Chapter 9: The Girl from the Mountain

Lin Shuyao’s... way of thinking is quite eccentric.

It is undeniable that for teenagers with nowhere to vent their hormones, sharing a single portion of food triggers a level of sexual fantasy akin to holding hands or kissing. For a master of overthinking, this could essentially be rounded up to "establishing a relationship." After all, someone once said that holding hands is a promise.

But for Zhai Da, who possesses the soul of an adult, it felt like: "Young lady, do you think I’m a pet you’re feeding?"

Even before he won the lottery, when he was so poor that his underwear had holes in it, he never had the habit of eating someone else’s leftovers.

After delivering that devastating line, "Do you think you’re very humorous?", Zhai Da turned his head away and went back to chatting with Lu Wei, leaving Lin Shuyao, who was struggling to maintain a cute expression, standing there alone.

The surrounding classmates widened their eyes. In their minds, this was the sweet, ambiguous overture Lin Shuyao had actively offered—the kind they would kill to receive. To refuse it so bluntly—how was that any different from slapping her twice?

"Holy crap, I actually think that was kind of cool!"
"Zhai Da has truly evolved!"

This group of boys seemed to have opened the door to a new world. It turned out that when facing a beautiful girl, besides fawning over her or feeling shy, there was another way to... they couldn't find a suitable adjective for a moment. They thought of a popular slang term recently: "Explosive!"

Lin Shuyao’s face turned from pale to flushed. She lowered her head, not daring to meet anyone’s gaze. She was already burning up, her earlobes hot to the touch, and her long legs twisted tightly together.

Zhai Da ignored the young girl’s internal turmoil and continued discussing with Lu Wei whether her current salary was reasonable, as this also concerned Yu Xiaoli’s employment. The factory was in such a dilapidated state that it wouldn't be long before it went under. Although in his previous life, Yu Xiaoli only took "early retirement" years later, there was no guarantee she would have such luck this time around.

"Are your orders steady?"

Lu Wei stopped eating; she felt it was impolite to talk while chewing. "Sometimes we’re very busy... working several hours of overtime, and sometimes we’re very idle, with nothing to do for days..."

Zhai Da thought to himself that this was a bad sign. For a garment factory where "cheap labor" is the only competitive edge, this was the worst possible state. Being idle meant the business lacked the capacity to maintain full production. Being overly busy meant that to secure orders, the factory had to compromise on turnaround time and costs. In plain terms, the factory lacked competitiveness and could only obtain orders by rushing production and slashing prices.

The cold noodles were served, and Zhai Da slurped down a large mouthful, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Lu Wei took the opportunity to steal a few bites, using her bangs to shield her face as she secretly observed the boy. She felt that someone his age shouldn't be able to understand questions about factory operations.

Like her, for instance—she didn't really understand it herself; she was just repeating what she had been told. Yet Zhai Da... was actually thinking about it seriously.

Zhai Da didn't respond for a moment, and Lu Wei didn't know whether she should leave, even though she had already finished her meal. In her short life, she hadn't encountered a situation like this before.

Lu Wei whispered, "Can I... go now?" It was as if she were asking for his permission.

Zhai Da felt a bit strange. "We just happened to meet and shared a table for a chat. I’m not holding you hostage."

Lu Wei looked relieved, as if she had received some kind of authorization.

Zhai Da pulled out his phone. "Let’s add each other on QQ. I might want to chat a bit more later." He meant asking more about the textile factory; since Lu Wei was Ms. Yu’s apprentice, adding her on QQ wasn't inappropriate.

"I don't have a phone."

Zhai Da: ...What mountain did you just come down from?

Lu Wei definitely wasn't brushing him off with an excuse. After saying this, she stood there awkwardly, once again stuck in the dilemma of whether or not she should leave. Zhai Da waved his hand, feeling speechless. "We'll talk later, then."

Lu Wei let out a long sigh of relief.

After she left, the boys from the table behind immediately crowded over. Although Zhai Da wasn't sure if they were all classmates, they appeared to be. "Da-zi, you’re amazing! You’ve learned how to flirt?"

To a group of peers, a boy who dared to flirt and succeeded was no different from Ultraman. He was a child of the light!

Zhai Da shook his head. "It’s not flirting. She’s my mom’s colleague. I’ve met her a couple of times before."

So they knew each other. The towering image of Zhai Da in the boys' minds shrank slightly, but it remained impressive. After all, if they were in a similar situation, they wouldn't be able to squeeze out a single word in front of such a beautiful girl. For example, today was supposed to be a class reunion, and most of the boys had come specifically for Lin Shuyao, yet they hadn't managed to speak a single word to her so far.

"She looks about our age, and she’s already working?"

Zhai Da wiped the chili oil from his mouth. His body had become younger, and his sense of taste had become more sensitive; this bowl of noodles was spicy enough to choke him. He shouldn't have added that spoonful of chili.

"There’s nothing strange about that. Whether it’s junior high or vocational school graduates, or high school dropouts, many people our age have been working for two or three years. If you go to the factory, you’ll see they’re all very young."

Wu Yue nodded, half-understanding. The academic standards at the Maofang Middle School were very average. While a good university was a distant dream for them, vocational school felt even more remote. Many people didn't even know where the local vocational schools were. From the moment they were streamed into different paths, an invisible barrier seemed to divide their circles.

Moreover, those who had been in the full-time academic system always held a hidden sense of superiority over those in vocational or technical schools. If the person being "crushed" was a beautiful girl, that superiority would turn into "chivalry" and "wishful thinking."

A saint sees life and cannot bear to see it die. A man sees beauty and cannot bear to see it lonely.

In the end, it was all the fault of puberty.

Zhai Da again politely declined the invitation to join the rest of the class reunion. His plan for the afternoon was to continue searching for "equipment" in the county, and he had to pick up his mother at six o'clock—if she wasn't working overtime.

It was funny, actually. Whether Zhai Da was there or not, the minds of these people were never really on the food; little electric signals were flying back and forth between them. Zhai Da, who had come purely to eat, ended up leaving faster than anyone else.

However, when he went to pay, the landlady at the counter said, "The young girl from earlier paid for you and left a note."

Zhai Da was stunned. He took the napkin with a few words written on it. In elegant handwriting, it read: *Thank you for the breakfast. My treat.*

Zhai Da smiled. Because she didn't have a phone and wasn't good with words, she used such a vintage method... It was inexplicably cute. He didn't think Lu Wei was "sending a message" of affection. Clearly, this tall, thin girl just wanted to repay that tiny favor as soon as possible. To her, perhaps two meat buns and a bag of soy milk were enough to keep her tossing and turning at night.

For a poor girl making only a few hundred yuan a month, Zhai Da felt it was all unnecessary. He didn't want to leave the tissue behind where the likes of Wu Yue might peek at it, and he couldn't bring himself to throw it in the trash, so he simply tucked it away.

Before leaving, Zhai Da waved friendly to his classmates—after all, they had three more months of school together—and then rode off on his old-fashioned bicycle.

After Zhai Da left, the discussion about him didn't stop.

"Zhai Da has really changed. He used to like acting melancholic and eccentric... we all listened to Jay Chou, and he only listened to Cho Tokunaga..."
"That girl just now was so pretty! So quiet and gentle, and she’s a vocational student?"
"Did he really faint after confessing that day? I don’t think it looks like it... a person this mature shouldn't have..."

Amidst the chatter, Lin Shuyao, the original protagonist, gripped her delicate fists tightly. She couldn't take it anymore. With a sudden "thump," she stood up and walked out alone.

"I’m not joining this afternoon. Goodbye!"

The short girl with the "tea-detector radar" rolled her eyes. Whatever. Only those who are good-looking can be so willful. If an ordinary girl like her did something so buzz-killing, she would be isolated by the class in a heartbeat...

Appearance is the first lottery of life. It’s just a pity that the prize pool is too small, and there are too many "thanks for playing" tickets.