Chapter 220: Minding the Store

Zhu Niao sat on the backseat of Gou Yu’s electric scooter and took the helmet he handed her.

She was about to put it on when she noticed something different.

“Where did you get this helmet?”

It was a brand-new white helmet, but it had two cartoon cat ears sticking up from the top. 

It looked great and was very cute.

It was the kind of gadget girls liked, though every time Zhu Niao saw a helmet like this, she doubted its safety.

“I bought it. On Pinxixi, if you place an order over forty yuan and sign in every day for half a month, they refund that forty yuan.” Gou Yu tapped the helmet in Zhu Niao’s hand. “This helmet was thirty-nine yuan. To make it forty, I had to buy six yuan worth of snacks. You need to pay me back the extra five yuan I spent.”

“I’ll give you a fat lot of nothing.”

After hearing Gou Yu’s explanation, Zhu Niao put the helmet on without a hint of guilt. Then, she held onto Gou Yu’s waist. “Private Gou Yu, Forward Four.”

“Roger that.”

Gou Yu put on his own helmet—the simplest, yellow kind with the four characters for Meituan Delivery printed on it.

The combination of the two of them attracted a lot of attention, though most of it came from the envious and resentful gazes of other guys.

Fortunately, Zhu Niao was used to it.

She reached out and patted Gou Yu’s rear before he could sit down. “Hurry up, little lady. Don’t make me angry.”

“Don’t be in such a rush, my lord.” Gou Yu even found a moment while fastening his helmet strap to strike a delicate pose with his fingers.

“Look at how tacky you are.”

With a twist of the scooter’s handle, the two of them left the school gates.

As they hit a few bumps, Zhu Niao’s grip on Gou Yu’s waist tightened, transitioning from a simple hold to a full embrace.

“Hey, hey.” Gou Yu pinched Zhu Niao’s thigh. “Prepare for airlock egress.”

Zhu Niao straightened up and looked at the intersection ahead. A traffic officer in a white hat and green uniform was standing not far away.

“What are you afraid of?” Zhu Niao tapped her helmet. “We both have helmets now. We’re law-abiding citizens.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Gou Yu listened to Zhu Niao’s misplaced confidence and drove brazenly to the intersection, stopping because of a red light.

Standing under the sun, the officer naturally turned his gaze toward them as they approached.

Feeling the officer’s stare, Zhu Niao and Gou Yu even tilted their heads up proudly, looking full of confidence.

In reality, most officers on duty at intersections usually gave verbal warnings or turned a blind eye. That is, unless you were particularly defiant or stood out too much.

Clearly, Zhu Niao and Gou Yu, who were practically sticking their tails up in the air at this point, belonged to the latter category.

“You two, wait a moment.” The officer walked over to them, and the arrogant smiles instantly vanished from their faces.

It was like a hissing kitten seeing its owner take off a slipper and hold it in their hand.

Suddenly, Zhu Niao regretted everything.

Perhaps Gou Yu’s thirty-nine-yuan helmet had given her far too much courage.

There are always little birds on the ground who dare to face the majesty of the law. 

Little Bird was terrified and hid directly behind Gou Yu.

“Uh, is something the matter, Officer?”

“You can’t carry a passenger on the back of an electric scooter unless they are under 12 years old or physically unable to move themselves.” The officer pointed at Zhu Niao, who was shrinking behind Gou Yu’s back.

Hearing this, Zhu Niao looked up and locked eyes with Gou Yu.

In that instant, it was as if all the sages from ancient times to the present had reached a consensus in their eyes.

“Actually, I just turned 11 this year~” Zhu Niao said, pitching her voice high.

“This is my brother. Two years ago, his head was kicked by a donkey to save me. I take her everywhere with me now,” Gou Yu added with a tragic expression.

“Both of you, get off and push the bike across the street.” This was from the officer, who felt like he was being played.

“Oh…”

Zhu Niao got off, and Gou Yu followed suit. The two of them walked across the intersection on foot.

Then, they secretly glanced back at the white-hatted officer standing at the starting point. “Quick, quick, quick! Hunter contained for 30 seconds!”

“Get on, get on! We’re setting sail immediately!”

By the time they arrived at the small shop where Zhu Niao worked, they were quite late for her shift.

A large part of the reason was that Gou Yu had been banned from taking delivery orders, and Zhu Niao had wanted to comfort her “dear son.”

However, she hadn’t expected Gou Yu to start crawling on the ground later.

If she had known he would crawl on the ground, she wouldn’t have cared whether the guy was sad or not.

“Sister Zhu, honestly, if you had something to do today, you didn’t have to come.” Noticing that her future sister-in-law was late for her shift, the Store Manager Lady looked up the moment she heard the door open and stood up.

Then, she saw her own brother.

“Why did a guy like you come here?”

“I can’t come?” Gou Yu tilted his head up and looked down his nose at his sister. “I’ve noticed you’re a bit hypocritical. Why couldn’t you use some of that nice attitude you had for her on me?”

“Are you the same as her?”

She could be harsh to her own brother, but if she didn’t take good care of her future sister-in-law, she might actually run away.

At that point, she doubted they could ever find another girl like Zhu Niao who perfectly fit every one of Gou Yu’s requirements, even if they searched with a lantern.

The Store Manager Lady shot back that question before taking three steps in two to reach Zhu Niao. “If you’re feeling unwell, I can give you the day off.”

“It’s not that I’m feeling unwell.” Zhu Niao always felt a bit lost when faced with the Store Manager Lady’s concern.

This kind of straightforward kindness was a bit too intense for her.

“Was it you?” The girl with reddish-brown hair turned around and immediately blamed Gou Yu. “Oh, right! That video you posted today.”

The Store Manager Lady turned back to comfort Zhu Niao. “It’s okay, Sister Zhu. I’ve already had someone report that video to get it taken down.”

“Wait, no! I haven’t even made any money from it yet, and you took it down? Besides, isn’t the most embarrassing person in there me?” Gou Yu protested, feeling wronged.

“I’m not going to argue with you. Just wait until you go home this weekend and see what Mom and Dad have to say.” The Store Manager Lady waved her hand dismissively.

“It’s fine.” Gou Yu pulled Little Bird to his side. “Little Bird is going with me this weekend. I doubt Mom and Dad would dare do anything to me then.”

The Store Manager Lady turned her gaze back to Zhu Niao.

Little Bird nodded blankly.

“For real?” The Store Manager Lady was stunned, then looked at the smug Gou Yu. “Sister Zhu, does he have some kind of dirt on you?”

“I’ve realized you look at your brother like he’s some kind of monster.” Gou Yu pointed at his sister. “Anyway, I’m staying here to work with her today, and she’s going home with me this weekend. Do you understand?”

The girl with the reddish-brown hair understood.

But it seemed she understood a bit too much.

“Oh, I just remembered I have something to take care of.” She left a key behind. “The two of you can mind the store tonight. I’m leaving.”

Then, she vanished through the door.