He spent some time sorting through the materials, only taking the parts he would need next.

A vibrating sound came from the drawer; just as Xie Ci picked it up, the phone died and automatically shut off. He thought it might be Fang Sizhe looking for him, so he rummaged around for a charger to get his phone powered up again.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone vibrated again, and the screen displayed just a single character: “Wang.”

Xie Ci answered, “Who is it?”

“You little brat, don’t think I won’t recognize you just because you’re acting all deep and mysterious!”

A loud, angry voice came from the other end of the line. “What’s got you all worked up again? Going missing without a word? Just decided not to show up?!”

Xie Ci found the tone familiar and vaguely remembered it was the owner of the barbecue stall where he had worked part-time.

“Sorry, I’m not working—”

“I’m swamped here! You better come!”

The noise on the other end was chaotic, and after finishing his sentence, the man hung up.

Xie Ci glanced at the study materials scattered all over his room, grabbed his jacket, and headed out.

The barbecue stall was set up in the night market, and it took him about ten minutes to bike there from home.

The temperature was low at night, making his hands a bit cold while riding, but Xie Ci actually found it quite comfortable; the chill kept him alert and gave him a real sense of being alive.

He remembered the first time he mustered the courage to look for a part-time job when he was fifteen. He was too young back then, and no one wanted to hire him—not even to wash dishes at a restaurant.

That day, he had just gotten into a fight with his drunk uncle and ran out alone at night. Old Wang, who ran the barbecue stall, took pity on him and agreed to let him stay, telling others he was just a relative’s kid helping out.

During that time when he had no one to rely on, Old Wang was the first outsider willing to lend him a hand.

Though the pay wasn’t much, it gave him hope.

The night market was bustling with people, and by the time Xie Ci arrived, Old Wang was already sweating from the work.

It was Saturday, the best time for business.

Old Wang’s mom was in charge of cleaning the tables, and all Xie Ci had to do was take orders from customers, serve drinks and skewers, and help clean the floor when it was quiet. Even though he hadn’t done it in years, it was easy to pick back up.

In his thirty-plus years of life, he had experienced so much, and the memories of his youth felt distant, almost like they belonged to someone else.

Now, experiencing it all over again made him feel the warmth of human life that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

They worked from eight until midnight, and finally, the number of customers started to dwindle.

Old Wang handed off his tasks to another young guy, grabbed a plate of skewers, and a bottle of cold beer, inviting Xie Ci to sit down in a corner to eat together.

“What were you up to yesterday? You didn’t come and didn’t even say hi.”

Old Wang took a sip of beer, letting out a long sigh as he stretched his sore arms. “Made me think you got beaten up by your relatives again.”

Xie Ci was munching on skewers, his gaze drifting over to some stalls selling clothes and toys nearby, casually replying, “It’s my senior year, school’s busy.”

“How could I forget? In the blink of an eye, you’re already a senior!”

Old Wang ruffled Xie Ci’s hair roughly, laughing, “Look at you, definitely a young man now, taller than me when you stand up.”

Xie Ci said, “I might not be able to help out much anymore, you should look for someone else.”

“Alright! School comes first!”

Old Wang clinked his beer bottle against the drink bottle Xie Ci had on the table. “I’ll settle your pay later. I was going to deduct fifty for skipping work yesterday, but since we’ve known each other for so long, I’ll only deduct thirty.”

Just as he finished speaking, Aunt Jin walked by and slapped him.

Aunt Jin looked at her son with disdain, “Little Xie has it tough, working at such a young age, and you’re deducting money? You think that little bit of money is going to make you rich?”

Old Wang shrank his neck to avoid her. “Mom, I was just joking! Do you really think I’d deduct money? Am I that kind of person?”

Aunt Jin replied, “With your money-grubbing nature, you could totally do that!”

Xie Ci couldn’t help but laugh at the banter between the mother and son.

Once Aunt Jin left, Old Wang turned back to Xie Ci, “If you want to start a business after graduation, just let me know, I’ll help you out.”

Xie Ci replied, “Let’s focus on getting into college first. Without an education, it’s easy to get scammed in business.”

Old Wang scoffed, “Who could scam you? I’d kneel down and call him grandpa!”

“Xie Ci?!”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind, and Xie Ci turned to see a balding middle-aged man, Xiang Haibin, riding a small electric scooter, looking over from across the crowd with a grim expression.

Xiang Haibin parked the scooter by the roadside and hurried over to the barbecue stall, glancing at Xie Ci and then at Old Wang, sternly saying, “You’re really working part-time? You, a high school student, should be focusing on your studies, what are you doing working part-time?!”

Seeing his weathered face and the tip of his nose red from the cold, Xie Ci felt a bit confused. “How did you find me?”

The night market was huge, with stalls set up in every alley; if you didn’t know the exact location, it would take a lot of time to find this place.

As soon as he mentioned this, Xiang Haibin got angry.

At noon, he had suddenly received a call from the political education office, saying someone reported Xie Ci was working part-time in the night market.

The school had strict regulations regarding this; if discovered, it could lead to a light punishment or even expulsion.

Xiang Haibin paused for a moment and quickly said, “Director Qian, I know about this. Xie Ci is just helping out his relatives; he already informed me.”

Director Qian replied, “Old Xiang, the school doesn’t allow this. Even if he’s helping relatives, it’s still not okay. He’s still a minor; who’s responsible if something happens?”

“You’re right, I’ll talk to him on Monday.”

Xiang Haibin hesitated and asked, “Can I ask who reported him?”

There was silence on the other end.

Xiang Haibin tentatively asked, “Is it related to the Chen family?”

Director Qian was silent for a moment. “Old Xiang—”

“Director Qian.”

Xiang Haibin interrupted him, his tone a bit harsh, “That day when the police came to the school, you were there too. After teaching for so many years, I’ve never seen a parent like them, turning black and white upside down, forcing their child into a dead end! You and I both know what Xie Ci’s grades were when he first entered school; I don’t believe he just suddenly gave up for no reason!”

There was another moment of silence on the line.

Director Qian said, “I won’t report this for now. You talk to the kid. No matter if it’s helping out or working part-time, he can’t do it anymore.”

Xiang Haibin replied, “Okay, I understand.”

After hanging up, Xiang Haibin spent the whole afternoon thinking at home, not even eating, before riding his scooter out to find him, searching until midnight.

When Old Wang saw Xiang Haibin come in, he immediately confronted him, clearly unhappy, standing up to support Xie Ci. “Who are you to meddle so much?”

Xiang Haibin replied, “I’m his homeroom teacher!”

“Oh, so you’re his homeroom teacher.”

Old Wang stood in front of Xie Ci, “Where were you when he was being abused at home? Why didn’t you step in to help him?”

Xiang Haibin was taken aback. “What abuse?”

Old Wang replied, “I’m just saying, you teachers are so hypocritical, always putting on a show, but you don’t really care about the students. Do you know how badly Little Xie was beaten by his relatives? They didn’t even feed him! He’s out here working at fifteen to earn his own living expenses! What kind of decent family would let their child suffer like this?”

Xiang Haibin looked at Xie Ci in disbelief. “Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!”

Old Wang answered for Xie Ci. “I just run a barbecue stall; do I really have to hire minors? I just felt sorry for him!”

Xiang Haibin was both shocked and angry, lowering his voice, “Why didn’t you tell me you were in trouble? Working part-time is not allowed! Do you know you could get expelled if the school finds out?!”

Old Wang retorted, “You old man are too much! You want to expel such a sensible kid? Are you even human?!”

Xiang Haibin was bombarded with insults, his anger flaring up. “Who are you calling an old man?!”

Old Wang shot back, “You, of course!”

Xie Ci watched as they pointed fingers at each other, getting closer and closer, almost about to clash, feeling a bit of a headache.

Just as he was thinking of how to calm them down, his phone in his pocket vibrated again.

Xie Ci answered it casually, and a familiar voice filled the line with curses.

“You didn’t come yesterday, and you’re not coming today either. You don’t want to work anymore, do you?!”

Xie Ci: “……”

How many jobs had he taken on?

He tried to persuade the caller for a bit, but seeing it wasn’t working, he just said goodbye to Aunt Jin and rode off to the second stall.

By the time Xiang Haibin and Old Wang came back to their senses, Xie Ci had already left.

“See? It’s all your fault; you scared the kid away.”

Old Wang noticed Xiang Haibin still looked angry and softened his tone a bit. “Alright, alright, let’s sit down and talk.”

Xiang Haibin kept a serious face. “What’s really going on?!”

Old Wang had the young guy working for him grill another plate of skewers and took a sip of beer. “Well, it’s a long story.”

---

Relying on his vague memories, Xie Ci rode his bike through various alleys, finally stopping at the back door of a bar called “Night Color.”

A man in his thirties, wearing a bar supervisor uniform, had been waiting at the door. When he saw Xie Ci, he frowned and urged him to hurry inside and change for work.

Originally, the bar didn’t hire minors, but Xie Ci was tall and handsome, which made him popular with female customers, so they made an exception for him.

Xie Ci went to the changing room, walked to the locker with his name on it, and changed into the bar’s work uniform.

The collar of the shirt was a bit small, so he had to leave the top two buttons undone and pulled out a mask that had been pressed at the bottom to wear.

The bar was different from the barbecue stall; being recognized could really lead to immediate expulsion.

The supervisor came over and said to Xie Ci, “The bartender has an upset stomach; you go cover the bar for a bit.”

Xie Ci asked, “I’m going to mix drinks?”

“No need, just stand there and chat with customers, be a good luck charm.”

The supervisor pushed him out, “Remember, you absolutely cannot let female customers touch you. Keep them hanging, and they’ll keep coming back. You’re our bar’s ace.”

Xie Ci: “…… I’m just a server, right?”

The supervisor replied, “Ace server, is that not good enough?”

Xie Ci: “……”

The music in the front hall was deafening, and the dimly lit space was filled with rapidly dancing beams of colored light. In the dance floor, a group of men and women were having a blast, moving to the rhythm of the music.

Xie Ci walked to the bar and casually started cleaning the glasses in the sink.

Soon, some customers gathered around to chat with him.

Working at the bar was not fundamentally different from the barbecue stall; if there was any difference, it was just that it was way too loud.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a tall figure approaching, and Xie Ci instinctively looked over.

The person was wearing a loose hoodie with a large hood, and under the hood was a baseball cap pulled down low, only revealing slightly upturned lips and a smooth jawline.

But even wrapped up so tightly, Xie Ci still recognized him in the crowd at a glance.

Not to mention that exquisite face, the person’s posture and demeanor were clearly different from those around him.

Gu Yufeng sat down at the bar, his long fingers lightly tapping on the counter, and said to Xie Ci, “Make me a drink.”

Xie Ci wiped a glass and replied leisurely, “Minors can’t drink.”

Gu Yufeng looked up.

Xie Ci’s white shirt was slightly open at the collar, the hem tucked into his dress pants, outlining a slim waist, and the sleeves were casually rolled up, revealing beautiful hand lines. Even just wiping a glass was pleasing to the eye.

Gu Yufeng stared at the annoying mask on Xie Ci’s face and continued, “So minors can work in a bar?”

Xie Ci lowered his gaze to meet his eyes. “Can minors come to a bar to drink?”

Gu Yufeng chuckled lightly, “So, are we accomplices now?”

Before Xie Ci could respond, Gu Yufeng waved to the bar manager, “Open a bottle of your most expensive wine for me, and put it under his name.”

The manager discreetly sized up Gu Yufeng and replied with a smile, “The most expensive red wine is three thousand eight hundred; there are also two thousand six hundred and two thousand four hundred options. Which one do you want?”

Gu Yufeng thought he misheard. “How much?”

The manager repeated it with a smile, secretly thinking this kid looked young and clearly couldn’t afford it.

Xie Ci watched this unfold and thought to himself that this young master wasn’t complaining about the price; he was just worried it was too cheap to show off.

“Manager, he’s my friend; he’s just joking.”

After sending the manager away, Xie Ci turned back to Gu Yufeng. “I’m just a part-time server, not a gigolo. Even if you opened all the drinks in the place, I wouldn’t get a commission.”

Gu Yufeng rested his chin on his hand, looking a bit dissatisfied. “What a buzzkill.”

To appease this willful young master, Xie Ci still made him a drink.

A few female customers nearby saw that Xie Ci could mix drinks and started clamoring for one too.

“Sorry.”

Xie Ci politely declined, “This is a limited drink just for him.”

The female customers were left wanting more, calling out that they also wanted a limited drink.

Xie Ci poured the clear liquid into a glass, garnished it with two slices of sunshine rose, and pushed it in front of Gu Yufeng.

“Your ‘Yangchun Baixue’.”

Just hearing the word “limited” was enough to brighten Gu Yufeng’s mood.

As Xie Ci was about to step back, Gu Yufeng reached out and placed his hand on Xie Ci’s arm, his index finger slipping into the sleeve, gently rubbing against the inside of his elbow.

“Actually, don’t you think you’re more suited to be a gigolo than a server?”

Gu Yufeng’s gaze lightly brushed over Xie Ci’s features, his slightly hoarse voice carrying a hint of laughter. “Want to make a quick buck?”

Their faces were just a palm’s distance apart, and Xie Ci could see every subtle change in Gu Yufeng’s expression.

That enticing look, the deliberately lowered voice, and the teasing little gestures were clearly traits of the adult Gu Yufeng who would actively seek him out, yet he was seeing them in the younger Gu Yufeng.

This kid was only a few years younger, and he already knew how to reel in men.

For some reason, Xie Ci felt a bit annoyed.

Xie Ci replied, “Do you do this often?”

Gu Yufeng asked, “What do you mean?”

But Xie Ci didn’t continue, coldly straightening up and pulling his hand back. “No touching in the bar.”

With the prey slipping away, Gu Yufeng didn’t mind, happily lifting his drink to take a sip, but the smile froze on his lips.

Wasn’t this just ice-cold Sprite?