Extra 1
“What do you think?” Chen Jian asked with a smile.
He was driving, and next to him, Shan Yu’s phone was repeatedly playing the DayinJianghu character introduction video that Hu Pan had just gotten Liu Wu to do the post-production for yesterday.
“Liu Wu did this? He didn’t pay someone else to do it?” Shan Yu said. “It’s actually quite decent.”
“Give him some praise,” Chen Jian said. “I heard he stayed up for several nights.”
“Does he charge?” Shan Yu asked.
“No,” Chen Jian said. “Hu Pan asked him, and it was for his cousin. How could he possibly charge?”
“Then let’s praise him,” Shan Yu yawned. “Maybe we can have him write the script too.”
“Are you paying?” Chen Jian asked.
“Why would I look for him if I had to pay?” Shan Yu said.
“That’s ruthless enough,” Chen Jian said.
“I’m saving money for your Da Yin,” Shan Yu said.
As the car turned into the courtyard, Chen Jian saw two people standing in the pavilion ahead, seemingly in the middle of a dispute.
A man and a woman. If he wasn’t mistaken, the man was Lao Wu.
“Rehearsing?” Shan Yu asked.
“…I don’t think so. There’s no script yet,” Chen Jian said, staring. “I’ve never seen that girl before.”
“Is that Lao Wu’s girlfriend?” Shan Yu asked.
“He’s already been dumped,” Chen Jian said, parking the car. “I’ll go take a look.”
As he got out of the car, Sanbing walked out of the house. “You’re back from the market?”
“We’re back,” Chen Jian pointed in the direction of the pavilion. “Who’s Lao Wu with over there?”
“It’s that girlfriend,” Sanbing shook his head. “It seems she’s here to say goodbye. It’s been almost half an hour, and they’re still not done.”
“Didn’t they break up a long time ago? They didn’t?” Chen Jian was a bit surprised. Could Lao Wu, who had only asked for cigarette money in the past two months, still be holding on?
“This time, she’s here to give him the ‘you’re a good person’ card,” Hu Pan also walked out. “It’s a good way to part on good terms…”
“Lao Wu’s love is truly…” Sanbing shook his head again. “Difficult.”
“Tingting—” Lao Wu’s hoarse shout suddenly came from outside. “Tingting—”
“Oh my,” Shan Yu got out of the car. “Someone hurry up and poison him mute for me.”
As Chen Jian walked out of the courtyard gate, he saw the girl, who should be named Tingting, shake off Lao Wu’s hand and run towards them.
It seemed Tingting really wanted to leave, not just for show. She was quite strong. Lao Wu was thrown back two steps by her. He paused for a moment before chasing after her. “Tingting, don’t go!”
Tingting didn’t stop. She ran very fast, raising her hand to wipe her eyes as she ran.
“What’s going on?” Chen Jian subconsciously reached out to stop her.
Although it was unlikely, he still had to make sure it wasn’t Lao Wu bullying her.
“You must be Manager Chen. Please tell him,” Tingting stopped briefly and glanced at him, “not to be sad. I’ll come back for him when I’ve made it big.”
“What the hell?” For a moment, Chen Jian felt like the two of them were really filming a short drama.
And they had gotten their lines mixed up.
“Stop him!” Tingting’s face was covered in real tears. She shouted as she ran, “Tell him not to chase me anymore! I can’t give him anything right now—”
As Lao Wu chased past Chen Jian, Chen Jian grabbed his arm. Sanbing also rushed out, directly hugging Lao Wu and dragging him into the courtyard.
“Let go of me—” Lao Wu struggled, his hand still reaching forward. “Tingting…”
“Lao Si!” Chen Erhu walked out.
Lao Si came out from behind him, pushed Sanbing away, and put an arm under Lao Wu’s armpit. A few seconds later, Lao Wu was dragged to the backyard and, under Chen Erhu’s order, shut his mouth.
“What’s going on?” Chen Jian finally had a chance to ask.
“She’s leaving, going to work,” Lao Wu said, his face also covered in tears. “She came to say goodbye to me…”
“Isn’t it normal for people to go to work?” Chen Jian said.
“She’s going to the south. It’s very far. Once she’s gone, I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again,” Lao Wu said, wiping his tears.
“Didn’t she say she’ll come back for you when she’s… made it big?” Chen Jian said.
Lao Wu didn’t speak. His clenched fists were trembling a little. After a while, he said, “Did you see? She’s not the kind of girl you said she was. She really thinks I don’t have money, so she’s going to work and earn money herself!”
“Oh,” Chen Jian was stunned.
“You don’t understand love!” Lao Wu glared at him. “You don’t understand at all!”
“Hm?” Chen Jian looked at him.
“Well, he still understands,” Chen Erhu said.
“He doesn’t understand my kind!” Lao Wu said.
“I… don’t really understand,” Chen Jian said.
“I will wait for her,” Lao Wu pointed to the ground. “Right here, I will wait for her.”
“Okay,” Chen Jian nodded.
Hu Pan peeked out from around the corner of the wall and waved at Chen Jian.
Chen Jian walked over.
“She’s still outside,” Hu Pan said. “You go and ask.”
“…You go. It’s easier for girls to communicate,” Chen Jian hesitated. Tingting had seemed completely at a loss just now.
“Are you stupid? It’s not appropriate for me to go,” Hu Pan said. “I’m a girl. If I break up with my boyfriend, and then one of his female colleagues comes to comfort me, how awkward would that be? Of course, it’s more appropriate for a male leader to go and comfort her.”
As he walked out, he saw that Shan Yu hadn’t hidden back upstairs. He was leaning against the lobby door, looking out.
Seeing Chen Jian walk over, he smiled and said, “The manager is so busy.”
“I see you’re quite free. Why don’t you…” Chen Jian looked at him.
Before he could finish, Shan Yu had already turned and walked inside, saying as he went, “Should we hire someone? When Sun Nana is at the company, there’s no one to even make coffee here…”
“I’m coming,” Hu Pan ran in after him. “What would you like to drink, President Shan?”
“A Spanish latte, thank you,” Shan Yu said.
Since Sun Nana had arrived, the variety of coffee had increased significantly.
“Eighteen,” Hu Pan pointed at the payment QR code on the counter. “Scan here.”
“The price went up?” Shan Yu was taken aback.
“No,” Hu Pan said. “It’s the internal price.”
“The internal price is higher than the public price?” Shan Yu asked.
“No,” Hu Pan said as she ground the beans. “Manager Chen made a rule. Employees get two free cups a day. Leaders have to pay, with an extra three yuan per cup.”
“Who are the leaders?” Shan Yu asked.
“You and him,” Hu Pan said.
“Does he drink it?” Shan Yu asked again.
“He used to,” Hu Pan said, busily working. “But not since the rule was made.”
“…Alright, as expected of him,” Shan Yu was amused and nodded.
As he was about to take out his phone to scan the code, he thought for a moment and asked, “Does anyone else drink it? For example, Zhao Fangfang and the others…”
“Sister Zhao and the others don’t drink it. They’re not used to it,” Hu Pan smiled and placed the finished coffee on the table.
“Then give me a cup from Zhao Fangfang’s quota,” Shan Yu said, putting his phone back in his pocket.
“Huh?” Hu Pan was stunned.
“Thank you,” Shan Yu said, taking the coffee and quickly walking towards the elevator.
Tingting was squatting on the side of the road diagonally opposite, at the entrance to the small path leading to the old pigsty. She was squatting on a brick, probably not paying much attention to her appearance because she was in a bad mood.
Seeing Chen Jian walk over, she stood up and took two steps towards the small path.
“Hello,” Chen Jian said, afraid that she would run away again, so he quickly greeted her first.
“Is Chen Ziyang okay?” Tingting asked.
“He’s not crying anymore,” Chen Jian said, fumbling in his pocket and taking out a pack of tissues to hand to her, not knowing what to say. “Do you two… want to talk again?”
“No. I wasn’t crying entirely for him. It was just the atmosphere,” Tingting shook her head and took a tissue to wipe the tears from her face. “I just came to say goodbye. He’s a really good person. I wouldn’t have felt right if I didn’t say it to his face.”
“Are you his… girlfriend?” Chen Jian asked.
“Ex-girlfriend. We’ve already broken up,” Tingting said. “Once I leave, I don’t know when I’ll be back, and I don’t know if I can make a name for myself.”
“He said you’re going to work,” Chen Jian was a little worried. “Did someone introduce you? Or what? What kind of work are you going to do?”
Tingting looked at him and smiled. “He always told me that their manager is a very good person. He really wasn’t exaggerating.”
Chen Jian didn’t speak.
“Don’t worry. Although I didn’t go to school much, I’ve been around for a long time and have met all kinds of people,” Tingting said. “I know how to protect myself.”
“How old are you?” Chen Jian asked.
“Twenty-one,” Tingting smiled. “Thank you.”
“Oh,” Chen Jian didn’t say anything else.
“As long as he’s okay, I’ll be leaving,” Tingting said, pressing the corners of her eyes with a tissue. “Please tell him that I still like him a lot, but I’m tired of being poor. No one can give me what I want, and neither can he.”
Chen Jian was really not good at persuading people, especially when faced with this girl who seemed to have already made up her mind and was very determined.
“I’m going to make money. I don’t want to live a hard life with anyone,” Tingting said. “I’ve seen too much of it. Neither of them will have a good life. When I make money in the future, I’ll come back to see him.”
“…Mhm,” Chen Jian didn’t know what else to say and could only respond. “Then you should still… be careful.”
“I will,” Tingting nodded, turned, and walked quickly towards the town entrance.
When Chen Jian returned to the house, Lao Wu had already gone back to the dorm. It took Chen Jian a long time to figure out what had happened from the debriefing of Hu Pan and the others.
Tingting was the girlfriend who had been asking Lao Wu for money. She had indeed taken the money and hadn’t returned it. Tingting was also very direct about it. Because no one took care of her, she just wanted to get money. Just asking her boyfriend for money was not a long-term solution. The key was that Lao Wu really didn’t have any money, so she decided to go to a big city to work and make money.
“I thought at first that she had a younger brother or something, like me,” Hu Pan said. “I didn’t expect her to be an only child.”
“Then why doesn’t her family take care of her?” Chen Jian asked.
“Who knows,” Hu Pan said. “They’re too poor, divorced, or they just don’t want to. Or maybe the child is too rebellious and they can’t control her. There are too many reasons.”
“I hope she does well,” Chen Jian sighed.
“Whether she does well or not, she has no choice,” Hu Pan said. “She either gets married, and if she marries the wrong person, she continues to suffer, or she relies on herself and gives it a shot.”
“What if she fails?” Chen Erhu asked.
“If you can think about that when you’re fighting, it’s not called fighting,” Hu Pan said. “You only go and fight when you’ve already thought about accepting any consequences. There are only two words in your mind: Make money! Make money!”
No one spoke again.
“But…” After a while, Sanbing frowned. “Can we say that, actually… Lao Wu really did… have a relationship?”
“I guess so,” Hu Pan thought for a moment, resting her chin on her hand. “I guess so. After all, Tingting told him the truth, and she came to see him before she left.”
“Mhm,” Sanbing nodded, then turned to look at Chen Jian.
“Why are you looking at me?” Chen Jian asked.
“I feel like your relationship is the only one that’s going smoothly,” Sanbing said. “Nana is getting a divorce, Lao Wu just had a forced breakup, and I…”
“You can’t even successfully pursue Panpan,” Lao Si said.
“The one Boss Shan should have poisoned mute is you!” Sanbing glared at him. As Chen Jian walked towards the stairs, he called out to him again, “Chen Jian.”
“Hey?” Chen Jian turned his head.
“You guys are the most normal couple,” Sanbing said.
“If you’re so envious, go find a man,” Chen Erhu said with some impatience.
“That’s not necessary,” Sanbing said. “I’m just doing some thinking.”
“The moment you think!” Chen Erhu said, “The Jade Emperor will laugh.”
Shan Yu started laughing, picked up a mealworm with tweezers, and teased Erge. “Let’s give Lao Wu half a day off.”
“I’ve put him on the night shift. He can rest this afternoon,” Chen Jian said, leaning against the nearby cabinet. “He said he can’t sleep at night anyway.”
“It’s quite dramatic,” Chen Jian said. “But I didn’t ask why Lao Wu didn’t think of asking Tingting to work here. He could have asked me whether we were hiring or not.”
“She still wants to go out. There are more opportunities outside,” Shan Yu said. “Go to a big city, see the big world, see how other girls live.”
“Maybe,” Chen Jian said, looking at Shan Yu. “Are there very few people like me who don’t want to go out? Chen Erhu and the others are working quite steadily now, but they’re also thinking of leaving one day. Panpan and Nana came from the outside. Only I…”
“Aren’t you held back by me?” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian smiled.
“After you’ve cleared all your debts this year, do you have any plans?” Shan Yu glanced at him.
“I’ll go and inspect some guesthouses,” Chen Jian said. “Didn’t you want to build another old house-themed guesthouse in Shannan? I’ll go and see how other ancient towns do it.”
“Why so enthusiastic all of a sudden?” Shan Yu asked, putting down the box of mealworms and turning around.
“Is it sudden?” Chen Jian asked.
“You didn’t seem particularly interested when I mentioned it last time,” Shan Yu said.
“I don’t know. Maybe I was touched by something,” Chen Jian looked at him. “I think Tingting wanted to leave and break up with Lao Wu, maybe not mainly because she wanted to make a lot of money, but… because Lao Wu didn’t have the idea of making a lot of money… Actually, that’s not accurate. It’s just a feeling that suddenly extended from it…”
“You’re trying to say that one wants to move forward, while the other is still in the same place,” Shan Yu said.
“Mhm,” Chen Jian nodded.
“You haven’t been in the same place for a long time,” Shan Yu said, his fingers gently stroking his face. “You’ve never been in the same place. The reason I want to do something is also because you’re pushing me forward.”
“Really?” Chen Jian looked at him.
“Mhm,” Shan Yu responded. “Do you want to think about it again?”
Chen Jian was silent for a moment, then asked, “Did you just use your hands to pinch the worm?”
“Nonsense,” Shan Yu said. “Erge is more excited about eating than Dage. When he opens his mouth, he bites both the finger and the worm. I’ve always used tweezers.”
“Oh,” Chen Jian said with a smile, taking his fingers and kissing them.
“As for the guesthouse, if you want to do it, you can start thinking about it now,” Shan Yu said. “You don’t have to wait until you’ve cleared your debts to start from one, two, three.”
“Then the next step is to first find out if President Shan has any intention of investing,” Chen Jian said.
“Doesn’t your Dayinhave money in its own account?” Shan Yu asked.
“No,” Chen Jian said.
“You’re already selling me coffee for eighteen yuan with a three-yuan markup,” Shan Yu said. “Haven’t you managed to scrape together some money from that?”
“Huh?” Chen Jian started laughing. “You went to drink coffee?”
“I did,” Shan Yu said. “I drank Zhao Fangfang’s quota.”
“Your brain works quite fast, President Shan,” Chen Jian was stunned.
“There’s a loophole in the rules,” Shan Yu smiled.
“It seems I still have a lot to learn from President Shan,” Chen Jian said.
“There’s still a long way to go,” Shan Yu said, stretching. “Take your time to learn.”
