Cherry Miller looked utterly helpless and resigned.
Yina Yin laughed so hard her shoulders shook.
The director of the Grant Senior Center looked at the two of them, growing more and more confused.
In the end, Cherry Miller revealed the truth: "Our young lady never outgrew her childlike heart. In front of Jay Kee, she pretended to be a kept pretty boy under my care, just to watch me squirm."
The director nodded repeatedly at her words. "The young lady really does look the part..."
Yina Yin patted the director on the shoulder and said, "Just don't blow my cover, okay? It's rare to have something this fun—if you spoil it, what's the point?"
Yina Yin had always aspired to be cool since she was little.
Even as she grew up, she never changed her mind.
So she always dressed androgynously, making it hard to tell if she was male or female.
The director assured them, "As long as you two don't slip up, there won't be any problems on my end."
Just as they were talking, Mason Ming and Jay Kee finished moving the items and walked over to them.
"What did you guys carry over? Why is it so heavy?" Jay Kee couldn't help but complain, "Look, my hands are about to fall off!"
Jay Kee stretched out his hands in front of Cherry Miller, acting cute. "Sis Cherry, aren't you going to praise me?"
Cherry Miller praised him helplessly, "Jay Kee, you're really capable."
"I'm happy to help you, Sis Cherry." Jay Kee replied smoothly, his eagerness to please obvious.
Mason Ming could barely stand to watch.
If Yina Yin hadn't looked so amused, Mason Ming would have revealed their true identities.
But Yina Yin had already told him not to say a word about her identity.
So Mason Ming could only keep the secret to himself.
"Just some everyday necessities," Ms. Miller explained to Jay Kee. "This place is far from the city center, so it's not easy to shop for things. Supplies are delivered by truck. But the air here is good, it's quiet, and it's perfect for recuperating. The Senior Center can only guarantee the basics, so sometimes things are missing. We brought a few extras this time to make life a bit more comfortable for everyone."
Jay Kee nodded, then glanced proudly at Yina Yin.
See? Sis Cherry answered all my questions patiently!
You, the pretty boy, can't compare, can you?
Hmph!
One day, I'll replace you!
Mason Ming, being more attentive, asked, "How do the elderly here live?"
The director said, "Come on, let me show you around so you can see how our residents live."
With that, the director led the way inside, pointing to a vegetable garden. "This area used to be unused, just for storage. This spring, we started cultivating it and planted seasonal vegetables. Some of our caregivers are great at gardening, so we bought all kinds of seeds and planted them here. Now, the Senior Center eats its own vegetables and doesn't rely much on outside purchases. By fall, we'll have even more fresh produce."
"Behind the garden is our own septic tank—it's green and organic." The director pointed to the distance. "This is our office area. Besides me, there are ten staff members. The eleven of us handle everything: laundry, cooking, and caring for the elderly. Every month, doctors come to check on the residents, and we have enough basic medicine. But a few imported drugs are missing—either they're too expensive or we can't get them."
"This building is where the elderly live. It's five stories tall, with two elevators for easy access. Each floor has twenty rooms, a shared shower, and a shared restroom. Each room can house two to five residents, depending on its size."
"This is our medical building—it's two stories, with wards specifically for sick residents. They take their medicine and get injections here." The director pointed to another building. "Most of our residents are in decent health; about seventy percent can walk on their own, so they help clean the buildings themselves."
"We're really short-staffed, so some of the younger residents also work as caregivers, helping those who are older or less mobile. We give these working residents extra benefits as a thank you for their help."
"This is our cafeteria and recreation center." The director pointed to the last building. "There's also a small plaza for residents to exercise. Inside, there's a dining hall, a multimedia room, and a library. Residents can play chess, read, listen to music, surf the internet, dance, and enjoy all kinds of entertainment here."
Yina Yin and Cherry Miller listened intently.
Things here are much better than when the Senior Center first started.
Clearly, they've expanded a lot recently to reach this scale.
Officially, the director was introducing the Senior Center to Jay Kee and Mason Ming, but in reality, it was a report to Yina Yin.
Yina Yin nodded as she listened.
Now the Senior Center is running smoothly and everything is on track.
Every year, the Yin Foundation allocates funds to maintain the Senior Center, and with donations from kind-hearted people, it's mostly enough.
Seeing that many of the residents weren't that old, Cherry Miller suggested, "If there's spare time, you could start some small businesses to increase income."
The director replied, "We've actually been thinking about that, but haven't had time to set it up. Most of the people here are elderly without children, but some have pensions and just want a quiet life away from family. We've checked what skills they have and plan to start a craft club soon to make products to sell and help cover expenses. The residents are all supportive. People who've worked their whole lives can't stand being idle."
Yina Yin and Cherry Miller both nodded.
Mason Ming and Jay Kee lagged behind. Jay Kee lowered his voice, "Looking at how these elderly live, I definitely don't want this for myself when I'm old."
"No one looks good when they're old," Mason Ming thought Jay Kee was talking about appearance.
"That's not what I mean," Jay Kee said, pursing his lips. "I don't want to be poor when I'm old. While I'm still young, I need to find a rich, powerful, high-status young lady and save up some money. No matter what happens in the future, if I've got money, I won't end up living like this. It's just too sad—way too sad!"
Jay Kee looked at the residents with sympathy.
This lonely, quiet life is not what Jay Kee wants.
Mason Ming didn't know what to say after hearing Jay Kee's words.
All you can say is, everyone has their own ambitions.
After touring the Senior Center, it was time for everyone to volunteer.
Yina Yin, strong and energetic, volunteered to carry buckets of water and help with the gardening.
Cherry Miller helped wash the sheets and clothes that hadn't been cleaned yet.
All the washing machines in the laundry room started running at once.
As for Mason Ming and Jay Kee, being boys, they were assigned to the cafeteria to help portion out the big tubs of food into trays for the residents' lunch.
Jay Kee scooped the food into trays while Mason Ming arranged them neatly.
In no time, they'd filled an entire table with trays.
When lunchtime arrived, the more mobile residents came out of their rooms, lined up in the dining hall, and waited to get their food.
"Oh, we've got two young volunteers today?" a grandmother with half her teeth gone said to Jay Kee, "Give me something soft and mushy, my teeth aren't good, I can't eat anything hard."
"Sure thing, Grandma." Jay Kee quickly served her a portion of extra-soft food.
More and more people arrived, and Jay Kee and Mason Ming were so busy they didn't have time to chat, just working nonstop.
Once all the residents had their food, they still had to deliver meals to those who couldn't get out of bed.
Each boy carried a big box, going room to room to deliver meals.
After all that running around, both boys were left panting from exhaustion.
Jay Kee used to genuinely dislike this kind of manual labor.
But today was different—he was in front of his crush!
He had to show off a little!
When Cherry Miller came into the dining hall, Jay Kee worked even harder, wishing he could use every ounce of strength.
By the time Yina Yin and Cherry Miller came for lunch, the residents had pretty much finished eating.
Jay Kee quickly called Cherry Miller over: "Here, here! I've already wiped down the table and chairs. I asked around—volunteers and staff get different food than the residents. If I had to eat that mushy stuff, I don't think I could swallow it!"
Mason Ming disagreed, "It's nutritious enough."
"So what? Young people don't eat so bland!" Jay Kee retorted, quickly adding an extra chicken leg to Cherry Miller's tray.
Jay Kee openly tried to win over Cherry Miller, and everyone else just ignored it.
"Thank you," Cherry Miller nodded to Jay Kee. "You both worked hard today."
"It's nothing, really!" Jay Kee was so happy at Cherry Miller's praise that his nose nearly lifted with pride. "This afternoon, I'll help you with the laundry so you can rest more."
Just then, Cherry Miller's phone rang.
It was a video call invitation.
Cherry Miller glanced at the name and answered the video call.
Jay Kee, sitting next to Cherry Miller, immediately craned his neck to see the phone screen.
The screen shifted, revealing an incredibly handsome man who smiled and greeted Cherry Miller: "Cherry, you heartless thing, I've been away on business for days and you haven't messaged me once. If I didn't call, would you have just ignored me forever?"
Jay Kee was stunned!
Who is this guy?
A rival in love?