Coconut Grove Milk Tea Shop Part-Time Group (6)
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Image.jpg
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Cool enough, right? Can anyone recognize what car this is?
Little Liao: Whoa, a luxury car. What, you struck it rich? How come I didn’t know.
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: What? Nah, Brother Liao, you know clearly we’re not rich. This is a customer’s car I took a picture of.
Little Liao: Oh, I see. Nothing to get excited about. Jinghai City has lots of rich people. But it’s good for young people to dream. ThumbsUp.jpg
Seeing this, Little Li sent He Yuxuan a private message: “Tsk, just ‘cause he’s a couple years ahead of us in school, he’s always putting on airs.”
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Actually, that rich second gen is our Yuxuan’s good friend, also a handsome guy, hahahaha! Guess handsome guys just like hanging out with handsome guys.
After he sent that in the group, Little Liao didn’t reply instantly. The two other girls chatted interestedly for a bit instead.
After a long while, Little Liao finally replied in the group.
Little Liao: Hahaha, is this borrowing the tiger’s might? Confused.jpg
No one responded to him.
Little Liao: What’s so great about it.
He was habitually low EQ, especially regarding anything related to He Yuxuan—his jealousy was practically displayed openly. So the group members didn’t like responding to him.
Little Li laughed hard and continued messaging He Yuxuan: “Laughing to death, this guy’s defense is broken. He’s probably gnashing his teeth behind the scenes.”
Everyone had long been fed up with him—not only low EQ, but also quite selfish.
Like this year’s National Day holiday schedule: since the pay was triple, Little Liao went straight to Li Xu to play the pity card. So he hogged five days of the holiday shifts, leaving the remaining two days to be split among others.
Luckily, they were all just part-timers earning pocket change; having the holiday off was fine. So no one bothered arguing with him.
Later, the guy even posted his salary in the group to show off how hardworking and capable he was, adding comments about how kids today couldn’t endure hardship anymore, etc.
It drove everyone nuts.
The more he acted like this, the less He Yuxuan cared about him. He only ever paid attention to the people he cared about.
So he replied: “It’s fine, just ignore him.”
Little Li also figured that was enough. A couple of casual remarks from him could already piss Little Liao off, which brightened his mood considerably.
What no one expected was that in just two days, the tables would completely turn.
~
One morning, Coconut Grove’s boss, Li Xu, suddenly posted an announcement in the group.
“Thank you everyone for your support along the way. I’ve decided to hand over Coconut Grove to a new boss. I’m at the age to get married and have kids, planning to go back to my hometown to build my career. Farewell to you all.”
Everyone was utterly shocked, because there had been zero warning. Just the day before, Li Xu had been reminding them to prep more toppings.
He Yuxuan hadn’t expected it either. He always felt Brother Li had put a lot of heart and effort into this milk tea shop. He wondered if something had happened.
After all, after so many days of working together, He Yuxuan called Li Xu privately: “Brother Li, what happened? Did you run into trouble? Or is it a family matter?”
He Yuxuan thought it was unlikely to be a money issue, since the milk tea shop’s business was improving daily and revenue was quite good.
Li Xu replied cheerfully: “It’s kind of you to worry, Little He. It’s nothing. A boss took a liking to my shop and offered a high price to buy it. I plan to take the money back home, buy a house and a car, and continue doing business there as well.”
Clearly, for Li Xu, this was a joyful surprise falling from the sky. His tone was audibly upbeat. It seemed he might have had some drinks with friends too—there was background noise and chatter.
He Yuxuan couldn’t help but smile. If that was the case, there was nothing to worry about.
“Alright, I wish you smooth sailing back home too.”
He Yuxuan wasn’t the only one concerned. In the group, Little Liao immediately fired off a string of questions.
“Brother Li, will the next boss still run a milk tea shop? Or will it be a different business?”
“What about us? I still need this part-time job to earn extra living expenses. Brother Li, can you give us a hint!”
Li Xu was in a good mood and didn’t keep them in suspense.
“Still a milk tea shop, and the brand name won’t change either.”
Little Liao followed up: “Will the hourly wage drop?”
After all, since He Yuxuan came, Li Xu couldn’t give just one person a higher hourly rate, so he had raised everyone’s. But of course, everyone did work harder, so he didn’t lose out.
No other milk tea shop or restaurant offered this hourly rate.
Little Liao was naturally very worried about this.
Li Xu replied: “No, don’t worry, Little Liao. The new boss is far more generous than me.” That person wasn’t relying on this shop to make any real money.
He changed the subject: “However, there might be some personnel changes. I’ll post the roster in the group later this evening.”
His words caused a stir of anxiety.
“Does the new boss think there are too many part-timers?”
“Or do they think some of us don’t have enough availability or don’t take enough shifts, so we won’t be rehired?”
Everyone chimed in, and the discussion didn’t stop all day.
If the reason was something like that, Little Liao wasn’t worried. He’d been here a long time, was very stable—the boss would definitely like someone like that.
Little Li, however, was quite worried.
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Then I’m doomed. I barely took any shifts this month, and I just started recently.
Joy and sorrow really could swap places in an instant.
Little Liao: Oh, don’t worry. If it doesn’t work out, I can find you another part-time job. Your Senior Brother here still has some connections after three years of university.
Little Li couldn’t be bothered to reply to him. Just by listening, you knew it wouldn’t be a good gig.
He Yuxuan’s situation was actually similar, but he didn’t dwell on it. Not continuing was fine too; he’d been feeling a bit tired lately. He’d take things as they came.
Besides, the perfume he’d originally wanted to buy was almost arriving—mission accomplished, he supposed.
Li Xu acted quickly. He was probably really in a rush to return home.
That evening, he posted the roster in the group. Basically, there were few changes, except that He Yuxuan was not on it.
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Phew, safe and sound! Dodged a bullet!
Little Liao: I said normally nothing would happen. But it’s weird what happened to Little He, bad luck I guess. But no worries, doesn’t Little He have lots of rich second-generation friends? Any random job they introduce would be way better.
It was only then that Little Li noticed He Yuxuan was actually not on the list.
He immediately called He Yuxuan: “Little He, have you seen the roster in the group? What’s going on? Ask Brother Li if he made a mistake! Or what’s the reason?”
He Yuxuan was currently out walking around campus with Chu Ci.
The two had just passed the basketball courts.
“Huh? What? I haven’t checked yet.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just stop. Don’t worry.” Although He Yuxuan was a bit puzzled, if that was the new boss’s decision, there wasn’t much he could do.
“I’m busy right now, talk later.” He Yuxuan generally made a point of not playing on his phone when spending time with a friend.
“What’s up?” Chu Ci actually understood what had happened, but played dumb.
He Yuxuan figured it wasn’t a big deal, but Chu Ci had said he hoped he’d tell him everything. So he explained simply: “The milk tea shop I part-timed at changed owners. Seems like they don’t plan to rehire me. So, basically… I’m out of a part-time job.” He spread his hands.
“Are you very upset?” Chu Ci asked, watching his expression.
“Not really. I was feeling it was pretty tiring anyway. Just don’t really get it.” Why was he the only one singled out?
“Don’t overthink it. Since you already found it tiring, this is just fate helping you make a decision. Should be something to be happy about.” Chu Ci comforted him in an uncharacteristically gentle tone.
It gave He Yuxuan a warm feeling. That truly was another way to think about it!
“Yeah, you’re right. I won’t think about it anymore.”
“How about playing some basketball?” Chu Ci gestured toward the courts.
He Yuxuan smiled: “I’m not very good. But it’s fine, you can teach me! Let’s hit the supermarket first, grab two bottles of Red Bull.”
He also remembered: back in high school, the guys who were good friends would put their arms around each other’s shoulders, go play ball, and then stand together drinking sodas.
“Okay.” Chu Ci had no objections.
In the evening, there weren’t many people playing night ball, and a few hoops were still free.
After buying the drinks, the two borrowed a ball and took over a hoop. After a brief warm-up, they took off their jackets.
“Cold?”
“A little. Hahaha, let’s rub our hands together.”
Chu Ci smiled at how cute it was.
Back in high school, Chu Ci had been the small forward on the school team. He was quite famous among the high school teams in Jinghai City, naturally very strong.
As for He Yuxuan… well, let’s just say he was mostly just a pretty face in this area…
After playing with He Yuxuan for a while, Chu Ci roughly gauged his skill level. From then on, he played like a nanny, guiding He Yuxuan through everything.
“Dribbling like that makes it easy to get blocked…”
“Shoot!”
“Not bad!”
He Yuxuan was sweating buckets. It was rare for him to do high-intensity exercise, but it was truly refreshing—he felt all his fatigue melt away.
But when Chu Ci praised him, he felt incredibly embarrassed. He Yuxuan knew exactly how mediocre he was.
“Bro, wanna play together?”
Some other guys on the court, seeing how good Chu Ci was, came to invite him, and out of courtesy, extended the invitation to He Yuxuan too.
“No need, we’re done playing.” Chu Ci waved them off.
In high school, he had found the sport quite interesting, which was why he’d unprecedentedly agreed to join the school team and undergo training. But right now, his mind wasn’t on the ball at all while playing.
“Here.” Chu Ci handed the Red Bull to He Yuxuan, sitting down close beside him to rest. His gaze, however, unconsciously followed the drop of sweat on the other’s chin as it jumped down into his collar.
He Yuxuan gulped down a big mouthful, feeling pretty good.
“You’re so good at basketball; I bet lots of girls liked you in high school.” He remarked without thinking.
Then he suddenly remembered Chu Ci was gay. He often forgot this fact, since sexual orientation didn’t really impact their friendship.
Chu Ci smirked, trying a little subtle conditioning: “Quite a few guys and girls.”
As expected, He Yuxuan didn’t pay it much mind.
“The Young Master truly is charming!” He Yuxuan joked, flattering him.
Sometimes Chu Ci wondered what expression his roommate would have if he learned his sexual orientation. But he didn’t dare reveal it yet. Not because he thought it unnecessary, but because he had concerns.
“But I wasn’t interested in any of them. I don’t even know what liking someone feels like.” Chu Ci added, clarifying the fact that he was still a pure, inexperienced virgin.
On that point, he and He Yuxuan were similar.
“No rush. I’m sure you’ll find out during these four years of university.” Knowing the plot, He Yuxuan spoke with great confidence, even though not a single stroke of the character for “eight” existed yet…
“Doesn’t matter. Anyway, having you is enough.” Chu Ci replied nonchalantly.
He Yuxuan nodded. Made sense: friendship and love, he could have both.
“Let’s head back and sleep?”
“Yeah. I need to shave today too.” Chu Ci rubbed the stubble on his chin.
He Yuxuan reached over and grazed it with his fingertip: “Tsk, it’s really prickly. Alright then, I’ll help you when we get back.”
Chu Ci looked at him deeply: “Okay.”
That night, He Yuxuan put the milk tea shop matter completely out of his mind.
In the group, everyone kept discussing holding a farewell meal for Brother Li. Originally, the plan was for them to treat him, but they were just broke kids with little cash. Li Xu, buoyed by his stroke of good fortune, directly offered to treat everyone to a meal instead, and said he had something else to announce.
Even though He Yuxuan wouldn’t be staying there anymore, he was still a part of the group for now.
Little Liao: Yuxuan, come along too. Let’s all have a meal together.
LittleLiNotBrotherLisRelative: Brother Li originally meant to invite everyone, didn’t he…
Li Xu: Yuxuan definitely has to come.
Little Liao: Sigh, won’t get to work together anymore. It’s a bit sad.
Little Li was speechless, messaging He Yuxuan privately: “Look at him gloating. Acts like he’s the one treating us to this meal.”
He Yuxuan replied: “It’s fine, a free meal~ I’ve been eating at the cafeteria for so long…”
But he really did need to think about what part-time job to find next. Life goes on, and so does earning money. His shopping cart was full of stuff waiting for him to bring them home.
He Yuxuan felt his luck was really quite bad. He just hoped he wouldn’t jinx another workplace into closing down…
