ATLAS TRANSLATES

Thunder showers were common in Qiantang’s summer afternoons. Luo Jingyu hadn’t checked the weather when he left home, so he didn’t bring an umbrella.

Halfway through the bus ride, the sky darkened as clouds gathered overhead. People on the street quickened their pace. Luo Jingyu watched through the window as lightning flashed in the distant sky, followed by… followed by thunder, according to books.

He observed the other passengers’ reactions and noticed how they all seemed to jump for a moment.

Luo Jingyu didn’t know what thunder sounded like. At home, Gift had been scared by thunder before, though Zhan Xi was fine and would tell him when thunder struck, that huge boom just now. He thought it was good that he couldn’t hear – he wouldn’t be startled by such sounds while crafting.

Soon after, heavy rain began to fall. The bus windows quickly became blurry. Luo Jingyu watched as people without umbrellas either ran frantically or sought shelter under awnings. He thought it was unnecessary.

Summer was so hot – a rain shower was nice. It cooled things down, cooled people’s hearts, made them less irritable and frustrated.

When the bus reached the west station, passengers with umbrellas hurried off while those without used hands or bags to shield their heads as they ran. Luo Jingyu wasn’t like that. He walked leisurely in the rain, hands in his pockets, letting the downpour soak him completely.

There was a convenience store nearby. Not knowing if Zhan Xi had brought an umbrella, Luo Jingyu went in to buy one. Coming out, he didn’t open it but continued strolling in the rain. People running past looked at the unopened umbrella in his hand, then at him, wondering if he was crazy.

Fortunately, the thunderstorm came and went quickly. After standing at the exit for a short while, the rain stopped, clouds dispersed, and the sun quickly reappeared. The air still held moisture from the storm, but the temperature was rapidly climbing. Sweat beaded on Luo Jingyu’s forehead and nose, his hair wet – unclear whether from rain or sweat.

His eyes remained fixed on the station exit as streams of long-distance travelers emerged. Face after unfamiliar face, some talking, some laughing. He watched them numbly, motionless.

Finally, a familiar figure appeared in his vision. Luo Jingyu’s eyelashes trembled. It was like getting an adrenaline shot as he watched that person first walking, then breaking into a run, finally stopping before him.

Her eyes were so bright as she opened her mouth to speak, reaching up to touch his hair, then frowning as she felt his wet clothes, her small mouth opening and closing. Luo Jingyu didn’t try to read her lips, not caring what she was saying, just silently watching her face.

She seemed to notice something was off and showed concern in her expression. She was still talking, and Luo Jingyu tried to concentrate on reading her lips but failed. This always happened when his mind was fuzzy – he couldn’t even read her lip movements. He was deaf, not actually that skilled, unable to read lips all the time.

She quickly switched to sign language, and Luo Jingyu immediately relaxed. This was the language he could understand effortlessly – his mother tongue. He even signed in his dreams. It was his true way of communicating with others.

She asked: [Little Fish, what’s wrong? Why are you wet? Did you get caught in the rain?]

Luo Jingyu nodded.

Zhan Xi looked at the folded umbrella in his hand, puzzled, and signed again: [Are you unhappy?]

Luo Jingyu shook his head and gave her a small smile.

Something was clearly wrong with him. Zhan Xi didn’t press further and reached to hold his hand to leave the station. Just then, Luo Jingyu suddenly wrapped his arms around her, backpack and all, pulling her completely into his embrace.

Zhan Xi was certain now – Little Fish had encountered something upsetting.

They took a taxi home. Only then did Luo Jingyu remember he hadn’t bought groceries. Zhan Xi slipped into the kitchen, saw him staring blankly at the fridge, pulled his hand and signed: [What’s wrong?]

The whole way home, she had been communicating with Luo Jingyu in sign language. She had mastered most daily-use signs and didn’t find it difficult anymore. Talking with Little Fish every day had made her quite proficient.

Luo Jingyu looked at her apologetically and pointed at the empty fridge: [No food.]

Zhan Xi smiled: [We can eat whatever, it’s fine.]

Luo Jingyu’s eyes lowered again, his spirit visibly deflated.

Zhan Xi thought for a moment and asked: [Little Fish, why don’t we eat out? Take a walk, have a date?]

Luo Jingyu looked at her for a while before signing: [I want to go somewhere, will you come with me?]

[Of course.] Zhan Xi curved her four right fingers, [I’ll go wherever you want to go.]

Zhan Xi hadn’t expected Luo Jingyu would take her to Fenglin Night Market.

They first had a simple dinner at a small restaurant, then Luo Jingyu held her hand and led her to Chen Liang’s stall.

Being Friday night, and with the weather relatively cool after the thunderstorm, nearby residents had come out for evening walks, making the night market quite busy.

Chen Liang and Mao Mao were both manning their stall, eating boxed meals. Seeing Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi, they were surprised. Chen Liang put down his meal and started signing to Luo Jingyu while mumbling words.

Zhan Xi listened carefully to his speech and noticed that though Chen Liang spoke unclearly, she could make out a few words like “how” and “eat.” His signing was much faster than Luo Jingyu’s, and his gestures weren’t as precise. Zhan Xi found it a bit hard to follow. Looking at Little Fish, she saw him signing back casually, unlike his usual standard signs with her.

Zhan Xi understood this was how deaf people typically communicated. Luo Jingyu was more formal when signing with her, afraid she wouldn’t understand. When meeting other deaf people, he wasn’t so particular.

After bringing Zhan Xi to the stall, Chen Liang and Mao Mao curiously looked at her. Luo Jingyu introduced in sign language: [This is my girlfriend, Zhan.] Then to Zhan Xi: [These are my classmates.]

He took out his phone to type for Zhan Xi: [Chen Liang, Mao Mao.]

After reading it, Zhan Xi immediately signed to the couple: [Hello.]

Chen Liang borrowed two plastic stools from the neighboring stall for Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi. Zhan Xi looked at the items on display – mostly small accessories, along with mini fans, power banks, flip-flops… no particular theme, selling a bit of everything.

She sat quietly beside Luo Jingyu, watching him chat with Chen Liang. Mao Mao bought two cold drinks and smiled as she handed one to Zhan Xi, who quickly gave a thumbs up and said aloud: “Thank you.”

Mao Mao froze for a moment and signed: [You can hear?]

Zhan Xi nodded: [Yes, I can hear.]

Mao Mao’s eyes widened as she forcefully interrupted Luo Jingyu and Chen Liang’s conversation to ask: [Your girlfriend is hearing?]

Luo Jingyu glanced at Zhan Xi and nodded to Mao Mao. Now Chen Liang got excited too: [How did you find such a beautiful hearing girlfriend?]

Luo Jingyu didn’t know how to answer, but Zhan Xi smiled and signed: [I pursued him, I really like him.]

Chen Liang’s face showed envy and got punched by Mao Mao. Luo Jingyu looked at Zhan Xi again as she hooked her arm through his and stuck her tongue out at him playfully. Luo Jingyu was helpless, reaching to ruffle her hair and pinch her cheek, making Mao Mao get goosebumps.

Luo Jingyu and Chen Liang continued chatting in sign language while Mao Mao tended to customers, occasionally selling a pair of earrings or flip-flops. Zhan Xi sat drinking her beverage, wearing mid-length shorts. When mosquitoes bit her legs, she slapped at them. Luo Jingyu noticed and quickly signed something to Mao Mao, who lit some mosquito coils and placed them by Zhan Xi’s feet, giving her a friendly smile.

Zhan Xi didn’t understand why Luo Jingyu suddenly wanted to come to the night market but didn’t ask. She occasionally watched their conversation, treating it as sign language “listening” practice, only to realize that if her regular conversations with Little Fish were English Level 4 difficulty, Little Fish and Chen Liang’s conversation was at least English Major Level 8.

Their signing was so fast and messy, with long sentences. Zhan Xi could only understand about 50% even with great effort, having to guess the rest.

She realized her sign language level was still insufficient and thought about continuing lessons at Teacher Zhou’s home and practicing more with Little Fish, encouraging him to use longer sentences with her.

Luo Jingyu wasn’t actually having deep conversations with Chen Liang, just casual chat about how business was going, how much money they made monthly, and whether they wanted to sell heat shrink accessories again – he could make some for them to sell.

Mao Mao said yes, yes, they’d been wanting to ask about stocking his items but worried he was too busy to mention it. Luo Jingyu said he’d make some to sell at their stall.

For a while, all four were quiet, with no customers browsing the stall. Chen Liang played with his phone, Mao Mao organized their merchandise, and Zhan Xi leaned against Luo Jingyu, turning to look at his profile and noticing he was lost in thought.

Little Fish had been strange today, often spacing out, his eyes seeming to watch people coming and going in the night market but not really focusing, his expression showing a hint of bewilderment.

Actually, Luo Jingyu was remembering a scene from four years ago, sitting at the stall with Chen Liang, just like now. It was summer then too, and then Fang Xu had appeared before him.

At first, he worried Fang Xu might be a scammer, but then thought what was there to scam from him? Besides, Fang Xu’s wealthy girlfriend was Teacher Xu’s student. He’d heard from Teacher Xu that her family was very rich, so Luo Jingyu figured Fang Xu had no reason to scam him.

Though he wasn’t completely poor then, compared to the fashionably dressed Fang Xu wearing a watch, he was quite shabby. Even his T-shirt was bought from the night market for just thirty yuan.

Four years exactly – his partnership with Fang Xu had ended, and he couldn’t say if he felt regret. It was just very sudden, happening before he was prepared. The partnership was over.

Naturally, Luo Jingyu felt anxious. He was alone again, not knowing what to do next. Fang Xu said this was parting on good terms, but Luo Jingyu didn’t think so.

He belatedly realized Fang Xu must have done it deliberately, planning for a long time, purposely choosing this timing to end their partnership, aiming to prevent him from doing business at the Hanfu Festival.

Though Luo Jingyu hadn’t particularly liked Fang Xu, he clearly felt Fang Xu’s contempt for him, which made him very sad.

He had thought their parting would be peaceful, maybe even sharing a meal and drinks together, dissolving any grudges, four years of fate coming to an end. Instead, he was discarded like a useless tool by Fang Xu, who not only threw him away but also took his designs.

The Hanfu Festival business worth two to three hundred thousand yuan – if he couldn’t do it, his promise to Huanhuan’s brother would become empty words. He really wouldn’t earn three hundred thousand this year. After deducting mortgage payments, further education fees, and expenses for participating in the Makers Festival, his income would only be enough to support himself.

But he had a girlfriend now. Luo Jingyu turned to look at Zhan Xi. She knew nothing about what he’d been through. He wondered what she would think if she knew.

He was practically unemployed, and she was between jobs too – two jobless people in love. How ridiculous. Even Chen Liang and Mao Mao were better off.

After sitting at the night market for over an hour, Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi went home. Luo Jingyu said Zhan Xi must be tired from the long bus ride and should go home to rest early, but Zhan Xi refused. After showering on the eighth floor, she went up to 1504.

Little Fish had something on his mind, she could tell. Maybe he wasn’t ready to tell her today, and she didn’t want to force him. She just wanted to keep him company, and if he wanted to talk, that would be best.

Luo Jingyu, who had been caught in the rain during the day, also took a shower after returning home. He was sitting on the couch spacing out when Zhan Xi came in.

From a distance, he watched the girl changing shoes by the entrance, and somehow his heart filled with sourness. He could feel Huanhuan’s concern, knew she was here to keep him company. He thought, why keep hiding from her? She was Huanhuan – what couldn’t he tell her?

Good things, bad things, he could tell her everything. No need to keep it bottled up inside anymore.

Zhan Xi happily bounced over to Luo Jingyu, jumping onto the couch and hugging him, kissing him thoroughly. After kissing, she found Little Fish looking at her with sad eyes. Zhan Xi stroked his face and asked, “What’s wrong today? Did something upsetting happen?”

Luo Jingyu: “…”

“If you want to tell me, we can talk about it. If not, that’s okay too.” Zhan Xi kissed him again, “It’s been three days since we last saw each other, did you miss me?”

Luo Jingyu smiled, though somewhat forced. He thought for a moment, then got up to take three papers from the cabinet and gave them to Zhan Xi, signing: [Fang came today, said he’s stopping our cooperation, wanted me to sign, I signed.]

Zhan Xi was shocked and quickly looked at the papers, asking: “You signed? Do you understand what this is?”

Fang Xu’s sudden termination of cooperation had already shocked Zhan Xi, and she was skeptical about Luo Jingyu’s reading comprehension and math skills. She worried he might have signed something he shouldn’t have, getting tricked by Fang Xu.

These seemed to be settlement statements. Zhan Xi didn’t understand the data portion and asked Luo Jingyu: “Does he owe you money?”

Luo Jingyu shook his head. Zhan Xi looked at the text portion, which listed all products designed and made during Fang Xu and Luo Jingyu’s four-year cooperation. As of the signing date, except for custom client orders, all other design copyrights belonged to “Little Fish Fish Hot Pressing” – meaning they all went to Fang Xu.

Zhan Xi: “…”

“Why did you sign this?” Zhan Xi was dizzy with disbelief, “Little Fish, you’re so silly! He took all your previous designs, do you understand?”

Luo Jingyu nodded. Afterward, he had carefully read the text portions – yes, everything had been taken by Fang Xu, but he hadn’t taken it too seriously.

Each year’s big business required new designs anyway, with few old styles selling long-term. Flower patterns could be slightly modified, hot pressing colors varied greatly, and metal parts were countless. Unless Fang Xu was lazy and planned to rely on old designs, which Hanfu girls wouldn’t accept.

“Wait, let me send this to my cousin to look at.” Zhan Xi called Yin Li, who was an accountant. After receiving the three settlement sheets, Yin Li called back twenty minutes later.

“Overall there’s no major problem,” Yin Li said, “Just ask your friend if all the money has been received? It states everything’s settled – if he signed before getting all payments, it would be very difficult to collect if the other party defaults.”

Zhan Xi felt relieved, answering: “My friend says everything’s settled, no outstanding payments.”

Yin Li said: “Then there shouldn’t be any issues. The main thing is about the design items mentioned in the text – your friend has already signed, indicating acceptance, right?”

“Yes, he accepted,” Zhan Xi said. Though she felt Luo Jingyu shouldn’t have accepted, seeing his reaction, she knew it wasn’t a major issue.

Yin Li: “Then that’s fine. So it’s a partnership dissolution? Seems clear enough, nothing too strange. I think it’s okay.”

Zhan Xi was relieved: “Alright, I understand. Thank you, Sister Li Li.”

Luo Jingyu waited for Zhan Xi to finish her call, looking at her somewhat timidly, worried these sheets might have some hidden trap, like suddenly burdening him with a huge debt. If so, he would really have to fight Fang Xu.

Fortunately, Zhan Xi told him: “My cousin says as long as you accept the content in the text portion and haven’t been cheated of any money, there’s no problem.”

Luo Jingyu nodded slightly.

“Little Fish, don’t casually sign such things in the future,” Zhan Xi said. “You could have waited for me to return. Just accept the documents and say you’ll have an accountant review them before signing. You’re too honest – Fang Xu tells you to sign and you just sign? What if he was trying to trick you?”

Luo Jingyu dared not answer. The afternoon’s scene was still vivid – he hadn’t wanted to sign, but Fang Xu was aggressive, trying both soft and hard approaches. It was probably that phrase “I don’t want to cooperate anymore, you’re holding me back, how can you be so thick-skinned” that completely subdued Luo Jingyu.

He was indeed thin-skinned. Previously, Fang Xu often complained about him being deaf, making communication difficult, so he always tried hard to cooperate with Fang Xu’s work, wanting to prove he wasn’t inferior to hearing people. Once Fang Xu attacked his weak point, he felt both ashamed and angry but couldn’t argue back.

Seeing him dejected, Zhan Xi comforted him: “Never mind, what’s signed is signed, let’s part ways peacefully. Little Fish, have you thought about how to handle work going forward?”

Only then did Zhan Xi understand why Luo Jingyu had been so strange all afternoon. No wonder – Little Fish had lost his partner, suddenly lost direction, everything needed to start from scratch. She just didn’t know if he had any plans in mind or what resources he had available.

Luo Jingyu raised both hands, stopping them midair, then after a moment’s hesitation, lowered them and shook his head.

For the next two hours, Zhan Xi patiently communicated with him, learning why Luo Jingyu was so lost – it turned out he had no customer base at all.

Fang Xu had been thorough – for four years, he hadn’t allowed Luo Jingyu to register accounts on any social media platforms or join any customer groups, claiming the groups were full of chattering girls and Luo Jingyu had no time to read them, plus his chat skills were poor, so it was better for him to maintain customer relationships while Luo Jingyu focused on making products.

Zhan Xi found it incredible – how could Little Fish agree to all this?

Probably because Fang Xu had never cheated him on money, Luo Jingyu had stayed in his comfort zone, watching his increasing annual income and thinking everything was fine.

Sure enough, once they split up, Luo Jingyu was caught completely off guard.

Zhan Xi thought for a long time, then asked Luo Jingyu for Fang Xu’s studio address. When he asked why, Zhan Xi said she wanted to try communicating with Fang Xu again, see if there could be a turning point, at least complete this year’s Hanfu Festival business. If not, she wanted to try getting some customer contacts from Fang Xu.

Of course, she felt the chances were slim, but she felt ending the partnership so unclearly was too unfair to Little Fish.

Luo Jingyu also thought it would be difficult to get anything more from Fang Xu, but since Zhan Xi insisted, he gave her the address.

The next day, Zhan Xi went to Fang Xu’s studio alone. Luo Jingyu wanted to accompany her, but she said she could handle it.

Arriving at her destination, Zhan Xi saw several customer service girls working at computers in the outer office. She politely asked, “Hello, is Mr. Fang in?”

The staff replied, “Yes, but our boss has a visitor. Please wait a moment.”

Zhan Xi sat waiting for about ten minutes until the door to Fang Xu’s office opened and a young woman walked out. Zhan Xi looked up and realized it was someone she’d met before – the owner of the rose hot pressing booth from the Makers Festival.

The girl was dressed beautifully and fashionably. Seeing Zhan Xi, she also recognized her and smiled, “It’s you, Xi Yu Hot Pressing.”

Zhan Xi stood up: “Hello, I’m Zhan, Zhan Xi.”

“Hello, I’m Guan Rujie.” Guan Rujie shook hands with Zhan Xi and asked, “Are you here to see Brother Fang?”

She spoke sweetly and coquettishly, with girlish mannerisms, but Zhan Xi felt her eyes didn’t match her youthful appearance – they seemed quite worldly.

“Yes, I’m looking for Mr. Fang,” Zhan Xi replied.

Guan Rujie said: “Then go on in. I’m leaving now, isn’t it hot outside?” She put on her sunglasses and took out her car keys, giving them a shake, “Bye-bye, Miss Zhan.”

Watching her leave, Zhan Xi suddenly felt there was no point in meeting Fang Xu. Clearly, he had found a new partner, and the samples he took would definitely be put into production, most likely made by this Miss Guan.

But since she was already here, Zhan Xi decided to talk with Fang Xu anyway.

Fang Xu was surprised by Zhan Xi’s sudden visit and asked: “Miss Zhan, why didn’t you call ahead? Please sit, would you like something to drink?”

“No need, thank you, I’ll be quick.” Zhan Xi sat opposite him and smiled, “Mr. Fang, you didn’t call ahead when you went to see Little Fish either, didn’t you just go whenever you wanted?”

Fang Xu chuckled: “Well, Little Fish is always at home, and I don’t keep office hours. What if you came and I wasn’t here?”

Zhan Xi said: “No problem, I’m unemployed now anyway. Worst case, I’ll make a few trips – I’m bound to catch you eventually.”

Fang Xu asked: “Did you… just meet Little Guan?”

“Yes,” Zhan Xi said, “Is she your new partner?”

“Well, since Little Fish and I split up, business has to continue,” Fang Xu carelessly ignored Zhan Xi’s sarcasm. “You can’t say Luo Jingyu can find new partners but I can’t, right?”

Zhan Xi asked back: “Mr. Fang, aren’t you misunderstanding? When did Luo Jingyu find new partners?”

“Isn’t it you? Xi Yu Hot Pressing Art!” Fang Xu laughed heartily, “You two were even in the newspaper! He dared do this before ending our partnership, and I didn’t even say anything.”

Zhan Xi explained: “Xi Yu Hot Pressing was registered due to the Makers Festival organizers’ requirements. Little Fish Fish Hot Pressing has no public account, and the Weibo hasn’t been active for a long time. If we had asked you to register and cooperate with the festival’s promotion, would you have agreed?”

Fang Xu said: “There’s no point discussing this now, Miss Zhan. What brings you here today? If it’s about Luo Jingyu, I’m sorry, but we’ve settled everything very clearly.”

Zhan Xi spoke sincerely: “Mr. Fang, please, could you return the design copyright for the accessories Luo Jingyu designed for the Hanfu Festival? Let’s forget about the previous ones, he agrees to give those up, but could you return these newest pieces? He stayed up late designing them.”

Fang Xu smiled and wagged his finger: “Miss Zhan, you’ve seen the settlement sheet, right? What do you think?”

Zhan Xi pressed on: “Then… could you… give me contact information for some of the Hanfu studios or communities you work with? Just three or four would be fine. We can compete fairly in the future, relying on our work.”

Fang Xu laughed sharply: “Now you’re trying to poach customers so blatantly? Miss Zhan, you’re really naive. Let me kindly point you in a direction – all the Hanfu studios and communities have Weibo accounts, go contact them one by one! That’s how I started too, what else? Where would you find ready-made business?”

Zhan Xi fell silent. Actually, Fang Xu wasn’t wrong – there were ways, and she had thought of them too, but… these things were very difficult for Little Fish to handle. People have strengths and weaknesses, and this was Luo Jingyu’s weakness – a congenital defect. Forcing him to do this would be too much.

Fang Xu said with a smirk: “Actually, I think Luo Jingyu doesn’t need to stay in the Hanfu accessories business anymore. He’s always dreamed of making high-end, prestigious hot pressing works, so why focus on these small profits? He looks down on these things anyway. You should try a different path – you’re so capable, surely you can help him expand his market? Ah, I can’t do it, I can only make these small items, can’t compare to your grand vision.”

Every word he spoke mocked Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi, throwing back at them the things they had often said to Fang Xu before. Seeing his shameless expression, Zhan Xi was really angry but helpless.

Who told that silly Luo Jingyu to sign everything? Now they were completely passive.

On her way home, Zhan Xi sat in the subway car thinking for a long time.

She opened Weibo to look at Xu Qingyan’s page, then checked Sister Shao’s, Sister Xiao Zhu’s, and Sister Xiao Ding’s pages, even finding Guan Rujie’s page. They all operated independently, with no help – taking their own photos, filming and editing their own videos, running their own stores, managing their Taobao shops, interacting with customers themselves…

Only Little Fish wasn’t like this, because he couldn’t hear, having various limitations.

Zhan Xi opened Xi Yu Hot Pressing’s Weibo again. Just a week after the Makers Festival, she hadn’t updated the Weibo or public account this week – first because Luo Jingyu’s samples weren’t finalized, then because the design copyright was taken away.

This account had nearly two thousand followers, similar to the public account, far behind Sister Shao and the others, even further behind Xu Qingyan, and even Guan Rujie had triple Xi Yu’s followers.

Luo Jingyu had no WeChat groups or QQ groups at all, like a blank slate. Zhan Xi had added lots of customers at the Makers Festival, including several Hanfu circle girls.

What should they do?

It was the end of July, with the Hanfu Festival in mid-October – two and a half months away. The timing wasn’t too tight.

—

Luo Jingyu hadn’t slept well the previous night, feeling unwell that afternoon, so he took a nap.

Waking up, he found his nose blocked with mucus and his head dizzy and heavy. He realized yesterday’s willful rain-walking was purely stupid behavior, literally making himself catch a cold.

He didn’t continue lying down but went to the living room and saw his workbench, suddenly not knowing what he should do.

Usually by now, after samples were done, Fang Xu would have opened for orders, and Luo Jingyu would have orders in hand, able to leisurely order metal parts and fabric to start working.

But now, he had no work at all, suddenly emptied from his previous busy schedule into complete idleness, feeling very lost.

Luo Jingyu endured his headache to take care of Gift, then tended to his flowers and plants before going out to buy groceries. After returning, he took two cold medicine pills but still didn’t want to be idle, so he started cleaning. While he was mopping the floor, Zhan Xi returned.

Seeing her faint expression, Luo Jingyu knew nothing had worked out. He smiled at her and signed: [It’s okay, we’ll take it slow, I’ll think about what to do.]

Zhan Xi put down her bag, walked to him, moved the mop handle aside, and hugged his waist while looking up at him.

Luo Jingyu looked at Zhan Xi’s face, reddened by the sun, with small sweat beads on her nose. He suddenly remembered last year’s Christmas Eve when they ate Thai food and he proudly told her he wasn’t poor, earning 350,000 yuan a year. He thought of a few days ago when Zhan Jie visited and he proudly told his “big brother-in-law” that he would earn lots of money, definitely treat Huanhuan well.

Thinking of all this, he felt ashamed. In just a few days, he had become like this, thinking of selling heat shrink accessories for a few dozen yuan each at Chen Liang’s stall, just to earn one or two thousand yuan for emergencies.

At this moment, Zhan Xi spoke up: “Little Fish, I’ve decided not to look for work. I’ll help you instead, using ‘Xi Yu Hot Pressing’ as our brand. Whatever Fang Xu could do, I can do too. As long as you have your craftsmanship, we can definitely rebuild the business.”