pjbooks Chapter 21 Enduring the bitterest of hardships
Chapter 21 Enduring the bitterest of hardships
The roller skating rink on the fifth floor of the commercial building.
Here, Yunshang felt at home. She learned that the manager of the building was an uncle from her own family. This relationship was enough to give her many special treatments in the building.
That beautiful flower that Song Ge once licked like a dog, even though she was older than Yun Shang, still addressed her as Sister Yun. The difference in their levels meant that such competition between females would never happen to her. Even if they had the desire to compete, at most they would treat each other with respect and have little contact.
Xu Kai faced a lot of scrutiny and hostile gazes, but he remained calm and looked at Yun Shang, who was like a big sister. Both her posture and her roller skating skills shone brightly in this environment.
"Are you tired? How about you take a rest?"
Responding to Yunshang's concern, Xu Kai nodded gently and sat down in the chair next to her.
While skating, his technique was average. He was led by the hand by Yunshang, who was still easily controlling the backward skating posture. The latter's high spirits and his indifferent appearance gave people a strong psychological suggestion.
Xu Kai sat down to rest for a while, then got up and went to the bar to buy two bottles of soda. He put on a straw, returned to his seat, and waited for Yun Shang to come and hand them to him. The subtle hint conveyed the impression that this guy was Yun Shang's gigolo.
In this era, there aren't as many specific terms. "Pretty boy" is almost synonymous with "puppy dog" or "gold digger," representing a situation where the woman is stronger than the man. Plus, some people have heard that Xu Kai is indeed young, his family background seems to be poor, he's tall, doesn't have many flamboyant personal characteristics, has a buzz cut and no personality, but his skin is in great condition, without a single pimple. So this is the type Yunshang likes. Look how obedient he is, how well he takes care of Yunshang.
Xu Kai realized it, but he didn't care. He simply accepted the girl's strong youthful feelings for him in a natural way.
Where is Yunshang?
The young girl's slight arrogance was satisfied; she felt Xu Kai was being considerate of her feelings on purpose, otherwise, this guy wasn't so innocent at all. Since he's willing and likes it, of course I'll cooperate.
Xu Kai sat in a chair, while Yun Shang stood in front of him, wearing four-wheeled roller skates, making her even taller. The scene, with one standing and the other sitting, presented a superior perspective to onlookers.
Holding a handkerchief, Yunshang carefully wiped the sweat from Xu Kai's hairline, temples, and cheeks.
See that? This kid is Yunshang's kept pretty boy.
Yunshang stretched out her hand: "Want to play a little longer? I'll teach you how to slide backwards?"
Xu Kai was led by the other person's hand, got up again, and let Yunshang lead him, and started skating again in the oval area.
[So Yunshang likes this kind of thing. That pretty boy is really lucky; he got a bite of something delicious and soft.]
The two of them were unaware of what others were thinking, and even if Xu Kai knew, he wouldn't care. If he knew that because of this reason, those hostile gazes had turned into mockery, pity, and disdain, he would be even more willing to accept it.
What others think is unimportant. What's most comfortable for me is to reduce trouble. Those boring troubles are just youthful folly and restlessness, which are laughable no matter how you look at them. Even if Xu Kai tries to integrate, his mature mind, which has already gone through growth, simply cannot pull himself back to the values of his immature years.
That's good.
He also enjoyed the care that Yunshang took the initiative to provide. She thought of him as the priority in almost everything and took care of his feelings. His emotional tolerance, which was a natural instinct due to his age, was exactly what girls like Yunshang craved.
She has both emotional security and the comfort of not having to change herself, and Xu Kai's "mischievous behavior" that is far beyond his age can also bring her surprises from time to time.
Initially, I was attracted by Xu Kai's performance on the basketball court; it was purely his appearance. At Yunshang's age, she wouldn't think too much about anything else. I was drawn to his looks and physique, so I took the initiative.
As we spent time together, we were constantly pleasantly surprised.
After having enough fun, Yunshang changed her shoes and went to the bar to buy a pack of Huazi cigarettes. Many people saw her hand it to Xu Kai, who accepted it without refusing, which made those staring at her even more disdainful. Amidst their envy, jealousy, and hatred, they couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks: "Looks decent enough, but is spineless at heart. He's quite tall but has no shame."
The two went to a restaurant for dinner. Yunshang enjoyed watching Xu Kai eat, as he ate with relish.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What might seem like a slightly vulgar way of eating to other men was seen as real by Xu Kai. His height, his physique, his strength—it was the powerful impact of his hormones.
After going out together several times, Yunshang began to get to know Xu Kai. After ordering the food, she immediately went to pay the bill.
She was vying to pay the bill earlier, and when she made eye contact with Xu Kai, she read the meaning in his eyes: Isn't it pointless to fight over something like this?
Yunshang wanted to give Xu Kai a pager, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Xu Kai just smiled at her and then firmly shook his head. She didn't mention it again after that.
Xu Kai didn't refuse to spend money like he was doing now. He liked to let things happen naturally and not deliberately. He kept it in mind. As a man, he still had his own principles. He was doing what he could afford now. When he made money, he would repay the two of them with gifts. Every extra penny Yunshang spent would be returned to him double.
"I can stay out a little later during the three Christmas days, how about we go out and have some fun?"
These days, celebrating Western holidays is quite popular. Even the government sometimes sets off fireworks along the riverbank at night to further intensify the festive atmosphere.
Xu Kai shook his head: "Go have fun, I'll make it up to you later. I'll spend a good time with you. I need to earn money for those three days."
Yunshang blinked her big eyes: "It's so cold outside, will your goods sell well?"
"We don't sell those."
"Then I'll go with you."
Xu Kai used one sentence to perfectly dispel the other party's idea of risking her life to accompany him, and also poured a big bowl of sweetness into Yunshang's heart.
"I can't bear to see you freezing with me. Even if you were willing, I'd much rather you always be beautiful and charming between us. Would you really want to make my heart ache?"
Although Yunshang was in the stage of being deeply in love, she was actually a little hesitant to be too proactive and enthusiastic. Xu Kai's offensive firepower was too fierce, and some indescribable strong willpower restrained her, making her ensure that she could control the other party's offensive.
If you put in a little effort and relax even slightly, that guy will dare to launch a full-scale attack and plunder. He arrogantly asked why the other party was so skilled at unbuttoning the last layer of his clothes, and only after a little unreasonable behavior was he barely able to stop his behavior, which was not only directed at the other party but also at himself.
Hey!
Sigh.
In fact, after his rebirth, Xu Kai did not smoke and had no addiction. In addition, he was used to smoking thick cigarettes and found the current cigarettes too pungent, so he basically stopped smoking them. Occasionally, when someone offered him a cigarette, he would pretend to take a few puffs, but not actually inhale them, and then put out the remaining half of the cigarette.
Faced with this situation, at the age of "rising sun" with such vigor, he didn't deliberately cross his legs to suppress or hide it like a big boy, nor did he feel that it was shameful for such a state to be discovered and seen between the two of them.
He didn't hide it from Yunshang, and after blushing a few times, she gradually got used to it.
The taste of Hua Zi cigarettes is still acceptable; at least they are worth the price. I light one up to calm my emotions.
Yunshang was unsure how to handle the situation, and her naivety became apparent. The only option she could do was to distance herself from Xu Kai slightly and avoid provoking him further until he calmed down on his own.
"Don't worry, once I get to college, it'll all be yours."
The awkward and subtle atmosphere lasted for a while. When Xu Kai dropped Yunshang off near her home, the words she left behind made him grit his teeth in anger: "Damn it, my rebirth point was wrong. This is a bit awkward."
Yunshang smiled brightly at his discomfiture. Her usual bossy demeanor wasn't because she liked it; it was because she had no peers around her and was always being fawned over. She could only maintain the image of a leader among her peers. After all, she loved excitement and fun deep down. Otherwise, she could have easily adopted an icy, aloof beauty to deter those who approached her.
In her time with Xu Kai, she experienced the joy of being a little girl.
………………
"Hey bro, have a cigarette."
"Brother, come on, let's get another one."
"Hey vendor selling hot soy milk, give me two cups. Brother, it's cold, have something hot to warm you up."
While Xu Kai was complimenting him, his hands were busy doing other things.
He chose to go to the largest fruit wholesale market in the city before dawn on December 22nd. Taking into account the current weather conditions, price increases, and the freshness of the fruit, he chose the 22nd.
Wholesale doesn't offer much choice.
He showered him with compliments, offered him cigarettes one after another, and showered him with flattery and praise. In return, he received apples that he could select to some extent.
Arriving early enough and buying enough is also a reason why the boss tolerates his little tricks.
Between carefully selecting items and trying every possible way to lower the price, most vendors prefer to lower the price. Xu Kai chose quality and ignored the price, which gave the boss a good impression.
He borrowed his third uncle's tricycle and even took two days off from evening self-study to practice riding it. At least he learned how to ride it.
As he pushed his cart full of apples out of the wholesale market, he gave up on riding a bicycle. It was difficult to control. This cart of Fuji apples represented half of his capital. In the dead of winter, if he were to overturn the cart, even if he didn't suffer any losses, the value of the apples would be significantly reduced after the bumps and knocks.
He investigated and found that there is currently no widespread concept of gift-wrapping "peace apples" (apples symbolizing good fortune). Some merchants have the idea of selecting some of the best-looking ones and selling them individually to students, who then buy wrapping paper to wrap them themselves and give them as gifts to the people they want to give them to on December 24th.
Before dawn, the north wind howled, blowing up the snow that had accumulated during the first half of the night. The snowflakes hit my face like grit, causing a slight pain mixed with the biting cold. I couldn't open my eyes. My cotton hat and neck warmer quickly frosted over due to the alternating hot and cold breaths, and even my eyelashes frosted over. The coldness caused tears to well up in my eyes, making the texture of the frost even more vivid.
Fortunately, being strong is never a bad thing.
Even if you can't ride the tricycle, you can still push it. It's manageable, and the weight is within an acceptable range. However, occasionally when pushing the tricycle over some bad sections of road, the snow on the ground is not completely frozen, and the tricycle gets stuck in the snow. Every time you push it, you need to use many times more force.
I hadn't experienced this kind of hardship for many years, so I was a little unaccustomed to it at first, but I quickly adjusted.
In this era, at this age, and with this family, if you can't even bear to endure hardship, how can you expect to earn more money than you would by working a regular job?