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August passed even faster.
It was worth mentioning that, this month, two of the stocks Xu Ye had bought hit the daily upper limit for an entire week. By mid-August, his securities account had already reached 570,000 yuan. He was more than halfway through achieving his millionaire plan.
University freshmen usually registered toward the end of August, as first-year students were required to undergo military training. That also meant Xu Ye’s summer job was coming to an end.
Evening of the 24th.
After a full day of work, Pei Youwei had Zhou Ying close up the tavern. Once the four of them sat down at a table, Pei Youwei handed Xu Ye his final month’s wages in the form of a red envelope.
“Boss lady, isn’t this a bit much?” Xu Ye weighed it in his hand and could tell right away that the amount inside likely exceeded his usual pay.
Pei Youwei smiled, “Part of this is a personal back-to-school gift from me. You’re about to start university—you can use this money to buy some sharp-looking clothes.”
“Boss lady, I feel a bit embarrassed accepting this,” Xu Ye said.
Zhang Xiaonuan shot him a look. “Come on, you’re thick-skinned—what’s there to be embarrassed about?”
“Xiaonuan, that hurts to hear,” Xu Ye teased.
“Alright, alright, I take it back,” she said quickly.
Xu Ye went to get a bottle of beer and four cups. After pouring a glass for each of them, he raised his cup and said, “Thank you, boss lady and the two sisters, for taking care of me these past couple of months. I’ll definitely come back to visit when I have time.”
“Good to hear you have some conscience,” Pei Youwei replied.
The four clinked their glasses together and sighed in unison about how quickly time had flown.
Whether it was Pei Youwei, Zhang Xiaonuan, or Zhou Ying, none of them really wanted Xu Ye to leave. After all, with him around, the atmosphere in the shop was much livelier.
But all good things must come to an end, especially since Xu Ye was leaving to start university.
After midnight passed,
Pei Youwei finally waved her hand. “Alright, alright, it’s getting late. Let’s call it a day.”
Xu Ye stood up and spread his arms toward Zhou Ying. “Zhou Ying jiejie, a hug.”
Zhou Ying didn’t hesitate; she stepped forward and gave Xu Ye a warm hug.
“Xiaonuan jie~”
Zhang Xiaonuan smiled and came forward to hug Xu Ye as well.
“And my favorite boss lady—no, I mean the most loving boss lady…”
Xu Ye and Pei Youwei shared a long embrace.
Watching Xu Ye hold on for so long without letting go, Zhou Ying pursed her lips and said, “I feel like he only hugged us because he wanted to hug the boss lady.”
Zhang Xiaonuan laughed, “Don’t doubt it—he’s definitely thinking that way.”
Pei Youwei had been feeling a bit sentimental, but when Xu Ye held onto her for a long time without letting go, she rolled her eyes and said, “Are you planning to never let go all night?”
Only then did Xu Ye release her, chuckling, “I just can’t bear to leave you all.”
Pei Youwei gave him a sharp look and waved her hand, “Alright, alright, just go already. Don’t make it sound like we’ll never see you again after this.”
Xu Ye smiled, glanced back at the tavern one last time, then waved and left.
Zhang Xiaonuan and Zhou Ying left with him.
Pei Youwei sat back down, propping her cheek with one hand while gazing out at the night view, a growing loneliness etched across her expression.
In her thirties, she hated goodbyes the most.
…
Mei Mei slept soundly through the night after returning home.
The next morning, as soon as Xu Ye woke up, he called Chen Qingqing.
Chen Qingqing was about to get up and move around when her phone, left on the living room sofa, rang. Jiang Meilin heard the ringtone and picked up the phone to glance at the caller ID.
Incoming call: “A Silly Pig.”
Seeing those four words, Jiang Meilin immediately thought of Xu Ye.
She hesitated and didn’t dare to answer.
After hearing footsteps, Jiang Meilin quickly put the phone back in its original place.
Chen Qingqing came over, picked up the phone, and saw it was Xu Ye calling. She took the phone upstairs with her.
“Why not just stop me from sending messages? Why call?” she asked.
Xu Ye made an excuse, “My home internet isn’t working well.”
Chen Qingqing: “If you have something to say, say it quickly.”
Xu Ye: “The work at the tavern is done. Want to go to the mall together this afternoon?”
Chen Qingqing: “Shopping?”
Xu Ye: “Yeah, there’s not even a suitcase at home. Since you’re about to go to Modu, you should probably prepare some things in advance.”
Chen Qingqing glanced at the mountain of daily necessities piled up in her room—things Wang Ruxue had bought for her a few days ago. She basically lacked nothing.
After a moment of silence, Chen Qingqing replied, “Okay.”
“See you this afternoon then?”
“Alright.”
Beep beep beep…
The call ended.
After Chen Qingqing came downstairs, Jiang Meilin cautiously asked, “Who was that?”
Chen Qingqing answered calmly, “Xu Ye.”
If it weren’t for knowing Xu Ye, her phone probably wouldn’t ring once every ten or fifteen days. If it had been anyone else, Jiang Meilin wouldn’t have believed it either.
“He asked you out?”
“Yeah.”
“Qingqing, I need to tell you something,” Jiang Meilin said with a smile, grabbing Chen Qingqing’s hand. “You’re leaving for Modu University the day after tomorrow, right? Mom is leaving early tomorrow morning, but I already called your Father. He promised to take you to Modu on the 27th.”
Chen Qingqing’s face turned cold. “I don’t want him to take me!”
Jiang Meilin quickly urged, “It’s rare that your Father agreed. You should let him take you.”
“No!”
Chen Qingqing pulled her hand away, grabbed her phone, and went upstairs.
Jiang Meilin sighed and took out her phone to send a message to Chen Hansong…
Jiang Meilin: “Your daughter doesn’t want you to take her to Modu.”
Chen Hansong: “It’s her first time going to University. If neither of us takes her, how will she get there?”
Jiang Meilin: “She’s very firm about it.”
Chen Hansong: “I’ll come over tonight. Prepare an extra meal.”
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Meilin replied with a simple, “Okay.”
…
In the afternoon, Xu Ye took a taxi straight to the entrance of Hongye Villa.
But since he wasn’t a resident, just as he was about to go in, the security guard stopped him at the gate.
Xu Ye had no choice but to send two messages to Chen Qingqing.
After seeing the messages, Chen Qingqing immediately came out of her home and met him at the gate to let him in.
“Why did you come straight over?” Chen Qingqing asked.
Xu Ye shrugged. “I feel a bit embarrassed always bothering Aunt Wang to drive me over.”
Chen Qingqing snorted coldly. “You? Embarrassed?”
“Of course.”
Chen Qingqing said, “Just so you know, my Mother is home.”
Xu Ye laughed, “I’m not afraid. Your Mother wouldn’t chase me away with a broom, would she?”
As they spoke, the two had already stepped into the courtyard.
Just as Xu Ye reached the door, Jiang Meilin came out to greet them, smiling as she said, “Little Xu is here?”
Xu Ye was flattered and quickly replied, “Hello, Aunt Jiang.”
“Come in, come in.”
Chen Qingqing wondered what had gotten into her Mother—how had she suddenly become so friendly toward Xu Ye? Before, she would just call him Xu Ye, so why now “Little Xu”?
Xu Ye changed his shoes and stepped inside. Jiang Meilin smiled, “Have a seat first. Want some water?”
“He doesn’t need any,” Chen Qingqing said.
Chen Qingqing replied on behalf of Xu Ye, “We’re about to head out soon.”
Jiang Meilin asked again, “Do you want me to call Ruxue to come and give you a ride?”
Before Chen Qingqing could answer, Xu Ye quickly said, “Auntie, if you trust me, I can drive.”
“You?”
“Yes, I already finished my driver’s license during the summer break.”
Jiang Meilin frowned, “Weren’t you working part-time all summer? How did you find time to get your license?”
Xu Ye smiled, “You just have to squeeze in the time. I passed both Part Two and Part Three of the driving test on the first try. The driving instructor even praised me for good driving.”
Hearing that, Jiang Meilin’s impression of Xu Ye improved somewhat.
Driving test during the day.
Summer job at night.
There weren’t many aspiring soon-to-be university students as hardworking as Xu Ye.
Chen Qingqing trusted Xu Ye completely. She handed him the car keys and went to change her shoes.
Seeing Jiang Meilin still a bit worried, Xu Ye smiled and said, “Aunt Jiang, don’t worry. I won’t do anything I’m not confident about.”
Jiang Meilin nodded. As the two were about to leave, she called out to Xu Ye again, “Xiao Xu, can you make sure to bring Qingqing back before six? Our family wants to have dinner together. After all, in a couple of days, Qingqing will be heading to Modu for university.”
“No problem.”
…