Chapter 18: A Chance Encounter with the Suicidal Girl?

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: A Chance Encounter with the Suicidal Girl?

Who’s calling me?

Wu Qiang turned and looked around.

And saw Jiang Fan poking his head out of a Maybach.

He was instantly dumbfounded. He’d been about to light a cigarette to chase away his bad luck, but now, the cigarette fell from his lips.

"Holy shit, Old Fan."

He glanced again at the Maybach.

"Old Fan, have you sold your soul completely?"

"Fuck you, *you’re* the one who sold his soul."

Wu Qiang was numb. ’Damn it, I’m regretting it more and more.’

’That rich lady who was hiring... I should have been the one to go for the interview.’

’It’s only been a few days, and you’re already driving a Maybach.’

"It belongs to someone else. I’m just driving it for a bit."

"Forget it. All that stuff is just smoke and mirrors. I’ll just stick to delivering food." Wu Qiang felt as if the song "A Spray of Plum Blossoms" was playing above his head in the cold wind.

’Damn, the difference between people can be so huge.’

"How about it? Get in. I’ll give you a ride while you deliver your packages."

"Nah, it’d be bad if I got it dirty."

"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not mine," Jiang Fan said without thinking.

"If something happens, you can’t pin the cost of an accident on me."

"Damn, you and your jinxing mouth. We haven’t even started delivering yet."

...

Wu Qiang got into the Maybach. His small electric scooter was foldable and placed in the trunk.

He felt a little nervous now, sitting awkwardly in the car. If he accidentally scratched the interior, it would cost at least a few hundred to fix.

Jiang Fan’s plan had actually been to take Wu Qiang for a spin; it was just a coincidence they ran into each other.

When people saw him delivering food from a Maybach, Wu Qiang might even land a girlfriend.

Wu Qiang wasn’t young anymore, and Jiang Fan was doing this to help him gain some face.

’The car might belong to someone else, but you can’t forget your bros.’

...

"Holy crap, no way. Was I seeing things just now?"

"Delivering food in a Maybach."

"No wonder they say all food delivery guys are hidden big shots."

"These delivery bros are insane."

When people nearby asked Jiang Fan for his WeChat, he just told them he was Wu Qiang’s driver.

This let Wu Qiang show off in a big way.

One after another, beautiful women who you’d normally only see flocking to luxury cars parked outside university gates, flashed their "innocent" faces and came over to ask for Wu Qiang’s contact information.

It made Wu Qiang flush red to his ears.

’He’d never experienced this kind of glory before.’

Ahem. "One at a time, don’t rush."

At almost every new delivery spot, one or two would come up to get his contact info.

"Hey handsome, can I get your WeChat?" another pretty girl asked.

She had a rather innocent look.

It was just that her walking posture was a little unnatural; he couldn’t tell if it was because she had too much "business."

"Old Fan, there’s one last package. Can you take it upstairs for me?"

As Wu Qiang’s good buddy of many years, Jiang Fan naturally didn’t refuse.

Tianlan District. It was called a "district," but it wasn’t really. It mainly featured apartment suites, small studio-style ones, generally around thirty square meters.

Before he started dating, Jiang Fan used to dream of having a small apartment like this.

He could live there by himself long-term. But after doing so many delivery runs, he gradually figured out the racket with these apartments.

The prices weren’t actually as high as they were listed.

Although the apartments were fully furnished—one of their core selling points—the problem was that these apartment buildings were built in huge blocks, with the residents packed too closely together.

And prime real estate obviously wouldn’t be used for building apartments, which meant their locations were usually quite far from the city center.

As a result, ordinary apartments weren’t actually easy to rent out, so there were a ton of options available.

But landlords preyed on tenants’ ignorance of this and always managed to rent them out at high prices.

Shopping around pays off. It was a surefire way to avoid getting cheated.

The people who usually rented these apartments long-term were typically streamers, writers, or programmers on extended business trips.

"Rong Anyao, Building 204, Unit 1, 3rd floor, Room 404."

After arriving at the designated location, Jiang Fan knocked on the door.

He vaguely sensed a dark shadow flash across the peephole.

’The person inside must be checking who it is.’

A moment later, the door opened. A tall girl with long, fair, slender legs, wearing a princess dress and high heels, peeked her head out.

When she saw Jiang Fan, her expression changed from initial panic, to surprise, and then to delight.

The girl extended her hand and said in a cheerful voice, "Hello, my name is Rong Anyao."

’Jiang Fan was confused. What was this girl up to?’

"Do we know each other?" Jiang Fan asked instinctively.

Rong Anyao smiled, revealing a sweet dimple. "You’ve probably forgotten. A few days ago, you were the one who saved me."

Jiang Fan recalled saving a girl who had jumped from a building. Wasn’t it the very same young woman in front of him?

"Do you remember now?"

"Yeah, I remember now."

"Hello, my name is Jiang Fan."

Rong Anyao enthusiastically invited Jiang Fan into her room to sit down, then poured him a glass of water.

Seeing her whole setup—the lights, microphone, and camera—Jiang Fan already had a good idea. "You’re a streamer?"

"Mhm, I do some streaming in my spare time."

"Is the income okay?" Jiang Fan asked, taking a sip of water.

"It’s alright. Small-time streamers like us can only scrape by on the basic guarantee. The real money all goes to the agencies."

Jiang Fan asked without thinking, "You seem so cheerful. Why did you try to jump from the building before?"

At the mention of this, tears streamed down Rong Anyao’s face against her will.

"I was a dance major, and from a vocational college, so it’s not easy to find a job after graduating."

"A while ago, my mom got sick and needed hundreds of thousands. We had no money for her treatment, my younger brother’s education also costs money, and I had just started working. My meager salary was barely enough to support myself."

"My dad told me to marry a sixty-year-old man from our village."

Jiang Fan was furious when he heard this. ’What kind of fucking father is that?’

’A woman in her twenties marrying a man in his sixties... no wonder she considered jumping.’

"Actually, that wasn’t even the main reason."

"Most importantly, no matter what I did, it was always wrong. My dad has always had this deeply ingrained belief that sons are better than daughters."

"From childhood to now, I’ve been suffocated by the pressure."

"Even though I’ve been trying my best to improve things, during that time, someone from the agency was also pressuring me, trying to force me to do indecent streams."

Jiang Fan felt a surge of sympathy for Rong Anyao. This girl didn’t look very old, but she was carrying burdens far beyond her years.

"Every family has its own problems."

"So what about now? Are things any better for you?"

Rong Anyao nodded. "Much better."

"I’ve already left the agency now."

"I stream on my own to earn money. There’s no base salary, but I enjoy the freedom. I don’t have to deal with the agency’s pressure."

"With no base salary, doesn’t that mean you can only live off donations?"

"Isn’t life very difficult?"

A flash of confidence crossed Rong Anyao’s face. "Not at all."

"My mom’s condition has stabilized. My mother’s family paid for it."

"A while ago, one of the firefighters found out I can draw and introduced me to a part-time job at a comic studio."

"Besides streaming, I also write and draw in my spare time."

"All these jobs combined don’t bring in a lot of money, but I can still make six or seven thousand a month. Occasionally, I’ll promote products during my streams, sell some simple handicrafts I make myself, or help people alter Hanfu clothing."

"If sales are good, I can make over ten thousand in a month."

"It’s not always like that, but it’s more than enough to support myself. I even send money home regularly now."