

“I know how to make plenty of other kinds of noodles. Cabbage-sautéed noodles, egg-sautéed noodles, cabbage-and-egg-sautéed noodles; dried noodles, hand-pulled noodles, sliced noodles; soup noodles, mixed noodles, soybean paste noodles. Eat them, rotate them—I won’t let you get tired of them.”

Duan Zishu looked like she was about to cry.

Only then did Lu Zhiyao feel a tiny bit satisfied.

But in the end, nothing changed. She was still the one cooking, Duan Zishu was still a picky eater, and she was the only one playing these mental games. As a child, she had to weave baskets because she needed the money to eat and go to school. In college, she had to clean up for her colleagues because she wanted to be president to secure her recommendation for graduate school. She had to visit her mother because that was her mother. But Duan Zishu? She didn’t need to serve Duan Zishu. Even if she couldn’t bear to see her sleep on the street, she could have been tougher, or at least made her feel too guilty to be picky while eating someone else’s food.

Maybe it was just because she was an overwhelmingly good person. After all, Duan Zishu had just experienced the major low of bankruptcy, and presumably, she hadn’t graduated because she couldn’t afford tuition. She’d let her rest for a couple of days and talk about it then.

Duan Zishu was an art student—she studied fine arts. She had seen Duan Zishu’s drawings; they were stunningly beautiful. Even if she didn’t have a degree and couldn’t get into a big company as a graphic designer, surely she could make a living taking commissions online? She couldn’t just linger at home forever; as long as she mastered a skill, she shouldn’t starve.

Before her mood stabilized, she could transition by working at the milk tea shop.

Once she reasoned this out, Lu Zhiyao stopped sulking, merely self-mocking that in her past life, she must have been an old ox worked to death in the fields.

“If you’re too bored at home,” Lu Zhiyao said before leaving, “clean up the place.”

If she could use the “Young Lady” as a housekeeper, she definitely wouldn’t be losing out, though Lu Zhiyao didn’t hold high hopes. Sure enough, there was no change when she got home; the trash can she’d emptied that morning still didn’t have a new bag in it.

Duan Zishu said, with an innocent look, “I don’t think the house is dirty.”

“Tomorrow, you’re coming with me to interview with the boss,” Lu Zhiyao said, her expression cold. “If you don’t pass, I know another shop—you can go hand out flyers.”

Duan Zishu’s expression didn’t change, but she leaned back against the armrest, and Lu Zhiyao knew she wasn’t happy.

She used to be like this, too; she wouldn’t show anger or joy easily. Lu Zhiyao thought that these “blue-blooded” aristocrats were all the same—they only let others guess their feelings to appear noble.

“Going to shake milk tea, don’t you think that’s a bit of a waste?” she said.

Various professions might be equal in textbooks, but in people’s perceptions, they were different. The more money a job paid, the easier it was, and the higher the degree required, the better the job. Being a milk tea shop employee was a job that paid little, required lots of work, and took no brainpower; it was near the bottom of the social ladder. Moreover, it was indeed a waste for someone with a high degree to do manual labor, because a highly educated person didn’t just represent their own effort; they represented a massive accumulation of social resources and should be taking on high-end work.

Lu Zhiyao chuckled.

“You only have a high school diploma right now; nothing you do is a waste.”

Duan Zishu hummed gloomily. She leaned against the armrest, her fingers tapping lightly. They were a beautiful pair of hands, an art student’s hands; they truly should be used for creation. Lu Zhiyao thought that as long as she proposed making money with her expertise, even if freelance online artists needed time to build a client base—as long as she was willing to work, Lu Zhiyao was willing to wait.

In the end, Duan Zishu just said, “Alright.”

After a while, she added, “Then if I pass the interview, will there be a reward?”

How old are you? I’m not your mother. Isn’t it a matter of course for an adult to find work?

“I know it’s a bit childish.” Duan Zishu looked toward the window, her gaze as desolate as always. “Since I was little, I’ve looked forward to effort being exchanged for a small reward—even if it was just a hug or a word of praise. Unfortunately, my mother never gave me that.”

Fine. What else could Lu Zhiyao say?

“If it’s not too excessive,” she could only say.

“But the boss’s interview standards are very strange; don’t get rejected.”

“I am very good at interviews,” Duan Zishu lifted her brows. “Learning how to converse with people and showcase one’s advantages—that’s a required course in our family.”

But your resume isn’t very suitable for an interview. Luckily, shaking milk tea doesn’t require a degree.

Though she grumbled to herself, Lu Zhiyao wasn’t really worried about the interview result. The boss’s standards for interviews were odd, but all the employees shared one startling similarity—

They were all lesbians.

To outsiders, the standard of rejecting skilled applicants while hiring rookies was strange, but insiders understood the reason perfectly. One had to say, the boss’s “gaydar” was terrifyingly accurate. Rookies would be cautious when talking about their exes at first, but after a while, they’d be shocked to find everyone was talking about their girlfriends.

The boss had heard it was someone Lu Zhiyao introduced and hadn’t even considered the resume; she just exchanged contact info and arranged for Duan Zishu to start work. The next day, the boss happened to pass by the milk tea shop, stopped in, and met with Duan Zishu privately.

They talked in the breakroom while several colleagues on shift went about their business.

“Sister Lu, who’s the new person?”

“A high school classmate.”

“Really? Just a classmate?”

“Believe what you want.”

Lu Zhiyao didn’t want others to know her relationship with Duan Zishu; she wasn’t even sure herself what psychological reason was behind that.

Even if they were lesbians, it didn’t mean any two women had an ambiguous relationship. Since Lu Zhiyao had said as much, the others just assumed they were friends. The center of the gossip began to shift, and someone asked Xiao Zhang, “How’s it going with your girlfriend?”

Xiao Zhang’s expression became very awkward. “Uh…”

“No way, is she a scammer too?”

“No, no, no, she’s not!” Xiao Zhang immediately denied. “She’s a very good person, but…”

“But what?”

“…We broke up.”

The group froze, then started laughing. It looked heartless, but Xiao Zhang’s heartbreaks were so common they were more predictable than some people’s menstrual cycles. Everyone was used to it; Xiao Zhang would soon have another girlfriend and then break up again.

After a few laughs, they realized Xiao Zhang was genuinely a bit sad and hurriedly comforted her. Xiao Zhang didn’t stay upset for long and quickly returned to her usual self: “It’s okay, I can’t wait to welcome the next breakup!”

The boss had other things to do and left after talking to Duan Zishu for a bit, as she had her own primary work. The task of training the new person naturally fell to Lu Zhiyao, who signaled for Duan Zishu to come get her uniform.

Duan Zishu’s brows were still raised. The movement was slight, but Lu Zhiyao knew she was very pleased.

“Passed.” Even though Duan Zishu only said the one word, Lu Zhiyao could tell she actually wanted to say, “See? I told you I’d pass,” with that smug, triumphant look. Lu Zhiyao didn’t even look up as she said, “Mmm-hmm, amazing, go change into the clothes.”

Duan Zishu seemed not to hear the dismissal and continued, “Can I win my reward?”

“Sure, sure, sure,” Lu Zhiyao replied, “but no kissing or hugging. We broke up ages ago; you should know that sexual harassment between people of the same gender is not to be taken lightly.”

Duan Zishu’s brows fell back, and she returned to her expressionless state. The “Young Lady” actually had a very serious face, which made Lu Zhiyao feel like she was projecting her own small-mindedness onto a person of integrity.

“I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Alright, alright, just tell me what you want,” Lu Zhiyao said, shifting her gaze away in embarrassment. “If it’s over fifty yuan, you need to book it five working days in advance.