Rural internet cafés generally aren’t very large, nor are they as clean and spacious as the ones in the city.
As soon as Jiang Ning entered, her gaze quickly fell on two teenagers in the corner who were engrossed in their game.
Two boys, one fat and one thin, still wearing a certain middle school uniform, were obviously underage at first glance.
Scanning the room, similarly dressed middle school students weren’t uncommon in the unobtrusive corners of this internet café.
The two boys were so absorbed in their game that they didn’t even notice two people standing behind them.
Instead, it was Li Hui, the internet café’s front desk employee, who saw this scene and hurried over.
Li Hui had noticed the two of them as soon as Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou had entered.
It wasn’t for any other reason, but these two were simply too attractive, with a remarkable presence. She had worked in this internet café for over a year and had never seen anyone as good looking or with such an impressive demeanor.
When they had come in, she had straightened her back, but since they didn’t speak to her, Li Hui didn’t find it strange.
In this small-town internet café, apart from those who came to go online, there were also those who came to find people.
Li Hui subconsciously categorized Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou as the latter.
Her gaze stayed on Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou, and seeing them stop in the corner, Li Hui’s heart tightened, and she hurried over.
Once she got closer, Li Hui realized that she had been too caught up in their impressive appearance to even notice that the young man had been holding a cell phone the entire time.
The cell phone’s screen was lit, and he was on a familiar page—one she often scrolled through on Douyin... Was he livestreaming?
Li Hui’s heart leaped.
She stepped forward nervously, intending to block Qi Xingzhou’s phone camera, "What are you here for?"
"We’re looking for someone," replied Jiang Ning, recognizing her from the front desk.
Li Hui breathed a sigh of relief. Looking for someone? That was fine, as long as it wasn’t internet celebrities.
But before she could fully relax, she heard Jiang Ning’s voice again, "This is an internet café, right?"
Jiang Ning looked around, "Why are there so many kids here?"
[What does Jiang Ning mean? Are there many kids going online here?]
[Impossible, right? Nowadays, you need an ID card for real-name registration to enter an internet café, minors aren’t allowed.]
[Naive, there’s nothing impossible. Especially in these economically backward rural internet cafés.]
[Right, my aunt was just complaining to my mom the other day, saying her son is hooked on gaming, even to the point of hating school and skipping classes to sneak into the internet café and play. He’s only 15 now.]
[Internet cafés in rural areas are actually quite chaotic; as long as you pay, the owners don’t care if you’re of age. But it won’t fly in big cities, one report and it’s all over. In small towns... as long as the relationships are good, authorities might turn a blind eye even if there’s a report.]
Faced with Jiang Ning’s question, Li Hui’s expression became momentarily stiff.
She collected herself and replied with feigned nonchalance, "These are all the classmates of our boss’s son. School’s out for the holiday today, and they’re just here to play, free of charge."
By law, minors are not allowed to enter internet cafés.
In earlier years, computers were a huge attraction, with internet cafés filled to capacity almost every day.
But as the economy and society have developed in recent years, people with even modest means can afford to buy a computer to play at home, and the number of adults coming to play in internet cafés has gradually decreased.
With the convenience of modern transportation, many young people from the towns had gone to work in the broader society, returning perhaps only two or three times a year, causing a drastic decrease in the local population. This made the internet cafe business extremely grim, and now, surprisingly, the largest group of customers ended up being the children from the town’s middle and high schools.
How could the owner give up such a major source of profit?
Li Hui quickly changed the subject, "You’re here looking for someone, right?... Are you looking for your little brother or sister or some other relative’s child? Tell me the name, and I’ll see if they’re here."
Jiang Ning spoke to Li Hui in a normal tone of voice, neither raising it deliberately nor intentionally lowering it.
The internet cafe wasn’t large, and aside from those wearing headphones, everyone else overheard the conversation between the two.
Some had already turned their heads curiously to look at Jiang Ning and Qi Xingzhou several times, and Li Hao, who was closest to Jiang Ning, was among them.
Li Hao had just finished a game, and originally, he hadn’t noticed two people standing behind him, but they were talking right behind him, and he wasn’t deaf.
And if he hadn’t heard wrong, it seemed like the owner of the female voice was being nosy?
What was wrong with minors in internet cafes?
Did it have anything to do with her?
Frowning, Li Hao subconsciously turned his head to see who was so annoying, but the next second, when he saw clearly who was standing behind him, Li Hao was instantly stunned.
As Jiang Ning’s gaze met Li Hao’s, looking at the shocked person, Jiang Ning’s face bore a smile that was not quite a smile, "Why so agitated? Recognize me?"
He hadn’t mistaken her!
Jiang Ning had come knocking on his door!
When had this person appeared behind him and his brother!
Right now, Li Hao had no desire to respond to Jiang Ning’s words, he even dared not meet her gaze.
Li Hao was incredibly flustered and quickly reached out to grab Li Mai, who was wearing headphones and was deeply immersed in his game, "Bro... stop playing."
He ripped the headphones off Li Mai’s head with one pull.
"What are you doing! Don’t touch me, I’m about to win this round!" Li Mai moved the mouse back and forth with one hand, rapidly typing on the keyboard with the other, his eyes glued to the game character on the computer screen, refusing to spare a glance to Li Hao despite being disturbed.
It was clear how absorbed he was in playing the game.
"Bro, stop playing, have a look behind," Li Hao kept tugging at him.
Due to his interference, the two game characters on the screen, which had been indecisively battling, quickly determined a winner.
"You’re crazy! What’s so interesting behind me!" Li Mai turned his head angrily, and then his impatient gaze directly met Jiang Ning’s.
At first glance at Jiang Ning, Li Mai hadn’t quite realized what was happening.
But soon after, he understood and recognized who was standing behind him.
Li Mai instantly threw down the keyboard and stood up from his stool.
"You, you’re Jiang Ning?" His eyes widened in disbelief.
Li Hao stood close beside his brother.
The two brothers looked at each other and almost simultaneously thought of the same thing, their complexion turning white as they spoke, "You’re not here to arrest us and put us in jail, are you? We know we were wrong, it was just ten yuan! We won’t dare to do it again."
"It’s me," Jiang Ning nodded, looking at the two brothers who were scared like quails, and added silently in her heart: but I’m not here to arrest you.