186: I've made a bet - 3 (Bonus Chapter)

Looking at the transfer notification, then at the retracted message in the "Brother Ye" chat box, and feeling the gaze behind her that almost seemed to see right through her, Su Ning's entire face instantly crumpled into a ball.

She stiffened her neck and, bit by bit, extremely slowly, tried to turn her head to confirm whether the Dog man had actually seen it and to observe his reaction... Just as her head was halfway turned, the "Brother Ye" chat box showed "Typing..." again, and immediately after, a new message popped out:

Brother Ye: [Shopping is great! It helps relax the mood! What you buy isn't important; what matters is enjoying the process of spending money! Don't you have a Hall Battle at 8 PM? There are still several hours left. Take your time browsing, no rush.]

"..."

Su Ning looked at this message, her heart instantly falling into a massive internal struggle and a tug-of-war between her human and celestial sides.

Browse? Keep browsing?

This guy clearly saw the temporary credit limit and the salary that just arrived, and he still wanted to keep squeezing her dry!

But this 36,000 was different from the previous 30,000—this was all debt!

But... what if she didn't browse?

If he got upset and really didn't show up for the Hall Battle, or simply never came back again, wouldn't all her recent brown-nosing be for nothing? All her efforts wasted, instantly returning her to square one?

She froze in place, caught between a rock and a hard place, her back radiating an aura of desolation and tragic heroism.

Jiang Ye looked at the aura of struggle emanating from the drama queen beside him. After a moment's thought, he tapped his screen a few times, took a screenshot, and sent it to his "excellent employee" who was currently embroiled in an ideological battle.

*Ding-dong!*

Su Ning's phone rang again. She picked it up and saw an image sent by "Brother Ye."

She clicked to enlarge the image; it was a screenshot of his TikTok wallet balance.

When her eyes landed on the number in the "Diamonds" column, her breathing suddenly hitched, and her heart began to race uncontrollably.

There it was, clear as day—1,500,000 Diamonds!

1.5 million Diamonds!

Converted, that was 150,000 yuan!

This! Dog! Man!

He was doing it again!

Another familiar, irresistible "Balance Kill"!

Su Ning's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the past:

She remembered the screenshot of a million sound waves; she remembered that shirt worth nearly thirty thousand yuan;

She remembered the bits and pieces since meeting this guy—from online to offline, the mutual schemes, the testing of each other, the moments of both anger and laughter;

She remembered when she first came to the Shengtian alone with a suitcase, squeezed into a tiny rental room, desperately trying to please strangers over the microphone during those bitter days;

For a fleeting moment, she even seemed to see her grandmother who had passed away years ago, that wrinkled face always wearing a smile... 150,000!

If he could gift that much, she would personally net 60,000, plus her monthly salary of over 10,000, and the extra bonus from the guild if the Hall Battle hit the target... Even if she spent all 36,000, she could still make over 20,000!

But... what if?

What if he was just dangling a carrot and didn't gift anything when the time came, or simply kicked her out of the house... She hadn't even signed a rental contract with him, so she couldn't even stay if she wanted to... The massive temptation and the massive risk were having a frantic tug-of-war in her heart.

Ultimately, out of trust for Brother Ye's past record of "returning gifts" and that inexplicable sense of security from his identity as "Little Brother," she suddenly gritted her teeth!

Dammit! I'm gambling! I'll trust him!

At worst, the result would be going back to how things were before she met him—owing twenty or thirty thousand in debt and working hard to pay it back!

She would just treat this past month as a daydream that never happened, and everything would return to the starting point!

Thinking of this, Su Ning spun around abruptly and grabbed Jiang Ye's sleeve:

"Little Brother! I took a closer look and suddenly felt that the clothes you're wearing are still a bit low-class! Come on! Let's go over there and look! Let's buy a few more pieces!"

Seeing the drama queen's posture of gritting her teeth and charging ahead, Jiang Ye showed a gratified smile like that of an old father.

"Little Sister Su, I appreciate the sentiment. But... but I feel that after that spending spree just now, although I'm slightly more confident on the outside, in my heart... in other areas, I seem to feel even more inferior..."

Seeing his pushy behavior, Su Ning snorted coldly, completely throwing caution to the wind:

"I don't care where you feel inferior! Today, your big sister is going to fix it for you no matter what! Speak! What's wrong now?"

Jiang Ye's sense of gratification was practically overflowing.

He looked at Su Ning, his gaze slowly passing over her shoulder toward an exhibition stand in the distant atrium, and said gloomily:

"Little Sister Su, look... we'll have to take a taxi back after we finish shopping... When I think about how everyone else drove here while I... how can I not feel inferior?"

Su Ning followed his gaze, her mouth still spouting bold words:

"I don't care what it is! As long as it can help you regain your confidence, Little Sister Su will buy... buy... it for you??? Holy crap?! Wait... Holy crap!"

When she clearly saw the vehicle placed on that distant exhibition stand and the massive price tag next to it, her voice came to a screeching halt.

The tragic heroism that had just surged up was instantly blocked by the massive impact of the scene before her, and she began to stutter as she spoke:

"Li... Li... Little Brother? What did you just say... where... where do you feel inferior? Buy... buy... buy a car?!"

The exhibition stand not far away was brilliantly lit, with a striking slogan on the backdrop: 'Zeekr X: Urban Inspiration, a Fresh Debut.'

A stylish electric car was parked on the stand, and the price tag next to it clearly marked: Zeekr X Entry Model, starting at 149,000 yuan, down payment starting at 23,000 yuan.

Looking at that electric car priced at 149,000 yuan, Jiang Ye's eyes were filled with heat, as if he weren't looking at a car but a glittering mountain of gold!

If he bought this with a loan, for a total price of 149,000 yuan, the cashback would be 1.49 million!

His account balance would instantly break the million mark!

Even if the system gave cashback based on the actual amount paid, with a down payment of 23,000 yuan, he could get 230,000 yuan in cashback first, and then he'd receive a "salary" every month for the loan payments!

This was simply a divine investment with huge profits and sustainable benefits!

He looked at the girl beside him, who was completely dumbfounded and pale-faced, and tried to suppress the excitement in his heart, saying "timidly":

"Little Sister Su... let's... let's just go over and take a look, okay? I've never seen such a good car up close in my life... Just a look! Purely for appreciation! Definitely not buying!"

He paused, afraid that the damn system warning would pop up again, and quickly added a sentence:

"I swear! Even... even if you insist on giving it to me, I absolutely cannot take it! This is too precious! It's not appropriate! Absolutely not appropriate!"

Su Ning: "???"

Who the hell said they were giving it to you?!

The longing in your eyes is practically spraying out, okay?! The words "I want to drive it away" are practically engraved on your forehead!

And swearing you don't want it? What's the difference between your swearing and a dog's barking?

I don't believe a single word you say!

"Little Brother, calm down! Calm down!"

Su Ning felt like she was about to collapse, her voice carrying a hint of a sob:

"No, Little Brother, you... think about it, buying a car isn't like buying clothes. There's... there's insurance, charging, parking... Whoa! Don't pull me! Let go of me! Hey! Jiang Ye!"