Riding My Beloved Little Bicycle~

In Xia Chen’s courtyard stood a grape trellis.

Above it, grapevines were tied neatly with hemp rope.

Below it was a small pool of water.

Grapes were fruits that consumed a huge amount of water while growing.

One could almost watch with the naked eye how the water in that small pool vanished overnight, or within a single day.

In this blazing summer, the grapes were already nearing ripeness.

Though Xia Chen considered himself dirt poor—aside from this old courtyard, the name Xia Chen possessed no assets at all—he would never sell the grapes he had personally grown for money.

According to Xia Chen himself, with this kind of strength in his bare arms, he could do plenty of other work.

The grapes were meant for himself to eat.

Sweet and sour pleasures were things he alone should enjoy.

If everything could be bought with money, and everything could be exchanged for money, then Xia Chen felt he might as well go find some mountain ditch and wait to die.

After making dinner in his courtyard, the sun was already sinking westward.

Rubbing the business card brought by the woman claiming to be his homeroom teacher, Lu Xi, Xia Chen examined it beneath the crude hanging light bulb in the yard.

On it was a phone number, along with a name and title.

“Ye Nuan — Manager of Royal Diamond Club, Zhijiang Branch.”

A club?

Looking at those two words, Xia Chen’s understanding of “club” instantly jumped from wartime seventy years ago to the present era of peace.

His impression of such places remained one of luxury, indulgence, wine, women, and extravagance.

It was not as though he had never frequented such romantic dens before.

In one of his past lives, he had even been a famous wealthy patron in old Hong City’s “Sleepless City.”

But after he disappeared and left that place behind, he had never stepped into such establishments again.

Thinking about it now, it actually felt unfamiliar.

After some thought, Xia Chen took out his phone and dialed the number on the card.

The call connected very quickly.

“Hello, this is Royal Diamond Entertainment Club.

Would you like to reserve a private room or arrange another event?”

Leaning back on the bamboo chair, Xia Chen chewed grapes.

“Lu Xi told me to contact you.”

“Hmm…? Lu Xi?

What happened to her?

Does she owe you money?

I’m telling you now, Lu Xi and I are only ordinary friends.

Don’t come collecting debts from me!”

Xia Chen narrowed his eyes lazily.

“She introduced me here for work.

Said you could recommend a part-time job.”

After he said that, there was a noticeable pause on the other end.

Then he heard muttering.

“Eh… how did she know I was short on male models… ah, you’re looking for work, right?

Do you know what kind of place this is?”

“No.

She didn’t say.

Only that it was work where I could study and do part-time at the same time.”

“You’re a student?!”

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Xia Chen could hear delight in that voice.

“I am…”

“Are you an adult?

No… that’s not important.

Can you come for an interview tonight?!”

How was that not important?

Xia Chen frowned.

“I have time tonight…”

“Then do you know how to get here?

We’re in the city center, South Hedong Avenue.”

“I think I know where that is.

Should I come now?”

“Yes!

Right now.

The faster the better!”

The call ended.

Xia Chen stared at the phone in his hand.

He lowered his head, shook it, then briskly stood up.

Returning to his simple room, everything from the wardrobe to the bed was plain and ordinary.

Not especially old either.

An old district simply looked like an old district.

After changing into a white shirt and knee-length denim shorts, Xia Chen left the room, locked the door, and wheeled a bicycle out from the courtyard.

Then he swung himself onto it.

“Xiao Chen!

What are you doing going out so late?!”

Just as he left the yard, Auntie Liu happened to be outside splashing water.

Xia Chen did not even turn back.

“Going out to work.

Auntie Liu, be careful splashing water.

If you throw it any farther, you’ll splash it straight into Zhijiang River.”

“Shoo, shoo!

You brat, never a nice word from you!”

Grumbling curses, Auntie Liu returned to her courtyard.

Meanwhile, the young man’s clothes puffed in the wind as he pedaled faster and faster.

Through the maze-like alleys, he moved as if walking on flat ground.

Without the slightest panting, as though he were merely strolling after dinner.

“Riding my beloved little bicycle~”

From the old district to Hedong Avenue in the city center, even driving would take around thirty minutes.

Xia Chen arrived in only fifteen.

And that was while deliberately restraining his speed to avoid causing panic.

Soon enough, Xia Chen found the nightclub called Royal Diamond Entertainment Club.

Looking up, he saw a massive three-story building as grand as city hall itself.

Neon lights flashed across its exterior.

Countless luxury cars filled the parking spaces outside.

Men in suits came and went nonstop, creating an atmosphere of wealth and bustling excitement.

Unlike an inexperienced youth, Xia Chen felt neither fear nor hesitation toward such a place.

He simply strode straight toward the main entrance.

“Uh… sir, please wait a moment.”

Honestly, the attendant at the door was in a difficult position.

Those who entered such clubs were either rich or powerful.

This young man looked far too young.

And dressed in a plain white shirt and denim shorts… no matter how one looked at it, he did not seem like someone who could afford anything inside.

Yet the attendant also feared he might be some hidden dragon among men.

So he politely stopped him with caution.

“What?”

Xia Chen looked over with narrowed eyes.

The young attendant sucked in a breath.

Without exaggeration, that tone of voice and those lazy eyes could never belong to someone his age.

At a glance, he looked like a person with backing.

Cold sweat instantly formed on the attendant’s forehead.

“Sir, you seem unfamiliar.

You must be visiting for the first time.

Which private room are you going to?

I can guide you there.”

Xia Chen nodded.

“Tell Ye Nuan to come see me.”

The attendant was stunned.

Ye Nuan?

Ye Nuan was the public-facing manager of this branch.

Even if she did not hold ultimate power, she still managed hundreds of employees.

And this person’s first sentence was… tell Ye Nuan to come see him?

What kind of great figure was this?

Whoever he was, he was definitely not someone the attendant could offend.

So the attendant hurriedly smiled apologetically.

“Sir… I don’t have the authority to directly notify Sister Ye…”

“Then why have you been wasting my time talking nonsense?

Tell me where her office is and I’ll go myself.”

“Ah, yes sir~”

The attendant eagerly pointed the way for this boy in a white shirt and denim shorts.

Watching Xia Chen walk away, he felt extremely excited inside.

With service like this, he must have left a good impression on the young master, right?

Who knew when an opportunity for promotion and a raise might come?

Reaching the peak of life and all that… just thinking about it thrilled him.

However, the young attendant did not know that only one day later, the two of them would meet again… as coworkers.