A L*st at First Sight (Lily Futa) - Chapter 18

After his initial excitement wore off, Xiao C started chatting with Liu Yuelan.

“Sister Liu, why haven’t I seen you at the shop lately? Are you really busy with work?”

“Mm.” Liu Yuelan leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, pretending to nap.

“What exactly happened to your car last time? It was smashed so badly. We were all really worried.”

“I hit a wall. I’m fine.”

“That’s good. You have no idea — to get your car fixed as quickly as possible, my Master worked through two full rest days.”

Liu Yuelan opened her eyes and glanced at him, lowering her voice. “Why?”

Xiao C stared seriously at the road ahead while speaking distractedly. “Isn’t that obvious? You’re our shop’s VVVVIP. Little Li nags us about it every day until our ears grow calluses. Of course your matter gets priority.”

Liu Yuelan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, turned her head away, closed her eyes, and didn’t want to speak anymore.

Xiao C didn’t notice her mood at all and kept talking about shop matters. Liu Yuelan only listened with half an ear.

“Sister Liu, when do you have time to come to the shop and hang out? We all miss you so much.”

“All of you?” Liu Yuelan asked casually.

“Yeah, me, Big Liu, Old Wang, the others, and my Master.”

Liu Yuelan sat up straight again, her ears perking up. She asked nonchalantly, “Your Master?”

“Yeah, she mentioned you just a couple of days ago!”

“What did she say about me…”

“She said your massage chair is taking up too much space in the lobby and told Little Li to notify you to move it out eventually.”

Liu Yuelan gritted her teeth and said viciously, “No need. Leave it there for her to retire with.”

She flopped heavily back against the seat. When Xiao C was about to speak again, she cut him off first. “Shut up and drive.”

Xiao C shrank his neck in fright and didn’t dare say another word the rest of the way. When he dropped Liu Yuelan off downstairs, he wanted to get out too.

“You drive it back. Tomorrow bring the car to the shop and I’ll have someone drive it back.”

“No need, Sister Liu. I can just take a taxi home.”

Before he could finish, Liu Yuelan had already closed the door and entered the apartment building.

Actually, Xiao C later sensed that she was in a bad mood, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out why. Had he said something that made her angry?

He drove home full of confusion. Just before getting out of the car, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t taken any photos. He pulled out his phone and took a bunch of selfies. When he was about to post them to his Moments, he hesitated, first asked Liu Yuelan if it was okay to post, and after getting permission, he picked a few nice ones and sent them with the caption: Future goal, keep going, Xiao C!

After replying to the message, Liu Yuelan casually scrolled through her Moments, liked Xiao C’s post, and scrolled further until she saw a car repair video share. Her finger pressed on that person’s avatar for a few seconds before letting go, then she tapped into the message interface. That was when she saw the photo again.

The lock screen had long been changed, but she hadn’t thought to change the chat background because the two of them hadn’t chatted since that day.

She dug deep into her photo album to find that picture. The more she looked at it, the more her heart ached. She switched to the booking app, bought a ticket for tomorrow to go abroad, then tossed her phone aside, pulled the quilt over her head, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, as soon as Yu Qianlin got out of the car, she heard Xiao C arguing with his girlfriend up front again. She sighed speechlessly.

“What’s wrong with borrowing it for just one day? Didn’t you see that person’s face at dinner last time? It almost made me die of anger. With you, I’ll never get my face back in this lifetime.”

“This is a customer’s car. She’s coming to pick it up today. She still needs to use it.”

Yu Qianlin took a couple of steps toward the entrance and saw a familiar car.

“You didn’t even ask — how do you know it’s not okay? She’s so rich, would she really be that stingy?”

Xiao C was so anxious he didn’t know what to say.

Yu Qianlin walked up and asked him, “What’s going on? Why are you driving this car?”

“Ah, I…” Although Xiao C had already prepared an answer, being stared at by Yu Qianlin still made him feel guilty. “Yesterday I went out and happened to run into Sister Liu. She had been drinking and couldn’t drive, so I drove her home. Then it was late, so she let me take the car back first.”

Yu Qianlin was about to speak when Little Q glared at him furiously. “Couldn’t she call a designated driver? Why did she have to ask you to drive her? Are you two hiding something?”

Xiao C broke out in a sweat. “I’m not! How could that be? Don’t guess randomly!”

Yu Qianlin glanced at the car beside them again, lowered her eyes, and walked away. Little Q stubbornly demanded an explanation from Xiao C. The two of them argued for quite a while before things finally calmed down.

Yu Qianlin spent the whole morning in the office. She would work for a while, then look up at the monitor in the upper right corner, which showed the entrance. She didn’t know how many times she checked it. Finally, she saw a familiar figure.

She watched the person enter, stay for a short while, then drive the car away. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes, not knowing what she was feeling.

A little relieved that it wasn’t Liu Yuelan, but also a little… disappointed.

As soon as that thought appeared, she immediately opened her eyes and forced herself to focus on work, unwilling to think about these things anymore.

The days passed in this noisy manner. Although Yu Qianlin still couldn’t handle Little Q’s harassment, at least it wasn’t as overwhelming as before.

Finally, after everyone had been eagerly waiting, Little Li returned.

Yu Qianlin had just finished scolding Little Q in the repair area and was walking toward the lobby in a bad mood. She happened to run into Xiao C greeting Little Li. Her eyes lit up. “Little Li, you’re back!”

There was even a trace of excitement in her tone that she herself hadn’t noticed.

Little Li rarely saw her express her emotions so openly. She happily waved at her. “Sister Lin, long time no see. These are local specialties I brought for everyone. Here, take a few!”

Yu Qianlin smiled and took two specialties, holding them in her hands. “How is Uncle’s leg? Didn’t I tell you to stay home a little longer?”

“The doctor said he’s recovering very well. I’ve already taken too much time off and felt really bad about it. After taking Dad for a check-up, I came back.”

“Mm, that’s good.”

While they were talking, Little Q walked over rubbing her arm and complained to Yu Qianlin discontentedly, “Look what you did. You got my arm all dirty. It took me forever to wash it off.”

Yu Qianlin’s expression cooled a little. Little Li looked at the person behind her and asked in confusion, “Who is this?”

Xiao C jumped over and put an arm around Little Q’s shoulders. “This is my girlfriend, Little Q!”

Little Li’s expression was spectacular. After several changes, she finally let out a long “Ohhh…” “Not bad, not bad. You little brat actually managed to find a girlfriend.”

“Yeah. Little Q, let me introduce you. This is Little Li. The job you’re doing now is covering for her.”

“What do you mean?” Little Li looked nervously at Yu Qianlin.

Yu Qianlin gave her a reassuring look. “It’s fine. The front desk work will still be yours from now on.”

“Then what about me?” Little Q hugged Yu Qianlin’s arm and acted coquettishly. “Sister Lin, how can you be so heartless? Saying you’ll abandon me just like that.”

Little Li stared in shock at their intimate actions, completely dumbfounded.

Yu Qianlin immediately shook off her hand and stepped aside. “You’d better work seriously. Little Li will be supervising you. She has the right to decide whether to fire you. You’d better watch yourself.” Then she looked at Xiao C. “You don’t need to be at the front desk anymore. Focus on your work.”

“Little Li, she’s all yours now. Don’t be polite with her. If you feel she really can’t do the job, settle her wages and let her go.”

After giving the instructions, Yu Qianlin went to her office, let out a long sigh of relief, picked up the two specialties in her hands and bumped them together. Amused by her own childishness, she revealed a smile that had been absent for a long time.

Little Li was a bit dazed by the pile of instructions. In the end, she looked at the young couple in front of her and decided to focus on work first.

Before long, she understood exactly what Yu Qianlin meant.

“Has this month’s membership benefits been sent out?”

Little Q sat in her chair painting her nails. “Yeah, I spent the whole day on it. I packed each one myself.”

“Why hasn’t it been updated in the system?”

“Ah, I forgot. No one told me.” She blew on one finished hand, brought her fingers together, and held them out to look at them from a distance.

“You didn’t? But some have checkmarks and some don’t. What does that mean?”

Little Q impatiently put away the nail polish. “Aiya, I don’t know either. Anyway, I didn’t do it. Ask someone else.”

……

“This order has been sitting here for a week. Have you contacted the owner to pick it up?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you call and ask now?”

……

Little Li took a deep breath to suppress her anger and dealt with the mess with a splitting headache. She felt dizzy and exhausted after handling it all afternoon.

Xiao C sneaked a look over, then quickly went back to message her on his phone.

: Little Li sis, please put in a good word for Little Q with Master. Don’t let her get fired, okay? [kneeling]

: [Cold] Do you know what she’s been doing? And look at her attitude — she didn’t do anything all afternoon! Am I her subordinate?

: [Crying] Sis, please. I’ll talk to her properly later. Give her another chance. Teach her more. I’ll treat you to a meal.

: Not interested.

: Wuuu, sis, it’s not easy for me to be in a relationship. She only agreed to date me because I said I could help her find a good job.

: ?? Aren’t you just screwing over Sister Lin? Do you think the shop’s business is too good? Specifically keeping an idle person around?

Little Li was so angry she tossed her phone aside and didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

In the following days, she became stricter with Little Q. Although the other woman was extremely unwilling, with Yu Qianlin’s words hanging over her, she didn’t dare act too wildly.

But after behaving for only a few days, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Every night she would curse Little Li in front of Xiao C, then dream about becoming the boss’s wife. The first thing she would do is fire Little Li. After indulging in that sweet dream for a while, she would remember Yu Qianlin’s cold face and get so angry she kicked the sleeping Xiao C.

After finally cleaning up the mess Little Q had created, Little Li had some free time and discovered that this woman was not only lazy and greedy for luxury, but also fickle and flirtatious. After her repeated attempts to seduce Yu Qianlin failed, Little Li blocked her in the women’s changing room and asked sternly, “What exactly do you want to do to Sister Lin?”

“None of your business?” Little Q rolled her eyes and tried to leave.

Little Li grabbed her. “Have you no shame? You have a boyfriend and you’re still acting like that toward someone else? That’s cheating!”

“What does that have to do with you? Even if I cheat, what’s it got to do with you?”

Little Li was almost driven mad by her shamelessness. “You… Sister Lin will never like you. This is sexual harassment, do you know that?”

“How do you know she won’t like me? Just wait. Once we’re together, you’d better be polite to me. Otherwise, watch me fire you immediately.”

“You! Dream on. I’m going to tell Sister Lin right now and have you kicked out immediately!”

“Go ahead. Then I’ll say I was sexually harassed by a female superior and got driven away. I’ll come here every day to make a scene and call a few media outlets. Let’s see who can outdo who!”

Little Li trembled with rage, feeling like a scholar meeting a soldier — completely overwhelmed by this person’s shameless tactics that kept lowering her standards of decency.

Because of this, Little Li couldn’t even concentrate on work. While she was lost in thought, Yu Qianlin walked over from the repair area with a completely unconcerned Little Q following behind. She pointed at the “No Unauthorized Entry” sign at the entrance and said to Little Q, “Can’t you read? Look at what it says!”

Then she turned to Little Li. “From now on, except for repair staff and customers, no one else is allowed into the repair area. If you need something from the back, call someone. Whoever violates the rule gets a deduction. You decide how much. You’re in charge of supervision. If any unauthorized person enters, you’ll also be deducted 50%. Write up some rules later and post them on the door.” After finishing, she glared at Little Q again and went back inside.

Seeing Little Q angrily trying to follow, Little Li reached out to stop her. “Didn’t you hear what Sister Lin just said? You’re not allowed in. Stay here. If you really have nothing to do, go sweep the lobby.”

Little Q pushed her hand away, muttering curses as she picked up a broom and went to sweep the floor.

In the following days, with Little Li keeping a close watch, Little Q couldn’t get into the repair area anymore. She could only try to approach when Yu Qianlin came out, but she was coldly pushed away every time.

One day Little Q knocked over her water cup. The lid wasn’t tightened properly, so it spilled all over Little Li. Her apology showed zero sincerity. Little Li strongly suspected she did it on purpose. She was so angry she couldn’t speak and could only go to the changing room to change her clothes first.

When Little Li came out again, she didn’t see Little Q and didn’t know where the woman had gone to slack off. She shook her head — out of sight, out of mind. Just as she was about to continue working, the wind chimes at the entrance rang. She habitually smiled and looked over, then froze.

The woman in front of her had a slanted short haircut with blue-dyed ends. It was a shade of blue she couldn’t even describe — clean and comfortable at first glance. She wore a pure white shirt with two buttons undone, revealing an exquisite blue pendant at her neck. Below were black high-waisted dress pants, and high heels that made her presence even more powerful.

Little Li was lost in a daze. Liu Yuelan had already walked up to her. Seeing her staring motionless, the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile. “What? Don’t recognize me anymore?”

Little Li swallowed hard and said timidly, “Miss Liu, long time no see. You cut your hair…”

“Does it look bad?” Liu Yuelan twirled a strand of hair and looked at it.

“No, no, no,” Little Li quickly waved her hands. “It looks great. It’s just… you seem like a completely different person.”

Before, she had been a gentle older sister. Now she was a cool, domineering royal sister.

The corners of Liu Yuelan’s mouth lifted briefly before falling again. She looked around. “Where is Yu Qianlin?”

This was the first time Little Li had heard her use Yu Qianlin’s full name. It felt oddly like being questioned by the homeroom teacher in school. She unconsciously stood up straighter and pointed behind her. “Sister Lin is busy in the back.”

“Good. You keep working. I’ll go over myself.”

Little Li watched dazedly as she took a few steps, then suddenly reacted and rushed in front of her to block the way. “Miss Liu,” she said with a troubled expression, “Sister Lin said no unauthorized personnel are allowed in the repair area…”

Liu Yuelan paused, finally noticing the large “No Unauthorized Entry” sign at the entrance. Her expression cooled a bit. She nodded lightly. “Fine. I’ll wait outside.”

Watching Liu Yuelan’s back, Little Li had wanted to say the rule wasn’t aimed at her, but she was afraid it would sound too deliberate. She stood there, conflicted for a long time.

Liu Yuelan walked to the rest area and saw the massage chair. Remembering something, her face grew even darker. She found another seat and sat down, but when she looked up, she saw the sign at the entrance again and felt another wave of stomach pain.

Little Li pretended to work at the front desk, but her eyes kept drifting toward Liu Yuelan. Since sitting down, she had kept her arms crossed the whole time without moving, making her look even more unapproachable.

She clicked the mouse randomly, unable to help but feel a little worried for Sister Lin.

Liu Yuelan had already been waiting for ten minutes. Little Li was busy on the other side of the lobby matching express delivery numbers and quantities with logistics. Liu Yuelan stretched her neck, then looked toward the repair area.

In that one glance, she actually saw a woman in a pink dress following closely behind Yu Qianlin as they walked inside, circling left and right, happily saying something.

Liu Yuelan clenched her fists, breathing rapidly. She never expected that someone would take advantage of the situation and move in. And this was the so-called “No Unauthorized Entry”?

She stood up and strode aggressively toward the two of them.