27: Chapter 27 Part-time Job Scam

April 16, 2025, Wednesday, cloudy, 15-18°C.

A simple, busy morning.

He and Liu Yanran arrived at a small private room in a Cantonese Restaurant.

Qiao Yichen said, “Yanran, I have an urgent matter this afternoon and need to go out. I might have to take some time off.”

Liu Yanran paused her action of picking up food, looked at him, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry and understanding: “Your frequency of taking leave recently… is a bit high.”

“I understand.” Qiao Yichen rubbed his nose, his tone carrying a rare hint of embarrassment.

Since his rebirth, he was used to controlling the pace, but under Liu Yanran’s calm gaze, he always felt as if his excuses were seen through by a school teacher.

Seeing his expression, a faint, almost imperceptible smile flashed in Liu Yanran’s eyes, which then turned into helplessness.

She put down her chopsticks, picked up a tissue to gently wipe the corner of her mouth, and then said, “Change it to ‘external assignment.’…”

She paused, then continued, “Anyway, Uncle Xian’s project is wrapping up this week, and the data reports and archiving are being handled by others. Going out to meet clients is a plausible reason.”

Taking leave had turned into an official business trip, and the pressure immediately lessened considerably.

Qiao Yichen didn't speak, but expressed his gratitude through action—he extended his chopsticks, picked up a piece of White-Cut Chicken, glistening with sauce, from the center of the plate, and placed it in her bowl.

Liu Yanran looked at the extra chicken in her bowl. She didn't look up, but slightly turned her face, gently tucking a strand of long hair that had fallen by her cheek behind her ear with her left hand.

Then she picked up that piece of White-Cut Chicken with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.

After chewing a few times, she looked up, her gaze sweeping over Qiao Yichen’s slightly expectant face, and the corners of her lips curved ever so slightly:

“Hmm, it’s good, quite delicious.”

“As long as you like it.” He responded, his tone much more relaxed than before.

For the rest of the time, the two did not mention work again, only chatting until lunch ended.

Around one o’clock, the two parted ways at the restaurant entrance. Liu Yanran returned to the company, while Qiao Yichen was going to a house viewing appointment at two o’clock.

It was just right. The subway wasn't crowded at this time. Half an hour later, Qiao Yichen arrived at the Creative Park entrance again.

Checking the time, it was just past half-past one, still half an hour before the appointment. He wasn't in a hurry to go in. He turned and walked into a convenience store at the park entrance, bought a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, took two sips, and then used the reflection of the glass door to tidy his clothes.

At 1:45 PM, he arrived at the three-story building in Zone C with a handwritten ‘For Rent’ sign, fifteen minutes early, and went straight up to the second floor.

A few minutes later, slightly heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs. A middle-aged man in a polo shirt, slightly overweight, about forty-something, walked up, jingling a bunch of keys in his hand.

“You must be Mr. Qiao? Sorry, I was just handling something in the building next door.” The man smiled broadly, his voice rather loud.

“You’re Brother Li, right? Hello, I’m Qiao Yichen. Perfect timing.” Qiao Yichen stepped forward and extended his hand.

“That’s right, Li Zhou. My friends all call me Fatty Li, haha.” Li Zhou shook his hand firmly, his grip thick and substantial, “Mr. Qiao looks so young, starting your own business? Very courageous!”

“Just a small venture, trying to make a living, can’t compare to Brother Li, who owns properties.” Qiao Yichen smiled politely and offered him a cigarette.

Li Zhou took it, lit it skillfully, and the conversation opened up: “Hey, what properties? Just looking after these few rooms. These days, business isn’t easy… What kind of business are you in, Mr. Qiao? Do you have any requirements for this place?”

The two chatted as they walked around the empty room on the second floor. Li Zhou introduced the basic situation of the house: its area, approximate rent range, how utilities and property management fees were calculated, and how the contract would be signed.

Qiao Yichen seemed to listen attentively, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Li Zhou was very talkative, besides the house, he also chatted about gossip in the park, such as which company had grown and moved out, and which one had closed due to poor management. Qiao Yichen responded appropriately.

After seeing this room on the second floor, Li Zhou enthusiastically took him to see another smaller room in the same building with a small balcony, as well as another vacant loft space he had in the adjacent building.

Qiao Yichen examined everything carefully, took photos, and asked for details, his attitude appearing impeccable.

Time slipped away quietly, reaching three o’clock in the afternoon during the viewing and conversation.

“Brother Li, thank you so much for today, I’ve basically understood the situation.” Qiao Yichen glanced at his phone, showing a slightly apologetic smile, “I think this place is quite good, but I need to go back and discuss it with my partners. I’ll give you a reply in the next two days, does that work for you?”

“No problem! I understand, starting a business, it’s good to be cautious!” Li Zhou was very straightforward, pulling out his phone and pointing at it, “Mr. Qiao, if you have any questions, just ask me on WeChat anytime.”

“Okay.”

The two said goodbye downstairs. Li Zhou jingled his keys and walked towards another building, while Qiao Yichen walked in the opposite direction.

He didn’t leave the park directly, but took a small detour and arrived at the side door of Studio No. 3.

He checked the time; it was 15:04.

He wasn't in a hurry to enter. Instead, he leaned against the mottled red brick wall by the side door, pulled out a cigarette box from his pocket, tapped out a cigarette, and lit it with his head down.

His posture seemed relaxed, his left hand holding the cigarette casually hanging by his side, but his ears were perked, catching any unusual sounds from inside the studio.

Time passed minute by minute. After about ten minutes, the faint voices inside suddenly grew louder, turning into a clear argument, mixed with a girl's tearful rebuttal.

The time had come.

Qiao Yichen extinguished the cigarette, only a third smoked, against the wall and casually tossed it into a nearby trash can.

He pulled out his phone, his thumb quickly sliding to unlock the screen, opening the video recording function, holding the phone loosely in his hand, camera pointed forward, then unhurriedly pushed the door open and entered.

The studio interior was more cluttered than expected, with various light stands, backdrops, and reflector umbrellas haphazardly piled. At this moment, four girls who looked very much like students were surrounded by three casually dressed men with unfriendly expressions. On the floor lay a dress that looked to be of decent quality but clearly had a broken zipper.

“We said we didn’t break it!” A girl in a light blue hoodie with a ponytail was red-faced with anger, her voice loud but unable to hide its tremor. It was Wu Mengyao.

“If you didn’t break it, who did?” A bald man, who seemed to be the leader, wearing a work badge around his neck, had an even louder voice, his spittle almost spraying onto the girls’ faces, “Just now, only you few were wearing this dress to shoot videos. Now that the zipper is broken, you want to deny it? I’m telling you, this is a brand name item, tens of thousands! The zipper is broken beyond repair, you’ll have to compensate at least three thousand!”

His rough finger pointed at each of the four girls in turn: “You worked part-time for half a day, three hundred per person, that’s twelve hundred total. You still owe eighteen hundred, hurry up and pay up!”

“We… where would we get that much money…” Another girl wearing glasses was already tearful, her voice choked, “How can you be like this… Isn’t this a scam?”

“Stop talking nonsense! Pay up quickly!” The tall, thin man next to the bald man roared impatiently, stepping half a step forward, full of intimidation.

“Cough.” A cough, neither light nor heavy, interrupted the unequal confrontation.

Everyone looked over, only to see a young man in a casual suit standing a few steps away, seemingly holding a phone.

“Who are you? What are you doing here? We’re filming, outsiders get out!” The tall, thin man immediately turned his aggression towards Qiao Yichen, his tone unfriendly.

Qiao Yichen ignored his dismissal, even wearing a nonchalant smile on his face, but his gaze swept over the “tens of thousands of yuan” dress on the floor, finally landing on the bald man’s face. “Passing by, heard it was quite lively, came in to take a look.” His voice was steady, the camera on his phone seemingly swinging casually, but in reality, framing the faces of the men and the dress on the floor.

“What are you looking at! What’s there to see!” The bald man felt a bit unnerved by his gaze and shouted fiercely, pretending to be tough.

“Oh, I’m just curious.” Qiao Yichen took a step forward, his tone still calm, but with clear skepticism, “You said this dress is a luxury item, worth tens of thousands? Then please show me the purchase invoice? For a legitimate luxury item, there should be an invoice and an authenticity card, right?”

The bald man choked: “Invoice… who carries an invoice with them!”

“No invoice?” Qiao Yichen raised an eyebrow, “Then how do you prove it’s worth this price? It could be a fake A-grade item from a street stall, and the zipper just broke because of poor quality.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” The tall, thin man grew anxious.

Qiao Yichen ignored him and continued with his second question: “Okay, even if it’s valuable. How do you prove that the zipper was broken by these students? Is there surveillance footage? Do you have evidence that they intentionally damaged it? Or did someone among you witness it firsthand and can testify?”

His gaze swept over the men whose faces showed panic, “If none of that exists, and you’re just concluding it was damaged by them simply because they wore it, and then demanding high compensation… that doesn’t sound very reasonable, does it?”

A series of questions, clear and logical, went straight to the heart of the matter. The bald man and his companions were instantly speechless, looking at each other, unable to respond.

Their “part-time fishing” scam relied on scaring naive students. They rarely encountered someone so calm, speaking strictly according to law and evidence.

After a brief silence, the bald man seemed to feel he was losing face, especially being subdued by a stranger in front of his “prey.” He became furious, abruptly grabbed an idle Lightweight Metal Photography Stand nearby, pointed it at Qiao Yichen, and fiercely said, “Kid, I’m warning you not to meddle! You have no say here, get lost! Otherwise…”

Facing the metal rod almost poking his eye, Qiao Yichen’s expression didn’t change a bit. He didn’t even look at the stand, but slightly tilted his head and calmly said to the stunned girls behind him, “What are you still standing there for? In this situation, just call the police. Let the police handle it and see if it’s a dispute over damaged clothing or extortion.”

The words “call the police” struck the bald man and his companions like a thunderbolt. As scammers, they feared the police the most. Their fierce arrogance instantly deflated like a punctured balloon. The hand holding the stand froze in mid-air.

Qiao Yichen then looked back at them, his tone as flat as stating a fact: “Without conclusive evidence, forcibly demanding compensation far exceeding the actual loss, which the other party is unwilling to pay, accompanied by threats, and if the amount reaches a certain standard, it can constitute extortion. You all…” He swept his gaze over them, “Think carefully.”

The bald man’s face changed, and he finally glared fiercely at Qiao Yichen, then looked at the girls whose eyes had visibly brightened at the mention of “calling the police,” knowing that this “deal” was completely ruined today. He sullenly threw down the stand and gave his companions a look: “Damn it, our bad luck! Let’s go, let’s go!”