CH 068

TL: Moonlit

It’s just a part-time job, Zhou Ziming was full of confidence. He was a student from a prestigious university, and doing this kind of low-level job with no technical skills should be a piece of cake for him.

This self-assurance lasted until his first day of job hunting in a hurry.

In the contract with Lin Hanchuan, he had to conceal the identity of the fourth young master of the Zhou family, couldn’t use a single penny from the Zhou family, and couldn’t reveal his educational background… Under these constraints, Zhou Ziming found himself applying for a job at a roadside restaurant.

Without an educational background, he couldn’t even qualify for any slightly better jobs. Zhou Ziming thought that by lowering his status to this point, everything would go smoothly.

But to his surprise, after inquiring at several restaurants, none of them were willing to hire him. In the afternoon around four or five, someone finally kindly told him that his appearance and outfit were not suitable for such a roadside eatery, and nobody dared to hire him.

With no other choice, Zhou Ziming lowered his wage expectations and finally found a job serving dishes at a hotpot restaurant.

“Hotpot restaurants still need people to serve dishes?” Zhou Ziming was puzzled. The hotpot restaurants he had been to before were all clean and tidy, and they had specialized serving robots. Unlike this place, it was messy, dirty, and chaotic. If it weren’t for his brother, he would never set foot in such a place in his entire life.

“What else do you expect to serve dishes?” the head waiter rudely threw an apron at Zhou Ziming. “Move quickly and don’t be lazy.”

Zhou Ziming: “…”

He held back the foul language that almost slipped out of his mouth.

This place was completely different from Zhou Ziming’s world. He had only stayed for a little over ten minutes and already felt uncomfortable, yet he had to work here for a whole month.

An entire month! Zhou Ziming began to doubt himself. Why did he agree to Lin Hanchuan’s conditions in the first place? He could have chosen to spend money or use threats to get what he wanted.

On his first attempt at pouring tea for a customer, Zhou Ziming accidentally spilled some of it. The customer immediately cursed out loud, “Damn, why are you so clumsy, you idiot? Get lost, I’ll do it myself.”

Zhou Ziming almost wanted to smash the teapot on the customer’s head. Just as he was trying to calm himself down, the head waiter rushed over with a fawning smile and apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, he’s our new employee…”

After apologizing, the head waiter raised his head again, with his eyebrows furrowed and a fierce expression, “What are you looking at? Go back to work!”

He endured more humiliation in one day than he had in his entire twenty years of life.

Struggling until midnight, Zhou Ziming returned home covered in the smell of hotpot. He couldn’t take a taxi because he couldn’t use the Zhou family’s money to pay for it, so he had to walk slowly back home.

Through his personal experience, Zhou Ziming realized that he had underestimated the difficulty of ordinary people’s lives, especially the difficulty of surviving as an underage child.

Zhou Ziming wasn’t stupid. It dawned on him why Lin Hanchuan had proposed this strange condition. Standing on a high moral ground and blaming others for being insufficiently generous, saying that it was just a few years of poverty… Only after personally experiencing it did Zhou Ziming truly understand how difficult a life of poverty could be.

Being shouted at, scolded, and berated for making mistakes, enduring disdainful glances and complaints just for being a bit slower—these were just the most insignificant aspects of such a life.

He still had to endure this kind of life for thirty days, while his own younger brother had already lived through it for seventeen years.

When he got back home, Zhou Ziming found that none of the Zhou brothers had gone to sleep. Zhou Yuntang’s eyes were red, clearly from crying, but he was chatting and laughing with the other brothers.

“Why do you smell so weird?” The second brother of the Zhou family covered his nose with his hand and said disdainfully, “Hurry up and wash yourself clean.”

Exhausted in body and mind, Zhou Ziming mumbled a response and was about to go to his own room when he heard the voice of the eldest brother, “Tangtang, since he could do such a thing, don’t blame us for being heartless.”

The second brother of the Zhou family added, “I still have some influence in the entertainment circle, with a few tens of millions of fans. When the time comes, we’ll return the favor, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Whatever he made you suffer, I’ll make him pay a thousand times over…”

Zhou Ziming paused in his tracks and turned around, asking, “Are you talking about Jiang Tian?”

“Who else?” The second brother of the Zhou family replied impatiently.

Zhou Ziming fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking, “After all, he is our younger brother. Even though his personality may be a bit extreme and he acts without considering the consequences, it’s normal for him to hate you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Yuntang trembled all over, looking at Zhou Ziming in astonishment, and tears welled up in his eyes. “Fourth brother, what do you mean?”

Zhou Ziming paused and explained in a low voice, “In fact, he has also had a hard time all these years. Bringing him back to the Zhou family and teaching him well so that he won’t dislike you is all that matters.”

Perhaps it was due to the overwhelming events of the night, or maybe because he was physically exhausted, but Zhou Ziming unexpectedly felt pity and sympathy for his younger brother, who grew up in the slums.

He didn’t want to make Zhou Yuntang sad, but he also didn’t want his own biological brother to go through such a difficult life.

“Fourth brother, do you… not love me anymore?” Zhou Yuntang’s eyes, still swollen from crying, filled with tears once again. He leaned against his tall and sturdy elder brother’s chest, shivering with cold. “Did I do something wrong to make you dislike me? Fourth brother, if there’s anything I did wrong, please tell me, and I’ll definitely change…”

Zhou Ziming had only wanted to have a good talk with Zhou Yuntang and mediate between him and Lin Hanchuan. But as soon as he started speaking, Zhou Yuntang began crying again.

In the past, Zhou Ziming would have been busy comforting Zhou Yuntang at the sight of his tears. But now, he found himself a bit annoyed: Couldn’t they have a proper conversation without crying?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Zhou Ziming was shocked by his own thinking. This was his younger brother, the same sensitive and fragile younger brother he had always loved and cherished. How could he think this way!

Zhou Ziming felt remorseful and was about to apologize, but the second brother of the Zhou family coldly interjected, “Zhou Ziming, what nonsense are you talking? Why did you make your brother cry!”

The third brother of the Zhou family also disapproved, “Your brother is only one, and that’s Yuntang. What do these random people count as brothers? Yuntang already lacks a sense of security, and you’re saying these things to him. Are you trying to make him heartbroken?”

The eldest brother of the Zhou family gently wiped away the tears from Zhou Yuntang’s face and looked at Zhou Ziming without any warmth in his eyes. “If I hear such words again, you’ll be kicked out of the Zhou family. Now, apologize to Yuntang.”

Zhou Ziming was frozen in place, feeling as if he had fallen into an icy cave, shivering all over.

“Don’t you hear me?” The eldest brother of the Zhou family carefully embraced Zhou Yuntang.

From Zhou Ziming’s perspective, he saw the petite Zhou Yuntang nestled in the eldest brother’s arms, their bodies pressed tightly together. Innocent and adorable, Zhou Yuntang leaned against his elder brother’s chest, showing only half of his face. Tears glistened in his eyes, but there was a curve at the corner of his mouth.

Both the second and third older brothers were comforting Zhou Yuntang, and no one noticed that Zhou Ziming was feeling uneasy.

From a third-person perspective, Zhou Ziming broke out in a cold sweat.

In the past, he was also one of the people who comforted Zhou Yuntang. Now, he has become the target of public criticism. With just a single sentence, he made his younger brother shed tears, and it seems like he committed some unforgivable mistake.

His older brothers are all reproaching him, and their implicit meaning is that he shouldn’t have spoken like that; he must apologize to Tangtang.

But… Did I really do something wrong? Zhou Ziming was bewildered.

What frightened Zhou Ziming the most was his eldest brother, Zhou Gao Dan’s attitude towards Zhou Yuntang. It was so gentle and cautious, as if he held a priceless treasure in his hands, fearing that any slight movement could break it.

This behavior, which Zhou Ziming had grown accustomed to, now sent shivers down his spine.

“What’s all the noise about?” Their mother, awakened by the commotion, gently scolded them, saying, “It’s late at night, why aren’t you all sleeping? What’s going on here? Go to bed quickly.”

All the brothers in the Zhou family quieted down simultaneously, silently returning to their own rooms to sleep, leaving Zhou Ziming standing there in place.

Mother Zhou noticed that Zhou Ziming’s expression was not right and gently ruffled his hair, asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Mom.” Zhou Ziming suddenly threw himself into his mother’s embrace. There was a hint of warmth in his eyes, but he clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to let tears fall. He was a man; he couldn’t cry.

“Did someone treat you badly outside?” Mother Zhou didn’t mind the smell on Zhou Ziming and gently caressed his head. “Who dares to mistreat our little tyrant of the Zhou family?”

“It’s not an outsider…” Zhou Ziming muttered, and before his mother could inquire further, he lifted his head abruptly. “Mom, how about we bring the younger brother back?”

There was only one younger brother still outside, and Mother Zhou immediately understood who Zhou Ziming was referring to.

Mother Zhou sighed, “He insisted on choosing between Yuntang and him. He had a strong aversion to Yuntang and never took the time to improve his temper. I’m afraid when he comes back, he will definitely bully Yuntang.”

“Yuntang is kind-hearted and has a very gentle temperament, making him an easy target for bullying. Do you want to see him being mistreated and forced to cry in secret?”

Zhou Ziming blinked his eyes and said, “Yuntang won’t hide and cry in secret; he will only cry in front of others.”