33: Chapter 33 Love at first sight is always lust at first sight

Nie Yuqing was terrified that Chu Yuan might hear something, so she clutched her phone tightly.

"If that's all you want to say to me, I'm hanging up."

"No, no, wait! I really have an urgent matter to discuss with you," Zhang Yang said, his voice laced with anxiety.

"Speak your mind then. I have real work to do and no time to waste on you."

"It's like this: my mom has been diagnosed with leukemia and needs a large sum of money for a bone marrow transplant."

"You know the situation with my family. Since we went bankrupt, we've been drowning in debt. Even after scraping together every cent I could find, I'm still short by five or six hundred thousand. Do you think you could lend me some?"

"What? Lend you five or six hundred thousand?"

"Zhang Yang, have you lost your mind? Why don't you just go rob someone!"

Nie Yuqing was panting with agitation, mostly because she was infuriated by Zhang Yang.

This was the first time she had ever encountered someone who would still ask for money after a breakup, especially such an astronomical amount.

Not that she was penniless, but even if she had the money, there was no way she would lend it to this loser.

Only after the words left her mouth did Nie Yuqing realize it might have been a bit much; she had overreacted, and her voice had been too loud.

She cautiously glanced back toward the living room and, seeing that Chu Yuan remained indifferent, she patted her poor, wounded heart.

Zhang Yang didn't sense anything amiss and continued to plead.

"Yuqing, I never wanted to bother you, but I'm truly at the end of my rope. I've already asked every friend and relative I know."

"But once they found out about my father's failed investment and our bankruptcy, not only did they refuse to lend me money, they cut ties with me completely."

"Yuqing, for the sake of our past, please help me. Even if you don't have that much, just lending me thirty or fifty thousand for an emergency would be enough."

"No. I don't have a single cent right now. Don't come looking for me again."

Nie Yuqing decisively refused.

"Yuqing, we were boyfriend and girlfriend for a year, we had a deep connection. Back then, the money I spent on you—if not three or five million, it was at least three or five hundred thousand."

"I'm not asking you to pay me back all that money. I just want you to lend me some for an emergency. That's not an unreasonable request, is it?"

Nie Yuqing was so infuriated by Zhang Yang's words that she laughed.

This guy was average-looking and didn't know how to make girls happy; he was useless at everything except throwing money around.

Back then, Nie Yuqing had only reluctantly agreed to date him because she couldn't stand his pestering and needed a short-term meal ticket.

After graduation, when Zhang Yang's father's investment failed and his family fortune plummeted, transforming him from a rich kid into someone drowning in debt, Nie Yuqing had decisively chosen to break up with him.

In her view, she had natural advantages; she had never lacked suitors around her.

If she really needed anything, there were countless rich kids willing to spend money on her. Why would she continue to stick with a loser like Zhang Yang?

"Master Zhang, I told you back then that I wasn't interested in your pathetic money. You were the one who insisted on throwing it at me."

"What, now that you're short on cash, you want to take your pathetic money back? You're being incredibly childish."

Zhang Yang was at least a graduate of a prestigious university; even if his family had fallen on hard times, he still had some talent.

Yet he was unmotivated, refusing to find a decent job, and instead preferring the life of a food delivery driver.

It sounded noble—braving the elements, forging ahead through hardship.

A young person with a bright future choosing to deliver food.

If he were short on cash for a short time and needed a job to make ends meet, that would be understandable.

But to treat it as a lifelong career? Was he really going to deliver food forever?

Just for this reason alone, even if his family hadn't gone bankrupt, Nie Yuqing would have found him contemptible and broken up with him decisively.

Hearing Nie Yuqing's words, Zhang Yang completely lost his nerve and explained, "Yuqing, it's not like that. Listen to me, I..."

"Don't 'I' me. You loser, it's bad enough you have no ambition, but now you're begging a woman for money? I must have been blind to ever date a loser like you."

The more servile Zhang Yang acted, the more Nie Yuqing loathed him.

Why should she lend the money she earned with her own ability to a loser like Zhang Yang?

"I'm not a loser! Who says you can't get rich delivering food? I'm going to prove myself!"

The word 'loser' stung Zhang Yang deeply.

He believed that he would definitely rise to the top.

In fact, he had a secret unknown to anyone: he possessed a system.

He had never mentioned this to anyone.

Not Nie Yuqing, not even his parents knew about it.

Zhang Yang always believed that as long as he had the system, his rise was just a matter of time.

With beauty in one hand and the world in the other, it was no longer just a dream.

The reason he borrowed money from Nie Yuqing was twofold.

First, he really needed the money for the emergency, and second, he wanted to use this situation as an opportunity to reconcile with Nie Yuqing.

Unfortunately, Nie Yuqing wouldn't "appreciate" it at all.

"Since you're not a loser, I assume you can earn money yourself. I'm just a weak woman, and earning money isn't easy. Stop coveting my money."

"Fine. I'll say it one more time: from now on, we are completely finished. Don't come bothering me again."

Zhang Yang wanted to explain a bit more, but he only heard a beeping sound.

He knew Nie Yuqing had hung up on him.

He put down his phone in disappointment, his face full of melancholy.

At this moment, he was in complete despair. Since his family's downfall, his former friends and relatives had basically chosen to distance themselves from him.

This time, when his mother fell critically ill, these people acted as if they had seen a plague god the moment they heard he was borrowing money. Forget about lending him money; they almost chased him out with brooms.

Except for his best friend, Sha Wanli, whose family had some assets and who had threatened his own father with death to force him to lend Zhang Yang two hundred thousand.

Everyone else wished he would just die sooner.

"Why is it like this? Is it really just because I have no money and no power that Nie Yuqing had to break up with me? Why, why is it like this?"

Zhang Yang let out a cry of impotence.

He and Nie Yuqing were originally college classmates. At the opening ceremony...

...Nie Yuqing, dressed in red, had deeply captivated Zhang Yang.

Driven by lust at first sight, Zhang Yang had launched a frantic pursuit of Nie Yuqing.

Why was it lust at first sight?

Because a famous person once said that all love at first sight in this world is just lust at first sight.

Back then, Zhang Yang was still a wealthy second-generation rich kid. He pursued her frantically for three years before Nie Yuqing finally agreed to be his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, good times don't last. Shortly after graduation, his father committed suicide by jumping off a building because of massive debts.

The unlearned Zhang Yang chose the path of delivering food.

Unable to bear it any longer, Nie Yuqing chose to break up with him directly.

Family fortune lost, father dead, girlfriend betrayed him, mother ill.

Zhang Yang only felt that he was the most miserable person in the world.

With nowhere else to turn, he thought of his ex-girlfriend, hoping she could offer some relief.

But what he hadn't expected was that Nie Yuqing would be so heartless, refusing to lend him a single cent.

Thinking of all this, Zhang Yang plopped down onto the cold steps.

Melancholy, disappointment—and even more, anger and despair.