Chapter 42

Returning to Rongda and seeing Jin Yi was unexpected, to the point where Xu Shijia had to recall that absurd night during their senior year and the immense side effects that followed his disappointment and drinking.

Fortunately, all traces of that night on the internet had been deleted, allowing him to bury this digital past.

That was also the first time Xu Shijia realized how poor his tolerance for alcohol was; just a little drinking caused his self-control to plummet. For him, alcohol was like a hallucinogen, making it impossible to restrain his actions.

Because he drank, he and Lin Shu ended up in a hotel; because he drank, he ran to the school’s confession wall, leaving behind his electronic record.

After that incident, Xu Shijia never touched alcohol again.

Wait a minute…

Xu Shijia’s heart suddenly sank.

He really hadn’t touched a drop since, except for that one night out with Lin Shu and Tao Lei…

That night, he had drunk.

He had a bizarre dream where he went to watch a movie with Lin Shu, whimsically entangled in a kiss when paying at the restaurant, then forcibly kissed Lin Shu on the street, and later encountered a man who looked exactly like his brother, questioning whether his dad had an illegitimate child.

However, the next day, Xu Shijia woke up in his own bed, without any strange marks on his body. There was a note from his brother, Wang Yizhou, on the nightstand, informing him that he was the one who took Xu Shijia home the night before and had prepared a hangover soup and congee for him.

At work, Lin Shu’s natural attitude further relieved Xu Shijia; she looked perfectly normal and calm, as if nothing had happened.

It seemed that after he got drunk last night, he had still managed to rationally contact Wang Yizhou, who arrived just in time, preventing Xu Shijia from doing anything outrageous.

As for that dream…

Xu Shijia didn’t take it seriously; after all, he had only kissed Lin Shu in that dream, and he had experienced much wilder dreams than that.

But now, forced to revisit the “accident” from his drunken night during senior year, Xu Shijia found himself doubting himself again.

He couldn’t help but message Wang Yizhou:

“Bro, the other day when I was drunk and you came to pick me up, I was pretty normal, right?”

Wang Yizhou was probably in a meeting and didn’t reply immediately. After a moment, he sent a video.

“What is this?”

Xu Shijia frowned slightly, opened the video, and was even more confused. Wasn’t this footage from a dashcam? The images were still, clearly showing the car parked somewhere, and the street scene looked familiar, making Xu Shijia feel like he had been there before.

He glanced at the timestamp of the dashcam video—it was indeed from the night he got drunk.

So, was this filmed when Wang Yizhou came to pick him up?

But there was nothing in the footage.

What was the point of sending this?

Quickly, Xu Shijia realized Wang Yizhou’s intention with the video, as his own voice began to play:

“I’m really handsome, I know that, but my brother isn’t as handsome as me. Even though he’s my biological brother, he looks like my dad, who’s quite average-looking. Every time I look in the mirror, I feel grateful that I don’t look like him. Luckily, my dad is very confident and has never doubted whether I’m really his son, even though I look so much better than he does.”

…

“I mean, my brother has a pretty common face! Look at that guy in the car; doesn’t he look just like my brother? That face is just too easy to confuse with others! I could stand anywhere on the street and find someone who looks like him!”

…

“Lin Shu, my phone’s out of battery. Can I borrow yours to take a picture of this guy? I want to send it to my brother and ask for his contact info. They look so alike! I hope my dad hasn’t secretly had another son outside!”

The more Xu Shijia watched, the worse his expression became.

As these scenes, which he thought were only part of his dream, were reflected back to him through the video, Xu Shijia had a sinking feeling that something was very wrong. His heart no longer felt light but instead plummeted rapidly.

If this wasn’t a dream, then…

The dashcam was still faithfully recording everything that happened afterward.

Xu Shijia heard himself being pushed into the car by Lin Shu, the alcohol rendering him incapable of resisting, mumbling incoherently. He heard Wang Yizhou calmly thanking Lin Shu, apologizing for the trouble, and the two of them exchanging Xu Shijia like they were passing documents, followed by the sound of the car door closing. Finally, the still images from the dashcam began to change as Wang Yizhou started the car.

Wang Yizhou clearly didn’t want to deal with a drunk Xu Shijia, but the silence in the car was soon broken by Xu Shijia himself. He heard his own proud voice:

“Bro, did you know? A girl kissed me first.”

“You also know our family’s motto is to owe no favors. I kissed her back.”

“But she still wasn’t satisfied.”

Drunk, Xu Shijia’s thoughts were chaotic and illogical. In the next moment, he switched topics:

“Damn it, I still really like her.”

“The way she rolled her eyes at me was so cute and sexy, it made me want to kiss her right away.”

“Is it only when I’m drunk that I can get close to her?”

Xu Shijia was clearly filled with the urge to vent, but Wang Yizhou remained calm, occasionally responding with “oh,” “ah,” or “mm,” not taking Xu Shijia’s rare emotional outpouring seriously at all…

Xu Shijia couldn’t watch any longer.

His emotions were now complex and chaotic, even his fingertips were slightly trembling.

So that dream wasn’t fake.

He really kissed Lin Shu?!

Immediately, Xu Shijia became restless. He didn’t care what Wang Yizhou was doing and called him directly.

After what felt like a century of waiting, Wang Yizhou finally answered the phone. Xu Shijia didn’t give him a chance to speak before he burst out in anger:

“Bro! Why couldn’t you come to pick me up earlier that day?!”

Xu Shijia’s face turned pale, and his voice trembled: “You got me into such a mess!”

“What’s wrong with you now?” Compared to Xu Shijia’s agitation, Wang Yizhou’s voice was quite calm. “Didn’t nothing happen that day?”

“Didn’t anything happen?!” Xu Shijia was filled with anger and sorrow. “I went and kissed someone else! I lost control again after getting drunk! Why didn’t you do something about it?!”

“That didn’t happen.” Wang Yizhou’s voice was resolute. “You were just dreaming.”

He pronounced Xu Shijia’s death sentence: “When I got there, you were with Lin Shu the whole time, and she was watching over you. There was no one else around, so kissing someone else was purely a dream.”

Wang Yizhou sighed, a hint of sympathy in his voice: “It’s been so many years. Your first love might be married with kids by now. You should move on; you can’t just think of her every time you get drunk, right? I don’t want to pry into who she is, but you should stop daydreaming. Lin Shu is a good person; I couldn’t make it that day, but she stayed with you the whole time, didn’t let you go anywhere, and didn’t let you meet anyone. So, at most, you just embarrassed yourself in front of her; it’s not a big deal. Just treat her well in the future.”

Not a big deal?!

This was a huge deal!

He didn’t kiss anyone else; he kissed Lin Shu!

He wasn’t embarrassed in front of others; he lost face right in front of Lin Shu!

But at this moment, he cared about one more thing—

“Bro, about the confession wall incident, you really did buy out those messages permanently and sign a permanent confidentiality agreement, right?”

“Ah, oh? Hmm, I can’t remember clearly.” Wang Yizhou cleared his throat, his voice becoming a bit unnatural. “I have things to do, so I’ll hang up now.”

He probably really did have things to do. Wang Yizhou didn’t want to talk more and quickly hung up.

Xu Shijia threw his phone aside and lay back on the bed, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away. He stared blankly at the ceiling, desperately thinking that if he changed his name again now, would it help him distance himself from that embarrassing version of himself from that night?

He subconsciously recalled the memories of that night. No wonder the kiss in that dream felt so real; he remembered behaving badly, and Lin Shu’s scolding gaze at him was so beautiful and vivid…

He didn’t want to think too much about it, but as soon as he did, Xu Shijia felt something was off.

Since it wasn’t a dream, then what was Lin Shu’s attitude the next day, as if nothing had happened?

Xu Shijia suddenly sat up in bed.

He thought he was just dreaming while drunk, but Lin Shu hadn’t been drunk.

She didn’t show any signs the next day?

So calm and natural, as if nothing had ever happened?

This felt like a cycle; he experienced this sense of frustration again and again through Lin Shu.

That chaotic night after their senior year seemed to have only affected Xu Shijia, while Lin Shu remained forever calm and indifferent. She waved her sleeve and walked away gracefully, not even remembering that it was Xu Shijia; she hadn’t recognized his face at all.

Years passed, and Lin Shu was still the same, while Xu Shijia was the only one who hadn’t improved.

So if she were to get close to another guy like that, would she care?

On that night during the summer break after their senior year, could it have been anyone else but Xu Shijia? Did she really not care who it was?

Thinking this, Xu Shijia became uncontrollably agitated, and a moment later, his face turned pale with anger.

Lin Shu was not just a workplace predator; in her private life, she was the worst kind of woman.

Such things had always been condemned by women against men who they felt had wronged them, rarely were men the ones to condemn women.

He had kissed her, but Lin Shu didn’t demand that he take responsibility, and Xu Shijia certainly couldn’t bring himself to ask her to take responsibility either.

Why was she so carefree while Xu Shijia had to remain obsessed?

In modern society, having a relationship wasn’t a big deal, let alone a kiss.

Just a drunken kiss, what’s the big deal? If Lin Shu didn’t care, why should he?

Was Xu Shijia really that petty of a man?

He didn’t care.

Xu Shijia turned off the light, pulled up the blanket, and buried his head in it, deciding to sleep.

He should eat when it was time to eat and sleep when it was time to sleep; life should be this carefree.

What kind of man cries and whines to have someone take responsibility for his first night?

A kiss was even less of a big deal.

Did he really need to let such a small matter affect his sleep?

Absolutely not.

**

After the anniversary celebration at Rongda, Lin Shu returned to the rhythm of work.

No one dislikes being surrounded by recognition and praise. After the anniversary speech, Liu Xuhui was visibly in better spirits, and because of that speech, he reestablished and enhanced his network of alumni. The simultaneous sign language translation of his unique speech went viral online, causing a stir in the national deaf community. As a result, apart from recommendations from alumni, many deaf clients or their relatives sought him out, leaving Liu Xuhui overwhelmed with work.

Due to the significant increase in business, Wang Tie Niu began providing logistical support for Liu Xuhui. Although Tie Niu didn’t know sign language, he was detail-oriented and started helping to organize case files for these deaf clients and draft written legal opinions, making his workload quite substantial.

In contrast, Xu Shijia, upon returning to work on Monday, suddenly changed from his previous spirited demeanor to appearing listless, with dark circles under his fair skin.

“Did you not sleep well?”

Unfortunately, Xu Shijia seemed to completely dismiss Lin Shu’s concern.

He had a sour expression and immediately denied it: “No, I slept just fine.”

Fortunately, Xu Shijia’s sleep issues didn’t affect his professionalism at work. After assisting Wei Xue with her lawsuit, he unexpectedly received phone calls from the lawyers of Wang Juan and Zhang Tao. Wang Juan and Zhang Tao were busy infighting, each pursuing their own interests. The once unbreakable foundation of their marriage had collapsed; without Zhang Jianyi, their blood-related child, to hold them together, their feelings for each other had quickly diminished, leaving behind only naked interests.

Zhang Tao’s mistress was still young. Even if natural conception didn’t work, there were plenty of technological means; sooner or later, she would get pregnant with Zhang Tao’s child. There would be many instances in the future when money would be needed. Wang Juan saw that Zhang Tao’s heart was already gone and wanted to secure some money for her own retirement, so she wouldn’t end up in a worse position if Zhang Tao secretly transferred all the money.

Back and forth, the two were willing to sit down and negotiate. Ultimately, they managed to amicably “part ways.” Wei Xue herself wasn’t too attached to the inheritance; she just wanted to resolve things quickly and start a new life. The other two felt the same, and they eventually negotiated the division of the inheritance, leading to Wei Xue dropping the lawsuit.

“This is good for Wei Xue. Otherwise, with the first and second trials, not to mention the increased cost of hiring a lawyer, she wouldn’t be able to handle any of the inheritance before the final ruling. Her life would likely fall into hardship.”

Lin Shu was very pleased with this outcome. She glanced at Xu Shijia and said, “Well done.”

“I’m visiting a client in the neighboring city this afternoon; you should come with me.”

Xu Shijia was taken aback by Lin Shu’s arrangement: “Isn’t that client’s business originally handled by Brother Tie Niu? He usually replies to the consultation emails. Although he doesn’t meet clients, it seems I would be stealing his business…”

Lin Shu smiled, pressing her lips together: “I’m meeting the client; you don’t need to follow up. I’m bringing you along because it’s on the way.”

She explained, “Wei Xue has contracted a piece of land in the rural area near the neighboring city. Originally, she had entrusted local farmers to grow some ecological vegetables for Zhang Jianyi’s family to eat. After her abortion, she wanted a place to recuperate away from the disputes, so she thought it would be good to visit her own contracted land. She discovered that the environment in the village was beautiful, so she decided to rent a place long-term.”

Xu Shijia naturally knew this. Once Lin Shu mentioned it, he immediately understood: “So you want to visit Wei Xue after seeing your client?”

“Yes. Now that the inheritance division plan has been finalized, there should still be some documents for Wei Xue to sign, right? The village doesn’t have good delivery service, so I can only make one trip. It’s better to visit her while I’m there. With the May Day holiday coming up, I want to wrap this case up before the break so that we can enjoy the holiday without worries.”

Lin Shu made her decision: “You should buy some fruit; I’ll reimburse you later.” Then she remembered something: “Also, get a car. My car is in for maintenance, and since it’s quite a distance, it’s better not to drive myself. It’s more reliable to find a hired driver.”

Despite having two enormous dark circles under his eyes, Xu Shijia took on the work arrangement with a sense of duty. He nodded and went to execute the plan.

Visiting the client went very smoothly. Lin Shu’s networking skills were impressive, and she quickly negotiated a new framework for cooperation, just waiting for the subsequent contract to be finalized. As the hired driver took them on the way to Wei Xue’s village, Lin Shu was in great spirits.

Watching the increasingly lush greenery along the way, the scenery was excellent. Wei Xue’s chosen location indeed justified the ecological environment around it. Although it was remote with little human activity, it was picturesque with clear mountains, flowing water, and birds singing among the flowers. It was now May, and the trees were lush and green. The wildflowers on the mountains were blooming abundantly. Occasionally, they could see a few scattered farmhouses with smoke rising gently from the chimneys, and chickens and ducks were raised in the courtyards. The fluffy little ducklings and chicks were golden and soft, and a few free-range goats were leisurely grazing in the fields, creating a relaxed atmosphere reminiscent of a pastoral retreat.

After a winding journey, the car finally arrived near the farmland and the rented house that Wei Xue had contracted. Lin Shu’s eyes lit up; compared to the unscaled and rough farming methods of other self-sufficient farms, Wei Xue’s operation appeared much more modern and industrialized.

“This entire piece of land is contracted by me.”

After some time apart, Wei Xue had tanned considerably. Her skin had become much rougher due to sun exposure and wind. However, her eyes were bright and full of spirit, and her body looked strong, no longer displaying any weakness or aftereffects from the abortion.

She pointed to a large area of terraced fields in the mountains, her eyes filled with pride: “These are growing lettuce and asparagus. Although they haven’t fully grown yet, I’ve already secured buyers.”

“After losing the baby, I wasn’t feeling great. I initially set up a social media account just to document my feelings and distract myself. I didn’t want to return to Rong City, and I couldn’t keep bothering my classmates, so I thought about coming to check on the vegetable fields I had previously contracted. That day, I helped the village aunt pick vegetables, and I found that doing farm work was incredibly relaxing. I didn’t have to think about anything or chat with anyone; I could just focus on working. After a day, I felt fulfilled, and getting some sun every day surprisingly improved both my body and mood.”

“So you decided to contract even more land?”

Wei Xue nodded, a smile on her face: “I live-stream while I work. Initially, I didn’t expect anyone to watch, but unexpectedly, during a live stream where I was chased by pigs while feeding them, it went viral. Now, a lot of viewers come to watch me farm, and the freshly planted vegetables sell out quickly.”

Clearly pleased with this unexpected success, Wei Xue was brimming with ambition: “There are quite a few abandoned fields in this village. The climate and soil here are very suitable for planting. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in the future, but now I think this is great; I can help the village prosper.”

Seeing Wei Xue so revitalized, Lin Shu felt genuinely happy for her. She had shed the burdens of her exploitative family, and now she was facing challenges with a lighter heart. When Xu Shijia informed her about the handling of the inheritance, her expression was calm, showing no wild joy at receiving a large sum of money. She simply cooperated by signing the necessary documents.

However, there was one thing she insisted on: “Lawyer Lin, Lawyer Xu, I’ve come this far thanks to your help. Now that I can receive the inheritance, and I’ll have money in the future, I want to pay my lawyer fees.”

“This case was assigned to us through legal aid. We have reported it to the firm according to the procedure. The law firm is required by the judicial bureau to provide legal aid based on the assignment, so you don’t need to pay us any additional lawyer fees.”

Of course, they couldn’t accept any extra charges, but Wei Xue was adamant.

“Apart from legal assistance, you have helped me so much in other ways,” she said, her voice a little choked. “No one has ever been this patient with me, no one has ever wanted nothing in return, and no one has supported my decisions as you have. Moreover, no one has ever carefully explained to me what my options were.”

“You are not just providing legal aid to me; you are aiding my life.”

Since Lin Shu and Xu Shijia firmly refused to accept payment, Wei Xue ultimately had no choice. However, since she couldn’t give money, she wanted to offer something else.

“Wait a moment!”

Lin Shu saw her suddenly turn back into the yard, and after a moment, she came out holding a sack that was stuffed full.

“You won’t take money, so please accept these potatoes.”

“I contracted the land earlier for the villagers to grow on. Originally, they were meant for Zhang Jianyi’s family to eat, but they don’t deserve to eat these potatoes. Lawyer Xu, Lawyer Lin, I can’t repay you in any other way. At least let this bag of potatoes be my token of gratitude.”

Afraid that Lin Shu and Xu Shijia would dislike it, Wei Xue eagerly added, “They’re all very good potatoes. I just dug them out of the ground yesterday. The taste is different from those grown in city greenhouses; these small potatoes are very fragrant.”

It was clear that this was indeed a bag of excellent potatoes. Through the open mouth of the sack, Lin Shu could see the small potatoes of various shapes still covered in dirt, as if they still held the vitality of the earth.

These small potatoes wouldn’t be too expensive if bought, and they weren’t a valuable gift, but they were Wei Xue’s sincere intention.

Wei Xue insisted, “You can surely accept these small potatoes, right?”

“Sure,” Lin Shu smiled. “But I won’t take them; you should give them to Lawyer Xu. He is the main lawyer handling this case. Whether it’s gathering evidence, communicating about the subsequent disputes, or negotiating the inheritance, he did it all independently. So technically, he’s the person in charge of the case; I’m just his team leader. You should be thanking him, not me, so he should take this bag of potatoes.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Xue unhesitatingly placed the bag of potatoes in front of Xu Shijia: “Lawyer Xu, I don’t care; I’m giving this bag of potatoes away. If you don’t accept them, I won’t take them back. I’d rather let them rot here.”

After saying this, Wei Xue pretended to walk away.

Xu Shijia was a bit dumbfounded. He glanced at Lin Shu: “Should I accept?”

“Mm-hmm,” Lin Shu nodded. “Just accept it.”

Though it wasn’t money, this gift of gratitude was more sincere and meaningful than cash; it was something Xu Shijia deserved.

With Lin Shu’s words, Xu Shijia naturally stopped refusing.

Seeing that he accepted the potatoes, Wei Xue turned back: “I’ll help you load them into the car. Thank you so much for coming all this way!”

As a grown man, Xu Shijia couldn’t ask Wei Xue, who had just undergone an abortion, to help him carry the potatoes: “I’ll do it myself.”

Wei Xue didn’t insist any further, happy that Xu Shijia was willing to accept her potatoes: “Then I’ll take you to the car!”

Out of consideration for Wei Xue being present, Xu Shijia, despite his obsessive cleanliness, picked up the sack without saying a word, even though he was clearly bothered by the dirt on it, afraid it would get on his clothes.

But when they arrived at the original parking spot, the car was gone.

“Where’s the hired driver?”

Not only Lin Shu but even Xu Shijia was dumbfounded.

The car had been booked by Xu Shijia. He put down the potatoes, walked a little further away, and started calling the driver.

After a moment, Xu Shijia returned to Lin Shu with a grim expression, looking a bit awkward. He avoided eye contact and said in a muffled voice, “The driver suddenly has something to deal with and can’t make it over…”

Lin Shu rubbed her forehead: “How long will we have to wait?”

Xu Shijia sounded downcast: “He probably won’t be able to come…”

What???

What kind of car service is this? So lacking in a sense of contract? Didn’t we book a car for a round trip for the day? How could the driver just leave midway?

Upon hearing this, Wei Xue immediately offered a suggestion: “There’s no way to get a car in this village, but Uncle Wang will go into town to pick up his grandson from school soon. You can ride with him into town; there will be cars heading back to Rong City from there.”

Without further ado, Lin Shu didn’t think of anything else and quickly followed Wei Xue with Xu Shijia and the potatoes to Uncle Wang’s house.

This wasn’t the time to assign blame; they needed to resolve the current problem first.

The sky was gradually darkening, and they couldn’t get stuck in this village.

Fortunately, Lin Shu and Xu Shijia finally caught up with Uncle Wang’s vehicle. What they called a car was actually a utility truck. Uncle Wang was driving, Uncle Wang sat in the passenger seat, and Xu Shijia and Lin Shu had to sit in the back with the homegrown vegetables and a basket of chickens they were bringing into town, heading to the nearest town from the village.

The bumpy dirt road in the mountain village made Xu Shijia’s face turn ashen. In addition to the dust kicking up from the road, the bumpy ride nearly made him carsick. Amid the strong smell of chicken manure, Xu Shijia looked like he was suffocating. He was still carrying the heavy sack of potatoes, and his neatly tailored suit had become wrinkled. The dirt from the potato sack had smeared onto his pants, and his hair was full of dust blown up from the dirt road. His once-refined face was now full of fatigue and despair, resembling a simple young man who had come to the city for work but had been scammed out of everything, with bewildered eyes reflecting his ignorance of the world.

However, even so, Xu Shijia held tightly onto the bag of potatoes he found so distasteful, looking as if he cherished it greatly.

Lin Shu felt quite gratified.

Potatoes may not be worth much, but the genuine gratitude from a client and the sense of accomplishment from using professional skills to help others are quite rare.

Through this case, Xu Shijia might have a better understanding of the sense of honor that comes with being a lawyer.

“This case is indeed different from others. It’s not just about sitting in the office drafting documents and sending emails; it’s more like manual labor. But by working hard and running around for the client, achieving such a result at the end—doesn’t it feel pretty good?”

Lin Shu glanced at Xu Shijia’s potatoes. “Although you’ve received a salary before, this bag of potatoes feels more like your first income earned through your own hard work.” She smiled. “You’ve probably never put in this much physical effort to earn money before, right?”

Taking on cases as a lawyer, aside from the glamorous portrayal of elite lawyers in legal dramas, involves much more hustle and hard work that isn’t visible to outsiders. Successfully handling a case often isn’t glamorous at all; in fact, looking dusty and disheveled like now is the norm. It’s not just mental labor; many times, physical labor is also required.

Xu Shijia, who lived a life of privilege, likely hadn’t put in this much physical effort for work before.

Lin Shu’s intention was to guide Xu Shijia’s understanding of the legal profession while also offering some motivational encouragement, supplemented with workplace wisdom, hoping it would inspire him to work harder in the future. However, as soon as physical labor was mentioned, Xu Shijia actually let out a cold laugh.

“How do you know I haven’t earned money through physical labor?”

Lin Shu was taken aback. Could someone like him really earn money through manual labor?

Perhaps her suspicion was too obvious, as Xu Shijia’s expression darkened, and his tone turned somewhat unfriendly: “I have!”

His certainty didn’t seem like a lie, but it was indeed possible. After all, there were reportedly many work-study opportunities at Rongda University, and Xu Shijia might have tried them out of curiosity or for the experience.

“How much did you earn?”

Lin Shu asked this out of simple social etiquette, but unfortunately, Xu Shijia answered as if he were gritting his teeth, staring intently at Lin Shu, and enunciating each word: “One hundred nineteen yuan and eighty cents.”

Only one hundred nineteen yuan and eighty cents?

“How many hours did you work to earn that?”

It was probably a mistake to ask, as it seemed to evoke the rare experience of hard work for Xu Shijia. His expression turned sour, and he glared at Lin Shu: “I worked an entire night doing physical labor.”

An entire night?

Lin Shu had also worked during her university days, and based on her experience, the lowest hourly wage was twenty yuan. Part-time night shifts usually had doubled wages. If he worked all night and only earned one hundred nineteen yuan and eighty cents, that was indeed rather cheap.

It was clear that Xu Shijia, who lived a life of comfort, didn’t understand the realities of life and had probably been scammed while working part-time.

“You were cheated,” Lin Shu asserted immediately. “Working that long at night should have earned you at least two hundred. You were treated like cheap labor.”

“I think I was cheated too.”

Xu Shijia lowered his gaze, looking somewhat odd. This matter clearly had nothing to do with Lin Shu; she was just kindly reminding him. However, Xu Shijia seemed to view her as if she were the one who tricked him, and his tone turned somewhat sarcastic.

“How is it that I’m only worth one hundred nineteen yuan and eighty cents for a whole night?”

People like Xu Shijia rarely needed to do manual labor, and it was surprising that he had been scammed the only time he worked during college. Lin Shu couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic: “I hope you took some breaks during that night.”

“Breaks? I didn’t slack off for even a minute.” Xu Shijia pressed his lips together, casting Lin Shu a light, ambiguous glance. “Who dares to slack off? I worked diligently without stopping for even a minute, only to be taken advantage of in the end.”

University life is complicated, with power struggles among student organizations and competition for part-time jobs, but that was all in the past. Lin Shu didn’t want to pry further and simply patted Xu Shijia on the shoulder: “Just try to be more relaxed in the future. Physical labor also requires thinking; if you can take a break, then take it.”

Lin Shu’s words came from a good place, but unfortunately, Xu Shijia didn’t appreciate it, his expression nearly as sour as the stench in a chicken coop.