If you don't study hard now, you'll only be able to XXXX when you grow up...
What a familiar sentence structure. Tang Xiaoya had heard many versions of this phrase since she was little. The core point was always the same, never changing. She thought she had finally escaped it after all these years, but she never expected to hear it again while she was visiting a cat cafe.
The tone and phrasing were so familiar, so familiar it made Tang Xiaoya's teeth itch. She really wanted to snap back at the person.
No, no. Respect the elderly and cherish the young. And it's not good to argue in someone else's shop. Calm down, calm down...
Calm down, my foot! Just as Tang Xiaoya was about to let out a mocking laugh and inform the old woman ahead that the person she had just used as an example was actually the shop owner, the bell on the door jingled as it was pushed open.
A man in a suit, wearing a work ID, half-squeezed inside and called out, "Is Lin Lan here? I have two prospective tenants who want to see the apartments in your building!"
Tang Xiaoya choked on her breath and started coughing.
Your... building's... apartments?
Had she misunderstood something? Did the shop owner not only own two storefronts in this building but also own apartments?
Lin Lan, who had been busy making drinks and snacks at the water bar, had to interrupt her work and come out. She immediately saw the familiar face of the real estate agent and the two strangers standing outside. "Why are you looking for me about the apartments all of a sudden? What about my parents? You should call them!"
"I did call, but I couldn't get through and couldn't find them, so I came to you," the agent said helplessly. "Both of these people behind me want to rent. The location and type of apartment they mentioned only have suitable options left in your building, so I brought them both here."
"Hold on a second, let me try calling again." After hearing this, Lin Lan also took out her phone to dial. Her dad's phone indeed didn't connect. Then she tried her mom's. It rang for a while before finally being answered. Lin Lan quickly spoke, "Mom, where did you and Dad go?... Oh, I see, no wonder it's so noisy on the phone, you're at the little dance hall on Back Street... An agent brought two people to look at apartments. I'm tied up with the shop and can't leave. You need to come back right now!... Yes, they're right outside my shop."
After finishing the call, Lin Lan turned to the agent, who had heard the whole conversation, and nodded. "You know where that little dance hall is, right? They'll be back in five minutes at most."
"That's good." The agent was relieved and smiled at her. "One of the people outside wants to rent a suite, the other wants a small single room, or even a basement would do. They both require it to be near a bus stop and close to the subway. After checking everywhere, your building is the most convenient, we can see everything in one go."
Basement?
Hearing someone wanted to rent a basement, Lin Lan couldn't help but take a couple more glances at the strangers outside the door. It was a man and a woman, both quite young in appearance. The fact that they were standing over a meter apart made it clear they weren't together. The female tenant was dressed in a fur coat and high boots, clearly well-off, which made the male tenant next to her, wearing a faded old cotton-padded jacket, seem rather down on his luck.
It was almost immediately obvious who wanted the suite and who wanted the basement.
"Renting a basement in this weather... Chinese New Year is less than a month away," Lin Lan couldn't help but mutter.
"Who knows?" The agent also shrugged. "We can't exactly turn away business that comes to the door. We need to celebrate the New Year too."
That was true. Whatever the reasons these two young people had, as long as it wasn't illegal, they could take them on.
"By the way, Lin Lan, you're running this cat cafe pretty well, huh? The decor is quite upscale, must have cost a lot."
"It's alright."
"The cats are great too. Wow, you have Ragdolls and Maine Coons? Is that an Abyssinian? Good ones of these breeds can cost over ten thousand yuan each. You gathered them all to run a cat cafe? That's quite the investment!"
"That's also... alright."
Just as they were talking, the figures of the Lin couple appeared outside the tea shop. The agent and his group, having waited for them, didn't linger and got straight to the point.
Tang Xiaoya vaguely overheard the conversation of the people outside.
"Are there still suitable ones available?"
"Yes, there are vacant suites on the second, fifth, and sixth floors. There are no single rooms left. The basement..."
Until the group disappeared from sight, Tang Xiaoya, her eyes wide as saucers, stared straight at the water bar area.
She originally thought this shop-owner sister, having her own shop and a whole bunch of beautiful cat masters, was already a winner at life. Only now did she realize how shallow her understanding of a "life winner" was.
This was someone who was ostensibly just a cat cafe owner, but in reality, was a landlady who owned an entire building!
The envy made tears flow unconsciously.
Feeling emotionally wounded, Tang Xiaoya took a big sip of her milk tea. Only something sweet and delicious could slightly soothe her heart. In her melancholy, she saw the shop owner bring a large tray of tea snacks to the table of the grandmother, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter in front, and suddenly perked up.
Tang Xiaoya was sitting diagonally behind them, so from her angle she could still see the side profiles and reactions of that family. The shop owner's earlier conversation with the agent wasn't quiet either; it could be heard inside the shop. Even she had felt utterly defeated. That old woman who had used the shop owner as a negative example to educate her granddaughter must be dying of embarrassment now, right?
Even if she didn't study hard, she still owns a whole building! Waiting tables is just a hobby! And she's surrounded by lots of little cats worth tens of thousands. Old lady, how are you going to explain this to your granddaughter?
The grandmother was indeed very embarrassed. Because her granddaughter insisted on coming in to pet the cats, she and her daughter-in-law had no choice but to follow. The grandmother herself was unhappy, so she found an excuse to lecture her granddaughter, never expecting the server she casually pointed at had such a background.
When the other party brought the tea snacks to their table, the grandmother simply turned her head away, pretending not to notice. The woman taking care of the child beside her also lowered her head in embarrassment. The adults were all quiet, keeping their mouths shut.
Seeing this, Lin Lan also didn't say anything. She had clearly heard the old woman lecturing her granddaughter earlier without lowering her voice. Now that she was silently shrinking back and acting timid, of course Lin Lan wouldn't say anything more either.
Originally, both sides intended to pretend nothing had happened. But they couldn't stop the person who had been singled out for the lecture from being dissatisfied herself. The eight-year-old elementary school student was now very unconvinced, so she directly called out to Lin Lan, who was about to leave: "Big sister, is it true what Grandma said, that if I don't study hard, I'll end up like you when I grow up? If I could have a building full of apartments, and such a pretty shop, and so many cute cats, I absolutely wouldn't want to study hard... Mmmph!"
"You silly child, what nonsense are you saying!... I'm so sorry, my child is just talking nonsense!"
Watching as the mother over there, looking utterly embarrassed, covered her daughter's mouth to prevent her from saying anything more embarrassing while desperately trying to smooth things over, Tang Xiaoya clutched her stomach, laughing silently until she was convulsing.
The lesson backfired spectacularly.
Compared to the awkward guest family, Lin Lan remained very calm.
"That's not quite right, little one." She looked very seriously at the child before her. "Me having this building and this shop has nothing to do with whether I studied hard or not. It's my grandparents who made the effort for me. It was their hard work and striving that allowed me, as their descendant, to have the life I do now. It lets me live comfortably even if I didn't study hard or put in effort."
This statement made the old woman's eyes widen, her wrinkled face flushing with anger. She opened her mouth several times, wanting to scold, but found herself unable to argue back. However, the looks from her daughter-in-law and granddaughter gradually fueled her embarrassment and rage.
Lin Lan acted as if she didn't notice and continued speaking to the little girl. "So, little one, that's exactly why you need to study even harder. Only by studying well now and working hard to earn money when you grow up can you become someone like my grandparents. Then your own children and grandchildren can be happy, holding a cat and doing whatever they want, even without having to strive."
If you can't be the rich third generation, you can strive to be the rich first generation.
The young child felt inspired, clenching her small fists. "Okay! I'll study hard and become a great grandma who's so rich she can give her grandchildren anything they want!"
"Pfft—hahahaha!" Tang Xiaoya couldn't hold it in any longer, burying her head in her arms on the table as she laughed hysterically.
Feeling she had completely lost face, the old woman stood up angrily. "We're not eating anymore, we're going home!" With that, she rushed straight for the door.
"Mom?" The flustered daughter-in-law hurried to pull her daughter along. Just as the little girl, who hadn't even gotten to hold the cat yet, was about to pout and cry, the old woman's shout came from the doorway again.
"You two stay put! The money's already spent, don't you dare waste it on my account!"
With the sound of the bell jingling urgently as the door was slammed shut, the old woman, half-covering her face, quickly left.
Seeing her leave just like that, it was now Tang Xiaoya's turn to feel awkward.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." She knew it was her burst of laughter that had made it impossible for the old woman to stay, otherwise they might have pretended nothing happened and carried on.
What could the remaining mother and daughter say? At least the girl's mother was at a loss, and could only offer an awkward smile in return.
Lin Lan didn't seem to care at all. She simply beckoned the good-natured Sapphire over and gently presented it to the little girl. "Little one, she's very beautiful, right? And you're just as beautiful. But whether it's you or her, we all like to be treated gently, don't we? Now, the shopkeeper sister is entrusting her to your care for a little while, and I hope you'll be gentle with her too. You mustn't bully her, okay?"
The eight-year-old child, already in elementary school, understood things perfectly well, especially this little girl who cherished pretty and cute things. Now entrusted with such a mission, the little girl solemnly took the cat into her arms. "Don't worry, sister, I'll take good care of Sapphire!"
The child's mother watched as her daughter, now like a sensible little adult, held the cat, patiently brushed its fur, played with it, and talked to it, even sharing important lessons she'd learned at school. There was no trace of her earlier willfulness. The mother's expression grew complicated.
Thinking of her mother-in-law, who had just been driven off, she fell into deep thought.
Perhaps their family's approach to educating the child really needed to change?
The atmosphere in the shop returned to normal. Tang Xiaoya sighed in relief, feeling a sense of admiration. With just a few words, she had skillfully put that unpleasant old woman in her place, and afterwards, without batting an eye, she had soothed the awkward remaining guests by letting the granddaughter play with a cat, potentially even securing them as returning customers. The shop owner's handling of the situation was truly masterful.
Just then, she saw the shop owner take a poster from the back room and put it up in the shop window.
Tang Xiaoya clearly saw the word "Help Wanted" written at the top. She instinctively moved closer to look, her expression gradually turning excited. She turned around and called out towards the water bar.
"Boss! Boss, I want to apply for the part-time job! I'm free every weekend. Can I come work here on weekends?"
Free cat petting, free tea and snacks, plus an hourly wage—why wouldn't she do it!
…………
Lin Lan never imagined that her help wanted poster would net her a part-time worker in less than five minutes. The applicant was named Tang Xiaoya, 23 years old, an office worker in the west of the city with a six-day workweek and one day off. Her biggest hobbies were relaxing and petting cats. She wasn't big on social activities and absolutely hated company team-building events because they ate into her precious personal time.
Tang Xiaoya loved petting cats but wasn't very keen on owning one.
"There's no helping it. My rented place doesn't allow pets, and it's not really suitable for a cat anyway—it's too small," the girl said with a helpless look when talking about it. "Most importantly, I have so little personal time, I don't have the energy to take care of one consistently. It's better this way, when I feel like petting cats, I can just hang out at a cat cafe for a while."
"You could consider moving here. My building allows pets, on the condition they don't cause damage to the property," Lin Lan joked with her new employee. The other girl was taken aback, then lowered her head in thought.
Ten minutes later.
"Boss, I've thought about it. I'll move here next month when my lease is up. It'll be perfect, no hassle of traveling back and forth on weekends when I come to work part-time," she responded with a serious face.
Lin Lan: "..." You really don't waste any time, do you?
The decisive girl was also efficient at work. By closing time, with Tang Xiaoya's help, Lin Lan had indeed saved a lot of trouble.
When handing over the day's wages, the girl shook her head and refused directly. "Please put it on my tab and exchange it for cat cans and cat sticks. I want to save them all for Mercury."
"...You really do love him, don't you?"
"If I had a place of my own to 'marry' him into, I'd ask you to let me buy his freedom right now!"
In the shop, the Maine Coon cat, now accustomed to the teahouse life and having voluntarily gotten into its carrier waiting to be taken upstairs, suddenly shivered all over, its interest in licking its paws interrupted. Its round eyes warily scanned the surroundings.
All around were familiar feline faces—some grooming, some pretending to sleep—no apparent danger.
But why did it feel like something was wrong?
Mercury hadn't yet realized that later, Lin Lan would announce to all the cats that Tang Xiaoya would be the weekend part-timer. So, after finding no danger, it happily went back to grooming itself.
As for Lin Lan, after gaining a part-time worker, her joy was mixed with an even stronger hope for the still-elusive full-time helper. Miss Tang was diligent and useful, but she was weekend-only. She still needed to find someone who could help all day.
This couldn't be rushed. Lin Lan was even prepared not to find anyone until after the New Year.
Speaking of the approaching New Year, Lin Lan remembered the two people who had come to rent rooms during the day.
"They both rented them?"
During the Lin family's dinner that evening, Lin Lan looked at her parents in surprise.
"Yes, both young people rented them. They signed the contracts and paid," Lin Youyu replied casually, picking up food with his chopsticks. "The girl rented the suite on the second floor, moving in tomorrow. The young man was even more decisive, moving into the basement room tonight."
"It must be terribly cold living in a basement during the winter," Lin Lan remarked without thinking.
"When you're broke, you don't have a choice," Lin Youyu said, already accustomed to it. "If anyone had money in their pocket, they wouldn't choose to live there."
