Chapter 54: A Fruit Salad

Li Yan had always been a fast eater; being a guy, he didn't bother chewing every bite with excessive care.

The bento box wasn't cheap, but the portion was small.

Finishing the last bite of his meal, Li Yan pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth and tidied up his trash.

He picked up his cup of milk tea from the table and took a long, satisfying sip.

Fortunately, it was still cold.

"I'm heading out first. Take your time eating, I still need to go practice the piano."

With that, Li Yan glanced at Wang Wanjun, who was just taking her third bite of the shredded potato burrito. Holding the trash in his left hand and the milk tea in his right, he walked out of the pantry and headed toward the piano rooms.

As for the soft "Okay~" that drifted from behind him, Li Yan didn't react, walking straight out of the pantry and toward the piano room to resume his practice.

Wang Wanjun held the modest-sized shredded potato burrito in both hands, her delicate lips stained with a bit of oil and bright red chili oil.

Watching Li Yan leave, Wang Wanjun added another impression of him to her heart.

Previously, when she joined the Sichuan University freshman group chat and saw Li Yan's recruitment notice offering pay for group administrators, followed by him constantly handing out red envelopes in the chat.

Wang Wanjun had merely regarded this group owner named Li Yan as a wealthy second-generation heir.

She had seen plenty of such people back when she was studying in Shancheng.

And the ones pursuing her were countless.

That had just been a first impression. Moreover, because the tactics used by those wealthy heirs who pursued her in Shancheng had disgusted her, she naturally held a very lukewarm initial impression of Li Yan, leaning toward keeping her distance.

Her second impression came after she was hired as an administrator, when Li Yan sent the red envelopes along with an explanation of her upcoming wages. At that point, her impression of Li Yan shifted to that of an employer she was working for.

Wang Wanjun was serious about making money.

As for any special feelings, there were none, other than seeing Li Yan's Moments posts and realizing he was exceptionally wealthy.

After all, the so-called wealthy heirs who had pursued her back then usually drove nothing more impressive than BMWs or Mercedes-Benzes.

Wang Wanjun had never cared for such things. Although her family background was poor, that was no reason for her to blindly chase after money.

Wang Wanjun possessed a very clear self-awareness, which was her reliance on not losing herself, well aware that outstanding beauty could afford her a better life.

Until today's third impression, which was also her most coincidental first encounter with Li Yan.

Li Yan did not show the pitying gaze some of her high school classmates had given her, nor did he look at her with contempt.

He was completely calm. Even when buying her milk tea and fruit bowl, he simply carried the attitude of someone who would be relying on her to get work done soon.

Wang Wanjun felt it was very natural. Normally, she definitely would have refused, but upon hearing Li Yan's words, she unexpectedly didn't feel any urge to turn him down.

She chewed the heavy-oil and heavily spiced shredded potato burrito in her mouth; it had already grown slightly cold.

Eating in front of an unfamiliar boy still felt quite unnatural to Wang Wanjun, so she ate very slowly.

Glancing at the opened milk tea beside her, she looked out at the empty hallway outside the pantry, and then back at the lavish assortment of the fruit bowl.

She took out her Redmi phone; although the model was a bit old, it was kept in mint condition.

Opening WeChat, she looked at the 568.3 yuan in her wallet and began calculating her expenses.

These 500-plus yuan were what remained from her previous part-time jobs, including the 200 yuan living allowance her mother had given her.

Thinking that working part-time at this tutoring center should net her around 5,000 yuan a month including commissions, Wang Wanjun let out a sigh of relief.

That was not a small amount, thanks of course to Wang Wanjun's appearance and the selfless help of the front desk receptionist.

She opened the rarely used Meituan takeout app and looked at the prices of the milk tea shops.

A cup for 12 yuan, another for over 20 yuan—Wang Wanjun looked at the milk tea brand beside her called Chagee, and ultimately ordered a 22-yuan low-sugar milk tea.

As she paid, her delicate, oil-stained lips pursed slightly.

A 22-yuan milk tea was something most people considered utterly trivial.

But for Wang Wanjun, it wasn't an inexpensive indulgence.

Then she looked at the full box of expensive fruits. She had never eaten durian or cherries before, only small cherries and strawberries.

Even so, she knew how expensive they were.

After placing an order for a milk tea scheduled for delivery at 4:00 PM, Wang Wanjun looked at the fruit bowl. There was nothing to be done about this...

She would just have to help out more with whatever tasks Li Yan needed done later...

Wang Wanjun put down the shredded potato burrito in her hand. With the hot weather and the oily, spicy food, she didn't actually have much of an appetite.

Though she was hungry, she didn't feel like she could eat much.

Cupping the still-chilled milk tea in both hands, Wang Wanjun glanced out the pantry door again; there was nothing there.

Only the somewhat disjointed notes of piano music drifted into her ears from the nearby piano room.

Through the suction of the straw, the ice-cold milk tea was drawn into her cherry-like lips, which still bore a trace of oil at the corner.

Wang Wanjun's eyes narrowed slightly.

It's low-sugar!

It tastes a bit good...

Although Wang Wanjun's family conditions were poor, she had drunk milk tea before.

However, the cheap saccharin-powdered milk tea that cost a few yuan a cup obviously couldn't compare to the one in her hands.

"Does he also like low-sugar drinks?"

Like a little hamster, Wang Wanjun held the ice-cold milk tea in both hands, sipping it in tiny, cautious sips.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, curving into a happy arc.

Her appetite was back!

Putting down the milk tea, she picked up the shredded potato burrito again. Though it wasn't particularly delicious, it was filling and cheap, making it quite decent for Wang Wanjun.

"Hmm... not spicy enough. Next time I'll ask Auntie to add more chili!"

If one were to carefully examine the distribution of ingredients inside the bitten-off potato burrito, the following conclusion could be drawn:
50% shredded potatoes.
10% bean curd skin.
40% chili peppers...

A sip of milk tea, a bite of chili—ah no, a bite of the shredded potato burrito.

Wang Wanjun ate very happily, her eyes slightly squinted. Her cold and peerless appearance currently resembled a greedy little hamster.

Her slightly puffed cheeks were as white and tender as jade.

As for the fruit bowl placed to the side, Wang Wanjun couldn't afford to pay him back, but she wasn't so hypocritical as to flatly reject it either.

After thinking about it, she decided to take it back and share it with Liang Meng!

Perfect~

Wang Wanjun, who had always struggled to accept other people's kindness, felt a bit uneasy coming from Shancheng to Chengdu and staying as a guest at the home of her best friend from junior high.

However, Liang Meng clearly understood her situation, and the two of them were truly the closest of friends.

Although Liang Meng had moved to Chengdu to study after junior high and her family had relocated there as well, the two of them had never lost touch.

Even this wonderful part-time job had been found for her by Liang Meng, and Wang Wanjun was deeply grateful.

Of course, the tutoring center job did not provide housing, so staying at Liang Meng's place was entirely normal.

Yet Wang Wanjun still felt a sense of owing a debt; she never wanted to owe anyone anything. So could this be considered borrowing flowers to present to Buddha?

"When I get my paycheck, I'll definitely pay you back!"

Listening to the piano music drifting from the piano room and looking at the fruit bowl beside her, Wang Wanjun decided to store it in the small fridge in the pantry for now and take it back to share with her best friend after work in the afternoon...