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I can’t thank you enough for all your lovely comments
Everyone else was also covering their lips and laughing.
An uncontrollable smile appeared in Shen Xingsui’s eyes, which made Anran a little annoyed.
Fortunately, this was just a small event. Soon, they forgot about it. As they went to the front, they met the staff of the program group, who said to them, “Since everyone is unfamiliar with the people in the town, we have a list of recommended jobs for you. These establishments are currently recruiting part-timers, and if you are interested, you can go there by yourself.”
The list read: [Restaurant, Bookstore, Manor, Street Vendor, Cleaning Service]
Everyone stopped and looked at the four places drawn on the list. They all were widely different jobs, but all of them seemed fun.
Tuya asked, “I would like to ask, is this something we can choose?”
“No.” The staff decisively answered, “It’s decided by a lottery. It’s because we want to impart the wisdom of life to you: society is a mysterious thing, not something you can just choose. Follow the guidance of fate.”
“…”
The program staff just drew another level of aggro1game terminology; it means a person who gets hatred value, so they will be targeted. from the guests.
Shen Xingchen rolled up his sleeves and said, “Luck is luck, I can do whatever fate throws at me anyway.”
He was the first to take the lead in drawing lots. The part-time job he got was as a street vendor. Naturally, other guests soon followed suit. They all queued up nicely to wait for their turn, and everyone spread out the results they had drawn.
Shen Xingsui unfolded his lots and said softly, “I got the restaurant.”
Everyone glanced at each other and guessed which of the other guests got the same.
Not far away, Fu Jinxiao held up his results with his slender fingers, and said in a slow voice, “Restaurant.”
Getting a job in a restaurant was nothing special. But if that job means you’ll be paired up with Fu Jinxiao, it suddenly became something to be envied. Shen Xingsui himself couldn’t believe his luck. His eyes couldn’t cover up his joy.
The final grouping drawn by lottery:
Shen Xingsui & Fu Jinxiao – restaurant
Shen Xingchen & Li Xu’an – street vendor
Jian Anran & Ning Ze – manor
Tuya & Xu Qinke – bookstore
Instructor Li & Feng Fan – cleaning service
Shen Xingsui looked at his lottery result. With slight curiosity, he asked nobody in particular, “What kind of job will I get in this restaurant?”
Fu Jinxiao answered nonchalantly, “You’ll know when you go.”
It was also one of the reasons why the audience likes to watch this show. This show was genuine – that is, there was no script for the guest or editing from the staff. None of the crew gave any guests preferential treatment. All of them, regardless of their personal wealth or status in the industry, had to suffer the same challenges and pitfalls. If they need to learn the way of the commonfolk, so be it. It was the essence of this reality show.
The crew didn’t give them the restaurant’s name, or give them a map.
Shen Xingsui looked at his card, “It didn’t say which restaurant it was, do we need to ask the locals?”
Fu Jinxiao analyzed, “There is a peach blossom symbol in the center of the restaurant on this card. Remember, the restaurant we ate at yesterday also has this kind of peach blossom theme. And from what I gathered, there are five such restaurants with this theme. Out of those five, the closest one from here has a sticker that the crew places as a sign of cooperation, so it should be that one. Besides, looking in the perspective of the director, he didn’t want the guests to search like headless chickens and waste time. Making the restaurant closest to us guarantees that even if we didn’t understand the clues given, it’s very likely we would stumble upon this restaurant very early.”
Shen Xingsui was shocked, and he looked at Actor Fu with admiration in his eyes, “You noticed that sticker detail yesterday?”
“It’s luck. It just happens to catch my eyes.” Fu Jinxiao put away his card, and smiled as he continued, “Now, this should cut quite of our total time. Let us go there immediately.”
Compared to the experienced Fu Jinxiao, Shen Xingsui is obviously too green. Too inexperienced.
Soon, they arrived at the restaurant. A waiter downstairs was not surprised when he saw two people coming in. He just asked, “Are you two looking for a part-time job?”
Shen Xingsui nodded.
He also had a very good attitude towards them, “Then please come with us.”
Yesterday they were eating at the biggest restaurant in town, and today they are going to come to work in this humble-yet-elegant restaurant. The road of life was really strange and full of twists and turns.
They were taken directly to the back kitchen, which was rather busy here, with chefs cooking and waiters hurriedly taking the orders. The waiter led the guests around this area and came to the innermost place.
It was an office of sorts. The waiter introduced them to an old man dressed in a gray coat, “This is Master Gu Yun, you two will be dispatched by him today.”
Both Shen Xingsui and Fu Jinxiao bowed and saluted to say hello to the old master.
Master Gu Yun smiled, took a step forward, and held Shen Xingsui’s hand so that the youth didn’t have to salute: “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”
Shen Xingsui didn’t expect this master to be so approachable, so his smile got brighter.
Master Gu Yun still held Shen Xingsui’s hand, and even asked with concern: “Are you tired after your journey?”
Shen Xingsui shook his head, “…not tired.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” The old master asked again, “Would you like to take a break?”
Shen Xingsui was shocked. He didn’t expect the benefits to be so good, but he didn’t dare to take it, so he shook his head quickly: “No need, I want to work here.”
Master Gu Yun let go of the youth’s hand.
From the beginning to the end, the old master was courteous with Actor Fu, but he was very enthusiastic towards Shen Xingsui. This made Shen Xingsui feel that this master looked at him very… kindly?
“Today you two are working here to serve food for customers.” Master Gu Yun said, “From cooking, serving dishes, washing dishes… All of those things have to be done.  If there are complaints from customers, your wage will be deducted. “
Shen Xingsui was already mentally prepared when he came here. With determination in his eyes, he replied with a nod, “Understood.”
After Gu Yun finished speaking, he looked at the youth a few more times, and actually added an extra sentence, “But if you are too tired, take a rest. Don’t burden your body. If you force yourself too much, I will have a word with you.”
Shen Xingsui didn’t know how to answer that, so he said, “…Okay.”
The person in charge of this restaurant was really nice.
The audience in the live broadcast room also noticed that the treatment here was really good:
[What kind of fairy is this boss?]
[From now on, I’m going to pray everyday for my boss to get this level of conscience.]
[Hahaha, the group next door are not so lucky.]
[The cleaning service team is charged to move goods. And they won’t get food if they can’t move enough to fill their quota, hahaha!]
[Anran and Ning Ze are also cleaning up the muddy lotus pond in the manor.]
[Tuya-jie and Qin-ge are moving books~]
In contrast, the atmosphere and the treatment in the restaurant made it seem like it didn’t belong to the same reality show. It was like heaven and hell.
The first job that Shen Xingsui and Fu Jinxiao were assigned was to stir-fry the dishes ordered by a table of guests, and then deliver them to the guests on time within ten minutes.
When Shen Xingsui received this task, a look of embarrassment flashed across his face.
Fu Jinxiao asked the youth, “What’s the matter?”
“I’m not very good at cooking.” Shen Xingsui looked up at Fu Jinxiao, and finally admitted one of his embarrassing secrets, “My cooking is… quite unpalatable. It’s passable, but it’s   just not fried well. It definitely fails on the restaurant’s standard”
Then Shen Xingsui thought, ‘Actor Fu has never had to worry about food and clothing since he was a child, and he probably doesn’t know how to cook either… Doesn’t this mean that us two are complete newbies?’
But Fu Jinxiao didn’t take it seriously. The man rolled up his sleeves and tied the apron next to him. He moved naturally and skillfully, and ordered, “Go chop the vegetables, and I’ll fry them.”
Shen Xingsui: “?”
He was shocked until he froze in place. Seeing that he didn’t move, Fu Jinxiao asked, “What’s the matter?
“Nothing! I’m going now!”
The youth almost gave the Actor a martial arts salute.
This serious little appearance made people laugh, especially since Shen Xingsui immediately bolted out from the stove area to the cutting board to start working. It looked simple and genuinely hilarious.
The netizens were also delighted:
[To be honest, I’m going to stan Shen Xingsui.]
[A very simple and serious baby~]
[I feel that he is very much like us ordinary people, working hard in life.]
[Every time I see him, I suddenly want to work harder!]
The customer ordered hot and sour shredded potatoes, fried pork with green peppers, and a bowl of tomato and egg soup combo that included a stir-fried pork liver with green onions. After peeling the potatoes, Shen Xingsui couldn’t help but to comment after seeing Fu Jinxiao’s proficient stir-frying and seasonings, “It smells so good.”
Fu Jinxiao glanced at him with the corner of his eyes, and curled his lips into a smile, “Do you want to try it?”
Shen Xingsui still had this sense of propriety, “No, no, this is for the customers.”
“Yes, you’re right,” Fu Jinxiao then put the dish on a plate. It wasn’t anything fancy or artful, but it looked very appetizing. With a whisper, he said as if he was telling a secret, “If you want to eat, then do it next time.”
Next time?
What does this mean?
Will he cook for Shen Xingsui next time?
‘Impossible, impossible, this is my idol. It’s probably my idol-filter making it a wish fulfillment. How could he cook for an ordinary person like myself? It was probably just a casual joke.’
Fu Jinxiao ordered him, “Take this over.”
Shen Xingsui came back to his senses and nodded quickly, “Got it!”
He quickly ran over to the customers with the dishes, and when he came back, he saw Fu Jinxiao already preparing to cook for another dish. In panic, Shen Xingsui rushed over when he saw Actor Fu holding an onion, “I’ll do it!”
His body reacted faster than his brain.
When he came to his senses, the onion was already in his hands.
The robbed Fu Jinxiao looked at him in surprise, and when he saw Shen Xingsui’s reddish cheeks and worried eyes, he smiled softly, with a gentle and helpless voice, “What’s the rush, no one is competing with you for work.”
Shen Xingsui shook his head and explained, “No, that’s not what I meant, it’s just onions… and uh… making your eyes teary…”
Fu Jinxiao’s teasing smile subsided slightly.
Shen Xingsui lowered his head, and his voice became quieter and quieter. In this noisy and messy kitchen, his whispered words still reached Fu Jinxiao’s ears clearly, “Your eyes have old injuries, and they will be uncomfortable. “
The youth lowered his head, not noticing that Fu Jinxiao’s gaze at him was gradually deepening. His casual expression becoming more… indescribable. It’s as if he was thinking about something.
Shen Xingsui, however, was afraid of delaying the order of the customers, so he went over to chop the vegetables before he could react. The audience only heard half of what he said, but they could guess most of it based on Actor Fu expression:
[Suisui is probably not an angel, is he?]
[This is too wild, isn’t he just clinging to the powerful?]
[Upstairs2commenter before, your heart is too dark. Fu-ge usually treats him so well. Do you think that Suisui still needs to lick his shoes?]
[And Suisui rushed up immediately when he saw the onions. He definitely didn’t plan that. It should be pure reflex.]
When Shen Xingsui was chopping vegetables, Master Gu Yun appeared again. He saw the youth chopping onions, it made him distressed. He wanted to find goggles3The chemical in onions that makes you cry is syn-propanethial-S-oxide. It stimulates the eyes’ lachrymal glands so they release tears (I think because it’s a particularly volatile(easily turned into gas) irritant.) It actually can affect you not only from your eyes, but through your nose. for Shen Xingsui.
Shen Xingsui was very grateful that it should be over soon. The last dish was tomato and egg soup. The soup was served in a bowl.  As Shen Xingsui went to serve it, the high heat made the ceramic bowl very hot, and he flinched just by stretching his hand over it.
Fu Jinxiao quickly put down the bowl and spoon and came over to check, “Is it hot?”
Shen Xingsui denied it quickly, “No, it’s not very hot.”
But his fair hands have already turned red. Even so, he wouldn’t act coquettishly to win sympathy. Instead, he immediately introspected himself – it was definitely his fault, he was too rushed just now. With an apologetic smile, he said, “I was too reckless, I shouldn’t have done it without testing the temperature first. It would be bad if I smashed the customer’s soup.”
Looking up, he met Fu Jinxiao’s sharp eyes.
Shen Xingsui’s heart trembled, Actor Fu raised his eyelids and looked at him with a bit of seriousness, which made his smile stop abruptly.
“If you smash it, then just let it be, accidents happen. I’ll just cook another bowl.” Fu Jinxiao had an indifferent tone, as if he had completely forgotten that it was not easy to cook this bowl of soup. After checking that everything was fine, the actor let him go, but he still knocked Shen Xingsui punitively. There was still a faint smile on his handsome face, but it was different from before. The smile on the corner of his mouth felt oddly dangerous, “Let’s talk about this next time. If you say such words again, I will be angry.”
It wasn’t a serious danger, but that smile made him feel tense and uncomfortable.
The actor didn’t emphasize this too much. But, from the tone alone, it told Shen Xingsui that Fu Jinxiao’s actual wrath would be very, very scary. He could predict that without seeing the actor actually angry.
But…
Why?
Was it because he implied that the soup was more important than scalding his hand?
But when he was with Jian’s family before, if he accidentally did something wrong, like accidentally breaking a bowl, everyone would be very angry at him. What greeted him would be harsh stares and reproaches:
“Can’t you do this well?”
“It’s such a disappointment to come back for dinner and see such a mess.”
Those words have been repeated to him multiple times. Each time, it drove the stake in his heart deeper and deeper. With time, his subconscious would brace himself for the scolding he would get if he made a mistake. He always had to walk on egg-shells and contradict himself – he wanted to be loved, so he would do anything to please them. But at times, the lack of love he was given made him act up. It was a vicious cycle he couldn’t escape from.
But this time, he didn’t get a scolding.
The first reaction of this… half-stranger in front of him was… he was concerned about whether he was injured. He didn’t care about the bowl. He understood that it was an accident and didn’t blame him.
“…”
This feeling is really strange, and even made Shen Xingsui choke for a moment.
Translator's comment on the Shen fam
Honestly, I think the author handles the situation with Suisui and the Shen fam (esp his mom) well. Their trauma didn’t just… magically cured after their reunion. The aftermath was there, scaring them all in different ways. Suisui’s subconscious makes him think of the worst conclusion everytime he makes a mistake, and his self-worth is very low. Shen Minglang and Shen Yong overcompensate their love with the language they understand the most – money. Shen Xingchen is the most unscathed, mostly because he didn’t remember the younger brother he was supposed to have most of the time. But he still pampers Shen Xingsui. Xu Enzhen… well, everytime she appears on screen, she would either: make sure Shen Xingsui is comfortable, or, holding his hand. I think she wanted to make sure her supposed-dead baby was actually alive. She had a lot to unpack.
It will take a long, long, long time for them to heal. Because everything had been buried deep, it needs a lot of time to uproot all of that.
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1game terminology; it means a person who gets hatred value, so they will be targeted.2commenter before3The chemical in onions that makes you cry is syn-propanethial-S-oxide. It stimulates the eyes’ lachrymal glands so they release tears (I think because it’s a particularly volatile(easily turned into gas) irritant.) It actually can affect you not only from your eyes, but through your nose.