Xie Huai’s ride was a black electric scooter.

He had gotten this beat-up vehicle from somewhere, its engine humming loudly, creaking and squeaking all the way.

Xia Xia sat on the back seat, tightly gripping the leather cushion that had split in several places, while the passing breeze tousled her hair into complete disarray.

Xie Huai rode at breakneck speed, not even slowing for speed bumps, nearly jolting Xia Xia’s bottom in two.

Xia Xia wanted to hold his waist but felt too embarrassed, nearly falling backward several times as she swayed precariously.

Xie Huai wore a navy blue T-shirt today, the wind filling it up and making the hem billow. His waist was lean and well-shaped, and occasionally when the wind lifted his shirt hem, revealing the fair skin underneath, Xia Xia couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

Afraid of falling, she clutched the edge of his shirt for balance.

Xie Huai slowed down a bit: “Hold my waist, don’t grab the shirt.”

Hearing this request, alarm bells went off in Xia Xia’s mind.

She refused: “Don’t try to take advantage of me. Even though we’re in the middle of nowhere, if you try anything inappropriate, I’ll still scream for help.”

“I’m telling you to loosen your grip,” his voice sounded slightly irritated, “You’re choking me with the collar.”

His collar was already small, and Xia Xia’s tight grip on the hem was pulling the shirt down, making it hard for him to breathe.

Xia Xia: “…”

She let go, thinking she hadn’t even spent much time with Xie Huai, yet she was already becoming conceited like him.

Xie Huai parked the scooter in front of a milk tea shop.

The shop was tucked in a corner of the pedestrian street behind the University of Technology’s back gate. It was small, with a dusty signboard above the door missing one of its two characters, leaving only the crooked character for “tea” hanging there.

Xia Xia pushed open the door, getting a handful of dust from the glass.

The shop owner was a young man, and with no customers around, he was slouched in a soft chair behind the counter playing mobile games.

Xie Huai took off his bodhi bead bracelet and tossed it on the marble counter: “Zhao Yi Lei, time to do business.”

The man looked up at Xie Huai: “You’re late.”

Xie Huai went behind the counter, took out ten paper cups, and arranged them in a line: “Had something come up? I’m here now, that’s good enough.”

Zhao Yi Lei quit his game and got up lazily.

Xia Xia couldn’t figure out what Xie Huai was up to and studied the man before her.

Zhao Yi Lei was a typical northern man, burly in build with a rough voice, wearing only a tank top that showed off his muscular chest, with two points clearly visible through the fabric.

Xia Xia wasn’t particularly attracted to men who looked like fitness trainers and hesitated at the door about whether to enter.

Zhao Yi Lei: “Xie Huai, why isn’t your girlfriend coming in?”

Xie Huai glanced at Xia Xia: “Girlfriend?”

Xia Xia immediately said ingratiatingly: “We’re just classmates, don’t insult Huai Ge’s taste.”

Zhao Yi Lei turned to make milk tea, and for each flavor he prepared, Xie Huai would pour half a cup into the paper cups on the counter.

“What are you standing there for? Come here.” Xie Huai pushed the cups toward Xia Xia, “Drink.”

Xia Xia picked up a cup, but paused before drinking: “Is it free?”

Xie Huai: “…”

Zhao Yi Lei laughed: “My shop hasn’t had customers for days, brother’s treat.”

So Xia Xia didn’t stand on ceremony and drank all ten cups clean in one go.

Xie Huai’s gaze fell on her: “Which ones taste best?”

Xia Xia thought for a moment and pushed forward two cups: “These two are better, what do you think?”

“What does he think? All milk tea tastes the same to him. If he could tell the difference, he wouldn’t have needed to bring you here.” Zhao Yi Lei smiled, “Little sister has good taste. These two flavors were my shop’s signature drinks two years ago until that trendy milk tea shop opened next door last year, and then nobody came here anymore.”

Xie Huai nodded: “I’ll take these two.”

Zhao Yi Lei: “How many?”

Xie Huai pulled out a paper from his pocket, the one where Xia Xia had written down key points after yesterday’s freshman assembly.

He took a pen from the counter and started calculating in the blank space, muttering to himself.

“Management School, Law School, and Foreign Languages School are training on the east field, the female students add up to…” he counted on his fingers.

“Four hundred and twenty-three.” Xia Xia announced just as Xie Huai had barely counted two fingers, “A total of four hundred and twenty-three female students.”

She calculated so quickly that Xie Huai cast her a distrustful glance and pulled out a calculator from under Zhao Yi Lei’s counter.

“You’ll get the same number with the calculator.” Xia Xia understood what Xie Huai wanted to do. She propped her elbow on the counter and said eagerly, “Huai Ge, see how good I am at math? And I don’t even need to do military training. Hire me, I guarantee I’ll sell everything for you.”

Xie Huai punched in 423 and tossed the calculator aside: “You won’t do.”

“Why won’t I do?” Xia Xia protested, “Didn’t I help you sell plenty of things last night? Ten yuan per hour for handing out flyers – you can pay me eight, such cheap labor shouldn’t go to waste.”

Xie Huai: “Don’t remind me about last night. Everything you sold was to male students. Have you ever seen many guys drinking milk tea?”

Xia Xia was stunned: “How do you know I only sold to male students?”

“All the water bottles you sold were dark colors, all the desk lamps had Transformers and car patterns, and not a single pink one sold.” Xie Huai paused his writing and turned to look at her, “You didn’t sell a single mosquito net. Know why?”

Xia Xia shook her head: “Why?”

She had wondered about this last night too.

The water bottles and desk lamps in Xie Huai’s stall sold well, but oddly no one bought the mosquito nets, which had puzzled her.

Xie Huai: “Because men don’t need mosquito nets. In the male dorms, anyone who hangs a mosquito net gets mocked by the whole room, understand?”

“…”

“My milk tea is for female students. If you can’t even handle business with women, how many cups can I expect you to sell?”

Xia Xia had no response, but asked: “Then what makes you think you can sell them?”

Xie Huai pointed at his face: “This.”

He said flatly: “Look at this pretty boy’s face that turns heads. If I can’t even sell a few cups of milk tea with this, I might as well not live.”

Xia Xia: “……”

Xie Huai finished his calculations and pushed the paper to Zhao Yi Lei: “One hundred cups of each of these two flavors, delivered to South University’s east gate by nine tomorrow morning.”

Zhao Yi Lei punched the calculator: “Five yuan per cup, one thousand yuan total, payment first, then delivery.”

But Xie Huai didn’t take out money: “Too expensive.”

Zhao Yi Lei narrowed his eyes, looking every bit at the shrewd businessman: “Brother, two years ago I was selling these for fifteen yuan per cup, five yuan is already a friendly…”

“Are you sure you want to discuss price with me?” Xie Huai picked up his bodhi beads and slipped them back on his wrist.

“Tea bags wholesale for ten yuan per pound, condensed milk twenty yuan, making two hundred cups costs less than a hundred yuan in materials. I’m only ordering a few flavors, you can make them all in one batch. Adding labor and packaging costs, it’s at most one-fifty per cup, I’ll give you two yuan.”

Xie Huai snatched the calculator from Zhao Yi Lei’s hand and tapped it like he had earlier: “I’ll add fifty cents per cup for delivery to the school gate. Two-fifty per cup, two hundred cups total, five hundred yuan, payment on delivery.”

Zhao Yi Lei choked: “…You stingy bastard!”

He said seriously: “Xie Huai, you should know, I don’t have to…”

“You don’t have to be a wholesaler, you could retail, make it yourself, and sell at the school,” Xie Huai interrupted. “Is that what you want to say?”

“Brother, I’m not trying to discourage you.” He looked sincerely at Zhao Yi Lei, “But unfortunately, South University has new rules this year.”

“…No delivery personnel or outside vendors are allowed through the school gates. Without a student ID, you’ll likely be stopped at the gate.”

“Your shop hasn’t had customers for days. Working with me might not earn as much as retail, but at least you’ll earn something. Otherwise, you’ll just be sitting here tomorrow with nothing to do again.”

Zhao Yi Lei: “…”

He racked his brains but couldn’t find a single argument against Xie Huai.

Xie Huai’s calculations were correct. This deal was indeed profitable for Zhao Yi Lei, and he couldn’t afford to turn it down, but his cut was so much smaller compared to Xie Huai’s.

He would only make one yuan per cup, while Xie Huai could mark up the price as he wished. With a cost of two-fifty per cup, even selling at five yuan would be pure profit.

He felt somewhat unbalanced thinking about it.

“Brother,” Zhao Yi Lei tried to look pitiful, “Add a bit more, brother still has mortgage payments this month, I need to make a living.”

Xie Huai rested his arm on the marble counter, his fingers unconsciously tapping the surface.

His eyes showed a moment of softening but quickly hardened again. He said flatly: “No negotiation, I need to live too.”