“The staffing arrangement is handled by the HR department. The head believes that…”
During the days Chu Ci wasn’t at school, He Yuxuan’s life continued as usual, step by step.
He smoothly passed the Drama Club interview and became one of the new members. This year, apart from him, all the new recruits were from the arts departments, each with decent looks.
But He Yuxuan still effortlessly became the visual pillar of the Drama Club. Even the Club President often joked with him: “With Little He around, I’m too embarrassed to call myself a handsome guy.”
For the convenience of club activities, his previously sparse contact list gained another wave of people.
Under his one and only selfie, quite a few boys and girls commented: “Look! A handsome guy!”
Naturally, quite a few people also tried to chat him up. But if it wasn’t about legitimate matters, He Yuxuan wouldn’t reply at all. Now he was recalling some of his high school memories—being popular could be quite a headache.
Up until now, the only one He Yuxuan felt could truly be called a good friend was still Chu Ci alone. Of course, he felt that might increase later, but friendship needed time to verify.
At least, the new faces now appearing before He Yuxuan wouldn’t so easily earn his certification.
Out of the reciprocity between friends, he also decided to prepare a gift for the other. But over these past days, He Yuxuan only had just over three hundred yuan left. He could eat for maybe ten more days, and that was being frugal.
Luckily, just then, Zhang Xiangdong contacted him.
“Bro, you still looking for a part-time job? I’ve got one I can introduce to you.”
He Yuxuan instantly classified this wardmate into the friend category. He replied faster than he’d replied to anyone else: “I need one. What kind of part-time job?”
Walking on the school path, because of this good news, He Yuxuan couldn’t help but smile. Someone who didn’t know might think it was a huge, heavenly blessing.
“Hey, handsome, can I get to know you?” A student who was captivated by him stepped forward to ask.
“Ah, sorry, I have something urgent,” He Yuxuan pointed at his phone, then continued walking while chatting.
“It’s a milk tea shop near the school. It’s the owner’s own brand. It used to be quite popular, but recently, a Heytea and a Shuyi opened next door, so the competition went down.
“I used to work there part-time. The boss is a good guy, and the hourly rate is relatively high. He asked me if I knew any pretty girls or handsome guys, and I instantly thought of you.”
“If you’re interested, you can go check it out. If the boss is satisfied, he can offer up to 30 per hour. That’s already quite high; usually, it’s just a dozen or so.”
He Yuxuan wasn’t great at math. In his past life, he also spent money recklessly. As long as it was enough, it was fine. He calculated it. An hourly rate of 30… compared to his previous life, it was naturally nothing. Now, it also couldn’t compare to things like tutoring.
But he didn’t have the skills to be a tutor. It was okay to go do this for now. 30 per hour, working three hours a day would be 90. In ten days, that’s 900. In a month, that’s 2700.
That was double his living expenses!
He Yuxuan thought it was worth a try. He’d already thought of what to give Chu Ci.
He picked out a bottle of cologne that suited the other’s aura. A full-size bottle was under a thousand. Working for just over a week, he could give it. It didn’t sound that difficult; he could challenge himself a little.
So He Yuxuan enthusiastically said, “Then I’ll give it a try. Can I go interview today?”
“Yeah! Anytime. I’ll contact Brother Li about it.”
He Yuxuan felt someone had helped him out, so he also learned to exchange a few polite, caring words: “How’s it going recently with that girl?”
“Hahahaha, pretty good. Steadily progressing. All thanks to you teaching me to groom myself a bit.”
He Yuxuan felt he could barely count as a Matchmaker. Quite a sense of achievement.
“Then I’ll hang up first. Prep a bit and head to the interview,” He Yuxuan quickly went back to the dorm, changed clothes, and set off.
When conditions allowed, he could generally change outfits twice a day. Otherwise, He Yuxuan always felt he might smell, not fresh.
That milk tea shop was really close, just a few hundred meters’ walk. Commuting was also convenient. It was right on the back street; students loved hanging out there at night.
The moment He Yuxuan walked onto that street, he saw the milk tea shop called Coconut Grove. Because compared to the neighboring two milk tea shops, which had several people queuing, the staff inside Coconut Grove were all idle, with no one coming to place orders.
Nowadays, students also preferred branded milk tea. At least there were no mistakes.
This was He Yuxuan’s first time doing a part-time job like this. He didn’t find it tiring. To him, it was like being on a reality TV variety show, but one where he truly didn’t have to worry, without needing to maintain a persona. He’d received such variety show invites before, but never went.
“Brother Li, hello. I’m He Yuxuan, introduced by Xiangdong,” He Yuxuan saw the tall man in his thirties inside the store, knew it was the owner, and introduced himself.
Li Xu had been busy preparing ingredients with his head down. Hearing that pleasant voice, he subconsciously looked up, and then didn’t look down again.
He hadn’t expected that kid Zhang Xiangdong actually had some tricks. He’d asked people to introduce good-looking students for part-time work to boost popularity. He didn’t expect this level of good-looking.
“Little He, hello. I’m Li Xu. Just call me Brother Li from now on.”
“Brother Li.” He Yuxuan was still waiting for the other to interview him.
Unexpectedly, Brother Li directly found a staff uniform and put it on He Yuxuan, fastening it firmly. “You can start a trial shift now. Trial shifts also count for wages. Follow me and learn how to make the drinks first.”
Th-that fast? He Yuxuan was stunned.
But this was definitely a good thing. He was also quite curious about things he’d never done before. So he followed the Store Manager and slowly learned.
The youth with a stunning appearance wore a black apron, busily moving around the shop. When he passed by, there was a faint scent of laundry detergent on him.
He studied very earnestly. Hard work paid off, and his effort wasn’t in vain. Very quickly, a student actually came into the shop to order.
“Hello, what would you like?” A warm, clear voice rang out as He Yuxuan put on the signature smile the owner had taught him.
Actually, he was very familiar with it. He used this kind of smile every time he attended an event or press conference. But the frequency today wasn’t as high as usual.
“I’d like a Mango Pomelo Sago,” the girl said. Seeing his smile, she felt a bit shy, but still tried to stay composed as she continued ordering.
“What sweetness level would you like? And the temperature?” He Yuxuan asked one by one.
“Full sugar, easy ice.”
“Okay, please wait a moment,” He Yuxuan completed the entire process, gave her the order number, and turned around to busy himself.
He had just arrived and was still a bit slow. But luckily, the milk tea shop wasn’t busy, so he wasn’t overwhelmed. Besides, Brother Li was there too.
Following what Brother Li taught, He Yuxuan made a drink. It wasn’t too slow.
“Your Mango Pomelo Sago is ready. For here or to go?” He Yuxuan put on his smile again.
The girl was originally a bit socially anxious and had definitely planned to take it back. But on a sudden impulse, she said: “For here, I’ll drink it here.” Anyway, no one was here. And she could sneak a few more glances at the handsome guy.
After taking the straw from He Yuxuan, she found a seat, took out her phone, and frantically messaged her dorm mates.
“Aaaaah! Girls, that milk tea shop on the back street called Coconut Grove hired a super, super, super, incredibly, stunningly, devastatingly handsome guy! When he smiles, it just kills me!”
“Hurry, hurry, sneak a pic for us sisters to see.”
“Ugh, the shop’s empty, it’s too obvious. I don’t dare…”
“Then describe how handsome he is. I’ll see if it’s worth me getting out of bed to go buy milk tea.”
“Prettier than my favorite idol,” the girl was silent for two seconds, then said.
Still didn’t dare say he was prettier than her actual bias. Otherwise, wouldn’t she be changing loyalties too fast?!
“On my way, sis! Is the milk tea at least decent?”
“It’s tasty, and made by the handsome guy too~~~”
He Yuxuan felt this part-time job was quite easy. Working an afternoon, he could make three… five… one hundred and fifty! So much! He Yuxuan thought, if it was possible, he could stay a bit later before going back. But it looked like the shop wasn’t too busy—he didn’t know if Brother Li would let him laze around here.
However, his joy was short-lived. He felt the customer flow increasing in a multiplicative way. He saw students coming in more and more frequently.
“Hello, what would you like?”
“Extra ice, right? Could you repeat that? Sorry, I didn’t catch it.”
“You can scan the QR code on the door to order on the app,” He Yuxuan, seeing more and more people lining up to order, reminded them.
But it didn’t seem to help much. And Brother Li, who was originally free, was also forced to join in. The two of them buried their heads in hard work.
Looking at the students practically bursting his tiny shop, Brother Li finally understood. They were all here to see Little He. Usually, there were never this many people drinking inside.
He hadn’t expected it to actually work. If this continued, he’d have to hire two more part-time students. After all, Little He wasn’t free every day.
He was also tactful, letting He Yuxuan handle more of the ordering. He knew people wanted to talk to him.
He Yuxuan had no room in his head for anything else. He only felt that he’d been too naive at first. It seemed it wasn’t that easy. But it did feel quite fulfilling.
If this were a cartoon, post-production should add two gold coins into He Yuxuan’s big eyes.
He had been smiling for almost half a day. Later, it almost became automatic, as if he were born with a smiling face.
Suddenly, He Yuxuan felt a bit choked up and wanted to sneeze. He quickly ducked into the bathroom.
He sneezed twice in a row, then washed his hands. He took the opportunity to stretch his back. Then, with a clear mind, he went back to work. He just recalled a saying he’d seen while surfing the internet before: Sneezing twice means someone is thinking of you.
Yeah, who was thinking of him?
