9 THE WAITER AT THE CAFé (2/2)
Hua Zhendan gave him a once-over and said, ”Can you sit? I want to talk to you for a moment.”
The waiter smiled politely and immediately rejected his invite. ”I'm sorry sir, but I have to get back to work. It's against protocol to sit and chat with customers during working hours.”
”How much do you make by the hour, then?”
”Sir?” the waiter lifted a brow.
”How much do you make by the hour? I'll pay you double of what you make by the hour if you sit.”
”That's generous of you, Sir, but I'm sorry, I can't. I do need to work. There are only two of us here today. I can't leave the customers to just one person.”
Hua Zhendan smiled. A beautiful person with morals. Very much unlike a particular person he knew. ”Fine, go work, then. I'll wait for you.”
”I don't...” the waiter hesitated. ”I don't close until nine.”
Hua Zhendan looked at his watch. The time was only a little past six. ”Don't worry. I can wait.”
”Oh! Okay,” reluctantly, the waiter turned around, then walked away.
While he served his other customers, the waiter's eyes continually darted to Hua Zhendan's direction. Hua Zhendan was listlessly scrolling through his phone.
As he watched Hua Zhendan, the beautiful waiter found himself trapped between guilt and curiosity.
Guilt because Hua Zhendan looked like he had had a long day and could use some sleep. Curiosity because Hua Zhendan was an important-looking person. If he needed something from him, whatever it was had to be important as well.
With a sigh of resignation, the waiter returned to Hua Zhendan's table and took a seat across from him.
Hua Zhendan glanced up at him, ”Are you done working?”
”No, I—”
”Don't worry,” Hua Zhendan interrupted him with a rare, gentle smile on his face. ”I can wait.”
***
At ten minutes past nine, Tan Yao plopped down in a chair across from a tired looking Hua Zhendan. He started at Hua Zhendan thoughtfully and wondered if he now regretted his decision to have waited for him. ”Hello,” he said.
Hua Zhendan looked up from his phone at him. He had taken off the apron, and his tank top clung to his body almost amorously. Hua Zhendan swallowed a blob of saliva. This guy was so darn attractive. ”Are you done working?”
Tan Yao nodded.
Hua Zhendan straightened his back, pulled out a card from his wallet and slipped it to Tan Yao. ”Ever heard of Shenhua Modelling?”
Tan Yao looked at the card, and his eyes opened wide in surprise. He couldn't believe he had kept the CEO of Shenhua waiting for him for almost three hours. He stammered, ”This... You...”
Hua Zhendan maintained a cryptic expression as he stared at the tongue-tied Tan Yao. Deciding to give him leeway, he asked, ”Have you ever thought of modeling before?”
”I... I have. I even went for an audition here...” he pointed to the card. ”In January — when there was a casting call. I wasn't accepted.”
”Is that so?” Hua Zhendan furrowed his brows. How could someone turn down this hunk?
Tan Yao soon answered Hua Zhendan's question as he continued, ”They said they were looking for someone bigger, so I came back and exercised more. I focused on building up my biceps so that next time I go for a casting call, not being toned enough won't be the reason I get rejected.”
Hua Zhendan smiled at Tan Yao's tenacious spirit, ”If you're still interested, I'll give you a recommendation and have you —”
”Are you for real?” Tan Yao exclaimed. Interrupting Hua Zhendan.
Hua Zhendan smiled wryly at his enthusiasm. This kind of reaction was what he had expected from that stupid, unemployed fool who was leeching off his twin sister. Instead, he had gotten a somewhat vague, unappreciative reply.
”I don't know what to say. I'm grateful for this opportunity —”
The more Hua Zhendan observed Tan Yao, the less appealing he found Xuan Tianyi's personality.