Into the Night, Jiao Jiao Gets Kissed by a Business Tycoon
Chapter 168: [Extra] Are you... very short of money?

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: [Extra] Are you... very short of money?

"That won’t do, the meal I owe you has to be a separate treat, this one doesn’t count."

"Suit yourself." He had the final say on whether they would go or not.

Yurou didn’t know what he was thinking right now, so when she heard his response, she was absolutely delighted, smiling as brightly as a flower.

The two of them ended up squatting at the entrance of the stairwell and finished their lunch there.

Zhou Ming ate very quickly, Yurou hadn’t even finished a single bun and he was almost done, then he got up, ready to leave.

"Hey, wait for me, Zhou Ming!" Yurou, holding her soy milk, hurried after him.

Zhou Ming still walked fast, finally stopping in front of a shop. He took out the keys from his pocket, opened the door, and went in.

When Yurou followed him in, she was taken aback by the shop in front of her. It was less of a mobile shop and more of a pile of sundries, and the space was quite small, only about thirty square meters. With so much stuff inside, there was hardly any space to stand.

Was this where he worked?

Yurou was actually quite surprised because Zhou Ming’s demeanor did not match this place at all.

Zhou Ming briefly tidied up some things on the floor, then glanced over at Yurou who was standing at the door, his tone very calm, "The space is tight as you can see, if there’s nothing else, you should head back."

In reality, he was subconsciously trying to get her to leave.

Yurou brushed off the surprise in her eyes and smiled at him, "It’s fine, isn’t there a chair inside? I can just sit there, I won’t be in the way of your work, right?"

After all, it was not easy to meet someone she clicked with. She wasn’t going to give up just like that, no chance!

Zhou Ming’s hand, which was holding a box, paused. He looked at Yurou impassively, "If you take that chair, where am I supposed to sit?"

Yurou, a bit embarrassed, grinned and said, "It’s okay, I can sit on that box."

Saying this, Yurou strode in and actually sat down on the box.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming felt a headache coming on. This was the first time he’d encountered such a persevering girl.

There had been girls who chased him to his doorstep before, claiming to like him and wanting to be his friend, but whenever he brought them to the shop, they wouldn’t even bother to step inside, their eyes filled with disdain, a complete turnaround from the sweet nothings they’d been saying earlier.

So, over time, he’d gotten used to it: whenever a girl got too clingy, he’d bring her to see his workplace. It turned out to be quite effective; hardly anyone would step inside...

Zhou Ming had thought that Yurou would back off like all the rest had, but unexpectedly, she actually came in and was willing to sit on that dusty box.

Looking at the white dress on the girl, Zhou Ming still went over, "You go sit on the chair. That box is dirty; if your white dress gets stained, it’ll be hard to clean."

Actually, Yurou didn’t care at all about getting her dress dirty; she was just happy Zhou Ming was letting her stay. So when she heard this, she mentally gave him another point. He wasn’t so cold-hearted after all.

"Then where will you sit?"

"Where else can I sit if not the one under your butt?"

"But you said it was dirty, right?"

Zhou Ming replied helplessly, "No problem, I’m wearing black pants, even if it gets dirty, it won’t show."

"Okay." Yurou obediently nodded and moved to the chair.

Then she saw Zhou Ming lightly pat the dust off the box and move it in front of the workbench, the veins on his hands standing out slightly.

"Do you usually stay in the shop?" Yurou suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming took out a cell phone a customer had brought in the day before and began to disassemble it, "Yeah, I’m usually here during the day."

"I see..." Yurou nodded, seemingly amused.

Watching Zhou Ming deftly disassemble each part of the cell phone, Yurou couldn’t help but ask, "How long have you been doing this?"

Zhou Ming paused briefly, as if considering, "About six or seven years now."

Yurou was taken aback for a moment and unconsciously murmured, "That long..."

Zhou Ming only looked to be in his mid-twenties; she hadn’t expected him to have been in this line of work for so long, essentially spending the prime of his life in this small shop.

"Have you always been doing this?"

"Yeah, I do other things too sometimes."

Yurou was once again surprised and asked, "You have side jobs?"

Zhou Ming didn’t hide it and simply nodded, "Yes, I do designated driving at night, and sometimes tutor kids on weekends."

For some reason, Yurou felt a bit of heartache and spoke slowly, "Are you... in need of money?"

Yurou knew it might not be appropriate to ask this, but she asked anyway.

"Yeah, more or less," he replied very calmly, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated to himself.

"Have you encountered any difficulties?" Yurou carefully asked.

Zhou Ming didn’t answer her but instead asked, "Don’t you have to work during the day?"

Yurou paused then nodded, "Yeah, I only came back from abroad last year and haven’t found a job yet."

In fact, Zhou Ming had realized that Yurou wasn’t just an ordinary girl when they first met, so he wasn’t surprised to hear "came back from abroad."

"Did you study abroad?" Since Yurou looked young, Zhou Ming thought she went there for studies.

"No, I was very rebellious before and always wanted to see the world, but my parents wouldn’t allow it, so I ran away from home to travel the world and only returned last year." Yurou spoke succinctly, but only she knew the bitterness of that experience.

Zhou Ming was surprised because Yurou seemed like the type of girl who had been well protected by her family, yet she had done something so wild.

He began to see this girl in a new light.

"Was it fun traveling the world?" he asked.

"It was a blast! I got to taste all kinds of food, make a lot of interesting friends, and experience local cultures—it’s really meaningful."

Yurou’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, clearly believing everything she’d done was worth it.

Zhou Ming was also influenced by her words and said, "Could you tell me about some of the interesting things you’ve come across on your travels?"

"Of course!" Yurou excitedly replied, and then she began to recount her experiences from the past few years...