Chapter 50: Get on Me
With his collar seized in someone’s hand, Wang Meng’s gaze swept quickly over the way the two of them were dressed.
Ordinary tops, made of synthetic fiber.
The quality of the pants didn’t look very good either.
No telling which roadside stall they’d dug that stuff out of.
Logically speaking, twenty million was an astronomical sum they’d never be able to earn in a lifetime, no matter how hard they worked themselves to death. Even if they refused, they should at least have hesitated and struggled a bit inside. But the scene before him was completely different from what he had imagined.
He couldn’t understand why the two of them looked so angry.
Wang Meng swallowed and tested the waters. “Do you think I’m insulting you?”
Lin Jiu yanked him upward harder, gritting his teeth. “What else would it be?!”
He looked like Wang Meng had shattered some priceless treasure of his.
Wang Meng’s pupils shook.
So in this world, there really were things money couldn’t settle.
Lin Jiu looked ready to slam a fist straight into his face.
Twenty million—who was he trying to dismiss with that?!
Who the hell was short of those few melons and two dates of his?
But being held up like this was humiliating, and Wang Meng couldn’t save face. He started resisting, swinging a hand at Lin Jiu. Lin Jiu wasn’t stupid either and immediately began dodging left and right.
Seeing the conflict about to explode, An Yi sprang forward in one step, righteous little frog defending peace.
“Don’t fight anymore, don’t fight anymore!”
Barely managing to crane his neck enough to look at him, Wang Meng said, “At least you’re someone reasonable.”
So hurry up and drag away the chuuni freak from your studio.
An Yi raised a hand and pointed. “If you want to fight, go do it in the dance studio. Out the door, fifth room on the left. I checked just now.”
Wang Meng: “You…”
Lowering his head shyly, An Yi said, “No need to thank me. I’ve always been thoughtful.”
Wang Meng: ……
What peace were you defending?
The peace of the restroom?
Lin Jiu only had his middle-school-syndrome spirit flaring up. He had no intention of launching a restroom campaign, nor did he really intend to do anything to Wang Meng. After all, he still had to keep up his poor-college-student persona.
So he let go of Wang Meng and gave him a light push, sending him stumbling back a full meter.
Lin Jiu stood shoulder to shoulder with An Yi. “We will absolutely never bow to money!”
An Yi echoed, “Never bow.”
Wang Meng tugged at his collar to make breathing easier, still unwilling to give up. After all, bribing them with money was the fastest and simplest shortcut.
“You really won’t think it over again? Twenty million. That’s enough for you to work like oxen and horses for half your lives.”
An Yi stroked his chin, looking thoughtful. “It does sound pretty worth it.”
Wang Meng immediately chimed in. “Right? Right?”
An Yi met his eyes. “If someone offered you twenty million to buy your slot, would you agree?”
Wang Meng slapped his thigh. “Of course I would!”
An Yi said, “Good, then I agree.”
Joy appeared on Wang Meng’s face. He hadn’t expected the other man to catch on so quickly.
If he’d just done this from the beginning, Wang Meng wouldn’t have had to waste all that effort talking.
He stretched out a friendly little hand. “Pleasant cooperation.”
An Yi shook it. “Alright, then when is your studio withdrawing?”
Question marks slowly appeared above Wang Meng’s head.
Withdraw?
Their studio?
What kind of daydream was this?
He took half a step back, suspicious light filling his crafty little eyes. “What do you mean?”
An Yi spread his hands. “Didn’t you just agree to take twenty million and give up the slot?”
Wang Meng said, “And where exactly are you getting that twenty million from?”
Lin Jiu answered, “From Sister Bao’s room.”
Wang Meng: ……
Kid, don’t be too absurd.
An Yi hurriedly dragged Lin Jiu back. “Sorry, he’s been reading Dream of the Red Chamber lately. Let’s start over.”
Wang Meng took a deep breath. “Where are you getting that twenty million from?”
An Yi pointed at him. “From your pocket.”
Wang Meng: ……
That was even more absurd, alright?!
Seeing that Wang Meng’s little brain wasn’t turning fast enough, An Yi kindly broke it down for him. “I agree to sell the slot for twenty million. You also agreed to sell. So I’ll take the twenty million from selling my slot, then use it to buy yours. Perfect.”
Then, with concern, he added, “Understand now?”
Lin Jiu chimed in, “Little dummy.”
Wang Meng: ……
Understand your ass.
Taking from him to use on him—what kind of “perfect” bullshit was that?
Before approaching the two of them, Wang Meng had never imagined they’d be this bizarre. Really, he should have found it strange from the start. What kind of normal-person studio would be called Pink Crystal Maiden Heart?!
Looking at the way the two of them sang in perfect tandem, he realized they had never had the slightest intention of giving up that slot.
Enraged and humiliated, Wang Meng shouted, “You were playing me!”
Lin Jiu yanked on An Yi’s sleeve dramatically. “Oh no. He figured it out.”
Wang Meng: ……
You two aren’t even trying to hide it.
An Yi stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. “Think of it as a small social lesson. Don’t always try to solve things with money. Besides, it’s only twenty million. That’s easy enough to get.”
Grinding his teeth, Wang Meng slapped An Yi’s hand away and stormed out the door.
After Wang Meng left, Lin Jiu turned to An Yi. “Weren’t you a left-behind mountain child? Since when is twenty million easy to get?”
Enlightenment suddenly struck An Yi. “Just dream about it.”
Lin Jiu: ……
An Yi smiled. “Who’s never dreamed of getting rich overnight?”
Lin Jiu raised a hand. “Me. I haven’t.”
An Yi replied, “Then dream it tonight.”
Lin Jiu: ……
An Yi pulled out a tissue and wiped the water droplets from his hands dry. “By the way, when he offered twenty million just now, did you think it was too little?”
Lin Jiu pretended to whistle. “How could that be? Twenty million is enough for my big brother to farm for a whole lifetime. You know how it is for poor college students like us. Poor in body, never in spirit.”
At that exact moment, far away overseas, Big Brother Lin—working in his office—felt an itch in his nose and sneezed, sensing a mysterious force from the East.
Lin Jiu said it all with great conviction.
After all, there were plenty of things in this world money couldn’t buy.
For example, if the two of them were exposed, then even if Gu Lingling had to choose between one hundred million and beating the crap out of them both, she’d still choose to beat the crap out of them both.
The two of them tidied their clothes and left the restroom. After sitting back down, they listened to the designer explain the precautions and requirements for working together in the future.
Once everything had been fully covered, the designer stood and left first, telling everyone to return to the brand building by four o’clock for the preliminary discussion meeting.
Pink Crystal Maiden Heart didn’t dawdle. As the three of them left, they didn’t forget to stuff the little pastries into their mouths and take them along, displaying the word poor in all its glory.
Their whole faces practically screamed: I’m broke. I’ve only got one coin in my pocket.
Li Xiaomu from Sky Studio looked toward Wang Meng. “So? Did they agree to take the money?”
Wang Meng’s mood was awful. “Can’t you tell from my expression?”
The others crowded over too. “They didn’t agree?”
“That studio has that much backbone?”
“So this is what people mean by poor but unbending in spirit. So rare. First time seeing it.”
Annoyed by their chatter, Wang Meng snapped, “Enough. We’ll just take it one step at a time from here. It’s fifty-fifty anyway. Maybe they’ll pick us.”
Li Xiaomu asked, “And what if they don’t?”
Wang Meng shouted, “Why are there so many ‘what ifs’?!”
After getting barked at, Li Xiaomu’s face darkened. “Talk properly. Don’t make me slap you.”
Wang Meng immediately changed tone. “Maybe… maybe there won’t be any what if?”
The others: ……
Since when had anything in this world ever been foolproof?
Still uneasy, Li Xiaomu said, “We should make a two-handed plan anyway. Since they won’t take the money, then we’ll use some methods. Investigate the backgrounds and family situations of those three people, then play it by ear.”
—
Ever since taking part in designing the autumn concept, An Yi had begun living a life of leaving early and returning late, angrier than a rooster at sunrise. By the time he came home, showered, and hit the bed, he fell asleep immediately, leaving absolutely no time at all for Classmate Huo Dabao to have sweet little husband-and-husband chats. Their time together as a couple had shrunk dramatically.
Which meant that all the romantic things he’d learned from television had no chance to be put on display.
Huo Beixing was extremely dissatisfied.
Several times now, when he woke up, the other side of the bed was already empty. Even when he reached out to feel it, there wasn’t the slightest warmth left. An Yi had left long ago.
And that was with him deliberately waking early to see An Yi.
Who knew An Yi would get up even earlier than he did.
At last, after one night of staying up late, Huo Beixing successfully cornered An Yi in the bathroom.
Standing in front of the mirror, An Yi was tying his necktie. Only after getting involved in the design work had he started dressing like this, just to look more formal.
Once he had finished straightening himself up, he turned to leave, only to see Huo Beixing there bare-chested again. Summer had come, and the man had resumed being a little yellow person.
Smiling, An Yi greeted him, “Good morning.”
There was resentment in Huo Beixing’s peach blossom eyes, and his handsome face carried the look of someone deeply unsatisfied. “I’m not good.”
An Yi froze for a second. “Then that’s really pitiful.”
With that, he moved to go around him and head to work.
Who knew that the moment An Yi stepped forward, Huo Beixing blocked his way.
At first An Yi thought it was coincidence.
But then An Yi moved left, and Huo Beixing moved left with him.
An Yi moved right, and Huo Beixing moved right with him.
Full of vigilance, Huo Beixing demanded, “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to work.” An Yi threw the question back. “What are you trying to do?”
Huo Beixing answered, “Stop you from going to work.”
An Yi: ……
He sighed, unable to understand the other man’s intentions. “Why won’t you let me go to work?”
Huo Beixing was unhappy. “You’ve already been going to work for so many days. Is work really that great?!”
Actually, it was tiring.
But it was the sort of tiring that felt very fulfilling, because he was working for his dream. And when he did it, he couldn’t even feel time passing—the sky suddenly went black before he knew it.
Brave Frog feared no hardship.
An Yi answered, “It’s alright. Work is actually pretty easy to do.”
Like some resentful spouse locked away in the inner chambers, Huo Beixing started making a scene irrationally. He stood there refusing to speak, but also refusing to let An Yi leave.
Since childhood, Huo Beixing had never lacked love. If he wanted something, he simply said it aloud. It was the same with emotions. If he was unhappy, he said so, because hiding it was impossible anyway. It all showed directly on his face.
An Yi tried to reason with him. “I go to work for a better future. It’s like how every stage of life has different things you’re supposed to do. When you’re young, you go to school. When you grow up, you go to work. Just like how you have classes. Time can’t go backwards. I’m an adult now. If I don’t go to work, I can’t go back to school either. So what am I supposed to do instead?”
Huo Beixing said with a deeply unwilling face, “Then get on me.”
An Yi: ……
What outrageous nonsense are you saying now?
The boldness of his words made An Yi blush a little. In his heart, he silently recited: child’s talk carries no offense, child’s talk carries no offense.
Sure enough, little yellow people really did speak differently.
Blushing, An Yi said, “You can’t just get on people randomly.”
Huo Beixing was horrified. He had never expected his wife to not choose him. “Work matters more than I do?!”
Shaking his head, An Yi said, “Of course not.”
Huo Beixing demanded, “Then why do you only get on work and not get on me?! Is work more fun to get on than I am?!”
An Yi: ……
Is that really the kind of thing one can just get on at will……
If I sleep with you, that’s a major crime, straight to prison.
