"One hundred and fifty thousand a day?"
The Shuangqing Restaurant was bustling with noise.
When Meng Jie heard Wang Zihao mention the campus card's daily earnings, she was so stunned her mouth fell slightly open. The hand holding her chopsticks froze in mid-air, unmoving for a long time.
She knew Chen Yansen had made over a hundred thousand by reselling MP3 and MP4 players, but that had taken more than ten days. How could she not be shocked by a hundred and fifty thousand in a single day?
"That's just an estimate. How much we actually get will depend on Zhao Maolin's character."
Chen Yansen said calmly, picking up a piece of fish and putting it in his mouth.
"Brother Sen, are you saying Zhao Maolin is going to mess with our commission?"
Wang Zihao's smugness evaporated instantly, and he asked indignantly.
"We have a good idea of the phone card sales volume, so he won't short us on the eighty-yuan activation commission. But for the top-up bonus commission, we can't get precise data, so Zhao Maolin can naturally give us as much or as little as he wants."
Chen Yansen explained in an unhurried manner.
His words were like a splash of ice water, and Wang Zihao deflated, his face a mask of helplessness.
However, when he caught sight of Chen Yansen's calm and composed expression, his mind raced. A spark of hope ignited within him, and he hurriedly asked, "Brother Sen, you must have a way to deal with this, right?"
"What could I do? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Don't overthink it. Let's eat first."
Chen Yansen sighed softly and tapped on the table.
'As for a solution, of course I have one. If Zhao Maolin really dares to screw me out of money, I have more than enough ways to make him get on his knees and beg for mercy.'
'The reason I'm not telling Wang Zihao is, one, to make him understand how sinister people can be, and two, because he was getting carried away and celebrating prematurely. This serves as a little wake-up call.'
"Are you guys going to run for class president? My dad said the first few days of school are crucial. If you can get some face time with the counselor and manage to become class president, it'll give you an advantage later on, whether it's for scholarships or getting into the student union."
Meng Jie changed the subject with a grin.
"Our dad has a point, but I'm not interested in being class president."
Chen Yansen looked up and said with a grin.
Xucheng Academy was just a second-tier university, and besides, he had no plans to become a selected government trainee. The meager resources that came with the position of class president were worthless to him.
'Instead of wasting time on that, I'd rather focus on making more money.'
"Who's 'our dad'? You... You're just talking nonsense."
His shamelessness made Meng Jie laugh in exasperation, and she started to stutter.
Wang Zihao just chuckled and focused on shoveling down his food.
The three of them chatted and laughed, and the meal lasted for over an hour. By the time they walked out of the restaurant, the sky outside was already as dark as ink.
"Thanks for the meal, Boss Chen. I'm heading back to my dorm."
Meng Jie raised her wrist to check the time. There was still a quarter of an hour until eight, so she waved goodbye.
"The school's public bathhouse closes at eight. If you go back now, you probably won't have a place to shower. Want to come to my place?"
A mischievous smile played on Chen Yansen's lips, a glint in his eyes.
"What the—! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Meng Jie froze for a second, then puffed up her cheeks and demanded an answer.
"You never asked! What, are you afraid I'm going to eat you up?"
Chen Yansen put his hands in his pockets, leaned down, and whispered in Meng Jie's ear with a roguish, devil-may-care smile.
"Tch! Who's scared? We're good bros, aren't we? It's just borrowing your room for a shower."
Meng Jie's heart couldn't help but pound, but her words were nonchalant and carefree, without a hint of coyness.
"Is that so? That's what I was thinking too."
Chen Yansen gave a faint smile and turned to walk toward the hotel.
"Brother Sen, can I come up for a shower too?"
Wang Zihao shouted at his back, then eagerly scampered after him.
"Zihao, you're in good health. A cold shower would be fine for you, actually."
Chen Yansen turned his head, blinked, and said in a flat tone.
"Oh, oh! I just remembered, the counselor is coming by for a room check later. I'm gonna head back."
Wang Zihao might be inexperienced, but he wasn't stupid. After receiving Chen Yansen's signal, he reacted immediately, gave an awkward laugh, and scrambled back toward the school.
"Let's go, bro."
Chen Yansen patted the stunned Meng Jie on the shoulder and said with a teasing smile.
Walking into the hotel room, Meng Jie's eyes landed on the translucent, frosted glass door, and she immediately wanted to back out. "I... I didn't bring a change of clothes. Maybe I should just forget it."
"I prepared these for you."
Chen Yansen pointed to the desk. On it were disposable underwear, and even a disposable bath towel and face towel.
"You could have just told me earlier when the bathhouse closed."
Meng Jie had a sudden realization. The guy in front of her had clearly planned this for a while, even deliberately dragging out their meal.
"Don't you want to spend a little more time with me?"
Chen Yansen gently closed the door, slid the chain lock into place, and approached Meng Jie step by step.
"I... I don't know."
Meng Jie had wanted to say 'I don't,' but gazing into Chen Yansen's bright eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
"You've changed quite a bit."
Chen Yansen smiled, took a voluntary step back, and then sat on the edge of the bed. He stared straight at Meng Jie and began his assessment.
Her eyes were even and symmetrical, shimmering with a watery light. Her eyelashes were long and curved upwards. A pair of crescent-shaped *aegyo sal* under her eyes added a touch of vivacity, and her pink lips looked like a soft, wobbly piece of jelly.
Aside from her slightly short hair, ugly glasses, and lack of makeup, every other aspect of her filled Chen Yansen's heart with an irrepressible fondness.
'A cute girl like this... in my past life, she somehow struggled into her thirties without getting married, working her way up in the banking system the whole time.'
'The middle-aged woman at the class reunion, with her black-rimmed glasses and solemn expression, was like a completely different person from the young woman before me now.'
"You too. I feel like you've gotten taller again."
As Meng Jie spoke, she raised her hand to gesture above his head, only to find that the seated Chen Yansen was actually as tall as she was standing.
"I was 182 before, now 184. So, are you going to shower or not?"
Chen Yansen leaned back, supporting himself on the bed with his hands, and said lazily.
"This door is translucent! With you here, how can I possibly shower?"
Meng Jie put her hands on her hips and pointed at the frosted glass door.
"We're all bros here. You don't actually think I'd peek, do you? Besides, it's boiling hot outside. You'd have the heart to make your good bro suffer?"
Chen Yansen pouted, putting on an aggrieved expression as if to say, 'How could you not trust me?' and turned the accusation back on Meng Jie.
"You damn pervert! Scoundrel!"
Meng Jie was so angry her chest heaved. She shot him a harsh glare, but seeing his 'a dead pig isn't afraid of boiling water' attitude, she was completely at a loss. Helpless, she snatched a box of disposable underwear and stomped into the bathroom in a huff.
Before long, the sound of rushing water, SPLASH SPLASH, could be heard, and the delicate, lovely silhouette of a figure appeared clearly on the glass.
'Small, but still pretty cute.'
Chen Yansen threw a casual glance at it, then walked over to the desk and sat down. He took a Dell business laptop out of his bag and logged into QQ. Most of the messages were from groups, along with some private messages from 'junior school-girls'.
Just then, a message from Li Hui popped up: "Brother Sen, I want to get another 300 phone cards tomorrow."
"7 a.m. at the telecom promotion booth."
Chen Yansen's reply was short and to the point.
"Thanks, Brother Sen."
Li Hui replied immediately. The title 'Brother Sen' was rolling off his tongue more and more easily, even though one of them was a junior and the other was just a freshman.
After Meng Jie finished her shower and got dressed, she cautiously pushed open the bathroom door, half-expecting to see Chen Yansen crouching outside, peeking.
But in reality, Chen Yansen was sitting in front of his computer, the keyboard clacking away—CLICK-CLACK CLICK-CLACK. He was clearly busy with the campus card sales.
Seeing this, a pang of guilt instantly bloomed in her heart.
'That's right. With my unimpressive figure, Chen Yansen probably isn't even interested in looking.' Her initial nervousness gave way to a feeling of emptiness.
"Get me a bottle of water."
Hearing the movement behind him, Chen Yansen gave the order to Meng Jie without even turning his head.
"Oh, okay."
Meng Jie looked around and quickly spotted the mineral water on the coffee table. She grabbed a bottle and handed it to him, then opened one for herself and took small sips, her cheeks flushed red.
"Well... I'm going to head back now?"
Meng Jie sat down on the edge of the bed and asked in a small voice.
"That's weird. There's something wrong with this water. What did you give me to drink? Why do I feel hot all over?"
Chen Yansen took a big gulp of water, GLUG GLUG, then suddenly frowned and asked with a serious expression.
"???"
Meng Jie froze, cursing Chen Yansen's shamelessness in her head, unsure of how to react for a moment.