Xie Dongcheng almost fell off the ladder when he heard this.

The woman who came to deliver the goods was quick-witted and quickly asked the group of movers to leave. Before leaving, she waved to Yu Zi and said, “You’re busy, you’re busy.”

The crowded shop was once again left with only the three of them.

Xiao Liu, even if he was slow, could sense that something was off. He chuckled twice and then focused on painting the wall.

After painting for the day, the three of them were ready to go home. Xiao Liu lived at the west end of the city, in the opposite direction from them.

Yu Zi went to the ATM next door to withdraw money first, leaving Xie Dongcheng and Xiao Liu in the shop.

Standing at the door of the shop, Xiao Liu couldn’t help but ask Xie Dongcheng, “Dongy, what’s the real relationship between you and Boss Yu? I feel like it’s not that simple…”

Xie Dongcheng’s lips tightened, he glanced at him, “It’s none of your business.”

“Hey, what’s with ‘none of your business’? I’m twenty-two already! I’m already of legal age.”

“Fine, go get married soon and stop bothering me.”

Xiao Liu felt that Xie Dongcheng’s temper had changed compared to before.

They returned home late at night, already past eleven o’clock. Yu Zi went into the bedroom first and left the door slightly open for Xie Dongcheng, as usual.

He half-closed his eyes, and it wasn’t until the sound of the door opening that he heard. Yu Zi raised his head from the pillow and glanced at Xie Dongcheng, who slowly walked in wearing thick long pants and sleeves and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Tsk. Now he’s showing some manly virtues.

“Are you cold?” Yu Zi glanced at him and asked.

“Yeah,” Xie Dongcheng nodded and didn’t say anything else.

Yu Zi turned away without looking at him.

Xie Dongcheng then lay down beside him. It wasn’t until Yu Zi’s breathing became steady, indicating that he was asleep, that Xie Dongcheng relaxed his tense arm and gradually closed his eyes, sinking into sleep.

…….

Chef Zhao started working at the shop half a month later. At that time, Yu Zi was making a final payment call to the decoration company, and he almost didn’t recognize the person in front of him.

Chef Zhao used to wear a three-piece suit to work at the villa in the suburbs. He would change into his work clothes when he entered the kitchen, treating ingredients like works of art with a lot of style. But today, he was only wearing a simple cotton coat, looking very plain, completely different from before.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yu Zi learned that after his family fell, Chef Zhao had been unemployed until now. His previous identity as an executive chef in a five-star hotel was no longer useful. He was nearly sixty years old, and no restaurant was willing to rehire a chef nearing sixty. Chef Zhao’s child was still in graduate school, and the sudden economic pressure was overwhelming.

No wonder Yu Zi felt Chef Zhao’s unusual joy when he called him.

You’ve really caused a lot of trouble, Yu Qing.

The recruitment of personnel and the decoration of the shop were almost completed simultaneously. The storefront was painted milky white with a beautiful curved design, which stood out among the surrounding dull gray shops, attracting the attention of passersby even before opening.

Yu Zi chose to open on Monday, and on the first day, it attracted many white-collar workers to visit.

Yu Zi was responsible for cashing behind the bar, Xie Dongcheng helped in the kitchen, and Xiao Liu specially changed into a shirt and suspenders to serve dishes and attract customers. Chef Zhao was busy in the western kitchen, creating sparks with his hands. The pastries that Yu Zi loved were still popular here.

Although they were a bit tired, the revenue was higher than they had imagined.

After the first week, Yu Zi calculated the revenue and was pleasantly surprised, it clearly exceeded his expectations. He sat behind the bar, tapping the calculator vigorously. They earned in one week what they used to earn in a month of running around.

Being so popular right after opening raised Yu Zi’s expectations for the restaurant. If this continued, their bank account would only increase, and maybe they could turn things around with this restaurant.

Chef Zhao and Xiao Liu cleaned up and joined the excitement. After hearing Yu Zi’s words, they insisted on opening a bottle of wine to celebrate together.

That night, the four of them drank until they were dizzy before returning home separately.

However, the good times didn’t last long. The situation started to go downhill in the second week of opening.

As the new Monday arrived, the northern city suddenly experienced an extremely cold air mass, and the temperature dropped to below minus ten degrees. The cold wind on the street felt like blades, making people’s faces ache. The flow of people seemed to have been swept away by the cold wind.

Even more frustratingly, the previously open main road in front of the shop was suddenly surrounded by tall and sturdy wire fences. Xie Dongcheng inquired around and learned that this section of the road was being reconstructed. This cut off most of the foot traffic at this intersection.

Yu Zi felt overwhelmed. He had never heard of road construction during his time here, and it caught him off guard.

The beautifully crafted shop, which had consumed all their efforts, became an isolated island at the end of the road, invisible to outsiders.

The business of the restaurant became increasingly deserted, with fewer and fewer customers coming each day. Sometimes, even the seats by the window remained empty. Fridays, which were supposed to be bustling, became plain. Yu Zi watched as the daily revenue plummeted.

Chef Zhao suddenly broke free from his busy schedule, wearing an apron, and walked out of the kitchen with Xiao Liu, standing under the eaves at the door, watching the sparsely populated street outside.

“The weather is cold, and people don’t want to come out.” Chef Zhao exhaled a white breath and then turned to comfort Yu Zi, “Our hotel restaurant used to be like this too. This is the off-season. No one wants to go out. Just endure until spring.”

Before opening, they had calculated all the formulas, including which dishes had high gross margins, which dishes could attract customers, and how to price afternoon tea sets reasonably. However, they hadn’t counted on encountering the coldest year in the northern city and coincidentally running into municipal road construction.

The enthusiasm and hope of the four were extinguished in an instant, leaving nothing but ashes.

Yu Zi stood behind the counter, chin resting on his hand, looking at the empty entrance, his eyes unfocused.

Every month, he had to bear the rent, labor costs, and utilities of the shop. The bank loan was interest-only, and every month he had to pay a significant amount to the bank. According to the current revenue, they might not last until spring.

Seeing him with dull eyes for a while, Xie Dongcheng seemed to guess what he was thinking, “Let me distribute flyers to nearby companies. Although it’s a bit outdated, it should bring in more people.”

Yu Zi was stunned for a while before raising his head and looking at him, “That won’t work. It’s cold, and people really don’t want to come out of the office buildings.”

He folded and unfolded the paper in his hand several times, saying in the end, “No, we need to increase our income.”

“How?”

“I’ll negotiate corporate catering. We’ll directly take their orders and deliver the food to them.”

After hearing this, Chef Zhao turned to look at Yu Zi, “Young master, corporate catering is not easy to negotiate. These companies probably already have their suppliers established at the beginning of the year. This kind of procurement is a lucrative job, and they usually favor their own people.”

Yu Zi naturally understood the twists and turns involved, but now he could only try his best.

Xie Dongcheng brought the long-idle Hello Kitty scooter into the shop again and took Yu Zi around nearby office buildings. Yu Zi specially put on the cashmere coat he brought from the villa.

There were three office buildings nearby, with hundreds of companies inside. Yu Zi went from door to door with Xie Dongcheng, and unsurprisingly, they were turned away at every door.

Most people either kicked them out directly or took their business cards and found excuses to send them away.

They rode from daylight to nightfall. The nights were getting darker earlier, and it was already pitch black by six o’clock in the afternoon.

Yu Zi and Xie Dongcheng arrived at the last destination of the day, an investment management company. The receptionist here was much gentler than the previous ones.

Yu Zi handed his business card over, and soon she said they should wait on the sofa for a while, she would inform the boss.

Yu Zi was a little excited and patted Xie Dongcheng’s hand lightly, whispering, “This might be it.”

They waited on the sofa for almost an hour. Many employees left one after another, and the lights in the office area gradually went out, leaving only a few scattered ones still on.

“Could they be fooling us?” Xie Dongcheng was uncertain.

“It’s unlikely. Her bag is still here.” Yu Zi pointed to the leather handbag on the receptionist’s seat.

They waited for another half an hour. Yu Zi’s waist was sore from sitting, and he felt more and more hopeless. He stood up from the sofa, stretched his body, and was about to tell Xie Dongcheng that they should leave. Suddenly, someone appeared in the office area.

“Good timing, our general manager is here. He said he wants to talk to you directly.” The receptionist approached them with a smile on her face.

Yu Zi was somewhat surprised. Did their small business really need to involve the general manager? This company was giving them too much face. He quickly smoothed the hem of his cashmere coat and took two steps forward.

Just then, a man walked out from the pale light. Yu Zi squinted and felt that he looked familiar.

“Young Master Yu, long time no see,” the man walked up to him and pushed up the narrow frame of his glasses.

After seeing the face of the person in front of him, Yu Zi cursed inwardly.

Damn. It’s him.

Xu Zhuo. The second young master of the Xu family, one of the young gentlemen who used to street race with him.

Yu Zi finally understood why this small business had to involve the general manager. He probably just saw his business card and came out to mock him.

Yu Zi always knew that Xu Zhuo looked down on people like him and Sheng Chuan. In Xu Zhuo’s eyes, they were the orthodox “old money” of the upper class society in North City. The industries of the Xu family had been passed down for three or four generations, with land and real estate all over North City. Any relative in the family was either wealthy or noble, influential and powerful.

People like Yu Zi and Sheng Chuan, who relied on family business and seized the dividends of the times to become the new rich in North City, were considered nouveau riche in his eyes.

Moreover, Yu Zi had always been arrogant, and he never looked highly upon them in social occasions. He had made numerous enemies in secret, including the high-minded Xu Zhuo.

In addition, the Yu family had snatched a piece of land from the Xu family before, and Xu Zhuo had a long-standing grudge against Yu Zi.

It’s a small world.

“What wind brought you here?” Although Yu Zi thought so in his heart, he still reached out his right hand.

Xie Dongcheng stood beside him, puzzled as to why he suddenly looked surprised.

Xu Zhuo glanced at Yu Zi’s outstretched right hand and gave a smirk, “Of course, I had to come personally when I heard it’s you.”

Although he said that, Xu Zhuo made no move to shake hands.

Feeling bored, Yu Zi shook his palm and withdrew his hand. This trip was in vain again, and Yu Zi sighed inwardly.

Xie Dongcheng suddenly realized that this person might be someone Yu Zi knew before. He looked at the man in front of him and felt that his aura was not very friendly.

Xu Zhuo held Yu Zi’s business card in his hand, raised it to his eyes in front of Yu Zi, and loudly read it out, “Restaurant proprietor.”

Xu Zhuo clicked his tongue, “Running a restaurant can be a bit tough. Can Young Master Yu, with his precious body, handle it?”

“It’s bearable. At least I won’t let the duck fly off when it’s right in front of my mouth,” Yu Zi replied without giving him face.

Xu Zhuo knew that Yu Zi was mocking him about the land incident. He felt a surge of anger and his breath became short. He twisted his wrist slightly. The pale light shone on his expensive watch, reflecting dazzling light, making Yu Zi’s eyes ache.

Seeing him silent, Yu Zi didn’t want to waste any more time with him. He took a step back and pressed the button to open the glass door beside him.

Buzz— The automatic door opened. He grabbed Xie Dongcheng’s wrist and prepared to leave.

Before the two of them could walk out, Xu Zhuo’s voice came from behind, “I didn’t expect Young Master Yu to find a commoner boyfriend so quickly?”

He deliberately emphasized the word “commoner”.

Malicious and insidious. Yu Zi’s teeth were about to shatter in anger.

Yu Zi’s sexual orientation had long been spread among these young gentlemen. But previously, due to the wealth of the Yu family, no one dared to bring it up openly. Now that the Yu family was in decline, for Xu Zhuo, it was like handing him a sharp knife. He was determined to stab it into Yu Zi’s heart.

Seeing that Yu Zi didn’t respond, Xu Zhuo continued to add fuel to the fire, “I didn’t expect Young Master Yu to still be charming. But, of course, when you went abroad, you could naturally be carefree without any moral pressure.”

Yu Zi took two deep breaths, finally unable to bear it anymore, and turned around to retort.

But unexpectedly, Xie Dongcheng took a step forward and grabbed Xu Zhuo’s collar first. “What did you say?!”

Xie Dongcheng was tall and strong, and he lifted Xu Zhuo up like catching a chicken, his knuckles wrinkling the collar of his shirt deeply, as if he was about to punch him in the face next.

For a moment, the atmosphere became tense, and the receptionist nearby stepped back several steps in fright.

Xu Zhuo didn’t expect the person behind Yu Zi to be so fierce. After being stunned for several seconds, he forcefully shook off his hand and twisted his neck several times.

Yu Zi didn’t want to have anything to do with Xu Zhuo anymore, nor did he want Xie Dongcheng to be involved in such a trivial matter.

“Let’s go,” he said softly, then grabbed Xie Dongcheng’s wrist and walked towards the elevator hall.

Xie Dongcheng still seemed unsatisfied and looked back several times. Xu Zhuo felt his heart sink and directly avoided his gaze.

Two minutes later, the two stood under the corridor at the corner of the office building, neither of them speaking.

The streetlights flickered on and off, and the cold wind kept pouring into this corner. Yu Zi’s cashmere coat couldn’t withstand the wind, and he shrank his neck, regretting not wearing a scarf today.

After a rustle, he felt a garment draped over his shoulder, blocking the cold wind for him.

He turned his head and saw Xie Dongcheng had taken off his thick down jacket and put it on himself.

“It’s too cold,” Xie Dongcheng said only these few words.

Xie Dongcheng’s coat was warm, completely shielding him from the cold air, but Yu Zi’s heart was in turmoil.

He seemed to find it increasingly unbearable to stand quietly next to Xie Dongcheng. He often had the impulse to wrap his arms around the man in front of him and cling to him desperately, just like that stormy night in the corridor.

Even though he knew it was a sexual impulse, it was hormones at work.