Xiao Yu spread a blanket over his sofa as Yu Yan slipped off her shoes and took off her jacket. Xiao Yu had lent his room to Yu Yan and now he was sleeping on the sofa. The two didn't say anything once they arrived home and Xiao Yu wanted to keep it like that. He wasn't ready to answer any of Yu Yan's questions if she was even bothered to ask them.

As he set a pillow down, Yu Yan approached him, "Lend me a shirt," she said and Xiao Yu agreed. He entered his room and rummaged through his draws and brought out a light blue t-shirt and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she took it and Xiao Yu turned to leave. "Wait," she ordered and Xiao Yu's eyes widened.
"Yeah?" he said slowly.
"You're acting suspicious," she replied.
"How so?" he asked, nervous.
"That day you didn't come into school, it was because of your aunt right?" When Xiao Yu didn't deny it, she continued, "What's this all about you giving her money and leaving Zhong Ji Yi Ban?"
Xiao Yu remained silent for a few seconds as he tried to think of an excuse, "Oh, well you see... I have to start paying my own tuition fees or I'll have to leave Zhong Ji Yi Ban," he said, trying not to sound too unnatural.
"Why can't your aunt pay them anymore?" Yu Yan questioned.
"She... she lost her job," Xiao Yu replied. He looked at Yu Yan's face before she shrugged.
"Alright, I don't buy it but I'll accept it for now," she admitted, "Now get out, I need to change."
 

~*~*~
 

"Xiao Yu!!!" Da Dong excitedly hopped onto his sofa as Ya Se entered his flat.
Xiao Yu looked up at him as Yu Yan listened to music on her mp3 player, "What?"
"Egomaniac wanted to watch you at work so we came along to go with you and show some support." Ya Se explained, "But I never thought Jiang Yu Yan would be here too."
Da Dong looked at Yu Yan who was comfortably sitting on the sofa with her feet up. He chuckled, "Yeah, if I didn't know better I would've thought Yu Yan lived with you!"

Although he laughed, Yu Yan threw a cushion at his face. Xiao Yu smiled and slipped on his jacket. He handed one to Yu Yan, "Come on, if you're going to bother me at my part-time job let's go," he said as he walked out towards the door.
Yu Yan groaned, "Do I have to?"
"Yes, I can keep an eye on you like that," Xiao Yu replied. She groaned and dragged her feet behind him.

"You two seem to have gotten close," Ya Se commented as they walked down the street.
"Don't all friends get close?" Xiao Yu asked.
"What?! You're friends?" Da Dong exclaimed and turned to Yu Yan, "No fair! Why aren't we friends?"
Ya Se chuckled, "Yu Yan and I are friends too," he added.
Da Dong's eyes widened and he playfully shook Yu Yan, "Yu Yan~! You've acknowledged these two as your friends but not me?! I'm the fearless leader of Zhong Ji Yi Ban!" he whined.
"Wei!" Yu Yan barked at him, causing him to stop shaking her. She then looked at him blankly, "Didn't you say we were brothers?"

A grin grew on his face and he fist bumped her before swinging his arm over her shoulders. "Haha!" he exclaimed, "The four of us all bros! Isn't that cool?"
"Bros?" Xiao Yu repeated and looked over at Yu Yan.
Ya Se snorted, "A fearless leader but a stupid one," he commented.
"Weiii~" Da Dong laughed.

"Xiao Yu! You're here!" A lady smiled once the four friends entered a small restaurant.
"Good afternoon, Boss," Xiao Yu greeted, "These are my friends," he said and gestured to them.
"Hello," both Ya Se and Da Dong greeted simultaneously.
"Hi," Yu Yan muttered.
"Aw hello! I'm Xiang Ke Ning, I'm the boss of this small restaurant," she explained as the two boys looked around.
"What a cute little place," Ya Se commented.
Xiao Yu headed behind the counter, "I'm getting to work now, don't cause too much trouble," he said as he tied on an apron.
"Us cause trouble?" Da Dong repeated, "No way! How's that possible?" Da Dong denied bashfully with a grin. Yu Yan rolled her eyes.

Yu Yan sat with Ya Se and Da Dong at a booth and they all hid behind their menus as they whispered between themselves. Xiao Yu sighed when he looked at them as he was serving someone. His day was going to be a tough one.

As if on cue, Da Dong shot up his arm, "Waiter!" he called out. As Xiao Yu walked over, he whipped on rice hat and looked at him with a serious expression.
"What do you want?" he hissed at them.

"Xiao Yu, they're your customers, treat them nicely!" he heard his boss shout.

Xiao Yu then exhaled and put on a smile, "May I take your order sir?" he asked politely.
"Yes you may little waiter," Da Dong replied in a posh Chinese accent, "I'd like your Ma Po Tofu please!"
Xiao Yu wrote it down and turned to Yu Yan. "And you, Miss?"

Yu Yan revealed her face from behind the menu, revealing small black reading glasses sitting on her face as well as a curly grey wig on her head. Xiao Yu gave her a weird look. "Did I say I wanted to order?" Yu Yan asked innocently, imitating the voice of an old person. She scratched her head before facing him, "I'm sorry, I have random lapses of amnesia and can't remember anything!" she laughed heartily before turning to Ya Se who was still hidden behind his menu. Xiao Yu dead panned at his friends who had turned into complete weirdoes.

"Timothy, dear," Yu Yan began and put a hand on Ya Se's shoulder, "Do you remember if and what I wanted to order?" she asked, continuing with her old people's voice.
Ya Se then put down his menu, revealing a top hat and black suit. He was dressed as an old styled Englishman with a grey moustache and monocular. Xiao Yu rolled his eyes. Ya Se turned to Yu Yan, "Dear mother, I cannot recall any such words therefore I believe you were not ready to order," he replied in English in a typical British accent.
Yu Yan nodded understandingly before shooing Xiao Yu away with her hand, "I want to continue browsing through this menu!" she announced.
"It's upside down," Xiao Yu replied before Yu Yan pulled him down to eye level by grabbing his shirt.
"The customer is always right," she whispered before pushing him backwards and covering her face with the upside down menu.

When Xiao Yu was about a metre away, Yu Yan yelled, "Waiter!!" When another waiter came to their table, Yu Yan pushed him away and yanked Xiao Yu over to their table.
Xiao Yu, who was transferring a tray of empty plates to the kitchen, stumbled over to the table. "Yu Yan, what's wrong? I'm not the only waiter here!" he told her.
Yu Yan scowled, "What terrible customer service!" she exclaimed loudly, causing all eyes to be on her and Xiao Yu. "Can you not see that I am an elderly lady who needs a walking stick to walk? How can you make me walk over to you to get your attention? And how dare you address me like I am familiar with you?!"
Xiao Yu gritted his teeth, "Your wig is falling off," he muttered.
"I want to speak you your manager!" Yu Yan yelled as a result, "How dare you accuse me of faking my identity?!" Her volume became louder as she waved her finger at him.

Xiao Yu sighed, giving up. He put the tray of plates down and put his hands on Yu Yan's shoulder and sat her down. "Okay, okay, okay. Keep your voice down, I'll take your order okay?" he spoke to her pleadingly as he brought out his notepad and pen. "What would you like, Miss?" he asked her as he exhaled.
Yu Yan then turned to Ya Se, "Thomas dear, what did I want to eat again?" she asked loudly.
Xiao Yu dead panned, really not impressed.
"I thought my name was Timothy?" Ya Se replied in Chinese.
"Whatever Tyler," Yu Yan answered with a shrug.
Xiao Yu stood there impatiently, waiting for Yu Yan to order. Ya Se leaned over and whispered in her ear and she nodded.

"Little rude waiter," Yu Yan cleared and resumed with her old and screechy voice, "Get me some beef noodles!"
"Anything else?" Xiao Yu asked as he scribbled it down on his notepad and he turned to Ya Se, "Sir would you like to order?"
"That'll be all! Now chop chop, don't keep an old lady waiting!" Yu Yan clapped her hands, impatiently.
"I'm sorry; I don't understand your language!" Ya Se spoke up in English and Xiao Yu titled his head in confusion. "Ah, let me try and get my message through to you," Ya Se said as a result, "'Me no understand-o Chinese-o',"he said slowly in English.

Xiao Yu sighed, "How long do you plan to keep up with your stupid act?" he asked them.
"Boss Xiang, a waiter of yours is being a little rude over here!" Da Dong exclaimed, waving at Xiao Yu's boss.
"Do you want me to get fired?" Xiao Yu hissed before he smiled brightly when his boss arrived at their table. "I'll pass on your orders to the chef now," he smiled at them before his boss walked away. Before Xiao Yu could leave, Yu Yan stopped him.
"How dare you leave when I haven't finished my order?!" she snapped at him.

"But I thought you said-" Yu Yan cut Xiao Yu off.
"You thought!" she exclaimed before she picked up the menu and then putting it down, "I don't want any vegetables in my beef noodles," she said.
"Is that all?" Xiao Yu asked as he wrote it down.
"And be a dear and remove the beef," she added.
Xiao Yu raised a brow, "So you just want plain noodles?"
Yu Yan snapped her fingers, "That's right! Plain noodles - that's what I wanted!"
Xiao Yu nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Yu Yan called out to him, "What did I just order?!"
"Plain noodles, Miss." Xiao Yu replied.
"I want beef noodles!" Yu Yan exclaimed, "What are you still doing here? I thought I told you this ages ago?"

Xiao Yu sighed, trying to ignore his popping vein in his forehead. Da Dong then spoke up, "Young man! May I know where my food is? I have been waiting for three hours already!"
Xiao Yu looked over at the clock, "It only been half an hour," he replied.
"If I said it's been three hours then it's been three hours!" Da Dong barked before he clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Youngsters these days are so disrespectful," he muttered but loud enough for the people surrounding him to hear.
Xiao Yu bowed slightly, "I apologise, your food will be ready in a few minutes."

"Waiter, I'd like to order!" Ya Se exclaimed as soon as Xiao Yu turned to leave. Xiao Yu took in a deep breath as he tried to restrain himself from whacking his friends across their heads.
"What would you like, Sir?" Xiao Yu asked in English.
Ya Se frowned and then turned to Yu Yan, "Look here mother, these commoners are looking down on a foreigner like me and think I don't know how to speak their language!" he exclaimed in a loud voice in Chinese.
"Geoffrey dear, do you want to go elsewhere? A place where we aren't discriminated against?" Yu Yan asked in a raised tone.
Da Dong nudged her and whispered, "Wasn't it 'Timothy'?"
Yu Yan hit his arm, "Shut up!" she hissed at him.

Eyes were glued to their table and Xiao Yu felt the eyes of his boss staring holes into the back of his head. He sighed, "What do you want to order?" he asked calmly in Chinese, trying to keep his composure.
"I want something refreshing," Ya Se told him.
"That's not very specific," Xiao Yu muttered.
"Then give me some recommendations then!" he demanded.
Xiao Yu rolled his eyes and picked up the menu to have a look. "We have a variety of desserts," he explained, "Our almond jelly and douhua is-"
"I never asked for a list of your desserts," Ya Se snapped, "I want something cold."
"Ice cream?" Xiao Yu suggested.
"Something that's healthy!" Ya Se added.
"Watermelon?" Xiao Yu asked.
"Something in liquid form," Ya Se continued.
An angry tick mark formed on Xiao Yu's forehead and his eyes widened in irritation, "Please be specific," he said through gritted teeth.
"I want something that is refreshing, cold, is healthy and is in liquid form! I don't care what it is," Ya Se huffed.
"How about cold soup?" Xiao Yu replied.
"It must have little to no calories!" Ya Se stated.
"I'll get you a glass of cold water then," Xiao Yu grumbled as he walked away.
"Ah! A glass of water! Perfect!" Ya Se beamed brightly.

The rest of Xiao Yu's shift was just filled with his friends causing him trouble and constantly ordering things.

"Waiter! I want some bubble tea!"
"Get me some coconut pudding!"

"I'd like a pizza!"
"I'm sorry we don't serve pizza-"
"BOSS!"
"Okay okay, I'll see what the chef can make!"

"Two servings of stinky tofu over here!"
"Three servings of dumplings too!"
"Waiter!”
“I want chocolate ice cream!"
 

"Get me some spring rolls, waiter!"
"I'm sorry this restaurant is self service"
"Xiao Yu! They're our customers!"
"I apologise, I'll take your order right away."

“Waiter, over here!”
"Haven't you ordered enough?!" Xiao Yu asked.
Xiang Ke Ning put her hand on his shoulder, "Xiao Yu, remember to serve our customers," she smiled at him. A tired sigh escaped his lips.

"Waiter, tell the chef I want four servings of fried rice!"
"Little waiter, fetch me a new pair of chopsticks please!"
"Oh dear! I just spilt my water on the floor! How clumsy of me!"

After a tiring shift of work, Xiao Yu took off his apron and collapsed into the empty seat beside Ya Se. "I'm banning you three from ever setting foot in here again," he announced with an exhausting yawn.
Xiang Ke Ning came up to them, "Xiao Yu, don't be so mean! It was so much fun seeing you run around every second!" she laughed before turning to his friends, "You're welcome to return and terrorise him again!" She winked and left them.

Xiao Yu grumbled, "I've had it with you three," he sighed, "I hope you enjoyed yourself whilst you exhausted me!" he complained.
Yu Yan laughed and stuffed a spoon of noodles into his mouth, "Can't you take a joke?" she mocked, "Cheer up," she smiled before laughing.
After swallowing, Xiao Yu looked at Yu Yan with a reply on the tip of his tongue. But he swallowed those words when Yu Yan ate with that same spoon. "You just... shared your spoon with me?" he muttered, "What about germs?"
Yu Yan shrugged, "I really can't be bothered to care about sharing germs like this with others. The three of us have been eating out of each other's plates this whole time - we're bros aren't we, so what's the problem?" she asked as she slurped on her bubble tea.

Xiao Yu didn't say anything and just laughed. He was too tired to even speak to these weirdoes. He picked up some chopsticks and began helping himself to the buffet they had ordered.

"Hey Yu Yan, what do you want to eat now?" Da Dong asked as he munched down on some uneaten spring rolls.
"You still want more?!" Xiao Yu burst out dumbfounded.
"I think I want...a...." Yu Ya paused in thought, "little fish."
Upon hearing 'little fish', Xiao Yu spat his bubble tea back into the glass, Da Dong choked on his spring roll and Ya Se accidentally cut his finger with his table knife.

Confused, Yu Yan gave them weird looks, "What?" she questioned, "I just want to eat a little bit of fish, do you guys have a problem with that?"
Realisation washed over the three boys and they burst out into long "Oohhhh"s and then into awkward laughs. "What did you think I meant?!" Yu Yan snapped before her eyelids widened in understanding. "You thought I wanted to eat him?!" she questioned as she laughed and pointed in Xiao Yu's direction. "You're such idiots!" she continued to laugh as Xiao Yu blushed in embarrassment.