Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The karaoke club was only my side job. I worked in an office during the day.

On Monday, an important client arrived.

My coworkers were gossiping.

“I heard she’s a genius. She founded her company to find someone.”

“Who?”

“An ex-boyfriend, apparently.”

My eyelid twitched. I had a very bad feeling.

“Did she find him?”

“No idea. The system isn’t finished yet, but major investors have poured money into it. The prospects are incredible. That’s why our boss wants to partner with her.”

I organized the documents. As I reached the reception room, Yang Jingzhi’s voice carried through the door.

“I’ll need more time to consider the partnership.”

I entered and set the papers on the table.

Her eyes locked onto me. “What are you doing here?”

“Working.”

This was my real job.

My boss looked between us. “Yu, do you know President Yang?”

I chose my words carefully. “We’ve met.”

“Only met?” Yang Jingzhi was angry again.

I had no idea why. She had walked away without looking back when we broke up, hadn’t she?

She pointed at me. “Mr. Li, I’ll sign the contract on one condition: transfer Yu Ming to me as my assistant.”

My boss agreed immediately, without giving me the chance to object.

They negotiated all day.

That evening, I picked up my bag to leave.

Yang Jingzhi blocked my path. “Where are you going? I haven’t dismissed you.”

“Ms. Yang, I can’t work overtime today. I have somewhere else to be.”

“Where?”

“I have deliveries to make.”

She stared at me in disbelief.

I used to be a pampered rich kid who would not have touched food delivery work.

During all four years of college, Yang Jingzhi made deliveries after class. Her dinner was often the boxed meal the delivery company gave its riders.

Once, I went to find her. She was crammed into a tiny room with a group of couriers, shoveling rice from a plastic container.

“Yang Jingzhi, why are you eating that? It can’t be clean.”

She looked deeply uncomfortable. “Does clean or dirty matter?”

“Come on. Have steak with me.”

I dragged her to a new Western restaurant where a meal cost more than five hundred yuan per person. She stood outside for a long moment, then silently removed her delivery jacket.

After my family’s fall, I finally understood how she had felt that day.

Just as I did now.

Snow was falling. The road was slick, and I crashed my scooter, spilling the order.

I called the customer to explain and got cursed out. He said excuses were excuses; late was late.

My scraped palm burned in the brutal cold, but I could only apologize over and over.

Yang Jingzhi appeared out of nowhere and righted my scooter. I did not know when she had arrived or how much she had seen.

Instinctively, I hid my hand behind my back.

“Don’t hide it.” Her voice shook, and her eyes were red. “Go rinse it now.”

“I have to deliver the order first.”

“Get in. I’ll drive you.”

The customer lived on the ground floor. When I arrived with his food, he muttered, “Damn. People who drive Porsches deliver takeout now?”

I still had another order.

“Stop delivering,” Yang Jingzhi said.

“I can’t. I haven’t made enough tonight.”

“Then I’ll buy it.”

“What?”

My phone chimed as the system automatically accepted the order she had placed.

“I’m buying your time for the rest of the night.”