CH 3

Chapter 3: Trending

Gu Qingchi lived in a dilapidated and cramped tube-shaped building. The only bright spot was the Japanese ivy, which had grown all over the wall and was full of life.

In short, if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would be hard to imagine the existence of this kind of building in a prosperous urban area. It was built among the glamorous buildings of the city, despite all difficulties, and it was filled with people who were struggling to survive at the bottom.

The lights in the corridor had been broken a long time ago, and it was dark. Fortunately, Gu Qingchi lived on the second floor, and it only took a little bit of effort to feel his way through the dark.

He was sharing the room with others. The landlord renovated the house into compartments. Within a few dozen square meters lived four or five people. The room, which was already cramped after placing just a bed, was the only private space. Even so, the house was in the downtown area, so rent remained high.

When Gu Qingchi entered, there were still people in the living room.

He wasn't even sure if it could be called a living room. Within the small room, there was a sofa. Except for a small area in front of the sofa, the rest of the space was full of boxes.

A woman in a spaghetti-strap dress was about to head out. Her eyelids were covered with blue eyeshadow, her eyelashes were brushed with an excessive amount of mascara, and her hair was still wet.

The two looked at each other before going about their own business. Those that were heading out went out and those heading in went in. Neither opened their mouth to speak to the other. The people in this house lived under one roof, but they all tacitly agreed to leave a bit of distance. They didn't ask too much about each others' lives.

Once Gu Qingchi came back, he entered his room. As soon as he opened the door, a Dragon Li cat meowed and stuck onto him, grabbing his trouser legs, trying to climb into his arms.

Gu Qingchi didn't like keeping pets, and he didn't plan to keep one either. He wasn't even able to properly take care of himself. Just thinking about being responsible for another life made him weary.

This cat chased after him on its own. At that time, it was only a few months old, thin and sickly to the point of being bones.

For a while, it guarded the entrance of the building every day, hiding in the Japanese ivy. Whenever it saw Gu Qingchi, it would move closer, and, when he was far away, it would angrily hide away again. In the evening, no matter how late Gu Qingchi came back, it would always jump out to greet him.

Gu Qingchi turned a blind eye, allowing it to chase after him with its short little legs, never once stopping for it.

Until one day, it showed up with a crippled leg. Its body was dirty, unlike how it had meticulously cleaned itself before. However, the moment it saw Gu Qingchi, it still happily ran towards him.

Gu Qingchi had never seen such a persistent cat.

That day, Gu Qingchi asked for leave and spent half a month's salary to treat its legs. He cleaned out a space for a cat bed in his already very small bedroom.

Gu Qingchi put the bag of food on the bedside table. The cat jumped into his arms just as he sat down.

It sat on Gu Qingchi's lap and raised its head to lick Gu Qingchi's chin enthusiastically. Unlike most cats, it liked to act cute and stick around Gu Qingchi all day.

Rather, it was Gu Qingchi who was cold and indifferent. He fed the cat and cleaned the cat litter every day as if they were obligations and nothing more.

Gu Qingchi grabbed its nape and lifted it up. It didn't even struggle, simply curling up its legs.

After being put down, the cat sat there obediently but still eagerly looked at Gu Qingchi.

Gu Qingchi originally wanted to sit for a while, but he had to get up because the cat was too playful.

The head waiter knew that he had a cat and had given him some fish.

He put the fish on a small plate, and the little cat sat up and started to eat.

When Gu Qingchi got up to look at it again, it was already asleep in the cat bed with its chew toy.

There was more than half of the fish left on the plate, and Gu Qingchi frowned. After a couple of days, he had already figured out the appetite of the little cat. The amount he gave was just right, and it would usually eat cleanly.

***

The restaurant had three shifts: morning, evening, and night.

Gu Qingchi only worked the evening shift, from five to ten.

This was the busiest time of day. Most people came during the evening, and the tips were the highest in the evening. The only downside was that it was tiring.

The restaurant had very high demands regarding their behavior when working. During training, they had even specially hired a British teacher. They were required to keep their backs straight during work at all times. If their behavior was found to be incorrect, they would be fined.

Even for a young man, four or five hours in a row was a bit overwhelming.

So, they would take turns to rest, usually just leaning against the bar counter for a while. This way, they would be able to see which table in the restaurant needs assistance, and they could also get a drink.

Gu Qingchi just arrived at the bar. The bartender had known him for some time. He knew that he loved alcohol, but it wasn't appropriate to drink on the job. So, he specially made a glass of fruit wine for him, which had a slight taste of wine but wouldn't reek too much.

He still hadn't taken a sip yet.

A colleague came over while holding a menu.

"Hey, Qingchi, it's that customer again. They wanted you specifically to serve them."

The bartender, who was wiping his glasses at the bar next to him, wasn't surprised and smiled.

"Another one? There's always one coming in every couple of days. If I were you, I would pick one to date. Then, I wouldn't need to keep working here. It is a guy or a girl this time?"

The colleague handed the menu to Gu Qingchi. Gu Qingchi ignored him, put down his glass, and headed over.

But the colleague leaned over to gossip with the bartender. He was dressed in a western-style uniform and stood upright, with a little bit of local accent when he spoke.

"Hey, just drop it. It's a little girl, she looks like a student. She probably doesn't have much money. Last time, she saw him carrying a serving tray through the door and insisted on coming inside to ask for his WeChat ID. You have no idea how many people have fallen for Qingchi. How could a little girl stand a chance."

The bartender handed him a glass of water. The colleague thanked him, took a sip, and continued.

"It's been, what, half a month? She comes every few days and only orders a drink. Other people are no good, she only wants Qingchi to serve, making him tired as hell. She doesn't even give a tip, so he's just running around for nothing."

The bartender nodded.

This kind of little girl is difficult to deal with because she is at the age of love and fantasy. She'll do anything for the sake of her so-called love without ever considering how much trouble she's caused for others.

***

Guo Ling had recently fallen in love, well, one-sidedly.

It was the first time that she had felt this way. Her heart couldn't help but start beating when she saw him, and she couldn't help but fantasize about what it would be like to be with him. If it was this person, then the idea of having children wouldn't be so scary either.

The first time she saw him was when she was shopping with friends.

They originally planned to take a look at an affordable luxury store. They put on their best clothes, put on high heels, and spent a long time putting on makeup.

Pretending to be calm, they walked into the store and were quickly shocked by the unimaginable price. When they looked at each other in dismay, she turned her head and saw Gu Qingchi through the glass door.

He was bending over, with his left hand behind him and a tray in his right hand. Every move was very beautiful to the highest degree.

The people in this restaurant, whether it was guests or anyone else, were all dressed in suits and dresses, and all of them were elegant and personable, just like another world. They didn't have the guts to go in, simply dawdling at the door and secretly taking pictures.

Finally, she plucked up the courage to push the door open and stumbled straight into this unfamiliar world.

Although, in the end, she was rejected.

But this was the first time she had met such a person. He was like a dream, unlike her classmates, who only knew how to joke around, play games, and be rude. They were so narcissistic and full of themselves, to the point of suffocation.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she couldn't let go. What if they really ended up together?

If she really had a boyfriend like him, then everyone else would be so jealous of her.

All her other friends told her that she was out of her mind when they heard that she had fallen in love with a waiter. Only the girl who was with her expressed understanding.

However, Guo Ling sighed, laying on the table in frustration, crying without tears. So far, she has been here many times, but, apart from secretly taking a lot of videos and photos, she has made no progress and didn't even get his name.

Guo Ling cupped her face and sighed again.

Gu Qingchi approached her table with his left hand behind his back and his right hand in front. He leaned over and asked.

"What can I do for you?"

Guo Ling was also a little discouraged after so many days, and she was running out of pocket money. She could only give up. She spoke sadly.

"This is the last time I'm coming here. Can I take a video of you?"

While speaking, she took out a camera from the bag beside her and put it on the table, which looked rather professional.

Gu Qingchi didn't care about this. Even among guests of the restaurant, there were a lot who would take sneak shots of him. What he focused on was that the girl said she was giving up, so he was relieved.

"Of course."

Guo Ling's first love was a failure. She was too heartbroken, so she became a bit bolder. After gaining an inch, she wanted a mile. So, she asked him.

"Then can I post it on my Weibo?"

Better to get something out of nothing.

At least she could let those friends of her who thought she had gone crazy see which one of them was really crazy.

She added another request.

"Can I also upload the previous ones I took?"

Gu Qingchi didn't really care. Compared to some of the other guests, the little girl was rather cute and silly.

"So long as you're happy."

Guo Ling's grief and indignation turned into motivation, and she put her effort into taking videos and photos. After taking photos and videos all evening, she went back and edited it overnight.

She was a vlogger. Although she was not very famous, she was still pretty good at filming and editing.

What's more, Gu Qingchi's foundation was too good. Even if she were to take photos with her trashy, pixelated phone from all sorts of bad angles, he had a face that could bring the photo back to life, not to mention professional equipment.

She edited a short video, very short, which was edited using Gu Qingchi's work process. She couldn't bear to share a longer one. Even with just a short video, she still felt heartache for a long time.

After cutting out the guests and the restaurant logo, it was almost exactly like being on the job. Holding a serving tray while wearing white gloves, a straight back, meticulous etiquette, abstinent uniform, and, most importantly, a face that was comparable to an anime character. It simply made people unable to help themselves but be captivated.

She also added a close-up in the middle of the video of him looking back as a colleague called out to him, as well as an image of him relaxing.

After posting the video on Weibo, she also picked a few photos and posted them.

She didn't forget to tag her friends. What's wrong with being a waiter? I'm married!

Although she wouldn't actually be able to marry him, it was still nice to make them jealous.

After Guo Ling finished editing, she went to bed satisfied. She was completely unaware that, overnight, the video and photos were being forwarded like crazy, until netizens pushed it to the top of the trending list.

#I'mMarried