vstars Chapter 100 Shield
Chapter 100 Shield
"One person," Cheng Zheng said to the head waiter who came to greet him, and then found a seat in a corner.
The head waiter followed him over, handed him the menu, and smiled, "What would you like to order?"
Cheng Zheng's gaze first fell on a figure diagonally opposite him. After pausing for a few seconds, he picked up the menu and slightly raised his chin in the direction he had been looking: "I want her to come and order."
The head waiter looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately recognized the newly arrived waiter, Shen Qingyao: "Please wait a moment."
The male customers that Lin Shuyao was serving had been dawdling for almost ten minutes, and she had introduced almost all the dishes in the restaurant, but they still hadn't ordered anything.
Lin Shuyao also felt that the other party was hesitating for too long, and was about to tell the other party to think about it first and she would come back to order later, when the supervisor came over, patted her shoulder lightly, and whispered in her ear: "Go and serve the customers over there, I'll take care of this."
"Okay." Lin Shuyao looked in the direction the supervisor pointed, and her face immediately froze.
Why is it Cheng Zheng?!
When did he arrive?
Lin Shuyao hadn't decided whether to tell him about her part-time job, but she didn't expect to run into him on her first day of work.
He was a customer, she was a waitress; there was no way to avoid it.
She could only walk over there, a sweet smile spreading across her face, tinged with a hint of ingratiation: "What brings you here? Weren't you going to see a movie?"
Cheng Zheng's gaze swept over her without making a sound. He had only been observing her from afar outside the window, but now she was right in front of him. The light made her features even clearer: a full forehead, watery almond eyes, a pert nose, and cherry-red lips. Her features were exquisitely beautiful.
The uniform clung to her, the shirt collar loosened a couple of buttons, revealing a section of her pale neck. The vest cinched at the waist, making her waist appear incredibly slender. The skirt reached her knees, below which were a pair of straight, shapely legs, dazzlingly white.
She was dressed like that, and the man diagonally opposite her had been staring at her for so long, while she stood there smiling and behaving herself for him. Cheng Zheng felt a pang in his heart, a sense of unease creeping into his expression. "Is this why you can't go to the movies tonight?" he said.
Lin Shuyao had nothing to hide and nodded truthfully.
"When did you start working part-time here?" Cheng Zheng casually picked up the menu. He had just seen the job posting outside; she must be working the night shift.
Lin Shuyao unconsciously tugged at the hem of her skirt and said, "Today is the first day."
Cheng Zheng threw the menu on the table, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "Resign. This job isn't right for you."
"Why?" Lin Shuyao's eyes widened slightly. "I think this place is pretty good. The working environment is nice, and the customers who come in are all respectable people."
"A decent person?" Cheng Zheng glanced at the male customers at the table not far away who were still glancing at Lin Shuyao, a hint of coldness flashing between his brows. "A decent person would take so long to order food? There are plenty of hypocrites out there."
Lin Shuyao was standing with her back to the table, so she couldn't see the male customer's little tricks. She opened her red lips and retorted, "He didn't do anything to me or say anything inappropriate. He just took a long time to order. Maybe he hadn't decided what to eat. I can't just label him as indecent because of that."
"Didn't you do anything?" As a man, Cheng Zheng knew all too well the way the male customer looked at her. Her jaw tightened instantly, and her aura turned cold. "It would be too late if you really did something. I thought you had learned your lesson from that time in the alley."
Lin Shuyao hadn't forgotten about the two gamblers harassing her; if he hadn't appeared in time, she would most likely have already lost her virginity.
But we're in a restaurant now, with so many people around. Even if the other person really wanted to do something to her, let alone not doing anything inappropriate, they probably wouldn't have the guts.
"We have all kinds of customers. The nature of this job is to deal with different people. Just like in my department, I have to deal with so many men every day. You can't cut off all contact with men just because you encountered a scoundrel once. Don't forget you're a man too."
Lin Shuyao muttered the last sentence softly.
But Cheng Zheng had excellent hearing and heard it very clearly.
He stopped speaking, coldly pursing his lips, his dark eyes staring at her with an ambiguous meaning. Lin Shuyao felt uncomfortable under his gaze and tugged at her vest, making the curves of her chest even more pronounced. Cheng Zheng's gaze inadvertently swept over her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. He picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, swallowed, and said in a deep voice, "Also, this outfit of yours is not suitable."
He didn't want her dressed like that, wandering around in front of men.
Lin Shuyao looked down at herself. Her shirt was almost buttoned up, and her skirt was knee-length, covering her completely.
"What's wrong with it? Everyone was just praising my outfit."
She looked up again, her big, almond-shaped eyes blinking at him, innocent and unaware, completely failing to understand what he meant by "inappropriate".
Cheng Zheng looked at her vibrant face, his voice growing colder and harder: "It's inappropriate anywhere. Dressed like this, what kind of decorum is this?"
Lin Shuyao said helplessly, "All the waiters are dressed like this. If you feel it's inappropriate, I'll call a male waiter over to take your order."
"No need," Cheng Zheng refused immediately. Perhaps realizing his tone was a bit harsh, he softened his tone and tried to reason with her, "How about you quit your job here? I have money if you need it, I'll give you all of it."
Lin Shuyao dared not accept his money, mainly because she was afraid that on the day the female lead returned to settle scores, the money she had taken would become evidence of her fraud. To be on the safe side, she would rather save it herself honestly.
She shook her head firmly: "I still want to earn my own money. I won't quit this job."
"What do you want to buy? I'll buy it for you. Or are you facing any difficulties that I can help you solve?" He just didn't want her to work so hard, dressed like this, serving tea and water to people and having to smile at them.
"No need." Lin Shuyao smiled bitterly to herself. He couldn't solve her problem. Not only could he not solve it, but he might even take her to the police station if he found out.
Upon hearing that she didn't want his money and was even willing to quit her job, Cheng Zheng's expression, which had just softened, turned cold again. His dark eyes were fixed on her, and he remained silent.
"If you're not going to eat, you should go back now. I need to attend to other customers."
Lin Shuyao didn't want to continue the previous topic, so she took the small booklet for ordering food, turned around, and left.
"Wait a minute," Cheng Zheng suddenly called out to her again, his slender fingers casually tapping on the menu. "Who said I don't eat here? Tell me about your specialties."
Lin Shuyao stopped in her tracks, turned around to look at him, her watery almond eyes widened slightly, with a hint of helplessness and a touch of reproach for his deliberate teasing: "Cheng Zheng, stop messing around... I'm at work here."
He loved hearing her call his name in that soft voice. When she did, most of the pent-up frustration in his heart would dissipate without him even realizing it, though he didn't show it on his face.
He raised his eyelids slightly, his gaze falling on her fair face, and said in a somewhat arrogant tone, "What's wrong? You were so patient when you were introducing things to others, but you're so perfunctory with me? I'm a customer too."
"Haven't you come here several times before..." Lin Shuyao couldn't help but laugh when she heard him speak in such a tone for the first time, like a child throwing a tantrum.
Cheng Zheng remained expressionless: "It's been too long since I've been here, I've forgotten what dishes we have."
Lin Shuyao smiled helplessly, her petal-like fingers taking the menu from him. She then leaned close to his ear, pointing to each dish and softly introducing them one by one. Finally, she tilted her head slightly, her bright eyes looking at him with a hint of helplessness and doting: "Comrade Cheng Zheng, can we order now?"
Cheng Zheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he hummed in agreement. He casually pointed to two or three items on the menu with his long, slender fingers. "That's all. You'll have to serve them to me personally."
Lin Shuyao gave him a playful glare: "I know... just wait and see."
Soon, the food was ready in the kitchen.
Lin Shuyao placed the dishes Cheng Zheng had ordered on his table and said softly, "Enjoy your meal."
She turned to serve other customers, but the male customer across from her saw that she was free and raised his hand to beckon her over. Just as she was about to walk over there, she heard a thud behind her. She turned around and saw a glass lying on the carpet under Cheng Zheng's table. A patch of the dark red carpet was stained with water, making it darker in color.
Meeting her gaze, Cheng Zheng innocently raised an eyebrow: "Sorry, it was a slip of the hand. Could you please fix it?"
Lin Shuyao wasn't sure if he did it on purpose or by accident, so she told the supervisor what happened. The supervisor went to serve the male customer, while Lin Shuyao walked over to Cheng Zheng, bent down to pick up the cup, and then squatted down to use a dry towel to absorb the water from the carpet.
New customers kept coming into the restaurant, and there were clearly not enough waiters; everyone was busy. Lin Shuyao cleaned up the floor and coaxed Cheng Zheng, "Go back quickly after you finish eating. I'm really safe here; nothing will happen. Don't worry."
"What time do you get off work?" Cheng Zheng asked.
"Ten o'clock, it's still early." It's not even eight o'clock yet, there are still more than two hours.
Cheng Zheng didn't speak. Lin Shuyao glanced at him worriedly. "It's my first day of part-time work. I have to do well."
The implication was that he should stop causing any more trouble.
Cheng Zheng hummed in agreement, then picked up his knife and fork with his well-defined fingers and began to eat with great elegance.
Lin Shuyao went to attend to other customers.
One evening, she was like a busy little bee, constantly refilling water for the guests, fetching sauces for them, and after they left, she had to clean up the tables where they had left their food.
Although it's a Western restaurant, the tables are still quite messy after the meal. All sorts of food scraps have to be cleaned up, and tablecloths have to be put back on.
Lin Shuyao wasn't used to it at first, having never done anything like this before. She unconsciously frowned several times while cleaning up, but she got used to it after cleaning up two tables.
Of course, there were also some gains tonight. Several tables of customers gave her tips, and they were more than her salary. They were all one or two dollars. She secretly counted them when she was pouring water in the kitchen. She had received more than seven dollars in tips. It was hard to imagine that this job could be so lucrative.
When she came out, her smile was even brighter. She was already beautiful with red lips and white teeth, and her radiant smile made her even more attractive. Several men dining at the restaurant couldn't help but glance at her.
The first male customer she served hadn't left yet; it had been almost two hours. He had ordered a bottle of red wine and was slowly savoring it. Every time he poured wine, he would beckon her over to help him pour, and strike up a few words with her.
Lin Shuyao only went once. On the other occasions, whenever the other party raised their hand, Cheng Zheng would also raise his hand in acknowledgment.
Lin Shuyao still needed to figure out what was more important, so she went to Cheng Zheng first. She smiled and asked him what he needed. Cheng Zheng was quite satisfied with her manners and didn't say anything sarcastic. He just asked her to pour some water for him.
He tipped her ten dollars every time she poured water.
"Cheng Zheng, this is too much." Lin Shuyao refused to accept it, knowing that he was deliberately trying to give her money.
Cheng Zheng was still unhappy: "Others accept gifts happily and say thank you, but you don't want what I offer. What does that mean?"
Lin Shuyao explained helplessly, "Tips are usually only given once, when you pay the bill. It's not given for every service, and you gave too much, it exceeded the amount of your meal."
Cheng Zheng didn't take it seriously: "There's no rule against giving more, just take it."
Lin Shuyao thought about it for a moment and decided that the tip shouldn't be considered fraud; it was legitimate income, so she accepted it.
Seeing that Cheng Zheng showed no sign of leaving, she asked, "It's already past nine o'clock, aren't you going home?"
Cheng Zheng took a sip of water and said calmly, "No rush."
Lin Shuyao ignored him and went to work. When it was almost time to leave work, she noticed that his table was empty, cleared by other waiters.
When she saw him leave, Lin Shuyao felt a little disappointed. That's how women are; when they say no, they mean yes. If they want you to leave, they actually want you to wait for them.
She thought Cheng Zheng was taking so long to eat because he wanted to wait for her to get off work, but it seems she misunderstood.
Lin Shuyao went inside to change her clothes and came out. Most of her other colleagues had already left. She pushed open the restaurant door and saw the male customer she had served earlier. He said politely, "Comrade Shen, could you please provide me with your contact information?"
He tried to get a chance to do it several times, but was interrupted each time.
It was after get off work hours, and it was already dark outside. There were hardly any people around, only a few streetlights were on, and the buses had stopped running.
Lin Shuyao looked around warily, thinking that refusing might anger the other party, so she decided to give a fake address to keep them calm. Just as she was about to speak, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the shadows and whispered to her, "Let's go, Shen Qing."
Lin Shuyao glanced up and saw that it was none other than Cheng Zheng.
She had never hoped for his appearance so much. A smile played on her lips as she nodded to the male customer across the table who was asking for her contact information, and casually made up an excuse: "Sorry, my boyfriend is here to pick me up."
Upon hearing that she had a boyfriend, and then glancing at the tall, aloof figure opposite him, the male customer gave an awkward laugh, turned around, and left.
Under the streetlights, only Cheng Zheng and Lin Shuyao remained.
Cheng Zheng's lips unconsciously curled up slightly because of her mention of "boyfriend," but Lin Shuyao glanced at him and explained, "Sorry, I just said you were my boyfriend and used you as a temporary shield."