Lunch with Li Yicheng at a Japanese restaurant left Lin Tianran feeling overly full, so he ended up staying in his dorm until nearly 8 PM, still not hungry.
But if he didn't eat anything, he would definitely get hungry tonight.
Ah, if only he had prepared some instant noodles or biscuits in his dorm.
Usually, if he didn't have any, he could mooch some snacks from his roommates. But now, his roommates had already left, leaving the spacious dorm all to himself.
Well, he guessed he'd better head to the mini-mart to buy some snacks.
Lin Tianran put on a light jacket and went downstairs.
The barbecue restaurant at the back door was as lively as ever, with groups of employees drinking, playing rock-paper-scissors, watching sports, and playing cards.
He walked past the back door and headed straight for the bustling area of this industrial zone.
"Hey handsome, do you want some company tonight?" A voluptuous woman with revealing clothes and a captivating figure appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his arm.
Lin Tianran was startled, and the strong scent of her perfume made him cough uncontrollably.
"No, thanks," he coughed.
"Oh, come on, keep me company. I'm so lonely," the woman cooed, her hand wandering.
"I don't have any money," Lin Tianran told her bluntly.
As soon as she heard that, the woman jumped back and immediately put on a disgusted expression. "If you don't have money, don't come out, you broke loser!"
Seeing that she finally let him go, Lin Tianran sighed in relief, adjusted his light jacket, and walked into the mini-mart.
Yeah, he didn't have much money. He was broke. But as long as he worked hard, life would get better, Lin Tianran firmly believed.
He picked up a few packs of instant noodles and some pickled vegetables from the mini-mart and headed to the checkout counter.
However, it was quite lively over there, with a crowd gathered around.
"I saw you acting all suspicious over there earlier, and now you're caught red-handed. Still not admitting it?"
"Where's your dad? Call him right now!"
"I didn't steal anything!"
"You're saying you didn't? Then what's that in your hand?"
"Waaah!"
Lin Tianran leaned in for a closer look. Wasn't that the same little boy he had encountered here before? Lin Tianran remembered him; he had treated this kid to soy milk once!
"What's wrong with this child?" He rushed over, pushing through the crowd to ask.
"This kid was caught shoplifting in our mini-mart, but he won't admit it," the cashier lady replied gruffly.
"What did he steal?" Lin Tianran inquired.
"He stole a chocolate bar!" The cashier lady pointed to the small boy clutching something tightly in his hand.
"Waaah, big brother, save me." The little boy recognized him and ran to his feet, hugging his pants leg tightly and wiping his tears and snot all over.
"Don't be scared." Lin Tianran patted his head and asked, "What's going on here?"
The little boy choked up. "I'm hungry and have no money..."
Lin Tianran stayed silent, encouraging him to continue.
"I asked my dad for money, but he wouldn't give me any. He told me to get food myself..."
"There are so many delicious things in the mini-mart, and I wanted chocolate..."
Lin Tianran sighed. The little boy had probably expected him to scold him, but instead, he just asked, "What's your name?"
"Dad calls me Little Tiger," the little boy blinked his eyes and replied.
"Little Tiger, that sounds nice," Lin Tianran nodded. "Little Tiger, you have to remember that we should never steal things, that's against the law, okay?"
"Oh..." Little Tiger seemed to understand vaguely.
"Stealing is done by bad people, and we shouldn't be bad people, you understand?" Lin Tianran patiently taught him.
"I understand," Little Tiger nodded and then said somewhat sadly, "But I'm hungry."
"Here," Lin Tianran handed the chocolate he had taken back to Little Tiger.
Little Tiger happily took it, tore open the packaging, and wolfed down a bite. Then he stopped, thinking for a moment, and generously broke the remaining chocolate into two pieces, handing one piece to Lin Tianran.
"Big brother, you should have some too."
Lin Tianran smiled as he accepted Little Tiger's chocolate. He thought that this kid wasn't inherently bad; he was just forced by circumstances and lacked proper guidance, which led him to make a mistake.
"I have some instant noodles here. Would you like some?" Lin Tianran pointed to his shopping bag.
"But we don't have hot water," Little Tiger said.
"Right, my dorm has hot water, but it'll be too late to eat after we prepare it. Your dad will be worried if he can't find you," Lin Tianran checked his phone; it was already past nine.
"I don't have a home to go back to tonight," Little Tiger shook his head. "Dad's lady friend came over, so he told me to come home tomorrow."
"Oh?" Lin Tianran didn't expect this kid's dad to act this way. "So where are you planning to sleep tonight?"
"On the streets," Little Tiger answered matter-of-factly as if it wasn't the first time.
Lin Tianran felt a pang of sadness and anger toward the so-called dad. He took Little Tiger's hand. "Come on, big brother will take you to my dorm."
So, the two of them walked back together.
Hot water was poured into the bowls of instant noodles already seasoned with spices, instantly filling the entire dorm with a rich aroma.
The two of them sat with their bowls of instant noodles, eagerly anticipating their meal.
"We have to wait for fifteen minutes," Lin Tianran began a timer on his phone.
"Big brother, can I have some soup first?" Little Tiger's mouth was watering.
"No, you can't," Lin Tianran laughed and patted his head.
"Big brother, why is it just you living here?" Little Tiger looked around, bored. "But there are so many beds?"
"This is the employee dormitory of the company where Big Brother works. Originally, several people used to live here, but they all moved out, and no new people moved in, so it's just me now."
"Great, this whole room is yours!" Little Tiger sighed as if it was a wish. "It would be nice if Little Tiger had his own dorm, so I wouldn't have to sleep on the streets."
"In the future, whenever you want to come here, you can. How about that?" Lin Tianran was particularly fond of Little Tiger; he saw his own childhood in him.
"Okay, okay!" Little Tiger was so happy he could almost jump up.
After finishing the instant noodles and drinking all the soup, Lin Tianran wiped Little Tiger's mouth and helped him onto the bed.
"It's late; quickly get under the covers and go to sleep," Lin Tianran said, lightly patting Little Tiger's butt.
"Big brother, come sleep with Little Tiger." Little Tiger clung to Lin Tianran's arm and refused to let go.
"Okay, okay, let's sleep together," Lin Tianran had no choice.
Little Tiger snuggled happily against Lin Tianran, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
"Alice, listen to me, please listen!" Yao Wang, wearing only boxers, was awkwardly kicked out of the apartment.
"And your clothes, here they are. Now go!" The door opened again, and a pile of clothing was thrown directly onto Yao Wang's handsome face.
"Alice, you've misunderstood me. Please, calm down and listen to me!" Yao Wang tried to rush back in but was blocked by the furious woman at the door.
"I've had enough of your sweet talk. I only want one thing from you. Do you love me or not? If you love me, marry me tomorrow!" Alice's face was streaked with tears, her makeup was running.
"Alice, don't be like this. Let me explain..."
"That's enough, that's enough. Just go. I've had my fill of your sweet words. We're going our separate ways from now on. Don't contact me anymore!" The woman covered her ears, her voice filled with disappointment, decisively cutting off Yao Wang's words. She had made up her mind to free herself from Yao Wang's love game.
With a loud slam, the door was shut firmly.
"Ah," Yao Wang sighed heavily, collapsed against the wall, and slid down to the cold corridor floor.
"Seriously? Heh, me, Yao Wang, have never been serious about anyone."
In matters of love between men and women, they each took what they needed. Where did seriousness come into play?
To love someone, to marry them, to live together until old age - Yao Wang believed that such things would never happen in his life. A playboy like him was more suited to be carefree, roaming the world without worries.
In the morning, Lin Tianran woke up, had a light breakfast with Little Tiger in the cafeteria, and then took him back to the small market. "Hurry back home, I need to go to work too."
Little Tiger waved at him, said goodbye, and left.
After the medical check-up yesterday and some fun afterward, the document printing room was unusually busy today. Linna brought over several reports for him to print, and the morning flew by unnoticed.
Thinking about what Li Yicheng had mentioned yesterday, reminding him to come to the CEO's office to learn, Lin Tianran didn't dare to delay. He quickly filled his stomach in the cafeteria and then headed back.
"Xiao Tian, you're here!" Li Yicheng, who had been dozing off a second ago, suddenly saw him enter and became excited as if he had just been injected with energy.
"Yeah," Lin Tianran walked over with a notebook and pen. "Have you had lunch?"
"I just finished. Have you?"
"I just finished too."
"Then let's start learning." Li Yicheng stood up, vacating his seat for Lin Tianran and gesturing for him to sit down.
"The first step is to open a document..."
Li Yicheng taught diligently, and Lin Tianran learned seriously. One noon, Lin Tianran's notebook was filled with crooked notes, all documenting today's lessons.
"Is there anything you don't understand?" Li Yicheng touched his back affectionately and asked.
"Not for now." Lin Tianran's attention was still on the screen, unaware that he was being affectionately teased.
"Great, remember to review when you get back. I'm going to test you tomorrow." Suddenly, a soft whisper came to his ear, and Lin Tianran's ears turned red. He quickly shrank back.
"I got it."
"It's almost time for the afternoon work shift. I need to prepare for the meeting. I'll leave now, and thank you for today," Lin Tianran politely picked up his belongings and thanked Li Yicheng.
Li Yicheng watched him limping out of the room and then turned to clumsily descend the stairs. Suddenly, he remembered the professor's advice about "avoiding stairs and heavy lifting." His eyes narrowed slightly, and a plan formed in his mind...
Support me a milktea if you like my translation:
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/mirori
Paypal: mymy26198@gmail.com