After work, Lin Qinghe and You Rong walked side by side.
He walked slowly, and she matched his pace with small steps.
"You Rong, are you tired today? I heard Brother Wang say that part-time waitstaff get four months off a year. Why don't you ask Brother Wang to let you rest for a couple of days?"
You Rong replied, "No need, I'm not tired."
Lin Qinghe had taken on all the tasks she could, making her current part-time job much easier than before.
You Rong turned his head to look at Lin Qinghe and added, "There are exams next week. Tomorrow and the day after are the weekend. Tell Brother Wang not to let you work, and stay home to study properly."
Lin Qinghe didn't think much of it and casually replied, "I'm not resting! If I rest, and it's the weekend too, I won't see you for two days. I'll miss you..."
You Rong's steps faltered, and his earlobes flushed red.
Lin Qinghe walked a few steps further and, realizing You Rong wasn't following, trotted back to his side, her expression filled with worry. "Are you tired from walking? Shall we rest for a bit before we continue?"
Lin Qinghe still had no idea about the extent of You Rong's leg injury, other than his limp when walking, or if there were any other residual effects.
You Rong's gaze landed on Lin Qinghe's face and he quickly shifted his eyes away as if burned by fire, saying, "It's fine, let's go."
Lin Qinghe responded with an "Oh" and continued to walk.
Her brow furrowed, she thought: I need to find an opportunity to take You Rong to get his left leg checked. With Lin Yi's resources, finding a specialist in that area might even lead to a full recovery.
As they walked, they reached a fork in the road.
You Rong slowed down even further, waiting for Lin Qinghe to stop and say, "I'm going home now. See you tomorrow."
You Rong nodded and watched Lin Qinghe's figure disappear from view before continuing on his way home.
In the apartment where Lin Qinghe lived, she collapsed on the sofa, exhausted and weak, mumbling, "Working is too tiring. The tasks in this world are really physical labor..."
As soon as she spoke, Lin Qinghe heard the system's long-absent notification: "Progress bar increased by five percent, total progress bar is at six percent."
Lin Qinghe flipped over and sat up, so excited she was almost in tears.
"The progress bar has finally increased! If it didn't increase any further, I would have suspected the system was dead. *Sob sob*... As expected, effort yields reward, it's an eternal truth!"
At this moment, Lin Qinghe felt that her daily hard work at the bar, despite the backaches and pains, was worth it!
You Rong must like her a little bit by now!
Should she find an opportunity to confess to You Rong directly? See if the progress bar would increase?
-------------------------------------
Ever since Lin Qinghe's sharp taunts at the basketball court, You Ziming had been harboring a burning resentment, his face dark for a long time.
His friends, unable to stand it any longer, dragged him to a bar, ostensibly to relax.
After settling down at the bar, You Ziming's friend called out, "Waiter."
"You Rong! I'll go. You wait at the bar until the drinks for booth nine are ready, then deliver them."
The familiar voice made You Ziming freeze. Moments later, Lin Qinghe, dressed in a bar server's uniform, appeared before him. His shock was accompanied by a surge of anger.
"Customer, hello, may I ask what you need... Ah! What are you doing, let go!"
Lin Qinghe's words were cut short as her wrist was gripped forcefully. She cried out, and upon seeing it was You Ziming holding her, her expression instantly turned cold.
You Ziming gritted his teeth and questioned her, "You're doing this for You Rong... you've even become a server at a bar?!"
He knew that her brother, Lin Yi, doted on her immensely. She had always been pampered, arrogant, and never endured any hardship. She had the best of everything in terms of food and clothing, and only occasionally toned down her spoiled nature to pursue him.
Today, for You Rong, she had stooped so low as to work as a server in a bar!
What was she thinking?
Could she possibly have fallen for a bastard like You Rong?!
Lin Qinghe yanked her hand away forcefully and retorted impatiently, "Are we that close? Does it have anything to do with you why I'm working part-time at a bar! If you want to order, order quickly. If not, get out!"
"You..." You Ziming was furious, and inexplicably, a little bitter.
You Ziming's friend recognized Lin Qinghe and knew they couldn't afford to offend her. He quickly grabbed You Ziming, pulled him back to the booth, and whispered, "Ziming, calm down. Let's talk it through. If you're unhappy, we can go to a different bar."
Lin Qinghe snorted.
Fine, leave quickly, so you're not an eyesore here!
You Ziming stared at Lin Qinghe for a few seconds, then said with anger, "Why should we leave? This place is fine! Order a drink, bring us your most expensive ones!"
Lin Qinghe replied, "Alright, wait here. I'm going now."
Lin Qinghe returned to the bar and told the bartender, "The customer in booth one wants the most expensive drinks! Give him plenty. If I don't rip him off for a hundred thousand or eighty thousand today, don't let him leave! After all, people who walk into the slaughter willingly aren't common."
The bartender gave an "ok" gesture, his thoughts aligning with Lin Qinghe's. He turned to go to the storage room to fetch the most expensive liquor.
Lin Qinghe rubbed her wrist and muttered, "Is You Ziming sick? He grabbed my hand so hard just now, it hurt like hell..."
You Rong's eyes lowered, his gaze falling on her wrist. He frowned slightly and said, "I'll go deliver the drinks to booth one later."
Lin Qinghe refused without thinking, "No! Don't go. You Ziming is there, and he's not a good person. He might make things difficult for you. I'll go! He wouldn't dare do anything to me."
Lin Qinghe did as she said, not letting You Rong go to booth one at all. She even glared fiercely at You Ziming if he even glanced at You Rong.
It was as if she was warning him not to think about troubling You Rong!
You Ziming drank two or three bottles of liquor in quick succession. He had initially come to the bar to relax, but the more he drank, the more indignant he felt.
Especially seeing Lin Qinghe fawning over You Rong and acting affectionately towards him, it all struck You Ziming as particularly grating.
You Ziming, holding back his anger, was half-drunk and stood up unsteadily. His friend asked, "Where are you going?"
"The restroom."
"Oh, hurry back. We'll pay the bill and leave soon."
You Ziming went to the restroom and splashed cold water on his face, sobering up a bit. However, the image of Lin Qinghe's eyes only for You Rong uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.
His heart clenched.
Just then, someone walked into the restroom. You Ziming looked up, his eyes darkening.
The person who entered was You Rong.
You Ziming angrily strode forward and shoved You Rong against the door. Grabbing his clothes with both hands, he glared at him, "You Rong! You said something to Lin Qinghe about me, didn't you?!"
Otherwise, Lin Qinghe wouldn't have changed her attitude towards him so drastically in just two months.