Xie Dongcheng instinctively resisted, but Yu Zi forcefully pried open his fingers.

“Are you going back on your word?” he stared into Xie Dongcheng’s eyes, asking earnestly.

“No,” Xie Dongcheng denied.

Then, Yu Zi used the same tactic again, turning his head and biting Xie Dongcheng’s ear. He watched as the tension in the man’s body gradually relaxed.

Yu Zi took control of this intimate encounter, feeling an inexplicable fire burning in his heart. He wanted to provoke the animalistic side of Xie Dongcheng. He wanted to see this man lose his rationality for him, even if he refused to say a word.

The living room was pitch black, with no sound from outside. Compared to the last time, this felt more like a game of venting frustrations.

As the night grew deeper, Yu Zi’s grip loosened slightly. He tightly wrapped his arms around Xie Dongcheng’s shoulders, leaving a deep bite mark on his shoulder.

Xie Dongcheng winced in pain instantly, inhaling a sharp breath. Yu Zi was almost half hanging off the sofa. But Xie Dongcheng didn’t let go, instead, he tightly wrapped his arm around Yu Zi’s back, allowing him to bite into his shoulder.

Only the fish in the tank became the sole audience of this confrontation.

An hour later, heavy breathing brought this game to a lingering conclusion. Then, almost without any hesitation, Yu Zi got up and returned to the bedroom, leaving Xie Dongcheng with a blurry figure.

The curtains in the bedroom were still not drawn, and as Yu Zi lay down on the bed, he glanced outside. The sky was already turning grayish-white. He stared at the sky for a while, but still couldn’t fall asleep. He turned over, facing the wall, and half closed his eyes.

The deep purple glow in his mind appeared and disappeared again.

Although the lunar new year had long passed, there was still no sign of the weather warming up. There had been a few days of clear skies, but after a moment of sunshine, the northern city turned cold and gloomy again.

The entire city seemed frozen, and even the moat remained unfrozen, with only occasional children passing by, throwing stones to break open a few puddles. And after just one or two nights, those scattered puddles would freeze solid again.

For Yu Zi, everything else was bearable, but waiting for a car every day was exhausting. These past few days, Yu Zi felt like his ears were freezing off as he stood at the gate of Fangjiayuan, only to catch a car.

They hadn’t ridden the Hello Kitty electric scooter for a long time. It had been through several heavy rains while parked in the shed, and even the handlebars were frozen, looking somewhat ridiculous.

This year’s late cold spring was particularly severe, as if trying to prolong winter indefinitely. Fortunately, although the weather was still cold, it didn’t affect business in the shop. Apart from the relatively few customers in the morning, they still managed to fill up at lunchtime.

Yu Zi hadn’t gone out with Xie Dongcheng for several days. So much so that Xie Dongcheng bought another car, and he didn’t even know.

He saw the car at the gate of Fangjiayuan. At first, he thought it was a passing ride-hailing car, so he prepared to walk to the roadside. It wasn’t until Xie Dongcheng rolled down the window and called him to get in the car that he turned around.

The car looked a bit old, but it was washed very clean. It was also a black Toyota, slightly larger than the previous Corolla.

Xie Dongcheng called out his name again, indicating for him to get in the car.

Feeling the cold weather, Yu Zi didn’t hesitate to walk over, open the passenger door, and sit inside. But after getting in the car, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he stared at the dashboard for a while.

There used to be a bobblehead pig on the dashboard of the old car. He remembered that Xie Dongcheng had put it away. But there was nothing on the dashboard of this car; it was bare.

Xie Dongcheng wanted to say something, but seeing that Yu Zi had closed his eyes, he swallowed his words.

Twenty minutes later, the car wobbled its way to the shop’s entrance.

With the business of the shop picking up, the cooperative company’s group meal business also started. Relying solely on Xie Dongcheng and Xiao Liu wasn’t enough to handle the daily workload. Yu Zi needed to hire another person to help share the burden.

Just like when he hired Xiao Liu, he needed someone smart and quick-witted, preferably with a decent appearance.

Just as the winter vacation ended, nearby universities had already started classes. Yu Zi posted job recruitment ads on several school forums online.

Soon, people responded to the job posting Yu Zi had posted online. The person seemed very interested in the job and added Yu Zi’s WeChat late at night, saying they wanted to come and see the shop.

Early the next morning, before the shop opened, Xiao Liu was cleaning the restaurant when he heard someone knocking on the glass door.

He looked up and saw a tall, college-looking young man standing outside the door.

Xiao Liu hurried over, unlocked the door, and opened it.

“Hello, is this shop hiring part-time?” The person outside exhaled a puff of white air, then nodded politely and smiled at Xiao Liu.

“Yes, did you make an appointment with our boss, Mr. Yu?” Xiao Liu was momentarily blinded by the person’s smile. This college student had really white teeth. He thought to himself.

“Yes, is he here?” The person put down the backpack from his shoulder and held it in his hand.

“He is. Come in first, it’s cold outside.” Xiao Liu hurriedly pulled him inside and then put the broom in the corner, heading to the kitchen, shouting, “Boss Yu! The college student for the interview is here!”

Yu Zi was discussing the new menu with Chef Zhao in the kitchen. When he heard Xiao Liu’s voice, he walked out of the kitchen to the front hall.

The college student stood up as soon as he saw Yu Zi coming out, extending his right hand, “Hello.”

Yu Zi casually shook his hand and let him sit down, “Don’t be polite. Are you Yang…”

“Yang Ke, the ‘tree’ from ‘Yang’ and the ‘wood’ from ‘ke’.” Before Yu Zi could remember his name, he introduced himself.

Yu Zi nodded and sized up the person in front of him. He had well-defined features, was tall, and seemed intelligent.

He didn’t ask anything else and said directly, “Can you give me a copy of your class schedule?”

“Huh?” Yang Ke was somewhat surprised.

“To schedule your shifts,” Yu Zi explained.

“Am I hired then?”

“yes.”

That afternoon, Yang Ke came to the shop to report for duty. Xiao Liu prepared a set of clothes for him, and Yang Ke happily put it on, praising Xiao Liu for being attentive enough to know his size. Xiao Liu didn’t have the heart to say that the clothes were a spare set from Xie Dongcheng, lying idle in the kitchen. They were similar in height, so the clothes fit him naturally.

After Yang Ke arrived, Xiao Liu felt relieved. He quickly learned to carry the menu and greet customers warmly. After just a couple of hours of learning, he could handle most customers.

“Tomorrow, I’ll teach you how to use the cash register,” Xiao Liu chatted with him during their break.

“Okay,” Yang Ke nodded with a smile.

“Which school do you go to?”

“The Polytechnic University.”

“That’s great.” Xiao Liu touched his nose and then asked, “Is the university big?”

Yang Ke was taken aback by the question, as it was the first time someone had asked him that. After a second of hesitation, he replied, “Yes, it’s quite big. It takes about ten minutes to walk from our dorm to the teaching building.”

“Wow, that’s huge. I’ve never been to a university. It would be great if I could visit one someday.” Xiao Liu crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.

“I can take you on the weekend. You can wander around our campus freely,” Yang Ke took out his student ID from his pocket and showed it to Xiao Liu.

Taking a look at it, Xiao Liu saw the Polytechnic University emblem on the top, followed by two lines: Physics Department, Yang Ke.

“You study physics?”

“Yeah. Applied physics.”

“I got only 18 points in high school physics,” Xiao Liu chuckled, with a hint of envy in his tone. “How did you manage to get into the Physics Department?”

The two were about to continue their conversation when a customer at the window beckoned, interrupting them.

Just as Xiao Liu was about to go over, Yang Ke pressed his hand down, “I’ll go. Probably just needs a refill of tea.”

Just as Yu Zi finished briefing chefZhao and walked in from the side door, he saw Xiao Liu resting against a high stool by the window. Yang Ke was at the other end, smiling as he refilled a customer’s tea.

“What’s the situation?” Yu Zi asked Xiao Liu.

“What situation?”

“The assistant I hired for you.”

Xiao Liu suddenly felt embarrassed, “What assistant? Boss, you’re really good at joking. He’s a nice guy, and he’s good at everything.”

Yu Zi couldn’t resist teasing him further, “Why don’t you become the manager? Then you won’t have to work anymore, just hire a couple more people.”

Xiao Liu was startled and took a step back, almost knocking over the chair. He quickly grabbed the back of the chair to steady himself, “No, no, Boss Yu, please don’t jinx me. If I had to worry about that, I’d fry my brain.”

Xie Dongcheng happened to come out of the kitchen at that moment, hearing their conversation, his footsteps paused for a moment.

“What’s wrong, Dongy?” Xiao Liu noticed that he didn’t look quite right and asked from a distance.

“Nothing.” Xie Dongcheng finally recovered, placing what he was holding on the counter.

When Yu Zi heard the sound, he glanced at him, but Xie Dongcheng immediately looked away, hurriedly returning to the kitchen.

The restaurant’s front hall faced south, for customers to dine and rest, while the northwest side was the kitchen. Next to the kitchen was a small compartment for storing miscellaneous items and changing clothes. There was a side door beside the compartment, usually closed.

After three o’clock in the afternoon, the number of customers gradually decreased. Seeing that Yang Ke could handle it alone, Xiao Liu returned to the kitchen to watch chef Zhao bake cookies for tomorrow.

Chef Zhao always found him annoying, watching him cook every day. But Xiao Liu didn’t care; he said watching the oven bake things was therapeutic. Baking cookies was something he watched every day, and if it was something like egg tarts, he would be even more focused.

Since the last big order, several new cooperative clients had come to the restaurant.

Today, Yu Zi had an important phone call with one of these new clients. Unable to talk in the front hall due to the inconvenience and with overcast skies outside, he could only walk to the side door outside the kitchen where there was a wind-blocking glass, slightly warmer.

As soon as the call connected, the other side started talking rapidly.

Yu Zi moved the phone away for a moment, taking a few seconds to respond, “Is it always this urgent? We also need time for procurement. Give us some leeway in fund allocation too, okay?”

The other side remained firm, “No, we’re also tight on funds. If you can’t do it, I’ll find someone else.”

Yu Zi sighed lightly and had no choice but to agree before hanging up the phone.

Surrounded by silence, only the occasional sound of the wind hitting the glass could be heard.

Another challenge lay before Yu Zi.

The requirements of the few clients he was negotiating with were relatively high. They were small-scale, relatively passive, had no bargaining power, and had short lead times. Many of the raw materials needed to be purchased in advance.

Relying solely on the cash in hand was becoming tight.

Leaning against the glass, Yu Zi closed his eyes and thought for a while. With a new recruit in the restaurant and two more cooperative clients secured, if he wanted to earn more money, he would have to invest more.

He had to find more lucrative avenues to sustain the high-speed operation of the restaurant.

However, as he finished contemplating, when he went to push the door back to the kitchen, he heard two familiar voices by the door, breaking the silence.

“When did you buy a new car, Dongy?” It was Xiao Liu’s voice.

“Just bought it a couple of days ago. Second-hand car,” Xie Dongcheng’s voice came from inside.

Xiao Liu tutted and joked, “Dongy, are you planning to leave? You don’t want to drive back, do you? It’s nice here, and Boss Yu is generous with money.”

At this moment, there was a sudden rustle from outside the side door, followed by two very light footsteps.

Xie Dongcheng quickly glanced at the door, but didn’t see anything.

Shaking his head at Xiao Liu, he whispered, “No, don’t ask silly questions.”