45: Chapter 45 Giving Face

Zhang Xinxin puffed out her cheeks.

She chewed fiercely on the huoshao that had no donkey meat.

Occasionally, she would roll her eyes.

It was hard to tell if it was from anger or from choking.

She finally finished one, and Zhao Jian had already handed her another.

"Stinky Old Man! This is what you meant by half each?"

She gritted her teeth, her voice low.

Like an angry puppy.

"That's right. Four words: donkey meat huoshao. I eat the donkey meat, you eat the huoshao. Exactly half each."

"Come, Young Master, eat the bread."

The two of them ate for a full hour.

When they left, Zhao Jian felt a bit guilty. He wanted to ask if she needed a bottle of mineral water to wash it down.

But Zhang Xinxin didn't give him the chance.

"Stinky Old Man, why are you buying a down jacket when it's so warm? You're not physically weak, are you?"

You're the one who's weak!

Zhao Jian frowned and said:

"What do you know? There are discounts if you buy now. This is called being thrifty."

"Unlike you, you spendthrift."

Being called a spendthrift, Zhang Xinxin stuck out her tongue and made a face.

She wasn't angry.

She had long since grown used to being scolded.

"Let me see it. How much did you pay? I want one too."

She handed her bag to Zhao Jian, asking him to hold it.

Then she reached out for the down jacket.

Zhao Jian thought to himself: If you want one, go buy it yourself.

But there was no... harm in letting her see it?

The moment the down jacket was handed to Zhang Xinxin, she took off running.

Running into the distance, she said smugly to Zhao Jian:

"Stingy Stinky Old Man, the down jacket is mine now!"

With that, she ran off.

Zhao Jian looked at the Chanel crossbody bag in his hand, worth several thousand.

He was momentarily speechless.

This woman didn't seem very bright.

He dialed her number.

The ringtone sounded from within the crossbody bag.

Well, he was definitely the first person to actually make money from being robbed.

Zhao Jian went to the Vegetable Market and gave the bag to Aunt Liu, asking her to keep it safe for her granddaughter.

It was already evening by the time he returned home.

Just as he was wondering whether to say a few caring words to Sister Tao to make his presence felt...

his phone rang.

It was Su Wanyin.

"Zhao Jian, come out. Let's go drinking tonight."

"I'm not drinking. I need to make money."

He had already finished his intelligence work for the day, so he didn't actually have anything to do for the rest of the time.

But drinking was far less enjoyable than scrolling through Yin Fu and watching beautiful women dance.

Su Wanyin whispered, "My Best friend is here. Give me some face and come over for a bit."

"I'll give you five hundred yuan if you come!"

A transfer notification for five hundred yuan arrived at the same time.

He clicked to accept it.

"Send me the address. I'll be there right away."

Actually, the moment he heard her say the words 'giving face'...

Zhao Jian had already agreed in his heart.

Last time in Wu Village when he couldn't get a taxi, she was the one who drove to pick him up after all.

There might be times he'd need her help in the future too.

It was just that his reply was delayed by a tiny, tiny bit.

And he accidentally earned five hundred yuan.

Immortal Brew Bar.

Su Wanyin gritted her teeth secretly.

She thought: You're something else, Zhao Jian. My face is just an insole to you.

It's not even as effective as five hundred yuan!

By the time Zhao Jian arrived, Su Wanyin and her Best friend Zhou Yun had already been drinking for a while.

It wasn't midnight yet, so the bar was quite crowded.

There weren't enough waiters to attend to every customer.

He found them himself using the table number Su Wanyin had provided.

"You're here? Sit down, let's have a toast."

Su Wanyin was a little drunk.

She raised an empty glass and downed it in one go.

She even smacked her lips, looking curious as to why the drink had no taste.

Zhao Jian didn't even pick up a glass; he just cupped the air and tilted his head back.

Then he said, "Bottoms up."

Zhou Yun wasn't drunk.

She tilted her head, watching her Best friend and Zhao Jian perform.

Only after Zhao Jian sat down did she question him:

"Is this how you acted when you loved her in the past too?"

"How long ago?"

Zhao Jian gestured to a waiter and ordered a low-alcohol Baileys.

"Back in university, probably. She misses those times a lot. I've advised her many times to forget you, but she can't do it."

There was a hint of worry in Zhou Yun's brows.

Not for herself, but for Su Wanyin.

"Then advise her more."

Zhao Jian downed his drink in one go.

Su Wanyin could hear them talking.

Perhaps because her brain was numbed by alcohol, she didn't seem to understand.

She asked with a smile, "What bad things are you two saying about me? I heard everything."

"Confess honestly."

Zhao Jian thought to himself: How much did she drink?

After all, he had taken this woman's money.

He said to Su Wanyin, "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Zhou Yun stood up to stop him.

"No need for you to take her! Who do you think you are to her?"

Letting him take her home, wouldn't her Best friend be like a sheep entering a tiger's den?

What if he lost control of his animal urges? Their relationship was ambiguous right now; if she was taken advantage of, she'd have no one to turn to.

Zhao Jian, who had been supporting Su Wanyin, was about to let go immediately.

But she gripped him tightly.

Meanwhile, Su Wanyin quietly turned her head and gave her Best friend a pleading look: Don't interfere, don't interfere!

So she was faking being drunk!

Zhou Yun plopped back down.

She stopped interfering.

Even if she didn't stop him, Zhao Jian wasn't willing to take her anymore.

He said expressionlessly, "I'm indeed no one to her, so it's not appropriate for me to take her home. I'll leave it to you then."

He firmly pried away the hand clutching his sleeve.

Then he walked out of the bar.

Once outside, after making sure Su Wanyin wasn't following...

he almost laughed out loud.

He had originally thought the woman was really drunk and wanted to do a good deed, since he couldn't just take the five hundred yuan for nothing.

Who would have thought he'd catch Su Wanyin winking at her Best friend!

He was almost fooled by her again.

Luckily, the Best friend was an honest person, even if she was a bit hostile for no reason.

But it didn't matter.

They weren't well-acquainted anyway, and there wouldn't be many chances to meet.

Inside the bar.

Su Wanyin, who had sat back down, was complaining in a coquettish voice:

"Oh, Yunyun, what are you doing? I was so close to succeeding."

Zhou Yun asked with a dark expression:

"What's so good about him? Is he worth all this effort to throw yourself at him? My dear young lady, how can you let your 'little head' do the thinking for your 'big head'?"

"Pah! I am not."

Her face turned slightly red at her Best friend's words.

Su Wanyin explained, "He used to be so good to me. I was desperate for money when we graduated, so I lost my mind and broke up with him to make myself go to Kyoto. But now, don't I have some money?"

She just wanted to get back what she had lost.

Zhou Yun had never been in a relationship, so she didn't know how to describe her Best friend.

Call her a 'love brain'? She had cut ties decisively for the sake of money.

Call her decisive? She regretted it after cutting ties.

A woman whose left and right brain were at war like this was the most conflicted.

Zhao Jian took a taxi back to his rental room.

It was nearly midnight.

This time he made up his mind: no matter who called him out, he would absolutely not agree!

However, he had been lying in bed for less than five minutes...

when there was a knock at the door.

He heard a slightly mature, elegant voice whisper from outside, "Jian-zi, are you asleep? I brought you some dumplings I made myself."

It was the Landlady.

Zhao Jian opened the door but didn't go out.

"Sister Liu, how did you know I hadn't eaten yet? Thanks."

He took the bag of still-warm dumplings.

"I guessed. Eat them while they're hot. I'm going back down."

With that, the Landlady walked downstairs.

Zhao Jian noticed she wasn't wearing black silk stockings as she usually did.

Her long, straight legs were snowy white.

He didn't linger.

He closed the door and began to enjoy the meal.

Although the Landlady played mahjong every day...

...her cooking was actually quite good; the dumplings were delicious.