The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu stood with her head slightly bowed, hands in her pockets, still immersed in her poetic and sentimental inner monologue.

These little words are so touching. How come I'm so talented? Maybe I should write a book about it?

Ye Shu was like a vendor selling melons, praising her own wares, with an uncontrollable upward curve to her lips.

Snowflakes fell silently on his shoulders and the hood of his hoodie; the world was so quiet that it seemed only the music from his headphones remained.

However, this artistic atmosphere was suddenly shattered when passing by a storefront.

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Hoho! Congratulations on your fortune! Congratulations on your amazing success!"

At a shop on the roadside, an old man wrapped in a military overcoat had just rolled up the shutter door and was pressing buttons on a large speaker at the entrance with his mobile phone.

The music was extremely loud, and Andy Lau's blessings filled the entire street, rushing straight to Ye Shu's brain through his headphones, pulling him out of that peaceful and serene atmosphere.

Ye Shu was startled and subconsciously looked up in that direction.

Is Andy Lau thawed out so early?

Although it has already snowed, there are still several months until the Chinese New Year. Isn't it a bit too hasty to start wishing people a prosperous year so early?

He glanced up at the signboard by the door, then looked again, blinked, and wondered if he had misread it.

This is a supermarket that isn't very big. The sign has large white characters on a red background, and there's a mascot image next to it.

Ye Shu passes by here every day on her way to and from get off work, but she has never looked at it closely and has always vaguely assumed that it is a common chain supermarket.

Today was the first time he truly saw this shop for what it was like.

We still have to come to the supermarket.

The mascot drawn next to it... Ye Shu squinted and glanced at it.

He remembered that the mascot of that supermarket chain was a rabbit head made from a plastic bag.

The thing in front of me... also has a square white head, but it looks more like a flour sack with facial features drawn on it in simple lines.

This is such a blatant knock-off!

No wonder they're congratulating me on getting rich here. I used to wonder why I'd never heard that supermarket's theme song when I passed by. Now I've solved it. It's not that they don't want to play it, it's that they're afraid to.

I thought it was the real Li Kui, but it turned out to be a fake.

Ye Shu exchanged a glance with the mascot, a large flour sack, and then, listening to Andy Lau's earnest wishes for his fortune, couldn't help but sigh.

Okay, whatever makes you happy.

That's life, isn't it? There are many things you never see the whole picture of, and you rely entirely on your own guesses and judgments.

But if you look closely, you might find that he might actually have to come back.

Thinking of this, Ye Shu couldn't help but click her tongue. What was wrong with her today? Why was she being so poetic?

As the handover of the tea ceremony drew closer, a subtle emotion quietly crept back into Ye Shu's heart.

Although I had just spoken those profound truths myself, I still felt a strange sense of nervousness.

Based on the tropes of the novels and TV dramas he had read, if this unexpected reunion, coupled with the seemingly intentional plot development, continued, there was a high probability that Jiang Yining would appear at his workplace the next day, creating an unusual chance encounter.

Ye Shu unconsciously slowed her pace, her gaze sweeping across the street ahead, especially carefully surveying the area near the cafe entrance.

The snow was still falling, and there were still quite a few pedestrians on the street.

The glass doors of the café were tightly shut, and the steps in front of it were covered with a layer of snow, with no footprints.

There was no one at the door; no one was waiting for him, and the expected scenario did not unfold.

Ye Shu stood a few steps away, looking at the quiet glass door. She first breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a surge of intense self-loathing.

What am I doing? Ye Shu, are you possessed?!

He bitterly despised himself in his heart.

A female college student, with just a few nonsensical words, has made you so suspicious?

Look at you, so self-important, thinking you're some kind of male protagonist in a novel? You think you're some kind of love triangle waiting for you wherever you go?

Xia Qing believes in you, but you're acting all paranoid here?

Ye Shu, can't you be a man for once?! Have some self-respect, will you?!

They might have just said it casually, as a polite gesture. That's just how they talk. Why are you making such a fuss?!

The more Ye Shu thought about it, the more pathetic she felt her performance was. Being so disturbed by Jiang Yining was just too much!

A surge of passion rushed to Ye Shu's head, and he was already standing at the glass door of the Corner Tea House.

He took a deep breath, looked at his reflection in the glass door, and suddenly shouted at himself:

"Straighten your back! Be a man, will you?!"

As Ye Shu shouted those words, an office worker in a suit and carrying a briefcase walked past behind him.

He was walking forward dejectedly, his eyelids drooping. This state was either because he hadn't woken up properly or because going to work felt like going to a funeral.

Ye Shu's sudden shout startled the man, who instinctively straightened his back and practically marched forward in formation.

Only after walking a distance did I dare to sneak a peek back at Ye Shu, wondering if there was something wrong with him and if he was going to come and hit me.

Then he walked even faster, afraid that Ye Shu would catch up and yell again or do something else.

Ye Shu watched the person run away as if being chased by a dog, opened his mouth, and sighed.

Huh? Did I just insult myself?

A gust of cold wind blew by, swirling up a few snowflakes that landed on his face.

Ye Shu took out his keys and opened the shop door.

"That's... embarrassing."

I unlocked the door, put the "Ready" sign on, turned on a few lights on the bar, and began another day of preparations.

I watered a few potted plants first, then went to the back room to get a mop and a bucket. Doing some physical work might calm down those messy thoughts in my head.

He gripped the mop, scrubbing the floor tiles again and again, but that name was like a gourd in water; he pressed down one end, and the other end floated up again.

No, I can't keep being so distracted.

Ye Shu, leaning on the mop, decided to give himself a soul-searching examination and analyze the situation rationally.

He recently invented a method, which we'll call the "Xiao Nuan Thinking Method".

It's essentially about detaching yourself, imagining yourself as Xiaonuan, and analyzing the current troubles from an absolutely rational and objective perspective.

"Okay, Xiao Nuan is online."

Ye Shu muttered to himself while looking at the mop handle in his hand:

"Now, Ye Shu is troubled and afraid because of the sudden appearance of Jiang Yining, a junior he hasn't seen for many years and isn't very familiar with, and her seemingly ambiguous behavior. Question: What is Ye Shu afraid of?"

Ye Shu thought for a moment and gave his own answer:

"I'm afraid Xia Qing and the others will misunderstand, afraid they'll think Ye Shu is entangled with other women, and afraid it will ruin our current happiness."

"So..."

Ye Xiaonuan continued her analysis:

"Has Ye Shu taken any measures to eliminate this potential problem?"

"I took action. I immediately confessed to Sister Xia Qing and reported the situation. Sister Xia Qing trusts me a lot. Theoretically, the biggest problem has been solved."

"Since that's the case, Ye Shu, what are you still worried about? The remaining problem is very simple. If Jiang Yining reappears, you just need to face it calmly, state your position, and draw a clear line, just like you promised Sister Xia Qing. Isn't that enough?"

Listening to Xiao Nuan's analysis in his heart, Ye Shu felt that it was absolutely correct, logically clear, and impeccable.

Yes, that's what they say, and I understand the logic. Why don't I just explain it to her?

I have a girlfriend, and we have a great relationship. We used to be just senior and junior classmates, but we can be friends in the future, it's that simple.

But why is that awkward feeling in my heart, that vague sense of unease, still like water stains seeping from a damp corner of the wall, that I can't wipe dry no matter what I do?

He found himself caught in a contradiction.

On one hand, he secretly hoped that Jiang Yining would appear now, quickly and efficiently, say what needed to be said, and clear her name, so that the matter could be completely turned around and stopped hanging in suspense all the time.

On the other hand, he was afraid Jiang Yining would arrive now. He feared a potentially awkward, sharp, and unpredictable situation. He was afraid that if she really meant it, she might say something he couldn't handle. He dreaded dealing with such complex interpersonal entanglements.

To put it bluntly, deep down he's still the same Ye Shu who hates trouble and instinctively wants to avoid emotional conflicts.

Escaping may be shameful, but it's useful.

"Ugh, this is such a hassle... I don't want to think about it anymore!"

He suddenly raised his hand and slapped his face to try and clear his head.

Come if you want, don't come if you don't!

Are you saying you won't cross the river just because the frogs are croaking?

Get to work!