Cruelty

"Quite a rare sight, such an outdated model... Even scrap collectors wouldn’t want this, would they?" The phone shop owner, a cigarette dangling from his lips, squinted his meaty face as he examined the antique device in his hand.

Ye Shuang replied, "Price isn’t an issue. If you replace the battery, can it still turn on?"

"If it’s just the battery, then it’s manageable. Even though the model’s old, it sold well back in the day, so the batteries are rare but not impossible to find." The owner handed the phone back to Ye Shuang. "There’s important data inside, right? I can order a battery for you—leave me your number."

Ye Shuang left his contact details, paid a deposit, and walked out of the shop with the phone in hand.

Standing at the entrance, he patted his pockets and popped a candy into his mouth. "Really feels like a good time for a smoke right now."

Even so, he kept chewing the candy, letting the sweetness spread before finding a step to sit on and sorting through the tangled thoughts in his head.

"Whose number is this? If it’s someone from the Zhou family... logically, they’d use traditional characters more in texts, but I can’t rule that out either."

"Regardless, Yuyou’s kidnapping wasn’t an accident. For now, it’s better not to tell her." Ye Shuang didn’t want to hurt Bai Yuyou any further. Her life was finally improving day by day—it was best to let this brief peace last a little longer.

Shaking off his thoughts, Ye Shuang brushed nonexistent dust off his pants. For now, all he could do was wait for the flip phone to be repaired and see if there was anything else as valuable as that message inside.

After driving back to school, Ye Shuang returned to the Light Music Club’s stall, where Bai Yuyou and the others were gathered.

"Good morning, Mr. Ye!" Zhixia greeted him sweetly. "I heard you were busy with something earlier."

"Yeah, just had a few things to take care of." As he spoke, Ye Shuang noticed a certain girl standing stiffly behind the stall.

Bai Yuyou was wearing a light beige short-sleeved jacket over a white T-shirt and a plain pleated skirt—all picked out by Ye Shuang that morning. Since the school festival had no dress code, and the girl had a habit of randomly wearing his clothes, Ye Shuang often ended up styling her outfits himself.

Right now, she stood there, her face tense to the point where it almost looked like she was glaring.

"What’s this about...?"

"Yuyou said she wanted to try selling lemon tea, so she’s like this now," Tang Keke explained with a giggle.

"I see." Ye Shuang glanced over and smiled. "How many cups has she sold?"

"Eheh, none yet."

"Ah..."

Just then, two young guys approached the lemon tea stand, but after catching sight of Bai Yuyou, they exchanged a look and walked away.

"Huh? Why’d they leave?" Tang Keke craned her neck in confusion.

Soon, another customer came up. "Hi, I’d like a lemon tea, please."

Bai Yuyou gave a slight nod. "Eight..."

"How much?" The customer didn’t seem to hear her. Bai Yuyou’s lips moved again before she finally held up eight fingers.

Unsure if the message got across, she grabbed a pen and scribbled "8" on a scrap of paper.

"Never mind, forget it." The customer, unnerved by her icy demeanor, turned and left.

Bai Yuyou stood still, watching them go before quietly returning to her spot.

"It’s been like this since we started. For some reason, Yuyou’s lemon tea is unusually hard to sell," Tang Keke remarked.

"Hmm..." Ye Shuang stroked his chin.

After a moment’s thought, he walked over to Bai Yuyou, who looked a little dejected, her usual antenna-like strand of hair drooping.

"Ye Shuang... can’t sell," she murmured.

"Don’t know what to do." Her fingers fidgeted nervously, clearly at a loss.

Ye Shuang pinched her cheek lightly. "You’re trying too hard. You can’t stare at people like that."

"Too hard...?"

"Yeah." Suddenly remembering something, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a pair of plain glasses he used for his school nurse disguise.

After slipping them onto Bai Yuyou’s face, she blinked, touching the frames curiously.

"That should do it." Ye Shuang grinned. "Go on, try again."

"Oh?"

Bai Yuyou resumed selling, and this time, a few scattered customers approached. Eventually, she managed to sell her first cup.

"Success." She turned to look at him.

"Bro, why did putting on glasses suddenly work?" Tang Keke was baffled. She’d almost started wondering if Bai Yuyou had somehow offended the god of wealth in a past life.

Zhixia, however, seemed to catch on. "Mr. Ye, I think I get it. Is it because Yuyou’s too pretty?"

"Probably. Some shy guys wouldn’t dare talk to her otherwise." Ye Shuang chuckled. That was exactly what he’d thought—Bai Yuyou’s striking beauty and naturally distant aura, combined with her "icy" expression, made customers hesitate to approach.

Even those who did speak up would feel uneasy under her intense gaze and quickly leave.

"Wow, you’re amazing, bro. That makes total sense," Tang Keke said, impressed by his analysis.

Soon, Bai Yuyou relaxed completely and settled into her role as the stand’s poster girl.

Two hours later, after selling out all their stock of fragrant lemons, Bai Yuyou turned to Ye Shuang. "Ye Shuang... did it!"

"Come take a break." Ye Shuang, wearing an apron as he prepared the last cup of lemon tea, smiled warmly.

"Ye Shuang... want to walk around together." Bai Yuyou tugged at his sleeve. "Hungry."

"Alright, let’s get you something to eat." He glanced at Tang Keke and Zhixia. "You two coming?"

"Not me!"

"Same, you guys go ahead."

With that, Ye Shuang took only Bai Yuyou with him.

Since the entire street was lined with food stalls, it didn’t take long for Bai Yuyou to end up with an armful of snacks.

Watching her nibble daintily on a skewer, Ye Shuang suddenly felt that telling her the truth would be unbearably cruel.

"Made a mess again, huh?"

He pulled out a tissue, and Bai Yuyou obediently tilted her head up, eyes closed, letting him wipe her mouth.

"Ye Shuang, want some?"

"I’m not hungry."

"Oh."

After finishing the skewer, Bai Yuyou asked, "Ye Shuang, what did you do this morning?"