Chapter 12: Beginner’s Tutorial, End

“Uwaaa—”

“President! It’s still no good~~~”

It was lunch break the next day.

Su Nian was slumped on the floor in the same spot and the same posture as yesterday.

“Call me Store Manager.”

I didn’t even look back as I continued washing the dishes.

Even with the help of the original staff and an entire afternoon and morning of practice, the workload still far exceeded the limits of her physical stamina.

But that was exactly the effect I wanted.

If her foundation was poor, she had to train more.

“If you’re tired, go rest. Don’t lie there complaining,”

I followed up.

I was still cleaning the utensils in the sink.

I had specifically chosen to conduct the training during the weekend.

While the efficiency was high, I was tired too and needed a break.

“Hahaha~ Su is so cute.”

This was a maid, one of the employees I had hired back.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but there really are more customers today than ever before~~~”

Another maid touched her chin, seemingly pondering why.

“It must be because Su is too cute~”

yet another maid laughed.

“””Hahaha~~~”””

Laughter drifted through the shop.

Su Nian, lying on the floor, also began to giggle foolishly.

“Hehehe~”

The answer was close.

But the truth I saw was this: Su Nian was cute, but she was also hardworking.

She worked with her head down, doing the work of two people by herself.

Since she looked good, customers were naturally willing to come.

The group of female employees continued to chatter.

“President~ Is Su going to be an idol?”

“Yes.”

“Really! Then we’ll definitely go watch!”

Finally, after I finished my work and did a quick check, I tapped on the doorframe of the kitchen.

“Miss Su, you forgot to collect the payment from that last table.”

“Ugh—”

***

Evening.

Closing time.

“Bye-bye~ Su~”

“You did a great job~~ Mr. Lin, you too~”

“Exactly, it’s my first time seeing someone handle the entire kitchen solo!”

“If you debut, you have to tell us!”

The maids chattered as they left.

Su Nian stood at the door waving her hand, her voice loud enough for the whole street to hear.

“Yes! Goodbye—!!”

Listening from the kitchen, I could feel her excitement and happiness.

It seemed this was the first time she had made friends like this.

But what surprised and envied me more was the speed at which these girls became friends.

It was too fast.

It was fast enough to be a little scary.

‘Well—after all, I have social anxiety.’

Though it might not be obvious…

The setting sun crawled in through the window, dyeing the floor orange.

I stayed busy for a while longer while the outside was mostly tidied up.

The sky grew dark.

“Lock the door.”

“Oh!”

Just as she ran toward the door, her footsteps suddenly stopped.

“Um! We’re already closed for today!”

Her voice carried the politeness she had been trained in.

But the two customers didn’t leave.

“Yo~ The little girl is new, right? Haven’t seen you before.”

“She really does look good. No wonder Old Zhang said a beauty came here.”

My movements paused.

The water was still running and the plate was still in my hand, but my ears were already perked up.

“That… we’re really closed. Could you come back tomorrow?”

Su Nian’s voice was still holding up, but it was starting to tighten.

I could hear it.

“Tomorrow? We won’t be coming by tomorrow. Since we’re here today, we have to be served today.”

“Exactly. You’re open for business. How can you drive customers away?”

Footsteps.

The sound of footsteps moving inward.

I poked my head out from the kitchen and saw two men.

One was tall and thin, the other short and stout.

They wore similar floral shirts, and their faces bore that “I know you don’t dare do anything” kind of smile.

Su Nian stood before them, clutching the edge of her apron, unmoving.

She was blocking them.

But her hands were shaking.

I saw it.

The tall, thin one reached out, wanting to grab her.

Just as she stepped back—

“I said.”

My voice traveled out from the kitchen.

It wasn’t heavy, but it was enough for everyone to hear.

“We’re closed.”

The two men turned around.

The tall, thin one smiled.

“Yo, the boss is here? Perfect. This little sister’s service is good, we want to—”

I didn’t let him finish.

I raised my hand.

A silver light flashed past his ear—

Thud.

Behind him, on the wall, a fruit knife was embedded in the wooden panel, its handle still vibrating.

The tip of the blade was less than 1 centimeter from his ear.

The tall man’s words caught in his throat, and his whole body froze.

The stout one was stunned and instinctively took a step back.

The air was silent for three seconds.

There was only the humming sound of the vibrating knife handle.

“I said, we’re closed.”

I walked out of the kitchen, taking off the gloves still stained with dish soap bubbles.

Otherwise, it would affect the accuracy of my Knife Throwing.

“Can’t you hear?”

The tall man slowly turned his head to look at the knife on the wall.

Where the knife was stuck was still right next to his ear.

If it had been slightly off—

He didn’t dare think further.

“You… you motherf—”

Vwoom—!

Another knife flew, steadily passing through the gap between his fingers.

The tall man looked down at his hand.

All five fingers were still there.

—But this time, it had missed by only 3 millimeters.

However, a dark wet patch appeared on his pants.

The tall man was so terrified he couldn’t move at all.

Until the stout one tugged on his sleeve.

“Let’s… let’s go.”

The tall one opened his mouth, wanting to say something to save face, but hearing the two knives still vibrating on the wall behind him, nothing came out.

The two turned around and practically squeezed past each other to rush out the door.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor for a few moments, then vanished.

Silence.

The wind from the doorway blew in, feeling a bit chilly.

Su Nian was still standing in the same spot, her hands still clutching the edge of her apron.

But they were no longer shaking.

She looked at the knives on the wall, then back at me.

Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

I walked over and pulled the knives out.

Shallow holes remained in the wall.

“…I’ll talk to the owner tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

I put the knives back in the kitchen, put my gloves back on, and continued working.

The water washed over the white gloves, and the foam slowly dissolved.

A few minutes later, footsteps came from behind, very light, approaching bit by bit.

It was Su Nian.

She had recovered and started to help me, beginning to speak as she did.

“President….”

Her voice was much softer.

“Hmm?”

“Why… why do you… trust me so much?”

This time, the trembling in her voice was no longer hidden, and she looked straight at me.

“The 10 million… and… just now….”

Listening, I suddenly realized—

She might never have had any sense of security.

After being bought, she had been working hard to maintain her appearance.

It wasn’t that she truly didn’t care about being bought for 10 million.

She just had absolutely no idea how to react, so she simply hid it, and worked hard to hide it well.

But as long as one has experienced life as a wanderer—even with good luck.

She likely already knew that the world wasn’t that beautiful.

It was… realistic and cruel.

No one would be good to you for no reason.

So when someone was kind to her, her first reaction wasn’t gratitude.

It was fear.

Fear that it was fake.

Fear that it would disappear tomorrow.

Fear that she would go back to that spot under the streetlight.

At this moment, her fear, unease, dread… and uncertainty were all exposed.

I could see all of it in her eyes.

“Because—you trusted me. That day, you were willing to believe the words of a stranger and come before me.”

I spoke flatly, as if I were merely saying that water flows or clouds drift.

“Subsequently, you responded to my expectations and passed the assessment.”

“Therefore, I gave you the same trust and am willing to shelter you.”

After speaking, I continued working.

Su Nian’s expression shifted, but she still tested the waters weakly.

“Then… then aren’t you afraid of me? Clearly I know… you have… so much money…”

Hearing this, I turned back to look at her.

“In that case, I’ll just consider it as having misjudged someone.”

There was no “I will definitely trust you.”

No “I believe you wouldn’t.”

No “You’re different.”

No “You definitely won’t do that,” or similar words.

Only words that were still cruel and realistic…

But they were real enough.

Real enough to make her believe this wasn’t a dream.

This wasn’t an illusion that would burst at a single poke, but reality, and fact—

Her hand quietly reached toward my back.

As if she were confirming that I was real and wouldn’t suddenly vanish.

After a long time, she finally recovered.

The corners of her eyes were still a bit moist.

But besides that, something new was added: confusion, and something else.

“President.”

“Hmm?”

“Who exactly are you?”

The setting sun shifted to another angle, shining through the window and casting an orange light on her face.

In those dark red eyes, curiosity and nervousness were mixed together, along with something she probably didn’t even realize herself.

Three seconds later, I looked away.

“Your President.”

I picked up the jacket draped over the back of the chair and put it on.

Looking at the dazed girl, I said:

“Let’s go. Does my ‘Miss Su Nian worth 10 million’ want to continue tomorrow?”

“No… no need.”

Her face darkened.

Seemingly recalling the ‘honing’ of the past two days, she gave a quick response and hurried to close the door.

The sound of the lock clicking was loud in the quiet shop.

I walked to the door and waited for her.

She caught up, her footsteps pitter-pattering just like they had during the day.

After a few steps, she suddenly spoke.

“President.”

“Hmm?”

“Just now… thank you.”

I didn’t look back.

“I spent 10 million. You are my asset.”

A soft giggle came from behind me.

“Hehehe~”

I wanted to kick her again.

But since she’d been using that nickname for two days, my anger had mostly dissipated.

Next would be the official start of the journey.

“Go back. Training tomorrow,”

I reminded her.

“Don’t forget what you said. The Gemstone Princess and the Witch.”

When I finished, her footsteps paused again.

She probably never thought anyone would take her grand talk seriously.

Even more so, she hadn’t expected anyone to remember it so clearly.

After two seconds, she hurriedly caught up.

“Yes!”

The reason I remembered it clearly was, of course, because—

‘I’m still thinking about my plan to slack off~’

‘Hehe~~’

I was a bit distracted while walking, while she kept trying to secretly drift closer to my side.

The setting sun stretched their two shadows very long.

***

Night.

Su Nian returned to her residence, closed the door, and leaned against it for a long time.

Then she flipped open that notebook and found that page.

· Appearance (√)

· Learning Attitude (√)

· Meticulousness (√)

· Belief (X) — “Heart” has been broken, no possibility.

At the very end were two words: Fail.

She stared at it for a long time.

She gently turned the page and began to write on a new one:

What I learned today:

· How a maid should greet customers.

· Standing all day is really tiring.

· The President is very accurate at throwing knives.

· The President said, “I spent 10 million. You are my asset.”

She stopped her pen and looked at the last line.

Then she added another sentence below:

· I was protected by the President.

After writing, she closed the notebook and held it to her chest.

The moonlight from outside shone in, falling on the cover.

She didn’t know why she was smiling.

But she was definitely smiling.