Rong Qian had said she would help Shen Yi work, and she meant it.

Shen Yi had already spoken to the restaurant owner ahead of time. Once Rong Qian arrived, she just had to find the owner and give her name.

The restaurant owner was a middle-aged man, also of Chinese descent. He had a belly on him and, aside from his Chinese face, his manner and speech were through and through American — he could barely speak much Mandarin anymore.

According to Shen Yi, the owner had become infatuated with Bruce Lee and only then taken up Chinese cooking, opening this Chinese restaurant. And it was because of that fondness that carried over, Shen Yi, being Chinese, had landed this job in the first place.

Though it was advertised as a Chinese restaurant, from the moment Rong Qian stepped inside, the smells and the dishes she saw had not the slightest hint of anything truly Chinese about them.

But overseas Chinese restaurants — especially during this period — often adjusted their menu to suit local tastes. It was perfectly normal.

When the owner saw Rong Qian, a slightly strange look crossed his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to speak up. “Rong, you’re an adult, so I’ll be straight with you.”

“Hmm?” Rong Qian was puzzled.

The owner was frank with her. “The truth is, Shen asked me to arrange easier work for you. He said to not bother with payment, but not to tire you out either. He told me not to tell you — but I felt it was only right to say something.”

Rong Qian stared at him. That little guy — unable to stop her from coming out to help him work, so he’d come up with this counterproductive scheme?

What a fool! And yet exactly the kind of foolishness that made you feel something warm.

“Owner, you don’t need to follow his instructions. Pay me whatever the going rate is, give me the same work he does — I don’t need any special treatment.” Rong Qian ultimately talked the owner around.

Though the owner agreed, Rong Qian still felt compelled to add a word of caution: “Owner, you really can’t keep a secret. But I’d still like to ask — don’t go ahead and tell Shen Yi what I just said to you either.”

The owner nodded, signaling he understood.

Though privately he thought — when payday came around, Shen Yi would figure it out with a quick calculation anyway. No need for him to say a word.

Rong Qian put on her uniform and started her shift immediately.

Her memory was sharp — which table had ordered what, she retained perfectly. She worked with brisk efficiency, carrying a tray in each hand, moving through the restaurant as though the air itself parted for her.

Strangely enough, although she was a slight and slender young woman, she gave off the unmistakable impression of someone robustly capable. But then, that was part of Rong Qian’s appeal — she carried about her an air of assurance that made people instinctively want to rely on her.

During the peak dinner rush, a temporary dishwasher came in — also Chinese, and a college student.

Rong Qian was busy running food at the time and didn’t notice him. It wasn’t until she carried a stack of cleared plates into the back kitchen that a casual sidelong glance caught the dishwasher’s face.

Years of professional reflex kicked in before she even thought about it — she grabbed the collar of his uniform, pinned him against the wall, and had him restrained with the air of someone who had just apprehended a fugitive on death row.

He was completely dumbstruck — staring at Rong Qian with a blank, terrified expression.

Rong Qian, on the other hand, was beaming at him. “You’re Lu Xuan!”

Not a question — a statement. Rong Qian would never mistake a face. The young man before her, bespectacled and gentle in appearance, was without a doubt Chen Shiyi’s boyfriend, Lu Xuan.

“You — who are you? How do you know me?” Lu Xuan was inexplicably flustered. He instinctively tried to push up his glasses with his rubber-gloved hand, only to find the frame smeared with soap suds.

Rong Qian snapped back to herself and quickly let him go, straightening out his disheveled collar with an apologetic look. “Sorry about that — reflex. But don’t worry, I mean you no harm.”

Lu Xuan could sense that, even though at first he had felt a kind of pressure radiating from her, the feeling she gave off was upright and straightforward. Like someone in law enforcement.

“Do I know you?” Lu Xuan rephrased his question.

Rong Qian smiled. “You don’t know me — but I know you.”

Lu Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly. He had genuinely no recollection of the woman in front of him. How could she know him? Before Lu Xuan could ask, Rong Qian beat him to it. “Why are you working here too? Did you come alone? Where’s your girlfriend?”

“My girlfriend?” Lu Xuan’s expression turned distinctly peculiar.

Rong Qian asked, “Isn’t Chen Shiyi your girlfriend?”

Hardly had Rong Qian finished speaking when Lu Xuan’s face went red as a beet, and he became completely tongue-tied. “She — she’s not my girlfriend. She doesn’t even know I like her…”

“Oh, so you haven’t won her over yet.” Rong Qian nodded with an understanding look and patted him on the shoulder in unmistakable encouragement.

Lu Xuan’s face went even redder. He didn’t quite know why, but being encouraged like this by a woman gave him an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.

Not that that was the point — who on earth was this woman, and how did she know who they all were?

“Shen Yi!”

But before Lu Xuan could get his questions in, the sound of urgent footsteps came rushing in, the kitchen curtain was thrown open, and Rong Qian looked up to find Lin Feng — looking harried and frantic.

“Hmm? How’d you end up here?”

Lin Feng had come to find Shen Yi, but hadn’t expected to find Rong Qian here working instead.

Rong Qian set down a large pile of dishes to be washed on the counter and replied without looking up, “I came to cover his shift. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No — no problem.” Lin Feng didn’t dare have a problem. He was simply surprised.

Lu Xuan knew Lin Feng and, realizing this woman also seemed to know him and Shen Yi, Lu Xuan quickly asked, “Lin Feng, who is she?”

“Her name’s Rong Qian. She’s Shen Yi’s…” Lin Feng trailed off, and Rong Qian picked up where he left off, smiling sweetly: “His sister.”

Lu Xuan was enlightened — no wonder she knew them all. He didn’t question it and took her at her word just like that.

Rong Qian turned to Lin Feng. “What were you in such a hurry to find Shen Yi for? Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing now. Since Shen Yi’s not here, it’s fine.” Lin Feng said and turned to leave. Rong Qian blocked his path. “Hold on!”

“Something else?”

Rong Qian lifted the last dozen or so plates from the cart onto the counter, closed her eyes, and drew a long, slow breath. Then she turned to look at Lin Feng, and the moment her expression turned serious, it carried a quiet authority that needed no words to reinforce.

Her gaze settled. Her voice dropped. “Tell me everything before you go.”

Around ten o’clock that night, Shen Yi cycled over to the restaurant to pick up Rong Qian. He had just parked his bike when he saw Rong Qian stroll out of the restaurant grinning.

“Tired?” Shen Yi asked.

Rong Qian looked completely relaxed. “Not at all. The work was easy.”

“Good.” A rare hint of a curve touched the corner of Shen Yi’s mouth. He had meant to go in and say hello to the owner, but Rong Qian had already taken a seat on the back of the bike and was urging him on. “Why are you still standing there? Let’s go home.”

“Alright.” Shen Yi listened to her, and off they went without further delay.

Rong Qian sat on the back, swinging her legs lightly. Shen Yi cycled at an easy, unhurried pace — comfortable enough for Rong Qian to take in all the scenery along the road. She hummed a little tune and thought that tonight’s breeze felt gentler than usual.

Shen Yi’s gaze kept drifting to her out of the corner of his eye. Caught up in her mood, his own spirits lifted. “Did something good happen? You’re very cheerful.”

“Was it you who arranged for Lu Xuan to work at the restaurant?” Rong Qian said it like an idle, offhand remark.

That Rong Qian knew about Lu Xuan working at the restaurant didn’t surprise Shen Yi. He said carelessly, “I just casually put in a word.”

“Is that so? But I asked the owner, and he said you asked him for days?”

Screech —

Shen Yi hit the brakes hard. Rong Qian’s center of gravity lurched and, even though she managed to grab the hem of his shirt with both hands just in time, her head still knocked into his back. This kid — what was his spine made of, it was rock-solid.

Shen Yi turned to look at her. “You told him?”

“Don’t worry, I know you care about face. I didn’t say a word to him.” Rong Qian couldn’t resist teasing him.

Shen Yi said evenly, “Just returning a favor.”

Lu Xuan had once carried him on his back for a full stretch in the dead of night to get him to the hospital — arriving breathless and drenched in sweat just to pay his medical bills. That debt of gratitude, Shen Yi had not forgotten.

It was just that with favors — one given, one returned — it seemed like they could never be fully settled.

Rong Qian hadn’t known they had that kind of history. She wanted to ask what had happened that night that ended with him being sent to the hospital, but the subject felt too heavy, so she let it go and made a joke instead.

“He was so good to you — ‘offering himself in gratitude’ really wouldn’t be out of line, don’t you think?” Rong Qian teased. But at that, Shen Yi suddenly went silent, and the atmosphere noticeably stiffened.

Rong Qian felt puzzled, but didn’t press further, and they rode the rest of the way home in silence.

They didn’t speak again until they arrived back at the apartment on Saint Roe Street. After Shen Yi stopped the bike and Rong Qian had already stepped off, he finally said to her, “Do you know why Thomas has been making trouble for me?”

“Isn’t it because you beat him up?”

Shen Yi shook his head. “He’s bisexual.”

Bisexual — meaning he could be attracted romantically and physically to both men and women. In other words, that guy had taken a liking to Shen Yi’s looks.

Rong Qian clicked her tongue. She really did have a talent for stepping right into the middle of a minefield.

In the end, Rong Qian looked at Shen Yi with a look of the most righteous composure and said with total sincerity: “Don’t worry — he can never have you!”

Shen Yi: “…”