Chapter 31: What Counts as a Decent Job?

Chapter 31 What Counts as a Proper Job

Zhao Yu hung around outside for a while before finally returning to Gu Hansheng's place. It was already noon when he got home, and the living room was filled with even more birthday gift boxes, though they were all scattered haphazardly on the floor, looking like Gu Hansheng had kicked them over.

He tiredly stepped over the mess on the floor, wanting to pour himself a glass of water. As he looked down, he spotted the black gift box containing the cufflinks in the trash can. He picked it out and took a look—the two cufflinks were still in there, untouched. Gu Hansheng hadn't even bothered to open it before tossing it.

The gift wasn't expensive or from anyone important, so tossing it was no big deal—that was just Gu Hansheng. Compared to that, all the effort Zhao Yu put into buying it seemed pretty damn ridiculous.

He never should've bought the gift in the first place, never even should've thought about giving one. They were just fuck buddies, and Zhao Yu had let the special treatment go to his head.

Now he saw things clearly. He tossed the cufflinks, box and all, back in the trash and headed to his room.

After her afternoon nap, the housekeeper came to clean up. Seeing the mess, she was startled and quickly dug through the clutter for the black gift box Zhao Yu had handed her. She finally fished it out of the trash and repacked it, thinking: Good thing it wasn't broken. She hadn't even given it to Mr. Gu yet.

Meanwhile, Gu Hansheng had just left the hospital after making sure his third uncle, Gu Hui, hadn't died of rage because of him. He'd also had to put up with his third aunt's nagging before he could get away.

Gu Hong called, saying he'd gone too far—that he shouldn't have put his third uncle in the hospital, and even the old man had caught wind of it. He added that Gu Hansheng's only real leverage was the old man's favor, and he shouldn't be so reckless... a bunch of useless nagging.

Everyone who sucked up to Gu Hansheng—fair-weather friends, business partners, whoever—had sent him birthday gifts for one reason or another, while his own blood relatives were too busy scheming against him. Calling these people "family" was a joke.

When he got home, the housekeeper was decorating the place with birthday-themed ornaments. Even if Gu Hansheng wasn't home, she always put up some simple decorations on this day every year, just in case he brought friends back and the place looked too cold and empty.

Zhao Yu was out in the yard hanging ribbons on the grapevine and didn't notice Gu Hansheng come back. The housekeeper smiled and handed Gu Hansheng the black gift box. "Mr. Gu, this is a birthday gift from Mr. Zhao. He was too embarrassed to give it to you himself. Happy birthday."

Gu Hansheng took the box and set it aside. When he didn't open it, the housekeeper added, "Mr. Zhao even picked up odd jobs to buy this gift. It's a token of his appreciation, after all. Why not take a look?"

With that, she pulled out the black velvet box and pressed it into Gu Hansheng's hand. After a moment's hesitation, Gu Hansheng flicked the lid open with his thumb, revealing a pair of champagne-gold cufflinks.

Zhao Yu was still busy in the yard. Gu Hansheng glanced at his back, snapped the box shut, and tossed it into a bag.

Zhao Yu always did shit Gu Hansheng didn't see coming—swallowing his pride to make up, getting into a drunken brawl and getting arrested, and working odd jobs to buy him gifts. Gu Hansheng was used to controlling everything, but Zhao Yu's actions were always out of his control, and his way of thinking was a total mystery.

In this circle, who was short on cash? If he just asked, who wouldn't hand him some? Yet he insisted on doing thankless shit and then landing himself in a pile of trouble.

That said, his night shift at the bar did have a legit reason. This cheap token of appreciation seemed a bit more valuable next to the Gu family's bullshit—though Gu Hansheng didn't need it.

The housekeeper asked, "Would you like me to find a tailor to sew on the cufflinks?"

"No need. Take it away." Gu Hansheng opened the patio door and said to Zhao Yu, "Come in."

Zhao Yu finished hanging the ribbon without a word and followed him inside.

"Got anything to say to me?" Gu Hansheng asked.

He was giving Zhao Yu a chance to explain himself, but Zhao Yu said, "No."

The gift had been tossed like trash, and Zhao Yu didn't want to explain anything else. He was always submissive around Gu Hansheng, but he wasn't completely devoid of self-respect.

Gu Hansheng stared at his sullen, sulky face but, for once, had a bit of patience: "Fine, then I'll talk. I'll give you two options—either stay home and don't go anywhere, or get a proper job."

To him, Zhao Yu was someone who always found trouble when idle, and these two options were ways to keep him in line. Staying home meant 24/7 surveillance and confinement. Gu Hansheng leaned toward that option—he could control everything about Zhao Yu and wipe out all unpredictable factors. Of course, it would also erase Zhao Yu's humanity.

But for some reason he couldn't explain, he offered the second option instead, giving Zhao Yu an out.

Zhao Yu was genuinely surprised and asked cautiously, "What counts as a proper job?"

He didn't know what Gu Hansheng's standards were. In his mind, being a night-shift waiter was a proper job, but it had pissed Gu Hansheng off.

Gu Hansheng shot back, "If you want to do something, why ask me?"

Zhao Yu thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "What about... being a chef?"

Guo Lin's restaurant held all of Zhao Yu's best memories from his youth. He used to lean over the pass window to watch Guo Lin cook, and sometimes he'd help out in the kitchen. He'd thought many times about reopening Guo Lin's restaurant once he got back to the US, and for that, he needed to practice his cooking. These were plans for after he left Gu Hansheng, but when Gu Hansheng asked, he told the truth.

Gu Hansheng raised an eyebrow. "You can cook?"

"I can make basic home-style dishes, and I know a little Sichuan and Cantonese cooking."

Gu Hansheng stared at him and suddenly pushed, "What else have you been hiding from me?"

Zhao Yu froze, realizing he was bringing up the old incident where Zhao Yu had pretended not to know how to cook and had cut his hand. He said, "That was because..." Chen Xitong couldn't.

Zhao Yu stopped mid-sentence, not saying the name.

Gu Hansheng didn't keep dredging up the past. Everything before had been a lie anyway; if he counted up every offense one by one, it would take until tomorrow. He pulled out his phone, made a call, and got Zhao Yu an apprentice chef position at a star-rated restaurant in three minutes. After hanging up, he said, "The restaurant will contact you. Wait for it."

With that, he turned and headed upstairs.

Zhao Yu hadn't expected him to be so easy about it. It wasn't until he saw the birthday ribbons wrapped around the stair railing that he remembered he hadn't even said "Happy birthday." The housekeeper was gathering the cufflink gift box with the other presents, and Zhao Yu asked, "Auntie, didn't mine get thrown out?"

The housekeeper said, "No, it didn't. Mr. Gu told me to put it away."

So it hadn't been thrown away after all. Zhao Yu's mood suddenly shifted into something complicated.

...

Zhao Yu soon got a call from the manager of Yatai Restaurant, telling him to start work the next day. Yatai was a famous restaurant with jaw-dropping per-person prices. Its grand entrance screamed money, and it sat right next to the InterContinental Hotel, with the International Expo Center not far off.

The restaurant manager greeted him and walked him toward the kitchen while giving him the rundown.

"...We have two head chefs. One handles Western food, Che Shijie, and the other handles Chinese food, Cao Xu. I heard you have some Chinese cooking basics, so I've put you with Cao Xu. Chef Cao is blunt, but he's a decent guy. If he yells at you, try not to talk back."

He took Zhao Yu to change and then led him into the kitchen. The lunch rush had just died down, and the kitchen staff were busy washing dishes and prepping for dinner.

The manager asked someone, "Where's Chef Cao?"

"He's sleeping in the back."

The manager said to Zhao Yu, "Wait here a sec. I'll go get him."

While Zhao Yu waited, a young guy with bleached blond hair sidled up and asked, "You're not here to apprentice under Cao Xu, are you?"

Zhao Yu said, "Yeah. Why?"

"Man, he just ran someone off last month. Didn't you do any research before coming? You still dared to show up?"

"Ran someone off? Why?"

"Why else? He couldn't stand that the guy wouldn't kiss his ass."

Someone quietly added, "They're both head chefs, but Chef Che is really considerate—he's mentored several apprentices to graduation. Cao Xu bosses his apprentices around all day. He's way too full of himself."

A few minutes later, Cao Xu walked out, and everyone shut up.

Zhao Yu looked at the stern-faced man approaching and was about to greet him when Cao Xu spoke first: "You're Zhao Yu?"

"Yes, hello, Master Cao."

"Whoever's back door you came through, if I catch you slacking off, you're out just the same."

The manager gave an awkward smile, trying to mediate, but Cao Xu wasn't having it. He set a basket of chestnuts in front of Zhao Yu: "Peel every last one."

The manager lowered his voice apologetically to Zhao Yu: "It's my fault for mentioning that he should look after you. Just put up with it."

"It's fine." Zhao Yu rolled up his sleeves. "Go ahead and attend to your work, don't worry about me."

"Alright, feel free to find me if anything comes up."

The staff secretly observed the manager's attitude toward Zhao Yu, thinking he was still a guy with connections, and were itching to see him clash with Cao Xu.

Yet Zhao Yu didn't complain once. He washed the chestnuts, cut a slit in each one, soaked them in hot water, and peeled them one by one. No one helped or lent a hand, and he worked alone for two hours, peeling the entire basket of chestnuts until his fingers were raw and red.

Then came dinner time, and the kitchen got busy. Cao Xu kept him away from the stove and even the cutting board, only assigning him odd jobs. Zhao Yu washed dishes and passed things around nearby, and if he was even a little slow, Cao Xu would chew him out—he got chewed out at least ten times in a few hours.

Almost everyone in the kitchen bet Zhao Yu would quit by the end of the day, but the next morning he showed up again, still doing odd chores, prepping vegetables, washing dishes, and getting scolded. Cao Xu was extremely harsh with him, always finding him something to do the moment he caught him idle.

Even the young man with dyed hair who had first spoken to Zhao Yu couldn't help but say, "Dude, what's in it for you? He's not teaching you anything. Just get out of here."

Zhao Yu said, "I can't leave."

"Why? Someone forcing you to suffer?"

"Pretty much."

Zhao Yu washed each carrot one by one, took a deep breath, and told himself to stay calm. If he screwed up this job, he'd really end up locked up by Gu Hansheng!