BIAS Chapter 10: Fixing the Shutter (1)

Going upstairs while holding the overcoat, Yan Xu took out the gloves he borrowed from Chi Ye; he couldn’t help but sigh.

It was the receipt last time, now it was the gloves—why does he always forget to return things to him? The nylon gloves weren’t warm enough, so it must be very cold for Chi Ye to ride his bike back to the construction site, right?

But it was too late to say anything now.

Yan Xu guiltily sent a message to Chi Ye, informing the other party that his gloves were with him.

One to two minutes later, Chi Ye replied. He said that he would get it tomorrow night, and fix the rolling shutter for him, too.

Yan Xu said okay and thanked him again before putting his phone down.

He looked at the gloves in his hand with a ball of wool on them and thought—why not take some time out tomorrow to buy a pair of leather gloves for Chi Ye as a thank you gift for repairing the door, but he immediately rejected the idea.

Returning a pair of gloves while also giving him one; it seemed as if he was pitying him. Moreover, it wasn’t like Chi Ye was still wearing those old gloves because he couldn’t afford a new pair. They were knitted with meticulous, tight stitches, clearly handmade. Probably a gift from someone special. That’s why he keeps using them.

Yan Xu squeezed the gloves, then found a lint remover from the drawer. He sat on the floor, leaning over the coffee table, and meticulously scraped off the lint on the gloves one by one. He then went to get a small bag to store the gloves.

Early the next morning, Yan Xu prepared to open the shop and do business as usual.

The clattering shutter door most likely couldn’t escape its fate of needing to be repaired—it had thoroughly broken down this morning. Yan Xu had to call the shop owner next door to help him push it up from the outside with much struggle.

Chi Ye said he was going to help fix it tonight, but he didn’t say exactly at what time. After bustling around the whole afternoon, Yan Xu ordered some live shrimp using a food delivery app. He peeled the shells and made a portion of shrimp dumplings with plenty of fillings, and put them in the refrigerator, planning on making this as thank you for fixing the shutter.

The nights were long during winter, so the sky had already darkened before it turned six.

At this time, there were a lot of customers in the shop. Yan Xu brought a bowl of dumplings to the table near the door and glanced at the entrance to see if Chi Ye was coming. He didn’t see Chi Ye, but saw a familiar figure.

“Cheng-ge? Why did you come?” Yan Xu went out and asked.

Before Fang Jincheng left the country, they would meet often, but it was once a week at most, not as often as in the past few days, and judging from Fang Jincheng’s appearance, he must be busy recently.

It was especially cold today. Fang Jincheng unwrapped the scarf that covered half his face and smiled. “I’m here to eat dinner.”

Yan Xu recalled the sweet and sour fish that Fang Jincheng mentioned yesterday and expressed some embarrassment. “You might need to wait a bit longer. It’s busy at this time, so I won’t cook until later.”

“No need for the hassle, dumplings are fine.” Fang Jincheng gently wrapped his arms around Yan Xu’s shoulder and took him inside. “Let’s go in first, it’s cold out.”

Yan Xu’s gaze lingered on Fang Jincheng’s dark gray cashmere scarf for a moment, and he whispered, “The scarf suits you.”

Fang Jincheng raised a brow, and he said with a pleased look, “A lot of people asked me what brand of scarf this was at work today.”

The two smiled at each other. Yan Xu led Fang Jincheng to the innermost empty table, then asked, “What kind of dumplings do you want?”

His shop doesn’t have a menu. Since his dumplings were all made by hand, and due to time and energy constraints, he only sells three kinds of fillings everyday, but the choices were not fixed.

This morning, he wrote down the three kinds of dumplings of the day on a blackboard, then placed it by the entrance along with the floor lamp. It allowed the customers to see it upon arriving.

Fang Jincheng didn’t notice the blackboard. He looked around but didn’t see the menu anywhere so he asked, “Do you have shrimp-filled dumplings?”

Yan Xu paused for a second; the shop normally didn’t have any. The cost of shrimp alone meant they couldn’t be priced cheaply, and most of his customers were the nearby construction workers, so there pretty much wasn’t anyone willing to buy shrimp-filled dumplings. However, he does indeed have some in the shop today, which was made especially for Chi Ye.

“If you don’t have any…”

“I do,” Yan Xu interrupted Fang Jincheng, “I’ll go boil them now.” He entered the kitchen and boiled the dumplings while also opening the delivery app to order another portion of fresh shrimp.

After plating the dumplings, Fang Jincheng entered the kitchen. He took off his coat and scarf, rolled up his sleeves and asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Yan Xu smiled and shook his head. “No need, it’s not that busy.”

It indeed wasn’t busy at this time, but he himself wasn’t idle. The dumplings had been wrapped this afternoon, he just needed to put them in the pot, cook them, and serve them to the customers. After the customers had left, he had to wash the dishes and wipe the tables.

Fang Jincheng, “Then how about I give you a hand and serve the dumplings?”

Yan Xu saw that he wasn’t willing to leave, so he could only smile and say, “Alright.”

The dumplings were placed in the boiling hot water, then floated to the surface one by one. Yan Xu used a strainer ladle to take them out and into the bowl. A drop of soup splashed on the back of his hand, and he hissed from being scalded.

Fang Jincheng hurriedly held his hand and pulled him toward the sink to run it under cold water. “Does it hurt? Do you have ointment?”

Yan Xu looked up—his heart softened upon seeing Fang Jincheng knitting his brows due to worry up close. He couldn’t help but smile and answered, “It’s not necessary. It doesn’t hurt. This kind of minor scalding is unavoidable. It’s not so serious that I need to apply burn ointment.”

Fang Jincheng frowned and said disapprovingly. “You should have some common medicines at home in case of an emergency. I’ll bring you two bottles of burn ointment in a couple of days.”

“Okay.” Yan Xu drew back his hand and playfully lifted his eyebrow. “Then I’ll have to trouble you to help me give this bowl of dumplings to the chubby man at table 5, is that okay?”

Fang Jincheng nodded and smiled. “Got it, Boss Yan.”

Watching Fang Jincheng’s back figure as he carefully carried the bowl out, Yan Xu found it a bit funny. He rubbed the wrist which the other party had held, his own ears feeling hot.

Fang Jincheng soon returned to the kitchen. He stood beside Yan Xu, and after hesitating for a while, he asked, “Xiao Xu, have you thought about getting a steady office job? It’s tiring to run the shop by yourself.”

The hand holding the ladle stopped for a moment. Yan Xu raised the corner of his lips and answered, “I’m currently not thinking about it. There’s more freedom in running a shop.”

“Then have you considered moving to a better environment?” Fang Jincheng walked closer to him. “It’s remote and chaotic here, with shady people and a lot of crude people.”

Yan Xu not only frowned, but also wanted to say something, yet he just said, “I don’t have the educational background, so I most likely can’t work other jobs.”

Due to Yan Xu’s back facing him, Fang Jincheng couldn’t see the corner of his lips slowly going down. He continued, “You don’t need to worry about this with me here, I will arrange a suitable job for you at my company.”

Yan Xu didn’t feel happy about it. He suppressed the displeasure on the corner of his mouth and said, “I like this shop. Although it’s a bit tiring, I feel free both physically and mentally. Moreover, I’ve grown accustomed to this kind of shady environment.”

“Xiao Xu—”

Fang Jincheng still wanted to say more, but Yan Xu suddenly turned around to interrupt him, “I’ll go upstairs to get something.”

Fang Jincheng saw the opposition and discontent in Yan Xu’s eyes, so he said softly, “I’m sorry, I…”

Yan Xu didn’t say anything, going directly upstairs.

After that, Fang Jincheng never brought up the matter again. He quickly finished eating his dumplings and busied himself helping Yan Xu.

Yan Xu let out a sigh of relief but also felt guilty. Regarding the matter of changing jobs, Fang Jincheng had mentioned it once before he left the country, then he brought it up while talking to him on the phone while he was out of the country—this was the third time. He had changed the subject when it was mentioned the previous two times. Today was the first time he directly expressed his attitude on it; he didn’t want to close the shop and work a relaxing job.

He knew that Fang Jincheng said it for his own good. It wasn’t like he couldn’t recognize his good intentions. It was just that he was self aware. He had no academic qualifications and couldn’t be competent or adapt to the life of a salaried worker working from nine to five.

Moreover, he wanted to make more money. Although running a shop was tiring, he earned more compared to working an office job, so he was unwilling to give up the dumpling shop.

At nine o’clock, the last wave of customers had left.

Fang Jincheng helped Yan Xu tidy up the tables before putting on his coat and telling him that he needed to head back. Seeing Yan Xu untying his apron with the intention of sending him off, he raised his hand to stop him. “It’s windy outside, don’t come out. You’ll catch a cold.”

“Okay. Then be careful on the road.”

“Mhm, I’ll call you once I’m home.”

Fang Jincheng held the car keys and left the shop. Just when he started the engine and was about to leave, a familiar-looking motorcycle stopped in front of the dumpling shop’s entrance. He sat inside the car, resting his elbow on the window sill, with his index finger bent and resting on the tip of his nose. He quietly watched Chi Ye get off the motorcycle, took a toolbox from the back seat and walked into the store.

After a moment of hesitation, he unbuckled his seat belt.

When Chi Ye entered the shop, Yan Xu had just taken out his phone. Seeing that the person coming in was Chi Ye, he hurried over to greet him. “I was just about to call you.”

Chi Ye took off his nylon gloves. “Sorry, something delayed me for a bit.”

Yan Xu hurriedly shook his head in understanding. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s fine if the shutter can’t be fixed, I was just worried that something had happened to you.”

His heart suddenly felt warm, even his ears were burning. Chi Ye lowered his head and looked at the toolbox, answering reservedly, “No, nothing happened. I’ll help you fix the door now. Can you get me a chair?”

Hearing Chi Ye say this, Yan Xu felt relieved. He dragged over a chair for him. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” Chi Ye took the chair with one hand and went over to the entrance. After walking a few steps, he stopped.

Yan Xu who was following behind him also stopped in his tracks. Upon seeing Fang Jincheng returning and standing at the door, he spoke in astonishment, “Cheng-ge?”