Under the Dusk - Chapter 6

Ji Yan eventually added Ruan Shu on WeChat.

The reason was that one day, while passing by He Yunfei’s barbershop, he noticed the shop’s signboard had changed. He asked a few questions, and He Yunfei told him that Ruan Shu had designed it for him.

The old one was too outdated and lacked creativity.

Although a barbershop’s signboard didn’t need to be overly sophisticated, it at least had to keep up with the latest trends.

He Yunfei thought this made perfect sense.

Without hesitation, he paid Ruan Shu 2,000 yuan for the design. Ruan Shu said she didn’t need the money and asked for three months of rent reduction instead.

It was only then that He Yunfei remembered he had given Ruan Shu Ji Yan’s WeChat ID.

She had initially asked him to help her find a part-time job.

Ji Yan asked, “She added me on WeChat to find a part-time job?”

He Yunfei replied, “Yeah, what else?”

Ji Yan: “…”

Ji Yan was at a loss for words.

With all the recent troubles and the way Ruan Shu looked at him so directly, coupled with her deceivingly innocent face, Ji Yan had momentarily lost his mind, thinking she was trying to reel him in.

He Yunfei also realized, “Bro, don’t tell me you still haven’t added her? Ruan Shu isn’t from around here. She’s just finished her first year of college and is about to start her second. She’s not familiar with Kanyang, so finding a good part-time job isn’t easy. That milk tea shop she’s at now is no good. It’s always packed, and she gets off work late at night. Plus, I heard she’s been filmed and posted on Douyin, and it’s gone viral…”

Ruan Shu wasn’t a stunning beauty, but she had a pure and innocent look. Wearing the milk tea shop’s uniform, people were calling her the second “Milk Tea Sister.”

Now, that Guoguo Milk Tea shop was becoming an internet-famous shop in Kanyang.

Ji Yan sighed and nodded.

He was trying to find the friend request Ruan Shu had sent earlier, but with so many people adding him, he couldn’t find it.

In the end, he asked He Yunfei to send him Ruan Shu’s WeChat ID.

Ruan Shu hadn’t been intentionally ignoring him.

She had been busy these past few days and barely opened WeChat. When she saw the little red dot indicating a friend request, she didn’t expect it to be from Ji Yan.

He had already rejected her in person. Why would he add her now?

Besides, the shop manager had recently mentioned giving her a raise.

Ruan Shu thought it wouldn’t be bad to keep this part-time job until school started, and then she could look for something related to design.

***

That afternoon, Ruan Shu had just woken up, and the outside was already bustling. The downside of living in a non-soundproofed house was the noise.

Downstairs was still the auto repair shop.

There weren’t many people coming to repair cars.

In Kanyang, there were more people riding electric scooters than driving cars. Every time Ruan Shu went out, she had to dodge them on the sidewalk. The shop mostly repaired these small electric vehicles, but recently, they had taken in a few heavy motorcycles. The noise was deafening, making Ruan Shu think the shop owner was revving up a ghost scooter downstairs in broad daylight.

When Qin Fu saw Ruan Shu passing by the shop entrance, he greeted her, “Xiao Shu, you’re up?”

“Yeah…” Ruan Shu hadn’t slept well and was still groggy. Seeing the shop owner’s wife was also there, she politely greeted them, “Shuangshuang Jie, Qin Ge.”

Only Ji Yan, who was also inside, went unnoticed.

Cen Baishuang smiled, “Xiao Shu, haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

Ruan Shu: “No.”

“Then come join us for a bite.”

In the past, Ruan Shu would have refused.

Kanyang’s food culture was completely different from Yibei’s. In the morning, it was luosifen, at noon luosifen, and in the evening, still luosifen. Only during late-night snacks might you find things like soy milk and fried dough sticks.

It was afternoon now, and Cen Baishuang hadn’t cooked luosifen. Instead, she had prepared some pastries.

They looked quite delicate.

And with the hot weather, the mung bean and kelp soup she had just taken out of the fridge was very tempting.

Ruan Shu said, “Okay. Thank you, Shuangshuang Jie.”

“Are you working the night shift today?” Cen Baishuang asked as she ladled the soup.

Ruan Shu had also worked the night shift yesterday. After her shift, she had gone out for skewers with Xia Chunchun and the others, not getting back until three or four in the morning.

Kanyang’s night culture was truly terrifying. Ruan Shu had never stayed up so late before, and now she could barely keep her eyes open.

She nodded, “Yeah, I’ll clock in at six.”

“That’s tough,” Cen Baishuang said. “Come back early and get some rest. We’re closing early today and taking a day off tomorrow to go back to the countryside. It’ll probably just be you and Yan Ge here. The urban village can be a bit chaotic, so don’t stay out too late, and make sure to lock your door when you sleep.”

Qin Fu finished dismantling the last part and went to look for a wrench. His hands were covered in grease, and even wearing gloves didn’t help. He grabbed a towel to wipe them off and asked, “Isn’t Yan Ge going back to his own shop? Why is he still here? Oh, and don’t forget to bring the goods I asked for last time when you go back. We’re running low.”

Ji Yan lifted his eyelids, “When will you learn to stop extorting me?”

“When you stop making me work for free fixing your club’s bikes,” Qin Fu retorted, patting the motorcycle he had already taken apart.

Ji Yan didn’t respond.

The two had grown up together in the urban village. They were nostalgic and very close.

Ruan Shu silently finished her mung bean and kelp soup.

She also ate two mung bean cakes, a taro egg yolk pastry, and an egg tart. After eating, she felt thirsty and was about to get another bowl of kelp soup when a cup of even more refreshing mung bean water appeared in front of her.

“…Thank you,” Ruan Shu politely accepted it.

Ji Yan said, “No need.”

Ji Yan hadn’t left yet and was sitting nearby. His long legs stretched under the table, not touching her, but Ruan Shu lowered her eyes and couldn’t help but glance at his legs:

The muscles were firm and natural, unlike some gym guys who only focused on abs and neglected their legs. Ji Yan’s perfectly balanced sexiness probably came from his evenly distributed, healthy muscles.

As soon as he sat down, the shape of his shirt garters became visible through his suit pants.

It was a bit… suggestive.

But Ruan Shu didn’t dare say it.

These past few days, whenever she saw Ji Yan, he was dressed like this. Probably, as Qin Fu had said, he was busy with his own shop. But what he did, Ruan Shu didn’t care about.

Ji Yan seemed uncomfortable with her current silence and suddenly asked, “Did you see my friend request?”