“i don’t need visitors. this is my workplace.” he slips the leather back between his teeth, slinking over to the wall where he’s more comfortable. where he can keep a proper eye on her, now he doesn’t have his brother to hold her attention. “zhang hu.” it made sense that qingfeng would have been referring to him sarcastically as the old tiger, or simply his ge, rather than by name. he had that habit of talking to people as if they could somehow read his thoughts. he narrows his eyes in response to her — trying to play nice with him? trying to get to know him? his teeth grind together, cushioned by the leather strip in between them. “i’m taking it apart. it got pretty banged up, but the chassis is probably salvageable.” zhanghu gestures to the half-stripped body of the car he’s been dismantling, omitting the fact of how the thing was crumpled in places. “no.” he wrinkles his nose. “thanks. take the cans out to the dumpster when you guys are done, though.”
“ but don’t you ? ” she can’t help the smirk that plays on her lips before she parts her lips to speak again. “ i mean you’re running a business that relies on visitors are you not ? you do kind of need them. ” monica laughs, taking one of the cans from the pack. “ i’m monica. ” she cracks open one of the cans from the pack before taking a small sip. “ suit yourself. ” at least she offered. she walks over to the vehicle he’s been working on, looking over the dismantled parts, a furrow plastered upon her manicured brows. “ can i help ? ” she looks over at him, hoping for the response she desired. monica really wasn’t used to getting told NO.