"One iced Americano and one hot cocoa, right? Anything else you'd like to add?"
"No, that's all."
"Alright, please head to the counter to pay and pick up your order. Thank you."
"Thanks."
Terry drove forward, stopping at the next counter just a little ahead.
"Your iced Americano and hot cocoa, that'll be 19 dollars." The cashier handed Terry a bag with the drinks, and after Terry passed over the cash, they drove off.
Li Ren took the iced Americano from the bag, inserted a straw, and placed it in the drink holder.
"Thanks." Terry said.
Li Ren didn't respond. He quietly took the hot cocoa out, opened the lid slightly, and took a sip. Suddenly, Terry slammed on the brakes, causing the scalding cocoa to splash into Li Ren's mouth.
"Ow!" Li Ren furrowed his brow. The roof of his mouth and his tongue felt like they'd been pricked by a thousand needles.
Terry, startled by Li Ren's reaction, turned his head in panic. "Sorry! Sorry!" He quickly reached out toward Li Ren but wasn't sure what to do. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling out a tissue to hand to Li Ren.
Li Ren took the tissue, placed the cocoa on the other drink holder, and wiped his mouth. Li Ren hadn't said a word since just now, and compared to how polite he'd been earlier, his silence now seemed—'Mad?' Terry thought. 'Should I ask if he's okay...?'
After a brief pause, Terry couldn't resist. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.
Li Ren glanced at Terry, thinking, 'Ugh… just drive. Why ask that out of nowhere?' After silently complaining in his head, Li Ren answered somewhat impatiently, "No." It wasn't anger, more like frustration, a sense of being overwhelmed.
When Li Ren first took this job, he had considered the possibility of running into someone he knew. Lousheng Town wasn't big, and encountering familiar faces was inevitable. But he never imagined running into anyone from his own family.
The car was driving smoothly, but Li Ren's mood remained unsettled. He stared out the window at the familiar scenery passing by, unconsciously swallowing. Terry noticed Li Ren's discomfort and, trying to break the awkwardness, started a new topic. "Your hometown seems really peaceful. How did you get to school back then? Did you get a ride, or did you ride a bike?"
Li Ren glanced at him and replied flatly, "Walked."
Terry widened his eyes. "Walked? That's a long way!"
Li Ren turned to look at Terry, who awkwardly avoided his gaze. 'Oh no,' Terry thought.
"How do you know how far my home is from school?" Li Ren asked.
Terry's quick-witted mind raced to come up with a plausible excuse.
"Ah, well, I know your address. When you went to the hospital that day, I saw it. I looked up schools nearby on the map, and the closest one is at least 2 km away. That's why I said it's far," Terry said, trying to sound casual.
Li Ren fixed his gaze on the phone resting on the phone mount, then turned his attention back to the window. "My house is about a 30-minute walk to school. If I leave at 6:30, I can make it to class before the bell rings. But I usually leave at 5:30."
"5:30? That's really early!" Terry exclaimed. 'Did I manage to get away with that one?' he thought.
"It's fine, I'm used to it. It's better than being late," Li Ren said, his mind drifting. 'If you'd lived through what I have, you'd be willing to wake up early just to have a few minutes to sleep in school.'
"By the way," Li Ren interrupted, "Don't you need to use the GPS? You haven't memorised the route, have you?" His voice carried a teasing tone, as he pointed at Terry's phone. 'Dare to go through my things, huh? Let's see how you explain yourself.'
Terry finally looked at his phone, and his heart sank. 'Oh no...' Terry slapped his forehead mentally. "Oh, um... yeah, I do... I forgot. Can you help me open it?" This was probably the most flustered Terry had ever been in his life. 'How did I forget to turn on the GPS?! What was I thinking?!' He scolded himself internally.
Li Ren reached over to grab Terry's phone, looking smug. "Password?" Li Ren asked.
Terry nervously swallowed. "020910."
Li Ren unlocked the phone, opened the navigation app, and clicked on the search bar. The most recent search result popped up—Li Ren's full home address. "Oh~ Looks like you're really good at remembering things," Li Ren teased, eyes narrowing. "I didn't even need to type it out. You're good at this."
Terry felt a flush of embarrassment. 'Oh, god...' he thought to himself, cursing his careless mistake.
"Haha..." Terry chuckled awkwardly.
How could he have remembered it all? He'd only seen the address once when registering Li Ren at the hospital that day. In fact, Terry had specifically asked for his address from 'THE RADIO STATION' Zhang Lin An, who held Li Ren's complete personal info. In order to know more about Li Ren's background, Terry had even visited Lousheng Town a couple of days early to "research" Li Ren's living conditions.
Once the navigation was set, Li Ren placed the phone back on the mount and took a sip of his hot cocoa, feeling more at ease after the little exchange. Unfortunately, the calm didn't last long. Before long, they arrived at Li Ren's long-absent home.
"Don't worry, I'm here." Terry gently patted his chest and smiled reassuringly. Noticing Li Ren's growing anxiety, Terry tried to comfort him.
Li Ren rolled his eyes and retorted, "Do you think I need you to worry about me? I've got at least 20 years of experience with this place. I know who's in charge here."
'Yeah, this place is the one thing I'm most familiar with. Nothing to be afraid of,' Li Ren thought.
Hearing the sound of the car, Zheng Yi Xin was already waiting by the door, a bright smile on her face, eager to see them. A few moments later, Li Ren and Terry got out of the car, and Zheng Yi Xin walked towards them with joy.
"Here we are again," Terry said with a beautiful smile. His smile was always charming, and with his cute smiling eyes, it was easy for people to lower their guard and feel at ease around him.
"Yeah, here we are," Zheng Yi Xin smiled back, then turned to Li Ren. "Welcome home."
Li Ren stiffened, a frown appearing on his face. 'What do you mean by 'welcome home'? If she truly wanted to welcome me, she wouldn't have kicked me out in the first place,' he thought. He didn't respond, and the air grew tense for a moment. Terry, noticing the shift, gently patted Li Ren on the back. "Let's go inside and talk."
Zheng Yi Xin smiled and nodded, leading them both into the house.
Li Ren's home was very simple. The low fence gate had to be manually opened, and most of the paint had peeled off, leaving the rusty metal exposed. Inside the gate, a silver car was parked. Its paint had lost its shine from lack of maintenance.
"Must be tough on you, rich boy," Li Ren murmured to Terry.
"What are you talking about? Who's a rich boy?" Terry gently pushed Li Ren with the back of his hand.
Li Ren turned to look at Terry's outfit: —jacket, shirt, pants, shoes—a full set of expensive Black Panther brand sportswear. Then, he looked into Terry's eyes. "I'm talking about you. Do I look blind?"
"You can leave your shoes here," Zheng Yi Xin said, pointing to a spot on the floor by the wall. After the two placed their shoes neatly, they entered the house.
The layout was familiar—familiar sofa, familiar TV, familiar furnishings. But what struck Li Ren as strange was that it seemed like there was no trace of his presence left here. On the wall were Zheng Yi Xin's graduation photo and diploma, and the shelves were filled with trophies from-
"Zheng Yi Xin—!" The sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs.
"How many times has Mom told you? Don't call people by their full name! Call me 'sister'!" Zheng Yi Xin scolded loudly. Li Ren and Terry both turned to look toward the stairs.
"You have a younger brother?" Terry asked, his surprise evident as he cautiously whispered in Li Ren's ear.
Li Ren just glanced at Terry but didn't respond.
"Hahahaha! Oh?" The boy's voice rang out as his feet hit the floor, and he immediately locked eyes with Li Ren. "Mary!" he shouted excitedly, pointing at Li Ren.
Li Ren stared at him with a blank expression.
"Zheng Yi Rong!" Zheng Yi Xin stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Apologise!" she shouted.
"Zheng Yi Xin!" Before she could finish, another woman's voice came from the kitchen. "Come here!"
Zheng Yi Xin shot a glance toward the kitchen, then gave Zheng Yi Rong another glare. She raised her fist as if to hit him, and Zheng Yi Rong stuck out his tongue and made a silly face in return. Zheng Yi Xin rolled her eyes, then waved at Li Ren and Terry to sit on the sofa.
"Come on, sit down. It's your first time here, just treat it like your own home. There are cookies and snacks on the table, take it if you want. I'll go help in the kitchen, we'll talk later," she said casually, waving her hand as she walked toward the kitchen.
As Zheng Yi Xin left, Zheng Yi Rong sat down on the single sofa beside them, grabbed some almond cookies from the table, and began munching while talking to Li Ren. "Hey, Mary, where have you been all this time? Why did you suddenly disappear? You don't look very well-fed. You were already short before, but now I could knock you over with just one finger. Did you finally come back because you realised how good your home is?"
He kept talking while chewing, his facial muscles never getting a break, and his tight T-shirt clung to his muscles while his knees were spread wide, shaking his legs. It was an unpleasant sight, and Li Ren couldn't help but think, 'No comparison, no harm. At least this annoying people beside me have a better figure.'
Terry leaned a little closer to Li Ren and whispered, "Why does he call you Mary?"
Li Ren turned his head slightly, covered his mouth with his hand, and, speaking loudly enough for Zheng Yi Rong to hear, said, "Because he has no manners."
Terry looked at Li Ren and couldn't help but smile. Li Ren's behaviour to provoke Zheng Yi Rong seemed childish, but it also intrigued him.
Zheng Yi Rong froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Hah, when did you start saying such unlovable things? Who's this? Your new master?" he sneered.
'Why does he speak so badly?' Terry thought, feeling uncomfortable. Just as he was about to say something, Li Ren cut in. "Yeah, pretty much. After all, picking up an LV bag is better than picking up a plastic bag, don't you think?"
After saying that, Li Ren squinted and gave a quick smile, then immediately wiped it off his face.
For a moment, Zheng Yi Rong was left speechless, but then he put on a pitying expression and said, "Heh... so you really went to be someone's 'Mary'? How low can you go?"
Li Ren rolled his eyes slightly and retorted, "Who cares if it's Mary or Maria? No matter how bad it is, I'm still a Mary riding a Benz. What's wrong with th-"
Before Li Ren could finish his sentence, Zheng Yi Rong reached out and grabbed the collar of Li Ren's shirt. At that moment, Terry immediately stepped between them, grabbing Li Ren's arm with one hand and blocking Zheng Yi Rong with the other.
Zheng Yi Rong glared at Li Ren and cursed, "You bastard! Don't you think I don't dare to hit you!". Terry, standing between them, kept trying to calm down Zheng Yi Rong. "What's going on?!" A sharp scolding voice suddenly came from the kitchen, and everyone immediately went silent. It was Li Ren's mother. A moment later, Zheng Yi Xin quickly ran from the kitchen into the living room to check on the situation.
Terry held Li Ren's left arm tightly until Li Ren tried to pry Terry's fingers open with his own fingers. Only then did Terry realise he should let go.
"Zheng Yi Rong! Go help in the kitchen!" Zheng Yi Xin ordered. Reluctantly, Zheng Yi Rong stood up, gave Li Ren a glare, and walked into the kitchen. After watching her brother leave for the kitchen, Zheng Yi Xin turned to Li Ren with a worried expression and asked, "Are you okay?"
Li Ren adjusted his clothes slightly, lowering his head as he replied, "I'm fine. What could happen? It's not the first time." His hands were shaking, uncontrollably... 'Yeah, not the first time. Don't cry. This has always been the way it is,' he thought to himself.
Zheng Yi Xin couldn't see his expression, but Terry could. There was sadness, self-blame, anger, and maybe even more.
"You should go help Auntie too. Girls are more careful than boys. Auntie probably needs you more," Terry said with a smile to Zheng Yi Xin.
"But—"
"It's fine."
Even though Zheng Yi Xin still looked worried, Terry gently urged her to go. Left with no choice, Zheng Yi Xin returned to the kitchen. Then, they could hear Li Ren's mother scolding from the kitchen.
"Better he don't come back! Every time he returns, it's just trouble and noise! If he's so capable, then leave and don't come back forever! He's got so much backbone! Just like his father! Always running away from problems! Irresponsible scum! Really, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He's just like him! When you get married, you better open your eyes wider and choose carefully! Or you might end up taking care of his children. Then you'll cry!"
Li Ren's mother seemed to be shouting as if she was afraid Li Ren couldn't hear her, getting louder and louder…
'Ha... still hasn't changed,' Li Ren thought.
"I'm going out for a bit," Li Ren said.
After speaking, he tried to stand up, but Terry immediately grabbed his hand, preventing him from leaving.
"Do you want to leave?" Terry whispered, "If you do, just tell me. We can leave right now."
Li Ren didn't pull his hand away from Terry's grip. He simply replied calmly, "Did you forget? You're the one who wanted to come. We have a verbal agreement. I have to follow your instructions. No refusing, 40 dollars per hour, until—"
"You've forgotten," Terry interrupted. "What I said was that you can't refuse unless I allow it. Now I'm allowing you to decide if you want to leave. You just need to tell me if you do or not."
'I do want to leave... I really didn't want to come. If it weren't for going to that temple with you... No, if it weren't for the 40 dollars per hour, I wouldn't have met Zheng Yi Xin...' Li Ren thought.
Li Ren lowered his head, slowly pushing Terry's hand off with his other hand. "Since we're already here, let's eat first and then leave. I don't like them, but I don't hold a grudge with Zheng Yi Xin. If I just leave like this, she'll be upset." His tone was calm, as if he had regained his composure.
Terry thought for a moment, then said, "Fine. Let's eat first and then go."
Li Ren nodded, and Terry added quietly, "Don't worry! I can fight!"
"Haha..." Li Ren couldn't help but laugh. 'Wait what?!' Terry widened his eyes and quickly bent down, his head almost touching Li Ren's face to see his expression. Li Ren was startled by the sudden large face and immediately straightened up, furrowing his brows and glaring at Terry.
"You just laughed, didn't you?" Terry pointed at Li Ren and asked.
"Who's laughing at you?!" Li Ren snapped back, speaking in his usual sharp tone.
No matter how much Li Ren denied it, Terry was certain he had heard Li Ren laugh.
'I really want to find a hole to hide in...' Li Ren thought.
TO BE CONTINUE...