Chapter 18: Borrowing Money

Li Xiao had no idea that a controversy targeting him was already rapidly brewing in the shadows.

He had already returned to school and resumed his university life.

After all, Zhongshan University wasn’t some third-rate diploma mill. As one of the top universities in Guangdong Province, its curriculum was quite intensive.

Most of the professors were extremely conscientious. Forget about skipping class;

if you were even slightly inattentive, you could end up on their radar.

Seeing Li Xiao appear at the classroom door, Zhou Yu, who was sitting in the back row, quickly waved him over.

"Master Li, over here! Your little brother already saved you a spot!"

Looking at the fawning smile on Zhou Yu’s face, Li Xiao raised an eyebrow.

He placed his books on the desk, then slowly and deliberately sat down.

He turned to look at Zhou Yu with interest. ’With the way college friendships work, there’s no way this guy would be calling me Master Li for no reason.’

’This is a classic case of a weasel paying a New Year’s visit to a chicken—he’s definitely up to no good.’

Li Xiao said,

"Well, the sun must have risen in the west today!"

"You wouldn’t be here unless you wanted something. Spit it out. What do you need from me?"

Zhou Yu’s smile grew even wider.

"Brother Li, you know me best."

As he spoke, he rubbed his thumb and index finger together in the universal gesture for money.

"Brother Li, you got any money on you? Help a brother out in a pinch."

"My mom’s sending my living allowance next month. I’ll pay you back right away."

It was already the end of the month. He had just gotten a girlfriend and they were still in the honeymoon phase, going out constantly. It was perfectly normal for him to have run out of money.

Li Xiao didn’t refuse. He immediately took out his phone.

"How much? I’ll send it to you on WeChat."

As he spoke, he had already tapped on Zhou Yu’s profile picture and hit the "Transfer" button.

Seeing Li Xiao agree so readily, Zhou Yu let out a slight sigh of relief, then gritted his teeth and stated his request:

"Master Li, can you lend me 4,000 yuan first? I’ll pay you back in installments over a few months, is that okay?"

Li Xiao’s finger, poised to type the numbers, froze in mid-air.

4,000 yuan wasn’t a lot to him, but for an ordinary university student, it was quite a sum.

He knew that most of his classmates had a monthly allowance of only 1,500 to 2,000 yuan.

4,000 yuan might not be much for working folks, but for a university student, it was a full two months’ living expenses.

At first, Li Xiao had assumed Zhou Yu had just been a bit extravagant on dates with his girlfriend, burned through his allowance, and was now coming to him for an emergency bailout.

However, the sum of 4,000 yuan clearly couldn’t be explained away by just being a little "extravagant."

Li Xiao frowned slightly and exited the transfer screen.

Before he could ask, their roommate Zhang Jiawen, who was sitting nearby, gasped in a low voice:

"Zhou Yu, what did you do that you need to borrow 4,000 yuan?! Wait! You didn’t actually get your girlfriend pregnant, did you?"

Hearing Zhang Jiawen’s nonsense, Zhou Yu quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Don’t you fucking start rumors about me in public."

"How long have we even been together?! How could she possibly be pregnant!"

Li Xiao frowned.

"Then what on earth happened? Why do you need to borrow so much? That’s 4,000 yuan! Not 400!"

"If you can’t explain clearly what you need this money for, I can’t lend it to you."

Various possibilities flashed through Li Xiao’s mind. University students usually borrowed money for one of a few reasons.

Buying luxury goods, the newest electronics, gifts for a significant other, and online gambling.

If it were any of the first three and he had simply overspent, Li Xiao would still be willing to help.

After all, who didn’t have their moments of vanity? Especially since the guy had just gotten a girlfriend; it was very likely he’d bought her an expensive gift.

But if it was the last reason, he would absolutely not lend him the money.

Because once you fell into the trap of gambling, there was no coming back.

Lending him money wouldn’t be helping him, it would be harming him. With money, he would only think about winning back his losses, about winning more, and it would only pull him deeper into the hole.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao asked him point-blank,

"You haven’t been online gambling, have you?"

Hearing that term, Zhou Yu was so startled he waved his hands frantically.

"With my family’s background, how would I dare to touch something like that?"

"It’s my girlfriend Shanshan’s birthday this weekend."

"She said she wants me to treat her and her dorm mates to a birthday celebration at Seven Seas Japanese Cuisine in Beihai Square."

"I already looked it up. That Japanese restaurant costs about 600 yuan per person. Shanshan has four people in her dorm, so with me, that’s five of us."

"The meal alone will be over 3,000 yuan, and I still have to buy a cake and book a hotel room."

"I only have a little over 200 yuan left right now, so I came to you, Master Li, for an emergency rescue."

"Master Li, don’t worry. In three—no, four months, I’ll definitely pay back the 4,000!"

Hearing the reason he needed to borrow money, Li Xiao couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

’Damn, starting with a restaurant that costs over 600 yuan per person.’

At that price, even working adults would have to think twice, let alone university students who weren’t earning anything.

’It seems this new girlfriend of my roommate is quite a piece of work.’

If her request had just been for the two of them to celebrate, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.

For two people, it would be 1,200 yuan. A typical university student could save that up over two months if they were frugal.

Celebrating a special occasion like a birthday was certainly understandable.

But for this Shanshan to open her mouth and ask Zhou Yu to treat her entire dorm was a bit much.

If Zhou Yu were some rich second-generation kid, then a meal costing several thousand yuan would be nothing.

However, Li Xiao knew Zhou Yu’s family was just average, and his monthly allowance was only about 2,000 yuan.

If he were spending it alone, it would be more than enough, but ever since he started dating, his allowance hadn’t been cutting it.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be constantly mooching free food and drinks off Li Xiao under the guise of "helping with the livestream."

Li Xiao hadn’t even said anything yet when Zhang Jiawen, sitting next to them, nudged Zhou Yu’s arm with his elbow.

"Dude, are you crazy?!"

"A 600-yuan-per-person Japanese meal? Is eating it going to make you ascend to heaven or something?"

"If you were just treating your girlfriend, I wouldn’t say a thing!"

"But you’re treating her whole dorm? Who do you think you are, some rich kid?"

Hearing his words, a bitter smile appeared on Zhou Yu’s face.

"What else can I do?"

"Shanshan already said that her roommates’ boyfriends have treated them to high-end restaurants before."

"They ate at French and Italian places that cost several hundred yuan per person."

"It can’t be that when it’s my turn, I just take them to a food stall, right?"

"I can’t afford to lose face like that."

"If I do, Shanshan’s roommates might even start bad-mouthing me to her."

"You guys know how powerful pillow talk is. What if Shanshan breaks up with me over this?"