However, Zhu Jianjun racked his brain to recall Zhu Yaya's past, but he still couldn't remember the exact details from back then. He muttered, "Sigh, I'm getting old, and my memory is getting worse. I've even forgotten some things about Yabao's past."
Only then did he remember what he had come home for. He fished the keys out of his pants pocket and unlocked the door.
Even though Zhu Jianjun had already found the documents and was about to leave, he inexplicably started looking for Zhu Yaya's old photos.
"How can there not be any?" Zhu Jianjun rummaged through the house for a good while, but he couldn't find a single old photo of Zhu Yaya.
Just then, a colleague from the bureau called to urge him to hurry up, so Zhu Jianjun pushed down the doubts in his heart and left to finish his work first.
In order to get to the Once in a Lifetime Milk Tea Shop on time, Zhu Yaya reluctantly spent a hefty sum, treating herself to the luxury of a taxi ride. She finally arrived at the shop at 2:28 PM.
Through the glass window of the Once in a Lifetime Milk Tea Shop, she could see the scene inside. Zhu Yaya immediately spotted Murong Beichen lounging flamboyantly in a window seat. This spot directly faced the front counter, and Murong Beichen was sitting there, his eyes fixed intently on Xu Chun, who was standing at the counter.
Zhu Yaya took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and recalled and imitated the sound of Zhao Jing's voice.
At exactly 2:29 and three seconds PM, Zhu Yaya finally mustered up the courage to face her upcoming mission. Holding her phone in one hand and a fruit box filled with watermelon in the other, she walked into the Once in a Lifetime Milk Tea Shop.
"Welcome to our shop. What would you like to order?" Xu Chun's professionalism as a milk tea shop employee had clearly improved. Her stubborn face no longer bore a look of humiliation, but rather a polite, customer-service smile.
Zhu Yaya sneaked a few glances behind Xu Chun. Yan Heng was standing there, his side facing the counter, busy preparing the more than a hundred cups of milk tea that Murong Beichen ordered every single day. From her side profile view, his expression was indifferent, as if he hadn't noticed what was happening at the counter.
Lowering her voice to sound old and patronizing, Zhu Yaya hollered loudly, "Little girl, I'm thirsty! What exactly is this milk tea thing?"
Yan Heng's hands paused for a moment.
Zhu Yaya had made a plan before coming here. To make things difficult
for Xu Chun, Plan A was to relentlessly bombard her with bizarre questions while ordering, torture her, and drive her crazy.
Zhu Yaya clearly saw a flash of disdain in Xu Chun's eyes.
Xu Chun still wore that polite smile. "Auntie, milk tea is a beverage made by mixing milk and tea together. Here is our menu. Please take a look and see which flavor you would like to drink."
"Alright." Zhu Yaya, who had thoroughly memorized the shop's menu over the past few days, pretended she had never seen it before. She slowly perused the names of the milk teas on the menu, even pointing at them one by one with her finger.
Xu Chun grew a bit impatient from waiting. "Auntie, are you unsure of what you'd like to drink? Would you like me to recommend a milk tea for you?"
Zhu Yaya faked impatience and said loudly, "Aiya, what are you rushing for, little girl! Let me take a good look first. You work here, so you'll definitely recommend the most expensive one. I've been around the block, so I'm not going to fall for your tricks!"
Perhaps because Zhu Yaya's voice was so loud, the staff busy in the back all looked toward the front counter.
Xu Chun bit her lower lip in embarrassment. "Auntie, I didn't mean to do that. Please, take your time and look."
"That's more like it," Zhu Yaya replied. "Hey, are these 'pearls' the kind you get from oysters?"
"No, Auntie. The pearls in our shop are handmade using tapioca flour and brown sugar."
"Then aren't they just tapioca balls! Tapioca is so cheap! The cost of milk and tea is low, too. This thing you're selling here--pearl milk tea, is it? Why is it so expensive! Can't you sell it a bit cheaper?"
Xu Chun gripped the hem of her shirt tightly. "Haha, Auntie, I'm just an employee here. I don't make the rules."
"I knew you'd use that kind of excuse to brush me off. Sigh... what are 'taro balls'? What's the difference between them and the pearls? Why do they cost a dollar more than the pearls? And what's this 'jelly' stuff? And also..."
Xu Chun felt like her ears were going to fall off. Why was this older woman so difficult to deal with? In her heart, she began to harbor resentment toward the disguised Zhu Yaya.
Zhu Yaya waited for quite a while, but Murong Beichen never came over to stand up for Xu Chun.
Was she being too gentle? she wondered.
Finally, Zhu Yaya abandoned Plan A and spared Xu Chun from further torture. "Then I guess I'll just have this pearl milk tea! Oh, right, hold the pearls. Actually, I don't really like tea either, so no tea. Never mind, I'll just get this coconut milk sweet soup! Aiya, forget it, forget it. I'll just stick with the pearl milk tea! Oh, and add an extra scoop of pearls. I'll have it here."
"...Alright." Xu Chun breathed a sigh of relief, offering her polite smile once again. "Auntie, here is your receipt. Once it's ready, we'll call your number from the counter, and you can bring this receipt to me to pick up your order."
Zhu Yaya feigned an unreasonable tone and complained, "Why won't you bring it over to me? I'm old, my legs and feet aren't what they used to be, and yet you still want to torment me."
Xu Chun gritted her teeth. "Fine. I'll bring it to you."
Zhu Yaya frowned again. "You haven't been addressing me respectfully."
"Alright. I will bring your milk tea over to you shortly, ma'am."
Only then did Zhu Yaya walk away, looking satisfied.
She deliberately chose a seat by the window, very close to Murong Beichen. To avoid being recognized, she sat with her back facing the counter.
At the Once in a Lifetime Milk Tea Shop, dine-in drinks were typically served in aesthetically pleasing glass cups.
The same was true for Zhu Yaya's pearl milk tea.
In the reflection of the window, she saw Xu Chun's figure slowly approaching, carrying Zhu Yaya's pearl milk tea in her hands.
Zhu Yaya counted the beats in her head; she was ready to execute Plan B.
Plan B involved intentionally bumping into Xu Chun as she delivered the milk tea, causing the drink to spill all over Zhu Yaya's own padded jacket. Then, she would falsely accuse Xu Chun and demand compensation from the penniless girl.
This was a classic trope from countless TV dramas where the villain bullies the female lead. She refused to believe that Murong Beichen wouldn't step in to defend Xu Chun after this!
However, doing this would cause massive damage to Zhao Jing's clothes, and Zhu Yaya was fully prepared to have her ear pulled and be scolded by Zhao Jing once she got home.
Watching through the reflection of the clear, spotless glass window, Zhu Yaya saw Xu Chun getting closer and closer.
Now.
Fully prepared, Zhu Yaya counted down from three in her head--
Three
Two
At that exact moment, before Zhu Yaya could even finish silently counting "one," and as her body had only just begun to lean to the right, a cup of warm milk tea was suddenly dumped all over her. Black pearls coated in brown sugar syrup clung stickily to her clothes, while others bounced onto the floor and onto Zhu Yaya's shoes.
There were even brown splashes of milk tea on Zhu Yaya's face mask and the fruit box resting on the table.
Zhu Yaya was dumbfounded. "I haven't even laid a finger on Xu Chun yet! How the hell did all the milk tea end up spilling all over me?"
