No One Loves Me (GL) - Chapter 11

The boss had provided an electric scooter with a long battery life, better than most small electric scooters. Xin Geling often saw delivery drivers riding these scooters weaving through the crowds on the streets.

It was more than enough to carry one person for 10 kilometers.

Xin Geling had heard what Xie Zhitang said, but she didn’t mean it that way. She was just worried that she wouldn’t be comfortable on it.

However, since Xie Zhitang didn’t mind, there was nothing more she could say.

“All right.”

Xie Zhitang put the kitten back in the display cabinet, picked up her bag, and followed Xin Geling out.

The electric scooter was parked next to the pet grooming shop’s door. Xin Geling put in the key and motioned for her to get on.

Luckily, Xie Zhitang was dressed casually today in a French-style shirt and tight-fitting flare jeans. She was wearing low-heeled Mary Jane shoes, showing her slender, bony ankles.

After getting on the back of the scooter, Xie Zhitang looked at the tall, thin figure in front of her. She was wearing simple, loose-fitting pants, a white T-shirt underneath, and a looser short-sleeved black shirt over it.

Her sister liked to leave her shirt unbuttoned. At work, she often layered her shirts over various T-shirts. This style would make a shorter person look even shorter, but her sister was taller than her and also skinny, like a walking clothes rack.

She effortlessly drew people’s attention.

Xie Zhitang recalled the years she had visited her in prison and how even in the plain prison uniform, her sister had an indescribable charm.

The disaster that happened when her sister was 18 was something she had to endure, but her sister had used her own strength to support and lift her up, only to end up in prison for seven years.

Her sister’s strength was as vast as a mountain or a sea, and it still made her heart tremble after all these years.

She couldn’t help but want to get closer and hold on to her.

She didn’t want to let her go to anyone else.

Xie Zhitang’s slender, pale hands clasped together over the shirt and T-shirt as she wrapped her arms around Xin Geling’s waist. “I’m on securely, Sister.”

“Mhm.”

Xin Geling glanced down at the hands on her waist. Her heart felt a little complicated. Xie Zhitang could have just held onto the seat, but picking up the cat was more important, so she let it go. She twisted the throttle, and the electric scooter slowly pulled away from the shop and onto the street.

The evening breeze blew in their faces. Since it was rush hour, there were more people at the subway exits and intersections. Xin Geling wasn’t driving fast, and she navigated smoothly through the bustling crowd.

Xie Zhitang looked at the busy street, with people coming and going. The small shops and stalls on the side of the road were bustling with life, their chatter mixed with pop music, creating a simple, everyday atmosphere.

She remembered a time when her parents used to take her to the night market.

But everything changed after her brothers were born.

The people her parents held hands with were no longer her, but her two younger brothers. She followed behind them like an outsider.

Xie Zhitang tightened her grip.

Xin Geling looked at the traffic ahead. It was starting to get congested, and her speed slowed down. Eventually, she had to stop completely.

As soon as she stopped, Xin Geling felt her waist tighten. She slightly turned her head but couldn’t see Xie Zhitang’s expression. Her eyes landed on a small mobile stand selling freshly squeezed lemonade, less than a meter away from them.

Xin Geling thought Xie Zhitang’s action meant she wanted something to drink but was too shy to say it. Her thoughts stirred, and she said to the vendor, “I’ll take a freshly squeezed lemon tea.”

“Coming right up!” the vendor said.

Xin Geling didn’t use her phone to pay. Instead, she took a 10-yuan bill from her pants pocket and handed it over.

In the past few days of helping her mother sell cardboard, her mother had given her 50 yuan to buy whatever she wanted to eat.

Despite her best efforts to refuse, her mother had still put the money in her pocket.

It made Xin Geling feel like she was back seven years ago, when her mother would generously give her pocket money on payday.

Even though she got an allowance every week back then, her mother was most generous on payday.

This 50 yuan was almost as much as what they made from selling cardboard for a whole day.

The vendor was surprised that someone was still using cash. She took a second look and quickly gave her 4 yuan in change.

About three or four minutes later, a cup of freshly squeezed lemon tea was handed to her.

The traffic was moving again, and people and cars started to flow.

Xin Geling handed the cup of lemon tea to Xie Zhitang behind her. “This is for you.”

Xie Zhitang looked at the drink in front of her, startled. “For me?”

She was a little flattered.

“Mhm,” Xin Geling said, adding, “This is all I can afford. Don’t be disappointed.”

It couldn’t compare to the cake she had bought her.

Xie Zhitang hesitated before taking it. Her palm touched the cold surface, and she felt a sense of emotion that she couldn’t describe.

She knew that both her aunt and her sister, who had just been released from prison and found a job, were not rich. They were probably just scraping by. Yet her sister was willing to spend money to buy her a drink.

When she had seen her take out the 10 yuan, she had assumed she was buying it for herself.

“Thank you, Sister. How could I be disappointed?”

The electric scooter continued to move forward. Xie Zhitang wrapped one arm around Xin Geling’s waist, holding her bag and the drink in her other hand. She looked at the cold drink, and her heart felt incredibly soft.

“Why did you think of buying me a drink, Sister?” Xie Zhitang asked.

Xin Geling looked at the sky that was getting darker in the distance. Since her attention was on the road, she answered subconsciously, “Didn’t you want one?”

Xie Zhitang was confused. She looked at her back. “When did I say that?”

Xin Geling was silent for a moment, quickly considering whether it was appropriate to say what she was thinking. It seemed she had… misinterpreted Xie Zhitang’s action.

A few seconds later, she closed her eyes in frustration. “Just… pretend I misheard you.”

What kind of answer was that?

Xie Zhitang was even more confused. But as Xin Geling turned into another street and the wheels rolled over a speed bump, the question disappeared from her mind.

The electric scooter arrived in front of an apartment building. The building had a key card access system, so people without a card couldn’t get in.

Xin Geling stopped the scooter and called the customer.

“Hello, I’m from the pet grooming shop. I’m downstairs at Building A of Yifang Apartments. There’s a key card access system at the entrance. Could you bring your cat down?”

Xie Zhitang stood to the side with her hands behind her back, watching her talk to the customer. She suddenly thought this job was quite interesting.

Xin Geling hung up and looked at Xie Zhitang. “She’ll be down in a minute.”

Xie Zhitang smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

Xin Geling saw that her drink and bag were behind her. “Why aren’t you drinking it? Don’t you like it?”

Xie Zhitang met her gaze and smiled slightly. “I’ll drink it back at the shop.”

“All right.”

Xin Geling noticed that Xie Zhitang’s gaze was always on her, and she felt a little uncomfortable. Was Xie Zhitang’s curiosity about this job too much?

Xin Geling couldn’t figure it out, so she looked away and focused on the apartment entrance.

Soon after, the apartment door opened, and two girls came out. They weren’t carrying a cat carrier but a blue pet travel crate with a large cat inside.

“Are… are you the one?” the girl asked, walking up to her.

“Yes, I am,” Xin Geling said, taking the crate. The cat must have weighed about eight or nine pounds. “Just a bath, right?”

“Yes, yes. Thank you. How long will it take?”

“I’ll bring it back in an hour. Are you going to be home? If you have to go out, we can arrange another time to bring it back.”

“Yes, yes, we’ll be home.”

After they were done talking, the two girls went back inside. Xin Geling turned and placed the pet travel crate on the footrest in front of the scooter.

“Get on. We’re going back now.”

“Okay.”

Xie Zhitang consciously got on. Since she was holding her bag and the drink, she could only hold on to Xin Geling’s waist with one hand.

“Sister, your job is very interesting. You get to see a different cat every day.”

Xin Geling drove back the way they came. “But not every cat is well-behaved and cute.”

Xie Zhitang suddenly couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you talking about Tangyuan?”

Tangyuan was the most mischievous cat she had ever met.

And he wasn’t well-behaved. He had to be coaxed to take a bath.

“Tangyuan doesn’t count. You can still coax Tangyuan. Some cats can’t be coaxed. They’re very resistant to water and will bite you if you get close.”

“Then what do you do if you encounter a cat like that?” Xie Zhitang asked.

“Cats like that will get stressed when they come into contact with water, so we’ll tell the customer that we can’t bathe them and have to return them,” Xin Geling said.

Xie Zhitang gripped the hem of her shirt. “Then what kind of personality do you think Tangtang will have, Sister?”