Chapter 71: Wonderful Ideas
At this point, Ye Zhibai roughly understood the reason why Lin Zihan needed to take on a part-time job.
Ah~~ The tender years of youth—during this time, there’s always the courage and resolve to pack your bags and set off on a whim, all for some small, spontaneous goal.
Hadn’t Ye Zhibai herself done the same?
Thinking back to her previous life, she had also taken on an extra job just to buy something relatively expensive.
What did she buy?
Well, of course, it was a birthday cake that she could gift herself for her upcoming birthday!
Looking back on it now… Ye Zhibai could only feel a cold chill in her heart.
Just imagine! Sitting alone with a deluxe birthday cake, singing “Happy Birthday” to yourself, clapping along to keep the beat, then blowing out the candles—what kind of heart-wrenching, hellish scene is that?!
And the worst part is, the leftover cake from the first day became her meal for the next day, only this time, she couldn’t sing “Happy Birthday” again. That thought alone made it even more pitiful.
Cough cough… Got a little off track!
This was about Lin Zihan after all, and Ye Zhibai had momentarily gotten carried away with empathy.
She almost teared up!
Shaking her head to dispel those tragic memories, She looked up and noticed that Lin Zihan, across from her, was also shaking her head, seemingly reflecting on life.
Lin Zihan responded, “Separated by a single street, but it feels like two different worlds. I’m on this side of the street, you’re on the other. Who would’ve thought that I’d run over here to work and end up meeting Xiaobai? The world works in mysterious ways.”
Ye Zhijun helpfully reminded her: “Speak normally. At least say something carbon-based life forms can understand.”
“Okay, okay~ I was just saying, look at that road outside. My family’s flower shop is on that road, and over there, the real estate is much cheaper, so the wages are low too. But just one street over, the wages here nearly double!”
Well, that was quite a vivid way to put it.
But, it’s true…
Life is like a street—you never know when you’ll be standing on this side, and you never know when you’ll suddenly find yourself on the other.
Ye Zhibai and Lin Zihan were two examples.
They were practically racing back and forth across the pedestrian crossings of life, hopping between poverty and wealth!
But that didn’t stop Lin Zihan from getting a part-time job and bumping into Ye Zhibai.
Thinking about this, Ye Zhibai smiled inwardly.
Feeling good, she took a bite of fish and handed the picked-out bones to Guang Yu, allowing her to continue her divine architectural pursuits.
Afterward, Ye Zhibai asked a more practical question.
“So… working here for the summer, will you be able to save enough to buy what you need?”
“I’ve already calculated it. The part-time wage here is 210 yuan a day, which is pretty high! If I work the full month, I’ll save enough with plenty to spare, and I can even relax a bit in the second month and get ready for university. It’s a very fulfilling plan.”
“……”
Don’t be fooled by how confidently Lin Zihan was calculating on her fingers.
Ye Zhibai, on the other hand, was a bit shocked!
Over 200 yuan a day?!
This was for a part-time job, sister! A part-time job! Not some full-time, contracted position!
Why did I only earn 60 yuan a day when I worked part-time?!
Well, people’s opportunities in life are never the same.
To be fair, it was because the Ye family was wealthy enough to offer such high wages to even temporary workers.
While Ye Zhibai was busy feeling a little imbalanced inside, Lin Zihan suddenly stood up and flashed Ye Zhibai a serious, grateful smile.
Don’t smile—it’s kind of dazzling, especially with that blonde hair of yours.
“Xiaobai, I still haven’t properly thanked you.”
“For what?”
“For earlier. If you hadn’t been there, I would’ve had a hard time dealing with those two thugs you mentioned. Haha… This is my first time working outside my family’s flower shop. Now that I think about it, facing that situation alone would’ve been pretty scary. Xiaobai, you sheltered me from the storm this time. I’m not exaggerating when I say you’re my hero. Come here, hero, let’s have a hug… Oh, whoa!”
Ye Zhijun responded, “Say what you need to say, but don’t even think about getting handsy with my sister. There won’t be a next time. If you try this again, I’ll knock you flat.”
Ye Zhibai spoke, “That’s harsh… Zhijun, you’re looking at pure friendship through tainted glasses*—it’s truly inappropriate.”
[*” Pure friendship through tainted glasses (有色眼镜 yǒu sè yǎnjìng)”: Refers to looking at a situation through a biased or cynical perspective. ]
“Wanna keep talking?”
“Nope!”
Lin Zihan knew when to avoid trouble.
Just as she was about to get closer to Ye Zhibai, Ye Zhijun flicked her hard on the forehead.
Ye Zhijun thought, Next time, it wouldn’t be a flick—it would be a full-blown headbutt!
Watching Lin Zihan sit back down cautiously, wary of Zhijun, Ye Zhibai realized that there was a more serious issue hidden in Lin Zihan’s earlier words.
This type of incident, for Lin Zihan, was a first, and by coincidence, it had been resolved thanks to Ye Zhibai’s timely arrival.
Lin Zihan thought, But what about next time?
When Ye Zhibai worked part-time, she never encountered any issues because her job was in an ordinary location with little foot traffic.
Lin Zihan was earning a good wage, but this job was in a luxury commercial district. The busier the area, the more likely you’d run into people like those thugs, and the more complicated the crowd would be.
Moreover, as far as Ye Zhibai knew, there was a vocational school with a bad reputation less than two kilometers from this commercial district. The two thugs earlier were likely students from that school.
In other words, incidents like today’s were far from accidental—they were likely to happen again.
No, that’s not quite accurate. Even with all these unpredictable factors, most people wouldn’t run into such situations.
But Lin Zihan was different—her chances of encountering trouble would be much higher.
Why?
Because she’s beautiful!
Having such exceptional looks naturally attracts trouble. While it might sound impolite to say, Ye Zhibai genuinely felt that her friend might not be suited for working alone outside!
Maybe, it was because Ye Zhibai had her first real friend, and she cherished her deeply.
Or maybe, it was because Lin Zihan’s defiance against life reminded her of her oast.
It could also be that Ye Zhibai admired how Lin Zihan endured her difficulties and, after all her hardships, could still choose to be forgiving and optimistic.
Whatever the reason, Ye Zhibai greatly valued and respected this girl in front of her,
who, despite her uncertainty about the future, still smiled so brightly.
Ye Zhibai quickly searched for a solution in her mind.
Lin Zihan was too proud—giving her money directly to buy the cosmetics wasn’t an option, she wouldn’t accept it. Not to mention, even if Ye Zhibai had the financial means to transfer thousands of yuan, she didn’t have the guts to do it all at once, despite being a “little rich girl” now.
But allowing her to keep working here wasn’t exactly safe either, and it wasn’t as if Ye Zhibai could come here to eat every day.
How could she come up with a perfect solution?
Suddenly.
A lightbulb went off in Ye Zhibai’s mind as if a string had been connected.
She had an idea—a very interesting, and practical, idea!
It was a stroke of genius!
However… to put it into action, she needed to consult with Zhijun first.
“Zhijun.”
“I’m here!”
“……”
Ye Zhibai: Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?!
Look at that—you’ve scared Guang Yu again, and her fishbone tower has collapsed for the third time! There was no helping it.
Zhijun had been waiting for her sister to call her.
Ye Zhijun: You’ve been chatting with Lin Zihan for five minutes without paying any attention to me!
Looking at Zhiyun’s eager eyes, Ye Zhibai swallowed and calmly asked her question.
“Zhiyun, I’d like to know—how much does the maid squad at home get paid?”
“Huh?”
