Chapter 10: Room Swap with Me

Yao Jia stared at the massive debt note in her hand, then burst into laughter.

“You’re joking, right?” she said, abruptly stopping her laughter to look at Meng Xingzhe.

Meng Xingzhe frowned slightly. “You can come to me for repayment anytime in the future,” he said with a seriousness that suggested he was ready to face the end of the world.

Yao Jia felt another wave of laughter coming on. She thought it was amusing that someone could take an absurd comedy so seriously in their life.

“Are you pretending to be a Domineering CEO writing checks? Fine, I’ll give you the respect and dignity a check deserves,” Yao Jia said, shaking the paper in the air with mock seriousness. “I’ll take this to the bank later and see if I can cash it. If I can, I’ll swap rooms with you immediately.”

She thought, if Meng Xingzhe couldn’t tell she was mocking him by now, then there was really something wrong with his head.

Meng Xingzhe’s expression remained unfazed, even a bit arrogant and pitying, as if saying, “Foolish human, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

He lifted his chin slightly, looking down at Yao Jia as if speaking through his nose. “Go ahead. If it’s not enough, I’ll write you another one.”

“…”

Yao Jia thought, this guy’s stubbornness is impressive. Even when he’s about to lose face, he still insists on arguing.

In the end, the plan to buy a room with a note failed. Reluctantly, Meng Xingzhe dragged his suitcase into another master bedroom without an ensuite, while Tong Yumo pouted and moved into the last available room.

Before entering her room, Tong Yumo blushed slightly and thanked Meng Xingzhe. “Meng Xingzhe, thank you! Even though you couldn’t get me a room with an ensuite, I’m still happy!”

Meng Xingzhe’s response was a confused, “??”

Yao Jia returned to her room and enjoyed a nice nap.

She was in the middle of a deep sleep when she was awakened by a commotion.

Stepping out of her room, she saw several housekeepers cleaning for Meng Xingzhe. They were busy with their tasks while Meng Xingzhe lounged on the living room sofa, legs crossed, flipping through a magazine he had brought. No one could match his leisurely demeanor.

Tian Huasheng emerged from his room, his sturdy frame settling beside Meng Xingzhe. Leaning in with a fawning expression, he asked in a sweet, lilting voice, “How much does it cost to have this done?”

Meng Xingzhe glanced at him. “Speak clearly. Don’t skip words. I don’t want anyone calling the police thinking you’re my girlfriend.”

Tian Huasheng quickly spat out a denial and, blinking rapidly, asked again, “I mean, how much do you pay these housekeepers to clean for you?”

Meng Xingzhe casually named a price.

Tian Huasheng clicked his tongue. “Brother Meng, I could do all this work too, and I’d do it better than several people combined. How about this, next time you want to pay for cleaning, hire me!”

Yao Jia realized at the end that Tian Huasheng was actually volunteering to do the work for money. She noticed the housekeepers pause briefly, turning to glare at Tian Huasheng, their eyes saying: Who knew someone who looks decent would try to take money from hardworking people behind their backs?

Tian Huasheng shrank back under their glares.

Tong Yumo also came out from another room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the housekeepers. She ran over to sit beside Meng Xingzhe on the sofa, her eyes sparkling. “Once they’re done with your room, can you have them clean mine too?”

Meng Xingzhe glanced at her and generously said, “I don’t mind. You should ask them.”

Tong Yumo turned to the housekeepers. “After you’re done with that room, could you clean mine too?”

The word “after” was used very cleverly, implying a freebie. Yao Jia admired the subtlety, knowing it meant she wanted it for free.

One of the housekeepers, who seemed to be in charge, immediately responded, “Miss, sorry, but we earn our living through labor. Each job is separate, so we can’t just do it for free.”

Tong Yumo bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes watery as she looked at Meng Xingzhe. “What do they mean by that?”

Meng Xingzhe’s expression remained unchanged. “I don’t know either. You should ask them.”

At this point, Yao Jia had to admit she was impressed by Meng Xingzhe. He was practically the nemesis of naive little rabbits, the epitome of a straightforward man, utterly oblivious to any hint of romance.

Tong Yumo bit her lower lip hard and asked the leader, “Sir, what do you mean by not doing it for free?”

The leader explained, “It means if you want us to clean your room, you’ll need to pay separately.”

Tong Yumo’s face was full of innocence and confusion. “But my room is part of the same house as the one you’re cleaning. It should count as one job. Why charge separately?”

Her voice was soft and weak, and she glanced at Meng Xingzhe at the end. However, Meng Xingzhe seemed completely absorbed in his magazine, as if he had isolated himself from the outside world with knowledge.

Tian Huasheng jumped up from the sofa and bounced over to Yao Jia’s room door. Yao Jia felt the floorboards vibrate with his energetic approach.

Standing before her, Tian Huasheng winked and whispered that Meng Xingzhe was actually staring at an advertisement page selling Maca, a supplement for vitality.

Yao Jia nearly burst out laughing.

Was he exposing his own flaws to fend off Tong Yumo’s overly sentimental affections?

That’s quite a sacrifice.

On the sofa, Meng Xingzhe glanced at an advertisement, then angrily pulled out his phone to message the Xingbei Technology management group.

“Who was responsible for placing the magazine ad? Are you out of your mind? Is it appropriate to have our products advertised on the same page as male enhancement pills? Do our small appliances excite people or something?!”

Seeing Meng Xingzhe so engrossed in the advertisement and fiddling with his phone, as if he were about to place an order immediately, Tong Yumo awkwardly got up and returned to her room.

The living room returned to a brief calm. Yao Jia walked over, turned on the TV, and sat at a distance from Meng Xingzhe, munching on sunflower seeds while watching a design show. Tian Huasheng also pulled up a chair to sit beside her, joining in the snacking and watching.

“You like watching this design show? I prefer cooking shows,” Tian Huasheng said in a cutesy voice, sharing her personal preferences with Yao Jia.

Barely two minutes into the show, Meng Xingzhe’s phone started ringing incessantly.

Yao Jia turned down the TV volume with the remote, watching the subtitles while eavesdropping on Meng Xingzhe’s phone conversations:

“The bed and latex mattress will be delivered soon? Okay, I’ll be here.”

“You have the Italian chandelier I ordered, but you’re out of the table lamp? If you don’t have it, source it from another channel. I won’t accept a substitute from a different origin. I’m only used to this particular lamp. Yes, it’s very important to me.”

“Yes, it’s the Burmese rosewood wardrobe I ordered. Deliver it in an hour.”

“Can you deliver the massage chair now? If not, come in two hours after I’ve sorted everything else.”

Yao Jia listened, finding it increasingly extravagant.

Why buy an Italian chandelier while living here? To put on a nightly show of pretentiousness?

She couldn’t help but admire his audacity. Even as a hidden heiress, she hadn’t caused even a third of this commotion. She began to wonder if Meng Xingzhe was secretly a prince experiencing life among the common folk. To make such a fuss in a shared employee dormitory, he truly had a taste for the finer things.

Until she overheard the last call—

As soon as Meng Xingzhe answered, a torrent of angry shouting erupted from the phone’s speaker.

“Meng Xingzhe, you bastard! You stole my credit card! Are you even human? If you keep using my card to buy things, I’ll come over and kill you! Send my card back immediately, you bastard! Do you think you’re some Domineering CEO? You’re just a lowly customer service rep, wake up! I slave away in research and development, risking baldness to earn money, and you need to return my card now!”

Meng Xingzhe calmly pulled the phone away from his ear, hung up, and ended the call.

Then, nonchalantly, he turned to Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, who were listening in, and said, “That’s my buddy. He’s got a bit of a temper.”

Yao Jia almost dropped her sunflower seeds.

His friend has been far too patient! If it were her, she would have bled this spendthrift dry—turns out he’s making someone else foot the bill for his vanity and lifestyle. No wonder he spends so freely.

What a piece of work.

※※※※※※

After the cleaning was done, the items Meng Xingzhe ordered began arriving one after another. Apart from the bed, mattress, carpet, wardrobe, and massage chair, which were forced into the room, the Italian chandelier, automatic coffee machine, and fitness equipment couldn’t fit and were left piled in the living room, awaiting further arrangements.

Looking at the heaps of items, Yao Jia was truly impressed. She couldn’t help but ask Meng Xingzhe, “You only earn a few thousand a month. How can you spend like this? Do you have a grudge against your buddy?”

Meng Xingzhe paused, as if awakened by her words, realizing he wasn’t wealthy and was merely using someone else’s credit card. He had to sober up from his illusion of grandeur and face the harsh reality of his modest salary.

“You’re right,” he nodded. “I do have a grudge against him. He owes me a lot of money and refuses to pay. But I shouldn’t be spending like this. I’ll return the things I don’t need.”

So he only returned the Italian chandelier.

“I earn money quickly,” he told Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, “so don’t be too surprised. I’ll make back what I spent today in no time.” He even had the audacity to add, “Life doesn’t allow talented and perfect people to languish at the bottom for long.”

Yao Jia wanted to spit at him.

Talented, my foot! You’re just like me, tied for last place in two exams.

Grinding her teeth, Yao Jia thought, she wanted to see how Meng Xingzhe, a mere phone customer service rep, could make money so quickly.

※※※

In the evening, while Meng Xingzhe was still wrestling with his room, Tian Huasheng finished dinner and practiced yoga in the living room in front of the TV. Tong Yumo had called her cousin and cousin-in-law to help her organize her room. She ultimately decided against hiring a cleaning service.

Yao Jia lay on her bed, fiddling with her phone, a thought lingering in her mind: Would her phone light up soon? Would her parents call to check on her?

Unexpectedly, her phone did light up. Yao Jia hurriedly checked the screen, only to find it was a call from Ling Xiaoxin, not her parents.

As soon as she answered the phone, Yao Jia heard Ling Xiaoxin’s soft sobbing. “Jia Jia, what should I do? I was working on a document, and suddenly my computer crashed. All my files are gone! My supervising lawyer needs the document for tomorrow, and there’s no time to rewrite it. I’ve asked several computer repair shops, and they all said they can’t help with this situation. What am I going to do, Jia Jia? I’m afraid I’ll lose my job and have to go home!”

Yao Jia’s head throbbed from Ling Xiaoxin’s crying. She comforted her, “Don’t worry, don’t worry! I’m thinking of a solution for you!” Then she grabbed her phone and rushed out of the room, standing at the door and shouting, “Does anyone here know how to fix computers?!”

Tian Huasheng was startled out of a flying yoga pose, collapsing onto the mat, and shook his head in panic, indicating he couldn’t help. Tong Yumo emerged from her room, displeased. “Could you ask more quietly? You scared me! You’re not the only one living in this house. Besides, how would ordinary people know how to fix computers? Are you just grasping at straws?”

Ling Xiaoxin’s near-hysterical sobbing continued over the phone. Yao Jia realized she was also panicking because of the crying. It didn’t seem like anyone in this house could handle computer issues.

She was contemplating calming Ling Xiaoxin first, then taking her out to find a repair shop. If one shop couldn’t help, they would try another, determined to resolve the issue.

Just then, Meng Xingzhe’s door opened.

He stepped out in flamboyant silk pajamas, shimmering as if he were walking the red carpet. Leaning against the wall with a playful smile, he looked at Yao Jia and raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s make a bet.”

“If I can fix your computer, you’ll swap your master bedroom with the private bathroom for mine. How about it?”