Closing the window and turning around, Gu Wenxi decided to continue staying in this village for a while. He wasn’t a person who planned everything; whether to go or stay often depended on a whim, especially now that he couldn’t think of the next destination.

He told Du Yunyan about this the next morning, and the latter didn’t react much, his gaze still not moving from the book spread out on his knees. “Got it.”

“Do you need me to pay some deposit in advance?” Gu Wenxi’s arms were folded on the bar counter, his eyes glancing behind the counter where Du Yunyan was sitting, in a posture that allowed him to see the top of his head.

“No need, just settle the bill when you leave,” Du Yunyan still didn’t give him a direct eye contact. “When you leave, we’ll settle it together.”

Obviously, they had a good chat yesterday, but today, he returned to his distant attitude. Gu Wenxi became even more puzzled about this person’s temperament: “Aren’t you afraid I’ll run away halfway?”

“Will you?”

Gu Wenxi chuckled, and only then did Du Yunyan look up.

“I didn’t expect you, the boss, to trust me so much.”

Du Yunyan’s expression remained unchanged: “Anyway, there aren’t any other guests this season. Even if you freeload off me, I won’t lose much.”

Gu Wenxi was speechless. Even though he knew Du Yunyan wasn’t good at doing business, he couldn’t predict that he could be so carefree.

“Forget it, I’ll pay you in advance, otherwise, I won’t feel right.”

It was his business how he conducted his business, but Gu Wenxi couldn’t stand his indifferent attitude towards him, “Use the card this time.” The cash he carried with him was used up when he paid the deposit last time, so he took out his usual credit card.

Du Yunyan reluctantly put down the book and took the card handed to him.

While waiting for the transaction to complete, Gu Wenxi lowered his head and inadvertently glanced at the cover of his book—it turned out to be “Border Town” by Shen Congwen.

Wasn’t this the article excerpted from the high school Chinese textbook? Gu Wenxi didn’t remember the specific content very well, but it seemed to be about a girl in a remote town and a pair of brothers pursuing her… nothing too complicated.

He occasionally read novels, but they were all exciting martial arts or popular works. He couldn’t get into this kind of light story.

“Mr. Gu?”

“Hmm?” After Du Yunyan called out, he secretly withdrew his gaze, “How is it, done?”

“Your card seems to have a problem.”

“Really?” Gu Wenxi originally thought it was due to the other party’s mishandling. He glanced absently at the POS machine, which displayed “Card Error,” and he lost his previous playfulness completely, his expression stiff and his face pale.

His credit cards were all tied to Gu Yuching’s main card. If there was a problem, he could imagine who was behind it.

“What about this one?” He reluctantly handed another card to Du Yunyan.

In less than half a minute, the POS machine displayed “Card Error” again.

He didn’t expect to be played by Gu Yuching.

Although his relationship with his father was not harmonious, perhaps out of guilt towards Gu Wenxi’s mother, Gu Yuching had always been extremely indulgent towards this son, especially in financial matters. Even if they had unpleasant arguments in the past, there had never been a situation where the bank cards were frozen.

But such a thing could only be done with his father’s consent.

He checked his WeChat from a few days ago. After replying “I’m not going back” to his father’s message, there was another reply to Gu Yuching: [Don’t come begging to me in the future.]

Just as he thought.

“It’s okay, I’ll use this one.” After putting away his phone, Gu Wenxi decisively took out his personal card. The money on it was earned from his part-time job, with no connection to his father, so the other party couldn’t do anything about it. He didn’t know how much money was left on the card, but there should be a considerable amount.

Gu Wenxi was the kind of person who wouldn’t yield to force. The more his father adopted that tone, the more rebellious he would become. This time, he had even less desire to return home. Even if he became a farmer in the village, it would be more comfortable than working under Gu Yuching.

As he was ridiculing his father’s futile plan in his mind, Du Yunyan suddenly said, “Two hundred and fifty.”

“What did you say?” Gu Wenxi was stunned.

Du Yunyan handed the card back to him, “I mean, there’s two hundred and fifty yuan left on your card.”

Gu Wenxi struggled to swallow, “Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“I don’t make such mistakes.” Du Yunyan went to the kitchen without another word, leaving him alone at the bar counter.

Gu Wenxi opened his phone again and quickly checked the consumption record of this card. Rows of “-” followed by large and small numbers scrolled quickly. The more he scrolled up, the colder his heart became. He didn’t care much about money, and he never paid attention to his income and expenses. Who knows how the money on the card was spent to this extent.

After being stunned for a moment, Gu Wenxi quickly made a judgment about the current situation. At this rate, his single apartment in S City might have been taken back as well. Going back would mean falling into his father’s trap?

Nonsense, he had never been threatened like this before. Relying too much on Gu Yuching was his own problem, but compromising for this was not his style.

While his expression changed, Du Yunyan came out of the kitchen with a glass of water. This made Gu Wenxi’s mouth twitch, and he put on a warm smile, “Um, boss… Do you need an extra pair of hands here?”

Du Yunyan’s eyes didn’t move, “It’s the off-season, I can handle it alone.”

Gu Wenxi had expected the other’s answer long ago, but his thick-skinned behavior in some respects had been going on for a long time. As long as he wanted, he could turn black into white, “But having more people makes things easier, right? Helping you with cooking, feeding the chickens, cleaning up, etc.” He had hardly done any of these, and he wasn’t sure if he could do them well, but he’d just fool the person first.

Du Yunyan ignored his exaggerated tone, “The money you can earn from working here can’t even cover a month’s rent, accommodation and meals.”

Why was this guy suddenly keeping track of expenses? Gu Wenxi muttered in his heart. Then he unintentionally glanced over and saw Du Yunyan’s lips twitching, as if he was trying to hold back a laugh.

Although he had once wanted to tease this icy handsome guy, it was unexpected that the other person’s rare smile towards him was actually mocking, leaving Gu Wenxi both annoyed and bemused. With thoughts swirling in his mind, he leaned on the bar with a smirk, “Boss, didn’t you just say that even if I freeloaded, you wouldn’t lose anything?”

“So,” Du Yunyan resumed his tense expression, “are you really planning to freeload?”

“No, no, not doing anything at all is considered freeloading. I really can help you with a lot of things,” Gu Wenxi reached out a hand and waved it in front of him, “and besides, I can keep you company. Otherwise, you’d be bored all day by yourself. My company is priceless, not just anyone can afford me…” He felt a shiver down his spine saying such nauseating words for the first time; Du Yunyan ignored him and went back to the kitchen.

A scent of food wafted from inside, making him hungry. Gu Wenxi glanced at the clock and realized it was almost noon. However, it seemed that Du Yunyan really had no intention of accommodating him. He couldn’t continue to pester or play pitiful, so it was better to pack up and make other plans.

As Gu Wenxi lifted his foot to leave, Du Yunyan called out from behind, “Aren’t you going to eat?”

“What do you mean?” Gu Wenxi looked at him in confusion.

“Then help me serve the food,” Du Yunyan said expressionlessly, “Since you’re going to work anyway.”

“You agreed?” Gu Wenxi was very surprised, after all, this boss didn’t seem like an easy person to talk to.

“Anyway, the inn is empty anyway. As long as there aren’t too many people coming, it doesn’t matter if you stay.”

“So if…” Gu Wenxi inferred from his words, “if there are more guests, I’ll have to leave?”

“What else?” Du Yunyan showed a smirk again, “I’m not running a charity.”

Gu Wenxi chuckled inwardly. In such an unknown small village, who else would come during the off-season besides him? Du Yunyan was just a bit stubborn.

“Thank you, boss!”

With a positive response, even if the other person asked him to serve the food, Gu Wenxi didn’t mind. After all, staying to work was his own suggestion. He rarely did household chores, not because he was lazy, but simply because there was no need. Occasionally changing one’s life could be an interesting experience.

The kitchen of the inn looked similar to an ordinary kitchen, quite spacious, and the two of them were not crowded at the stove. Above the faucet was a bright window, with the noon sun pouring in, making everything bright.

Lunch was vegetarian claypot rice, with many chopped mushrooms added, no wonder it smelled so good just now. Although he had boldly expressed his willingness to help with cooking, judging from his experiences over the past few days, Gu Wenxi doubted whether he could reach Du Yunyan’s level of culinary skills even after practicing for a year or two.

With this thought, he began to feel uneasy.

Du Yunyan sat opposite him, eating, and their eyes met, as if he could see through Gu Wenxi’s thoughts: “What can you help me with?”

“I…” Gu Wenxi swallowed the food in his mouth, “of course, I can do anything.”

“Then you better eat more.”

From his calm face, Gu Wenxi couldn’t detect any special emotions, so he interpreted his words as some kind of goodwill and care. However, after dinner, when Du Yunyan began to assign him tasks, he realized that it was indeed a reminder that he was being treated as a hired worker.

“You want me to mop the floor?” The inn had three floors, and cleaning from the first floor to the third floor was a workload that Gu Wenxi hadn’t considered.

“Yes, thank you for your hard work,” Du Yunyan continued, “shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Gu Wenxi concealed the turmoil in his heart, a little puzzled whether this person was genuinely accommodating him out of kindness, or deliberately trying to mess with him.

“The cloth on the mop needs to be wrung dry,” Du Yunyan removed the blue cloth below, demonstrated how to do it, and then handed it to Gu Wenxi. “I’m counting on you.”

“…Okay.”

After Du Yunyan left, following his example, Gu Wenxi removed the cloth, washed it back and forth in the bucket, wrung it out, and then used the bottom steel clip to fasten it back onto the mop. This tool looked quite practical, as if he had seen the housekeeper at home use it before; Du Yunyan might have bought it online.

The entire hall was quiet, he hummed popular tunes back and forth while pushing the mop, leaving distinct water marks on the cleaned floor.

This wasn’t difficult at all.

---

With Gu Wenxi’s help, Du Yunyan didn’t stay in the building, he went to the backyard to water the vegetable garden, then went to feed the chickens and those two dogs. Estimating that the first floor should be cleaned, he leisurely strode back in through the door.

What met his eyes were watermarks all over the floor, resembling abstract patterns drawn by an artist. Du Yunyan’s footsteps halted, the veins on his temples throbbing.

“Gu Wenxi!”