Amid the noisy chatter, everyone reached a decision without even giving Zhong Suian a chance to speak.
Too many things had happened today. She desperately needed a quiet place to sort out her thoughts.
As soon as class ended, she hurried out of the classroom.
Then her stomach growled.
Changing direction, she followed the original owner’s memories toward the cafeteria.
She casually picked two dishes and handed over her meal card.
The machine immediately let out a sharp beep.
“Your card has no balance!”
The cafeteria worker impatiently tapped the card reader.
“How much do you want to top up?”
Zhong Suian thought for a moment.
“Let’s start with one hundred.”
The moment the words left her mouth, everyone nearby froze.
Then the entire cafeteria burst into laughter.
“Did you hear that? She said she wants to load one hundred yuan onto her meal card!”
“Is she crazy? My family’s house only cost a little over one hundred!”
Even the cafeteria worker frowned and waved her away.
“Go, go. If you’re not topping up properly, stop causing trouble!”
It took Zhong Suian quite a while to figure out what was going on.
The luxury necklace around her neck?
Retail price: ¥0.80.
A brand-new top-of-the-line Ferrari convertible?
Auction price: ¥2,400.
A luxury villa in Palm Bay?
¥6 per square meter.
As for the meal in front of her—two meat dishes and one vegetable—it only cost ¥0.0008, not even one li.
Only then did she realize the truth.
This world looked exactly like the one she had come from.
But prices had depreciated by ten thousand times.
No wonder everyone had reacted so strangely when she tried to top up her meal card.
Here, ¥100 was equivalent to one million yuan in her previous world.
She immediately took out her phone and checked her bank balance.
Units… tens… hundreds… thousands… ten-thousands…
Over ¥800,000.
And that wasn’t even counting her fixed deposits and investment accounts.
If everything were unlocked…
Wouldn’t she become a billionaire?
She was still celebrating when something suddenly caught her attention.
Why was the balance displayed in gray?
She tapped it.
Five large words appeared on the screen.
Balance Locked
What?
She had worked so hard to save that money.
Don’t tell her she could only look at it but never spend it!
She tapped the screen again.
A new interface suddenly appeared.
[Wealth Unlock Missions Refreshed]
Complete designated missions to unlock the corresponding rewards! Hidden missions with double rewards are waiting to be discovered!
Zhong Suian’s eyes widened.
So this was just another way of forcing her to work.
Still…
Looking at those rewards…
Working might be exhausting, but if one day’s work earned the equivalent of two million yuan, it was practically free money falling from the sky.
She spent a long time studying the mission list on her phone.
By the time she returned to the dormitory, it was already ten o’clock at night.
Fortunately, no one else was there.
She took a quick shower and climbed into bed.
After everything that had happened today, she thought she’d never fall asleep.
Instead, she drifted off almost immediately.
She always kept her phone on silent before bed.
When she finally woke up and checked it, she nearly jumped.
Her phone had practically exploded with missed calls and unread messages.
Most of them came from someone saved as Xiaoyu.
She opened the chat.
“Why haven’t you come to work at the hotel yet?! The manager’s looking everywhere for you!”
“Forget it. I covered for you and told him you suddenly came down with a high fever. I got your shift moved to noon.”
“You have to be here before twelve! Just play along and don’t let anything slip!”
Rubbing her temples, Zhong Suian finally remembered.
The original owner had a weekend part-time job.
Apparently, she had taken it to earn money for her boyfriend’s gift.
Whatever the reason, at least it saved Zhong Suian the trouble of finding a job herself.
Her roommate still hadn’t returned.
Checking the time, she realized she was almost late.
She sprang out of bed, washed up as quickly as possible, grabbed her backpack, and rushed out the door.
She arrived at the hotel at exactly 11:59 a.m.
Xiaoyu had been pacing anxiously in the employee hallway.
The moment she saw Zhong Suian, she rushed over and grabbed her wrist.
“My ancestor! You finally made it! One minute later and the manager would’ve marked you absent. They’d deduct a whole two cents from your pay!”
Before Zhong Suian could respond, Xiaoyu shoved a uniform into her arms and pushed her toward the changing room.
“Hurry up and change! I have to get back to work!”
At the same time, her phone vibrated twice.
[Wealth Unlock Mission Activated]
Hotel Waitress (12:00–16:00)
Just as Zhong Suian finished changing, voices drifted over from around the corner.
“That part-timer still isn’t here?”
Sister Ying leaned against the wall, her tone dripping with mockery.
“I’ve said it before. What’s the use of getting an education? She can’t even carry a tray properly.”
“Exactly!”
Her lackey eagerly agreed.
“University graduates are everywhere these days, and half of them can’t even find jobs. Sister Ying has a much brighter future!”
“Once you’re promoted to supervisor, the first thing you should do is fire that useless girl!”
“Of course.”
Sister Ying lifted her chin proudly.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Zhong Suian approaching and deliberately raised her voice.
“When that day comes, certain people won’t even be qualified to carry trays anymore~”
Zhong Suian walked over calmly, leisurely straightening her uniform.
“No matter how common college graduates are…”
“…the two of you still aren’t one.”
“You—!”
Sister Ying’s face immediately turned green.
That jab had struck exactly where it hurt.
“Don’t think you’re so impressive just because you go to college! Aren’t you still working under me? Once I become supervisor—”
“Talk after you actually become supervisor.”
Zhong Suian interrupted with a sneer.
“Now move. You’re blocking my way.”
Watching Zhong Suian walk off, Sister Ying trembled with rage.
“Just you wait! Once I’m supervisor, I’ll throw you out immediately!”
Zhong Suian pretended she hadn’t heard a thing and went straight to work.
Compared to the two million waiting for her, people like this weren’t worth her attention.
After four hours of nonstop work, Zhong Suian’s legs felt like they were about to fall off.
Just as her shift was about to end, management suddenly announced overtime.
She almost refused.
Then another thought crossed her mind.
What if overtime counted toward her unlocked reward?
For money…
She’d endure it.
Rubbing her sore back, she pushed a serving cart toward one of the private rooms.
The moment she reached the doorway, voices from inside made her freeze.
“Young Master Xuan, how’s it going with your little girlfriend? Still playing house?”
Young Master Xuan.
Lin Zixuan.
Zhong Suian’s current boyfriend.
The original owner had apparently taken this part-time job because of him.
“You guys don’t know anything.”
Lin Zixuan’s voice carried an arrogant confidence she had never heard before.
“A prideful honor student like her falls for the whole ‘struggling together through hardship’ routine.”
“If I hadn’t pretended to be poor, how could I have gotten close to her?”
“But honestly, I’m getting sick of it.”
“Every date is at some cheap restaurant. I’m about ready to throw up.”
The room erupted with laughter.
“Young Master Xuan really knows what he’s doing! It’s been three months already. That girl’s completely devoted to you by now, right?”
Lin Zixuan chuckled proudly.
“Of course.”
“A couple of days ago I casually mentioned wanting a new pair of shoes.”
“She immediately went out to get a part-time job and said she wanted to surprise me.”
Someone laughed lewdly.
“If she knew three months of her wages still wouldn’t buy the cheapest pair in your shoe cabinet, she’d probably cough up blood!”
“But poor girls are always the hardest to shake off.”
“If she finds out the truth, good luck getting rid of her.”
“I bet Young Master Xuan only did all this because of Ye Qiaoqiao! Doesn’t she hate Zhong Suian the most?”
…
Zhong Suian quietly listened to every word.
She didn’t feel heartbroken.
Only disgusted.
Just to pursue Ye Qiaoqiao, he had toyed with her, deceived her feelings, and manipulated her from beginning to end.
He was lower than an animal.
Just then, Sister Ying’s booming voice rang out from behind her.
“What are you standing here for?”
“Eavesdropping?”
The private room instantly fell silent.