Zhu Niao had to rush off to her part-time job.
After all, it wasn’t easy to find a job that perfectly matched her class-free hours and had a boss who was easy to talk to.
Miss this chance, and it’d be gone for good.
“You want me to come with you?” Gou Yu asked.
“Uh, no need.”
Zhu Niao glanced at him.
She really couldn’t bring herself to let her good bro waste any more time on her.
Yesterday, just walking her over to meet her dormmates for the first time had already cost Old Dog valuable time he could’ve spent delivering food to survive.
Today was the same—they’d tailed the dorm leader around all day only to find it was a false alarm.
So now, even if Zhu Niao had skin as thick as armor, she couldn’t ask Gou Yu to keep tagging along.
“Go on, wear your yellow robes and serve the starving masses. I can handle this kind of thing on my own.”
It wasn’t like Zhu Niao hadn’t worked cashier jobs before.
And compared to her past employers, this boss was way more easygoing.
She looked like some rich young lady just playing at “experiencing life.”
In fact, the first thing she brought up in their initial conversation wasn’t rules or regulations—but how inconvenient it was that Zhu Niao could only work during her free time.
Although it had been her old male self who passed that interview, it seemed like this boss’s memory had already been overwritten by the fake past the goddess had given them.
“You really don’t have to talk about food delivery like it’s some noble calling,” Gou Yu muttered, giving Zhu Niao one last look.
Of course, he knew why she said those things.
And yes, he had wasted quite a bit of time.
Originally, he’d even been planning to verify his own suspicions—to see if the manager of Niao’s part-time job was the person he thought it might be—but realistically, the odds of something that crazy happening to her were way too low.
“All right then, I’m off.”
Gou Yu raised his cup of milk tea and turned toward the electric scooter he’d parked outside the school gate—off to serve the hungry masses once more.
…Why did it sound more and more glorious the more he thought about it?
“I’m off too!”
Zhu Niao sprinted off like the wind, but only got a few steps before she collapsed, gasping, with her hands on her knees.
Luckily, the little store where she was working as a cashier wasn’t too far away.
So when she was on the verge of collapse, worrying about how she’d survive the upcoming fitness test at the start of the semester, she finally dragged herself to the glass door of the shop—like a half-dead dog, slumped against it.
She pulled on the door—but it didn’t budge.
Maybe the commotion broke the calm inside, because a red-brown-haired girl quickly opened the door with a surprised look.
A blast of air-conditioned wind rushed out with her, slamming into Zhu Niao’s body and almost bringing her back to life.
“Sis Xiao Zhu, what happened to you? You look totally wiped. You don’t need to rush over here like that.”
The girl helped Zhu Niao into the store, and an odd, unfamiliar smell swirled around, flooding Zhu Niao’s nose.
This shop sold alcohol—but not the kind she remembered, with rows of ceramic jars.
Instead, it was full of glass bottles with strange foreign labels.
Honestly, it was the first time she’d ever seen a place like this.
In her mind, this kind of flashy alcohol belonged on a nightclub bar counter under flickering lights.
But it was her curiosity that landed her this job in the first place.
“Hardly anyone comes by anyway. I could’ve closed up for the whole day. No need for you to run yourself ragged.”
The girl fussing over her was the manager, though Zhu Niao always felt she was more of a rich second-gen playing at running a business after inheriting the store from her parents.
Because what kind of alcohol shop owner can’t drink?
And her reason was even weirder—the manager said, “I’m underage, so I can’t drink.”
“It’s fine. I can’t just take your money for nothing.”
Zhu Niao was someone who believed you shouldn’t accept rewards without putting in the work.
She was very clear about the employee-boss relationship.
Especially since the manager paid her nearly three thousand yuan a month, regardless of how many shifts she actually worked.
She’d feel guilty slacking off.
Back when she got hired, the manager even looked like she was about to offer more pay after seeing how surprised Zhu Niao was.
But Zhu Niao had accepted right away, which shut that idea down instantly.
As a result, she still didn’t even know the manager’s name.
She just called her “Manager.”
“You’re being way too formal~”
After plopping her into the seat behind the counter, the manager’s gaze fell on Zhu Niao’s white sundress.
From running, sweat had made her chest and back slightly damp, causing the fabric to cling and turn slightly translucent.
Zhu Niao tilted her head at the girl’s stare, then looked down—and realized the white dress was slightly see-through in places.
But the kind-hearted, underage manager obviously wasn’t focused on that.
She just thought the dress looked really familiar—especially the black bow at the back waist.
“Come to think of it, my stingy, tightwad brother once promised he’d give me a dress… and it looked a lot like the one you’re wearing.”
“Huh?”
Zhu Niao suddenly remembered—this dress was also one that Gou Yu had said he was going to give to his sister.
And finally, in this deathly quiet shop, the chatty manager girl seemed to find a topic that actually interested Zhu Niao.
“Hey, let me tell you something…”
The manager, who was about the same height as Zhu Niao, leaned in close and struck a classic gossiping pose.
“My brother is a really, really weird guy.”
“You know, my family runs a small business.”
Zhu Niao knew.
The manager’s family was very well-off.
What she didn’t understand was why her boss was suddenly chatting with her like an old friend.
Is this how girls usually talk?
Or was this one of those weird moments where she needed some kind of “Shandong wisdom” to deal with a superior’s cryptic leadership?
She wasn’t used to how girls interacted with each other, so she subtly leaned back a bit.
The manager didn’t push closer—she even gave Zhu Niao some space, which helped her relax a little.
“But my brother, he’s rebellious. He refuses to take part in the family business, and he even got into a huge fight with my dad and stormed out of the house. Didn’t take a single cent with him.”
“So now I’m the younger one, but I’m the one my parents dragged in to ‘gain firsthand experience’ with the family business.”
The manager’s decision to open up to a near-stranger like Zhu Niao was a bit odd—but maybe she felt that if she didn’t explain things, a stable and easy job like this might make the newcomer feel uneasy.
Still, her brother did sound strange.
Not making money when you had every opportunity to? To Zhu Niao, that was basically a capital offense.
If she’d had any lingering, unrealistic suspicions earlier, now Zhu Niao could finally let go.
She couldn’t picture Gou Yu—the same guy who fought her for food every time they ate together—ever giving up money out of principle.
Phew. Her bro had almost ended up living a good life.
Close call.
Then again, the manager was cute and delicate, a blossoming flower not yet fully bloomed.
Old Gou, currently out delivering food, was more like a slightly-human-looking mutt.
Still, this kind of smooth, intimate conversation didn’t really feel like it was coming from a minor.
“Maybe… your brother has his own reasons?” Zhu Niao offered.
“Maybe he does…” the manager murmured, then her eyes lit up as if remembering something.
“My parents noticed he wasn’t into business, so they started pressuring him to find someone and give them a grandchild. I think that’s what made him rebel.”
“Uh… yeah, that counts as a pretty solid reason.”
“Hey!” The manager suddenly brightened.
“Sis Xiao Zhu, I think you’re really great—how about I introduce you to my brother?”
“No, no, no.” Zhu Niao quickly waved her hands in refusal.
The manager sighed in disappointment.
“Sigh… If my brother could find someone like you, my parents would be over the moon.”
Zhu Niao just curled her lip.
No way.
If the manager’s brother didn’t like girls, maybe she could consider setting him up with Gou Yu instead.
“Achoo!”
While waiting for an order to be ready, Gou Yu—who had just swiped a free packet of pickled vegetables from a restaurant counter—sneezed twice in a row.
“Definitely some pretty girl thinking about me right now.”