When Su-mother heard little Su Ning’s words, she looked into the shop. The tall boy standing behind the cashier was Ji Chi.

“So Xiao Chi works here.” Su-mother smiled and said, “Su Ning and Tiancai are tired from walking too. Let’s go in and have a drink, and say hello to Xiao Chi on the way.”

Su Ci had no objections.

Today wasn’t Saturday or Sunday, but the shop was full of customers, business bustling.

Su Ci and Su-mother sat down at a small round table near the door.

“What do you want to drink? I’ll go place the order.” Su Ci asked Su-mother and the two little ones.

“A simple cup of juice is fine.” Su-mother wasn’t very thirsty. She took out her phone to send a message to her friend Fang Qin, telling her that Xiao Chi was working very diligently so she could be at ease.

Little Su Ning pointed at the advertisement on the menu board, his big eyes shining. “Jiejie, I want a watermelon juice.”

“Okay.” Su Ci looked at little Tiancai, “What about you?”

Today, little Tiancai was wearing a blue checkered shirt, looking adorably handsome in that babyish way.

He had been living in the Su household for quite a while now, playing with little Su Ning every day. Little Tiancai was no longer as gloomy and withdrawn as before.

His brows curved, a little shy as he pointed at the purple drink on the board. “I want that one.”

Su Ci glanced at it — a grape yogurt drink. “Okay. You two wait here, I’ll go order.”

“Jiejie, Ning Ning wants to go too.” Little Su Ning stretched out his chubby hand, grabbing the hem of Su Ci’s skirt.

“Let’s go.”

There were many people in line to order.

Su Ci lined up at the end with her younger brother.

Whether it was Su Ci or little Su Ning, both of them had very high looks.

The girl had bright eyes and perfect teeth, her skin snowy white. The little milk-baby’s face was tender and plump, irresistibly cute. Anyone could tell at a glance that they were a sibling pair, drawing frequent backward glances from the people in front.

Ji Chi was very good-looking. Before he started working at the milk tea shop, its business hadn’t been this lively.

The boss noticed that quite a few customers came specifically for Ji Chi, so he arranged for him to handle payments and be the face of the store.

His decision was correct. After Ji Chi started taking orders and handling payments, even more customers visited, and every day many female customers came to ask for Ji Chi’s contact information — some even secretly took pictures of him.

After all, a tall, handsome, cool-tempered yet alluring boy like Ji Chi wasn’t easy to come by.

Holding little Su Ning’s hand, Su Ci saw that many customers in the line ahead were taking pictures of Ji Chi.

It seemed that people with good looks were popular anywhere they went.

Before long, it was Su Ci’s turn.

She picked up her little short-legged brother from the floor.

“Chicken-wing gege.” Little Su Ning grinned, showing his little white teeth, greeting Ji Chi in his soft milky voice.

The moment Su Ci and Su-mother entered the shop, Ji Chi had already noticed them.

A bit of a smile appeared on his usually cold face. “What would you like to drink?”

Ji Chi was wearing the shop’s black work uniform, his expression cold. That slight smile of his made the girls in the line behind blush.

Little Su Ning, in an unfamiliar place, was very happy to see a familiar gege. “Ning Ning wants watermelon juice.”

Ji Chi looked at Su Ci. “Anything else?”

“One grape yogurt and two orange juices.” Su Ci’s gaze fell on Ji Chi’s wrist — his remaining life value was only five days.

Su Ci called out Fugui. “You ate a whole golden cotton candy from me last night. Did it work?”

Wanting to prove it wasn’t freeloading for nothing, Fugui hurriedly said: 【Master, Fugui can now see the cause of death within one week.】

Hearing this, Su Ci’s eyes lit up.

Although Fugui still couldn’t see up to a month, being able to see within a week was already great progress.

She asked Fugui, “How does Ji Chi die?”

Fugui: 【He’s beaten to death.】

Su Ci froze. She looked at Ji Chi, who had lowered his head to enter the order. He was beaten to death?

What on earth was going on?

Ji Chi handed the receipt to Su Ci. “The order’s placed. You can go back to your seat and wait. I’ll bring the drinks over in a moment.”

Su Ci came back to her senses. “How much is it?”

Ji Chi wanted to say he could pay for it and didn’t need to take her money.

The Su family had already helped him so much.

But the girl had already taken out her phone. Ji Chi’s gaze dimmed. “In total fifty-six yuan.”

“Okay.”

After paying, Su Ci brought little Su Ning back to the table. Su-mother was still exchanging messages with Fang Qin.

Ji Chi asked another staff member to handle the next order while he went to the back to help prepare the drinks.

A young female staff member followed him inside.

Ji Chi was tall, and among the male employees, he stood out the most.

The female staff member walked to his side, took his order slip, and helped pack the drinks. “Was that customer your friend?” she asked with a smile, her voice soft.

Ji Chi put the cut watermelon into the juicer. Little Su Ning was too young and shouldn’t drink anything too icy, so he didn’t add ice. “She’s someone I know.”

“Ji Chi, does she have a boyfriend?” another male staff member couldn’t help asking. When that girl walked into the shop, everyone had practically stared.

The girl was too beautiful — not only delicate in appearance but snowy-skinned, her whole person seeming to glow.

Ji Chi lowered his eyes, watching the watermelon inside the juicer being churned into juice. He thought of that boy named Lu Zhe. “Yes.”

Hearing that, the female employee exhaled in relief. Her face flushed as she looked at Ji Chi. “Are you still going to your part-time job tonight?”

Ji Chi responded casually, “Mm.”

The young female employee looked at Ji Chi’s handsome side profile and softly said, “Don’t push yourself too hard.”

She knew Ji Chi’s family background was just as difficult as hers. Both of them worked part-time to earn money and lessen the burden at home. She felt a sense of shared hardship and familiar closeness with him.

“Xiaoyou, I’ve worked with you for so long, but this is the first time I’ve seen you care about someone like this.” The male employee couldn’t help teasing, as if he had seen straight through her.

Ding Xiaoyou shyly glanced at Ji Chi, then turned to swat the male employee. “Is it a problem for me to care about a colleague?”

Ji Chi ignored their teasing. He placed the four finished drinks onto a tray and carried it out.

Ji Chi walked over to the small round table by the door. “Auntie Su, your drinks are ready.”

“Xiao Chi, Auntie Su only found out today that you work here.” Su-mother asked Ji Chi, “I see business here is very good, lots of customers. It’s so busy, is it tiring for you?”

Ji Chi shook his head. He carefully helped little Su Ning and little Tiancai insert their straws. “It’s not tiring.”

He had once worked the night shift at a gas station, standing the entire night. Compared to that, the milk tea shop allowed employees to take turns resting, so it wasn’t tiring at all.

Su-mother felt her friend’s son was truly sensible. She checked the time. “You’re getting off work soon, right? We’ll sit here for a bit and wait for you to get off. Later we’ll go have lunch together, we won’t go home at noon.”

Ji Chi agreed.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Today wasn’t a weekend, but this mall was in the city center, surrounded by many office buildings. Around noon, the crowd gradually increased. Especially the fifth-floor dining area — people came and went, lively and bustling.

Su-mother chose a Chinese restaurant. The private rooms were all full, so they could only sit in the main hall.

Little Su Ning and little Tiancai were a bit excited. The Su family had hired a chef to cook at home, and since the two children were small, they rarely went out to eat.

They chose a large round table. Su Ci sat beside Su-mother, little Su Ning on Su-mother’s other side.

Little Tiancai sat to Su Ci’s right.

Ji Chi’s seat was separated from Su Ci by little Tiancai.

The Su family’s looks had always been high. Little Tiancai was also fair, delicate-featured. Now with the addition of the handsome Ji Chi, the moment the family sat down, they attracted many glances from people in the hall.

Their looks were simply too high.

And at a table diagonally ahead, near the window, Boss Fang said to Lu Zhe in surprise, “Xiao Zhe, I see Su Ci.”

They had just finished signing a contract at a client’s company, and since it was lunchtime and the company was nearby, they came to this restaurant. They didn’t expect to run into Su Ci.

Following Uncle Fang’s line of sight, Lu Zhe looked over. In an instant, he saw the fair, delicate face of Su Ci. The girl was beautiful and eye-catching.

Boss Fang laughed. “You two are really fated. You can run into each other even when you pick a restaurant at random.”

Lu Zhe’s lips curved slightly. He saw Su-mother and the two children as well. Then his gaze shifted — landing on Ji Chi, who was separated from Su Ci by one seat. He was a little surprised to see the other boy there.

Their atmosphere looked harmonious, and Ji Chi seemed completely blended into the Su family.

Lu Zhe’s dark eyes sank slightly.

Boss Fang asked Lu Zhe, “Who is that boy? Is he Xiao Ci’s brother?”

Boss Fang had seen Su-mother during the fire rescue incident, and he had seen Su Ci’s eldest brother too. Now there was an unfamiliar boy sitting with them, talking to Su Ci. He couldn’t help looking a few more times, the boy’s temperament felt strangely familiar.

“No.” Lu Zhe told Boss Fang, “His name is Ji Chi. He’s a guest of the Su family and is temporarily staying with them.”

Boss Fang looked at Ji Chi a few more times, then at Ji Chi’s cold, hard features. When he turned back to look at Lu Zhe, he suddenly understood.

No wonder he felt that boy gave him a sense of familiarity — that cold, aloof temperament was exactly like Lu Zhe’s.

That boy was very similar to how Lu Zhe looked when he first came to work part-time at his computer shop.

Boss Fang saw how naturally the boy chatted with Su Ci. A girl and boy in their youth, they looked like a well-matched pair.

Boss Fang subconsciously frowned. He asked Lu Zhe, “Xiao Zhe, since you ran into her, do you want to go say hello to Xiao Ci?”

Lu Zhe shook his head. “No need.”

Su-mother was there. If he went over, he would disrupt their atmosphere.

Boss Fang had experienced much in life and could roughly see what Lu Zhe was thinking. “Do Xiao Ci’s family know you’re together with her?”

Lu Zhe didn’t hide anything from Boss Fang. “They don’t.”

Boss Fang sighed and didn’t say anything more.

He understood Lu Zhe’s situation better than anyone.

This kid looked cold on the outside, but he had a passionate and gentle heart, always thinking of others.

Aside from his health, Lu Zhe surpassed others in appearance and ability.