BH (QT) – Phoenix Man (4)

Chapter 4 – Phoenix Man (4) *edited

That evening, Yan Jingze managed to find a part-time job at an off-campus tutoring institution, teaching elementary school kids programming.

In recent years, computers had become popular, and Yan Jingze knew that learning computer skills could lead to big money. In big cities, it was even more common for parents to enroll their young children in programming classes.

At the tutoring institution, Yan Jingze was responsible for one-on-several programming teaching, guiding three to five children at a time, earning fifty yuan per hour.

He worked two hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings and four hours each on Saturday and Sunday, totaling twelve hours per week, earning six hundred yuan. Additionally, if he could bring in new students or have his current students renew their classes, he could get a twenty percent commission from that.

It was a pretty good part-time job, and Yan Jingze’s status as a student at A University’s computer science department played a role in securing it.

Although the original owner had only studied computer programming for a few months, Yan Jingze felt confident about handling this position, especially after looking through the teaching materials. Teaching kids was simple; he could understand it at a glance.

With the part-time job secured, Yan Jingze also started to improve his computer skills as much as possible.

Looking back a decade or so, anyone who studied computer science could find a decent job after graduation, but things had changed. Only those with excellent skills would have an easy time finding good jobs, and for those lacking in skills, it would be challenging to find a decent job after graduation.

Moreover, Yan Jingze wasn’t content with just any good job. He had a partner, and he was determined to make money to ensure a good life for them.

Thus, Yan Jingze made up his mind to study hard.

Of course, before that, he wanted to visit Jiang Pingxiu.

The part-time job on weekends was from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM and 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. However, on this day, Yan Jingze set off early and first went to the supermarket.

He bought a big bag of snacks and then went to the wholesale clothing market, purchasing some men’s clothing.

He had thought about buying clothes at the supermarket, but they were too expensive for him. He didn’t have that much money.

When he arrived at the car wash, it was already noon, and Jiang Pingxiu was washing a car.

The place had automatic car washing equipment, but someone still had to clean the inside of the cars and wipe them dry. When Yan Jingze arrived, Jiang Pingxiu was busy with these tasks alongside another worker, Xiao Zhang.

In the middle of winter, the not-yet-adult teenager was dressed in a blue work uniform, tirelessly working without a moment’s rest. His hands were red and swollen from the cold, icy water…

Yan Jingze couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable witnessing this scene, but fortunately, the car was soon cleaned, and the car owner drove away.

Xiao Zhang went to smoke at the side, and Jiang Pingxiu placed the rag back into the bucket, preparing to wash again. Suddenly, there were two more hands in the bucket. When he looked up, he saw Yan Jingze, and he was completely taken aback.

Yan Jingze didn’t pay attention to him and started washing the rag directly.

“Brother Jingze…” Jiang Pingxiu wanted to come over and take over.

“I’ll wash it. You go wash your hands.” Yan Jingze stopped Jiang Pingxiu.

“Brother…”

“Good boy, listen to me,” Yan Jingze said.

Jiang Pingxiu was amazed to hear his brother calling him “good boy”…

Feeling a bit dizzy, Jiang Pingxiu went to wash his hands as instructed.

Yan Jingze continued washing the rag and just finished when he noticed a middle-aged man in his forties looking at him with surprise. “Are you Jiang Pingxiu’s brother?”

“Yes,” Yan Jingze smiled at the man.

Master Chen looked at Yan Jingze, feeling somewhat astonished.

Jiang Pingxiu was good-looking, and he had mentioned that his brother was handsome too, so Master Chen had prepared himself to meet another handsome guy. However, he never expected Jiang Pingxiu’s brother to be this good-looking.

Not only was he good-looking, but he also had an aura that made people believe he was a young master from some wealthy family, no matter where he stood.

Master Chen thought he shouldn’t be holding a rag like that.

Wait a minute, could he be just as clueless as Jiang Pingxiu? How could someone with such a dignified appearance let his brother live in such a state? It didn’t make sense.

Master Chen’s brows furrowed slightly.

“In these past few months, thank you for taking care of Pingxiu,” Yan Jingze sincerely said.

According to the original host’s memories, Jiang Pingxiu’s colleagues had treated him fairly well and had even lent him money. Unfortunately, later on, Jiang Pingxiu left the car wash because he needed more money for his grandmother’s treatment and the expenses kept piling up.

The dissatisfaction that had just risen in Master Chen suddenly disappeared. “Cough, I didn’t do much,” he initially had a bad impression of Yan Jingze, but now, seeing him like this, he couldn’t help but doubt if he had misunderstood this person.

At this moment, Jiang Pingxiu came out.

He had washed his hands, but there was still some stubborn black grease that wouldn’t come off. He hid his hands behind his back and looked carefully at Yan Jingze, “Brother, why… why did you come to see me?”

“I was too busy recently and couldn’t keep up with school progress, so I didn’t have the chance to come see you. Now that I have some free time, I came,” Yan Jingze explained, “I brought you some food and clothes…”

“Brother, I don’t need them. You… you should keep them for yourself.”

“I have plenty of clothes. These are for you, and you must remember to wear them, okay?” Yan Jingze lowered his voice, “If you don’t wear them, it means you don’t like me, and I’ll be upset.”

Jiang Pingxiu blushed, “I like…”

“I know,” Yan Jingze said, “You should dress a bit nicer, and I’ll like you even more.”

Jiang Pingxiu’s face turned even redder.

Yan Jingze continued, “I also brought some snacks for you. Remember to eat them… I’ll come again next week, and if you haven’t finished the snacks by then, I won’t come to see you anymore.”

Eating too many snacks wasn’t good for a child, but for someone like Jiang Pingxiu, who had never really had any snacks before, eating a little wouldn’t be a problem.

Of course, Yan Jingze said this just because he was afraid that Jiang Pingxiu would be reluctant to eat them.

“I’ll definitely finish them,” Jiang Pingxiu replied without hesitation, almost wanting to jump for joy – Yan Jingze was coming to see him again next week!

Seeing Jiang Pingxiu like this, Yan Jingze really wanted to pat his head affectionately, but he didn’t have time as he had to go to his part-time job. He could only say, “Pingxiu, I have something to do now. I’ll come to see you next week.”

Jiang Pingxiu nodded, eagerly watching Yan Jingze leave.

Yan Jingze walked briskly; he was eager to start earning money.

Jiang Pingxiu was only sixteen years old, and at his age, he should be studying at school.

On that day, Yan Jingze arrived at the tutoring center early and studied programming books. He continued learning throughout the following week.

Then he realized that his brain was indeed quite sharp. At least for the first-year courses, he quickly understood them all. He even managed to self-study the second and third-year courses with ease.

Moreover, he found an online forum where he could take up some programming jobs.

There were various tasks available there, some quite legitimate, where certain companies outsourced programming work, and others were less lawful, like creating cheats for games.

Yan Jingze avoided the illegal ones and accepted a few simple outsourcing projects.

As a newcomer, he could only get relatively mundane tasks, which were tedious and didn’t pay much.

Yet, he still took them on, working diligently, and seeking help from others whenever he encountered difficulties.

Even if it took him a lot of time and effort, and he could only earn a few hundred yuan in the end, it was still money.

While Yan Jingze was busy with work, on the other side, Jiang Pingxiu had already changed into the brand-new clothes Yan Jingze had bought for him, a complete set.

He also tried some snacks he had never eaten before.

Jiang Pingxiu had been an orphan since he was little, and he was timid and introverted. He couldn’t remember when the children in the village started bullying him, always taunting him for being effeminate. Whenever he managed to collect some pigweed, they would snatch it all away. If he carried a bucket of water home, someone would knock it over. Even while walking on the road, he would get pushed down.

Because of this, his courage dwindled, and he hardly dared to talk to anyone. Even when he did speak, he stammered a bit.

Perhaps the boldest thing he had ever done in his life was buying a backpack and giving it to Yan Jingze as a gift.

Yan Jingze had never bullied him; in fact, he had defended him from the bullies before! Moreover, Yan Jingze was so intelligent and good-looking, truly an unattainable existence for him… he always wanted to give Yan Jingze the best.

He knew that Yan Jingze didn’t like him that much, but it was entirely reasonable. He wasn’t likable anyway…

But now, Yan Jingze was holding his hand, buying him clothes, and snacks.

Could it be that Yan Jingze liked him a little bit?

After coming to the car wash, Jiang Pingxiu was hesitant to initiate conversations with others, but recently, he dared to.

During his free time, Jiang Pingxiu always moved closer to Xiao Zhang and said, “Brother Zhang, thermal clothes is so warm. I’ve never worn such warm clothes before.”

A while later, he would go to Master Chen and say, “Uncle Chen, I had sausages today, and there were even corn kernels inside. They were so delicious.”

He even found the courage to talk to Brother Wang, whom he had always been afraid of, “Brother Wang, my brother said he’ll come to see me next week.”

He repeated it several times, even if he had a piece of candy in his mouth, he would be happy for the whole afternoon.

Others: …The clothes and snacks that Yan Jingze brought him were really just ordinary!

Master Chen was helpless, “My son doesn’t even like those snacks anymore, and he wouldn’t wear such clothes even if you paid him. He’s picky about brands when buying shoes!”

Brother Wang and Xiao Zhang nodded in agreement.

But seeing Jiang Pingxiu so happy, they didn’t have the heart to dampen his spirits. Though they used to assign him tasks, they now felt reluctant to do so – the poor kid had been through a lot, and they didn’t want to exploit him anymore!

However, as they stopped giving Jiang Pingxiu tasks, he became as energetic as if he had injected chicken blood. He volunteered to do the work, and his whole demeanor changed.

After his brother came to see him once, he seemed like a completely different person!

In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and Yan Jingze went to see Jiang Pingxiu again.

Dressed in clean new clothes, Jiang Pingxiu looked much better, and his eyes sparkled with more light.

This time, Yan Jingze brought him some toiletries, face cream, hand cream, and even a smartphone.

By now, almost everyone had a smartphone, but Jiang Pingxiu only had a second-hand, brick phone he bought for ten yuan.

For kids his age, using a brick phone was unheard of. Yan Jingze had wanted to buy him a smartphone earlier, but he didn’t have the money then. Now that he had earned some money from his part-time job, he finally had some spare cash to buy Jiang Pingxiu a smartphone.

A smartphone that cost six hundred yuan might not appeal to many kids, but Jiang Pingxiu was extremely delighted and didn’t dare to touch it at first.

That day, Yan Jingze arrived at the car wash early and spent the morning teaching Jiang Pingxiu how to use the phone. He also helped install various apps and added him as a friend.

Before leaving, he instructed, “I have classes most of the time, so I might not be able to answer calls. You can send me messages, and I’ll check them after class.”

Yan Jingze genuinely liked Jiang Pingxiu, but unfortunately, he was too poor and embarrassed to visit him often.

However, they could communicate more through their phones and get to know each other first.

After meeting Jiang Pingxiu, Yan Jingze returned and immersed himself in his work once again.

On the other side, Jiang Pingxiu excitedly approached Xiao Zhang, “Brother Zhang, my brother bought me a new phone!”

Xiao Zhang: …What’s the big deal about a six-hundred-yuan phone! He uses one that costs several thousand!

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11 thoughts on “BH (QT) – Phoenix Man (4)

  1. Silly child, those snacks and warm clothes are what you should’ve deserved a long time ago😢

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