Home/ The Selfish Gene/ Chapter 27
The table was littered with bottles, milk powder, changing pads, and heating pads. The alarm on my phone was set to ring every three hours, and my favorite horror movie was playing on the TV.
Whenever I feel drowsy, I drink a cup of espresso made with the coffee machine.
Sleepy… I can’t believe I feel so sleepy.
I haven’t slept for almost twenty hours, feeling a headache as if my head was about to explode. My mind slowly became sluggish, and even though my eyes were fixed on the TV, I couldn’t understand the plot of the movie being played — even though I have watched it several times by now.
Two kittens, one white and one orange, slept soundly in the cat’s nest, in stark contrast to me.
Two hours ago, Ayao sent a message, saying that Ji Chenfeng and Yan Shanhua had boarded the plane back to Hong City. Calculating the time, they should be arriving by now.
However, including the time he needs to pick up his luggage and drop Yan Shanhua home, it would take him at least two or three hours to come to my house.
The nerves in my brain were throbbing, and I lay across the sofa with my hands covering my eyes, more eager than ever to see Ji Chenfeng.
I feel so sleepy, I should have thrown them all in the trash yesterday. I hate cats, I hate all living things that are waiting for food. Once I wake up, I will flush them into the sewer along with that bastard turtle…
If the drama were to be further exaggerated, could the civet cat grow up as a prince and suppress its curiosity towards the real crown prince after learning that it was actually a fake prince, without exploring anything?(1)
What kind of person is he? Will he do better than me? Is he as good as me? Will he come back and snatch everything from me?
No! It can’t be!
As long as the “civet cat” is a normal person, it doesn’t matter.
So it’s okay.
It is necessary to be curious, to explore, to understand. I hired a detective, opened my mailbox every week as a routine, and carefully read Ji Chenfeng’s itinerary details. Where did he go, who did he meet, and where did he work.
Occasionally, when I am in a bad mood and can’t find anything to vent about, I will act like a lewd voyeur, appearing on Ji Chenfeng’s only way to go to school, work place, or home.
Looking at him from a distance, seeing him living so hard and how busy he is with his life, his life looks even more unsatisfactory than mine, making my depressed mood a bit relieved.
Due to his excellent grades and calm demeanor, he was deeply loved by his teachers. Even though he was physically disabled, the school gave Ji Chenfeng a recommendation for his graduate studies. There was no need to worry about tuition fees and living expenses. There were also various subsidies and allowances, but if he wants to repay the money, it won’t be enough. So, in addition to being busy with his academic studies, he uses his vacation time to do various odd jobs.
During the peak seasons in winter and summer vacations, when there are many tourists, he would go to Uncle Li’s food stall to help, and during the off-season, he would switch to working in a coffee shop.
On sunny afternoons, one of my great pleasures was to sit on the outdoor seats in a coffee shop and watch Ji Chenfeng being scolded.
I don’t know if it’s because there’s no perfect relationship between the employer and the employee, but even though he already had a cochlear implant, he always misses the instructions of the store manager. Whenever something goes wrong, he will be severely scolded in public by a small man who looks like a ‘skinny monkey’.
“Don’t you know how to do things? Can’t you even understand how to remove ice? I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t pity you. If you don’t have good ears, you should listen harder. Do I need to keep repeating myself in front of you with a loudspeaker all day long?”
For such a small person, his curses were surprisingly loud and clear, coming straight out of the open store door without hesitation.
“I’m sorry, I will be more careful in the future.” Ji Chenfeng completely wasted his height of nearly 1.9 meters in front of him. Even if he was humiliated like this, he just hung his head and apologized obediently, without any trace of resentment on his face.
What a coward.
Throw the apron in the other person’s face and tell him that you don’t want this job anymore. It’s just a temporary job at a coffee shop. Do you think you are some hot cake with a monthly salary of one million?
“Don’t just rely on your handsome appearance to not work hard. If you have the ability to become an actor or model and make a lot of money, you don’t have to listen to my scolding here.” Ji Chenfeng’s obedience didn’t make him stop, but instead fueled his arrogance, “If you don’t work hard and go the wrong way, you won’t have much success even if you do something else in the future.”
From the side view, Ji Chenfeng’s jaw suddenly tensed for a moment, but it was only for a short time before he closed his eyes and relaxed it again.
“Sorry……”
He still chose to endure it.
Perhaps it’s because Ji Chenfeng was too quiet and that skinny monkey didn’t feel a great sense of accomplishment in scolding him, so he stopped this time. He raised his hand to look at his watch, saying, “Alright, you need to stay for an extra half hour today. In this way, you can make up for your mistake.”
Ji Chenfeng looked up and said: “But I have something else to do tonight…”
“Then your salary will be deducted. Choose one of the two, and if you hadn’t made a mistake, you won’t be punished right?” The skinny monkey had a tough attitude, and Ji Chenfeng dared not resist.
Sure enough, Ji Chenfeng hesitated slightly upon hearing this. He didn’t even consider the third possibility and chose to deduct his salary.
Not long after, it was time to change shifts, and he silently walked to the staff room, changed his clothes, and left alone through the back door.
Watching his figure carrying the bag disappear into the distance, I stood up and walked towards the store.
Then putting my hands in my pockets, I pretended to look at the cakes and salads in the window.
“I think Xiao Ji is quite good at work. We have no problem communicating with him. Why does the store manager keep scolding him? Do you think he did it on purpose?”
The skinny monkey went back to the warehouse, leaving only two clerks at the cash register. While he was away, they began to whisper about what had just happened.
“Don’t you know him yet? He specializes in picking on soft persimmons. He is just a Zhou Bapi(2)!” The clerk sighed.
“Xiao Ji is so pitiful. If it was me, I wouldn’t be able to bear it anymore. At worst, I will just quit.”
“Do you think everyone has a way out? I see Xiao Ji reading books while eating. The notes are so dense that I feel dizzy just by looking at them. The store manager also said that if people don’t take their work seriously, they won’t make any progress in future. I think Xiao Ji will definitely be more successful in the future!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the skinny monkey came out of the warehouse, and the clerks immediately ended the topic tacitly, pretending to do their work.
I straightened up and walked to the cashier, saying, “I want to order.”
“Okay sir, you can take a look at our new products…”
“Every item on the menu.”
The clerk was stunned: “Huh?”
“All coffee and tea beverages on the menu should be made separately according to cup size, temperature, and sugar content.” In order to make him understand, I gave an example, “For example, your American style has a total of eight sizes, right? I want one cup of all eight sizes. And so on…”
Not only was the clerk stunned, but the store manager who heard my outrageous request also ran over in shock.
“Sir, this… we can’t do this. This is too much. If we take your order, we won’t be able to handle other customers.”
After counting all the combinations, they need to prepare at least a hundred cups, and it’s really too much.
“Are you refusing to serve me?”
But so what, does it have anything to do with me? I don’t think my request violates any regulations or moral bottom line.
I turned on the video recording function on my mobile phone and intentionally aimed it at the store manager: “Can you repeat what you just said? Afterwards, I will file a complaint and send this video to your superior.”
The store manager quickly covered his face: “Ah, sir, I didn’t mean that. You misunderstood me. Put down your phone first, we will take your order! You find a place to sit and we will prepare your order.”
As I put down my phone, the store manager signaled the clerk to take the order immediately.
After paying the money, I waved the payment interface towards the store manager and said, “I believe you will be able to handle this small matter, right?”
The store manager’s face turned green upon hearing this. On average, one cup takes at least two minutes, and with more than 100 cups to prepare, they will have to work nonstop for two hours no matter what.
I called Tang Bian and asked him to wait at the coffee shop on my behalf. When the order gets prepared, he would deliver it to Xu Xi and her team.
“Master, did you invite the whole company of Miss Xu to have coffee? Do you know how many people there are?”
“I ordered more than a hundred cups. No matter how many people there are, it’s enough.”
“More than a hundred cups?” Tang Bian was shocked, “Their company only has forty or fifty people at most, right? They won’t be able to finish this much coffee.”
Even though he is young, he really talks like a “grandma” sometimes.
“Then one person will drink two cups each. If they still can’t finish it, they can just take it home and give it to their family members as extra meals.” Not wanting to hear any more nonsense from him, my tone suddenly became cold, “Alright, I’ve already bought it, so shut up.”
Tang Bian obediently shut up and I hung up the phone.
Why do such a thing?
Walking out of the coffee shop, the sun was still shining brightly and the sky was blue without a trace of impurities.
The reason I gave myself at that time… was because I was in a good mood. Ji Chenfeng was scolded, so I was in a good mood and bought coffee for all the employees of Alia.
But looking at it now, maybe it was due to the injustice.
If I hadn’t been exchanged with Ji Chenfeng at birth, I would have been the one living that kind of life, and it would have been me who was pointed at and scolded by the skinny monkey for not working hard enough.
Even the thought of being looked down upon and getting stepped on by such a worthless bastard made me feel completely unbearable.
Ji Chenfeng and I are different. He is used to giving in when encountering conflicts and turning big matters into small ones. However, I will never give in. If someone makes me unhappy, I will make him even more unhappy.
My cell phone kept ringing, waking me up from my fragmented sleep.
Before I was fully awake, my hand moved in the direction of the sound. Squinting my eyes, I subconsciously pressed the green button.
It wasn’t until I heard Zheng Jieyuan’s voice coming from the phone that I realized that the call was connected.
“Sang Nian, what’s going on? Why didn’t you answer my call or reply to my messages yesterday? Didn’t you agree to come to the party? You don’t give me any face.”
“Something happened yesterday…” I closed my eyes and lay down on the sofa to calm down. As I spoke, I unconsciously felt as if I had just woken up from a long sleep.
Zheng Jieyuan was accustomed to my tone, so he said helplessly: “Forget it this time. It’s my birthday next Saturday. You have to come, do you hear me? If you don’t come, we won’t be friends anymore!”
During the phone call, the doorbell suddenly rang.
“I know, I will be there.”
I dragged my limp body and went to open the door. As soon as the door opened, Ji Chenfeng, wearing a woolen coat and a black turtleneck sweater, stood outside the door, looking more and more like a model, extending his hand towards me.
With his cold palms pressed against the back of my neck, the first thing he did was to give me a kiss as a greeting.
“I heard from the manager below that you are staying at my hotel? Why don’t you stay at home? I’ll come find you one day…” Zheng Jieyuan’s voice continued, but I no longer cared about it.
My arms hung by my sides and I hung up the phone silently. Then I grabbed onto Ji Chenfeng’s back and crumpled his smooth coat as I deepened the kiss.
TL Notes:
(1)- {Civet cat exchanged for the crown prince– According to a folklore in China, during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, when Concubine Li gave birth to prince Zhao Zhen (Song Renzong), Concubine Liu Gui replaced the prince with a skinned wild cat, as she was worried that it would cut off her way to become the Empress. She then ordered a court maid to get rid of the prince, but the maid couldn’t kill him out of pity and sent him away}
(2) (Zhou Bapi- villain in the novel ‘The rooster crows at midnight’, who was a greedy landlord)
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