Chapter 4: The Mysterious Boy Arrives

  I don't know why, but every time I mention summer, my mind always conjures up that lush green color, thick or thin, in large swaths connecting the sky and earth into a world like ocean waves. Each turbulent surge brings a refreshing gust of air.

  But I know reality is always cruel, so when I and Yún jiě (Cloud Sister) delivered takeout under that scorching sun, I didn't utter a single complaint, nor did she. Because after leaving the dessert shop for ten minutes, I shook my head, still dripping with water, and solemnly told her that from now on, we would never accept delivery orders again, even if it meant selling out all our stock. Otherwise, when real summer arrives, the money earned from "Desserts" wouldn't be enough to buy heatstroke medicine for employees.

  Cough, actually I exaggerated the "sweet treats" too much. From opening to now, the dessert shop's business is far better than my aunt and I imagined. After deducting rent, utilities, and raw material costs, we can make a small profit every day. Every night after closing, my aunt and I will count the money with smiles on our faces, marveling at how true it is that "small profits but quick turnover" is the ultimate business mantra.

  And now this benign development situation, a large part of it is due to the unquestionable ability of the BFF party.

  "Fangyuan Baili is a connoisseur, and it's impossible not to know about the 'Tian Pin Tian Pin' dessert shop near University Town. The environment is clean and upscale, and the desserts are not only delicious but also reasonably priced, with some items costing 50 cents less than at other shops! Moreover, there are two exceptional female bosses inside, one as gentle as a spring breeze, and the other as beautiful and pure as a movie star. Drinking desserts here is a double bonus for both taste and sight!"

  After hearing Xiaoyu say that this is the version circulating in her university, I deeply feel that the desserts given away on the opening night are either free or discounted and are really worth it. However, when I heard the last part, I felt a bit off, and after careful consideration, I felt even more off - does my dessert shop sell people or meat?

  Xiaoyu responded to my question with a loud voice that almost made me drop the phone on my shoulder, "Are you stupid? This is called strategy! Do you understand what strategy means?"

  I clenched my phone tightly and couldn't help but scold her harshly in my heart. Next time I release a new flavor of pudding, I'll print your face on it and publicize it on your school's BBS. Let's see if you can still come up with an excuse! However, I knew that once this conversation started, I wouldn't have peace for the next ten days. So, wisely, I shifted the topic to the handsome but slightly short basketball player she had mentioned before. As expected, she became enthusiastic and chatted for a whole half hour until I hinted that my phone was about to automatically shut down, and then she reluctantly hung up the call.

  Then I continued to use the phone that her master said was out of power to call A Qian, but unexpectedly she was trying to get rid of a senior's entanglement at that time. I always think this is a very mind-hurting technical work, so based on the principle that it is absolutely impossible to disturb her thinking at critical moments, I immediately hung up the phone. As a result, three seconds later she called again, and a sweet and greasy "darling" made my phone almost fall to the ground again.

  If I were Xiao Yu, I would have been so startled that I immediately shut down and restarted, but fortunately, I wasn't her, so I calmly understood that this was Ah Qian's strategy. So while holding my phone carelessly and listening to Ah Qian's gentle and shy tone, which completely overturned her usual cold image, I made a shaved ice dessert for later use. Then, very calmly, when the senior snatched the phone from me and put it to his ear, saying "I knew you were cheating on me, there's no one...", I lightly said: "Dear, tonight I'll wait for you in bed, clean and tidy."

  After a two-minute silence, A Shallow's usual calm voice came again: "You have quite a lot of experience, it seems that in the future I can only mix with you."

  I was taken aback and didn't quite understand what was going on.

  It wasn't until later that I found out that the senior had accidentally pressed the amplifier when he was emotionally unstable, so my sentence with extremely rich and heavy colors was clearly transmitted to everyone's ears within a radius of five meters around them. Under the influence of Ah Qian, in less than half a day, their school was shocked by the news "The law department's flower Qin Qian is actually a lace edge", which was comparable to the news that a small island on the east side had been bombed and sunk. Afterwards, the boys were crying and wailing with grief, while the girls were rushing to tell each other, extremely happy and sighing that men would have...

  After understanding the situation, I was silent for a moment, and then shook her shoulder with trembling hands: "It's over... Ah Qian, what is my note in your phone? Please don't be full name, ah... Come on, say it quickly..."

  "Idiot."

  “……”

  It's great, I'm completely unsure whether to feel relieved that my identity hasn't been exposed or desperate because I just found out what kind of position I've always held in Ah Qian's heart.

  The classmates of the BFF gang I also got to know one by one, and after greeting Auntie, every time they came again, it was naturally the internal price. Although some were heartbroken, looking at the more and more new faces in the store - all those classmates' friends or acquaintances in the club, my aunt and I couldn't help but secretly rejoice a little.

  What shocked me was that Haicheng's classmates all liked to call me "Little Qing", just because on the opening day, I showed off a unique skill that no one else had, which directly led to a sentence becoming popular in their school - Do you know that the beautiful young boss of "Sweet Sweet" is a strange person who will not blush when shy, but only turn green!

  This makes me resentful to no end, what's weird is that it doesn't make them blush. Are people with thick skin really rare in this world? Moreover, the key point is that I wasn't being shy that day, I was clearly furious. However, considering they always order more than others and even pack some leftovers to bring back and give to their friends and family, which also helps me do some free promotion, I just smiled and accepted it. After all, they don't understand me, and the things that can make me feel shy from childhood to adulthood are really countable on one hand.

  Thanks to them, as soon as I hear "Xiao Qing", I couldn't help but think of the big green face that was made on the opening day in front of a large crowd. As soon as I think of this matter, I couldn't help but curse my shameless girlfriends: You dare to send me Durex, I curse you, you will never be able to use Durex for the rest of your life!

  I've always thought it's amazing that Durex, as a leading brand, can occupy a corner in every supermarket for years and years in an era where demand for this type of product is almost infinite. Especially when other brands emerge one after another to compete with it, but it never lowers its price, always looking down on similar products with the small price tag below it. Such a classy, secure, and aspirational brand - if women can't use it up even in their lifetime, how miserable must their second half of life be? So I think my curse is quite vicious!

  On a rainy afternoon, the sweltering heat that had been building up for days finally dissipated. The large leaves of the French plane trees on either side were washed clean by the rain, revealing a bright green glow. When they gathered together, they shone so brightly that it was dazzling to look at. In "Sweet Treats", there were only a handful of customers, and I stood listlessly behind the counter, alone.

  An hour ago, my aunt was taken out to have a romantic time by her husband. Originally, she was worried that I wasn't very familiar with settling the bill yet, and leaving me alone might be difficult to handle, so she didn't want to go. So, her husband stopped persuading her and just gazed at me quietly with his eyes full of resentment.

  After being stared at for ten minutes, I finally couldn't help but touch the goose bumps on my arm, and with a flourish of my hand, I said: "You can go! Today is Tuesday, business is not busy, as long as there are not many people, I can still count slowly." Then, my uncle gave me a satisfied look, throwing me a "you're very aware" glance before pulling my aunt away.

  After some thought, I pulled out a white paper from the drawer and picked up a pencil. With just a few strokes, I sketched out a tall ancient man with flying sleeves on the paper, but left his face blank.

  I'm in a daze, I don't know if it's because I haven't seen a handsome guy for too long, now I don't even know how to hold my pen.

  Starting from high school, I've been drawing illustrations for many books and magazines, all of which feature handsome men in ancient costumes. The fact that I'm an amateur illustrator is actually a secret, known only to my close friends and aunt. I still remember when my aunt first found out, she asked me why I didn't tell my parents, and I seriously told her it was because I was afraid they would worry that I would become infatuated with these handsome men who wouldn't appear in the real world and end up as an old maid. Although she thought for two seconds and said I was overthinking, she still respected my wishes and didn't tell anyone else about it.

  Staring at the face in front of me without any features, I let out a faint sigh and decided to go to the kitchen to dig up some ice cream to stimulate my taste buds. Xiao Yu had said before that every time she encountered a bottleneck while writing, she would eat some ice cream sprinkled with chili powder, thereby using the two extreme flavors of cold and hot to stimulate her inspiration, and even enthusiastically suggested that I try it too when I was stuck painting, but I didn't dare agree, knowing that "things will inevitably reverse" has always been a fundamental principle. We all thought she would have her appendix removed because she ate too much of this stimulating food that normal people wouldn't dare to try, whose safety is yet to be tested.

  As I walked past a table with my hands behind me, I stopped and turned to look at someone below to my right. After a slight recollection, I immediately took a few steps back and stood in front of him, my voice slightly excited.

  "Strange Boy!"