Chapter 10: I Guess There’s No Avoiding Being a Kept Man

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: I Guess There’s No Avoiding Being a Kept Man

Well, damn.

That came so far out of left field it nearly threw his back out.

"Alright, I’ll ask around for you later." Jiang Fan agreed without giving it much thought.

Before long, Jiang Fan had finished packing his things.

The room felt a little empty. A few colorful posters were still stuck to the walls.

Other than that, there were only some basic daily necessities and the living, breathing Wu Qiang.

Wu lit a cigarette, took two deep drags, and then pulled an iron box out from under the bed.

Jiang Fan had always known that this iron box was where Wu kept his money.

He treasured it dearly. Sometimes, when Jiang Fan wanted to trick Wu Qiang into treating him to a meal, he couldn’t even squeeze a few dozen yuan out of it—Wu just wouldn’t allow it.

Wu Qiang opened the box. It was full of cash, probably tens of thousands of yuan by the looks of it.

Wu Qiang counted out a stack and reluctantly handed it to Jiang Fan.

"Old Fan, you’re moving to the villa district. You’ll need money for everything. This is how much our friendship is worth. If you really run out of money, don’t you dare come looking for me."

"Take these two thousand yuan. Consider it a gift from me."

"You don’t have to pay it back."

Jiang Fan hadn’t expected this at all.

A wave of emotion washed over him. After graduation, he had struggled just to get by. Besides his ex-girlfriend, Wu Qiang was the only friend he had left.

"Thanks!" Jiang Fan punched Wu Qiang on the shoulder.

Between men, there was no need for a lot of pointless words.

"I’m off."

Wu Qiang had been worried that Jiang Fan would have a tough time from now on, but it seemed his worries had been for nothing.

"If you get rich, don’t forget me."

"I know, I know. I’ll go ask the security guard later if they’re still hiring."

Jiang Fan didn’t have much stuff—just one large cloth bag, a big suitcase, and a few other odds and ends.

For once, he splurged and called a Lalamove truck.

Jiang Fan sat in the front seat of the Lalamove, getting a taste of what it felt like to be the customer.

"Hey man, did you just get married? You still have the wedding decorations on your truck."

"No way. I’m almost fifty. Even if I wanted a second spring, my old bones couldn’t handle it."

"Someone from my village got married. I was part of the wedding motorcade this morning, helping drive his family around."

"I got a red envelope for it, soaked up some of the happy vibes, and then I ran into you tonight."

Generally, there were fewer customers moving at night.

"You’ve got a great sense of humor, man."

Jiang Fan replied casually.

"But speaking of which, the bride was a real beauty."

"That’s normal. A woman is always most beautiful on her wedding day."

"This one was different, though." Seeing that Jiang Fan didn’t believe him, the driver simply took out his phone to let him have a look.

"See? This woman’s gorgeous, right?"

"Curvy in all the right places, and to top it off, her face is stunning."

"Like a major celebrity."

When Jiang Fan saw the photo, his mind went blank with a loud BUZZ.

’Isn’t that Sun Xiao???’

’Sun Xiao got married?’

’When did this happen?’

’Isn’t her family in the hospital?’

’How could she just get married?’

Seeing the two of them in the wedding photo, holding hands and looking so happy, Jiang Fan felt a sudden, inexplicable ache in his heart.

’Damn it. The ex-girlfriend who left me with eight hundred thousand in debt just got married like that.’

’And she didn’t even tell me?’

Jiang Fan felt truly awful.

"Hey buddy, what’s with the sigh? Realizing you’ll never bag a wife this beautiful, huh?"

"But that’s okay. I’ll let you look a little longer. You can go relieve yourself in the bathroom later."

"You can count her as one of your girlfriends now."

Jiang Fan wasn’t listening at all. He pulled out a phone, preparing to call Sun Xiao and ask what was going on.

The phone was a bit beat-up. The one he used daily he had given to Mengmeng; this old smartphone with the cracked screen was the one he used for his delivery jobs.

He found Sun Xiao’s number and called.

"The number you have dialed has been switched off."

"Driver, sir, can I borrow your phone to make a call? Mine’s out of credit."

The driver was taken aback for a moment. ’Just a second ago he was calling me ’man,’ and now it’s ’driver, sir.’’

’This kid couldn’t have actually been mesmerized by a photo, could he?’

Still, the driver was a friendly guy, and making a call was no trouble.

"Here, call whoever you want."

He dialed Sun Xiao’s number. This time, it wasn’t switched off; the call connected.

"Hello, who is this?" Sun Xiao’s voice came through the phone.

Jiang Fan thought grimly, ’It really is the Sun Xiao I know.’

’Even her voice is the same.’

"Who is this? Why are you calling? Say something."

Jiang Fan hung up the phone.

’Heh, what was I even thinking, saddling myself with massive debt for a woman like that?’

"That voice on the other end... I feel like I’ve heard it before," the driver commented, taking his phone back from Jiang Fan.

"No, you must have misheard, man," Jiang Fan said, forcing a smile.

That night, the scenery of Yang City was magnificent. The city was ablaze with lights, a dazzling tapestry of life with people of all ages bustling about.

Looking at the scene before him, his mind superimposed memories of Sun Xiao, and bits and pieces of their past together flooded his thoughts.

Back then, in pursuit of a fleeting, illusory love, he had taken on massive debt for her.

On the internet, they say a simp gets nothing in the end.

And right now, he truly had nothing.

"Fucking pathetic," he muttered.

Jiang Fan glanced at the date: September 18. "We met on September 18. What a coincidence that it ends on this day, too."

A glint of clarity flashed in Jiang Fan’s eyes. He took out a photo of Sun Xiao from behind the case of his old smartphone, tore it to pieces, and threw it out the window. He also switched his phone to silent mode.

"Whoa, holy shit, buddy! Throwing things from an overpass is the same as throwing things from a high-rise! That’s a serious crime! What did you throw?" the driver asked.

"It was just a photo."

"Oh, well that’s good then."

「Back at the Luhu Ecological District, it was already ten o’clock at night.」

The security guard at the gate stopped them. Normally, vehicles like this weren’t allowed inside.

When Jiang Fan swiped his access card, the old security guard was also taken aback.

But he immediately seemed to understand something and gave Jiang Fan a knowing look. "Youth is your greatest asset. But young man, you still need to practice some restraint."

"You don’t look so good, you know."

Dark lines appeared on Jiang Fan’s face. He glanced over at the driver, who had been chatting so casually with him just moments before, but who now wore a completely serious expression.

"Little brother, are there a lot of rich women here?"

Jiang Fan was surprised. "I guess so." He thought of Yin Ruxue; there were probably many rich women like her here.

The driver gave him a thumbs-up. "Buddy, I really envy you."

"So young, and you’ve already found a shortcut in life."

Jiang Fan was speechless.

’So I guess I can’t escape this whole ’being a kept man’ and ’living off a woman’ thing, huh?’

Jiang Fan felt like he was about to crack.

Luhu Villa.

On the living room sofa, Yin Ruxue was trying to coax Mengmeng to sleep.

But Mengmeng refused to sleep no matter what.

"Mengmeng wants to wait for Daddy! Mengmeng wants to sleep with Daddy tonight!"

Yin Ruxue glanced at her phone and frowned. It was past ten, and Jiang Fan still hadn’t returned.

She tried calling Jiang Fan, but no one answered.