The day's lessons ended quickly.
School let out at six, and Lin Tian immediately rushed with Xu Yong to their part-time job.
This tea restaurant named "SWING," located just across the street from the school, was quite a well-known and popular dining spot.
Called a "tea restaurant," it was more like a blend of Hong Kong-style tea restaurants and afternoon tea cafes, offering dishes like roast duck platters and steak spaghetti, epitomizing an East-meets-West fusion. Decorated with artistic flair and furnished in a retro style, it attracted a younger demographic.
With an average cost of 70-80 per person, even though pricey, it was within an acceptable range, making it a go-to choice for students who wanted to enjoy a good meal once in a while.
Today was the restaurant's anniversary, so the place was bustling.
As soon as Lin Tian and Xu Yong arrived, they were rushed by Manager Wang to start their shift.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, you two, you're late today!"
"Get moving, no need to change into your uniforms, table 7 and 8 have guests, both of you quickly attend to them!!"
Without even finding a place to set down his backpack, Lin Tian swiftly picked up a notepad and navigated through the busy corridors.
Arriving at table number eight.
"Hello~ What would you ladies like to order?"
Lin Tian switched to work mode in a second, smiling at the two professionally dressed women.
"One Swiss double-wing rice plate, and one..."
The lady pondered over the menu with rapt attention.
However, her friend gently nudged her with an elbow under the table.
Whispering a reminder:
Perplexed, the lady raised her head and her eyes instantly sparkled upon seeing Lin Tian.
"Little brother, are you still in school?"
"You must be a high school student, right? Hey! Are you from the nearby Qingzhou No. 7 High School?"
"Being so handsome, you must have lots of girlfriends at school, huh?"
"Haha, sister, you flatter me."
Lin Tian did not shy away but instead flashed a bright smile,
"Our school doesn't allow dating."
"That makes sense. A hardworking and frugal good student like you wouldn't waste time on other things..." The lady openly admired him, her gaze unwaveringly fixed on Lin Tian's face, continuously complimenting him.
"Excuse me, what else would you ladies like?"
Lin Tian didn't bite the bait but redirected the topic back at just the right moment.
The lady then realized that she had been so engaged in the conversation that she hadn't finished ordering.
She quickly flipped through the menu.
"Let's also have a double cheese pineapple bun, one fried rice..."
"Our restaurant's fried chicken steak is a specialty, and it's only 38 yuan per serving."
"Okay, we'll have one of those."
"The iron-plate steak is also good, and it's just 89 yuan."
"Sure, put that down too."
Her friend hastily grabbed the lady's arm, a look of alarm on her face, "Just the two of us, we can't finish all that..."
"It's okay, it's okay."
With hands cupping her face, the lady looked at Lin Tian, her expression blooming like a flower,
"If we can't finish it, we'll leave it for the little brother to eat~"
"Let's go with that!"
Lin Tian took the menu and backed away with a smile.
Effortlessly, Lin Tian completed a big order.
For him, such scenarios had happened many times before.
With a handsome, attractive face and a height of over 1.80 meters, he was a high school student from a school nearby. As soon as school was out, he would come to such a high-class restaurant to work and save.
It was hard not to cause a stir, especially among women!
Female customers would often ask for Lin Tian's Douyin when ordering, but he would usually decline, citing a busy academic schedule and no time for social media.
Often, women would understand, merely sighing: What a good student!
Wishing they could have been born a few years later to meet someone like Lin Tian.
As for Lin Tian, he also enjoyed such situations.
The originally 30 yuan per hour job was raised to 40 an hour by the stingy Manager Wang due to Lin Tian's excellent performance.
In the restaurant, among part-time high school students, Lin Tian's wage was the highest.
Indeed, having a handsome face makes everything much easier in any line of work.
It beats washing feet for sure.
Each time, Xu Yong could only look on with envy.
Working the same amount of time but earning tens of yuan more!
The busiest hour—dinnertime rush—quickly passed.
Lin Tian and Xu Yong finally got a moment to rest, leaning against the wall.
Bored, Lin Tian scanned the restaurant and suddenly noticed that at the table where he had taken an order, two women were propping their phones on the table, waving their hands in front of the camera...
Like casting ninja jutsu.
Out of curiosity, Lin Tian nudged Xu Yong beside him.
"What are they doing over there?"
Following his gaze, Xu Yong quickly knew the answer,
"Isn't that shooting a Douyin video! It must be the popular hand gesture dance that's been trending recently!"
"Yeah!" Xu Yong, as if suddenly recalling something, said, "Right, I forgot you don't like scrolling through Douyin."
"Douyin is like a national app nowadays! Our Qingzhou has been promoting itself as an internet celebrity city for the past two years. When you walk around the streets, you'll see people filming Douyin everywhere."
"Those two ladies won't make it, they don't have good figures. They can only rely on high beauty filters and show their upper bodies while making hand gestures. The really capable ones would have started shaking their hips already!"
"Just this stuff, no idea how many people who used to wash feet are now reemployed online..."
Listening to Xu Yong's rather coarse comments, Lin Tian stroked his chin, contemplating.
"Does Douyin have videos of playing musical instruments, like piano performances?"
Lin Tian suddenly wondered.
He knew that there were many such videos on Bilibili.
But for a short video platform like Douyin, he really wasn't too familiar with it.
"Of course! There are loads of them!"
Once it came to this topic, Xu Yong got excited,
"For instance, there's this pianist, who only shows his lower half in the videos, and always from a top-down angle, focusing right on the keys! Man, that's really flirty! Not looking at it for one day, you lose virtue. Not for two days, you lose lots of virtue..."
If Lin Tian wasn't mistaken, the person Xu Yong was talking about also had an account on Bilibili.
But he didn't think it was as exaggerated as Xu Yong described.
The perspective of a Tieba user might differ from the average person.
But speaking of pianos...
Lin Tian suddenly noticed.
The piano in the center of the restaurant, usually surrounded by fake flowers for decoration, had its cover lifted.
Pointing at the piano on the stage, Lin Tian asked Xu Yong beside him.
"You mean the piano?"
"It's the anniversary today, isn't it normal to open it..."
"Probably they don't want to pay for a pianist and letting the guests who can play do it themselves. You know how stingy that idiot manager is."
Lin Tian stared intently at the piano, deep in thought.
Noticing Lin Tian's unusual look, Xu Yong turned his face, puzzled, towards Lin Tian.
And then glanced at the piano on the stage.
Suddenly, his expression became amused, and he said with a smile,
"Hey, you're not thinking of playing it, are you?"
Lin Tian didn't respond but continued to stare at the piano.
This time, Xu Yong's expression turned into one of shock.
"Hey, hey! You can't be serious?! Don't gross me out, you didn't just watch some 'Simple yet Pretentious Piano Music—Easy Fingering Tutorial' online and want to give it a try, did you?"
"You can't trust those videos!"
Ignoring Xu Yong, Lin Tian made his way through the bustling aisle and headed straight for the piano.