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

Ye Shu washed the mop clean, drained the water, and then picked up a rag to wipe the table.

The café door was pushed open, bringing in a blast of cold air and a few snowflakes swirling in with the wind.

Good morning, my lovely employees!

Chen Xing's voice arrived before she did; she seemed to be full of energy today. She had a large canvas bag slung over her shoulder, and wore a pair of woolen gloves with a cartoon dog pattern sewn on them. Her face and the tip of her nose were a little red from the wind.

"It's so cold... They didn't even tell us before the temperature dropped."

Ye Shu looked up, about to greet him, when he saw Chen Xing holding something in his hand.

It was a white, irregular, dripping...lump.

"Good morning, Sister Chen Xing. What are you holding in your hand?"

Ye Shu squinted, examining the object closely. It was sculpted by Xue, but the shape was rather abstract.

Chen Xing, looking smug, placed the clump of snow in his hand on the bar counter:

"Look, the snowman I made. It's a pity the snow melted so quickly. Can you guess what I made?"

Ye Shu moved closer, looking at it from left to right, up to down.

This thing is roughly shaped like a cone, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom. It looks like there was some kind of shape originally sculpted on it, but now it's all smudged.

"Are you... a Calabash Brother?"

Ye Shu wasn't quite sure, but with this design and proportions, he couldn't think of anything else besides the Calabash Brothers.

"What?! Calabash Brothers?!"

Chen Xing immediately widened his eyes, and in his haste, he even stammered:

"What kind of eyesight do you have? I've clearly sculpted a lucky cat! Can't you see? That round head, that raised paw, that chubby body—it's a lucky cat!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Shu carefully examined the snow block that was melting rapidly and becoming increasingly indescribable, trying to find even a trace of the charm of the lucky cat.

Unfortunately, no.

He couldn't help but complain:

"Sister Chen Xing, you... you made a lucky cat out of snow, and it all melted into water in no time. Your luck with money is terrible..."

He shook his head, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Pah, pah, pah! Children's words are innocent, blown away by the wind; children's words are innocent, may they bring you great fortune."

Chen Xing reacted quickly, slapping Ye Shu's mouth shut.

The woolen gloves, still cool and slightly damp from holding the lucky gourd, instantly smeared onto Ye Shu's mouth.

"Who, who said I'm a lucky cat?!"

Chen Xing covered his mouth, his eyes wide, and forcibly changed his story:

"What I sculpted was originally the Calabash Brothers! Yes! The Calabash Brothers! Water Calabash Brothers! Look, isn't it melting right now? How lifelike!"

Ye Shu felt uncomfortable with her mouth covered by the cold, wet gloves, so she could only nod and tell Chen Xing with her eyes, "I believe you."

Chen Xing then let go of the water doll on the bar counter, looking at it with a reluctant expression, as if it were not a handful of snow about to melt away, but her artistic journey.

Finally, he sighed and put the handful of snow into the sink.

Ice and snow return to the flowing water.

"Oh, my water sprite..."

Chen Xing stared at the sink for a second, mourning, then turned around, took off his wet gloves, and began making the morning coffee, one of the employee perks.

Ye Shu took a rag and casually wiped the small patch of "traces of Shuiwa's visit" clean off the bar counter.

The snow outside the window gradually stopped, as is typical for the first snowfall, but the sky remained hazy. Combined with the cozy atmosphere inside the café, it was inexplicably pleasant.

Ye Shu and Chen Xing sat opposite each other at the bright bar, each holding a freshly made cup of hot coffee. It was their morning meeting before the store opened.

Calling it a morning meeting is a bit inappropriate; it should be more like a gossip exchange or an information sharing session.

The conversation covered a wide range of topics, from whether the newly opened milk tea shop on the next street actually uses real milk, to watching the couple upstairs fight all night, to the suspected collapse of a top celebrity's house, or Chen Xing coming up with some strange new product recipe.

Today's topic has somehow shifted from complaining about the sudden snowfall to everyday family matters.

Chen Xing sipped her coffee, spitting out hot coffee, but refused to put it down. She treated the cup of coffee like hot soy milk.

But then again, isn't coffee just foreign soy milk?

Chen Xing's eyes crinkled as if she had remembered something interesting. She leaned forward, rested her elbows on the bar, and looked at Ye Shu with a smile.

"Hey, Xiao Ye, I have a question for you. Just curious, what's your status in your family?"

She asked this question because Ye Shu's submissive demeanor during the phone call yesterday had left a deep impression on her.

Ye Shu sat on a high stool outside the bar, holding a coffee cup in her hand. She gently squeezed the handle of the cup and said quite frankly:

"Well, they definitely have a higher status, so I'm more inclined to listen to them."

Chen Xing was surprised that Ye Shu admitted to it so easily; she had thought Ye Shu would have to be stubborn for the sake of his male pride.

However, she still heard one word, and her eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ye Shu's tone was so natural just now, so natural that she almost didn't notice anything strange about what she said, but...

"they?"

Ye Shu seemed to realize that she had spoken offhand, paused slightly, and then smiled:

"Oh, her. Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue."

He didn't want to, and felt it wasn't necessary to, explain to Chen Xing in detail who "they" specifically referred to. Although he was their boyfriend, Ye Shu felt he had no right to casually reveal their situation to others.

Respect has always been Ye Shu's bottom line.

Moreover, such matters, like the Peach Blossom Spring, are not to be discussed with outsiders.

But Chen Xing clearly misunderstood. Her eyes narrowed, the joke on her face disappeared, and she looked suspicious, as if she had discovered something incredible.

She leaned back slightly, her eyes fixed on Ye Shu, and said in a low voice:

"Xiao Ye, tell me the truth... did you... have feelings for that college classmate of yours from yesterday? So it's 'them'? One here, and another one over there?"

"what?"

Ye Shu immediately realized that Chen Xing was talking about Jiang Yining. What was this all about? He didn't want this misunderstanding to continue to escalate.

"Really, no, Sister Chen Xing, how could that be! I'm really not familiar with her. We just bumped into each other by chance yesterday. Why do you ask?"

Chen Xing squinted and stared at him for a few more seconds before speaking very seriously:

"Hmm...you don't seem like that kind of person. But, Xiao Ye, let me tell you something."

She put down her coffee cup and tapped the bar counter with her finger:

"What I hate most in my life is a scumbag who plays with people's feelings. I don't care about your life, but you're not allowed to go astray and become that kind of person, understand?"

She paused, realizing she might have been a bit too serious, and softened her tone:

"Besides, I think your girlfriend is pretty good, although she's a bit strange... Ah, that's not what I meant! I mean, she's quite special, a really nice girl, and you two are a good match, a perfect couple."

Ye Shu waved her hand, indicating that she didn't mind Chen Xing's choice of words just now, and then said very seriously:

"Sister Chen Xing, I understand what you mean. But what I want to say is, I really love my girlfriend, and..."

He gave a self-deprecating laugh:

"I know my own limitations very well. Someone like me, with no money and not handsome, there are plenty of people more outstanding than me, and yet I'm the one who's with her. I'm already incredibly lucky. So, I would never mess around or do anything to hurt her."

Seeing how seriously Ye Shu was speaking, Chen Xing suddenly felt a sense of relief, as if his child had grown up. Chen Xing genuinely regarded Ye Shu as his younger brother, which is why he noticed something was wrong and promptly reminded him.

Just as she was about to say something, such as "Then I'm relieved," a cheerful voice came from the direction of the doorway:

You had better keep your word.