She gently placed Luoli onto one of the chairs and covered him with her jacket.
"Should've brought his baby blanket…" she murmured softly.
Luoli shifted slightly but didn't wake up.
Qinran glanced at him once more before turning back to the computer screen.
There was still work to do.
Luoli woke up about an hour later, blinking sleepily before sliding off the chair to find her.
He padded over to her, and grabbed her sleeve.
"Mom. Mom. Mom."
"I'm working."
"Mom."
She sighed and dug out the old broken keyboard she'd set aside from one of the spare PCs, placing it in front of him on the table.
His eyes lit up immediately. He began pressing keys with great seriousness, occasionally glancing up at the screen as if expecting something to happen.
Qinran turned back to her work.
Close enough.
That evening.
"Boss, this is the list of things that need changing. I also added some accessories — the cable management needs to be redone."
The boss took the paper and scanned it quickly.
"I'll order them."
Her eyes swept around the internet café.
It looked cleaner than yesterday.
The wires weren't tangled anymore. The desks were wiped down. Even the PCs seemed to run smoother.
She gave a small nod.
"Keep up the good work. I'm leaving."
"Yes."
Qinran watched her go, then looked around the café herself.
It wasn't much.
But it was changing.
Slowly
In the weeks that followed…
The café gradually became livelier.
There were fewer customer complaints.
The computers booted faster.
Regulars began staying longer instead of leaving after one game.
Some even complimented the smoother connection.
Qinran didn't say much.
She simply adjusted the cables, updated the systems, and kept working.
Until—
"Wahhh! Miyah, I messed up the register logs! Boss is going to scold me!"
Nana looked like she was about to cry.
Qinran glanced over.
The numbers on the register were chaotic — duplicated entries, missing timestamps, disorganized transactions.
She watched silently for a few seconds.
It could be made better.
Much better.
Should I…?
Her fingers hovered slightly over the keyboard.
Then she turned back to her own screen.
That could be fixed properly. With the right system, it wouldn't happen at all.
She opened a new file.
"...okay so if I reroute this call here— no, wait—"
She leaned closer to the screen.
"Why Are you Like this."
A beat of silence.
She tried another approach. Typed quickly. Waited.
The error returned.
She exhaled through her nose.
Deep breath. Okay. Start from the file. Check every line if you have to.
She scrolled up slowly, scanning.
...oh.
It was right there.
She fixed it. Ran it again. Held her breath.
It worked.
She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her face with both hands.
Then she turned around.
Luoli was sitting up on the chair, blanket pooled in his lap, watching her with very large, very serious eyes. He'd clearly been awake for a while.
She stared at him.
He stared back.
"...how long have you been watching me?"
He blinked.
Then smiled brightly.
"Mom."
A few weekslater
"Boss, I have something to show you."
The boss raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I made a small software program. It'll help manage the café system — register logs, session timing, basic tracking. I've already installed it on the PCs. It's simple. But it reduces manual errors."
The boss sat down and navigated through it slowly. Qinran waited.
A minute passed.
Then another.
"...You made this yourself."
It wasn't really a question.
"Yes."
"How long did it take?"
"A few weeks. Evenings mostly."
The boss looked at the screen a moment longer. Then she stood up without another word.
The boss was quiet for a long moment.
Then she exhaled slowly.
...I really picked up a treasure.