The Game of Life

After retrieving the task, Jiang Feng stayed in the bathroom stall to coolly analyze the situation for a while and decided to send a WeChat message to Sun Jikai to show his concern.

The game definitely wouldn’t lie; since it said that Jubao Building had recently suffered frequent mishaps and was heading towards decline, it meant that something must have happened there recently.

Jiang Feng hadn’t received any news, and even the usually well-informed Wu Minqi hadn’t heard anything. He couldn’t just say, “I heard through some grapevine that your place hasn’t been doing well lately, so I’m sending a WeChat to check in.”

After thinking it over, Jiang Feng decided to send Sun Jikai a message: “Happy National Day!!”

To avoid appearing abrupt, Jiang Feng made a special trip back to the changing room to get his phone and sent a “Happy National Day” message to everyone except Sun Jikai. Then he sent one specifically to Sun Jikai; everyone else got one exclamation mark, but Sun Jikai got two.

Unfortunately, the hidden concern in these messages was something Sun Jikai would never notice.

Having sent out the group message, Jiang Feng put his phone back in the locker and returned to the kitchen to continue working. The dishes had already been passed on to Mr. Jiang Jiankang to stir-fry, but the kitchen still needed to be cleaned.

Jiang Feng just left his phone in the locker and didn’t bother with the follow-up. Those who received the holiday wishes were a bit puzzled about why they were getting festival greetings for National Day now, but they all politely replied with either “Same to you” or “Happy National Day.”

In Jiang Feng’s WeChat list, there were a total of 198 people, most of them flesh and blood. The massive amount of simultaneous messages made Jiang Feng’s phone vibrate crazy in the locker, like a phone call, with the green breathing light flashing in the dark locker like a blinking eye in the gloom.

Even Jiang Feng’s high school head teacher, who hadn’t been in contact for years and didn’t post on Moments, replied with a “Same to you.”

However, among these response messages, there was none from Wang Hao.

Wang Hao, who was sitting on the hard seat of a train, was hesitating about what to reply to his dear Feng, who looked after his meals.

Because he had a hard seat ticket, Wang Hao had deliberately taken an early morning train so he could arrive by evening and, if lucky, make it in time for dinner.

When he called Jiang Feng, he had 9.67 yuan left on his card. After a simple breakfast, only 6.67 yuan remained. Thankfully, he hadn’t used up the balance on his subway card, or else he would only have 2.67 yuan left.

2.67 yuan couldn’t even buy a bottle of Nongfu Spring at the train station entrance.

It’s not that Wang Hao looked down on Nongfu Spring; it was just that it happened to be a bit cheaper than YiBao. Ever since he discovered the balance in his card had mysteriously vanished after withdrawing cash once, he would always buy Ice Dew first if he forgot to bring water when out. If he couldn’t find Ice Dew, he would then look for Nongfu Spring or Master Kang. He dared not even consider water brands like YiBao, Runtiancui, or Century Mountain.

Wang Hao’s train was due to arrive at 5:39 pm. Upon arrival, he had two options: first, to report to his company and have them arrange accommodation, or second, to head to Taifeng Building and mooch a meal off Jiang Feng. Their company operated on a 996 work schedule, which had very reassuring off-duty times.

Wang Hao hesitated between settling down in a place first or eating first.

In the end, Wang Hao decided to report to the company first. There was always time to eat, shameless as he was.

After messaging Jiang Feng with an update on his schedule, Wang Hao started to randomly pick a lucky person from the list to borrow money from.

2.67 yuan wasn’t only insufficient to buy water at the train station; it wasn’t even enough for a subway ride.

…

Due to the lunch service ending a bit later than usual, by the time Jiang Feng and his colleagues finished cleaning up, it was already 3 pm. The two elder gentlemen were probably already sitting in the tea house, boasting about their exploits. 𝙧𝖆ƝՕ฿ЕṤ

Normally, the first thing Jiang Feng did after work was to rush into the changing room, take out his beloved phone from the locker, and start happily surfing the net. But today, he was so tired that he didn’t even feel like surfing the net, and all he wanted was to find a cool place to get some good sleep—if there was a pillow to lay his head on, that would be even better.

Jiang Feng had his sights set on Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s designated sleeping chamber—the monitoring room.

The monitoring room was not only air-conditioned and had chairs, but also had pillows—three pillows!

“Qiqi, do you want to take a nap in the monitoring room together? My mom left three pillows there.” Jiang Feng extended the invitation.

Wu Minqi was very tempted and gladly agreed.

At this moment, Zhang Guanghang had already changed his clothes and left the changing room, ready to go to the tea house that the two elder gentlemen frequently visited. He planned to order a cup of tea, find a corner, and take a nap.

The secret to the tea house’s ability to remain a hidden gem in the city and still enjoy full patronage lay in their especially comfortable rattan chairs. Once you leaned back in them and lightly closed your eyes, you would swiftly drift into sleep.

“Zhang, do you want to go to the monitoring room to sleep?” Jiang Feng asked.

Zhang Guanghang was startled; he hadn’t expected Jiang Feng to have the same idea as him, to find a place to sleep.

“Why don’t you come to the tea house to sleep with me? It’s more comfortable to sleep lying down in a rattan chair, and the air conditioning is just right,” suggested Zhang Guanghang.

Jiang Feng was immediately tempted.

“Qiqi, how about we…”

“Go to the tea house.” Wu Minqi defected on the spot.

“Wait a sec, Orchid, she’s changing her shoes,” Zhang Guanghang said.

The afternoon’s toughest job might have been Ji Yue’s today. Not only did she arrive early for work, but she also became the most useful ‘brick’ in Taifeng Building, being moved wherever needed. Clad in high heels, she ran around all over the place, even carrying four extra-large servings of porridge midway.

Soon, Ji Yue walked out of the dressing room in casual wear and a pair of pink sneakers. Perhaps because she had walked too much and stood for too long in the morning and noon, Jiang Feng felt that Ji Yue seemed to limp a little as she walked.

Jiang Feng turned and quietly asked Wu Minqi a question that had been bothering him for a long time, “Do your feet hurt when you wear high heels normally?”

“They hurt,” Wu Minqi said, then thought about it and felt that as someone who doesn’t usually wear high heels, she probably couldn’t speak for the majority of women who do. So she added, “I hurt, whether they hurt or not, I don’t know.”

“Let’s go, time’s ticking, we’ve got to come back to work around four,” Ji Yue said.

The four of them headed to the tea house together.

Jiang Feng followed behind Ji Yue and after watching her walk a bit, he was sure she was indeed limping slightly.

Out of a boss’s concern for an employee, especially since Ji Yue still had to work for the next few days and couldn’t afford to be incapacitated on day one, Jiang Feng asked with concern, “Ji Gezi, is your foot okay?”

“It’s nothing, just been walking all day. It’ll be fine after a day’s rest,” said Ji Yue, “Mrs. Wang asked me to sit at the front desk tonight.”

“Do your feet hurt when you normally wear high heels?” Jiang Feng hurried to ask the burning question.

“They ache,” said Ji Yue.

“Is there a way to keep wearing high heels all the time like you do?” Wu Minqi asked, for sometimes she too wished to be able to strut in high heels for shopping trips like Ji Yue, as certain dresses simply looked better with them.

Ji Yue was silent for a moment as they reached the front of the tea house.

As she stepped to enter, Ji Yue said, “Mostly, it’s about enduring.”

Four individuals, all under the age of 25, walked into the tea house, enough to draw the attention of the elder gentlemen there whose average age was over 60.

Even on a holiday, a truly good tea house can ensure an average patron age over 60 years in the afternoon.

Since Jiang Feng often visited the tea house to find the two old gentlemen, the waitstaff recognized him and greeted him as he arrived. Although the young waiter was a bit puzzled as to why Jiang Feng would bring three people this time, he showed nothing on his face and as usual, directed Jiang Feng, “Grandpa Jiang is at table 17 on the 3rd floor.”

“We’re not here to see anyone, we came for tea,” Jiang Feng said, then turned to ask the others, “Shall we go to the 2nd floor or the 3rd? The 2nd floor is less crowded.”

The implication was that fewer people meant better conditions for napping.

Everyone caught on and enthusiastically agreed, “The 2nd floor.”

The young waiter took the lead while asking, “I don’t know what the honorable guests would like to drink. Our shop is famous for Longjing, Pu-erh, Tieguanyin, Chrysanthemum, and Cassia Seed tea, with the Cassia Seed tea being our specialty. You’re welcome to try it if interested. Of course, if you’re not accustomed to it, you may have our lemon tea, which is quite tangy and can stimulate the appetite.”

Despite the National Day holiday, the tea house’s business wasn’t much busier than usual. On the second floor, there were nearly twenty tea tables set out, of which only seven or eight were occupied. Most of the customers were asleep; only a handful, cradling their tea cups, were slowly savoring their tea, casting surprised glances at Jiang Feng and his group.

For a tea house where the average age inside is over 60, this was pretty normal, especially since for the tea house’s patrons, National Day was just the same as any other day—they didn’t have to work anyway.

“Here’s our tea house’s menu for your perusal,” the waiter said in a hushed voice, considering that many guests were asleep on the 2nd floor. “You may order by the cup or by the pot, and on the back, there are some snacks as well.”

“Lemon tea,” Jiang Feng declared, since he didn’t drink tea anyway, and his purpose for coming wasn’t to have tea. He’d rather have something familiar.

Although he hadn’t tried tea house lemon tea, he’d had Vita lemon tea!

“Lemon tea,” said both Ji Yue and Wu Minqi, following suit.

Zhang Guanghang had his own opinion. After reviewing the menu once more, he decided, “Lemon tea.”

“Alright, four lemon teas, is that correct? Please wait a moment; I will bring them shortly,” the waiter said before leaving.

Jiang Feng, Ji Yue, and Wu Minqi all fixed their gaze on Zhang Guanghang.

The three of them hadn’t brought their cell phones on this outing, leaving only Zhang Guanghang with a phone to set the alarm. He immediately got the hint, took out his phone, and began to set the alarm.

Setting the alarm seemed like a signal. The moment Zhang Guanghang put down his phone, everyone reclined on the wicker chairs in unison, shut their eyes, and started to sleep.

The few awake elders who were curious to see what these young people would do in the tea house were taken aback: …

Do young people these days really know how to have fun?

Meeting up during the holidays just to sleep.

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