Su Ximu didn’t quite understand why ‘Third Brother’ reacted so strongly after hearing that he had made friends at the Tourist Garden.
Last time Third Brother visited him, hadn’t he also introduced Blue 242 Leader as his friend to Third Brother?
He was about to continue explaining to ‘Third Brother’ when Third Brother’s voice suddenly paused, like someone had hit the pause button.
After a moment, he heard Third Brother say, “Something urgent came up with my Tourism Group. We’ll talk about this later.”
Running the Tourism Group was Third Brother’s main business. Now that Third Brother said there was something at the Tourism Group that needed his attention, Su Ximu naturally wouldn’t delay him and immediately nodded. “Yeah, go handle the Tourism Group matters first, Third Brother. I won’t bother you.”
A career was very important to a person.
To be honest, after arriving in this world and receiving the original host’s memories, Su Ximu felt some admiration for the original host’s three older brothers.
Big Brother had started from nothing, Second Brother had deeply rooted himself in the entertainment industry, and Third Brother had started his own business shortly after graduating from university, paying off his startup loan within a year.
They were all shining stars in their respective fields.
Su Jianglou listened to the understanding words from the teenager on the phone. After hanging up, his expression improved somewhat.
Then he recalled the report from his subordinate at the Tourism Group while he was on the phone with Xiao Mu, and the man’s eyes narrowed ferociously.
Was it because the world’s edge had expanded outward again? There had been way too many reckless new Weirds lately.
They had actually set their sights on his turf.
Su Jianglou, who had been bottling up a stomach full of anger with nowhere to vent it today, decided to go rip apart a couple of Weirds to let off some steam.
Su Ximu ended his call with ‘Third Brother’ and stepped forward. Blue 242 Leader stood not far away, waiting for him.
As he approached, Blue 242 glanced at the teenager’s expression and spoke first. “How’d it go? Did your family agree?”
“Yeah… they agreed to me quitting.”
But they hadn’t fully discussed the topic of a new job yet.
Su Ximu recalled that, from the meaning in Third Brother’s words, if he didn’t like his current job, he could just quit and move to another house that Third Brother had bought, then play around until school started.
As Third Brother had put it, Second Brother had been elusive lately anyway, probably too busy with some sudden matter to look after home.
The suggestion was tempting, but Su Ximu still suppressed his slight temptation.
Human nature tended toward indulgence. If one didn’t have to do anything and could live happily ever after, how many people could refuse?
But it was easy to go from frugality to luxury, hard to go from luxury to frugality.
Su Ximu thought he was a bit afraid of getting used to that kind of life. If that happened, when he one day truly returned to his own world, he might not be able to adapt back to his real life.
Like a child who had never had candy before being thrown into a pile of sweets. Once accustomed to the sweetness, if someone suddenly took all the candy away…
People who suddenly became rich often went mad.
And bosses who jumped off buildings due to bankruptcy were a dime a dozen.
Sudden wealth was like that.
Sudden love was too.
The teenager’s expression grew distant as he thought of something. Blue 242 casually interrupted his thoughts. “Want some softshell turtle soup?”
He shook the thermos bucket in his hand. “It’s just that the turtle looks a bit ugly.”
“Softshell turtle?” Su Ximu subconsciously repeated.
What kind of fish was a softshell turtle?
“It’s turtle.”
Mentioning turtle, Su Ximu knew right away. He couldn’t help but recall, “When I was little, I went snail-picking with Grandma, and a turtle bit my toe. It hurt so much.”
“And then?” Blue 242 looked down at the teenager’s foot hidden in his shoe and asked immediately.
Su Ximu made a lifting motion. “Then Grandma picked me up, turtle and all.”
“I cried really hard,” Su Ximu emphasized.
Because a turtle bite on the toe really hurt.
But later, Grandma had bought him a popsicle to console him. After eating it, he forgot to cry.
At this point, he missed Grandma a little.
He wondered if he could go back before Grandma’s death anniversary.
That night, the two sat on wooden chairs in front of the dormitory building. Each had a bowl of softshell turtle soup, and Su Ximu’s bowl had extra ingredients that Blue 242 had ladled for him. He called it revenge for little Xiao Xi.
After finishing the soup, Blue 242 Leader led him into a gentle, long chat. Perhaps because he had thought of Grandma, or maybe because the night was too quiet, Su Ximu rarely felt a touch of homesickness and mostly talked about things from his childhood.
Among them, besides Grandma, the one mentioned most was his cousin who tutored him.
As for the other family members not mentioned, Blue 242 figured they were probably all dead and unimportant.
After finishing the soup and digesting while chatting for a good while downstairs at the dormitory, by the time Su Ximu returned to his room accompanied by Blue 242, that supposedly versatile hardman big brother had indeed left his dorm. It wasn’t a waste of all his dawdling downstairs.
Because the evening’s activity had exceeded the norm, after washing up again and collapsing onto the bed, Su Ximu closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately.
In the middle of the night, Blue 534 abruptly opened his eyes in his sleep, only to find himself enveloped in a red mist, unsure of his location.
The next day, Su Ximu, who hadn’t quit yet, went to work as usual.
Neither Third Brother’s response nor the job Blue 242 Leader had introduced for him would happen in the next couple of days.
On the third day, still work.
Fourth day, work.
Fifth day, Su Ximu opened his eyes and felt like it was time for cake again.
Coincidentally, the Tourist Garden’s reforms included the park’s dining area. The park’s first dessert shop had officially opened two days prior, with astonishingly fast renovations.
Rumor had it that the dessert shop was also a chain brand under the Su Consortium.
During his lunch break, Su Ximu didn’t knock on the door of Blue 242 Leader next door to invite him along.
Because he had known yesterday that Blue 242 Leader was taking half a day off today.
With an hour and a half until afternoon work started, Su Ximu left the dormitory building and headed toward the location he had scoped out yesterday from memory.
The dining area wasn’t far from the Employee Dormitory. Su Ximu walked for about fifteen minutes and arrived at his destination.
Before pushing open the door of the conspicuously signed dessert shop, he felt a moment of doubt. Did the park’s tourists and employees not like sweets?
The other shops and stalls in the dining area bustled with noise, but the dessert shop was almost empty of customers.
Su Ximu’s first thought was that the desserts in the shop were expensive.
As for taste, a chain dessert shop like this definitely wouldn’t be too bad even if it wasn’t great.
Feeling the thin bill in his pocket, Su Ximu hesitated. But since he was already here, he continued toward the refrigerated display case.
Up close, he realized that perhaps because business wasn’t good, the display case had pitifully few ready-made desserts.
There was only a small four-inch mango cake standing there.
Su Ximu glanced at the mango chunks on the mango cake—they looked fresh—then at the price. Good, he had enough money for it.
“Hello, please wrap up this mango cake for me, thank you.” The teenager extended a fair finger and lightly tapped the display case glass, speaking politely.
The cake-selling employee was a native Tourist Garden staffer, originally slouched lazily behind the counter. But upon lifting his head and seeing the buyer’s appearance, he immediately perked up with a flurry of “Hello, sir,” swiftly packing the cake Su Ximu had pointed to.
When Su Ximu left carrying the bag, another flurry of “Come again.”
After the person left, the previously excited clerk immediately slouched back behind the counter.
Perhaps the thoughts of powerful Weirds really weren’t something a small fry like him could guess.
A Tourist Garden aimed at Weird tourists, and the boss actually set the dining area’s dessert shop to make cakes with real cream, eggs, and white sugar.
So, from opening two days ago until now, not even a Weird shadow had appeared. It wasn’t hard to understand.
The clerk thought having one customer today was already rare.
Unexpectedly, before he could slack off again, another customer pushed open the door to the dessert shop.
As soon as Su Xuanxiao entered, he frowned and decided to fire the shop manager.
Ignoring the clerk who jolted to his side, Su Xuanxiao walked straight to the display case.
Upon discovering not a single proper cake in the case, he decided against firing—no, he’d exile the manager responsible for this dessert shop to the frontier.
The park’s new big boss, Mr. Su, had a handsome and majestic face that every employee had deeply imprinted in their minds.
Seeing the big boss’s gaze linger on the price tag of that mango cake, the clerk, driven by strong survival instinct, stammered, “S-Sir, th-this cake was j-just bought by L-Little Mr. Su.”
Most park employees had tacitly accepted that the ferocious connection had ties to their new boss Mr. Su. They naturally didn’t dare call Su Ximu by his work number anymore.
But since both were Mr. Su, for distinction, some employees started calling Su Ximu Little Mr. Su.
Little Mr. Su?
Who?
Su Xuanxiao didn’t recall at first and spared a sidelong glance at the clerk.
“H-He also b-bought a F-Fairy Tale Candle.” Caught slacking by the big boss, the clerk’s stutter wouldn’t recover anytime soon.
Buying cake might be for himself, but buying a candle was usually for a birthday.
The clerk could only hope that Mr. Su and Little Mr. Su buying cake had the same purpose—they didn’t actually need a second cake, just hadn’t coordinated beforehand and came redundantly.
Su Xuanxiao’s fingers at his side curled slightly. He finally looked directly at the clerk. “He bought the cake and a candle?”
The clerk nodded vigorously like pounding garlic.
