Since he wasn't going to look at apartments with his sister-in-law, Yang Yi returned to the coffee shop. The big red notice seemed to have some effect—a pretty female student came in to buy coffee, saw the notice, and eagerly approached Yang Yi.
"Boss, are you really hiring here?" the pretty student asked excitedly. "My name is Zhou Yu. Can I apply?"
Yang Yi lifted his eyelids, glanced at her, and nodded with a faint "Mm."
"So, boss, what do you think of me? I guarantee I'll attract more customers to your coffee shop!" Zhou Yu said, using her slender fingers to brush a strand of hair from her temple, casting a flirtatious wink at Yang Yi.
The commotion caught the attention of nearby customers at two tables. A girl curled her lips in disdain, while a guy's eyes lit up, unable to resist sneaking glances at Zhou Yu's slender figure.
Yang Yi sized her up, but his expression remained unchanged as he said flatly, "Not much."
Zhou Yu froze, her fingers still stuck by her ear, forgetting to lower them.
How could a man be so indifferent to her flirtation? Zhou Yu was, after all, the campus beauty of her college, a title voted on by her peers.
"Why not?" Zhou Yu asked, unwilling to give up.
"Look at the hiring notice. I need someone skilled in manual coffee brewing. Can you do that?" Yang Yi asked.
Zhou Yu nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course, I can make coffee. Isn't it just tearing open a packet, pouring it into a cup, adding hot water, and stirring? So simple!"
Yang Yi stared at her impassively, while someone nearby couldn't help but snicker.
"Did I say something wrong?" Zhou Yu turned to look at that person, annoyed.
"Of course you did!" It was a girl who wasn't about to let Zhou Yu off easy. She lifted her chin proudly and said, "The boss means grinding coffee beans and brewing coffee, not your instant coffee powder! We come here for the boss's handmade coffee. Who'd want to drink your instant stuff?"
Zhou Yu was fuming. She stomped her foot and turned back to Yang Yi. "Fine, boss, even if I was wrong, I don't have to do that. I could help you carry the finished coffee to the tables."
If she had said she was willing to learn, Yang Yi might have thought better of her. But Zhou Yu's overall demeanor struck him as frivolous, as if she wanted the job not to work but to experience life, to get a taste of being a waitress for the novelty.
So Yang Yi ignored her pitiful, pleading expression and shook his head. "Sorry, Miss Zhou, please go."
The rejection was clean and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. Zhou Yu felt humiliated, stomped her foot again, and tossed out a parting shot before turning to leave: "Hmph, looking down on people. I'm never coming back!"
Yang Yi didn't even glance at her retreating figure. He stood calmly behind the counter, wiping a cup.
A few customers began chatting with interest. One pretty girl, as if empathizing, said to her companion with a hint of lingering fear, "The boss is so harsh!"
"He's a bit harsh, but he's not mean to women. He's just sticking to his principles. I think it's kind of cool!" her companion replied with a grin.
Yang Yi paid no attention to their chatter. As he wiped the cups, he pondered whether he should hire regular employees. College students probably wouldn't stick around long, and if they were all like Zhou Yu, treating it as a game, he'd end up with not an employee to lighten his load but a master to serve.
Just like the three little British Shorthairs at his feet—they were the real little masters!
Usually, Xixi would play with them around the shop, but now that she was at kindergarten, the three little ones could only pester Yang Yi. At that moment, they were gnawing on his slippers.
But Yang Yi knew how to handle them. He pulled a fluffy ball of yarn from his pocket and gave it a shake, instantly catching the attention of the three little creatures.
"Go on!" Yang Yi said with a slight smile, rolling the yarn ball out from behind the counter.
In an instant, the three dazed little ones transformed from stillness to motion. Little Gray was the most eager, leaping out in a bound. Duoduo and Xiaoguai weren't far behind, and the three blue figures scurried after the yarn ball.
...
*Prison Break* was in the midst of a heated serialization. From the previous day's chapters, readers had learned through Michael's nighttime yard meeting with his brother Lincoln that Michael had gotten himself imprisoned to rescue his brother.
The update from yesterday was intense enough. Through a series of clever schemes, Michael had even manipulated the former gang boss, now prison kingpin John Abruzzi, to get himself assigned to work in the prison factory, giving him a chance to get close to and cooperate with his brother!
Today's chapter, while lacking explosive moments, still stunned readers.
"You've seen the prison's structural blueprint?" Lincoln asked, surprised but still skeptical.
When Lincoln turned to see what Michael was doing, he was shocked to find Michael lifting his shirt. His once clean, fair torso was now covered in intricate tattoos.
"I've done more than just see it!" Michael said, a hint of pride curling his lips. "I've drawn it on my body!"
The chapter ended there, but readers were treated to a new illustration: Michael facing Lincoln, a smug smile on his face, his bare torso covered in deep blue tattoos that looked like a second skin.
This was the first time the front tattoos had been revealed to the public!
But what excited readers most was that the long-puzzling tattoos had finally unveiled their purpose.
They were the prison's structural blueprint!
The detail-obsessed fans were already cheering triumphantly: "See? See? We said back in August that Yang Yi's drawings weren't random—they had meaning, didn't they? All those who claimed it was just a gimmick, eat your words!"
But at that moment, few were paying attention to these fans, who hadn't really deduced much anyway.
In the book review section, readers were debating: how could these tattoos be seen as a prison blueprint?
Some busybodies had extracted both the front and back tattoos using zoom and screenshot tools, posting them in the review section for engineering students to analyze.
Yet even the top students were baffled: "I can't see it. Where's the blueprint?"
Some even took these images to university professors and experts for study, but no answers came quickly.
"Such intricate patterns—how could you mere mortals see through them at a glance?" someone defended Yang Yi, adding a reasonable point: "If it were that easy to spot, Michael would have been forced to remove the tattoos before entering prison, right?"
Yes, if that were the case, the story would be over.
Regardless, *Prison Break*'s serialization popularity had already surpassed *The Undercover*. It wasn't just limited to Qiyue's web novel readers—more and more people were being recommended to read *Prison Break* on Qiyue, diving in and unable to stop.
"Indeed, the only one who can beat Yang Yi is Yang Yi himself!" a reader joked.