What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

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Around 9 o’clock, Su Bin, who had been washing dishes for over two hours, was called by the supervisor to have a meal.

“There’s still food?” Su Bin was surprised that they could eat during work.

The supervisor glanced at Su Bin and said, “Just 15 minutes, eat quickly.”

Su Bin: “…”

Several employees were already sitting together, eating. However, there were still people busy outside, indicating that 9 o’clock was a transition point for shift changes and rest.

The food wasn’t a proper meal, but rather some snacks made by the restaurant, such as siu mai, shrimp dumplings, and spare ribs in black bean sauce. Additionally, there was a large pot of seafood congee.

Among the people sitting together, there were both men and women, all very young. Some of them looked even younger than Su Bin. They glanced at Su Bin, but no one took the initiative to start a conversation. They all seemed like numb robots.

Su Bin noticed the girl who had helped him earlier and sat next to her. He greeted her, “Hello.”

The girl hadn’t eaten anything, just sitting there drinking water and texting. When she saw Su Bin approaching, she smiled and glanced at him, saying, “Young master, are you getting used to it?” Unlike her previous efficiency, her voice was now soft and weak, lacking strength.

Su Bin scooped a bowl of congee, smiling bitterly. “Don’t call me young master.”

The girl chuckled lightly and ignored him.

Su Bin tasted a few spoonfuls of the seafood congee, which was delicious, but he had no appetite.

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Seeing Su Bin only eating half a bowl, the girl teased him, “Still claiming not to be a young master~”

Su Bin felt a bit annoyed by the title. “What’s wrong with me?”

The girl responded, “If you were someone who could endure hardships, you would be wolfing down food right now to replenish your energy. Look at you, so delicate.”

Su Bin was speechless, looking at her and asking, “But you haven’t eaten either, right?”
The girl replied, “I’m on a diet.”

Su Bin: “…”

The girl noticed Su Bin sitting there dumbfounded and finally couldn’t bear to ignore him. She put away her phone and rested her chin on her hand, saying, “My name is Lily… You should come earlier in the evenings, start at 6, but it’s better to arrive by 5:30. The restaurant takes care of dinner.”

Su Bin let out a sound of understanding, realizing why Tony had complained about missing dinner earlier. It was because he had to wait for Su Bin to finish walking the dogs… He felt a bit guilty.

After saying that, Lily paused for a moment and then smiled, “But I don’t think you’ll come a second time.”

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“Why?” Su Bin’s reaction was a bit slow.

Lily said, “Because you… don’t fit into this environment.”

Su Bin looked at the others and then at himself. He didn’t think he seemed different from the other workers.

Come to think of it, not just Lily, but also Casey and Tony had called him “young master.” It wasn’t a respectful term, but more of a mocking and sarcastic remark that made Su Bin feel uncomfortable.

“Why do you think that?” Su Bin asked Lily.

Lily shrugged. “It’s just a feeling. I can’t explain it well, but I think you’re the type of person who wants to prove yourself in some aspect, deliberately experiencing life while leaving your family’s money untouched… like a teenager trying too hard.”

Su Bin: “…” QAQ How could you say that about me…

Before they could chat further, the supervisor called out, “Time’s up!”

Lily, who had been lazily sitting there, immediately sprang up like she had been injected with chicken blood and rushed out to resume her duties.

Su Bin shook his sore arms, dejectedly returning to wash the dishes. Just as he reached the sink, he saw the mountain of plates waiting for him… Only 15 minutes had passed!
But he didn’t dare to slack off and quickly started washing. Perhaps influenced by Allen, Su Bin had also developed a bit of obsessive-compulsive behavior. He rinsed each plate multiple times, so he was often scolded for being “slow.”

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At around 10 p.m., as the peak period passed, the number of plates gradually decreased…
Su Bin breathed a sigh of relief, but then he was called to move alcohol, mop the floor, and clean the tables. He spun around like a spinning top for nearly six hours, only stopping when the restaurant closed. At that point, Su Bin felt like his legs didn’t belong to him anymore.
Now that he thought about it, Alexander was really gentle. He would even stop and take a break when he was tired, allowing Su Bin to catch his breath. But in the restaurant, Su Bin was too busy to even have a sip of water!

After work, Su Bin and a few people who lived in the same direction took a taxi home. He made plans with Tony to come together again the next day.

Tony patted his shoulder and smiled, saying, “You’ve got spirit. See you tomorrow.”

Su Bin didn’t feel any joy from being recognized; instead, he felt a bit scared about the arrival of tomorrow…

Just moments ago, when he was exhausted to the extreme, Su Bin had considered giving up. While washing the dishes, he kept pondering one question—why the hell was he washing dishes here?

Why? Wasn’t it to buy a ring for Chen Xiaotian?

But he could use his dad’s money to buy the ring. He could pay him back once he earned money in the future, right?

If that’s the case, why bother washing dishes?!

With this time, he could read several professional books instead! That would be more meaningful!
…
Su Bin thought about it but ultimately persevered. He didn’t want to let himself down. As a man, he should keep his word and follow through on his decisions, even if it meant working himself to death… probably.

At one o’clock in the morning, Su Bin had never come home so late. He quietly opened the door, tiptoed upstairs, being cautious in every way. Even a hot shower couldn’t wash away his exhaustion. Standing under the showerhead, his legs, which had been spinning for six hours like a top, were trembling. Thinking that he still had to clean the bathroom later, Su Bin felt like kneeling on the floor…

“…Michael.”

In the drowsy state, he suddenly heard a voice whispering from the entrance. Su Bin nearly woke up in fright.

“Did I wake you?” He spoke so softly, thinking that Allen wouldn’t come out at this hour. It was almost 2 a.m. now.

With arms crossed, Allen looked at him coldly and asked, “Where were you tonight?”

“Working…” Su Bin thought, didn’t I tell you earlier?

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Allen scrutinized him from head to toe and left with the words, “Don’t come back this late in the future.” Then he returned to his room.

Su Bin didn’t dare to tell Allen that he would be coming back late the next night and the night after that… Allen seemed to have been awakened by him, and Su Bin felt a bit guilty.

The next day, Su Bin slept until 10 a.m., hurriedly got up, and rushed to work. He didn’t even have time to take a photo with his roommates.

At 11:30 a.m., he arrived at the restaurant and had a quick lunch before being called into the kitchen to continue washing dishes… Damn it, wash, wash, wash. Now everything he saw looked like a plate!

But perhaps due to the busyness of the weekend, the restaurant assigned another guy to wash dishes with Su Bin. Su Bin noticed that the guy’s movements were obviously more skillful than his own. It seemed that he was an “experienced plate-washer”!

veteran: “Newcomer? Your first day of washing?”

Su Bin: “No, it’s the second day.”

veteran: “Heh, I didn’t expect someone like you, a young master, to come for a second day.”

What the hell… Here we go again! How do I look like a young master? If I were a young master, would I come here to wash dishes?

“How long have you been washing dishes?” Su Bin asked him.

veteran: “About six months.”

Su Bin was shocked. “How long do you have to wash dishes before you can do something else?” Did he have to keep washing dishes here for six months too? (OAO) How terrifying!
The veteran chuckled and said, “Well, you’re here now. Once you become proficient, I can do something else.”

Su Bin: “…”

veteran: “Everyone here has gone through this. Every person you see now has washed dishes at some point.”

Su Bin didn’t understand and asked, “But don’t you get frustrated washing so many dishes? Don’t you wonder why you’re washing dishes here?”
The veteran looked at him and said, “What’s there to think about? It’s for money, isn’t it?”

Su Bin was left speechless…

“Only wealthy people think about these kinds of questions. For people like us, who have no other options, we have to work hard washing dishes! That’s why I say you’re a young master…” The veteran glanced at him. “I’ve come across several people who were tangled up in this question, but in the end, they all left because they felt their time shouldn’t be wasted on washing dishes and that they should be doing more important things.”
Su Bin: “…” Yes, he had thought that too Q_Q.

veteran: “But for me, this is just a way to earn money. Whether it’s washing dishes or cleaning toilets, as long as I make money, I can do what I want.”

After digesting the veteran’s words for a while, Su Bin suddenly had a realization. That’s right, wasn’t he working to buy a ring for Chen Xiaotian? So he should work hard to earn money, regardless of the method. Earning money was the key!

Inspired by the veteran’s words, Su Bin saw a sparkling diamond ring through the plates. One plate washed, the ring would shine a bit more. Another plate washed, the ring would shine even brighter!

Hahaha… Let’s speed up and wash another one! Plate, I will conquer you!

Crash! QAQ One plate shattered…

The veteran calmly cleaned up the broken plate for Su Bin, and the people around just glanced at them before continuing with their own tasks.

“Young man, do you notice that nobody is making a fuss over your broken plate? It’s because their time is more valuable than paying attention to a broken plate…” The veteran imparted his life wisdom to Su Bin like a wise monk.

Su Bin: “…” Is this veteran actually a philosopher?

Seeing Su Bin washing the plates with renewed confidence, the veteran patted his shoulder and encouraged him, saying, “It seems you’ve had some enlightenment! Keep it up!”

During their conversation, Su Bin learned that the veteran was a master’s student in the Architecture Department at M University. He came from an ordinary family in a second-tier city in China. In order to have better job prospects and stronger competitiveness in the future, he chose to study abroad for a year. For this, his family scraped together the tuition for one year.

The veteran said that 100,000 yuan might be a small sum for some families, but for his family, it was everything they had.
With the tuition covered, he had to fend for his own living expenses. He had no choice but to work under the table.

Su Bin felt that he had really gone through a lot, and he admired and sympathized with the veteran. But the veteran said that there were many people like him, including Lily, whom Su Bin had just met. Everyone was working hard for better education, better qualifications, or, in other words, for a better social status.

Su Bin finally understood why he was different from them. He suddenly remembered the two sentences his dad said to him when he decided to study abroad—”How much does it cost for one year of self-funded study abroad?” “I’ve transferred the money to your account. Take care of yourself.”

His dad’s first sentence was straightforward, without any extra expression, but when he said the second sentence, he furrowed his brows.

Su Bin didn’t know why he could remember these details so clearly, and why they all surfaced in his mind at this moment… What was once disdainful to him, in the eyes of others, seemed unattainable.

Just like the “experienced plate-washer,” the tuition scraped together with great effort was never a concern for Su Bin.

These thoughts made Su Bin feel a bit bitter. He suddenly realized that he seemed quite worthless because since he went abroad, he hadn’t called his dad even once.

Just then, a menu appeared in front of him, interrupting his thoughts. “Michael, wash the dishes and memorize the menu. You’ll serve tonight,” the shift manager, who knows when he arrived, gave him this instruction and left.

The veteran, looking at the favor shown to Su Bin by the shift manager, exclaimed, “Damn it! You’ve only been washing dishes for one day!… I’m desperate in this world that judges by appearances!”

Su Bin: “…”

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