After returning home, Zhu Yaya kept replaying the scene of her interaction with Yan Heng at the milk tea shop in her mind, along with the way he had looked at her.
She touched her flushed cheeks and looked at her reflection in the mirror, smiling shyly.
She then recalled the conversation she had with Yan Heng before she left.
"Do I look really ugly like this? Also, was my aggressive behavior just now really awful? It made me look like a bad person."
"I know you're not that kind of person. You had your reasons for doing it."
"Then, then aren't you curious?"
"I'm curious about everything about you."
Zhu Yaya covered her face and screamed silently.
But no matter how much her heart fluttered, she still had to clean up the mess. Because she had been splashed with milk tea, the borrowed padded jacket, mask, and everything else were all dirty. Zhu Yaya could only wear a gloomy face as she scrubbed the clothes in the bathroom.
Sigh!
She had originally wanted to use the washing machine, but it just so happened to be broken.
Sure enough, blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone!
Her slender, delicate fingers were meant to dictate the world, write passionate words, brew tea and burn incense, and do all the romantic and elegant things in the world, not to wash clothes in this cramped bathroom.
The worst part was that once the padded jacket was soaked in water, it became incredibly heavy. When Zhu Yaya wrung the clothes, she wanted to squeeze out all the water, but even after using all her strength, she only managed to wring dry one sleeve of the jacket.
Zhu Yaya's hands had turned completely red.
This damn task.
She wanted to cry but had no tears.
She was doomed. Zhao Jing would definitely scold her to death when she got back.
Zhu Jianjun came home earlier than Zhao Jing. When he found Zhu Yaya washing clothes by herself, his heart ached terribly. "Yabao, leave it! Let Dad wash it."
Zhu Yaya shook her head and refused. Since coming to this world, she had barely done any chores. It wasn't good to always trouble Zhu Jianjun and Zhao Jing; they worked hard and were already exhausted.
When Zhao Jing returned home and saw her dripping wet clothes on the balcony and the messy wardrobe, she fell silent.
Zhu Yaya stood nervously to the side, rubbing her hands that were red from washing clothes. "Um, Mom, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'll put everything back the way it was later."
Zhu Jianjun also spoke up for Zhu Yaya. "Yes, yes, honey, Yabao was just being a little mischievous. Look, Yabao's hands are all red from washing the clothes. Yabao has never washed clothes before."
Zhao Jing finally forced out an ugly smile and spoke to Zhu Yaya in a gentle voice, "Mommy's Yabao is such a little cutie. Still the same as when you were little. Mom isn't angry, it's just a few pieces of clothing! Yabao, go back to your room and rest first!"
"Mom, are you really not mad?" Zhu Yaya asked cautiously.
"Of course I'm not angry. It's just a few clothes, right!"
Zhu Yaya shivered: But your face looks awful! Chu!
"Then Mom, I'll, I'll go back to my room first."
"Okay." Zhao Jing stroked Zhu Yaya's hair.
Zhu Yaya shuddered and walked away trembling. Just as she reached her room and was about to close the door, she heard Zhao Jing's furious roar.
"Zhu Jianjun, do you have a death wish?! Do you want me to grant it for you?! Do you know how hard it is to buy my clothes?!"
Then, Zhu Yaya heard a series of smacking sounds.
"Honey, I wasn't the one who got them dirty!" Zhu Jianjun howled.
"I don't care! It's your fault!"
There was another flurry of beating sounds.
Zhu Yaya silently mourned for Zhu Jianjun for three seconds in her heart. Zhu Jianjun truly had the lowest status in this family.
Dad, may the Lord bless you, amen.
After receiving Zhao Jing's "affectionate massage" service, Zhu Jianjun eagerly trotted back over to her. "Hehe, honey, do you remember where we put Yabao's childhood photos?"
Zhao Jing pushed Zhu Jianjun away with a look of disgust. She thought carefully, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "They should be in the drawer of my dressing table!"
Zhu Jianjun furrowed his brows. "But I looked for them and couldn't find them! I clearly remember that we took photos of Yabao!"
"Could they be in the storage room?"
"No." Zhu Jianjun shook his head and said, "I've searched every corner of the house, but I couldn't find a single one."
Hearing this, Zhao Jing's expression turned serious. She started looking for Zhu Yaya's childhood photos. But just as Zhu Jianjun had said, she couldn't find a single one.
It wasn't just the photos; none of Zhu Yaya's childhood toys or clothes were there either.
They went to take a family portrait every year, but when they opened the photo album, only Zhao Jing and Zhu Jianjun were in the family portraits.
Zhao Jing and Zhu Jianjun looked at each other in dismay.
Zhu Yaya was still unaware of this matter; her mind was currently preoccupied with other things.
Fortunately, only Yan Heng had recognized her at the time, otherwise, Zhu Yaya would have been a bit too scared to go back to the "One Encounter" milk tea shop. When ordering at the front counter, she didn't even dare to look at Xu Chun's face. She acted unnaturally, deeply worried that Xu Chun would suddenly recognize her as the middle-aged woman who had been pestering her.
However, Xu Chun's expression was no different from before.
Xu Chun didn't recognize her.
Zhu Yaya breathed a sigh of relief and drank her milk tea with peace of mind. Of course, her milk tea was made by Yan Heng again.
She narrowed her eyes and bit the plastic straw, feeling as if she wasn't drinking milk tea, but premium, sweet locust honey.
Clocking in at the milk tea shop every day, Zhu Yaya felt like she was about to gain a whole size. Fortunately, she hadn't given up her habit of morning jogs, otherwise, she would have gotten even fatter.
Moreover, no matter how delicious the milk tea was, drinking too much of it would get cloying. But hanging out in the milk tea shop without ordering a cup always felt a bit inappropriate.
Zhu Yaya casually mentioned this to Yan Heng.
The next day, when she was ordering at the front counter, Yan Heng, who was working in the back, suddenly came over.
He stopped Zhu Yaya from ordering and handed her a glass filled with a beverage.
"What is this?"
Zhu Yaya stared at the glass curiously. Inside was a red liquid that gave off the sweet fragrance of watermelon.
"Is it watermelon juice?" she looked up and asked Yan Heng in pleasant surprise.
Yan Heng nodded. "Your exclusive drink."
Even before drinking the watermelon juice, Zhu Yaya's heart was overflowing with sweetness, and she felt as if the air itself was filled with the sweet scent of watermelon.
A few days later, Zhu Yaya noticed that the menu at the "One Encounter" milk tea shop had changed. The new menu featured several types of milk tea and fruit tea that hadn't been there before. The names were also very novel, none of which Zhu Yaya had ever heard of.
Holding the menu, Zhu Yaya beamed with joy and said to the manager, "Manager, how come there are so many new drinks in the shop? Did you come up with all of them? That's amazing!"
The manager gave her a meaningful look. "I didn't make these. A certain young man named Yan Heng spent days pondering over them and came up with the recipes."
So Yan Heng created them himself!
Zhu Yaya couldn't help but smile.
After Zhu Yaya finished ordering and left the counter with her fruit tea, the manager started humming a song: "This is love! Love~"
While humming, he kept hovering around a certain young man surnamed Yan.
The expressionless Yan Heng jabbed his elbow in the manager's direction.
