The boys at the table looked rather grim, especially one of the taller ones. He seemed to like the girl, and after she finished speaking, he kept staring at Xu Chun with hostility in his eyes.
"Thank you." Xu Chun, oblivious to the noise, smiled and replied before turning to leave to serve dishes to other tables.
Customers kept coming into the restaurant, and Xu Chun was busy greeting them all. She felt overwhelmed and at her wits' end when Xie Jianyuan Xu Chun appeared just in time to help her out of her predicament.
"Have you finished your orders?" Xu Chun asked, looking at him in surprise.
Xie Jianyuan nodded.
Just then, another customer called out. Xu Chun didn't have time to think and immediately threw herself into her work.
With Xie Jianyuan's help, Xu Chun's work became much easier. Just as he was talking to a customer, a sound of chopsticks being slammed suddenly came from the next table not far away.
Just then, a boy was about to explode aggressively when his female companion quickly pulled him back. Xu Chun recognized him as the girl who had said she had always liked him.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he walked over.
Seeing him approach, the taller boy's anger intensified, and he said in an unfriendly tone, "What else do you want? Are you trying to kill people with this salty dish?" As he spoke, he pushed the plate in front of him without any politeness.
Xu Chun stared at the plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes that had caused the dispute, and was slightly taken aback.
"I'm sorry. Don't listen to his nonsense, the food is delicious." The girl quickly apologized to Xu Chun, feeling embarrassed.
These words annoyed the tall boy, making him seem unreasonable in front of his crush. Although he had exaggerated, and it wasn't actually that salty—some people with a strong palate might even prefer it—he just needed an excuse to vent.
"I'm sorry," Xu Chun apologized gently, then said, "How about I get you a different one?"
The tall boy persisted, seemingly unwilling to give up easily. Xu Chun frowned slightly, pondering a solution, when a deep voice sounded behind her.
"Brother Chun, what's wrong?"
Xie Jianyuan walked over with a leisurely gait, a slight smile playing on his lips, though none of the smile reached his eyes.
Xu Chun smiled and pursed her lips, "It's nothing, just a minor accident."
Although he was reluctant to speak, the tall boy was the first to Xie Jianyuan.
"What's wrong with your dishes? You're putting salt in like it's free, aren't you?"
Xie Jianyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at him silently for a while, then smiled slightly and said in a deep voice, "Salt certainly costs money. Everyone's taste is different, and since everyone is eating it without any problems, did you give any special instructions beforehand? Naturally, we can only prepare it according to the general public's taste. If you are not satisfied, we can only replace it for you, but we will still charge you for the replacement."
He paused here, then looked at him with a smile, revealing a set of white teeth, but what he said was infuriating.
"If you need it, I can give you a 9.9% discount, what do you think?"
These words seemed flawless, but only the tall boy truly understood the bitterness behind them. His face turned pale and then flushed, and he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
"Excuse me, you can call me anytime you've decided." Xie Jianyuan smiled, then nodded politely before pulling Xu Chun away.
Xie Jianyuan didn't take Xu Chun back to the kitchen, but instead took Xu Chun to the bathroom, because there wouldn't be any cameras there.
The restroom was very quiet, and there was no one else there. After Xie Jianyuan closed the door, he pressed Xu Chun against the wall, buried his head in his shoulder, and closed his eyes slightly. The familiar scent of Xu Chun filled his nostrils, which calmed his agitated heart.
These past few days, his every move has been under the camera's scrutiny, which has made him increasingly impatient. The tall boy he just saw really irritated him, but he still held back his anger because he was on camera.
Xu Chun patted his back and asked gently, "What's wrong? Why are you like this all of a sudden?"
"Don't move," Xie Jianyuan whispered in his ear, "Just let me hold you for a little while."
Xu Chun paused for a moment, then said nothing more, remaining quietly in that position. After an unknown amount of time, Xie Jianyuan finally distanced himself from him.
Let's go.
The impatience that Xie Jianyuan had shown in his eyes earlier had disappeared, and his expression had calmed down considerably. He pushed open the door and walked out with Xu Chun.
After that, the tall boy stopped deliberately causing trouble, and Xu Chun's work returned to normal.
The busiest times of the day are around noon and in the evening. By the time we finish work in the evening, it's already past 10 p. m. By the time we get back to our accommodation, everyone is exhausted.
Xu Chun was half-reclining on the sofa, Xie Jianyuan was sitting next to him, peeling fruit for him, while Lin Li was tallying up the day's harvest.
That's equivalent to 1,342 yuan.
"Is it that amazing?" Fu He was also surprised by the huge gains.
Wen Ni, who was curling her bangs, joked upon hearing this, "Why don't we just switch jobs and do this?"
It was too early for her to say that, because business was neither good nor bad for the next few days. The first day consistently saw the highest daily revenue, but they didn't pay much attention to how much money they made each day, since they weren't really making a living from it. As long as the entertainment value was achieved, that was enough.
The online variety show took three days to film. On the day they returned home, they all booked the same flight for the same time, and a lot of fans had already gathered at the airport to welcome them.
In the days following their return to China Xu Chun and Xie Jianyuan were on set reshooting scenes they had missed. His new movie was gaining momentum, and even the director had repeatedly congratulated him. He secretly hoped that his work would one day reach the top, but he also knew that the possibility was very small, because web dramas were generally not well-regarded by professionals.