Chapter 3
Chen Ju stiffened and looked to the side. Jiang Zhou sat chatting with Li Qi, a smile in his eyes.
“It’s quieter here. It’s too noisy over there.”
“Haha, Fatty Cheng really is a bit of a chatterbox,” Li Qi said with a laugh. “Chen Ju’s quiet, though. I remember he used to talk a lot in high school. Right?”
Chen Ju couldn’t help sitting up straighter. He nervously glanced at Jiang Zhou, but when he saw the indifference in the man’s eyes, a wave of disappointment washed over him.
It was the same as always. Jiang Zhou had been smiling at Li Qi, but the moment he turned to Chen Ju, his face became an iceberg again.
Even though Chen Ju knew why Jiang Zhou hated him, being treated so differently again still hurt.
“I don’t remember,” Jiang Zhou said coolly.
Chen Ju lowered his head miserably and picked at the plastic film covering the table to distract himself. Otherwise, he was afraid he might run away at any moment.
Li Qi wasn’t surprised. “I suppose so. It’s been so many years. We’ve all changed.”
Once everyone had arrived, they began eating. With Jiang Zhou sitting beside him, Chen Ju didn’t dare reach for his chopsticks.
Just as the roast chicken leg was about to be turned away, a pair of chopsticks reached over, picked it up, and placed it in the bowl before him.
Chen Ju’s heart lurched. Then Li Qi’s voice rang out. “Didn’t you want the chicken leg? Hurry and grab one before it gets turned away!”
That was right. Why would Jiang Zhou serve him food? He was overthinking it.
“Thank you.” Chen Ju smiled gratefully. He hadn’t shown many expressions in a long time, and he rarely smiled. He knew he probably looked awful right now.
“We’re old classmates. No need to thank me!” Li Qi said familiarly. “By the way, I haven’t asked where you work. How’s the pay?”
Even without saying a word, Jiang Zhou commanded a strong presence. Chen Ju gripped his chopsticks tightly, and the fragrant chicken leg before him suddenly seemed impossible to swallow.
How was he supposed to answer? Should he say, in front of Jiang Zhou, who was already a big boss, that he worked as a waiter at a hotel?
For a while in high school, Jiang Zhou’s family had been struggling, so he worked part-time at a hotel on weekends to earn money for living expenses.
After Chen Ju found out, he deliberately gathered a few classmates and went to that hotel to mock Jiang Zhou.
At the memory, Chen Ju felt a dull ache in his abdomen. It had been the first time he’d ever seen Jiang Zhou angry. After his shift, Jiang Zhou had dragged Chen Ju, who was waiting for him, into an empty alley and beaten him up badly.
Now the tables had turned. Jiang Zhou had become a big boss, while Chen Ju had ended up working as a waiter at a hotel.
“If you don’t want to say, you don’t have to. It’s fine,” Li Qi said understandingly.
Chen Ju was just about to thank Li Qi for being so considerate when Jiang Zhou spoke beside him.
“Are you working as a waiter at Quan Heng Hotel?”
Chen Ju froze. Jiang Zhou continued, “I went there to eat a couple of days ago and saw you, but I didn’t dare go up to you.”
Jiang Zhou’s voice was low and deep, and people couldn’t help falling silent when he spoke. By the time he finished, more than half the people at the table were looking at Chen Ju.
A few seconds later, they looked away and went back to their previous conversations.
The flush of embarrassment drained from Chen Ju’s face. He felt as if he’d been plunged into an ice cellar, cold all over.
“Mm,” Chen Ju said in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “I-I’m just helping out there for now.”
The truth was that it was a long-term job, but Chen Ju lied to preserve what little self-respect he had left.