After school, I wandered around the bustling commercial street with An Lisi. It is filled with various snack shops, cafes, department stores, clothing stores, and electronics stores. It can be called a gathering of consumerism, a shopping paradise. There is a constant flow of people here, but it is not Japan's Akihabara or Hong Kong, just a bustling area in the city center. However, being in this bustling area does not bring me joy because the downside of such a place is the crowdedness. The atmosphere of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds is overwhelming. It is not a wise decision to come here during this time when a large number of students and office workers are ending their day of study and work. Although the sun is about to set, it is difficult to dissipate the heat it has emitted throughout the day. I really want to go home and feel the coolness brought by the air conditioning.

The scorching heat has dampened my spirits, and being squeezed by the crowd is making me feel flattened. I looked behind me but couldn't find An Lisi's figure. "Hey, An Lisi," I called out. Although she is not a child, she is not familiar with this area. It would be troublesome if we got separated. While pushing away the obstructing crowd, I anxiously searched for her. No matter how I called out her name, there was no response, but the voices of these people were obviously drowning out my voice.

"This is troublesome," I thought as I scratched my head. Suddenly, I remembered my phone. I can ask An Lisi about her current location through email. Without hesitation, I sent a message: "Where are you, An Lisi?"

Not long after, An Lisi replied: "I'm standing at a store called Love Book. Where are you, Big Brother You?"

"You stay there, I'll come find you immediately," I replied, and rushed to Love Book. When I arrived, I saw An Lisi anxiously looking around at the entrance of the store. "An Lisi," I called out.

"Big Brother You!" An Lisi happily ran towards me.

"How did you end up here?" This place is at least a hundred meters away from the street we were just on.

"Because there were too many people, I couldn't tell the direction. I'm sorry, Big Brother You," An Lisi's face almost showed signs of tears.

"There were indeed too many people, so just stick with me. Let's not get separated again," I said as I started walking forward.

"Big Brother You!"

"Yes?"

When she called me, I turned around. At this moment, she was very close to me. I instinctively wanted to keep my distance, but a soft feeling replaced my reaction.

"What are you doing, suddenly holding my hand?" I made a strange sound the next second.

"This way, we won't get separated, right? Hehehe," An Lisi laughed cheerfully.

"Damn it, are you a child?" I couldn't help but say.

"I... is it not allowed?" An Lisi once again showed that pitiful expression, trying to completely break my defense.

"It's not allowed!" I can't tolerate this anymore.

"Eh? Why not?"

"Because if people see us like this, being so intimate, they might misunderstand. What if they think we're a couple?" An Lisi's expression suddenly changed. At this moment, I felt like I was staring into an abyss.

"J... just kidding," I could only curse myself in my heart for why I said that in the first place. But there was no other way, should I try telling her the truth?

"What? It was just a joke? Big Brother You, you're so mean," An Lisi immediately regained her smile.

"An Lisi..."

"Hmm?"

"What would you think if... I said that 'I like you' was a lie?"

"Then I'll stab you, Yu gege."

"Huh?!" After hearing that, I shivered uncontrollably. An Lisi's expression didn't seem like she was joking at all.

"Oh, I was just joking again."

"Today isn't April Fool's Day, right? Yu gege, you love to joke around," An Lisi said with a slightly reproachful tone.

"Well, because it's not April Fool's Day, and sometimes I also want to joke around but don't have anyone to joke with... hehehe." I suppressed my fear and forced a smile.

"I see..." An Lisi smiled warmly.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like it would take some time to explain this to An Lisi. If I forcefully told her now, I would definitely end up dead on the street. But if that happened... Thinking about my current situation, am I playing both sides? If I'm exposed, I'll face public scrutiny and a gruesome fate. That's not the outcome I want. I'm really stuck now.

"What's wrong, Yu gege? You look so worried."

"Ah... It's nothing. Let's find you a job as soon as possible." Saying that, I led An Lisi to the street with more dining options.

There were bars, ramen shops, bakeries, and cafes here. It should be easier to find work in these types of places.

"Excuse me, could you take a look at this? It's a new product recently introduced by this cafe," a maid outfit-clad girl suddenly handed me a flyer that showcased the promotional package and new products of the 'love' maid cafe.

"Wow, it's so pretty." An Lisi's eyes sparkled as she looked at the girl in the maid outfit distributing flyers.

"Yeah, it's really pretty. An Lisi would look just as beautiful wearing it."

"Really?" An Lisi showed an longing expression.

"Then let's work at the cafe." Since An Lisi likes maid outfits, let's work at this maid cafe. This solves one problem, right?

"Can we?"

"Of course. Working at a maid cafe should be easy." After saying that, I went to ask the girl who handed out the flyers.

"Um... I wanted to ask, is your cafe still hiring?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't need men."

"It's not me... it's her." I brought An Lisi to the front, and she seemed hesitant.

"It's alright. Is she willing to do this job?"

Since it's completely up to her, I couldn't make decisions for An Lisi without her consent. I looked at An Lisi, waiting for her answer.

"Will Yu gege come with me?" An Lisi asked with a slightly worried expression.

"Accompanying you at work may not be possible, but I will see you start working," I responded.

"Have you considered it?" the girl interrupted.

"Yes, please... please take care of us." An Lisi finally agreed.

"Then let me take you to meet our manager. The cafe has been very busy lately, so we're really short-staffed." The girl led us to 'love' maid cafe, where a group of people in maid outfits greeted us with "Welcome home, master, miss."

It's my first time in a maid cafe too, and the atmosphere is indeed different.

"Manager!" the girl called out to the counter.

"What's the matter?" A silver-haired, somewhat gentle-looking older sister came over.

"Someone applied."

"Him?" The big sister pointed at me.

"I only wanted to be a customer here, I never thought about working here."

"Is that so? I also need a strong man for heavy work."

"Oh, really?"

"Just kidding, I only hire cute maids."

Damn it, I knew it, she was clearly playing with me.

"It should be this young lady..." The big sister turned her gaze towards An Lisi, who avoided eye contact.

"That's fine, let's hire her."

"Manager, did you hire her?"

"Yeah," the big sister smiled and walked back to the counter. It was so casual to hire someone with just a glance, but it's a good thing there weren't any tricks involved.

"How should I address you? I'm Yiyue."

"An... An Lisi," An Lisi answered nervously.

"Since you just started working, I'll help you get familiar with everything. Let's change into the uniform first."

"U-uncle You, come with me," An Lisi looked uneasy.

"Alright then," I really wanted to go back.

"Men are not allowed," before I took a few steps, someone named Yiyue stopped me.

"What's wrong?"

"This is the staff-only area for men."

"Oh, I see," I took a step back. "An Lisi, you go with her."

"But... Uncle You..."

"I'll go get something to drink, don't worry, I won't leave."

An Lisi was still a bit hesitant, but she followed Yiyue into the staff-only area.

Next, although I wanted to go home, I had to fulfill my promise, so I found a seat and sat down.

"Master, what would you like to order?" a maid holding a menu walked over and asked with a smile.

Master... It's the first time someone called me that, and it's a bit exciting.

"Cough, give me a cup of black tea."

"Black tea... Alright, anything else you need?" the maid wrote it down and continued asking.

"No, that's all."

"Then please wait a moment, Master," the maid said and walked away. On another note, I haven't had Alice's brewed black tea in a while. Things were going smoothly, so I probably wouldn't be going to the principal's office anymore. Plus, I didn't want to have too much contact with Alice, as I didn't want to be burdened with any more rumors.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a few minutes later, the black tea was served, with a color resembling amber.

"Please enjoy," the maid respectfully bowed and then walked away. I picked up the teacup and took a sip. Well, it's bitter at first but becomes sweet afterwards, similar to Alice's brewed black tea.

Feeling the familiar taste once again, something deep inside my heart was awakened.

"Indeed, black tea is a good thing. It tastes much better than coffee."

Just as I was immersed in tasting, An Lisi came out from the staff-only area. An Lisi looked around anxiously, but when she saw me, she ran towards me as if relieved.

"Uncle You..." An Lisi was a bit shy. By now, An Lisi had already changed into a maid outfit, completely dyed in pink, with a cute white ribbon tied at the back and wearing knee-length white stockings.

"Um..." I covered my nose.

"What's wrong? Uncle You, are you uncomfortable?"

Too cute... a bit too much, especially with those mountains on the verge of bursting out of the clothes.

"Nothing much," I shifted my gaze towards another direction, "Are we starting work now?"

"It seems like it," Anna didn't seem very happy.

"What time do we have to work until?"

"From 6 PM to 10 PM, and on weekends it's from 8 AM to 5 PM."

"I see, so she explained everything clearly then."

"Yeah," Anna seemed a bit unhappy for some reason.

"Well then, Anna, you should work here," I stood up and prepared to settle the bill.

"Oh, You Gege."

"Of course, I have to go back. I can't hinder them doing business. Can't you see how good the business is here? It's hard to even find an empty seat."

"It seems like it."

"Anna, come here for a moment," the person called Yiyue said.

"Well, then, go ahead," I walked to the counter and paid the bill. Anna still had some concerns, but Yiyue started to help Anna familiarize herself with the work. I couldn't continue to linger there, so I had no choice but to leave the café, stretch lazily, go home, take a shower, and take a rest.