Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

Su Xiao raised her hand in mid-air, looking at Xu Niannian with a serious expression: "I kindly helped you brush off the dust, and you're disgusted by me?"

Xu Niannian's eyes reddened with anxiety. She covered her buttocks tightly with both hands and curled up into a ball, backing away.

"No... I don't need you to pat my butt."

Her voice was soft and trembling, like a little rabbit cornered against a wall, both ashamed and afraid, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing that she was about to cry, Su Xiao finally put her hand down.

"Alright, alright, it's not like I'm taking advantage of you by patting your butt. Our hands are precious too, you know."

He took a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to her. Seeing that her eyes were red, he couldn't help but reach out and wipe her face.

Actually, there weren't many tears, just a wet patch around my eyes.

Xu Niannian took the tissue, lowered her head and didn't say anything, her lips were pouting, and she looked aggrieved.

Su Xiao's heart softened at her appearance, so she turned around and went to the convenience store to buy two bottles of soda.

It's orange-flavored, comes in a glass bottle, and when you pry open the cap, a small puff of white steam comes out.

He shoved one of the bottles into Xu Niannian's arms: "Here, this is for you to drink."

Xu Niannian held the soda bottle in both hands, and the cool glass made her fingers flinch.

She looked up at him, her eyes still red, but a small smile curved her lips.

There is an old banyan tree by the playground, and several stone benches are placed under its shade.

Su Xiao walked over and sat down, patting the seat next to her.

Xu Niannian hesitated for a moment, then sat at the far end of the stone bench, holding her soda bottle, with a full backside between them.

Su Xiao turned her head and glanced at her, her face contorted in surprise.

Xu Niannian quickly moved her little bottom closer to him, and then moved it closer again, until the distance between the two of them was only half an arm's length.

Su Xiao leaned against the stone bench and tilted her head back to take a swig of soda.

The sweet orange flavor explodes on the tip of the tongue, and the bubbles make the nose feel a little sore.

People were still playing basketball on the playground, the dull thuds of the basketball hitting the backboard echoing one after another.

The sky in the distance was a blue so intense it seemed out of place for a city like Jingcheng, with a few white clouds drifting lazily by.

He suddenly spoke: "Xu Daidai."

"……Um."

"What do you think...?"

He held the soda bottle up to his eyes, looking at the sky through the orange glass. "Does what we're doing count as puppy love?"

Xu Niannian almost dropped the soda bottle in her hand.

Her face flushed instantly, burning red from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears, even redder than when he had scared her earlier.

She kept her head down, her lips moved several times, and her fingers repeatedly rubbed the soda bottle.

Early romantic relationships.

The word exploded in her mind, leaving her speechless.

She wanted to say "no," but couldn't bring herself to say it because she knew she was lying.

She wanted to say "yes," but couldn't bring herself to say it, because that would be admitting that she liked him.

She couldn't say anything, so she buried her face behind the soda bottle, letting the cool orange flavor cool down her burning face.

Seeing her silly look, Su Xiao didn't press her further. She just smiled, leaned back on the stone bench, and took another swig of soda.

The wind blew by, and the leaves rustled.

He suddenly felt that in his previous life, which lasted thirty-eight years, he had never looked at a cloud so intently.

……

After school, Su Xiao habitually walked towards the sycamore-lined path at the school gate.

When I got closer, I found that the end of the path was empty; the tall figure who usually stood there waiting for people was gone.

Okay, my sister left a while ago, but the cold war continues.

He scratched the back of his head, pondering as he walked toward the technology street.

What exactly is Su Wan Ning angry about?

Why am I angry that he's hanging out with those effeminate girls?

Are you angry that he stayed out until midnight?

Is she still angry because Wu Mengmeng on the phone said, "You're pressing on my hair"?

All of this is understandable.

But Su Wan Ning was angry that he was in a relationship; something just didn't feel right about it.

The brother is dating, and the sister is unhappy?

Is this still a normal sibling relationship?

He seemed to have discovered something, yet he also seemed to have discovered nothing.

Never mind, let's finish the work first.

He received a text message this afternoon about the phone number he had posted on the job posting outside his shop.

The other party's name was Luo Jiang, and he said he wanted to apply for a job as a used mobile phone inspector.

When Su Xiao arrived at the Science and Technology Street, she saw someone standing in front of the Quan Quan store from afar.

The tall, thin man, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a slightly worn plaid shirt, was looking up at the large pink cat on the sign, his expression a mix of curiosity and confusion.

Su Xiao quickly walked up and greeted them: "Hello, I'm Su Xiao, the owner of this shop. You must be the one applying for the job."

Luo Jiang turned around, his gaze falling on the boy in the school uniform in front of him, and he opened his mouth slightly.

"Are you... the owner of this shop?"

Su Xiao nodded.

Luo Jiang opened his mouth again, but said nothing.

The image of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old student running such a trendy shop doesn't quite fit his understanding of the title "boss".

Su Xiao didn't explain, but took out her key, opened the glass door, and gestured for him to come in and take a look.

Luo Jiang followed him into the store, his gaze sweeping from the slogans on the wall to the layout of the shelves, from the testing station to the repair station, and the confusion in his eyes slowly turned into curiosity.

He has worked at several second-hand mobile phone stores.

Back in Huaqiangbei, those shops were piled high with goods and tangled with threads; it was a miracle if you could even fit a counter.

This store, however, has snow-white walls and bright yellow slogans.

"We don't produce good phones, we're just good phone carriers."

The shelves are divided by brand, and the testing station and the repair station are separated by transparent glass.

"This slogan is interesting." Luo Jiang pushed up his glasses and finally said a complete sentence.

Su Xiao smiled to herself.

Su Xiao then asked him to sit down and directly asked Luo Jiang how long he had been doing this job.

Luo Jiang answered honestly that he had worked in Huaqiangbei for five or six years, rising from apprentice to store manager. Later, his parents urged him to return to Jingcheng to settle down, get married, and live a good life.

Su Xiao's gaze changed noticeably when he mentioned the words "Huaqiangbei" and "store manager".

But instead of drawing conclusions, they simply took a used mobile phone out of the warehouse.

Those were goods left behind by Qian Yuan, which hadn't been tested yet. After the store was transferred, they were all left to Su Xiao.

Su Xiao pushed it over so Luo Jiang could try it out.

Without saying a word, Luo Jiang turned on the power of the testing equipment, plugged in the data cable, and the numbers on the screen jumped one line after another.

He stared at it for about twenty minutes, explaining everything from the motherboard version to battery wear, from screen backlight to button sensitivity, and even opened the back cover to touch the ribbon cable a few times with tweezers.

Su Xiao leaned against the counter next to her and watched the whole process, silently nodding in approval.

This person's skill wasn't just ordinary; it was the kind of skill honed through years of experience navigating the hustle and bustle of Huaqiangbei.

Su Xiao pulled out two contracts from under the counter, but didn't push them over immediately.

He then asked, "Would you be willing to also serve as the store manager?"

Luo Jiang was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting that a high school student would make him the store manager right away.

He shook his head and said, "I'm quitting. Being a store manager is too tiring. I want to find an easier job."

Su Xiao's expression remained unchanged as she said, "Two hundred more in salary."

Luo Jiang gave a wry smile and said, "It's really not about the money; being a store manager involves too many worries."

Su Xiao said, "Add three hundred."

Luo Jiang pushed up his glasses, opened his mouth and then closed it again, finally managing to utter a sentence after a long pause.

"I'm really not that kind of person."

Su Xiao leaned back in her chair, looking at him with a calm tone.

"Add five hundred."

Luo Jiang remained silent for a moment.

Then he took off his glasses, wiped them, put them back on, and finally couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"Boss, you have a great eye for people."