Chapter 5

Chapter 5

He glanced at me, as if he could hear what was going on in my head. Then he laughed, all contempt and frivolity. “I spend hundreds of thousands on you every month, and you’re telling me your worth is carrying dishes and washing them?”

“Th-then what is it?” I asked tearfully.

Ruan Pingshan’s hand left my arm and moved behind my head. He grabbed the strap around my neck, tugged the bow loose, and with a swish, my cotton apron fell between us.

The silk blouse was light and sheer, and in that setting, at that distance, it looked unbearably intimate.

I shoved him away hard. “You’ve gone too far! I could never do that kind of thing!”

Ruan Pingshan nearly rolled his eyes. He turned away quickly, then turned right back, pressing a hand to his forehead as he muttered in exasperation, “Jiang Yerao, if you were even a little uglier, I would never let myself like a woman this stupid.”

I stopped understanding him again.

He took a few steps back, returned to where he’d been standing, and tidied himself up, smoothing out every wrinkle in his clothes. “Yerao, when there are no customers, you should think about what you’re actually good at other than that kind of thing, other than taking your clothes off.”

He turned to leave. I should have sulked, but out of habit, I still asked, “Are you coming tonight?”

I was stupid beyond belief.

“Do you want me to come?” Without a trace of emotion, he kicked the ball right back to me.

It was far too obvious a trap, so I kept my mouth shut.

Besides, whether I wanted him to or not made no difference.

He probably hadn’t expected an answer from me anyway. He only said, “Call me if something comes up.”

I started crying again. In my head, I had clearly built myself into this cool, capable woman, but the moment I opened my mouth, I turned into a miserable little fool.

Hearing my muffled sobs, Ruan Pingshan, who had already lifted the curtain, stopped. After a long pause, he came back.

“Go, g-get back to work. I-I’m f-fine!” I cried with a strange rhythm, hitching every couple of words. I had no idea how he managed not to laugh.

“If you cry like that, people are going to think I dragged you in here and had my way with you.”

I stopped crying instantly and forced out a smile even uglier than crying.

Ruan Pingshan looked at me helplessly and commented, “Well, that’s great. Now you look like you’re crying tears of joy after suddenly landing a rich man.”

With that, he left the private room.

I stayed there and used my phone as a mirror. His description really was accurate. My expression really did look like I was crying tears of joy after landing a rich man.

When I put my apron back on and slipped out, I saw the store manager and another server bowing and apologizing to Ruan Pingshan, which startled me.

The manager looked up, saw me, and immediately called me over, insisting that I apologize too.

“We’re terribly sorry, sir. We’ll cover your dry-cleaning costs. Would that be acceptable?” the manager asked.

At some point, a coffee stain had appeared on Ruan Pingshan’s clothes. He waved it off and gestured at me with his chin. “I was careless. Good thing this young lady blocked some of it for me. Her hand even got burned.”

I really had been scalded a little, but when had he noticed the blister on my hand?

I was still standing there stupidly when Ruan Pingshan smiled at me. “Did I scare you into tears? I’m fine. Thanks for helping me handle it just now.”

If he didn’t do business, he’d probably do quite well as an actor at Miss Fang’s company.

After Ruan Pingshan left, the manager even praised me. He said that if the customer had really been burned, he probably would have sued the restaurant.

Before my shift ended, the other server even brought me some burn ointment and thanked me, saying she had actually been hiding in the restroom calling her boyfriend at the time. If the customer had really gotten burned, she wouldn’t have been able to avoid responsibility either.

She said her name was Lin Chengmei. It meant that honest people are the most beautiful.

She was a year older than me, but she was still in school. She worked part-time here when she didn’t have classes. Her boyfriend was studying abroad too, majoring in directing.

Actually, before I started looking for a job, I’d already made a plan. Once I got my first month’s pay, I was going to pick out a gift for Ruan Pingshan.

I bought things for him when I went shopping anyway, but this time it would be with my own money. That made it especially meaningful to me.

So I asked Lin Chengmei, “What kind of gift do people usually give a guy?”

“For your boyfriend?”

“No, just a regular friend.” I denied it guiltily.

“Oh, then that depends on what tier of man you’re trying to hook.” She looked like she knew exactly what she was talking about. “If you give an A-level man a C-level gift, he won’t even spare you a second glance.”

What kind of nonsense was that?

“Then what if the other person is very rich? Very, very, very rich? Doesn’t that mean I can’t give him anything at all?”

“Wrong. For that kind of person, money has already lost its appeal. What they crave is love, real feeling. All you have to do is write them a long, heartfelt letter and then give them a warm hug. They’ll lean on your shoulder and cry.”

I would never believe that Ruan Pingshan would lean on my shoulder and cry-even if you beat me to death. That’s usually the kind of stupid thing I do.

A warm hug wouldn’t be too hard. The long heartfelt letter would be the death of me. I could barely even hit 800 words on my gaokao essay, let alone write something that required actual freeform creativity.

Lin Chengmei added, “If you really can’t think of anything, and you’re bold enough to go all out, then let me show you the way. Men are creatures who think with their lower bodies.”

Yeah. The two of us had probably done plenty of thinking together already.

“Give me a break. He’s not that kind of person!” I said.

“Then why are you asking me? I’ve never dated him or been in love with him. You’re the one who knows him best!” After saying that, Lin Chengmei picked up an international call from her boyfriend and left work in an especially sweet mood.

Standing in front of my locker, I thought over a few questions.

After breaking up with Ruan Pingshan, how was I supposed to maintain my quality of life?

Other than taking my clothes off, what was I actually good at?

What kind of gift would suit Ruan Pingshan?

I didn’t figure out a single one, and I still went home in a great mood.

Ruan Pingshan was sitting on my couch, cleaning up the takeout containers I’d left behind.

Two little giggles slipped out of me before I could stop them. I kicked off my heels and flung away my handbag, then threw myself at him, pinning him to the couch and kissing him.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” I said.

He let me do whatever I wanted, not even putting his arms around me, and only asked in return, “It’s my villa-can’t I come?”

I immediately sensed something was off. “You’re still mad?”

He neither admitted it nor denied it. “What, are you going to make me happy?”

“You have to coax me first before I’ll let you…” I only realized at the end that he’d tricked me into it. I met his sly eyes, full of laughter, and immediately sprawled across his chest and complained coquettishly, “You’re so bad!”

He finally laughed out loud. Then he picked up a small plastic bag from the couch. Inside were several kinds of burn ointment.

He took my fingers and kissed them, then paused halfway through unscrewing one of the caps. “You already put medicine on it?”

“Mm. A coworker did it for me.”

“Coworker, huh.” He set the ointment down on the coffee table. “Keep one in your bag, just in case.”

I ignored whatever he was saying and lifted my face to kiss his chin, acting spoiled. “You’re not mad anymore?”

He gave a light huff and didn’t answer.