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The university entrance exam results wouldn’t be released until the twenty-somethingth of the month—still half a month away.
Xu Ye was looking for a summer job in advance just to build up some startup funds. For him, money was the top priority right now.
As for romance? He wouldn’t even touch it if you handed it to a dog.
He slept in until daylight was fully up. Since he had to work that night, Xu Ye allowed himself to laze in bed a while longer. Not long after he got up, a message came in from Qin Zhiwei.
Autism Kid: “Did you see the group messages?”
Xu: “No.”
Autism Kid: “Li Nan said there’s a class reunion tomorrow. Dinner at a restaurant in the evening, KTV singing afterward.”
Xu: “I’m busy.”
Truth was, most of those high school classmates had barely kept in touch after graduation. During his three years of high school, Xu Ye had always been a background character. His grades were mediocre due to his extreme subject imbalance. Other than chatting with Qin Zhiwei now and then, he rarely spoke to anyone else.
Autism Kid: “You’re not even going to this?”
Xu: “What am I supposed to do? I just started the job yesterday—take time off already?”
Autism Kid: “This kind of reunion only happens once in a lifetime. Gu Mengyao will definitely be there.”
Xu: “What’s it got to do with me whether she goes or not?”
Autism Kid: “Bro, what’s up with you? It’s Gu Mengyao! Haven’t you always liked her?”
Xu: “That was in the past.”
Autism Kid: “Come on, quit pretending. If you’ve really moved on, then don’t say a word to her tomorrow night.”
Xu Ye didn’t reply after that.
In the afternoon, he stayed home reading a lot about stocks. Although he knew that the period from 2014 to 2015 was considered a bull market, he didn’t have a clue about how to actually trade. So, watching tutorials in advance was his way of doing some prep work.
A little after four, Xu Ye headed out early to the Encounter Music Tavern. Madam Pei Youwei had just arrived at the venue not long before. She was sitting behind the counter, her jade-like foot, tied with a red anklet, resting on the rung of a high stool. Her left hand flipped through the account book, and her right hand tapped away on a calculator, seemingly working on the day’s figures.
“Madam, I’m here.”
Pei Youwei turned around, a lollipop still in her mouth. Seeing Xu Ye walk in, she looked a little surprised. “You really came, huh?”
Xu Ye shrugged. “I always keep my word.”
Pei Youwei laughed. Her smile was striking—her eyes curved into crescent moons, and if one looked closely, a beauty mark could be seen at the corner of her right eye.
A few years later, many celebrities would draw a fake mole at the corner of their eyes as part of their makeup look, but right now, the trend hadn’t caught on yet.
Pei Youwei stood up, slipped on her shoes, then found a server’s uniform and handed it to Xu Ye. “Your job is simple. During business hours, serve drinks to the customers. After they leave, wipe the tables and tidy up. We do a deep clean every two weeks—you’ll need to help with that, too.”
“Got it.”
“Let me introduce you. This is Zhang Xiaonuan, our cashier. And this pretty girl here, you met her yesterday—her name’s Zhou Ying.”
Xu Ye nodded at them in greeting when their eyes met.
It wasn’t dark yet, and there were no customers in the tavern. After Zhou Ying gave Xu Ye a quick rundown of the work process, they waited around in the shop.
As the city lights flickered on, night fell quickly over the entire city.
Customers finally began to arrive.
Most of them were young couples—many, like Xu Ye, had just finished the college entrance exams.
Couples at that age were all the same: shy and reserved, always choosing to sit in some corner of the room, as if their relationship were a secret affair.
But things changed in university. Couples at that stage were far more uninhibited—on campus, it wasn’t uncommon to see a guy and girl all over each other in the woods.
Seeing Xu Ye standing idly by the counter, Pei Youwei took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “Xiao Xu, do you have a girlfriend?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t believe that,” Pei Youwei said with a laugh. “You’re so good-looking—there must be tons of girls at school who like you, right? I’ve been around the block, you can’t fool me.”
Xu Ye genuinely had no idea.
But ever since his first year of high school, he’d been orbiting around Gu Mengyao the whole time. Even if someone had liked him, they’d probably given up long ago.
“Seriously, I don’t have one. I’m not good at chasing people. And honestly, I think dating’s kind of pointless.”
That piqued Pei Youwei’s interest. High schoolers were right at the age when first crushes bloomed, and many had someone they secretly liked during that time.
For someone Pei Youwei’s age, maybe dating had lost its thrill.
But coming from a high school student, how could he say something like that?
“Dating’s pointless? Then what do you think is meaningful?”
“Making money.”
“Making money?”
“Yeah. Money’s the most important thing.”
“You’re just a high schooler—why are you so materialistic?”
Xu Ye grinned. “Madam, I’m a soon-to-be university student now.”
Pei Youwei burst into laughter again. Just as she was about to respond, she noticed someone walking through the door. She quickly waved and greeted the person with a smile, “You’re here.”
“Mm.”
The person who walked in looked to be around twenty-five. He had long hair, a guitar slung over his back, and dressed in typical artsy youth fashion.
As soon as he entered, he headed straight to the music corner, sat down, and began strumming and singing on his own.
After all, it was a music tavern.
A resident singer was a given.
But not long after he started performing, Zhang Xiaonuan, who stood beside Pei Youwei, leaned in to whisper a complaint, “Madam, he’s late again today.”
Pei Youwei let out a soft sigh. “Let it go. It’s hard to find live performers these days.”
Curious, Xu Ye asked, “Madam, how much does he get paid each month?”
“He’s paid per day. 150 a day—as long as he performs for two hours, that’s it.”
“What?”
“What, surprised? Envious of his pay?”
Xu Ye pursed his lips. “He’s not even that good, honestly.”
Xu Ye’s voice hadn’t been loud, but Pei Youwei had sharp ears and caught it anyway. She chuckled and said, “If you think his singing is average, then once he’s done, you sing a song. If you’re better than him, I’ll give you an extra hundred.”
Working six hours as a server barely brought in a few dozen yuan, but singing for just two hours earned one hundred fifty. Without hesitation, Xu Ye agreed, “Sure, I’m not afraid of embarrassing myself.”
Xu Ye had always liked music. Back in university, to make Gu Mengyao happy, he had joined the guitar club in his first year and spent most of his free time practicing. His skills weren’t shabby at all.
But after graduation, between making money and surviving, that hobby had slowly been pushed aside.
Staring at the guitar in the young man’s hands, Xu Ye suddenly found himself lost in thought.
“Xu Ye? Xu Ye?”
“What?”
“Your phone’s been ringing,” Zhou Ying reminded him.
Xu Ye picked up his phone and glanced at it—it was a message from the class monitor, Li Nan, still about the class reunion tomorrow.
He couldn’t be bothered to reply.
Seeing him set the phone down, Pei Youwei raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you replying? Don’t tell me it’s from your girlfriend?”
“No, it’s from the class monitor. He’s reminding me about the class reunion tomorrow. I already said I’m not going.”
“High school reunions are rare. Why not go?”
“Doesn’t seem that meaningful…”
“You’re probably just feeling awkward about taking a day off right after starting work, huh?”
“I just don’t want to go. That’s all.”
“Oh, come on, it’s fine. I’ll let you take tomorrow off. You’ve seen how the tavern isn’t exactly busy anyway.”
Xu Ye hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. “Alright. Thanks, Madam.”
…