001 Everything Was So Beautiful

The moonlight was pure and clear, the shadows of the trees blurred and soft. At ten o’clock in the evening in Qin City, the main road occasionally echoed with the roar of passing vehicles.

In this city where housing prices rival those of second-tier cities, consumption approaches first-tier levels, yet incomes lag behind those of fourth-tier cities, nightlife was sparse and unremarkable.

Most shops lining the street had long since closed. A brightly lit convenience store stood prominently at the corner, one of the few still open twenty-four hours.

“Forty-six yuan eighty cents, miss. You can scan the red envelope code first for mobile payment!”

Zhang Su slipped a box of premium Gondujie cigarettes into a shopping bag and pushed it toward the shy girl who didn’t even dare to lift her head. Smiling, he tapped the red envelope QR code posted in the corner. He showed no unusual expression despite the nature of the purchase, maintaining the basic professional decorum.

Late September was pleasantly warm, still allowing one to dress lightly and savor the last lingering warmth of summer.

The girl wore a short JK skirt paired with white stockings, giving off the impression of strict yet neat upbringing.

“Th-thank you… keep the change!”

She tossed down a crumpled fifty-yuan note, grabbed the shopping bag, and hurried out with quick, small steps.

“Hmm, real money…”

Zhang Su put the cash into the POS machine, crossed his arms, and leaned on the counter with interest, watching outside.

The girl quickly reached a Kawasaki H2 parked by the roadside, bashfully throwing the shopping bag into the arms of a handsome young man seated on the motorcycle.

The young man, clearly pleased with her performance, scooped her up onto the backseat and waved goodbye to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su smiled and nodded in return. As the engine roared to life and faded into the distance, the Kawasaki’s tail light disappeared around the corner.

“Probably lost another round of Truth or Dare...”

Zhang Su recognized the biker—a well-off second-generation rich kid who hovered near various universities every new semester. The JK girl was naturally a freshman at one of those schools.

At twenty-eight, Zhang Su had just ended a brief but intense romance. His next target hadn’t appeared yet; he was enjoying a leisurely gap in his love life.

“Better scroll through some videos...”

With no customers in sight, Zhang Su took out his phone and began flipping through short videos.

“A certain superstar spotted at the Crazy Bull Show...”

“Meteorological department issues a massive national cold wave warning...”

“Provincial Style Master… Do you know why boys love watching black stockings? Because...”

Working the night shift at a 24-hour convenience store was tedious. After the girl who bought the Gondujie left, only two customers came in. Zhang Su scrolled through his phone, smoked a cigarette, and did some light exercises until it was time to change shifts.

“Welcome!”

The mechanical greeting sounded from the speaker.

—

At five minutes to midnight, a young man with dark circles under his eyes stepped into the convenience store.

“Su, stocking shelves? Honestly, you’re just too hardworking. No wonder the boss made you manager, hehe...”

The pale youth glanced around the empty store, then unabashedly grabbed a bottle of gum from beside the POS machine, opened it, and popped a few pieces into his mouth, chewing noisily.

Zhang Su’s brow twitched imperceptibly at the boy’s antics. Scolding, he said, “Luezi, you’re freeloading from the store again. The boss treats you like family, and you treat the boss like a burden?”

“Ah, it’s just a few bucks. Our boss wouldn’t mind...”

Wu Lue, the pale youth, strolled to the counter and casually tossed the gum to Zhang Su. Smiling, he asked, “Su, what does the boss look like? Male or female? How old? I’ve been here a year and chatted with the boss in the group chat, but never seen the real face. So mysterious!”

Zhang Su, always sharp and agile, caught the gum with one hand and replied seriously, “Luezi, as your senior brother, I’ll treat you to food and drinks no problem. But if the accounts don’t add up, how can I explain to the boss?”

He scanned the gum’s barcode and said, “Nine yuan ninety cents. Pay up!”

“All right, all right!”

Wu Lue begrudgingly pulled out his phone, paying while muttering, “Just a manager, not the boss. Why be so stingy...”

Not the boss?

Zhang Su smiled at this.

You’ve never seen the boss, how do you know I’m not the boss?

Indeed, Zhang Su was the true owner of this Yilewen convenience store. He had been masquerading as manager all along, personally handling interviews and recruitment, and issuing orders through another WeChat account in the group chat. None of the other staff knew he was the owner.

“It’s not about being the boss, Luezi, it’s a matter of principle!”

He popped more than ten pieces of gum into his mouth, ignoring Wu Lue’s pained expression.

“I’m telling you...” Zhang Su chewed thoughtfully, wagging a finger teasingly in front of Wu Lue’s eyes, “You’re ten years younger than me. Stop trying to learn from the teacher. Your body’s so weak, those dark circles under your eyes look like a panda’s!”

Wu Lue rubbed his eyes and laughed heartily, not arguing because it was undeniably true.

“The teacher is so charming, I’m not skipping class.”

“Just like you!”

Zhang Su was speechless at Wu Lue’s stubbornness. He slapped the half-empty pack of Hua Zi cigarettes on the counter and said, “There’s 300 yuan in small change in the machine. Come on, help me move some stock to the car.”

“All right!”

Wu Lue stuffed the cigarettes into his pocket, put on his uniform vest, and followed Zhang Su toward the warehouse.

“Man... Su, this is crazy... Can I return the cigarettes to you?”

Wu Lue stared at the cart piled with at least a cubic meter of goods, utterly speechless.

“Cut the crap. To return, you better bring back last week’s and the week before, too. Otherwise, just get moving!”

Zhang Su habitually gave Wu Lue a light tap on the back of the head.

Wu Lue was 1.73 meters tall, Zhang Su a full 1.85 meters. The height difference made the gesture perfectly natural.

Seeing Zhang Su already pushing the cart, Wu Lue stopped dawdling, went to open the door, and helped push while asking, “Su, is this the big client order you mentioned the other day?”

Zhang Su nodded casually, his hands busy.

Over ten minutes passed as they loaded the goods into a somewhat aged Wuling van.

“Phew...” Wu Lue wiped sweat from his brow and looked at the cargo inside, puzzled. “Su, buying this many convenience foods and bottled water—is the company going camping or something?”

During the move, Wu Lue noticed the products were mostly food and drink: various flavors of self-heating hot pots and meals, plenty of bottled water, beverages, and snacks.

Thud!

Zhang Su shut the van’s door, clapped his hands, and said, “Some streamer promised fans a challenge to eat, drink, and live in his room for a month without opening the door... That’s it, Luezi. Don’t doze off tonight, stay safe. I’m off!”

Patting Wu Lue’s arm, Zhang Su climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Driving through the quiet streets, Zhang Su lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled, looking upon the city he had lived in for ten years yet still felt no strong sense of belonging.

He wasn’t originally from Qin City. Had it not been for a fateful event ten years ago, he never would have lived here.

Ten years ago, just after finishing the college entrance exam, Zhang Su received bad news: his parents divorced and abandoned him. Fortunately, they left him some money, and he took it and left for another place.

Lost in thought, the car stopped at an intersection.

“Su!”

“Really Su!”

“Good evening, Su!”

At that moment, a lively group of about ten rowdy youths drinking and chatting by the roadside spotted Zhang Su and waved enthusiastically.

Zhang Su smiled and waved back, then took two packs of Liqun cigarettes from the glove compartment and tossed them over. The light turned green, and he drove off amidst their grateful shouts.

Zhang Su had a good relationship with these local ruffians, mainly because of some business dealings with their boss. He had also gotten to know many of the young men.

He occasionally sold them unsharpened iron blade knives and hollow thin baseball bats, and sometimes handed out cigarettes when they met. Coupled with Zhang Su’s respectable fighting ability, the young ruffians treated him politely and frequented the convenience store often.