Chapter 9

Mr. Qiao’s full name is Qiao Liangze. When I was working my part-time job, he would sit in the rest area nearby, either reading the news or checking stocks.

Back then, if you happened to pass by the commercial street in Futian District, you’d witness a rather comical scene.

A man in a suit and tie sitting by the window of a Convenience Store, buying a cup of instant coffee, sitting there from midnight until dawn.

The scene was so out of place. If it were in an idol drama or a romance novel, it would surely be the classic plot of a wealthy male lead rescuing a poor girl.

But in reality, it wasn’t nearly as romantic. I wasn’t the heroine clutching a Mary Sue script, and Qiao Liangze wasn’t a domineering CEO who ruled the business world.

For adults, weighing pros and cons is what matters most.

Ye Hai is like that, and so is Sun Hui.

It’s just that, ever since I was little, I was always the one my parents gave up on after weighing their options. So now, when someone suddenly appears and thinks I’m good in every way, it feels rather novel.

So I wasn’t as resistant to Qiao Liangze anymore. When he came to the Convenience Store for the fifth time, I took the initiative to ask, “Staying up like this every day, can your body handle it?”

Qiao Liangze was stunned for a moment, then smiled, “Honestly, not really. Luckily, I can catch up on sleep at home during the day.”

“The tenth day of the new year has passed. Don’t you have to go to work?”

“I rarely go to the company unless there’s something important. Most of the time it’s socializing, or I stay home with Yaoyao.”

As he spoke, Qiao Liangze took out his wallet to show me a photo.

It was a very pretty little girl, wearing a princess dress, hugging a doll, and smiling brightly at the camera.

Innocent and radiant, completely different from what I had imagined.

It seemed Qiao Liangze took good care of her.

“This was taken when Yaoyao was eight. She doesn’t like princess dresses or dolls anymore. She’s only twelve, but she talks like a little grown-up, so mature.”

Qiao Liangze’s Mandarin wasn’t very standard, which sounded a bit funny.

Just then, my phone rang loudly. It was Zhang Yue.

She was my high school classmate. We both got into universities in Shenzhen, but not the same one, and we lived far apart, so we rarely kept in touch.

As soon as I answered, I heard her panicked voice, “Ranran, come quickly! I… I’m in trouble…”

“What happened?”

“It’s… it’s complicated… The bar behind my school, I… I’m really scared.”

Bar, late night, scared.

Those words mixed together were enough to make anyone’s heart race.

“Okay, wait for me.”

God bless, please don’t let it be what I’m imagining.

I hurriedly called the Shop Manager to ask for leave.

The Shop Manager hadn’t gone to bed yet, probably playing cards, the background was noisy: “Alright, alright, go ahead, but your pay will be docked. Lock up when you leave… Damn! Another eight of bamboo after an eight of bamboo, unbelievable!”

After hanging up, Qiao Liangze didn’t say a word and drove me straight there.

There was little traffic at this hour, and he drove fast, so we arrived in twenty minutes.

But the alley was narrow, and the entrance was crowded with street stalls. Young men and women dressed to the nines came and went, and some were so drunk they were vomiting by the roadside.

Qiao Liangze was still looking for a place to park, but I couldn’t wait and got out to head to the bar.

Only when I arrived did I find out that Zhang Yue’s Boyfriend had been two-timing her, bringing his New Lover to the bar for a good time. After Zhang Yue found out, she rushed over and made a huge scene, smashing the place to bits.

In the end, her Boyfriend ran off with his New Lover, leaving Zhang Yue alone to face the mess.

A slashed sofa, a shattered coffee table, and several bottles of Black Label… The damages added up to twenty thousand.

The Bar Owner refused to let her go, saying she had to either pay up or go to the Police Station.

When Zhang Yue saw me, she was crying incoherently, cursing her Boyfriend for being heartless. I couldn’t take it anymore: “Is this really the time to think about him? The priority is to pay up, or you’ll get a criminal record. Let’s plead with the owner to see if we can pay less. I have seven thousand, how much do you have?”

Zhang Yue stopped crying, sobbing, “I don’t have a cent, and I owe a lot on my credit card.”

“Can you borrow some? Or call your family?”

Zhang Yue shook her head like a rattle drum.

I fought the urge to just walk away and said, “Then leave your student ID and ID card as collateral, ask the owner for a few days’ grace. Sell your designer bag and iPhone, I’ll ask the Shop Manager for an advance on next month’s salary. We’ll scrape it together.”

Zhang Yue said with difficulty, “My documents… I pawned them to a loan platform ages ago.”

Back then, there was no Jiebei or Huabei, but the public toilets and telephone poles were plastered with loan ads from shady companies, with terrifyingly high interest rates.

Zhang Yue looked up at me, her eyes suddenly lighting up: “Ranran, you can pawn your documents!”
My head was buzzing, and I regretted coming here. I refused decisively, “No.”

Zhang Yue lowered her eyes in disappointment, her lips pouting high as she complained, “Just now you told me to pawn my ID and said you could scrape the money together, but when it’s your turn you immediately change your face. What kind of person are you… If you don’t want to help, why did you even come? Just to watch me make a fool of myself?”

Now I really didn’t want to get involved. I was about to leave when my gaze inadvertently swept across the room, and my scalp tingled instantly.

He was standing at the stairway, thin and with his hands in his pockets, looking at me. His expression flickered between light and shadow under the shifting lights.

I asked in surprise, “Why is Chen Ye here?”

Zhang Yue shrugged. “I called Chen Ye too. After all, more people means more ideas. Turns out it was a wise move. Otherwise, relying on you alone…”

I interrupted impatiently, “I mean, why did he come to Shenzhen? When did he get here?”

Zhang Yue shot me a strange look and said, “He came with Uncle Li before the New Year. The two of them have been selling seafood at the farmers’ market for almost two months now. He didn’t tell you?”

No.

He kept it completely secret.

I asked again, “Uncle Li was doing fine back home. Why did he suddenly come to Shenzhen?”

Zhang Yue’s expression grew even stranger. “Last year, his son and daughter-in-law came to Shenzhen to work. They sell jianbing at the food street next door, and business is pretty good. So they took over another stall and asked Uncle Li to come make money with them. But Uncle Li is getting old and can’t handle everything, so he brought Chen Ye along… Ye Ran, how do you not know any of this?”

I was speechless for a moment.

While I was silent, Chen Ye had already walked over. He clearly didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t ask. He simply glanced around, his face turning cold in an instant.

Chen Ye rubbed his forehead, looking rather helpless. “How much do you have to pay?”

Zhang Yue sniffled. “Twenty thousand yuan.”

Chen Ye’s eye twitched, and he barely held back from cursing. He said, “Fine, I’ll cover it for now, but you have to call your dad and let him know.”

Zhang Yue froze, on the verge of tears. “Don’t… If my dad finds out, he’ll kill me!”

“If he doesn’t hit you, you’ll never learn!” Chen Ye was getting increasingly annoyed. “Last time you deliberately smashed your roommate’s perfume, and now you’re making a scene at a bar. What’s next, causing trouble at the police station? You’re a grown woman, but you still act like a child with no regard for consequences. I’m embarrassed for you!”

Zhang Yue bit her lip and said nothing.

I watched from the side, unable to suppress a cold laugh inside.

So he’s helped her so many times, and he doesn’t even find it troublesome.

For some reason, I felt a pang of sourness in my heart, especially since Chen Ye hadn’t said a single word to me from start to finish, as if I were invisible.

This difference in treatment made me inexplicably angry.

At this moment, the bar owner walked over, with Qiao Liangze standing beside him.

The two seemed to know each other, chatting and laughing in Cantonese. In the end, not only did we not have to pay, but the owner also welcomed us to come back and have fun anytime.

“But pretty girl, don’t go crazy next time. My place can’t handle that kind of trouble.”

This sudden turn of events left Zhang Yue dumbfounded, and I was equally shocked. I thought to myself, he actually solved everything so quietly.

Qiao Liangze glanced at me, then at the other two, before his gaze returned to me. He said, “I’ll wait for you in the car.”

The bar owner cheerfully saw him out.

Zhang Yue stared at Qiao Liangze’s departing figure, a flicker of fascination in her eyes.

She affectionately hooked her arm through mine, all traces of her earlier defeat gone, her face animated as she asked, “Who is that? Your boyfriend?”

I pulled away uncomfortably. “Just a friend.”

In fact, not even a friend.

Zhang Yue curled her lip. “What kind of friend is that, so free? Standing up for you, waiting in the car for you, a man and a woman alone in the middle of the night-who would believe that?”

I felt as if I’d swallowed a fly, utterly disgusted. I replied coldly, “Believe what you want. You think everyone’s like you?”

Zhang Yue was stunned for a moment, squinting as she sized me up, her face mocking. “I was wondering what you’ve been so busy with, how you know nothing about anything. Turns out you’ve been busy cozying up to your backer! Ye Ran, I really underestimated you. You said you only had seven thousand, and that you’d ask the shop manager for an advance… Oh, acting all loyal and righteous, but your man just solved everything with a snap of his fingers. Since that’s the case, why were you putting on a pitiful act earlier? Who were you pretending for?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up the beer on the table and splashed it in Zhang Yue’s face.

“First, I don’t owe you anything. I have neither the obligation nor the need to accept your accusations, and I won’t help you again in the future. Second, he’s not my man.”

With that, I turned and left.

I didn’t even glance at Chen Ye.