Night draped over the city, with lights flickering between the buildings.
The moon hid behind a veil of thin clouds, casting a hazy glow.
Even on a summer night, the breeze from the alley carried a slight chill. Ye Chuan, dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of the narrow lane and into a bustling food street.
Stalls lined both sides, with crowds of customers and scooters weaving through the middle, creating a lively, noisy atmosphere.
Ye Chuan navigated through the crowd until he reached the very end—where a familiar girl stood in front of a barbecue stall. She wore a school uniform and an oil-stained apron, her slender fingers deftly flipping skewers over the grill. Smoke swirled around her, but her bright, lively eyes still shone like gems.
The aroma of grilled meat, cumin, and charcoal smoke made Ye Chuan pause and inhale deeply. "Smells good."
Hearing his voice, the ponytailed girl behind the grill looked up, her eyes lighting up. "Ah, Chuan! Come quick, I’m swamped!"
Ye Chuan glanced inside—about a dozen small tables were nearly all occupied.
"Where’s Uncle?" he asked, noticing Luo Xi was alone. Usually, two people ran the stall. Handling the rush alone would be impossible.
"He had an emergency, so it’s just me today," Luo Xi said with a pitiful look, clasping her hands together and sticking out her tongue playfully. "Please, my dear best friend?"
"Call me ‘Dad’ first."
Ye Chuan took her place at the grill, tying on an apron and sleeves before getting to work. With him handling the skewers, Luo Xi could finally tend to the customers.
"It’s not like I haven’t called you that before," Luo Xi muttered, then dashed off when a customer shouted for beer. "Coming—!"
The rush was heavier than Ye Chuan expected. Luo Xi barely stopped moving between tables, while he stood at the grill, his face glistening with grease from the smoke. Still, he worked silently without complaint.
A sudden coolness touched his cheek. He turned to see Luo Xi wiping his face and neck with a clean, chilled towel.
"Towel’s been in the freezer. Feels good, right?" she said cheerfully, grinning as she dabbed away his sweat.
Once his face was clean, Ye Chuan felt some of the heat fade. "Get me a soda."
"On it!" Luo Xi grabbed a glass bottle of cola from the cooler, stuck in a straw, and handed it to him. "Here, drink up."
Ye Chuan took a long sip—like a burst of ice on a scorching day, it instantly refreshed him.
"Hey, save some for me!" Luo Xi protested as the bottle visibly emptied.
"Open another one," Ye Chuan said without turning. The small bottle wasn’t even enough for him.
"No way, this comes out of my allowance!"
Hearing that, Ye Chuan glanced at the nearly finished soda and handed it back. "Here, you cheapskate."
"Save where you should, spend where you must." Luo Xi swayed slightly with her hands on her hips. "Hmph, and since you're not in good health, I was planning to use all my saved-up pocket money to get you treated."
Ye Chuan simply smiled in response.
After the rush hour passed, Ye Chuan glanced at the girl beside him, who was sipping her cola in small, noisy gulps, and asked, "Do you have plans tomorrow?"
"What's up?"
"I want you to come with me to the mall. I need to buy a few things," Ye Chuan said. After all, he had to get some items for Bai Qianshuang, and bringing a girl along would make it easier—especially since he needed to buy undergarments and such. It wasn’t like she could wear the same piece of fabric forever.
"Since you came to help out today, I’ll humor you," Luo Xi said with a cat-like grin, nudging Ye Chuan with her elbow. "Hey, Chuan, I found this hidden gem of a restaurant with a couple’s deal—one person eats free."
"We’re not a couple."
"Just pretend!" Luo Xi pointed at her own face. "With someone as cute as me, you’re not losing out. So many guys at school ask me out, and I turn them all down."
"Call me ‘Daddy,’ and I’ll consider it," Ye Chuan teased.
"Ugh—"
As Ye Chuan and Luo Xi bantered, a group of four or five rowdy-looking guys approached, accompanied by two skinny girls who looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks, draped over their arms. But in the night market, such "cool kids" were a dime a dozen.
"Boss, order up!" one of them yelled as they plopped down at a table.
"Coming!" Luo Xi, spotting customers, grabbed a menu and walked over.
"What would you like?" she asked.
The leader of the group eyed Luo Xi up and down, stroking his chin and sticking out his tongue with a sleazy grin. "Hey, cutie, which school do you go to? How about adding me on WeChat? We can hang out sometime."
"What would you like to order? I’m still in school and don’t have a phone," Luo Xi replied with a forced smile, clearly used to this kind of attention.
"Two pork skewers, one leek skewer, and a can of beer. You guys don’t add any ‘special ingredients,’ do you? If it tastes bad, I’ll report you," the guy said as Luo Xi jotted it down.
After a pause, Luo Xi noticed they weren’t ordering more and asked, "Anything else?"
"We’re just sampling. If it’s good, we’ll order more," he said, waving his hand and grinning. "Not like we’re broke! You stick around, and we’ll order more."
"Sure, got it," Luo Xi replied flatly, then returned to Ye Chuan’s side by the fridge to grab the ingredients after seeing the group of six or seven people only ordered three skewers and one beer.
Soon, Ye Chuan finished grilling, but instead of letting Luo Xi deliver it, he carried the plate over himself.
Setting it down, he glanced at the guys, noticing their eyes glued to Luo Xi’s legs. His expression remained blank as he picked up the ice-cold beer. "Gentlemen, want me to open this for you?"
"Whoa, pour it up!" The leader puffed up with misplaced pride at the offer, clicking his tongue and drumming his fingers on the table, legs crossed.
Ye Chuan smiled—then, in the next second, crushed the beer can in his hand with a loud POP!
Beer splattered everywhere, nearly drenching the group.
"What the—?!" The sudden move sent them scrambling back in shock.
"Ah, my bad—squeezed a little too hard and accidentally popped it," Ye Chuan said before tossing another beer onto the table. "Open it yourselves."
The guys exchanged glances, running their fingers over the dented can before looking back at Ye Chuan.