Under the Dusk - Chapter 4

A week later, Sang Wanning asked Ruan Shu how she was adjusting to her new place.

It had been a week of high-temperature warnings.

This was Ruan Shu’s first summer in Kanyang, but she had known since starting school that summers here were long, typically lasting from April or May until the end of October.

In some extreme cases, people were still wearing short sleeves in mid-November.

Fortunately, Kanyang was a green city.

With a high coverage of greenery, the streets were lined with camphor trees, their branches lush and verdant, which lifted her spirits just by looking at them.

However, Ruan Shu still wanted to save up to install an air conditioner.

She had discussed this with the landlord, who agreed but said she would have to cover the costs herself, and the electricity bill would also increase. As long as she didn’t damage the original state of the room, she was free to install one.

It was only then that Ruan Shu learned that He Yunfei was merely the landlord’s son, only 21 years old but looking much older. His messy brown hair resembled dry straw, making him appear closer to forty.

Next to the auto repair shop, he ran a tiny barbershop.

It didn’t look like much, but the locals loved it. He claimed that the pinnacle of a barber’s skill was dyeing a perfect head of gray hair, so he often experimented on his own hair.

Unfortunately, he failed.

One of the two girls at the auto repair shop that night was his girlfriend.

Today, as Ruan Shu passed by the barbershop, the girl greeted her at the door. However, Ruan Shu, being naturally indifferent to people she didn’t care about, didn’t remember her face.

Ruan Shu tapped on her phone keyboard, replying, “It’s okay. The place is decent, but the neighbors are a bit hard to get along with.”

Lemon Baby: “?”

Lemon Baby: “You have neighbors in that dump?”

Sang Wanning was surprised. Ruan Shu retorted, what kind of question was that? How could there not be neighbors? It wasn’t like she was living in some remote wilderness. Moreover, Ruan Shu had truly discovered that this area was bustling with people, as crowded as the houses themselves.

There were adults, elderly, and children.

Unlike her previous neighborhood, where people kept to themselves, doors shut all day, creating a cold and desolate atmosphere.

The people living downstairs were alright.

The owner of the auto repair shop was probably around the same age as “Yan Ge.” He often called “Yan Ge” downstairs to help dismantle parts or make deliveries.

Ji Yan, however, was indifferent.

He left early and returned late every day, and no one knew what he was up to.

But sometimes, when Ruan Shu returned home, his shadow trailing behind her, the golden sun setting and casting its glow over the narrow alleys of the urban village, she would see him at the auto repair shop on the first floor.

His solid muscles glistened with sweat, the droplets tracing the clear lines of his back before disappearing into his waistband. It was… sexy.

This was the second time Ruan Shu had thought of this word.

After wiping off the sweat, he casually tossed his gasoline-stained shirt onto a chair.

“I’m going back to shower. Don’t bother me unless it’s important.” His voice was deep and magnetic.

Ruan Shu guessed that he must have been feeling particularly irritable lately. Most of the people nearby were friendly and spoke kindly, but he remained aloof, keeping his distance from everyone.

But to say he wasn’t helpful would be untrue.

After all, he had just crawled out from under a car.

When their eyes met, Ruan Shu froze in place, and Ji Yan gave her a once-over before offering a friendly reminder, “Your ice cream is melting.”

Ruan Shu: “Oh, oh, oh!”

Looking down, she realized she was eating a boxed ice cream!

Later, when He Yunfei found out she was looking for a part-time job to save up for an air conditioner, he enthusiastically said, “That’s easy! Just ask Yan Ge!”

Ask “Yan Ge”?

Ruan Shu might have been biased. In her experience, there were always a few guys in her classes who loved to show off, making inappropriate jokes and putting on exaggerated airs, saying things like, “Hey, speak properly. Why call me ‘brother’? Brother’s busy.”

Ruan Shu found those kinds of people disgusting.

“Yan Ge” was an exception.

But he was also exceptionally stingy, not even letting her call him by his name. Not only that, but He Yunfei had given her his WeChat three days ago, and he still hadn’t accepted her friend request.

…

Sang Wanning tried to persuade her, saying maybe she should just quit and go home to apologize properly.

Kanyang’s summer was no place for humans. At home, she could live comfortably, eat well, enjoy the air conditioning, and have as much pocket money as she wanted. There was no need for her to rent a place outside and work to buy an air conditioner.

In reality, Ruan Shu had already placed the order and found a summer job.

Ding dong.

The shop door chimed with a “Welcome” announcement. Xia Chunchun popped his head out from behind the counter, “Xiao Shu, you’re here.”

Xia Chunchun was a boy.

He had a delicate appearance, and his name was equally delicate. He had dropped out of school at 16 and had been working ever since. Now, like her, he was working part-time at the milk tea shop, but he was leaving next month, so the boss had hired another helper.

The summer job paid hourly, 25 yuan per hour, six hours a day. You could clock in and out yourself, and shifts were flexible as long as you met the required hours. Any extra hours could also be counted.

“Yeah,” Ruan Shu tied up her hair and put on a baseball cap like his. “Not many people today?”

Summer was the peak season for milk tea, with cold drinks flying off the shelves. But today was an exception. It was too hot, and people didn’t want to go out. There were quite a few delivery orders, but mornings were usually slow.

Xia Chunchun said, “It’ll get busier in the evening.”

The night market on Jianzheng Road was indeed the liveliest in Kanyang. Even though Guoguo Milk Tea was just on a nearby street, it still got a decent share of the foot traffic.

After a busy day, Ruan Shu was now using the excuse of “researching new products” to slack off in the back kitchen. She was dragged out by the manager in less than ten minutes.

Ruan Shu said, “Manager, if I stand next to Xia Chunchun, people will think you’re employing child labor.”

She had a petite face, oval-shaped and delicate. Though she looked thin, her image was good. Even the unflattering employee uniform looked decent on her.

Everyone around Ruan Shu was a tall, slender beauty with stunning features. Even Sang Wanning, whose name sounded like a cute girl, was actually a cold and glamorous queen.

So, Ruan Shu had never thought her own type was attractive.

She was pure and plain, like a glass of water, and didn’t care much for dressing up. Her reserved demeanor made her seem like a white rose that hadn’t fully bloomed. When she wasn’t smiling, she liked to purse her lips, lost in her own world.

Her complexion was overly pale, almost sickly, and her dark eyes hid an unknown stubbornness.

Perhaps because her facial features were soft, Ruan Shu didn’t have an intimidating presence, so everyone treated her like a harmless girl-next-door.

When people saw Ruan Shu, the line for milk tea grew longer, almost as if they were about to trample the doorstep. Xia Chunchun, while scooping ice, vented some frustration for her, whispering, “With this many people, he’s going to make a killing!”

Ruan Shu laughed.

But then she caught sight of a familiar figure.

The man was sitting at a barbecue shop across the street, his legs spread wide. Unlike the black tank top he had worn that night, he now wore a clean, white button-up shirt. A black strap crossed his shoulders and fastened behind his waist, as if embracing him. His hand rested on the back of the chair, exuding a lazy yet wild sense of restraint.

The person across from him was talking.

But his attention didn’t seem to be on the conversation. He had been looking down at his phone the entire time.

Ruan Shu vaguely saw the faint smile on his lips. It was subtle, but it was definitely there. Then, the person across from him said something else.

Ruan Shu thought he would probably respond indifferently again. Even his smile seemed aloof.

But then he looked up.

His clear black eyes cut through the night, suddenly locking directly onto her.

They stared at each other openly.

Seeing her stunned expression, Ji Yan also paused for a moment. Then, the smile at the corner of his lips deepened.