Chapter 25: Fu Huayi Helped Her Find a Job

“I’ve told my friend; let’s go upstairs.”

“Okay.”

She was wearing a small floral dress, black trousers, and cloth shoes, clutching her small shoulder bag tightly. She looked both rustic and cute.

Fu Leyi studied her for a moment, nodding in satisfaction.

“What’s your education level?”

Lin Yuyao produced her high school diploma. “I graduated from high school but didn’t go to university.”

Fu Leyi looked at her diploma and smiled. “Not bad. You’re pretty, and you look quiet and studious; you’re perfect for this job.”

Lin Yuyao breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“I haven’t even mentioned the salary yet, and you’re already thanking me.”

Lin Yuyao: “…”

“I’ll pay you eighty yuan a month. Let’s see how it goes; what do you think?”

Eighty yuan might not be much in a big city, but it was a lot for Lin Yuyao.

Lin Yuyao beamed, nodding eagerly. “That’s great, thank you.”

Fu Leyi smiled. “Alright, it’s settled then.”

She turned and called out, “Xiao Zhou, come and help Xiao Lin with the paperwork.”

“Yes.”

A young woman came out, and Lin Yuyao followed her.

As soon as she left, Fu Leyi raised an eyebrow at Fu Huayi. “What’s your relationship with that girl?”

“Nothing, just a friend.”

“Oh? A friend? I didn’t know you had female friends, and that you’d even go to this length for one.”

“You know now.”

Fu Leyi: “…”

“Alright, don’t try to fool me. I’m asking you; do you have a crush on her?” she ask without hesitation.

Did he have a crush on her?

Whether he did or not, he couldn’t say that now.

“No way; you’re just guessing.”

Fu Leyi smiled, not exposing him.

Then she noticed his face. “What happened to your face?”

Fu Huayi ducked his head slightly. “Nothing; I got it during training.”

Fu Leyi said, “Be careful.”

“I can’t always be careful. In our line of work, injuries are inevitable. If I were afraid of a little injury, I wouldn’t have gone to military school.”

“Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

…

There was a small office behind the bookstore where she would complete the onboarding process.

Zhou Jing took a handwritten name tag and clipped it to her chest.

“Take this; wear it when you’re working.”

She pointed to her name tag.

Lin Yuyao nodded. “Okay, Sister Zhou, thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You can start tomorrow. We normally work from nine to five thirty, but we have to take turns on night shifts, about every three days. Night shifts end at seven. Also, we work weekends, and you can’t take leave unless it’s an emergency. We have a rotating day off system; one day a week.”

“Okay, Sister Zhou.” She replied.

It was nine to five, with one day off a week.

The occasional night shift was fine; it wasn’t a long shift.

Lin Yuyao mentally calculated the commute time. It would take about half an hour each way, which was acceptable.

She had already paid for the apartment, so she would stay there for now. She could look for a place nearby later to shorten her commute. The library was quite large, bigger than any she had seen back home. If she could work here long-term, that would be great.

Except…

It was a bit far from home.

But these days, more and more people were working away from home, so it wasn’t a big deal.

There will be more in the future.

Girls would earn enough money and return home to get married.

Boys would earn enough money and return home to get married.

Hmm?

She seemed to be thinking too much.

Finding a job put Lin Yuyao in a good mood.

When she came out, Fu Huayi was waiting at the entrance.

“All done?”

Lin Yuyao nodded, showing him her name tag. Smiling, she said, “Sister Zhou said I can start tomorrow.”

He had always seen her gloomy, either crying or frowning. This was the first time he had seen her smile.

Her smile was so beautiful like a sunflower blooming.

Fu Huayi felt his heart quicken.

“That’s great.” His voice was somewhat hoarse.

“Yes, Comrade Fu, thank you.”

“You’re welcome; it was nothing.”

He pushed out the motorcycle and said, “Don’t call me Comrade Fu anymore; it’s not common in big cities.”

Lin Yuyao blinked. What should she call him then?

“Brother Fu.”

Fu Huayi smiled slightly, thinking the term was a bit strange but also had a rustic charm.

Brother Fu was better than “Comrade.”

Since all her things were broken, she bought a new coal stove, bowls, and other necessities on the way back.

Fu Huayi helped her carry the things and accompanied her back to her rented apartment. This time, Lin Yuyao didn’t refuse.  She had a lot of things, including a twenty-jin bag of rice, and. She couldn’t carry so many things by herself.

Also, she thought Lu Jiangting would be at work and wouldn’t show up.

However, she miscalculated again.

Lu Jiangting arrived, his eyes bruised, crouching at her doorstep.

Seeing her return with Fu Huayi, his eyes turned red.

“Fu Huayi, you again?” Lu Jiangting gritted his teeth, rising abruptly to confront Fu Huayi.

He hadn’t realized how long he had been crouching there.  Standing up suddenly, his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground, looking quite pathetic.

Enraged, he lay on the ground, pounding the earth until his hands bled.

Was he so easily defeated? Did he need to self-harm?

Lin Yuyao’s heart pounded. She had miscalculated.

Lu Jiangting seemed more extreme than she had imagined.

Thankfully, Fu Huayi was there; otherwise, she didn’t know what Lu Jiangting would do to her.

She looked anxiously at Fu Huayi.

Fu Huayi glanced at Lu Jiangting on the ground and calmly said to Lin Yuyao, “Open the door first, and then we’ll put the things inside.”

Lin Yuyao nodded, took out her key, opened the door, and let Fu Huayi bring the things inside.

Lu Jiangting got up clumsily.

Lin Yuyao thought they were about to fight again. Instead, Lu Jiangting suddenly looked like a deflated balloon, his expression dejected. His gaze shifted between the two of them several times before finally settling on Lin Yuyao.

“Yuyao, if this is your revenge, you’ve succeeded.”

Lin Yuyao: “…”

“You used him to make me angry, and you succeeded. I’m very upset and regretful. I promise you I won’t see Fang Qing and her son again. I’ll just send them some money every month; I won’t see them again, ever. Is that okay?”

Lin Yuyao replied, “What does it have to do with me? You can see them or not; I don’t care.”

Lu Jiangting tugged at his hair in anguish. “Don’t say that; I give up, okay? I promise I won’t see them again; isn’t that enough?”

Lin Yuyao asked, “How much are you planning to give them?”

Lu Jiangting: “…”

He hadn’t thought about it.

After a long pause, he whispered, “Fang Qing opened a hair salon, and she earns more than me now. I’ll just give her a little something as compensation.”