Chapter 17

Like Her

15 minutes ago, Nan Ge thought to herself.

I’m dying of laughter. Am I the kind of person who would bend over backward for the sake of money?

Fifteen minutes later, she had to apologize and admit that she was exactly that kind of person!

“Welcome! How many of you are there?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The waitress, Nan Ge, promptly started working.

——

An hour passed in the blink of an eye as she worked.

While Nan Ge was resting, the manager poured her a glass of water. “Thank you for your hard work. I really didn’t want to call you over, but two waiters took leave today.”

“There are more customers than usual tonight, so there’s really not enough manpower.”

“It’s fine. I’m good.” Nan Ge drank half a glass of water in one go. She took a deep breath and continued, “I really don’t mind helping. As long as you…”

She paused and rubbed her fingers with a smile.

The manager chuckled. “In good time.”

“Don’t play any emotional cards with me later. Although this is my brother’s restaurant, I’m a very materialistic person. I’ve never cared about anyone. I only care about money and not people.”

The manager’s lips twitched.

“Quick, quick, quick. We have guests.”

Seeing someone push the door open and enter, the manager quickly pushed her forward and sent her away.

“Remember that.” Before Nan Ge left, she did not forget to turn around and gesture a heart with her fingers.

“…” There was no need to say anything.

“Hello! Welcome to Irelyn! May I ask… what a coincidence!”

Looking at the familiar figure, Nan Ge smiled and waved.

After not seeing her for a few days, Shen Yanqing heard a familiar voice as soon as he entered the door.

He thought he was hallucinating, but when he looked up, he saw a little girl in a black uniform with pigtails running toward him.

Who else could it be but Nan Ge?

A quizzical gaze landed on Nan Ge as he carefully sized her up from head to toe.

“Shouldn’t you be in school at this time? Have you already revised?”

Nan Ge shook her head gently. “It’s too busy at the restaurant today. The manager asked me to help at the last minute. I just got here.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the door behind Shen Yanqing opened and closed, and a few more people came in.

When they saw Shen Yanqing standing at the door without moving, they followed his gaze and looked at Nan Ge. Their eyes lit up.

“What’s the matter, Yanqing? Are you friends?”

Shen Yanqing nodded slightly but did not say anything.

Then, his gaze landed on Nan Ge again. He asked softly, “Is there a private room?”

Nan Ge nodded and said skillfully, “Yes, please come this way. I’ll take you there. Be careful of the steps.”

Shen Yanqing and his group of six were high school classmates. Since they were free and happened to be nearby, they came out for supper.

After entering the private room, Nan Ge handed over the menus one by one. “This is our menu. Everyone can take a look and see if there’s anything you want to eat.”

“The ones with an asterisk are all our signatures and the feedback for those is pretty good. You can give it a try if you like.”

She tried her best to make recommendations, but Shen Yanqing closed the menu and returned it to her. “I’ll take the usual.”

Nan Ge’s brain short-circuited for a moment before she remembered what he was talking about. She raised her hand and gave him an okay sign.

The people around them were no longer in the mood to eat. Their attention was all on the two of them, and their ambiguous gazes kept lingering on them.

However, Nan Ge was completely unaware of it.

“How long have you known Yanqing? Do you know him well?”

Finally, someone could not suppress his curiosity and took the initiative to ask Nan Ge.

Nan Ge looked up at the person who asked the question and hesitated for a second. “Not long. I’ve been delivering food to President Shen’s company recently.”

They can’t be considered close, can they?

Nan Ge thought.

“I see.” The man was a little disappointed. He felt that Nan Ge was definitely not telling the truth.

The two of them were exchanging glances. It was not as simple as she said.

“Ahem,” Shen Yanqing interrupted. He tapped his long fingers on the table. “Are you done? It’s getting late.”

“Oh, okay.” They quickly gave their orders.

Nan Ge noted them down one by one. “Alright. Please wait a moment.”

After she left, the private room became lively.

“Yanqing, what’s going on?”

“Is it really that simple?”

“I doubt it, right? From the atmosphere between the two of you, those small actions and gazes, it doesn’t seem like you just know each other!”

“Tell us the truth. Are you dating her?”

...

They asked one after another, giving Shen Yanqing a headache. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyebrows. “It’s only been a while since we last met. How did you become so gossipy?”

The person opposite him waved his hand. “Hey, you don’t understand. If it were anyone else today, we definitely wouldn’t be so curious.”

“That’s right. When you were in high school, you were the most handsome boy in our school. The girls you rejected could circle the field.”

“At that time, everyone was curious about what kind of girl you liked!”

The other person raised his hand to cover his chest and interrupted. “I can’t even bear to talk about it. I still remember the scene of my goddess crying and throwing chocolate into my arms after Yanqing rejected her.”

“Why didn’t I know?”

“What happened after that?”

“Afterwards… I was so angry that I wiped out the chocolates. Until now, when I see chocolates, I can remember the day I lost the girl.”

“Hahahahahaha.”

Shen Yanqing was a little helpless. He raised his eyes slightly. “She and I are indeed what she said, but…”

“But what?” They instantly pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a word.

...

” I do have feelings for her.”

“See? I just knew it!”

The protagonist raised his hand, indicating that they should control themselves. “We only just met. She’s a very obedient girl. Don’t make a fuss later, lest you scare her.”

“Oh my. Sure enough, you like her. You’re already so concerned about her.”

After sitting for a while, Shen Yanqing found an excuse to get up.

“Pardon me. I’m going to the washroom.”

“Oh wow. Are you really going to the washroom? We’re too embarrassed to expose you.”

Faced with his friend’s teasing, Shen Yanqing said candidly, “Fine. Wait here while I go out and see her.”

As he spoke, a calm smile appeared on his handsome face.

His friends were furious at him and were not used to how sticky he was with the girl. They waved their hands to signal him to hurry up.

——

In the hall, the plates fell to the ground with a clang.

“Are you hurt?”

Nan Ge squatted on the ground and helped the fallen child up.

The kid shook his head.

Looking at the fragments beside her, Nan Ge felt a lingering fear.

Suddenly, the sound of high heels approached. Before she could look up, the child in front of her was pulled over. “What happened to you?”

The woman’s voice was loud and high-pitched, making Nan Ge’s shoulders shrink in fear.

She wanted to explain that the little kid had bumped into her, but in the next second, the woman pointed at her nose and cursed, “What’s wrong with you! Are you blind?!”