I Am The Third Party (GL) - Chapter 15

After more than a month, all the paperwork for the new store was finally completed.

I’d previously asked Xiao Xuewu to buy several pots of spider plants to hang in the newly renovated room. I’d heard they could purify harmful substances left behind by renovations, but I’m not sure if they work. I air them out and let them dry in the sun every day, and they’re almost clean now.

Next, I bought some soft goods. While browsing the wholesale market, I asked Lanlan and Xiao Xuewu

to come along. Lanlan immediately praised Xiao Xuewu’s elegance. After a few rounds, she realized she had a unique eye and praised her appreciation.

After a deeper conversation, we discovered we both loved the work of the same artist. We became close friends, saying we’d met too late. Along the way, they were either discussing the impact of packaging color on consumption or comparing the quality of various products from different manufacturers. They immediately put me aside and ignored me.

I wandered along, bored, casually glancing at the diverse items at the flea market.

They were just out for fun, but I was the boss, mindful of my mission: I was out to buy, not to have fun.

I’d spotted a few sets of Russian nesting dolls and a navy-style electronic blackboard with a lifebuoy and a seagull model on the side. It would be nice to write something like “Today’s Specials.” A few swing stalls would also be nice.

Lanlan looked back, thinking I’d wandered off. She saw me haggling with a vendor and then remembered she’d been shopping with me, engrossed in chatting with Xiao Xuewu and neglecting me. Feeling a little guilty, she offered to help me pick out some decorative paintings at the gallery.

She frequented the gallery, knew the owner well, and could get a discount, so I gladly accepted.

After a long day of shopping, the three of us found a fast-food restaurant for dinner.

Lanlan went to the restroom, and I slipped across to Xiao Xuewu, pulled out the white ribbon the unknown chairman of the art center had given her that day, and asked her to carry it over. I smoothed her light brown curly hair and tied a small flower with it. I held it in my hand and weighed it; it was beautiful.

She touched the small white flower with her hand and blinked, “What is this?”

“I’m giving you a white ribbon. It will look good on you.”

Xiao Xuewu’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she smiled faintly. She looked at me with a questioning look, not knowing why.

I opened my eyes wide and said very seriously, “This ribbon has a great origin. It was given to me by a mysterious big boss. I thought of you when I saw it. Don’t you use white ribbons to tie your hair? Look how beautiful it is. It will suit you very well.”

“Ah?” Xiao Xuewu was startled. She looked a little flustered and a little embarrassed. She hurriedly untied the small flower, took off the ribbon, twisted it around her fingers twice and handed it back to me, saying seriously, “No, I can’t have this.”

I sighed and pushed it to her, “What’s wrong with not having it? Why are you being so polite to me!”

“I’m not being polite. Boss, this was given to you by someone else. How can I take it?” Xiao Xuewu frowned and said in a hurry.

“Well, I’m giving it to you now. Make the most of it. You’ll be fine with it, but I won’t need it.”

“Boss,” she put down her chopsticks, her face drooping, a serious expression on her face. “You should keep the things people give you, instead of just passing them on. Aren’t you letting them down? Besides, I wouldn’t feel happy using a gift someone gave you.”

Yeah, why didn’t I think of that?

Most people wouldn’t like someone else giving them a gift as a gift, right?

Oh, what a terrible thing I did.

I was so focused on the fact that this thing would suit Xiao Xuewu, and that she’d definitely find it useful, that I just gave it to her without hesitation. Unexpectedly…

“I’m sorry, Xuewu, I didn’t mean anything else. I just thought it really suited you…”

“It’s okay, it’s no big deal, boss, please don’t be so,” Xiao Xuewu smiled, picking up her chopsticks and continuing to eat. “It’s okay with me. I just hope you don’t let others down.”

Okay, I get it. This silly girl probably thought this ribbon was another token of love from one of my blind dates, and she kept telling me not to let this one down.

It seems my image in Xiao Xuewu’s eyes has been completely ruined after our last blind date at Xianhu Park.

“Boss, you don’t need to use it to tie your hair. You can do this,”

Xiao Xuewu suddenly said. I looked down and saw her wrapping the slender white ribbon around my pinky finger.

The soft, delicate touch and the cool warmth of her fingers echoed as the ribbon slowly spiraled from the base of my finger to the second knuckle, finally transforming into a tiny butterfly.

“It’s so beautiful,” I couldn’t help but admire Xiao Xuewu’s deft hand.

Such a tiny, snow-white bow, with two long tails swaying gently, it could soar against the wind with just a gentle breeze.

“So,” Xiao Xuewu slowly raised her head and gave me a serene smile, “we’re destined to be together.”

Destined to be together…

I stared at the tiny butterfly, stunned.

Lanlan returned with her bag, and I quickly sat back down in my old seat, subconsciously hiding the hand holding the tiny butterfly.

It was already dark after dinner, and Lanlan’s boyfriend came to pick her up and give us a ride home.

“Thank you, you guys go ahead. I can go home by myself,” Xiao Xuewu smiled, tucking her hair away.

“Ah, you’re a girl, how unsafe it is! I’d be nice to take you home,” Lanlan said, worriedly.

But Xiao Xuewu insisted, “It’s okay. My home isn’t far away. I want to walk to digest my food first, then take the bus back. There are so many people on the street, don’t worry.”

Lanlan and I tried to persuade her, but to no avail, we just let her go.

Come to think of it, I really don’t know where Xiao Xuewu lives.

At HKUST, she said she lived in an apartment, but I never asked where it was. I always assumed it was near HKUST, but now it seems it’s not.

———————

Three days later, the new shop officially opened!

Wearing my custom-made apron, I stood in the workshop, looking out with a smile.

There were quite a few customers, mostly young people.

The new girls and boys we hired were also very capable and motivated. Everything was going in a good direction, thriving, and I was heading towards a bright future!

Except…

“Okay, one cup of milk foam, one cup of kumquat lemon, a total of eighty-three yuan, this is the change, please keep it. Little fairy! One cup of milk foam, one cup of kumquat!”

I resisted the urge of the bl00d vessels in my forehead to throb, and shook the stirring stick fiercely in the mixing cup, “How long are you going to make trouble here?”

Qi Xi fell back, leaned against the window, grinned at me, and the reflection of his two fangs blinded my fairy eyes, “I’m working for you, how can it be called working?”

“Oh my god,” I rolled my eyes, opened the lid of the coffee grinder, and scooped coffee beans from the jar with a long-handled spoon, “You work for me, the more you hit me, the poorer I will be.”

Clang-

the sliding window was suddenly opened.

“You, you, what are you going to do, I tell you Qi Xi, this is a public place, don’t act like a spoiled child, if you dare to hit someone, I will call the police!”

Qi Xi reached out and pinched my chin, and said fiercely, “If you make another noise, I will throw you out.”

Um-

I shut up immediately.

I haven’t forgotten how this storefront came about.

If I want to continue working here, I have to take good care of this big Buddha.

Oh, it’s true that when you live under someone’s eaves, you have to bow your head.

Just as I was sighing, the door was opened, and a person I was very familiar with walked in from the door of the store.

“Dad! Why are you here!” I hurriedly took off my apron, opened the door and ran out of the workshop. When Qi Xi heard me call, he turned his head to look at the door and was stunned for a moment.