Translator: Google Translate

Editor: Sai Hiroto

Because it was Sunday, there were no classes at school. After breakfast, Cheng Lang dragged Shen Huaiyu to the milk tea shop. The two roommates volunteered to help out at the milk tea shop. In fact, they just wanted to join in the fun. After all, it was not uncommon for a freshman to start a business outside the school.

Cheng Lang told Liang Yanyan that the milk tea shop would open at nine o'clock. Originally, they thought that when they went there, there would be no one in the milk tea shop. But unexpectedly, Liang Yanyan had already arrived and was standing at the door with a rag to wipe the glass.

Cheng Lang glanced at the time—seven forty-five. It was not even eight o'clock in the morning.

"Don't you go to work at nine o'clock in the morning? Why did you come so early?" Shen Huaiyu couldn't help asking.

Liang Yanyan blushed and said hesitantly, "I don't have anything to do anyway, so I'll just come over early!"

"Isn't this too early?" One of the roommates asked, "Do you live nearby?"

Liang Yanyan pursed her lips and said nothing.

Cheng Lang walked behind the bar and found a plastic bag hidden underneath.

Liang Yanyan's ears and neck turned red with shame, and she quickly explained, "The single room I rented before belonged to our boss. After I resigned, he didn't let me live there. So I have nowhere to live now. But don't worry, I will find a place as soon as possible. I, I worked in the store last night, but I worked until after midnight. I cleaned the entire store and wiped the back kitchen. I woke up at five this morning. I mopped the floor, wiped the table, and wiped the glass..."

Several boys looked at each other.

Cheng Lang said, "It's already late October. It's so cold at night, and you still have to work in the store. Can't you handle it?"

"It's okay. I'm in good health and won't get sick." Liang Yanyan said, "Even if I do get sick, I won't lie to you. Don't worry."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Cheng Lang thought for a moment and looked at Shen Huaiyu, "Why don't we buy a foldable iron bed? Even if Liang Yanyan doesn't need it after renting a house, we can still use it. The dormitory will be disconnected from the internet and electricity at 11 pm. If we have to review for the final exam, we have to hold a flashlight. It's better to stay in the milk tea shop, read books and memorize materials, and lie down when we are tired."

"This is a good idea!" Before Shen Huaiyu could speak, the two roommates clapped their hands excitedly, "We can also benefit from it then. Anyway, your milk tea shop closes at 9 or 10 p.m.! We can come here after 11 p.m. to read books and play games, and it won't affect your milk tea shop's business."

"I think you don't have to close your milk tea shop. After 11 p.m., turn it into a study room, where students can come in to review and drink some milk tea or coffee to refresh themselves when they are tired of studying. If you put a few boxes of Red Bull on it, it will definitely sell very well!" The roommate gave Cheng Lang an idea.

"This is a good idea. You can set up a vending machine at the door—the kind that sells drinks—by scanning the code and inserting coins. Maybe it will make more money than you selling milk tea."

Shen Huaiyu blinked and said with a smile, "It sounds good."

"Then it's settled." Cheng Lang looked at Liang Yanyan, "You girls are careful. You can pick two foldable iron beds online, and the store will reimburse you for the money."

Liang Yanyan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. She sniffed with great emotion. She felt that the two bosses must have done this to protect her self-esteem.

Liang Yanyan lowered her head and wiped her eyes without leaving any trace. She went to work wholeheartedly.

The four of them stayed in the milk tea shop for a whole morning. Cheng Lang interviewed several girls who came to apply for the job. Shen Huaiyu was always thinking about his milk tea ordering method. The two roommates had nothing to do and wanted to help with housework and cleaning. In the end, Liang Yanyan took on the four of them. The two roommates were helpless and could only shamelessly eat two cups of tea ordered by Shen Huaiyu.

"It tastes quite good!" The two roommates exclaimed, "It feels different from the tea we usually drink. It's a bit like beverages."

Shen Huaiyu smiled slightly, "This is the milk tea powder I bought myself. It's still semi-finished. I'm going to go back and make some tea paste myself."

The two roommates were shocked, "You can make tea paste?"

"Yes!" Shen Huaiyu nodded, "My father likes tea art. When I was a child, I learned some tea from my father and also met an uncle. He specializes in making tea paste."

Shen Huaiyu was going to ask the uncle to see if he could make milk tea paste.

"So you've invented a new way to drink tea?" As expected of finance majors, the two roommates have sharp business acumen, "I think this thing is quite trendy and retro. If you can really figure it out, you might make a fortune. Remember to apply for a patent. What if someone takes a fancy to your milk tea paste and is willing to pay for the formula?"

The two roommates didn't really understand the difference between milk tea paste and ordinary milk tea powder. But they knew how much girls nowadays love to drink milk tea. If Shen Huaiyu's milk tea paste is really developed, coupled with his almost show-off tea-making technique just now, maybe it can really set off a trend.

"I don't understand this. I am only responsible for developing milk tea paste and tea-making methods. Cheng Lang will handle the rest." Shen Huaiyu said this and looked at Cheng Lang with dependence, "Right?"

Looking at Shen Huaiyu, who was becoming more and more confident amid the exclamations of the two roommates, Cheng Lang smiled and nodded, "We will do business together. You are responsible for technology, and I am responsible for marketing. It should be so."

The two roommates looked at the interaction between Shen Huaiyu and Cheng Lang and suddenly sighed, "I really envy you. You can find the direction of struggle right after entering college. The two of us can't do that. It's been so long since the start of school, and we are still like headless flies. Every day, apart from reading books, attending classes, and playing games, we don't know what to do."

Cheng Lang smiled and said, "If you are interested, after Shen Huaiyu's milk tea paste is invented, you two can help develop the market. Just think of it as working and studying."

The two roommates' eyes lit up, "It seems possible."

After saying that, they couldn't help asking, "Then when are you going to develop the market?"

Cheng Lang smiled, "That depends on when our CTO can invent the finished milk tea paste and the tea-making technique for making milk tea."

The two roommates looked at Shen Huaiyu in unison, clenched their fists, and encouraged, "Then you do your best."

Shen Huaiyu was shy, and his ears were a little red.

After lunch, the two roommates felt a little bored and ran to the Internet cafe next door to play games.

Cheng Lang stayed in the store, registering the official accounts of the milk tea shop on various platforms online and accompanying Shen Huaiyu to practice making tea.

"...Do you really want to apply for a patent for the milk tea paste I invented?" Shen Huaiyu couldn't help asking Cheng Lang.

Cheng Lang said, "That depends on the quality of the finished milk tea paste you developed. If necessary, of course, you have to apply for a patent."

Shen Huaiyu nodded, looked at Cheng Lang, and hesitated to speak.

Cheng Lang asked patiently, "What's wrong?"

"I went out with Lu Chengxuan last night." Shen Huaiyu wanted to say something, hesitated for a long time, and just lowered his head and asked in a very soft voice, "Will you look down on me?"

Cheng Lang carefully worded it in his heart, looking directly at Shen Huaiyu, "Why do you ask that?"

"I..." Shen Huaiyu didn't know what to say. Obviously, he was extremely inferior to this experience.

"The way you two started this relationship was not your own will. Whether to end this relationship or not is obviously not your turn. From the beginning to the end, you were the one who was forced to bear it. Although I don't know whether this kind of forced behavior is protected by the law, I don't have the habit of blaming the victim." Cheng Lang said it very clearly.

Hearing Cheng Lang's answer, Shen Huaiyu blinked and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he sighed again, "It's a pity that other people don't think the same way as you."

"What others think depends on how you say it." Cheng Lang said, "Public opinion also needs to be guided."

"People are born curious and like to spread rumors that sound thrilling and exciting. It doesn't matter whether the rumors are true or not. Because in the process of spreading them, they have already enjoyed the pleasure of standing on the moral high ground to criticize immorality.”

“Who doesn't like to stand on the side of justice to condemn injustice? Seven-year-old children watch cartoons and have to represent the moon to eliminate bad people. Moreover, spreading rumors is usually exempt from punishment because the law does not punish the public. You can praise or even destroy a person without bearing the consequences..."

Cheng Lang said this and looked at Shen Huaiyu, who was pale, quietly, "Many times, people who speak don't realize that they are just tools for others to spread rumors and exclude dissidents. But people who are destroyed by rumors should know that if you don't want to be misunderstood by others, you should at least learn to clarify the rumors yourself and learn to let others consider things from your perspective."

In the original book, Shen Chengan's family spread rumors to slander and exclude Shen Huaiyu. Shen Huaiyu's reaction was to accept it, never thinking of explaining, and without any counterattack. This was incredible to Cheng Lang.

"It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. If you want to learn to protect yourself, you must first avoid taking the blame if it is not your fault." Cheng Lang taught, "As a victim, you must have the awareness of a victim. You are weak, but you are right, so why are you afraid of public attacks?"

Shen Huaiyu stared at Cheng Lang in a daze. It was obvious that he could not digest Cheng Lang's radical "heretical theory" for a while.