TLSMLMMM Chapter 29

The shop owner and the neighboring shop owner kept their eyes on the store across from them. After the two young men entered, for some reason, it suddenly looked like something huge had happened over there, every salesperson sprang into action, taking the suits off the racks one by one.

“What are they doing?” The neighboring owner looked confused, catching a glimpse of the opposite shop’s manager smiling brightly, personally serving tea and water to the two young men.

“Who knows. Probably getting fooled,” the first owner muttered, still trying to see but what he noticed instead were the salespeople’s faces filled with excitement and joy.

Si Beicheng and Si Beiyuan leaned back comfortably as they sipped their tea. The manager stood beside them, smiling from ear to ear — after all, these were the biggest customers the store had seen since opening.

“Gentlemen, your clothes will be wrapped up shortly. Would you like them delivered to your home, or would you prefer that our staff assist in carrying them to your car right now?”

“I’ll call for a few more vehicles to come over,” Si Beicheng said, fully embracing the aura of a wealthy young master. “Just have your staff bring the clothes down to the parking lot for us.”

“The manager’s smile didn’t fade. “Let me tell you, after every purchase in our store, we donate ten percent of the profits to families dealing with critical illnesses. So we truly appreciate your patronage, and we look forward to welcoming you again.”

“There are donations involved too?” Si Beicheng glanced at the manager and suddenly noticed a faint scar, about two centimeters wide, on her throat.

Ever since the Si family joined the Hong Kong City Hospital Group project, they had been operating three medical institutions. Even though Si Beicheng did not study medicine, he still recognized that scar, it was left by a tracheal intubation surgery.

“This store is really not bad,” Si Beiyuan followed his cousin’s gaze and also noticed the scar. “I’ll bring more of my friends to shop here.”

“Thank you both so much!” The manager’s smile grew even brighter.

Across the way, the owner and the neighboring shop owner stared hard, watching every movement. They finally saw the two young men exit the shop and right behind them were almost all the shop’s salespeople, each carrying dozens of bags. Even the manager had personally come out, carrying shopping bags and following behind them.

The neighboring owner looked toward the opposite store, its racks were completely emptied and was instantly dumbfounded.

The first owner was stunned silent. From a distance, the two cousins spotted the two men, traded a glance, and raised a hand in unison, extending a single middle finger toward the shop owner before walking straight toward the elevators, leaving coolly with the sales staff who were loaded with bags.

“You!” The neighboring owner snapped out of shock and glared at the shop owner beside him, seething. “Look at what you’ve done! Those two customers were originally going to buy from my store but you followed them over and tricked me into throwing them out!”

“I—I didn’t…” The shop owner struggled to defend himself, completely confused about what was going on.

Could he have been wrong from the very start?

Were those people really here to buy clothes from Chu Junlie?

And he had actually kicked Chu Junlie out!

“I finally see what kind of person you are. Vile. I treated you like a friend, and you ruined the biggest business I could’ve had!”

The neighboring owner angrily shoved him, pointing at his nose. “Don’t you dare come to my store again. You step inside, I throw you out!”

“As if I even want to go!” The shop owner felt more miserable the more he thought about it. After hesitating a moment, he went back to his store and called to the head clerk:

“Hurry, call Xiao Chu. Tell him to get back to work right now.”

The head clerk took out his phone and dialed the number Chu Junlie left. It rang for a long time, no answer.

“You’re so slow!” The owner, anxious and irritated, pulled out his own phone. “Send me Xiao Chu’s number! I’ll call him myself!”

The head clerk watched the owner dial again and again—still no answer. The more frantic he got, the more gleeful the head clerk felt inside.

Just then, two college-aged girls walked in, looking around the shop.

“What kind of suit are you looking for?” the salesperson hurried over to assist.

“We’re looking for a salesperson we know.” One girl glanced around. “Is Chu Junlie not here?”

The owner instantly felt a suffocating sense of collapse every time he heard the name “Chu Junlie.”

“He’s not here.” The salesperson’s smile had already grown stiff. She had lost count of how many customers had come asking for him that day.

“Then forget it.” The girl waved casually and walked out, explaining to her friend, “I was just thinking of getting a suit for my dad…”

The owner felt like crying as he pressed the call button again and still, no answer.

Meanwhile, the manager who had just sent off the two big customers returned upstairs with her staff, smiling as she entered the now-empty shop. Seeing the bare racks, she and the employees cheered happily.

“Manager, not even a clearance sale empties out a store this completely!” one employee said, beaming. “When those two customers first came in, they looked so angry they scared me I thought they were here for revenge!”

The manager waved her hand, still smiling. “Hurry and notify the warehouse. Have them send stock over. We can’t just let the shop look so empty.”

The staff immediately got back to work. The manager lowered her head to update the records when she caught a glimpse of someone lingering outside. She looked up to find it was the neighboring shop owner.

“Would you like to come in and sit?” she asked warmly, setting aside the ledger.

“No, I’ll stay here,” the owner said awkwardly, but couldn’t help looking at the shop’s condition twice more, feeling a sting of envy. “Did… did you really sell everything?”

“We had two very big customers.” The manager replied politely with a smile. “This was my first time seeing anything like it.”

The neighboring owner’s expression grew even more bitter.

“To be honest… those two young men came into my shop first. But that scumbag from next door followed them in and told me they were scammers hired by a fired employee. I believed him and actually drove them away…”

“Really?” The manager finally understood why the two young men had been so angry when they arrived.

“I heard customers at his store were all looking for that fired employee. I think a girl mentioned his name something like… Chu Junlie.” The neighboring owner scratched his head in embarrassment. “If those two customers ever come back to your shop, could you maybe put in a good word for me? I really didn’t reject them on purpose—I was tricked.”

“It’s good when misunderstandings can be cleared up,” the manager said kindly. “If I see them next time, I’ll be sure to mention it.”

“Thank you.” The neighboring owner visibly relaxed, finally feeling relieved.

Making money wasn’t even the main point anymore—those two young men, at such a young age, were incredibly wealthy. They were surely rich heirs. Offending people like that would never end well.

---

That day, Chu Junlie had been happy from morning to night like everything was going his way.

He had been fired from the clothing store, the restaurant didn’t schedule him for a shift, and he spent the whole day at home. Mr. Si had also stayed home. After resting for a bit in the bedroom, he came out to the living room to read!

Cheerfully peeling an apple in the kitchen, Chu Junlie kept glancing up from time to time, looking toward the living room.

Mr. Si was wearing simple loungewear today. A loose, cream-colored long-sleeve T-shirt with a stylish design and a slightly open collar on top, and slim-cut black casual trousers on the bottom, making his legs look long and straight.

Chu Junlie finished peeling the apple skin, then sweetly removed the core, cut it into small pieces, placed them into a glass bowl, added a silver fork, and carried it to the living room.

He quietly placed the fruit on the table. Looking up, he saw that Mr. Si was holding a magazine called Psychological Development and Education. At some point, Lie Feng had wandered over and climbed onto the sofa, lying beside Mr. Si.

Chu Junlie watched as Mr. Si lowered his eyes to flip a page, then used his free hand to gently pet Lie Feng a few times.

Lie Feng lazily wagged his tail and squinted his eyes, enjoying the calm affection from the human.

Chu Junlie stared at Lie Feng for a moment. When the dog noticed him, he tried hard to signal with his eyes for it to get down.

Lie Feng pretended not to notice, turning his head away and curling up deeper into the sofa.

Chu Junlie frowned slightly and wondered whether his savings were enough to pay for a perfect neutering surgery for Lie Feng.

He took out his phone and silently searched for nearby pet hospitals. He had only swiped twice when the phone suddenly rang.

In the quiet room, the sound felt especially sharp. He steadied his phone and instinctively looked at the man sitting on the sofa, his eyes full of apology.

“Sorry, Mr. Si.”

Si Yunyi’s gaze remained calm.

Chu Junlie looked down, it was a call from the clothing store supervisor. He was just about to go to his bedroom to answer when a voice came from across the room:

“Who is it?”

His hand froze around the phone. He looked toward the man on the sofa, almost unable to believe what he had heard.

After the brief shock, warmth surged in his chest. Light slowly gathered in his eyes as he quickly approached, holding the phone up to Mr. Si with both hands.

Si Yunyi glanced at the caller ID, his tone indifferent.

“Don’t answer.”

Without hesitation, Chu Junlie set the ringing phone on the coffee table. With one hand behind his back, he secretly nudged Lie Feng off the sofa, then carefully sat down beside Mr. Si, fighting back the smile threatening to bloom across his face.

Mr. Si was really starting to take control of him!

So this was what it felt like to be managed by Mr. Si?

Why did it feel so good?

Before he could fully savor the sweetness, the phone stopped ringing. After a moment of silence, it started again, a strange number this time.

Si Yunyi didn’t even look, still flipping pages.

“Don’t answer.”

Chu Junlie quickly turned the ringtone volume down, looked at the man beside him, and blinked.

As if showing how obedient he was.

Call after call, a dozen in a row, he had no idea what was happening. But he knew that since Mr. Si told him not to answer, he absolutely must not answer.

He was truly more obedient than Lie Feng.

He didn’t know how many calls came, but he kept his phone visible to Mr. Si at all times, openly proving his loyalty.

Finally, the unknown caller gave up. The phone went quiet. After a while, he saw Mr. Si set the magazine aside and turn toward him, voice gentle.

“Do you still want to work at that previous clothing store?”

Chu Junlie thought about it, then honestly shook his head.

He had been publicly fired, he would never go back.

“Do you still want a job in clothing sales?” Mr. Si asked again.

Chu Junlie thought about the best kind of work he could get without a degree, about all the effort he had put into learning sales… then nodded seriously.

“Good.” Mr. Si looked into his dark eyes. “Tomorrow, go back to the menswear floor. Many store owners will offer you opportunities. Choose one who tests your sales ability.”

Staring at Mr. Si, realization suddenly blossomed.

So that was why the supervisor had called. And why so many unknown calls had come in.

All of this… Mr. Si had been quietly helping him from behind the scenes.