Chapter 12: He Cares About Me～

“These rich second-generation kids are really loaded. A cake costing over 900,000 yuan, that’s enough to buy two houses in my hometown.”

In the corridor outside the private room, two waiters looked enviously at the cake on the cart. Then they glanced at their colleague responsible for pushing the cake in. His face was cold and expressionless, with a “Happy Birthday” hairpin on his head. He didn’t look like he was delivering a cake, more like he was attending a funeral.

“Smile a bit,” one waiter couldn’t help but suggest. “We’re in the service industry. Who are you showing that long face to?”

Gu Mingchen’s expression remained indifferent, and he said nothing.

“Why is he ignoring people?” The waiter who gave the reminder was a bit dissatisfied. His companion pulled him aside and lowered his voice.

“You just came back from leave, so you don’t know. He’s the young master whose family fell from grace and came here to work.”

“Huh?” The waiter was a bit surprised.

“I heard his family offended quite a few people. Anyone who specifically asks for him either wants to get him drunk or settle old scores. This private room also specifically asked for him, probably to mess with him. Do you think he can smile?”

The waiter stood there, stunned, sneaking a glance at Gu Mingchen. He noticed that Gu Mingchen indeed had a more upright posture than others. The cheap white shirt and loose work vest somehow exuded a high-end quality on him.

“But I heard that a big boss seems to have taken a liking to him and wants to keep him. He’s only staying here for one more day and then he’s done!”

The companion continued to gossip in a low voice. Even though the voice was lower than before, the waiter noticed that the young master, who seemed unresponsive to everything earlier, glanced over for a moment.

“Attention to the cake, start lighting the candles.”

A reminder from a colleague inside the private room came through the earpiece. Gu Mingchen opened the electronic lighter, and the purple arc lightly touched the candle wick. The warm orange flame danced, reflecting in his deep blue eyes.

On the top layer of the cake, all the candles in the vintage candlestick style were lit. As the private room door opened, the birthday song played from inside. Gu Mingchen steadily pushed the cake into the dreamily decorated birthday private room.

Under the corridor lights, the candlelight was almost invisible. But in the darkened private room, the warm glow from a dozen candles softly illuminated every face around.

Several gazes deliberately looked over, but Gu Mingchen ignored them. He coordinated with the birthday song, pushing the cake in front of today’s main character at the last line of the lyrics.

The exquisite and beautiful girl wore a small crystal crown, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a wish to the candles. After a moment, she opened her eyes and blew out the candles under everyone’s gaze.

Applause erupted in the private room. The waiters turned on the room lights, and in the bright light, the girl immediately noticed the waiter in front of her. After a moment of surprise, she smiled.

“Brother Gu.”

Facing the child of an old friend of the Gu family, Gu Mingchen’s gaze didn’t waver in the slightest.

“Happy birthday,” Gu Mingchen said with a cold expression, removing the candlestick decorations from the cake and presenting the cake-cutting tools—two golden European-style cake shovels and a baking knife, all custom-made.

Bai Lulu accepted the dessert tools engraved with her initials, unconsciously glancing a few more times at Gu Mingchen in his waiter attire.

No one knew better than Bai Lulu how good the relationship between the Gu and Bai families used to be. The adults of both families not only maintained cooperation in work but also frequently interacted in life.

After the Gu family incident, Bai Lulu saw Gu Mingchen come to seek help, but her father didn’t even let him into the villa, even releasing the hunting dogs to bark wildly at Gu Mingchen. He then reminded her to cut off all ties with the Gu family.

Bai Lulu looked up, her gaze sweeping over the circle of peers around her, noticing that they weren’t surprised at all about Gu Mingchen working here. Some even openly took out their phones, whispering while taking pictures of Gu Mingchen.

Once a peerless prodigy among his generation.

The child other parents always talked about.

So outstanding that everyone else couldn’t even compare.

Now wearing a loose waiter’s vest, working in a club.

Bai Lulu sliced into the cake, realizing that everyone’s attention was still on Gu Mingchen. She tried to adjust her emotions and called out to everyone.

“Don’t just stand there, come and cut the cake with us!”

Many people snapped out of it, putting down their phones and gathering around the cake. Bai Lulu cut a few pieces of cake, distributing them to the waiters in the private room. When it was Gu Mingchen’s turn, many eyes intentionally or unintentionally focused on him.

Gu Mingchen, like the other waiters, took the plate without any extra movements. His deep blue eyes were as still as a deep pool.

“Just eating cake is boring. Why don’t we play some games?” A few boys looked directly at Gu Mingchen, unable to hide the malice in their eyes.

“Sure,” Bai Lulu said with a sweet smile, looking up at the row of waiters. “You guys can leave now. We’ll play by ourselves for a while.”

Seeing Gu Mingchen and the other waiters leaving with their plates, a few boys were a bit unwilling, turning to look at Bai Lulu. But the girl was smiling brightly, showing no awareness of letting the culprit go.

Outside the private room, a few waiters couldn’t wait to take pictures of the cake in their hands. Some wanted to take the cake home, while others immediately tasted a few bites. The smooth cream melted in their mouths, and the sweet aroma instantly lifted their spirits.

This private room wasn’t specifically instructed, so they didn’t need to stay until the end. A few waiters returned to the employee lounge to gather together, only to see the usually silent Gu Mingchen also come in. He stepped on the trash can next to him and dumped the cake from his plate into it.

“What are you doing?” A waiter couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. “That piece of cake is worth thousands. If you don’t want it, give it to someone else. Why throw it away?”

Gu Mingchen didn’t react to his colleague’s questioning. He walked to his employee locker, opened the lock, took out his phone, and opened WeChat. Looking at the pinned chat, a subtle sparkle appeared in his usually silent eyes.

“Fourth-floor garden birthday private room, there’s a delivery job, with a tip.” A voice suddenly came through the earpiece. Two waiters quickly put out their cigarettes and left. Gu Mingchen’s gaze slowly moved away from the phone screen and began packing his personal belongings in the locker.

He hadn’t worked here long, so there wasn’t much to pack, not even enough to fill a paper bag.

“Fourth-floor garden birthday private room, two cases of beer.”

“Third-floor waterfront private room, six VIPs.”

“First-floor Yunshan private room, guests leaving!”

…

One by one, the waiters in the employee lounge left. Gu Mingchen sat on the bench, his deep blue eyes fixed on the paper bag containing all his belongings. He looked down at the pinned chat on his phone, and whatever he thought of made the corners of his mouth lift involuntarily.

Employees came and went in the lounge. After who knows how long, Gu Mingchen finally heard the voice he wanted through the earpiece.

“Garden birthday private room, guests leaving. Waiters responsible for the private room, go see them off.”

Gu Mingchen locked the locker door and left the lounge. Along with a few other waiters, he helped the slightly drunk guests into the waiting vehicles one by one.

The group ahead was noisy, and a few waiters struggled to support them. Gu Mingchen was supporting one of the boys who had suggested playing games, and the distance between them and the others grew larger.

“Gu Mingchen, you…” The boy’s face was flushed with drunkenness. “I specifically asked for you. Do you know why?”

Gu Mingchen looked straight ahead, not responding.

“Your family’s incident cost my family millions. Do you know that?”

The boy grabbed Gu Mingchen’s collar, his eyes red.

“Millions, that was my money for studying abroad! It’s all gone!”

The cheap shirt was torn, and Gu Mingchen lowered his gaze, quietly looking at the person in front of him. His gaze was like frozen ice, chilling and piercing.

The boy, under that gaze, unconsciously loosened his grip, instinctively wanting to distance himself from the other.

“Millions?” Gu Mingchen coldly lowered his head, the strong sense of oppression accompanied by shadows, making his eyes even darker.

“Why don’t you mention how much the Gu family helped you earn before?”

The boy stood there, his legs going weak as he looked at the person in front of him.

“Why don’t you ask who helped your family when your company was poorly managed?”

Gu Mingchen’s eyes were sharp, his tone cold. He tightened his grip on the boy’s arm, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, the pressure increasing.

“Some people have families in debt, studying abroad while working part-time, sleeping on the floor for four years before graduating. Why can’t you?”

The intense pain instantly sobered the boy up. He opened his mouth to shout, but the person in front of him was faster. One hand covered his mouth and nose, the other arm tightly wrapped around the boy’s neck. Gu Mingchen’s deep blue eyes didn’t waver, and in just a few seconds, the boy’s vision went black, and he collapsed.

The group ahead was still noisy. Someone glanced back, only to see Gu Mingchen lowering his head, supporting the seemingly completely drunk boy, catching up with the others.

After helping the boy into the car, Gu Mingchen turned around and saw Bai Lulu standing nearby.

“Brother Gu, I…” Bai Lulu wanted to apologize on behalf of her parents, but seeing the cheap shirt torn by the drunkard, she couldn’t say anything.

“I’ll try to persuade my friends not to bother you at the club in the future.” Bai Lulu lowered her head, her ears still echoing with the wild barking from when her father released the dogs after Gu Mingchen came to seek help.

“No need.” Gu Mingchen’s eyes were as indifferent as ever, his gaze passing over Bai Lulu to the rising moon behind her.

“Today is my last day working at the club.”

“Huh?” Bai Lulu was taken aback, looking at Gu Mingchen in confusion.

“Someone… cares about me.” Gu Mingchen tore away the layer of shame in his heart, saying the answer he most wanted, his eyes reflecting the brightest moonlight in Rong City.

“He arranged another job for me.” Gu Mingchen’s heart was full. Even if he wouldn’t admit it in the future, he wanted others to witness his choice at this moment.

“Oh, well, congratulations.” Bai Lulu was momentarily at a loss, unable to think of anyone who could take on the hot potato that was Gu Mingchen, nor could she understand the intense and complex emotions in his usually indifferent eyes.

Gu Mingchen turned his back, walking towards the club. After the excitement in his eyes subsided, a sense of loss quickly surged.

The job he arranged must be great.

It’s just… I won’t see him.

The waiters responsible for the private room saw off the guests. The private room, once a mess, no longer looked dreamy. Balloons and streamers were scattered everywhere, cream on the walls, drink stains on the sofa, and the entire floor was sticky.

The waiters sighed, starting to clean up the trash in the private room. Only Gu Mingchen moved with exceptional speed, even wiping the floor so fast that the cloth seemed to leave afterimages.

“Who’s cleaning the bathroom today?” The three waiters looked at each other, none willing to go. Their gazes shifted, and they all simultaneously glanced at Gu Mingchen, who was wiping the floor.

Noticing their stares, Gu Mingchen paused slightly, tightened his grip on the cloth, and without a word, got up and went to the private room’s separate bathroom, closing the door.

The three exchanged victorious smiles. The waiter cleaning up the trash on the sofa occasionally found usable items and stuffed them into their pockets.

Something seemed to be stuck in the sofa crevice. The waiter fumbled for a while before discovering it was a laser pointer for games. They aimed it at the balloons on the floor and turned it on, hearing a series of “bang bang bang” as a string of balloons instantly burst.

“Pretty handy.” Another waiter, who was popping balloons, wanted to take it, but their companion didn’t let go. The laser wobbled with their movements, shining on the balloons floating at the top of the private room.

“Boom!”

An unusual explosion sound made the three waiters in the private room look up. The laser had hit a balloon, causing it to burst instantly. The gas inside ignited, and flames exploded, continuing to ignite the nearby floating balloons.

“Boom boom boom boom!”

The continuous explosions, the massive fireball scorching the waiters’ heads, and the balloon fragments with sparks fell, igniting the nearby streamers and the carpet on the floor. In the blink of an eye, the flames rapidly spread, consuming everything flammable around.

Before the fire completely covered the area, the three waiters fled the private room in a panic. One of them glanced back in the chaos, seeing the fire spreading instantly with the open door’s airflow. The bathroom door remained tightly shut, the metal handle reflecting the raging flames.