Around four in the afternoon, when it was hottest and most stifling outside, the coffee shop had only two customers—both had ordered coffee and were sitting there reading.
Although Yang Yi had told her she could do her own things during slow times, Ding Xiang, on her first day of work, refused to read. Even with no customers coming in, she sat primly behind the counter, her back ramrod straight.
Yang Yi glanced at his watch, put away the book in his hand, stood up from the sofa, and stretched. He walked to the counter and said to Ding Xiang, "It's about time. I'll go bring the sign in. You can tidy up and head back too."
"This early?" Ding Xiang asked in surprise.
Who runs a coffee shop that opens at nearly eleven in the morning and closes at just past four in the afternoon? That even included a two-hour break in the middle for lunch...
Ding Xiang had been planning to work here tonight as well, brewing a few more cups of coffee to gain experience!
Yang Yi smiled faintly and said, "My daughter gets out of school at half past five, so I need to go pick her up from kindergarten early."
That might count as an explanation.
"Then when should I come in to work tonight?" Ding Xiang asked softly, calculating in her mind that she needed to hurry back for dinner and a shower, then change into different clothes before returning.
She didn't have many suitable outfits, but in her wardrobe, neatly folded, was a small uniform of a white shirt and black dress pants—something her senior, Mao Peifu, had insisted on buying for her when she dragged Ding Xiang along to promote bank credit cards, essentially getting people to sign up for cards.
It wasn't expensive, about two hundred yuan for the set. Ding Xiang had been reluctant to wear it, planning to save it for job interviews in her senior year.
Now that she was working at the coffee shop, she had to consider the boss's image—no, wait, the boss seemed to have no image in his shorts and slippers anyway—but she still needed to dress decently to show a proper work attitude.
"Tonight? We're not open at night," Yang Yi said matter-of-factly.
"Huh? Not open at night either?" Ding Xiang was genuinely confused.
"It's not just at night. Whenever I'm busy, I might not open for the whole day, but I'll call to let you know then." Ding Xiang had left her dormitory phone number earlier, and Yang Yi smiled, adding, "Oh, and I forgot to mention, weekends are off too. You can arrange your own time."
Ding Xiang didn't even know how she made it back to her dorm. Her mind was a bit dazed, and it took her a while to snap out of it.
Was this part-time job a little too strange?
Forgetting about dinner, Ding Xiang hurried out of the dorm again and went to the male dormitory area. Amid the odd looks from a bunch of guys, she called Guo Ziyi out.
"...Working five days a week, less than five hours a day, and sometimes I can't come because you have classes—let's say two days—so roughly three days, fifteen hours a week, sixty hours a month. I work sixty hours and get a salary of four thousand yuan?" Ding Xiang nervously voiced her doubts. "Brother Yang, why is he paying me so much? His coffee shop doesn't even make much money, right?"
Guo Ziyi listened for a while before understanding Ding Xiang's concern. He held back a laugh, patted her shoulder like a buddy, and said, "Relax, senior. I told you, Brother Yang has more money than he knows what to do with. You don't even know—his main gig isn't running a shop; he's a novelist. Who knows how much he makes from writing!"
"But I can't take that much money from him!" Ding Xiang felt uneasy, as if she hadn't really helped much.
"It's fine. Brother Yang runs the shop for the vibe. Just work hard, help him out more, and give him time to enjoy his free time. Then the salary he pays you is worth it!" Guo Ziyi's insight was pretty sharp.
Ding Xiang fell silent. Guo Ziyi's words gave her an idea.
Why did she have to think about whether Brother Yang should pay her that much? Why not think about how she could make herself worth that four-thousand-yuan salary?
One of her economics professors had once said, "An employee's value isn't in their inherent ability, but in how much benefit they can create for the company!"
Ding Xiang needed to step up her game.
...
That evening, Yang Yi picked up Xixi from kindergarten. She was still fixated on wanting to go play at her mom's workplace like the day before.
"No, your mom is working hard—recording songs and resting. We can't disturb her at a time like this!" Yang Yi explained seriously to Xixi.
That morning, Mo Fei had complained about Yang Yi for a long time, saying he'd wrecked her voice and that she'd never let him do anything like that again.
To keep Mo Fei from worrying about her album recording, Yang Yi had to soothe his daughter. This time, they really couldn't bother Mo Fei.
"Alright then, we'll wait until the weekend to play with Mommy and have a barbecue together." Xixi was still very obedient.
Yang Yi smiled wryly and said, "Barbecue is fine—for you and your friends—but your mom can't have barbecue either! She needs to watch her diet and take care of her voice during this time."
Xixi was a bit disappointed, but the little girl's attention was caught by another topic her dad brought up. She tapped her head with a look of regret and said, "Oh, Xixi forgot to tell Daddy! Lots of people want to come play at Daddy's house!"
The little girl sat cross-legged on the carpet, counting on her fingers: "There's Chen Shiyun, Qiqi, Xin'er, Nan Zhaoyu..."
Besides Xixi's four best little friends, there were other kids who got along well with her, and they all wanted to come.
"Oh, I can't keep track—how many is it?" Xixi finished counting on both hands and got confused.
"Twelve in total!" Yang Yi said with a gentle smile.
"Daddy's so amazing! He remembers everything." Xixi looked at her dad with admiration and envy.
Yang Yi laughed heartily and said, "It's actually simple. You silently count ten numbers in your head, from one to ten, then loop back and keep going..."
He started explaining the decimal system to his daughter, though he wasn't sure if the little girl could understand.
...
In this world, some people were immersed in petting cats, some in gaming, and some did nothing but soak in every moment with their daughter.
That was this guy. Yang Yi, who hadn't checked his email in days, couldn't recall what he'd forgotten at all.
"Ahhh! Duren, do you think I've been scammed? I sent him three million, and he hasn't responded in days!" In the Ju family mansion, Ju Jie was frantically asking his agent and go-to advisor.
"Jie, that three-million-yuan remittance hasn't even been withdrawn yet. How could it be a scam? If it's not claimed within half a month, it'll be returned to the original account!" Duren comforted Ju Jie, though inwardly he sighed: Now you're worried about the money, but you didn't consult me when you rushed to send it.
In this world, remittance slips could indeed be cashed without the original document.
Ju Jie's face lit up with a smile. "Oh, right, I get it. Maybe Mu Zi'ang forgot to check his email. He might be preparing a response too, who knows."
"Hmm," Duren nodded.
He sighed inwardly: "I hope this time we can really buy Mu Zi'ang's songs. With some maneuvering, maybe we can push Ju Jie forward. This guy's too useless. Last time, when Mo Fei made a comeback and had some buzz, I told him to ride that wave, but it had no effect at all. He just doesn't know how to seize opportunities!"
Duren had brains and ambition. He wasn't content to just be a mediocre agent for Ju Jie.
Since he was in it, he wanted to make something happen—otherwise, how could he show off his talent?