The sky had already darkened. Mo Liang walked out of Xu Lingxue’s villa, stood by the roadside for a while, thought it over, then hailed a cab to Shen Zhiyi’s restaurant.
“Sis, I’m coming to your place to eat!”
She sent Shen Zhiyi a message while sitting in the car.
After sending the message, there was no response on the other end. She didn’t mind, stuffing her phone into her pocket and starting to plan how she’d win her over later.
Entering the restaurant, she pushed open the glass door. This time, the person who greeted her wasn’t Shen Zhiyi but another waitress, plain-looking. Mo Liang swept her gaze across the restaurant and quickly locked onto Shen Zhiyi’s position. At that moment, Shen Zhiyi was bending over to set two plates of food on a table, completely unaware that someone had walked in.
She wasn’t disappointed though. She couldn’t expect Shen Zhiyi to personally serve her every time. Taking the menu, she ordered a few dishes.
Then she turned her attention to this modestly sized restaurant. Business was indeed good; the aroma of food wafted through the air.
Before long, Shen Zhiyi came over carrying the dishes.
She set down the plates, casually picked up the cola on the table, gave the cap a light twist, and then placed it in front of Mo Liang.
“Thanks, sis.”
Mo Liang looked up, meeting her gaze.
Shen Zhiyi returned a faint smile, didn’t say much, and turned around to continue with her work.
This time Shen Zhiyi was pretty thoughtful! She even opened the cola for her.
Mo Liang sipped the cola, admiring Shen Zhiyi’s back as she cleaned up the tables. Resting her chin on her hand, a question suddenly popped into her head.
Why would someone with such a rich girlfriend still come out to work?
She figured Su Xiaoyou would definitely give her money, but Shen Zhiyi just refused it. Isn’t that just stupid? She really couldn’t understand this kind of aloofness. She thought about it for a long time without coming to any conclusion, only feeling that Shen Zhiyi was somewhat strange.
After finishing her meal, Mo Liang didn’t rush to leave.
She wandered outside the restaurant, found an inconspicuous corner, and waited. She stayed until 9:30 before she saw Shen Zhiyi come out the door.
As soon as Shen Zhiyi stepped out, she noticed Mo Liang not far away. A hint of confusion appeared on her delicate face as she wondered why the other girl was here.
“Hi!”
Mo Liang waved her hand and jogged over to her, her long golden hair flowing in the wind.
Because the clothes she was wearing were given by Xu Lingxue, the collar was noticeably a size too big. Maybe because she ran over too quickly, she bent over slightly to catch her breath in front of Shen Zhiyi, and the collar opened up a little.
“Hm?”
Shen Zhiyi’s gaze unconsciously swept across a certain spot. A very faint blush crept onto her face, and she quickly turned her head to the side.
By then, Mo Liang had already stood up straight, looking confused.
She had no idea why the other girl suddenly turned her face away.
Is something off? She looked down at herself, not noticing anything wrong.
“Were you waiting for me here? Is something up?”
Shen Zhiyi kept her eyes fixed on the streetlamp beside her, trying her best to keep her tone sounding normal.
She really couldn’t figure out what couldn’t be said over WeChat that required waiting at the door so late at night.
Mo Liang only then remembered to explain, her voice soft and gentle:
“Yeah! I originally wanted to treat you to a meal, but I didn’t expect you to get off work so late…”
There was a hint of poutiness in her tone, as if she’d been waiting a long time.
Actually, she wasn’t lying. She really had waited a long time, her legs had gone numb.
She wondered if this was how Jiang Qing had been back when she worked three jobs. Getting off work this late every day, working herself to the bone just to earn a little money.
But this thought quickly vanished from her little head. Whatever, Jiang Qing had no value to her anymore. Why bother thinking about all that.
Shen Zhiyi, on the other hand, looked at the pitiful little yellow hair in front of her, and felt somewhat surprised.
“I see… it’s getting late now. You should head home soon.”
Shen Zhiyi glanced around.
The restaurant was on a not-so-bustling street. At past nine in the evening, there weren’t many pedestrians left, and the streetlamps cast long shadows.
“Mm.”
Mo Liang lowered her head, not sure what she was thinking, but her feet didn’t budge an inch.
Seeing her like this, Shen Zhiyi wasn’t comfortable just walking away. She remembered catching a glimpse of the bruise on the other girl’s arm during the afternoon.
After a moment of silence, she lowered her voice and asked,
“Are you in some kind of trouble? I can help you.”
“Forget it, I can handle it myself. I’ll treat you to a meal another day!”
Mo Liang waved her hand, and just as she was about to turn and leave, her wrist was gently caught.
“How old are you? Did you have a fight with your family?”
Got hooked just like that? Miscellaneous Fish Big Sister.
Mo Liang was secretly delighted, but her face quickly switched to a pitiful expression, blinking her eyes a couple of times.
Shen Zhiyi figured the girl looked at most sixteen or seventeen. A girl wandering around outside so late at night with no one at home looking after her—she almost instinctively concluded that she’d run away from home after a fight.
“I’m eighteen! No way!”
Mo Liang denied it, but a layer of mist formed over her eyes, and her voice trembled slightly.
Shen Zhiyi felt she’d probably guessed right.
The problem was there were no hotels or inns nearby. And judging from the fact that the girl had come to the restaurant twice and spent a little over two hundred total, she definitely didn’t have much money on her.
She simply couldn’t bring herself to leave someone like that on the street.
“How about this—you stay at my place for one night?”
Shen Zhiyi thought it over and finally made this decision.
“No! I’m not a little kid.”
Mo Liang shook her head, making a move as if to pull her hand free.
“Then what do you want?”
Shen Zhiyi was afraid of gripping too hard, so she loosened her hold, and the other girl easily broke free.
Mo Liang fidgeted for a while, poking her two index fingers together in front of her chest, while thinking about something else entirely in her head.
This Shen Zhiyi, she didn’t seem that hard to deal with after all.
“Well… um…”
“Fine then, I’ll reluctantly stay at your place for a night!”
She looked around left and right for a good while, then finally, as if making a huge decision, looked up and said.
Inside, she was already overjoyed. Miscellaneous Fish Big Sister, you let me stay at your place that easily? From now on, I’m never leaving. Hehe…
Shen Zhiyi looked at the girl’s demeanor, feeling both helpless and a little amused.
“Wait here. Don’t wander off.”
She instructed, then turned to get her ride.
The ride she pointed to was a modest-looking electric scooter. She tilted her head slightly, signaling Mo Liang to hop on.
“Miscellaneous Fish Big Sister, riding an electric scooter of all things.”
Mo Liang sneered inwardly, but on the surface she acted obedient, sitting down as told and lightly wrapping her arms around Shen Zhiyi’s waist.
A faint, subtle fragrance drifted from the other girl—hard to describe what it was, but clean and pleasant.
Mo Liang gently pressed her cheek against the other girl’s back, thinking that between two girls, this should be normal, right?
She could clearly feel Shen Zhiyi’s body stiffen for a moment, though it quickly relaxed again.
The electric scooter slowly drove off into the night.