Chapter 47: Yuan Qing 03

  "In other words, is this Jiang fellow here for an interview?" Xie Zhe placed the three cups of hot coffee in front of Qin Fei and the others, then leaned against He Shi Dong's chair back with one hand, eyeing Jiang Xu with great interest.

  "Future part-time worker number two......" Shen Wei came out from behind the bar and leaned in next to Qin Fei.

  It was almost five o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and there were no customers in the bookstore for the time being. Xie Zhe and Shen Wei came over at this time, not just to send a cup of coffee and say hello, but to watch Jiang's job application process. Anyway, they had nothing better to do, so they might as well join in on the excitement.

  Qin Fei turned his head and glanced at Xie Zhe and Shen Wei, the two of them innocently winked at him, but refused to leave. Qin Fei couldn't help but laugh, and didn't say anything else, letting them watch instead.

  Qin Fei indeed said he wanted to find another part-time job, but he rarely had a sense of rejection towards people. Now, however, he always felt a kind of inexplicable discomfort around Jiang Xu. Was it his misconception? This person looked like an ordinary university student...

  However, this person was brought by He Yidong, and at this moment He Yidong had an expression like a small dog, with a face full of expectation looking at him. Anyway, let's ask about the situation first.

  "Have you had similar work experience before, not necessarily in a bookstore, sales and service staff are also possible." Qin Fei cleared his throat and asked Jiang Xu.

  Jiang Xu shook his head, "I've never worked before, but I learn things quickly, and I won't give you any trouble, boss."

  "Boss, I'll take charge of teaching him!" Jiang Xu had just finished speaking when He Shidong actively said.

  "You can't even do it yourself, clumsily and poorly, yet you're teaching him?" Xie Zhe hit He Shidong's head with the tray.

  "Are you guys going on winter break after finishing your exams?" Qin Fei asked.

  "Really! Only one more week." He Shidong pushed away the tray that Xie Zhe had placed on his head.

  "Shu Ba starts winter vacation after the end of January," said Qin Fei. "How about this, Jiang Xu? You come to Shu Ba and try working for a few days after your holiday. If it's okay with you, you can work part-time at Shu Ba next semester."

  "Alright, thank you boss." Jiang Xu said.

  After the trial period was settled, Jiang Xu left his contact information with Qin Fei. Just as he was about to leave with He Shidong, the bell above the door of the book bar rang out, followed by footsteps coming from the aisle between the bookshelves.

  "There's a guest." Xie Zhe put the tray on the bar and walked towards the entrance of the corridor. When he saw the person, he was stunned for a moment before saying, "It's you! Are you here to see our boss again?"

  "Xie Zhe, who's looking for the boss?" Shen Wei turned her head and saw Gu Yin walking out of the corridor, instantly her smile froze and her eyebrows furrowed.

  Gu Yin, Shen Wei's first impression of him was really too bad, so in Shen Wei's eyes, he was just an unwelcome person.

  As the official employees of Shu Ba, Shen Wei and Xie Zhe did not show any enthusiasm to welcome Gu Yin's arrival. Instead, Jiang Xu's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Gu Yin, and then smiled and walked over to greet him.

  "Big Brother Gu, how did you end up here?"

  "What are you doing running to a place like this?" Gu Yin looked down at Jiang Xu, asking instead of answering.

  "Thanks for introducing me to this part-time job, I'd like to work here next semester." said Jiang Xu.

  "What's good about this place?" Gu Yin laughed and said, "If you want to work, I can help you find a better place."

  Qin Fei: "......"

  "But I've already spoken with the boss..." Jiang Xu looked back at Qin Fei with a difficult expression.

  Qin Fei's gaze had been subconsciously fixed on Gu Yin since he entered, until Jiang Xu looked at him and he suddenly came back to himself, saying: "If there's a better place, it's fine if you don't come here."

  Gu Yin glanced at Qin Fei, slightly furrowed his brow, but said nothing, turned around and walked out, "Jiang Xu, let's go."

  "Sorry boss," Jiang Xu apologized with a smile at Qin Fei, "That person... is someone I like, I don't want to make him unhappy and cause you trouble."

  Jiang Xu finished speaking and hastily followed Gu Yin, leaving the book bar with him.

  Shen Wei: "Like... like..."

  Xie Zhe: "Like... who...?!"

  Shen Wei and Xie Zhe stared at each other in dismay.

  Shen Wei: "Cough! Not what I meant, right?"

  Xie Zhe: "I think it's probably what you thought it meant..."

  Shen Wei: "So you're saying Jiang Xu... is gay?"

  "Is it?"

  Shen Wei and Xie Zhe turned their gaze to He Jiedong, who was a friend of Jiang Xu's, so he should know something. However, the person who should have known something was now staring blankly in the direction Jiang Xu had left, looking like he had been hit even harder than they had.

  Shen Wei and Xie Zhe were both speechless, and turned to look at Qin Fei. But saw Qin Fei looking in the direction of the corridor entrance with He Shi Dong, his face deep in thought, wondering what he was thinking about.

  "Boss, what are you thinking about?" Shen Wei waved her hand in front of Qin Fei's eyes, gesturing for him to snap out of it.

  "I still think Gu Yin looks very familiar..." Qin Fei said.

  Shen Wei looked at Qin Fei strangely, "Boss, you've known Gu Yin for a while now, why the sudden unease?"

  "Not what I meant, I mean I seem to have seen him a long time ago..."

  Compared to the initial familiarity when I first met Gu Yin in the book bar, the familiarity that arose when I just saw Gu Yin was much stronger. Moreover, this familiarity is subtly different from the initial familiarity.

  Before, he thought the familiarity with Gu Yin came from that fragment of his memory, but when he just saw Gu Yin, he felt as if it was in a more distant past, that is, when he knew Gu Yin.

  However, the time Qin Fei lost his memory was when he was eight years old, even farther away than that year. But - memories from before he was eight years old, couldn't they be from when he was a baby?

  Qin Fei thought that even if he had a good memory, it was still unrealistic to say that he remembered things from infancy. Even if he really could remember things that early, it was impossible for him to have such a strong sense of familiarity with Gu Yin. 12 years ago, Gu Yin was just a little kid, and that version of Gu Yin couldn't possibly evoke such a strong sense of familiarity in him.

  Qin Fei's mind was all muddled and confused, still unable to come up with any real conclusions, and in the end could only attribute it to those possible illusions that were just his own imagination.

  While Qin Fei was lost in thought about the inexplicable familiarity with Gu Yin, He Shidong left absent-mindedly. Shen Wei then leaned over to Xie Zhe and whispered: "That Jiang Xu really likes men, right?"

  "It should be."

  Shen Wei: "He just said that in front of Gu Yin, and Gu Yin didn't say anything. Do you think Gu Yin also likes Jiang Xu?"

  "I think it's..." Xie Zhe rubbed his chin, nodded and then turned to Shen Wei, "I'm asking you, what business do you have with this?"

  "Now that I've found out that Gu Yin likes men and already has someone he likes, I can finally be at ease!" Shen Wei said.

  "What are you worried about?" Xie Zhe looked at Shen Wei with a puzzled expression.

  Shen Wei secretly took a glance at Qin Fei, and lowered her voice again, "Have you forgotten the time when Gu Yin came to borrow our boss? At that time, I felt that his gaze towards our boss was not quite right. However, now he already has someone he likes, so he won't come to seduce our boss."

  "Really..." Xie Zhe glanced at Qin Fei and nodded in agreement, "After hearing you say that, I feel a bit more at ease too."

  Time flies, and a week has passed. Qin Fei asked Gu Wenkai to tell Gu Yin about the dinner invitation, but it's unclear whether Gu Wenkai didn't pass on the message or if Gu Yin deliberately ignored it. During this time, Qin Fei hasn't seen Gu Yin again. Gu Yin doesn't carry a mobile phone, so Qin Fei can't contact him. As for going to Gu Yin's place to find him, that would be too abrupt. So, the original plan to invite Gu Yin to dinner was shelved.

  The city is a small town, walking on the street, the probability of encountering acquaintances is still quite high. On his way to the book bar in the morning, Qin Fei happened to see Gu Yin.

  It was Saturday, without the crowds of commuters, and the traffic seemed a bit sparse, so Qin Fei saw Gu Yin from afar on the opposite side of the road.

  Gu Yin wasn't alone, Jiang Xu was walking with him. Jiang Xu walked while looking sideways at Gu Yin beside him, seemingly saying something to him, and Gu Yin stopped in his tracks. Then Qin Fei saw Jiang Xu help Gu Yin adjust his scarf, and the two continued on their way.

  The two did not see Qin Fei across the street and soon walked out of his line of sight.

  Qin Fei continued walking towards the book bar, but his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Gu Yin and Jiang Xu. Earlier, Jiang Xu had confessed to liking Gu Yin at the book bar, which seemed like a romantic interest, and Gu Yin hadn't responded at the time. Were they actually mutually interested in each other? And considering what he just saw... hmm, were they really dating?

  Qin Fei was thinking as he walked forward, and after passing by a small alley between shops, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and walked back to the entrance of the alley, looking at the person crouched inside with a speechless expression.

  "Good morning! Qin Xiaofei." The person hiding in the alley waved his hand and greeted Qin Fei.

  "Officer Gu, what are you doing in there?" stared emotionlessly at Gu Wenkai in the alley.

  Gu Wenkai poked his head out of the alley, looked around, and then walked out of the alley, dusting off his clothes, saying: "I wasn't doing anything."

  "You're tailing Gu Yin." Qin Fei didn't play along with Gu Wenkai's attempt to cover it up, and directly pointed out his actions. Then he asked, "What are you following him for?"

  Gu Wenkai looked in the direction that Gu Yin and Jiang Xu had left, adjusted his expression, and said: "Actually, my older brother recently retrieved a few talismans he made several years ago from our family home. Those are all hazardous items, so they've been stored away at home, but now they're being put to use. That's why I secretly followed my older brother, wanting to see who he's been in contact with lately."

  "But seeing the person who just walked with my brother, I think I understand why he used those things." Gu Wenkai said.

  "Who was just walking with your older brother? Jiang Xu? What happened?" Qin Fei asked.

  "Is that person Jiang Xu? That person is the past life lover my brother has been searching for, and it's likely that my brother used those dangerous goods to protect him."