Chapter 35: Song Shiyan

Jiang Banyue, physically and mentally exhausted, returned to the store. The three babies had been cared for by a nanny recently, and it had been a while since they had seen their mother. Now that she was back, they eagerly rushed to her.

Jiang Banyue tightly hugged the three babies, feeling a moment of comfort in her heart. The babies, with their sweet little voices, called out to her.

“Mommy, hug me!”

“Mommy, I love you…”

“My darlings, Mommy loves you too!” Jiang Banyue held her children, unwilling to let go for a long time.

An Xiuxiu entered from outside, “Jiang Jie, you’re back!”

Jiang Banyue released the children, stood up, and with some effort, forced a smile.

“Xiuxiu, you’re here.”

An Xiuxiu scratched her head in embarrassment.

“While you weren’t home these past few days, I was worried something might happen to the babies, so I came to check on them.”

“Thank you, Xiuxiu.”

“No problem, no problem. I’m just glad you’re back.”

An Xiuxiu waved her hand casually. “Jiang Jie, I’ll head back now. The store is really busy.”

“Okay.”

Around 3 PM, An Xiuxiu was busy cleaning up in the store. From time to time, she glanced toward the table by the window, where a man was sitting. He had a cold and distant expression, with neatly styled short hair. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and black pants, holding a bottle of alcohol, and quietly staring into space.

The man had been sitting there for quite some time, not eating, just drinking bottle after bottle of alcohol. An Xiuxiu counted and saw that there were at least five bottles of alcohol on the table.

Drinking so much, not afraid of a stomachache, she thought. An Xiuxiu stopped paying attention to him and carried a stack of plates to the kitchen to wash them.

Gu Qingci walked in from outside, heading straight toward the man. Without saying a word, he grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the man’s hand.

“Shiyan, you’ve drunk too much. Stop drinking!”

Gu Qingci and Song Shiyan were university classmates, and they had always been good friends. Today was the anniversary of Song Shiyan’s mother’s death. His father had an affair and fell in love with another woman. When his mother and father argued about it, she jumped from the building in a fit of rage. At the time, Song Shiyan was only twelve years old and witnessed his mother’s death with his own eyes. Just after his mother’s seventh-day mourning period, his father remarried the woman he had an affair with.

His mother had been so foolish. She was the most foolish woman he had ever known.

Every year on this day, his mood would always be terrible. Gu Qingci helped him up, trying to leave, but then he saw Jiang Banyue rush past outside. He quickly set down Song Shiyan and called out to the boss, who came over. Gu Qingci took some money out of his pocket and handed it to him.

“Could you please look after my friend for a bit? I need to go out.”

Without waiting for a response from the boss, Gu Qingci quickly walked out to catch up with Jiang Banyue.

“Banyue, what’s wrong? Why are you running?” Gu Qingci caught up to her. Jiang Banyue had her hands on her hips, breathing heavily.

“A kid came into the shop just now, stole a piece of cake, and ran out. I chased after him, but he runs so fast I couldn’t catch him!”

“I’ll go after him.” Gu Qingci began to walk, but Jiang Banyue grabbed him.

“Forget it, don’t chase him. The babies are still waiting for me back at the shop. Let’s go back.”

Jiang Banyue pressed her hand to her stomach. She had run too fast just now, and now her stomach was aching. Gu Qingci supported her as they slowly walked back.

An Xiuxiu had finished washing all the dishes, and it had already been two hours. She was so tired she could hardly straighten her back. After greeting the boss, she headed upstairs. There was an attic upstairs where An Xiuxiu lived. It was a small room, just big enough for a bed and a desk.

An Xiuxiu took off her clothes and grabbed a basin of water, wiping her body with a towel. She looked down at herself and saw she had lost a lot of weight. Lately, she had been working hard, and whenever she came upstairs, she was so exhausted that she collapsed into bed immediately.

At first, she used to eat a lot, but the boss looked at her strangely, so she became scared and didn’t dare to eat much anymore, afraid the boss would kick her out. Now she could only eat enough to feel half full. At night, her stomach growled from hunger, but she could only drink water to suppress the hunger.

In a little over a month, her weight dropped from over 140 pounds to 120 pounds, and she was 5’5″ tall.

An Xiuxiu gently cupped her face in her hands, leaned closer to the mirror, and pouted with a look of grievance.

“An Xiuxiu, you’re so pitiful! The weight you worked so hard to gain is all gone!”

After cleaning up, An Xiuxiu changed into new clothes and went downstairs to continue working. As soon as she reached the bottom, the boss pulled her aside.

“Xiuxiu, come here, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, boss?” An Xiuxiu tilted her head, confused.

The boss pointed to the man sitting by the window.

“Do you see that man? His friend came to pick him up just now, but he had to leave because of an urgent matter. He left me some money and asked me to take care of him. But my shop is busy right now, I can’t leave, so you take care of him!”

“Boss!” An Xiuxiu exclaimed in surprise.

“No way, I’m a girl. How can I take care of a man? What if something happens?”

The boss looked her up and down, then glanced at the man, who was leaning over the table with a handsome, refined appearance.

“Don’t worry, that man obviously comes from a good family. He won’t be interested in a girl like you. Just help him to your attic to sleep for a while.”

“No!” An Xiuxiu refused firmly. How could she let a man sleep in her bed?

The boss tried to pressure her. “I promised his friend I’d take good care of him. I can’t just let him sleep at the table. Besides, there’s only that bed in your room. Just let him sleep there for a bit, and I’ll give you ten yuan!”

“Really? Ten yuan?”

An Xiuxiu counted on her fingers. Ten yuan was her salary for several months. It was just letting a man sleep in her bed for one night, what was the big deal? She could just change the sheets afterward.

The boss nodded. After all, the man had given a lot of money, so he had to take good care of him.

An Xiuxiu grinned and stretched out her hand.

“Boss, you give me the money first. Cash first, then the service.”

The boss hesitated but reluctantly handed her ten yuan. An Xiuxiu happily accepted the money and ran to the man, helping him up by draping his arm over her shoulder and guiding him upstairs.

The boss called out from behind, “Take care of him well! Otherwise, I’ll deduct your pay!”

“I know!” An Xiuxiu glanced back at the boss.

An Xiuxiu helped the man into the room and laid him on the bed. She thoughtfully took off his shoes and tucked him in under the blankets. She then looked down at him from above—he was quite handsome.

“He’s worth ten yuan, but I’m only worth two yuan. He’s worth eight yuan more than me. We’re both human, so why is there such a big difference?”

An Xiuxiu laid a blanket on the floor, preparing to sleep there for the night. Once the blanket was in place, she lay down and quickly fell asleep. Her sleep was always deep, and soon she drifted off.