Previous Chapter ∞ Table of Content ∞ Next Chapter
Chapter 2: Part-time Job
同一时间，荆楚也已经得到了关于杨绵绵的资料，他一看，今天原本对她的印象马上就颠覆了。
At the same time, Jing Chu had also obtained information about Yang Mianmian, and when he took a look at it, his original impression of her today was immediately toppled.
要说起来，这个小姑娘简直是个悲剧。
To say the least, this little girl was a tragedy.
她的母亲，也是荆楚母亲曾经的大学同学，原本是有钱人家的孩子，可是后来做生意破产了，一下子就云端跌到泥里，嫁了人，但是那个男人对她不好，有暴力倾向，她生下杨绵绵之后没多久就病死了，父亲另娶，继母有个拖油瓶儿子，性格霸道，不许杨绵绵进门。
Her mother, who was also Jing Chu’s mother’s former college classmate, was originally the child of a wealthy family. But then she went bankrupt in business and suddenly fell from the clouds into the mud and married someone. But the man she married wasn’t any good. He had a tendency for violence and she died from illness not long after Yang Mianmian’s birth. Her father took another wife, and this stepmother of hers had a son from a former marriage. She was a tyrant and did not allow Yang Mianmian to enter their home.
她的父亲就每个月给两三百块钱算是抚养费，现在他出车祸死了，肇事者虽然赔了一笔钱，但是她继母一分钱都没给杨绵绵。
Her father gave her two to three hundred yuan a month as alimony, and now he had died in a car accident. The person responsible for the accident had paid out a sum of money, but her stepmother hadn’t given Yang Mianmian any of it.
这样一来，她丝毫不为父亲的死感到伤心也是情理之中的事情了。
With that all said, it was reasonable for her not to feel any grief about her father’s death.
“你在看什么？”坐在他面前喝咖啡的是荆楚的现任女朋友，罗裴裴。
“What are you looking at?” Sitting in front of him drinking coffee was Jing Chu’s current girlfriend, Luo Peipei.
荆楚收起了手机，笑了笑说：“没什么。”
Jing Chu put away his phone, smiled and said, “Nothing.”
“该不会又是什么案子吧。”罗裴裴的语气难免带了三分抱怨，“为了办那个什么案子，你都没有陪我。”
“It’s not another case, is it.” Luo Peipei’s tone was inevitably grumbly, “You didn’t even accompany me in order to work on that whatever case.”
“抱歉。”他的语气里听不出多少诚意，或者说，荆楚对这段感情早就做好了心理准备——毕竟，这不是第一个因为工作而和他吵架的女朋友了。
“Sorry.” Sincerity couldn’t really be made out from his tone, or rather, Jing Chu was already mentally prepared for this relationship – after all, this wasn’t the first girlfriend to fight with him over work.
“好啦。”罗裴裴是个明白人，也只是和他撒撒娇罢了，因为她也很清楚即便是撒娇抱怨，也没办法让这个男人放弃工作来陪他，对工作认真负责也算是他的优点之一。
“Fine.” Luo Peipei is an understanding person, and she was just being petulant with him, because she also knew very well that even if she was petulant and complaining, she couldn’t make this man give up his work to accompany her. Plus, being serious and responsible about his work was also one of his merits.
要说起来，她对荆楚什么都满意，就是对他的工作很不满，可世上哪有两全其美的事情呢？荆楚长得一表人才，家境富裕，也没有男人那些乱七八糟的毛病，作为男朋友也十分称职，除了工作狂魔之外，真是一点缺憾也没有了。
To put it another way, she was satisfied with everything about Jing Chu, but she was dissatisfied with his work. But who could have everything in life? Jing Chu looks like a talented man, his family is wealthy, and he doesn’t have any of those messy problems that men have. As a boyfriend, he was very well-qualified. Besides being a workaholic, there was nothing else she could pick on about him.
她还是应该好好抓住这个男人的。
She should still hold on to this man.
她端起咖啡杯来喝了一口卡布奇诺，微笑着问：“那你明天有没有空，我知道有家餐厅不错。”
She took a sip of her cappuccino from her coffee cup, smiled and asked, “So, are you free tomorrow? I know a nice restaurant.”
“好。”荆楚思考了一分钟后答应下来，因为前一个案子加班加狠了，这次局长特地说给他放三天假慰劳一下。
“Okay.” Jing Chu thought for a minute and then agreed. Because the previous case had worked too much overtime, the director specifically said he would give him three days off as his appreciation to his hard work.
今天已经耗费在了写结案报告里，明天倒是可以用来约会。
Today had been spent on writing the final report, but tomorrow could be used for a date.
次日起来，是个艳阳天，杨绵绵一大早就醒了，洗脸刷牙，杯子是掉了块瓷的搪瓷杯子，脸盆也是，盆底是两条金鱼，边上掉了好几块白瓷，都是上了年头的东西了。
The next day up, is a sunny day, Yang Mianmian woke up early in the morning. She washed her face and brushed her teeth. The cup she used was a porcelain enameled cup that was missing a piece, the basin as well. The bottom of the basin was two goldfish, the sides were missing various pieces of white porcelain. They were all rather old and worn things.
搪瓷脸盆性格很温柔：“绵绵，那么早就起来了呀？”
The character of the enamel basin was very gentle: “Mianmian, you’re up so early?”
杨绵绵叼着牙刷搓毛巾，含糊不清地说：“去找工作，没钱了。”
Yang Mianmian rubbed a towel with her toothbrush in her mouth and said muffly, “I’m going to look for a job, I don’t have any money.”
她昨天翻遍了家里所有的抽屉，发现自己身上只剩下六十二块三毛，这就是她的全部家当，而今天已经是八月一号了，九月一号就要开学，她的学费完全还没着落了。
She went through all the drawers in her house yesterday and found that she only had sixty-two dollars and thirty cents left, which was all she had. Today is already August 1st, and school will start on September 1st. Her tuition remained completely unfunded.
她换了件自己看起来最新的衣服，一件深蓝色已经褪色成了浅蓝色的T恤，一条牛仔七分裤（原来是九分裤现在只能当七分穿了，幸好她只是长高没长胖），再加一双刚刚在超市里打折买的三十块钱的白色板鞋，梳子掉了个齿，不过还是尽职尽责地替她把头发梳成了一个马尾。
She changed into what looked like her newest clothes, a dark blue T-shirt that had faded to a lighter blue, a pair of denim that went above her shin (it used to cover her whole leg, luckily she had only grown taller and not fatter), and a pair of white tennis shoes that she had just bought on sale at the supermarket for thirty dollars.
不过悲剧的是坚持了很久的五毛钱三根的黑色皮筋哀呼一声，断了。
The tragedy was that the black hairband worth fifty-three cents, which had been holding on for a long time, broke with a whimper.
没办法的情况下，杨绵绵找出了自己一件旧衣服，裁了截布条绑头发，剩下来的正好当抹布了。
In such a situation, Yang Mianmian found one of her old clothes, cut a strip of cloth to tie her hair, and the rest of it was used as a rag.
电视机忧心忡忡：“你又要去打工啊，不如把我卖了吧。”
The TV was deeply worried: “You’re going to work again? How about you sell me?”
“卖了你也凑不够学费，别操心了。”杨绵绵只带了十块钱在身上，“无聊就看电视吧，我很晚才会回来。”
“Even if I sold you, you won’t be able to raise enough money for tuition, so don’t worry about it.” Yang Mianmian only had ten yuan with her, “If you get bored, just watch some TV. I’ll be back late.”
她一路走到楼下，小区门口是热闹的早饭摊子，现在是暑假，摆摊的少了很多，开学之后一整条街都会被占满。
She walked all the way downstairs, the stall at the entrance to the neighborhood was lively with people. It was now summer vacation, so many people had set up stalls. After school starts up, the entire street would be packed with stalls.
“两个白馒头。”她在一家包子铺里买早饭，以前还是一块钱三个，现在已经是七毛钱一个了，不过大家都是街坊，老板娘很慷慨地给她优惠，一块钱两个。
“Two white steamed buns.” She bought her breakfast at a bun store, which used to cost three for a dollar, but now it’s seventy cents a piece. But since they were all neighbors, the owner’s wife was generous enough to give her a discount, two for a dollar.
老板娘给她用塑料袋抓了两个白白胖胖的大馒头：“绵绵又吃白馒头啊，会长不高的。”
The lady boss gave her two big white fat steamed buns in a plastic bag: “Mianmian, eating steamed buns again? You can’t grow taller like this.”
“没关系。”她想，昨天已经很奢侈地吃了五块钱一碗的炒米线，现在开始能省则省了，不过那碗米线那么贵还那么难吃实在是好心塞。
“It’s okay.” Yesterday, she thought. She had already splurged on a bowl of stir-fried rice noodles for five yuan, and now she would start saving if she could. But it was so frustrating that the rice noodles were so expensive and so disgusting.
“再给你个肉包子。”老板娘额外送了一个包子给她，三毛钱一个呢，小小的肉包只有拳头那么大。
“I’ll give you a meat bun.” The lady boss gave her an extra bun, that cost thirty cents a bun. The tiny meat bun was the size of a fist.
“谢谢。”
“Thank you.”
她狼吞虎咽地把馒头和包子塞嘴里，正值发育期，她的饭量比以前大了很多，考虑到包子铺老板娘的话，她觉得赚钱之事刻不容缓。
She wolfed down the steamed buns and meat bun. Being at the stage of development, she was eating a lot more than before. Considering the bun store owner’s wife’s words, she felt that the matter of making money could not be delayed.
怎么都得保证自己每天能喝上豆浆吃上鸡蛋比较好。
It’s better to make sure one can drink soy milk and eat eggs every day.
“亲爱的，要把我丢进垃圾桶！”白色的塑料袋唠唠叨叨，反复强调，就差跳起来了，“一定要记得啊，不可以随便把我丢掉，不然哭给你看！”
“Darling, you have to throw me in the trash!” The white plastic bag nagged and repeated, just short of jumping up and down, “You must remember, you can’t just throw me at random, or I’ll cry!”
不知道为什么，塑料袋们的性格虽然天差地别，但是都喜欢强调一遍“要把我丢进垃圾桶”，话唠的会一路念过去，腼腆害羞的也绝对不会忘记在最后哀求主人把自己丢到垃圾桶里。
She didn’t know why, although their personalities were very different, they all like to emphasize the phrase “throw me in the trash” all the time. The nagging ones will nag the entire time while the shy ones will never forget to beg their owners to throw them in the trash at the end.
好像这是它们一出生就懂的的事情。
It was as if this was something they have known since birth.
杨绵绵消灭掉了馒头和包子，把这个薄薄的白色塑料袋团起来扎了个蝴蝶结，轻轻丢进了街边的垃圾桶。
Yang Mianmian devoured the steamed buns and meat bun. She tied the thin white plastic bag into a butterfly knot, and gently threw it into a trash can on the street.
心满意足的塑料袋给她抛了个飞吻：“（づ￣3￣）づ╭～再见亲爱的，下辈子再见。”
The satisfied plastic bag threw her a flying kiss: (づ￣3￣) ╭～ ♡ “Goodbye dear, see you in the next life.”
吃早饭花掉一块钱，公交两块，杨绵绵在本市最繁华的商业圈里下车的时候心想，她得找一个事半功倍的目标。现在学生兼职已经非常普遍了，咖啡厅或者餐厅都是个不错的选择。
Eating breakfast cost one dollar, while public transportation cost two. She thought to herself as she got off the bus in the city’s busiest business district, ‘I have to find a job that makes more without doing too much. Part-time jobs for students are very common nowadays. A café or restaurant is a good choice.’
她一眼就相中了这家高档餐厅，装潢华丽，气氛优雅，有小提琴师和钢琴师烘托气氛，而且据说很贵很贵，属于白领人士来消费都要想一想的那种高消费餐厅。
She liked this high-grade restaurant right away, with its gorgeous decor, elegant atmosphere, violinist and pianist to set the mood, and reportedly very, very expensive. The kind of high-spending restaurant that white-collar workers think about when they come to spend money.
不过这也意味着，工资不会低，搞不好还有小费。
But it also means that the pay wasn’t low, and maybe even included tips.
华丽丽的巨大招牌向路人吆喝：“今天的鱼子酱好新鲜啦！大师傅的甜品是苏芙哩哦！一天30份，卖完就没有了！”
A gorgeous huge sign shouted out to passersby, “Today’s caviar is so fresh! Master Chef’s dessert is soufflé! 30 pieces a day, and when they sell out, they’re gone!”
作为一家高档餐厅的招牌，它居然如此接地气，实在是难得极了，不少大酒店的招牌可是相当高冷的。
It was rare for the signboard of a high-grade restaurant to be so grounded in the world, as many other big restaurant signs are quite aloof.
对了，这家餐厅叫“时光”。
By the way, this restaurant was called “Era”.
杨绵绵听见自己的肚子咕噜一声响了起来，然后就看见门卫正用异样的眼光看着她。
Yang Mianmian heard her stomach rumbling, and then saw the doorman looking at her with strange eyes.
今天她虽然已经尽力打扮得不至于简陋，但是也只能用朴素来形容，虽然不至于进不去门，但是被人特别关照是免不了的。
Today, although she had done her best not to dress shabbily, it could only be described as plain. Although it wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t get in the door, it was inevitable that she would be given special attention.
她推门进去，抬头看了看这里的环境，问：“你们经理在哪儿？”
She pushed the door in, looked up at the surroundings, and asked, “Where is your manager?”
“同学你是不是走错地方了？”有个接待很和气地问。
“Are you in the wrong place?” There was a receptionist who asked very kindly.
杨绵绵也没指望他们能告诉自己，不过有个路过的红酒杯非常热心地告诉她：“直接往里走，最里面的那间就是了。”
Yang Mianmian didn’t expect them to tell her, but a passing glass of red wine told her very enthusiastically, “Go straight inside, the innermost room is the one.”
然后她就直接往里走了。
Then she went straight inside.
红酒杯：“Σ(っ °Д °;)っ天啦撸，她能听见我讲话？！”
Red Wine Glass: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ”OMG, she can hear me?!”
经理是个年过三十的男人，听到有人敲门进来头也没抬：“我忙着呢。”
The manager was a man in his late thirties. He didn’t look up when he heard a knock on the door, “I’m busy.”
“你好。”杨绵绵扫视了一遍他的办公室，大概有了个概念，“我是来应聘的。”
“Hello.” Yang Mianmian scanned his office and got a rough idea, “I’m here to apply for a job.”
“应聘？我们没招人啊。”他抬起头来，看清她长相的时候稍微愣了一下，不自觉放低了声音，“同学你是不是弄错了？”
“Applying for a job? We’re not hiring anyone.” He looked up and froze a little when he saw her face, unconsciously softening his voice, “Did you make a mistake?”
杨绵绵的声音是少女那种悦耳动听的嗓音：“没有弄错，我想在这里打工。”
Yang Mianmian’s voice was the pleasant voice of a young girl, “I did not make a mistake I want to work here.”
经理不由仔仔细细打量起她来，是个非常漂亮的女孩子，难得的是纯天然的，还年轻，青春好像能从每一个毛孔里散发出来，皮肤细得像是刚剥壳的鸡蛋，站在人群中，你不看见她也难。
The manager couldn’t help but take a closer look at her. She was a very beautiful girl. A rare and natural beauty. She was still young, her youth seemed to emanate from every pore and her skin was as fine as a freshly shelled egg. Standing in a crowd, it was hard not to see her.
他觉得自己的语气更和蔼了：“你想在这里打工，你爸爸妈妈知道吗？”
He felt his tone becoming even kinder: “You want to work here, does your parents know?”
“我爸出车祸死了，我没有钱交学费。”杨绵绵那么一说，经理马上就对她露出同情之色：“这样啊，那你成年了吗？”
“My father died in a car accident, and I have no money to pay for school.” As soon as Yang Mianmian said that, the manager immediately looked sympathetic toward her and said, “I see. Are you of age?”
“上个月刚过。”
“I became of age last month”
“那这样，你先来上班，负责帮客人点菜，我们这里要换统一的制服的，每天是一百块钱，小费算你自己的。”
“Well then, you can start working here. You’ll be in charge of taking orders from the customers. We have a uniform standard here, and it’s a hundred dollars a day. The tip is also yours.”
“好，谢谢。”
“Okay, thank you.”
但不是所有人都对她的到来表示欢迎的，有好几个女生在背后说：“没听见经理说要招人啊，怎么突然又来一个？”
But not everyone welcomed her arrival, and several girls said behind her back, “I didn’t hear the manager say he was hiring, why is there suddenly another one?”
也有人对她释放善意：“你叫绵绵？这里是换衣服的，我给你找套差不多的，你穿小号可以吗？”
There were also people who were kind to her: “Your Mianmian? Here’s a change of clothes, I’ll find you a similar set, will you be okay in a small?”
衣服还算合身，衬衫短裙，再加上一双稍微有点大了的中跟皮鞋，经理过来看了一眼就想，这姑娘多半是留不住的，俗话说得好，永远不要得罪漂亮的女孩子，因为她们未来的路谁也无法预料。
The clothes were well-fitting enough, a shirt and short skirt combo. She was also given a pair of leather shoes that were slightly too big. The manager came over to take a look and thought, ‘We likely can’t keep this girl. As the saying goes, never offend a pretty girl. Because no one can predict what kind of future they will have.’
她换好衣服出来的时候，有个高挑的漂亮女孩冲她翻了个大大的白眼，嘁了一声，神情不屑。
When she came out of the dressing room, a tall, pretty girl rolled her eyes at her. She tsked and looked disdainful.
杨绵绵在五分钟内已经了解到了她全部的信息，王露，二十三岁，三流大学毕业，在这里做服务员是为了找机会榜上大款，她也有这个资本，除了一张美丽的面孔外，她的胸围有D。
In just five minutes, Yang Mianmian had learned everything to know about her. Wang Lu, 23 years old, a graduate of a third-rate university who was working as a waitress here to get a chance to land herself a wealthy man. She also had the capability to, aside from a beautiful face, she also had a D-size bust.
那也难怪王露会对她有敌意了。
It was no wonder that Wang Lu was hostile towards her.
尤其是杨绵绵今天第一天上班，她原本存着看笑话的心态，谁想到杨绵绵比她想象中表现得更好。
Especially since it was Yang Mianmian’s first day at work today, she originally had the mindset of watching her make a fool of herself, but who would have thought that Yang Mianmian would work better than she expected.
她好像一点也不怯场，虽然是第一次用iPad，但学了一次就马上会用，客人在点菜的过程中也没有出现过任何纰漏。
She didn’t seem to be shy at all. Although it was her first time using the iPad, she learned how to use it right away after learning it once. She also never made a mistake in taking customer orders.
然而这一次，王露却抢先拿走了点菜的iPad，留给杨绵绵的在客人报第一个菜的时候就宣告没电关机了。
This time, however, Wang Lu took the iPad away, leaving Yang Mianmian with an iPad that died from lack of battery while taking a customer order.
点完菜回来的王露唇角微勾，不动声色地看了一眼杨绵绵。
Wang Lu who had just finished taking her customer order smirked subtly as she silently watched Yang Mianmian.
她把iPad递给总台的服务生：“没电了。”
She handed the iPad to the receptionist at the front desk: “It’s out of battery.”
“我充一下好了，”总台的服务小哥长得有些小帅，还没忘记问她，“菜你都点了吗？”
“I’ll charge it up,” the receptionist brother at the front desk was a little handsome, and he didn’t forget to ask her, “Were you done taking the order?”
“没有，”杨绵绵蹲在台子下面等iPad开机，“不过我记下了。”
“No,” Yang Mianmian crouched under the counter and waited for the iPad to turn on, “but I memorized it.”
“你可别记错了。”王露踩着高跟鞋过来，居高临下，“否则被客户投诉大家都要吃挂落。”
“You better not get something wrong.” Wang Lu stepped in with her high-heels and said condescendingly, “or else we’ll all have to suffer if a customer complains.”
杨绵绵抬眼看了她一眼，没有吱声，只是默默把点菜的软件打开，噼里啪啦把刚刚一长串的菜单输入了进去，分毫不差。
Yang Mianmian looked up at her without making a sound, just silently turned on the ordering software. It beeped as she entered the long list of food items without missing a beat.
大概是看目的没有达到，王露脸色一沉，转身就走了。
Probably because her purpose was not achieved, Wang Lu face fell and walked away.
旁边总台小哥坐着的椅子不禁说：“你要当心一点哦，她已经赶走过好几个女孩子了。”
The chair the receptionist brother was sitting in couldn’t help but say, “Be careful, she’s already driven away several girls.”
杨绵绵拍了拍它，示意不必担心。
Yang Mianmian patted it, signaling that there was no need to worry.
生活里充满了种种磨难，这对她而言，实在是算不了什么。
Life was full of trials and tribulations, and this was really nothing to her.
Previous Chapter ∞ Table of Content ∞ Next Chapter