So that’s how it was.
At this point, Ye Zhibai had a general understanding of why Lin Zihan needed to take on this part-time job.
Ah, the innocent days of youth—those times when a sudden whim or small goal was enough to make you pack your bags and hit the road without a second thought.
Ye Zhibai herself was no different.
Thinking back to her previous life, she too had once taken on an extra part-time gig on a whim just to buy something pricey.
What was it?
A deluxe birthday cake, of course—one she could treat herself to right around her birthday!
Looking back now, Ye Zhibai felt a chill run through her heart.
Picture it: sitting alone with a fancy birthday cake, crooning “Happy Birthday” to herself in a lonely falsetto, clapping out the rhythm solo, and blowing out the candles. What kind of hellish scene was that—a picture straight out of nightmares!
And the kicker? The leftover cake could double as breakfast the next day, but you couldn’t exactly sing “Happy Birthday” again. Just thinking about it made her feel even more desolate.
Ahem… she was getting sidetracked.
What she meant was, this whole thing with Lin Zihan had struck a chord with her—a case of deep empathy.
She’d almost teared up!
Ye Zhibai shook her head to chase away those grim memories from her mind.
When she looked up, she saw Lin Zihan across from her, shaking her head and sighing about the twists of life.
“Just across the street, but it’s like two different worlds—you over here on this side, me on that side. Heh, but who would’ve thought? I ran over from my side to work here, and boom, I run into Little Bai’er. The world sure works in mysterious ways~”
Ye Zhiyun offered a friendly reminder. “Speak plainly, at least in terms a carbon-based lifeform can understand.”
“Fine, fine~ What I’m saying is, look at that road outside. My family’s flower shop is on the other side in that cheaper commercial district. Wages there are super low. But just across that one street? Pay here is almost double!”
How vivid and spot-on.
But she was right.
Life was like a street—you never knew when you’d end up on this side or suddenly find yourself on the other.
Ye Zhibai and Lin Zihan were perfect examples.
The two of them dashed back and forth across the divide between poverty and wealth like maniacs jaywalking a crosswalk!
None of that stopped Lin Zihan from coming over to work and bumping into Ye Zhibai, though.
With that realization, Ye Zhibai smiled inwardly.
In a good mood, she took a bite of fish and handed the picked-out bones to Guang Yu so she could continue her grand divine architectural project.
Only then did Ye Zhibai pose a more practical question.
“So… with part-time work over here, can you save up enough over the summer to buy what you need?”
“I’ve crunched the numbers. Daily pay here’s two hundred ten yuan—a steal! Full steam ahead for a month, and I’ll be swimming in savings. Then the last month, I can kick back and gear up for college life. Nice and fulfilling.”
“…”
Lin Zihan might have been counting on her fingers with perfect clarity, but Ye Zhibai was still a bit stunned!
Daily earnings of over two hundred yuan?!
Sister, this is part-time work! Part-time! Not some full-time gig with a contract!
Why’d my part-time shifts only net sixty yuan a day back then?!
Well, people’s luck varied—that was life.
If she had to pinpoint it, it was just the Ye Family being so loaded that they paid top dollar even to short-term temps.
Ye Zhibai was stewing in her envy when Lin Zihan suddenly stood up and flashed her a earnest, grateful smile.
Don’t laugh, but paired with that golden hair, it was a little blinding.
“Oh right, Little Bai’er—I haven’t thanked you properly yet.”
“For what?”
“For earlier. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d have had to work hard to shake off those two punks you chased away. Haha… Truth is, this is my first real solo job. Helping out at the family flower shop doesn’t count. Looking back, facing that kind of situation alone is pretty scary. Little Bai’er, you basically shielded me from the storm this time. No exaggeration—you’re my hero! Come on, hero, let’s hug it out… Whoa!”
“Talk if you have something to say. Don’t you dare take advantage of my sister. No next time—or I’ll flatten you.”
“Harsh! Zhiyun, you’re viewing pure friendship through tinted glasses. That’s not right.”
“Say that again?”
“Won’t!”
Lin Zihan knew better than to push her luck.
Her earlier attempt to cozy up to Little Bai’er had earned her a stinging forehead flick from Ye Zhiyun.
Next time, it probably wouldn’t stop at a flick.
It’d be straight-up skull-cracking!
Watching Lin Zihan shrink back warily from Yun’er and sit down properly, Ye Zhibai caught onto a somewhat serious issue in her earlier words.
That sort of encounter was a first for Lin Zihan—and thanks to Ye Zhibai’s timely arrival, it’d been nipped in the bud.
But what about next time?
Ye Zhibai hadn’t run into trouble during her own part-time days because her restaurant spot was meh—low foot traffic.
Sure, Lin Zihan was earning good money, but this was prime commercial turf. Bustling streets meant crowds… and crowds meant more idiots, more complications.
And… from what Ye Zhibai knew, there was a sketchy vocational school less than two kilometers away. Those two punks were probably students from there.
Meaning incidents like today’s weren’t flukes—they had a real chance of happening again.
More precisely, even with those risks, most people wouldn’t run into them. But Lin Zihan? Her odds were sky-high.
Why?
Because she was gorgeous!
When your looks were that outstanding, trouble found you. It might not be polite to say, but Ye Zhibai genuinely felt her friend wasn’t cut out for solo part-time work out here!
Was it because this was Ye Zhibai’s first real friend, and she treasured her?
Or maybe because Lin Zihan’s quiet rebellion against her circumstances echoed Ye Zhibai’s own past?
Or perhaps she admired how Lin Zihan had endured so much yet still chose boundless optimism and tolerance?
Whatever it was, Ye Zhibai deeply cherished and respected this girl who grinned so brightly despite her foggy future.
Her mind raced for a solution.
Lin Zihan had strong pride—straight-up handing her cash for cosmetics wouldn’t fly. She wouldn’t take it. And besides, Ye Zhibai didn’t have the guts to drop thousands in one go, even if she was something of a little rich girl now.
Letting her keep working here was risky, though. Ye Zhibai couldn’t eat out every day. How to make it safe and practical?
Suddenly—
A lightbulb went off in Ye Zhibai’s head.
She had a fun, practical idea!
A true flight of fancy!
But… to make it happen, she’d need Yun’er’s input first.
“Yun’er.”
“Here!”
“…”
Why the jump-scare?!
Look—Guang Yu’s Fishbone Pagoda had collapsed again. Third time now!
Couldn’t be helped. Yun’er had been waiting ages for her sister to call her.
You’ve been chatting with Lin Zihan for five whole minutes without sparing me a glance!
Gazing into Yun’er’s big, expectant eyes, Ye Zhibai swallowed and calmly laid out her question.
“Yun’er, I want to know—how much does the Maid Corps at home get paid?”
“Eh?”
