To Get Married - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The annual winter vacation officially began, and Lu Yudong finally welcomed the days when she could truly relax.

Every day, Manzhu would supervise her for at least two hours of homework. Once finished, Yudong was allowed to sit on the sofa and watch TV with her.

However, whenever Lu Yudong was working, Manzhu would mute the television, watching only the subtitles and images. She would only turn the sound back on once Yudong finished her tasks and sat down in front of the screen.

Initially, Lu Yudong said, “Sister, you can leave the sound on. I won’t look or listen. It’s never quiet when I do homework in the classroom; it won’t affect me.”

In reality, the sound coming from a television is different from the ambient noise of a classroom—the level of attraction is entirely different.

Even though Yudong sat with her back to the TV, she was frequently lured by exciting lines of dialogue or music. After being caught stealing glances several times by Manzhu, she finally succeeded in making the home television lose its voice every single morning.

Recently, Manzhu had fallen in love with the movie channel. It didn’t require a daily commitment or fear of missing an episode; once a movie was finished, it was finished.

Most were old movies, both domestic and foreign. Some were classics, while others were absurdly bad.

Manzhu wasn’t afraid of spoilers—in fact, she enjoyed them. If they were watching together and she realized Yudong had seen it before, she would invariably ask about the ending of the protagonist or a specific supporting character.

Coincidentally, Lu Yudong had seen most of these films.

After a few days, Manzhu couldn’t help but ask curiously, “How have you seen so many of these?”

“Many of these are old movies. During my early years of elementary school, my dad loved this channel. Every night before bed and every weekend, our whole family would lie on the big bed in the bedroom and watch them together.”

Lu Yudong reminisced. Back then, they lived in a rented one-bedroom apartment with only one TV. Since her parents had the habit of falling asleep to the sound of the television, they moved it from the living room to the bedroom.

There was one big bed, and she always slept in the middle. Because she was in the center, she never got cold, no matter which way the blanket slid.

“Back then, after I finished my homework every night, I could wash up and sit on the bed to watch TV. But Mom only let me watch until ten o’clock. Once it hit ten, I had to lie down and close my eyes.” Lu Yudong smiled as she spoke. “Sister, you have no idea. For a long time, the ten o’clock slot on the movie channel was always horror or disaster movies. Every night after watching the 8-to-10 movie, I’d fall asleep listening to terrifying or intense sounds.”

At this point, a hint of pride flashed in Yudong’s eyes. “So, later on, no matter what commotion is going on, nothing can stop me from sleeping!”

Manzhu smiled and asked, “Then how do I remember you telling me in the hospital that someone was crying and wailing at night, making it so you couldn’t sleep well?”

Lu Yudong bit her lip and said, “At… at that time, my heart was just very unsettled. I’d wake up at the slightest sound… Not anymore!”

Manzhu patted Yudong’s head.

Lu Yudong cooperatively lowered her head and whispered, “As long as Sister is here, I sleep very peacefully.”

“But I come back very late every day,” Manzhu said.

“But I know you will come back! I know that as soon as I open my eyes, you will definitely be by my side!” Lu Yudong looked up at Manzhu, her eyes full of attachment.

“What about when you’re at the dormitory?” Manzhu asked again.

“At the dorm, I look at the little dog you gave me. It stays with me, and I feel very peaceful then, too!”

Manzhu’s gaze inadvertently flickered to the Corgi placed next to the little white dog on the bed. She remarked flatly, “You have a ‘new love’ now.”

“That’s different!” Lu Yudong insisted. “The little white dog was the first gift Sister gave me. It’s unique, my absolute favorite.”

Manzhu thought for a moment and said, “That… whatever-kind-of-dog Zhang Ziyun gave you…”

“It’s a Corgi,” Yudong corrected.

“Right, Corgi.” Manzhu accepted the correction humbly. “It’s very soft. Can it stay at home when school starts?”

Lu Yudong asked, “Does Sister like it?”

Manzhu nodded slightly.

Lu Yudong didn’t hesitate for a second. “Then it stays at home. Let it accompany Sister every night, just like the little white dog accompanies me.”

“Okay.”

“Just think of it as me. It’s so warm to hug it when it’s cold!” Yudong said earnestly.

Manzhu shook her head and chuckled. “It’s not nearly as warm as you.”

Hearing this, Lu Yudong happily reached out and hugged Manzhu, her eyes brimming with happiness.

As long as she was with Manzhu—whether they were eating a quiet meal, sitting on the sofa watching TV, or even just being busy with their own things under the same roof—as long as Yudong could turn around or look up and see Manzhu within her sight, she felt happy.

Because of this, Lu Yudong kept her winter vacation schedule relatively loose. During the day, aside from homework time, she spent all her time accompanying Manzhu—watching TV, chatting, or simply being together.

Only at night, when Manzhu went to the bar, would she begin her cultivation.

However, Yudong often gave herself excuses to be lazy. Two or three days a week, she wouldn’t want to work hard and would instead want to follow Manzhu to the bar to hang out.

Regarding the part-time job at Not An Old Friend, Zhang Ziyun had argued with her mother several times. Finally, after Mrs. Zhang spent several nights observing the bar and seeing that the environment was truly not rowdy, she finally felt at ease.

The work at the bar consisted only of small chores like serving trays and wiping tables. With the freezing weather and the approach of the Lunar New Year, quiet lounge bars like this were always outperformed by loud, bustling bars. It was the off-season.

As Mu Chenshan had said, the bar had plenty of staff—it had enough even during the peak season, let alone the off-season.

But even if everyone in the bar was incredibly idle, Zhang Ziyun didn’t dare let herself be. She was afraid that if she didn’t work hard, she would lose this livelihood. Thus, she worked diligently to find things to do.

If a customer coming in for a drink seemed in a bad mood, she was the first to go over and try to cheer them up. If something was dirty or messy, she was the first to clean it.

When there were no such tasks, she stayed behind the bar, helping Yan Chaomu wash and wipe the mixing tools and used glasses.

When there truly weren’t even any glasses left to wipe, she would use her phone to learn about the characteristics of every type of alcohol. She tried to act as a little salesperson for the speech-impaired Yan Chaomu when new customers who didn’t know their drinks came in.

Within a few days, the girl had memorized the dozen or so most popular drinks in the bar. After two weeks, she understood many of the less popular spirits and began promoting them as well.

Zhang Ziyun had always been articulate, and having put so much effort into studying the menu, she could talk at length about almost any drink—its alcohol content, taste, price, history, and the stories behind it. she would recommend different styles of drinks to different types of guests based on what was appropriate.

Many regulars noticed the addition of this beautiful and eloquent young girl and were willing to chat with her, often trying drinks they had never considered before based on her recommendations.

Mu Chenshan was surprised.

He had initially assumed the girl was just a “backdoor hire” who would be like the other lazy spirits in the shop—idling away every day and hoping for a free paycheck. Now it seemed she was actually a significant help to the bar’s sales.

Normally, in a stylistic lounge like Not An Old Friend, the bartender should be responsible for recommending drinks. This is because people who choose lounges usually do so to taste wine, listen to music, and chat in a quiet, comfortable environment.

Among them are those who know their alcohol, but many know nothing at all. They just want a taste but are afraid of the chaos of loud bars, so they choose a well-decorated, quiet lounge. These guests often don’t know what to order.

In these moments, a bartender needs to use their knowledge to recommend a drink based on the guest’s gender, tolerance, taste preferences, and mood. If a person is in a bad mood and wants to get drunk in a quiet place, a bartender who offers a bit of comfort and companionship—and a drink with a story—ensures that the guest will return, whether they are in a good mood or bad next time.

Thus, it is said that an excellent bartender must not only mix a satisfying drink but also be eloquent, welcoming, and polite to all guests.

Clearly, Yan Chaomu could not fulfill these requirements.

He couldn’t communicate with people at all. If a guest didn’t know what they wanted, ordering became a hassle; most ended up just following the trend, finding it wasn’t to their liking, and not ordering a second round.

Mu Chenshan had thought about hiring an assistant who understood bar culture, but Yan Chaomu seemed quite displeased by the idea—he particularly hated hearing the word “assistant.”

If it weren’t for the fact that Zhang Ziyun’s family was truly desperate for money and Lu Yudong really wanted to help her, Yan Chaomu wouldn’t have agreed to have another person standing beside him.

Surprisingly, though Zhang Ziyun had come in through the “back door,” she did an excellent job.

With a proper floor server suddenly appearing, the income from drinks increased significantly. It made Mu Chenshan almost want to hire her as a full-time employee.

Unfortunately, the girl was only a high school freshman and had to return to school in half a month.

At this thought, Mu Chenshan felt a bit sighful. Whenever Zhang Ziyun wasn’t around, he couldn’t help but lecture the spirits he had raised for so many years.

“Learn from her! Look at that sixteen-year-old girl—articulate and willing to learn. She earns the lowest wage but brings in higher results than all of you.”

It wasn’t the first time the spirits had been criticized. One by one, they accepted the lecture humbly… and then continued in their old ways.

Despite the boss’s constant lecturing, he himself didn’t exactly set a great example, so it was hard to convince the masses. Besides, usually, those who did less work didn’t see a pay cut, and those who did more didn’t see a raise. Everyone was a “salted fish” (lazy person); they had coasted along peacefully for so many years, so who was willing to work hard?

Only Zhang Ziyun was full of drive every day, happy and satisfied with her wage of 120 yuan a day.

In the end, with her family owing money to relatives and Zhang Hao, how could she not work hard? Although she had calculated the debt many times, every day after receiving her daily pay, she would calculate it again with a calculator—as if only by watching the number decrease bit by bit could she feel a semblance of peace.

In truth, if she could work here every day, paying off that 70,000 yuan would only take about two years. But the fact was, she could only come during vacations. It all felt so far away.

One night, Lu Yudong followed Manzhu to Not An Old Friend to play. Seeing that there were temporarily no guests, Zhang Ziyun pulled Yudong to a table near the bar to sit for a while.

After a few brief pleasantries, she pulled out 1,400 yuan in cash and stuffed it into Lu Yudong’s hand.

Lu Yudong froze, then quickly shook her head. “This is the money you earned this past half-month. You can’t give it all to me like this.”

“I owe you,” Zhang Ziyun said.

Lu Yudong pushed the money back, insisting, “I’m not in a hurry! If I ever am, I’ll tell you. Since you earned some money, go pay back Zhang Hao first. The sooner you pay him off, the sooner you can cut ties with him!”

Zhang Ziyun felt a warmth in her heart. She was silent for a few seconds before asking softly, “You… you really want me to cut ties with Zhang Hao?”

Lu Yudong frowned and said seriously, “Of course! You don’t like him, yet he always pesters you. Clearly you haven’t agreed to anything, yet he’s made it so the whole class thinks there’s something between you… It makes me angry just watching! Yes, he did help you, but business is business. The money was a loan, and we will pay it back, but definitely not according to his ‘intentions’.”

With that, she pushed the money back into Zhang Ziyun’s hand. “Pay him back a little when school starts. We have so much time ahead of us, what are you afraid of?”

Zhang Ziyun smiled brightly, nodded, and took the money back. “Lu Yudong, you’re so good.”

“Alright, alright, don’t praise me, I’m blushing! Go back now, a customer is coming,” Lu Yudong reminded her.

Zhang Ziyun quickly got up and ran back, warmly greeting the guests. By the time she finished, she looked back at the spot where she had been chatting with Lu Yudong, but Yudong was already gone. This left her in a bit of a trance.

Near the small stage in the bar, Lu Yudong drank hot fruit juice while watching Manzhu on stage.

Listening to the songs she already knew so well, she unconsciously hummed along. Manzhu would occasionally cast her gaze toward her, her eyes full of a tender smile.

Lu Yudong had a few songs she loved to hear. Every time she came, Manzhu would sing them one by one when no one was requesting songs.

Manzhu had said that when guests requested songs, it cost money—this was “exclusive favor.”

A person receiving exclusive favor is always happy. Just like now, the song Yudong had liked for a long time, Li Li Wan Xiang (A Thousand Villages), began to play in the bar. That was the first song she had personally requested from Manzhu, and it was the song Manzhu sang for her every single time.

Manzhu sang for her, and she hummed softly along.

Suddenly, someone sat down beside her. Surprised, she turned to see Zhang Ziyun delivering a cup of milk tea to her.

Zhang Ziyun’s face was a bit red from the cold; she must have gone outside.

Lu Yudong was surprised. “You went out to buy this?”

Zhang Ziyun smiled. “Yeah. I suddenly wanted to drink some, so I brought one for you while I was at it.”

Lu Yudong took the milk tea and teased, “Whoa, are you slacking off on the job?”

“There’s a milk tea shop right across the street. It only takes ten minutes to go and come back,” Zhang Ziyun said, lowering her voice and leaning into Yudong’s ear. “Besides, if the boss sees, I’ll just say you wanted to drink it and I went to buy it for you. He can’t blame me then, can he?”

She could tell that all the rules of Not An Old Friend didn’t apply to Lu Yudong. Everyone doted on her, so buying milk tea for her probably wouldn’t be considered “ignoring work duties.”

Lu Yudong couldn’t help but laugh. “You really are… Fine, I’ll take the blame for you!”

“Thanks!” Zhang Ziyun said, getting up and running off.

Lu Yudong looked down and took two sips of the milk tea. When she looked up, she missed the moment where Manzhu’s eyes held a slightly complicated look.