Chapter 27: Can You Lend Me Some Money?

That evening, back at the dorm, Yao Jia thought for a moment before knocking on Tong Yumo’s door. Tong Yumo was watching a drama on her iPad with headphones on.

Yao Jia always believed in addressing things directly, so she got straight to the point and asked Tong Yumo, “Was it you who recorded the audio earlier today?”

Tong Yumo looked surprised, “Huh?” she said, taking off her headphones.

“What recording? My phone fell into a basin of water this morning, so I didn’t have it with me all day. I’ve been watching dramas on my iPad. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen!”

Yao Jia raised an eyebrow.

She planned to ask them tomorrow.

Tong Yumo asked, “Did something happen?”

Yao Jia smiled, “That question sounds fake. There’s no way Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen didn’t gossip with you. Anyway, go back to watching your drama and keep honing your acting skills.”

Tong Yumo didn’t argue further, turning around to go back into her room and closing the door.

After having dinner with Tian Huasheng and Meng Xingzhe, Yao Jia intended to return to her room to play a few rounds of KartRider to unwind.

But Meng Xingzhe stretched out his long legs, effectively blocking her path.

“?” Yao Jia said bluntly, “A good mule doesn’t block the road.”

Meng Xingzhe maintained an aloof expression, as if he wouldn’t stoop to argue with her.

“Lend me some money,” he said in a haughty tone.

???

Yao Jia almost thought she was hearing things.

******

On his way back to the dorm after work, Meng Xingzhe called Bei Luonan to ask for some funds for social engagements.

“I’ve arranged to have dinner with people from Kunyu Electric’s Technical Department. I’ll use the opportunity to explore their product technology development. You see, I’m doing this for Xingbei Technology, so you should cover the dinner expenses.”

Bei Luonan told him directly, “Should I have our company’s accountant call you? She can explain whether there’s any money left in our accounts to reimburse your dinner expenses.” He paused, speaking earnestly, “Xingxing, you know how much our chip development and open-source forum maintenance costs. The small appliance production line also relies on money to keep running, and there’s…”

“Alright, alright,” Meng Xingzhe couldn’t bear to hear Bei Luonan nag like an old lady about how poor they were as entrepreneurs.

“So tell me, I only have a hundred bucks on me, and payday is nowhere in sight. How am I supposed to treat the Technical Department to dinner?” Meng Xingzhe asked irritably.

Bei Luonan suggested, “Borrow some from your roommates, just to tide you over.”

Meng Xingzhe nearly stumbled on the curb.

Had he really sunk so low that he had to borrow money from the three broke roommates in his dorm?

If it had come to this, what was the point of living?

******

After dinner, Meng Xingzhe suddenly realized that life was still worth living.

So he gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and after a fierce internal struggle, temporarily set aside his noble and handsome dignity to stop Yao Jia and ask her for money.

Hearing Meng Xingzhe’s “Lend me some money,” Yao Jia wondered how he managed to say those four words as if he were the one lending her money.

“Why borrow from me?” Yao Jia asked.

“I thought about borrowing from Little Tian, but he doesn’t have any either.”

Yao Jia nodded inwardly. That was true; Tian Huasheng sent most of his paycheck to his mother every month.

“Borrowing from Tong Yumo would be like taking her life,” Meng Xingzhe added.

Yao Jia nodded again. Tong Yumo was indeed tighter with money than with her life.

“So that leaves you,” Meng Xingzhe said with self-assured logic.

“…” Yao Jia chuckled. As if she wouldn’t refuse him.

“Aren’t you helpful? You can lend it to me.” As if hearing her internal complaints, Meng Xingzhe suddenly flattered her.

“……” Fine. Yao Jia thought, sometimes he really knows how to hit her weak spot.

“Why do you need to borrow money?” she asked Meng Xingzhe.

She needed to know what he planned to do before deciding whether to lend him money.

Meng Xingzhe maintained his unapproachable, noble demeanor, completely lacking the humility expected of someone borrowing money.

So immature, Yao Jia thought to herself.

“I want to treat the Technical Department to dinner,” Meng Xingzhe said.

Tian Huasheng immediately poked his head over, “Is it that rich and beautiful sister from the Technical Department who came to the break room looking for you today?”

Meng Xingzhe nodded.

“Wow!” Tian Huasheng exclaimed, starry-eyed, “Bro, your love life is blooming!”

Yao Jia inwardly scoffed. No money, yet he wants to flaunt wealth by treating someone to dinner. Doesn’t he feel embarrassed?

“It’s just a meal. Don’t you have a credit card? Just charge it. Why borrow money from me?” Yao Jia asked.

“I really don’t have a credit card,” Meng Xingzhe said, puffing out his chest.

He once had an unlimited credit card. With no spending limit, his mindset followed suit, leading him to spend recklessly without any sense of restraint. This extravagance often resulted in him forgetting to repay before the due date, nearly affecting his credit score several times. Eventually, for the sake of caution, Bei Luonan insisted on canceling the card.

“…” Yao Jia was speechless. No credit card was one thing, but why did he still act so smug about it?

She mocked Meng Xingzhe, “If you’re broke, why not let a rich girl treat you?”

Meng Xingzhe frowned, “How could I do that?”

Yao Jia thought he was finally shedding the suspicion of being a freeloader and had developed the awareness of “how can I let a girl pay?”

But then she heard him continue, “How can I let the other person pay right from the start? Without initial investment, how can there be returns later?”

Yao Jia: “…”

This guy still wants to freeload, doesn’t he?

Yao Jia didn’t want to lend him money, lest he use his looks to con girls.

Meng Xingzhe squinted at her, pondering deeply, and asked, “You don’t have a thing for me, do you? Is that why you don’t want to lend me money, to block my chances of dining with other girls?”

Yao Jia rolled her eyes dramatically, as if she were crushing stones with her chest.

To prevent Meng Xingzhe from having any narcissistic delusions, she immediately slapped a hundred yuan note onto him.

Meng Xingzhe picked up the money, looking incredulous, “Just one note? What am I supposed to do with this? Are you giving alms to a beggar?”

“???” Borrowing money and still so chatty, Yao Jia snapped at him, “A hundred yuan isn’t enough to shut you up?”

Meng Xingzhe was quite displeased, “You think a hundred yuan can shut me up? Is my mouth that cheap?”

Yao Jia retorted immediately, “For you, yes, your mouth is cheap!”

Meng Xingzhe was angry, “If you don’t lend me more today, it means you secretly like me!”

Yao Jia quickly pulled out another fifty from her wallet and threw it at him.

Meng Xingzhe almost shouted, “You’re giving fifty at a time?”

“I’m poor too, okay!” Yao Jia raised her voice.

“I’m not saying I won’t pay you back! I bet you secretly like me!” Meng Xingzhe yelled even louder.

Yao Jia, unable to bear it, threw another fifty at him.

“Two hundred yuan, are you suggesting I take someone to eat grass?” Meng Xingzhe was still dissatisfied.

Yao Jia angrily snapped, “You’re so picky even when you’re broke, why don’t you just starve?”

Meng Xingzhe said, “You like me.”

Yao Jia was utterly furious. She threw another fifty at Meng Xingzhe, gritting her teeth, “That’s all there is, take it or leave it!”

Two hundred fifty is all you deserve, not a penny more!

******

From Yao Jia’s expression, Meng Xingzhe saw that the “you like me” provocation had reached its limit. Any further and he wouldn’t get more money. So he chose to back down.

He turned to Tian Huasheng and asked, “Xiao Tian, what can you eat with two hundred fifty yuan?”

Tian Huasheng, sitting across from them, was watching their negotiation with great interest, his face full of excitement.

Suddenly addressed, he was momentarily stunned, then his eyes lit up as he said, “Pizza Hut! My mom loves Pizza Hut’s pizzas, but we have to save money and can’t go often. When I start earning, I’ll take her there every day!”

Yao Jia felt a pang of sadness.

“Xiao Tian, don’t cook dinner the day after tomorrow. Let’s go to Pizza Hut, my treat!” she said to Tian Huasheng.

Tian Huasheng was taken aback and asked Yao Jia, “Why not go tomorrow?”

Yao Jia glanced at Meng Xingzhe and sneered, “I’m afraid some people might get the wrong idea, thinking I’m jealous and taking you to spy on him dining with other girls!”

Meng Xingzhe flicked the two hundred fifty yuan in his hand and raised an eyebrow, “Then what about my dinner the day after tomorrow?” After thinking for a moment, he shamelessly said to Yao Jia, “Why don’t you take me along too?”

“…” Yao Jia wanted to grab a kitchen knife and chop him up.

******

The next day’s dinner was just Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng. Meng Xingzhe really did use the two hundred fifty yuan he borrowed through coercion and persuasion to treat a beauty from the Technical Department to Pizza Hut.

After dinner and washing the dishes, Yao Jia returned to her room. With nothing to do, she played a few rounds of KartRider on her mobile game. Her mentor wasn’t online, and she raced against others, consistently coming in first, without any competitive thrill.

For a moment, she missed racing against Xinghen. The opponent was strong enough to make the competition exciting. Thinking about it, she opened Xinghen’s chat window and left a message: [When are we going to race again? I’ve improved so much lately, I think our mentor-student roles might need reversing.]

After sending the message, Yao Jia exited the game.

In that instant, she suddenly felt a chill. Her message seemed to carry a tone of arrogance and self-importance.

She quickly patted her face, warning herself not to become pretentious by associating with the pretentious.

Just then, there was a noise at the front door.

Tian Huasheng was watching TV in the living room, and Yao Jia heard him greet Meng Xingzhe, who had just returned from dining with the beauty.

“Bro, how did it go? Did things go well with the pretty girl from the Technical Department?”

Yao Jia didn’t hear how Meng Xingzhe responded, or perhaps he didn’t answer at all and simply went inside, which is why she didn’t catch anything.

The next day at work, Yao Jia discreetly observed Meng Xingzhe’s demeanor.

She had never been in a relationship, nor had she ever been interested in any man. The only male celebrity she liked was Fang Jin. When it came to matters of love and how relationships develop, she was completely clueless. Her close friend Ling Xiaoxin was the same; they were both single since birth. She was somewhat curious about romance and wanted to learn about modern relationships by observing Meng Xingzhe as a living example, to see how feelings develop between men and women and what changes occur afterward.

She secretly watched Meng Xingzhe, but he seemed no different from usual. There was no sign of him being lovestruck, glowing with happiness. She couldn’t tell if this living example had successfully fallen in love.

It wasn’t until her afternoon break in the pantry that her curiosity was satisfied.

When she entered the pantry, the two gossip machines, Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen, were in the middle of a juicy conversation. They had just finished discussing who in which department had been disciplined and were switching topics to the Technical Department. They didn’t bother to lower their voices, so Yao Jia heard a fresh piece of gossip while pouring her coffee.

“Hey, while Yumu isn’t around, let me tell you something, so she doesn’t get upset. I have a girlfriend in the Technical Department, and she told me during lunch that their department’s rich and beautiful Vice President went on a date with our Xiao Meng yesterday!” Hao Lidan said.

Hou Wenwen’s eyes widened immediately. “Wow, Xiao Meng’s got some skills, getting the ice queen from the Technical Department to go out with him so quickly!”

Hao Lidan continued, “My friend said that the Vice President was quite impressed with Xiao Meng’s demeanor, especially his looks. She thought his job position was a bit lacking, but she didn’t mind. If they ended up together, she could help him change jobs.”

“Ha, she really looks down on our Customer Service Department,” Hou Wenwen remarked sourly.

Hao Lidan agreed and continued, “Overall, the Vice President seemed to like Xiao Meng, so when he invited her to dinner, she immediately accepted. But then, guess what!”

Hou Wenwen quickly asked what was so funny.

Hao Lidan said, “The Vice President probably expected Xiao Meng to take her to a fancy restaurant or Japanese cuisine at the very least, but he took her to Pizza Hut!”

“Hahaha!” Hou Wenwen burst into laughter.

Yao Jia frowned as she sipped her coffee at the counter.

What kind of mentality is this? Everyone’s monthly salary is only a few thousand yuan. No one can afford high-end expenses, yet they think it’s respectable to pretend to be wealthy by dining at fancy restaurants and mock those who live within their means by going to Pizza Hut.

She thought vanity might be the root cause of this phenomenon.

She heard Hao Lidan continue, “And that’s not the funniest part. The funniest part is that the Vice President complained to my friend that it was the most awkward meal she’d ever had. Xiao Meng, she said, was the most straightforward guy she’d ever met. Despite his good looks, he spent the entire meal talking about technical stuff, not romance. Wenwen, can you believe it? A customer service guy having dinner with a beauty and talking about tech all night! Isn’t that hilarious? No matter how she tried to steer the conversation towards romance, Xiao Meng stubbornly stuck to tech talk! The Vice President was so frustrated she said even if he were the most handsome guy in the world, she’d never date him again!”

“Hahahaha!” Hou Wenwen laughed even harder, almost uncontrollably. “What was Xiao Meng thinking? This is killing me!”

A voice suddenly came from behind Hou Wenwen, “Do you need me to call 911 for you?”

It was Meng Xingzhe.

Hou Wenwen and Hao Lidan froze at the sound, turning around in shock, nearly dropping their cups.

They awkwardly made a few excuses and quickly left.

Yao Jia walked over to join Meng Xingzhe and Tian Huasheng.

Tian Huasheng was trying to comfort Meng Xingzhe, “Bro, don’t get upset. Don’t listen to their nonsense!”

Yao Jia thought he was going to tell Meng Xingzhe that there were plenty of other fish in the sea besides the Technical Department’s ice queen.

Instead—

“Pizza Hut’s great. It’s not as bad as they say. I think it’s quite impressive!”

“…” Yao Jia almost felt a fond pity for this naive and straightforward guy.

Through the gossip shared by Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen, Yao Jia surmised that Meng Xingzhe was trying to use the rich and beautiful women from the Technical Department as a stepping stone to transfer there. During dates, he overdid it by constantly talking about technical matters. She thought that Meng Xingzhe was eager to show off his skills, likely to prove himself.

However, he was just a customer service representative. Trying to show off in front of the Deputy Director of Technology seemed laughable. He might know a bit about electrical principles, but considering his role, his knowledge was surely limited. The more he flaunted, the more flaws would be exposed.

He must have embarrassed himself in front of the beautiful Deputy Director of Technology, making her lose patience and decide not to go on a second date with him.

Although Yao Jia heard Meng Xingzhe tell Tian Huasheng that the reason there wouldn’t be a second date was, “That lady has a bad temper. She got angry because she couldn’t answer my technical questions,” she had her doubts. After all, he was just a customer service representative. How could his knowledge of technical issues stump the Deputy Director of Technology? He must have been arguing nonsensically, irritating her.

******

Two days after treating the Technical Department’s beauty to a meal, Meng Xingzhe boldly asked Yao Jia for money again, claiming it was to treat another girl to dinner.

These girls were from the R&D Department, Operations Department, Sales Department, Administration Department… all rich and beautiful women.

Whenever Yao Jia refused to lend him money, Meng Xingzhe accused her of being jealous.

This infuriated Yao Jia, who would then throw 250 yuan at this “fool” and demand he write an IOU. She insisted he repay the principal plus interest calculated as if it were in a money market account, with the threat of running naked downstairs if he defaulted.

Initially, Meng Xingzhe refused to sign such a humiliating and unfair debt agreement.

Yao Jia firmly stated, “Fine, if you don’t sign, I won’t lend you money. At worst, I’ll bear the reputation of being jealous! In three months, I’ll be a free and clear person again!”

Meng Xingzhe didn’t understand the specific significance of her “three months,” but it coincided with his own deadline, bringing him a sense of amused coincidence. For this little joy, he signed the unfair debt agreement, risking the threat of running naked.

Afterward, Yao Jia began hearing from Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen about “Xiao Meng going to Pizza Hut with yet another department’s beauty.”

These rumors shared a common theme: before the dates, the beauties from various departments had high hopes for Meng Xingzhe’s looks. But after a meal at Pizza Hut, they were all put off by this straight-laced guy who only talked about R&D, operations, sales, and management throughout the meal.

There would be no second meal!

This was the unanimous sentiment they all shared.

At this point, Yao Jia felt she understood Meng Xingzhe’s plan. He seemed to have high ambitions, not wanting to remain in the Customer Service Department, where every department could boss him around. He intended to use a department’s beauty as a springboard to transfer to her department.

Unfortunately, he kept using the wrong approach, thinking that discussing department matters with a beauty would showcase his capability to work there. Sadly, his overzealous self-promotion backfired, leaving the beauties uninterested in sharing another Pizza Hut meal with him.

Realizing this, Yao Jia felt a sense of crisis, thinking she should guard her identity more closely. Meng Xingzhe was a classic example of trying to achieve success through women, like casting a wide net and catching whoever he could.

Yao Jia couldn’t help but grind her teeth, thinking Meng Xingzhe was truly a scoundrel.

Meng Xingzhe’s exploits spread throughout the call center via Hao Lidan and Hou Wenwen. Yao Jia noticed that the women who had been eager to spread their wings around Meng Xingzhe seemed to quietly pull back.

Only Tong Yumo didn’t retract her wings; she still hoped to fan some spring breeze towards Meng Xingzhe.

According to a report from Tian Huasheng, Yao Jia learned that one day Tong Yumo went to Meng Xingzhe’s room, unaware that Tian Huasheng was in the bathroom fixing a faucet. She openly poured out her heart to Meng Xingzhe.

Tian Huasheng recounted, “Tong Yumo told Brother Meng that given her family’s current situation, she’s also a rich beauty. She said she’s not as ordinary as she seems; her family owns a company, and she has connections at Kunyu Electric. If Brother Meng wants to switch departments by dating or marrying a department beauty, she could help him achieve that goal!”

The more Yao Jia listened, the wider her eyes grew.

Connections at Kunyu Electric? That means she has backing, right?

She never expected that in the most basic level of the Customer Service Department, there would be hidden talents. Besides her, there was someone else in the company with connections.

She couldn’t help but smile.

Tian Huasheng told her, “Jia, that smile of yours just now reminded me of Wu Zetian on TV, so commanding!” Then he asked, “So what were you smiling about?”

Yao Jia, still smiling, replied, “I was just trying to figure out why Li Wangli is so nice to Tong Yumo.”

This perfectly explained why from training to employment, Li Wangli always favored Tong Yumo and praised her so much.

It seemed that Tong Yumo had quite a strong backing, and Li Wangli was aware of it.

Recalling the incident where she was reported for hanging up the phone and cursing, Yao Jia laughed again.

If it was indeed Tong Yumo who reported her, things would get quite interesting.

After all, the person Tong Yumo wanted to drive away had backing from the top leader of the company.

Yao Jia suddenly felt curious about who exactly was backing Tong Yumo.

******

In the evening, Meng Xingzhe connected with the R&D team from Xingbei Technology’s subsidiary to discuss technical issues.

Once the official matters were settled, everyone else left the call, leaving only Bei Luonan.

Bei Luonan asked Meng Xingzhe, “How’s your undercover work at Kunyu Electric going? Have you gathered any useful information?”

Meng Xingzhe sighed and said, “Maybe I targeted the wrong group. I thought with my looks, the ladies would tell me everything. But when I took the female leaders with some achievements from Kunyu Electric out for dinner, none of them wanted to discuss work in depth. They all tried to steer the conversation towards romance and trivialities. So far, I haven’t gained much.”

Bei Luonan suggested, “Why don’t you try approaching the male leaders?”

Meng Xingzhe looked troubled. “You don’t understand. I’m too handsome. Men either see me as an enemy and get jealous, or they see me as a catch and want to devour me. My situation is actually quite difficult and dangerous. So, I need to carefully select who to approach next to gather valuable information.”

Before Meng Xingzhe could finish the phrase “carefully and gradually,” Bei Luonan was already gagging in disgust and decisively cut off the communication.

Meng Xingzhe didn’t mind; he was used to Bei Luonan’s occasional “pregnancy symptoms.”

He turned on the desk lamp and switched off the main light, settling in for a good night’s sleep.

The next morning, as soon as he arrived at work, Meng Xingzhe received a bewildering phone call.

— Translator’s Notes —

– Wu Zetian: Wu Zetian (624–705 CE) was the only woman in Chinese history to rule as emperor in her own right, renowned for her political acumen, ambition, and commanding authority during the Tang Dynasty.