Jiang Tongyan said, “Qian Xiaoke, do you hate the rich?”
Qian Xiaoke glanced at him and answered seriously, “I don’t hate the rich, I just hate you.”
This sentence confused Jiang Tongyan, “Your logic doesn’t make sense, does it? Even if there’s a grudge, it should be me holding a grudge against you!”
Qian Xiaoke came closer and looked at Jiang Tongyan’s shirt carefully, making sure it was wiped clean, and then sat back.
“Why? Obviously I am more wronged.” Qian Xiaoke sat back down and continued eating his spicy hot pot. If he didn’t eat faster, the noodles would get soggy and ruin the taste. Then his 36 yuan would have been wasted!
Jiang Tongyan’s clothes were clean, and he returned to sit opposite Qian Xiaoke, “How dare you ask?”
Jiang Tongyan was now wondering if Qian Xiaoke had a flaw in his intelligence or a flaw in his worldview that he dared to actually ask him why! He was the one who wanted to ask why!
Qian Xiaoke didn’t listen to his words at all; his mind was full of: Eat quickly, eat quickly, it won’t taste good later!
Seeing him like this, Jiang Tongyan felt utterly helpless and thought to himself, fine, go ahead and eat. I’ll settle this with you once you’re done.
So, he just stared at Qian Xiaoke eating, and he laughed while staring at him. This kid’s eating style was really ugly, so ugly that he couldn’t look away.
Qian Xiaoke knew that this person was looking at him, and he was not used to this. Of course, no one could get used to being stared at with such an intense gaze while eating.
At first, Qian Xiaoke could still bear it because he felt that there was no need to be distracted by this person, but his patience was limited, and mascots also had tempers.
Qian Xiaoke looked up and said with an unhappy face, “Why are you so rude?”
“Hey, are you really lecturing me about manners now? Do you even have any?”
Qian Xiaoke curled his lips, “I do.”
He said seriously, “I just said thank you to the waiter. Did you say it?”
“I said it.”
“I didn’t hear it.”
“Just because you didn’t hear it, so it didn’t happen?” Jiang Tongyan laughed jokingly, “Your logic is really flawed.”
“Your logic is the one that’s flawed,” Qian Xiaoke waved his hand, “Wait a moment, let me finish eating before we continue this debate.”
He picked up a piece of potato chips and stuffed it into his mouth, saying, “When I was in college, I was on our school’s debate team!”
“Uh-huh? Have you won any awards in the competition?”
Qian Xiaoke glared at him and didn’t answer.
How could he possibly tell Jiang Tongyan that he was a substitute on the debate team—the kind that had never even been on stage?!
Of course, later he was ‘temporarily transferred’ to the basketball team to be a cheerleader, where he truly shined.
Seeing that he didn’t reply, Jiang Tongyan didn’t say anything more and continued to stare at Qian Xiaoke eating with a smile.
He found that Qian Xiaoke was really interesting, and worthy of being the ‘mascot’ of Cheng Sen’s company.
When Qian Xiaoke finally finished eating, he wiped his mouth and muttered, “It’s done. It’s all gone.”
Jiang Tongyan almost laughed out loud, then got up, walked to the cashier, and bought a bottle of Coke.
Qian Xiaoke was a little surprised. He didn’t expect this person to be so considerate. In just a moment, his view of Jiang Tongyan changed 180 degrees. He was suddenly a little touched and even wanted to be responsible for this person!
He sat there obediently, with his lips pursed, watching Jiang Tongyan come back with an iced Coke. He stretched out his hand to take it while smiling shyly, “Oh, it’s not necessary…”
However, before he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Tongyan standing in front of him, opening the Coke and drinking it.
“… Tsk.” I knew this person wouldn’t be so kind! Qian Xiaoke’s eyes were about to roll up to the sky.
Jiang Tongyan teased him deliberately, “What did you say about not necessary?”
“No, you are hallucinating.” Qian Xiaoke stood up angrily, holding his small schoolbag and preparing to leave.
“Sir, you took one less bottle of Coke.”
The waiter came over and put another bottle of Coke on their table.
Qian Xiaoke looked at the Coke on the table and then looked at Jiang Tongyan.
“Oh, yes, I was going to bring it back to drink.”
Qian Xiaoke took a deep breath and walked out of the spicy hot pot restaurant with a stride that showed he cared for no one.
Jiang Tongyan, who succeeded in his trick, laughed so hard that he almost got a stitch in the side and followed him out leisurely with two bottles of Coke.
“Hey!” Jiang Tongyan walked behind and shouted at Qian Xiaoke’s back.
He could tell from his back how angry the guy was at the moment, which was very funny.
Jiang Tongyan felt that he was a bit perverted now. He actually liked to tease such a little rabbit. He was so childish that he was just like a three-year-old child. If Shen Huiming saw him like this, he would probably laugh at him to death.
But Shen Huiming couldn’t see him now, so Jiang Tongyan planned to continue.
“Why are you running?” Jiang Tongyan said again, and this time, Qian Xiaoke turned around.
Qian Xiaoke stopped and turned to glare at him, “First! I didn’t run! I was angry! Second! My name is not Hey! I’m Qian Xiaoke!”
Jiang Tongyan’s right eyelid twitched. This sentence always seemed a little familiar. His eight-year-old niece seemed to have a similar line in an idol drama she watched a while ago.
Qian Xiaoke also watched idol dramas?
It fitted with his persona.
“What are you laughing at?” Qian Xiaoke felt that Jiang Tongyan might not only be impotent but also have problems with his brain. If not, why would he stand here and laugh so weirdly? Even if he is handsome, he should still be sent to a mental hospital!
Qian Xiaoke said, “Are you a pig?”
“You are.” Jiang Tongyan handed him the unopened bottle of Coke, “Didn’t you eat all the food?”
Qian Xiaoke smiled proudly, “I refuse to eat food given with contempt, even if it leads me to this point!”
“Ah?”
Jiang Tongyan’s Chinese level was really limited, and Qian Xiaoke suddenly said this, and he didn’t understand it at all.
“Uncultured.” Qian Xiaoke said, “I hate uneducated nouveau riche like you the most.”
After saying that, Qian Xiaoke felt happy, turned to the small supermarket next door, and bought himself a bottle of Coke that was exactly the same as the one in Jiang Tongyan’s hand.
Qian Xiaoke, “I have plenty of money!”
When he said this, he was very unconfident, so he turned around and ran away.
Jiang Tongyan was almost amused to death by him. How could there be such a funny person?
Was Qian Xiaoke only three years old this year?
A three-year-old child shouldn’t be so childish, right?
Sometimes, criticising others was a reflection of one’s own shortcomings. While Jiang Tongyan was busy mocking Qian Xiaoke for having the maturity of a three-year-old, he failed to realise that, at thirty, he hadn’t been much more mature himself.
Qian Xiaoke swaggered ahead, looking like he was walking with a powerful, confident stride, but in reality, he was mentally calculating—36 yuan for the spicy hot pot plus 3 yuan for the iced cola. One meal had cost him an entire day’s food budget!
Qian Xiaoke, who had always been careful with money, was bleeding in his heart.
However, he did learn a valuable lesson from this experience: First, he decided it was best to stay away from Jiang Tongyan because he realised that whenever he was around him, his rationality would vanish, and he could snap at any moment, never knowing what kind of reckless actions he might take out of spite. Second, no matter how angry or prideful he got, he should never joke around with money again. Every single penny he had didn’t just fall from the sky—it was his hard-earned money, and it wasn’t worth wasting. Really, it just wasn’t worth it!
Qian Xiaoke pouted and mourned for the 39 yuan he lost.
“Hey.”
“I’m not Hey.”
“Qian Xiaoke.” Jiang Tongyan took a few quick steps and followed him. “We haven’t finished discussing that matter just now.”
Jiang Tongyan thought: Why am I so idle? I haven’t even looked at the contract Cheng Sen sent me, yet I somehow have time to be tangled up with this little nutcase here.
“What’s the matter?” Qian Xiaoke was a little absent-minded when he answered. He was thinking about his 39 yuan.
This bottle of Coke hadn’t been opened yet. He decided not to drink it. He took it home and kept it. He would open the bottle to celebrate when he got a salary increase or a bonus.
Actually, although Qian Xiaoke didn’t make much money every month, he wasn’t so tight. After deducting the rent from his monthly salary, the rest was enough for him to live an everyday life. It was just that he always tried to save a little money every month.
Qian Xiaoke was well aware that life wasn’t easy, and he knew he didn’t have any great abilities. He set small monthly goals for himself, mainly because deep down, he had a bigger goal that he only dared to think about vaguely, never having the courage to actually write it down and stick it on the refrigerator door.
Every month, he divided his salary into several parts: one for rent, one for living expenses, and the rest for other uses.
Since he started working, Qian Xiaoke set aside two hundred yuan each month to buy into the ‘Free Lunch’ initiative he found online, a charity project that provides meals for children in impoverished areas. It wasn’t that he thought of himself as particularly noble; he just believed in doing good deeds whenever possible to accumulate some good karma. Who knew, maybe one day, all that accumulated karma would pay off, and he’d reach the peak of his life.
In addition, he kept the remaining money in a separate account. He didn’t even dare to name the account, nor did he dare to hope that one day this thing would really work.
He saved that money to buy a house. He knew that he definitely couldn’t afford it, but he still saved a few hundred yuan every month.
Sometimes, when Qian Xiaoke heard his colleagues talking about housing prices, he would hide and look at his savings. He knew that he would need to work hard for another 100 years to buy a small house of 50 square meters.
However, Qian Xiaoke felt quite happy to live like this every day.
“You’ve forgotten so quickly?” Jiang Tongyan said, “Who do you think should hold a grudge between us?”
Qian Xiaoke’s body shook again when he heard this.
He knew that Jiang Tongyan was here to seek revenge.
After that night, Qian Xiaoke seriously reflected on it. He knew that Jiang Tongyan was half responsible for this matter, and he was also half responsible, but…
Qian Xiaoke covered his face with grief and struggled for five minutes.
For those five minutes, his mother’s teachings echoed in his mind: Xiaoke, we may be poor, but we are not poor in spirit. As people, we must be open, honest, and straightforward. We should be upright, righteous, and dignified. We must never engage in sneaky or opportunistic activities, and we absolutely must not do anything that goes against our conscience or harms society!
At this moment, Qian Xiaoke, standing on the sidewalk, seemed to be performing a one-man show, and Jiang Tongyan stood beside him and watched the fun, holding back his laughter.
Finally, Qian Xiaoke calmed down and opened his small schoolbag again.
He took out his bank card—the card on which he was going to save money to buy a house.
Qian Xiaoke handed the card to Jiang Tongyan with shaking hands, “Take it.”
“Hm?”
“This is all my savings,” Qian Xiaoke said, “Take it for your medical treatment. If it’s not enough, I will start a street stall tomorrow night and sell all the T-shirts, slippers and jeans I have worn at home at a low price to see if I can raise enough money for your medical expenses.”
Jiang Tongyan: “…Are you out of your mind?”
“Just take it.” Qian Xiaoke sighed, “I really should take responsibility for you like a man.”
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