Chapter 14: Treatment Reserved for a Big Sponsor
“Yes.” The girl forced a small smile and nodded.
“Have you done similar work before?”
“I worked as a typist outside school during one summer vacation… Ah, and during the school sports event, I used a sealing machine to seal drink cups for people. Does that count?”
“It counts! Of course it counts!”
Cheng Fei smiled happily.
The machines in the shop were automatic anyway. As long as someone had hands and feet, they could use them.
As for handling money…
As long as someone with an elementary school education still remembered basic math, what difficulty could there be?
With Cheng Fei staying outside to greet customers and handle payments while she herself worked inside, her speed was more than enough to manage everything.
“Come on, let’s get you familiar with the place first.”
“Mhm!”
The young girl answered with a very pleasant voice.
No need to think too much, this shy type was definitely someone protected too well by her parents. She naturally felt uncomfortable when first entering society.
Still…
She had her own special charm.
Cheng Fei led her around the shop, introducing the machines and environment. Finally, they stopped beside the register to learn the different drinks sold in the store.
Under Cheng Fei’s guidance, the girl tried operating the machine herself. After confirming the order, she printed the receipt.
Just then, two young men walked in.
Cheng Fei gave her a look.
“Go on, give it a try.”
Encouraged by Cheng Fei, Miao Lei stepped forward to greet them.
“That’ll be thirteen yuan in total.”
The two boys looked at each other. They had probably never seen such a shy employee before.
Then they took out their phones and scanned the payment code.
“Not bad! You did great!”
After the customers left, Cheng Fei patted Miao Lei’s thin shoulder.
With her personality, being praised like that naturally made her embarrassed. She did not even dare look directly at Cheng Fei’s face and instead kept glancing outside.
The drink-making techniques here were all public knowledge.
Back when Cheng Fei opened the shop, she had not chosen to join a franchise brand, so the dress code was much more casual and relaxed.
Miao Lei hung her shoulder bag on the wall and obediently stayed near the counter.
While nervously dealing with all kinds of customers, she also chatted with Cheng Fei from time to time.
The blazing sun gradually lowered in the sky.
In the blink of an eye, the whole day passed quickly.
From nine in the morning until six in the evening.
When work hours ended, Miao Lei picked up her bag, walked outside, and waved goodbye to Cheng Fei.
“See you tomorrow!”
During their chats, Cheng Fei had quietly gathered almost all of Miao Lei’s background information.
This obedient girl truly had been spoiled by her parents.
From childhood until now, she had never even cooked a single meal herself.
Of course, if she could not even boil water or make instant noodles, she probably would not have survived until today.
Still, spoiled as she was, the girl at least understood reality. She knew depending on her parents forever would not work.
And relying on a man would only turn her into an accessory hanging off someone else’s leg. If she met the wrong person and got dumped later, all she could do would be cry.
So she decided to begin the first step toward independence by training her courage.
That was why she had specifically chosen a workplace with relatively heavy customer traffic.
She had no complaints about the salary Cheng Fei offered. Even if it were lower, she still would have accepted it.
Time continued moving forward.
The number of pedestrians outside gradually decreased.
Bored, Cheng Fei yawned. Seeing that it was almost nine o’clock, she planned to close the shop soon.
Then the “chatterbox man” dressed all in white from yesterday morning and today reappeared in front of the shop.
Cheng Fei immediately felt a headache coming on.
But for the sake of business, no matter how annoying she found him, she could only endure it.
“What would you like to drink this time?”
The first meeting might feel unfamiliar, but by the second time, people naturally became easier to talk to.
Especially someone she had already spoken with before.
For business, and also for her ultimate goals, there was nothing to feel embarrassed about.
Shen Yi smiled.
Even with the familiar greeting, he still seemed slightly uncomfortable.
“The same as before. I like the taste of bitterness mixed with sweetness… just like my life and my struggles.”
“A person with stories, huh?” Cheng Fei forced herself to smile.
“No, no. I just got addicted to coffee during school.”
“Haha.”
“What’s wrong? Miss, you don’t seem to like the taste of coffee very much.”
“If I drink too much, I can’t sleep. Then the next day I can’t stay awake in class. I used to fall asleep during lessons, get scolded by teachers, and even lose credits.”
Cheng Fei hurriedly answered.
“Haha, I was the same at first too. But I couldn’t quit coffee, so I started running around the sports field…”
And just like that, the endless chatter began again.
Under the counter, Cheng Fei’s fists quietly tightened.
Other than forcing a bitter smile, she did not even want to make any other expression.
Outside the shop, a car stopped by the roadside. The driver watched the scene inside and slightly frowned.
“Sorry for bothering you so late.”
“Yeah, it’s already past ten o’clock.”
The one answering “chatterbox man” was not Cheng Fei, but a man standing at the door.
Gao Ming smiled lightly and walked to Cheng Fei’s side.
Showing up here so late, he came to pick her up?
Normally, Cheng Fei found him annoying. Whenever other people were around, he always forced her to cooperate with his act, only stopping after they got home.
But today…
This behavior made him the perfect teammate!
As she thought that, reality immediately proved her right. Gao Ming reached out and placed a hand on Cheng Fei’s shoulder.
At this moment, if Cheng Fei wanted to escape the endless chatter, the only thing she could do was stay calm and cooperate.
For “chatterbox man,” this scene came very suddenly.
Looking again at Cheng Fei, there was not even the slightest sign of resistance or annoyance on her face. Her expression looked as natural as always.
An answer slowly appeared in his heart.
“Chatterbox man” suddenly felt his chest tighten painfully.
The pain was no weaker than the shoulder pain from earlier that almost stole his soul away. But he still forced himself to stay calm.
“So… you’re married.”
“Yep!”
Cheng Fei nodded firmly.
There had never been a moment when she wanted to admit this identity more urgently than now.
“We only got our marriage certificate not long ago.”
The man felt like he could not stay there any longer. Hurriedly, he said goodbye to the loving couple in front of him.
“It’s already late. Sorry for bothering you. I’ll leave now.”
After speaking, Shen Yi turned and walked away.
Just from his back, anyone could see the loneliness and embarrassment in his steps.
He had not even taken a sip of coffee yet.
Opening the bag, he found a red banknote and some change inside.
The man looked up and saw the expensive car parked by the roadside.
His eyes widened immediately.
Then he looked back at Gao Ming before running away miserably like a frightened rat.
“Take care!”
The two deliberately called out loudly.
Only after Shen Yi completely disappeared from sight did Cheng Fei finally relax and pull away.
Gao Ming sat down nearby with a faint smile and noticed a cup of iced lemonade on the table.
Feeling thirsty, he casually picked it up and drank it.
“You performed pretty well just now. Was that your type?”
“Cough!”
Cheng Fei, who was organizing coins behind the counter, nearly lost her balance.
It felt like a mouthful of blood was stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down.
What exactly was this guy thinking?!
Even if she liked the ugliest woman alive, she still would not be interested in someone like that, okay?
“Forget today. But you said it’s always like this… is all this really necessary? Can’t we just act more naturally?”
Gao Ming stepped behind the counter and lowered his voice.
“No.”
“……”
“It has to be this way. What happened just now was actually perfect. Only then can we show how loving we are and how important we are to each other.”
“When we divorce in the future, I can act heartbroken enough to completely lose faith in love. Then I can naturally use that as an excuse to stay single forever.”
Amazing.
This man was genuinely impressive! He was basically a master planner!
Cheng Fei completely froze. Only the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Gao Ming truly lived up to his name.
A businessman really was different.
She almost wanted to give him a thumbs-up.
“Boss, I’m just an ordinary person! And if you want to show affection, just make a video call or something. Everyone here is just random strangers. There’s seriously no need for you to personally visit my tiny shop and put on a performance.”
After finishing the drink, Gao Ming threw the empty cup into the trash can and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
“I actually came to find you tonight because of something important.”
Cheng Fei turned around with a bitter smile.
“It’s already so late. Can’t we skip it?”
Gao Ming only smiled in response.
At the edge of the city, in front of a courtyard large enough to look like a private estate, Gao Ming’s car stopped in front of a three-story building across the road.
Two women who had clearly been waiting for a long time immediately stood up and hurried over to greet them.
It was strange.
The place was still open this late at night, completely unlike normal wedding photography studios.
If Gao Ming had not contacted them beforehand, there was no way they would still be operating at this hour.
The women welcomed the two of them enthusiastically into the shop like honored guests.
Cheng Fei honestly felt like she was some kind of god of wealth being worshipped.
In truth, that was not far from reality.
Gao Ming actually had investments in this photography studio, and the owner behind the scenes was also his classmate.
So although this level of treatment felt uncomfortable, it also made sense.
The main manager stood on one side while the sales manager stood on the other.
Under the nonstop introductions from the two women, the thick wedding catalog was almost flipped through completely.
From Cheng Fei’s previous understanding, wedding dresses were simply white gowns made from light fabric.
But after seeing this giant catalog, her understanding was completely overturned!
The many luxurious and complicated wedding dresses dazzled her eyes so much that she could no longer even think about what she liked or disliked.
She only wore a confused expression the entire time.
But in the eyes of the two managers, it looked more like deep consideration.
Did these distinguished guests simply have standards too high for these dresses?
Naturally, special guests like them received different treatment from ordinary people.
The normal dresses had already been removed beforehand. What they were showing now were all the studio’s best hidden treasures.
The two managers exchanged looks.
They immediately sensed trouble.