I downloaded the app and discovered that my childhood sweetheart's affection level had skyrocke

……

On the sixth day of the school anniversary celebration, Tang Yuru had just returned to the lemon tea stall when she saw the class monitor carrying a tea canister onto the table.

There was a lot of yesterday's tea left in the bucket, and the lemon slices soaking in it were all limp and didn't even look as good as the ones that were freshly cut that morning. Tang Yuru was originally going to get a new cup, but after seeing it, she hesitated and asked softly,

"Class monitor, isn't this what was left over from yesterday?"

"Yeah, right." The squad leader opened the lid, glanced at the remaining amount inside, and was even somewhat satisfied. "There's still so much left, enough to sell for a while. You finish this bucket first, then make a new one... We need to control costs."

"But..." Tang Yuru walked over, looked down at the tea, and smelled it. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed immediately. "Aren't you worried that selling the leftover tea from yesterday will give the customers heartburn?"

The squad leader said, "I'm afraid, but I'm even more afraid of not making money."

"I'm heartbroken if I don't make any money."

Tang Yuru: "...?"

She originally thought that after she finished speaking, the other person would check it or at least smell it, but the class monitor not only did not hesitate at all, but even started to put the cups to the side.

This answer...

Something doesn't sound quite right.

Isn't this a bad idea?

Tang Yuru glanced at the sign hanging in front of the stall, which read, "Freshly Hand-Brewed, Drink with Confidence"—a phrase she had written herself. She suddenly found those words somewhat jarring, so she reached out and pulled the tea canister a little closer to herself.

"But didn't we say before... that things must be kept clean and that we couldn't break the rules?"

"Rules are rules, and profits are profits. We can't break the rules for making money." The class monitor said, while taking out his phone to check the messages in the class group chat.

"There are only two days left for the school anniversary celebration. Do you know how much the other classes have earned? If we keep dawdling like this, our class will end up with nothing."

Tang Yuru remained silent.

The class monitor thought she had listened to him, and reached out to pull the tea canister back, but after moving forward a little, Tang Yuru silently pulled him back again.

"Um?"

"This... let's not sell it," Tang Yuru said softly.

"Aren't you wasting it by pouring it out?"

"Selling it to someone else isn't good either," Tang Yuru silently clutched.

Tang Yuru remained tense. She wasn't very good at arguing with others, especially when the other person was the class monitor. Whenever she was stared at like that, she would subconsciously want to apologize first.

But this bucket of tea shouldn't be sold anymore, no matter how you look at it.

Bad things.

This is bad stuff...

"Look, the sign still says 'fresh'..." Tang Yuru whispered, "What if someone notices and says we're not clean?"

The squad leader thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out his hand.

Tang Yuru thought the other person was about to pour out the tea, but the next second, the class monitor simply moved the menu on the table forward, just enough to block the tea canister.

"What's the big deal? Just don't let them see it. It was freshly made yesterday, so it's still fresh, isn't it?"

"..."

Tang Yuru stared at the menu that had been propped up and remained silent for a long while.

No.

How could this happen?

Is the menu clean after that?

Just then, two tourists walked over and stood in front of the stall for a while. One of them said, "Hello, two lemon teas, regular sugar, less ice."

"Okay." Tang Yuru responded immediately, and her hands moved quickly. She first grabbed two new cups, and then went to get the freshly washed lemons next to her.

The squad leader, however, had already reached out and touched the old tea barrel.

Tang Yuru was a little faster than the other person. She put the lid on first, then moved the whole bucket behind her, before bending down again to cut lemons and prepare new tea.

Squad leader: "..."

Tang Yuru whispered, "This can't be used."

The customer was standing outside, so the class monitor couldn't argue any further. He could only watch her work with a cold face and his arms crossed. Tang Yuru was quite efficient at her work. She sliced ​​the lemon tea, beat it by hand, and added ice. Before long, she handed out two cups of lemon tea, reminding the customer that they could try the sweetness first.

"Hello, your lemon tea is ready."

The two tourists took a sip and both said it was good.

Tang Yuru finally smiled, and her previously tense shoulders relaxed.

But as soon as the guests left, the foreman pointed back at the bucket, looking annoyed. "What are we going to do with this? You're not really going to dump it all, are you? Do you know how much money we've lost?"

Tang Yuru held the tea bucket, her lips moved, and after a few seconds she whispered, "But, this can't be sold anymore... It won't take long to make a new one."

"It won't take long?" The class monitor glanced at her, then suddenly laughed. "Lemons are free? Tea is free? If you make it again, all this stuff will just be wasted."

"I don't want to waste it..."

"So what are you doing now?"

Tang Yuru pursed her lips and hugged the bucket a little tighter.

Seeing that she still wouldn't let go, the class monitor's already bad expression turned even worse. His gaze swept over her, finally settling on her worn-out school uniform.

"To be honest, it's one thing for others to waste things, but I really don't understand why you waste things."

"...?"

"Isn't your family not well-off?" the class monitor said. "You usually can't bear to spend a few extra dollars on meals, but now you're suddenly being generous, throwing away all this stuff without a second thought. It's not like it's your money, right?"

The class monitor's words struck Tang Yuru like invisible needles piercing her heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

She glanced down at her hand holding the tea canister, a little bit of the cuff peeking out. The thread there was loose; she had sewed it up herself once before, but it wasn't very well done, and you could still see it if you looked closely.

Tang Yuru silently pulled her hand in a little further.

The class monitor, however, did not notice her actions and continued, "You have no money yourself, and you don't even know how to save it. No wonder you're always so poor."

"..."

"No wonder you're poor. You're slow and hesitant when it comes to making money, but you're quite eager to waste it."

Tang Yuru raised her head, her exposed eye widening slightly, as if she hadn't expected the other person to say something like that.

Someone happened to be passing by and glanced in their direction.

Her face flushed red, then slowly lost its color. She stood there holding the tea bucket, not even knowing where to look first.

How embarrassing.

Why say these things here?

She knew her family was poor, and she also knew that many of her classmates could tell, since clothes, shoes, and what she ate were not things that could be easily hidden.

Knowing is one thing.

Being said to someone's face is a different matter altogether.

Tang Yuru lowered her head, her eyes gradually becoming hot, and the explanation that was on the tip of her tongue could no longer be uttered.

I didn't intend to waste it.

I don't think making money is bad.

This bucket of tea shouldn't be sold to anyone else. It's such a simple thing, how did it turn into someone saying they deserve to be poor?

"What's wrong? Not saying anything?" The class monitor saw her lower her head and touched the edge of the bucket again. "You think what I said was harsh? Then come up with a solution, instead of just sitting here hugging."

Tang Yuru gritted her teeth, sticking to her own convictions.

"This...cannot be sold."

The sound was even quieter than before.

The class monitor overheard this and was even a little amused and annoyed, saying, "Is that all you know how to say?"

"..."

"Okay, then pay the difference." The class monitor pointed to the remaining tea inside. "If you think it's not worth selling, then buy it yourself. After you buy it, you can pour it wherever you want; nobody will bother you."

Tang Yuru looked at the bucket without saying a word.

I bought it myself...

She subconsciously thought about how much money was left in her phone before realizing that she was actually considering this method.

It makes no sense at all.

That's not how it is...

Why...

"What, you're reluctant to spend money again?" The class monitor looked at her expression and twitched his lips. "You yourself are reluctant to spend money, so why should you waste it for everyone else? There should be a cost to being a good person."

Tang Yuru's eyelashes trembled.

She originally thought that if she could just endure it and wait for the class monitor to finish speaking, things would be fine. But for some reason, the more the other person talked, the more she couldn't suppress her grievances, and the scene in front of her began to wet her eyes.

"I didn't..." Her voice was slightly nasal, "I didn't mean to waste it for everyone, but... the lemons have been soaking for a whole day..."

"Then put it down and sell it honestly, don't—"

"Hello, I'd like to buy lemon tea."

A voice suddenly came from the side.

The class monitor stopped speaking, turned around, and noticed a boy standing in front of the stall with a bandage wrapped around his forehead and a cell phone in his hand.

Lin Zhou.

Tang Yuru also looked up, and the moment she saw him, her expression, which she had been trying so hard to maintain, suddenly crumbled.

Why now again?

She clearly didn't want to cry, nor did she want Lin Zhou to see any of this...

She immediately lowered her head and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to hide her emotions. But before she could finish, Lin Zhou spoke up, "Yu Rou, put the bucket down first."

"……Um?"

"Isn't it tiring to hold him?"

Tang Yuru was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had been hugging for quite a while and her arms were a little stiff. Large tears kept falling down her face. She slowly put the bucket on the table and was just about to get a cup when Lin Zhou's gaze fell on the class monitor.

The class monitor recognized him too.

The boy from Class A who helped Tang Yuru sell lemon tea before was quite good-looking, and now that he has bandages wrapped around his head, he's even harder to mistake.

"What kind of sugar, what kind of ice?" the squad leader asked, reaching for the tea canister. "The normal one?"

Lin Zhou didn't answer, but just looked at the outstretched hand, and suddenly asked, "You just said, 'Who deserves to be poor?'"

"..."

The squad leader stopped moving.

Tang Yuru also looked at Lin Zhou, "Lin Zhou...it's alright."

"I heard you," Lin Zhou said.

He had only come to buy a cup of lemon tea, but before he even got close, he heard people talking over there.

At first, he thought they were just arguing about the stall, but when he heard the phrase "you deserve to be poor," he realized that things weren't so simple.

Tang Yuru's eyes were red.

"What's it to you?" The class monitor's expression was a little unnatural, but he quickly frowned. "It's our class's business. You're not part of our class."

"I don't really care about your class... but since you've been selling late-night tea, I'll have to take a good look." Lin Zhou grinned.