When Wei Yuanxiao reached the door, he happened to pass by Ruan Xingchen.
"Huh?" He paused and glanced toward the hallway. "That girl just now was…"
Lu Jingyuan cast him a calm glance and walked toward the sofa."Did you transfer the 150,000?"
As if he hadn't heard him, Wei Yuanxiao shut the door and quickly followed, dropping onto the sofa beside him. He slung an arm over Lu Jingyuan's shoulder and leaned in with a teasing grin.
"When I got out of the elevator, I saw a pure-looking beauty. Then right at your door, I ran into a cute little girl. Jingyuan, you've got quite the situation going on."
Thinking of the girl he had just seen, he couldn't help adding another comment.
"That girl might look young, but she's definitely more mature than she seems. There's a phrase for that, right…?"
Before he could finish, Lu Jingyuan suddenly jabbed his elbow into his chest.
"Oof—!"
Wei Yuanxiao clutched his chest, coughing repeatedly. "Are you trying to kill me?!"
After a while, he finally caught his breath."I just said a couple of things about her—was that really necessary…?"
Then something clicked.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wait… don't tell me you've taken a liking to that girl? She looks underage! You're not seriously thinking like that, are you?"
Lu Jingyuan frowned, clearly displeased.
"'Not that young,' huh? Don't kid yourself," Wei Yuanxiao continued. "She's at most seventeen or eighteen. And you? You're already well into your thirties. That's over a ten-year gap. Aren't you worried about the consequences?"
Lu Jingyuan narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within."Say one more word, and get out."
"Alright, alright, I'll stop."
Wei Yuanxiao leaned back against the sofa, crossing his legs casually."Now can you explain what happened with my underwear… and that 150,000?"
After leaving the twelfth floor, Ruan Xingchen grabbed a quick bowl of noodles downstairs before heading back to sleep.
She slept until her alarm rang, then slowly crawled out of bed.
Reaching for her phone, she turned off the alarm and unlocked the screen.
As expected, there were several unread messages.
Last night it had been photos. Today, it was videos.
Watching the clip on her screen, Ruan Xingchen felt a wave of disgust.
Seriously… even during the day?
Didn't that jerk ever get tired?
Below the video were two text messages:
— Did you see that? I'm the one who's truly compatible with him—in every way.— He likes me. You'd better know your place and cancel your engagement with him.
Ruan Xingchen let out a cold scoff, set her phone aside, and got out of bed.
For girls their age, if they wanted relatively easy, high-paying part-time jobs, places like bars or clubs were often the only option.
"Colorful Nights" was a well-known high-end club in C City.
Walking through the dim corridor, the clinking of glasses and bursts of laughter echoed around them. Ruan Xingchen nervously clutched Lu Xiaobai's sleeve, her big eyes darting around.
"Xiaobai… maybe we should find somewhere else."
The place felt oppressive, filled with the smell of smoke and alcohol. She had a feeling she might pass out before earning any money.
Lu Xiaobai patted her hand without even turning back."Just think about the money. You won't feel scared anymore."
Ruan Xingchen had no comeback for that.
She really did need the money.
After she turned eighteen, her father had stopped sending her living expenses.
That meant for the rest of high school—and the four years of university ahead—she had to support herself.
Fortunately, the female manager who hired them was somewhat considerate. Since they were new and still students, she didn't assign them to serve drinks. Instead, after changing into uniforms, they were asked to help clean private rooms.
In simple terms, they were cleaners.
Whenever a group of guests left, they had to quickly go in and tidy up the room within a limited time so the next group could use it immediately.
After finishing their first room, the other two workers went off to clean elsewhere.
Ruan Xingchen rubbed her sore waist and complained,"Xiaobai, what kind of job is this? It's exhausting."
"What, cleaning isn't good enough? Or would you rather—"
Lu Xiaobai suddenly stopped mid-sentence. She froze, muttered a low "Oh crap," shoved the cleaning cloth into Ruan Xingchen's hand, and said,
"I suddenly have a stomachache—I need to use the restroom!"
Before Ruan Xingchen could react, she had already run off.
Looking at the cloth in her hand, Ruan Xingchen pouted.
She had barely taken two steps when a familiar voice suddenly rang out—
"Hey, isn't that Ruan Xingchen over there?"
At the far end of the corridor, a tall figure stopped in his tracks.
A pair of dark, heavy eyes fixed directly on her.