Xie Ge had lost count of how many times he felt like he was really useless. Xu Miao only said he would give him flowers—he hadn’t even received them yet—before all his anger had already melted away.
They’d had a quarrel—not even a real one—and just like that, all of Xie Ge’s worries were gone.
Xu Miao was a man of his word. After that, he never left him waiting on messages for long anymore, and he started sharing pieces of his daily life with Xie Ge more often.
Xie Ge felt like he was floating in happiness every single day. If it weren’t for Xie Min stirring things up, that happiness could’ve gone on endlessly.
“Ge—come on, just help me out this once,” Xie Min pressed his palms together like he was praying, looking pitifully at Xie Ge. “Please, please, please!”
Xie Ge didn’t hesitate for a second. “Why should I help you? There’s nothing in it for me.”
Xie Min refused to give up. “How is there no benefit? You just need to drop by her shop, place an order to support her business. I’ll pay for the order, and you can drink the milk tea for free.”
Xie Ge said, “I don’t like sweet stuff.”
Xie Min yelped, “Impossible! I literally saw you two days ago—large strawberry bobo, regular sugar! You even took a picture! You even sent a voice note saying it was sooo good! Liar!”
“Mind your own business about what I like or don’t like,” Xie Ge raised his fist in warning. “And stop eavesdropping on me.”
Xie Min sneaked a glance at him, still unwilling to give up. “Fine, if you don’t want to drink it, I will. Just come with me. Plus, you can grab some content to show… you-know-who. Win-win.”
Xie Ge replied flatly, “Do I look like I’m short on two cups? Is her shop short on two cups? And if I wanted to film something, can’t I just buy it myself? Why can’t you go?”
Seeing that Xie Ge wouldn’t budge, Xie Min’s face and neck turned completely red—whether from anger or embarrassment, who knew. “Can’t you tell I’m shy? In front of her, I can’t even string a couple of sentences together! How am I supposed to order?”
Xie Ge: “Maybe go to a hospital then.”
Xie Min: “Hospital said there’s no cure.”
“Then me going won’t help either,” Xie Ge shrugged. “It’s all self-service ordering on mini programs now. Don’t tell me you studied yourself back into the Stone Age.”
“And by the way, you’re dating in high school before graduating—you’re done for. I’m telling Mom,” Xie Ge added, twisting the knife.
Xie Min jumped up like a squashed grasshopper. “You dated early too! We’re even! Don’t think I don’t know about your online romance in senior year!”
“I had less than half a month left before graduation,” Xie Ge defended. “And I was already an adult. That doesn’t count as underage dating.”
“Adult or not, you were still a high schooler,” Xie Min grumbled, but quickly returned to pleading. “Just help me this one time. After this, I’ll be your servant, whatever you want!”
Xie Min was so sincere that Xie Ge had no choice but to agree.
Once the holidays came, he went to that shop with Xie Min again and again. And the more often they went, the more things Xie Ge started to notice.
He had to admit, the odds of meeting difficult customers in the service industry were way too high. Xie Ge saw it himself—and got dragged into it too.
He couldn’t just stand by and let a grown man bully a high school student—whether or not that student happened to be the girl his younger brother liked.
A long scratch ran down his arm. It didn’t hurt much, but it was definitely itchy and irritating.
Xie Ge stared at the wound for a few seconds, raised his phone, and snapped a photo.
[ATM]: [picture]
[ATM]: It hurts so much sob sob sob
Xu Miao’s reply popped up almost instantly.
[XM]: What happened?
[XM]: Did you go to the hospital?
[XM]: Make sure to disinfect it. The weather’s hot right now, be careful not to let it get infected.
Xie Ge glanced at the small wound that would probably heal on its own without a hospital visit.
[ATM]: Got beaten up sob
[ATM]: Some customers are insane these days. They make a mistake themselves but insist it’s us, and when they see they’re in the wrong, they get violent.
[ATM]: Never seen a man fight using fingernails before. But I won.
Xie Ge had been trying to show off his sense of justice and his unbeatable fighting skills to Xu Miao—but Xu Miao didn’t seem to catch the vibe he was giving off at all.
[XM]: If you meet unreasonable customers, don’t get into conflicts. Protect yourself. Don’t let anyone bully you.
[XM]: If it’s too hard, just quit. I’ll give you money.
Xie Ge realized Xu Miao might have misunderstood, but he didn’t feel like explaining. He only wanted to use the moment to act spoiled.
[ATM]: Then if I got bullied, would you feel bad for me?
[XM]: I already feel really bad for you.
[XM]: Why’d you suddenly think of doing this job anyway?
[ATM]: My brother asked me to help him, so I went. He promised me a reward.
Xu Miao felt complicated. He wanted to tell Xie Ge not to help anyone anymore—but at the same time, this was Xie Ge’s personal business. It didn’t feel right to interfere. It’d be better to just find other ways to help him quietly. That would work just as well.
Life went on as usual, and as his career flourished, Xu Miao also seemed to get used to always finding some excuse to transfer money to Xie Ge.
[XM]: I heard Gangji just launched a new product. I’m busy—try it for me, baby.
Under the message came a transfer record. Xie Ge replied with a sticker of a little cat nodding.
Xu Miao lowered his head, scrolling through yesterday’s chat history while walking, and without realizing it, he ended up at the entrance of Gangji. The store’s loudspeaker was introducing the new product.
He remembered Xie Ge saying it was delicious, so he thought he might as well give it a try himself, even though he didn’t really like sweets.
The shop was crowded, with plenty of customers chatting, and he really did just happen to overhear it.
“Ge, didn’t you already eat this yesterday? Why are you eating it again today? Didn’t you always say desserts are all gross and sticky sweet? Not gross anymore?”
“What do you know, you’re just a kid.”
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t know anything. But Ge, why are you wearing this shirt again? It’s all loose threads, what’s so good about it? Didn’t Mom say that if you ever go out with her wearing this again, don’t call her Mom—she’s afraid people will think she’s mistreating you. I mean, she’s right. It’s not like the family went bankrupt. Why do you always dress like this?”
“You’re not my mom.”
“You—”
“Stop whining. If you knew where this shirt came from, you’d think I’m the luckiest guy alive. Not everyone gets a shirt hand-sewn by their girlfriend. I’m gonna wear it till it falls apart.”
Following the voice, Xu Miao looked over and saw the person tugging at his shirt to show the other.
“See? X, G. My initials. Every stitch is her love, got it?”
Xu Miao’s pupils shrank. Xie Ge’s initials were X.G., and he always teased him by calling him “puppy.” On the shirt he gave Xie Ge, he had clumsily stitched an ugly little dog. And now… that same ugly little dog was on this man’s chest.
But… wasn’t he supposed to be in City C? Even the delivery address was in City C. How could he be here?
Xu Miao pressed his lips together, a dazed look flickering in his eyes, and opened the chat with ATM.
He sent a message.
[XM]: Off work yet?
Not far away, there was a ding sound. Xu Miao saw that man typing something on his phone. The moment his fingers stopped, Xu Miao’s phone buzzed.
[ATM]: Not yet. Tons of customers today, super busy. But the moment I heard the notification, I knew it was you. I’m replying secretly, hiding from the manager. My hands are sore from making milk tea. If my wifey could massage my wrists for me, that’d be perfect.
Soon after, Xu Miao saw that man walk to a corner, rub his wrist hard a few times, and then point his phone camera at his own hand.
Moments later, a new photo from Xie Ge appeared in the chat. It was of a hand with a reddened wrist…
Oopsss……