The Price of Shaking Tea

This wretched system was designed specifically to exploit honest people like him. Saving simp-like figures and impersonating a campus belle senior were thankless, arduous tasks. He swore he would never set foot in that simulator again.

Inside, he was no different from an NPC laborer. If it weren’t for Chen Hao and the need to lift the unspeakable system punishment weighing on him, who would willingly suffer in there again?

“Shaking milk tea is still more reliable. Even if my arms break, it counts as a work-related injury.”

Lost in his thoughts, his phone was suddenly snatched away.

Jiang Chen glanced at the chat history, raising an eyebrow. “You just recovered, and you’re already thinking of shaking milk tea?”

“You wouldn’t understand!” Zhou Yi snatched his phone back. “Last semester, when I had acute gastroenteritis, the Manager drove me to the hospital overnight and stayed with me until three in the morning. One shouldn’t—at the very least, one *must not*—be ungrateful.”

He pointed at the Manager’s profile picture. “And his daughter’s been sick recently; he has to rush to the hospital to stay with her every night.”

Jiang Chen stared at the photo on the screen, which depicted the Manager holding a little girl, for a moment. “On your way back from work, bring me a cup of boba milk tea. Less ice, three-tenths sugar. Thanks.”

“Oh?” Zhou Yi turned, giving him a sidelong glance. “Are you… moved?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Jiang Chen replied, propping his chin with his hand. “I’m just worried you’ll have nothing to do at the shop.”

Zhou Yi chuckled, seeing right through him. “Stubborn as ever.”

“Less ice, three-tenths sugar,” Jiang Chen reminded, tapping Zhou Yi’s desk lightly with his pen. “Don’t forget.”

****

Manager Cheng Che was on his tiptoes, adjusting a hanging banner that read “Buy One Get One Free on New Products.” Seeing Zhou Yi push the door open and enter, he raised a hand to check his watch. “Twenty-eight minutes early. Looks like your fever truly broke.”

“Absolutely.” Zhou Yi caught the apron tossed to him mid-air, swiftly tying it around his waist. “If I lay around any longer, I’d start growing mushrooms.”

“Have you seen the new product recipe?” Cheng Che turned, offering a sample cup. “It’s a mango pomelo sago base with jasmine tea jelly.”

“Reduce coconut milk sugar by 10%, and use the new measuring spoon.” Zhou Yi took the cup and sampled a sip. “The tea jelly ratio could be increased by another 5%.”

Cheng Che raised an eyebrow. “Reason?”

“For a more distinct layering of flavors.”

Zhou Yi skillfully twisted open the coconut milk can. “Isn’t Xingyue supposed to have a follow-up check-up today? I can handle things here; why don’t you go to the hospital first?”

“No need,” Cheng Che said, flashing his phone screen. On the monitor display, a little girl with two braids was smiling at the camera, holding up a drawing. “The caregiver is with her.”

He turned to check the supply boxes. “Have the sample tasting station set up before five o’clock.”

Zhou Yi shrugged helplessly and buried himself back in work.

Manager Cheng Che was actually not much older than Zhou Yi, only twenty-five. Most people his age were still finding their footing in their careers or squandering their youth in entertainment venues. Yet, he had already shouldered the immense responsibility of his shop and his child.

His daughter, Xingyue, was only in junior kindergarten. However, she often followed her father around the shop, helping to hand out straws and wipe tables. Her maturity was heartbreaking to witness.

Every time the little girl looked up, calling out “Gege~” in her soft, sweet voice, Zhou Yi’s heart would melt.

Yet, Zhou Yi had never heard the Manager mention anything about the child’s mother. Nor had a “boss lady” ever made an appearance at the shop.

This single man had single-handedly kept a milk tea shop afloat. He was both a father and a mother, constantly bustling between milk tea and his child.

Zhou Yi carefully smoothed the milk foam at the rim of a cup. As he watched the Manager, drenched in sweat and squatting on the floor to organize supplies, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

At the same age of twenty-five, some were still reaching out to their parents for money to spend on games, while others had already become someone else’s entire world.

Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden commotion erupted at the shop entrance.

“Xiao Su, are you cold? Here, quickly put on my jacket!” A boy eagerly tried to drape his jacket over a girl’s shoulders.

The girl sidestepped, avoiding him with a look of disdain. “Don’t touch my new clothes; I still need to post them on Xiaohongshu later.”

The boy sheepishly retrieved his jacket, then followed her like a lapdog. He incessantly asked, “What kind of milk tea do you want? I’ll go buy it right away. Less ice or no ice? Three-tenths sugar or sugar-free?”

The girl, however, kept her head down, scrolling through her phone, not even bothering to spare him a glance.

Still undeterred, the boy rubbed his hands together, pacing beside her. “Or perhaps you’d like something else to eat? A new soufflé shop just opened next door…”

Zhou Yi’s hand trembled, nearly spilling the milk foam.

Well, there was another one treating someone like an ancestor. He shook his head, redirecting his attention back to the shaker in his hand.

When Zhou Yi finally dragged his weary body back to his dorm room, the clock on the wall already read eleven.

Jiang Chen was engrossed in a fierce battle before his computer, headphones on, his keyboard clattering loudly.

Zhou Yi placed the specially made pearl milk tea he held with a soft thud on Jiang Chen’s desk. Then, he turned and slipped into the bathroom.

Jiang Chen was in the middle of a critical team fight, yet he spared a glance for the milk tea. He took a large sip through the straw, his lips curving into a satisfied smile. Then, his fingers danced across the keyboard once more.

Zhou Yi leaned against the bathroom door, letting out a long sigh. He realized he had indeed overestimated himself; his illness had only just passed. Today, he had continuously shaken milk tea for six hours, and his hands felt utterly detached from his body.

He tugged at the hem of his sticky T-shirt, pulling it upwards to remove it. As the fabric brushed against the skin of his chest, a subtle yet distinct sharp pain suddenly flared.

“Hiss…”

He froze for a moment. What was happening? Those two annoying little mounds had clearly vanished after the task was completed.

His fingertips hesitantly pressed down on his chest. The sensation that met him made his heart skip a beat.

It hurt.

It wasn’t an illusion; it was a real, sharp, piercing pain.

Still unconvinced, he pressed harder. The distinct pain returned once more.

What was this? Could it be… a side effect of the system’s punishment?

Just as he’d said, nothing good ever came from getting involved with the system.

“Xiao Qi! What’s going on now?”

[System detecting… Ding! No abnormal data found~ Friendly reminder: The player’s physical condition has no relation to this system~]

“No relation?” Zhou Yi was so exasperated he almost laughed aloud. “So my chest is just hurting itself for fun?”

[Dear, don’t worry~ According to sports medicine analysis, this is most likely a pectoralis major strain caused by overexertion while shaking milk tea! Six hours of high-intensity work, even professional athletes can’t handle such strain~]

“Shaking milk tea can make my chest hurt? At least come up with a believable excuse!”

[Not necessarily~ It could also be normal adolescent development, dear~]

“Have *you* ever gone through puberty to be spouting such nonsense!” Zhou Yi swung a fist at the air. “Keep talking rubbish, and I swear I’ll give you a bad review and uninstall you three times over right now!”

[Player’s aggression detected as exceeding limits! Friendly reminder: Bad reviews will affect player benefits~]

“To hell with your benefits!” Zhou Yi flung the towel onto its hook.

[Honestly, though, look how easy it is to accept system tasks? You can earn four-figure bonuses just by lying down. Shaking milk tea is so much harder, isn’t it? You’ve even gotten a work-related injury from it.]

[Plus, there’s a new player exclusive bonus for accepting tasks right now! Are you sure you don’t want to try it?]

“Trying to trick me into taking another task?”

He was too weary to listen to Xiao Qi prattle on any longer. For now, he would just assume it was… a muscle strain? After all, shaking milk tea was a skilled job.