Lin Ran smiled understandingly and said, “Slacking off, huh? Kids these days are really sly. Even while working part-time, they still find time to slack off.”
Lu Lanxiao couldn’t help retorting, “Who are you calling a kid? How old are you to be talking to me like this?”
Seeing his defiant look, Lin Ran raised an eyebrow.
“I’m twenty-seven. How old are you?”
Lu Lanxiao’s confidence immediately deflated.
“I… I’m nineteen.”
Lin Ran was quite proud.
“See, little brother? Be a bit more polite when talking to your big sister. That’s basic manners! Alright, I won’t report you for slacking off. You go ahead and continue; I’ve got work to do.”
Meng Xiao, who had just finished helping with the luggage, passed by at that moment and curiously asked Lu Lanxiao, “Hey, how much do you get paid per day for this part-time job?”
Lu Lanxiao froze.
How would he know the daily wage?
After thinking for a while, he blurted out a number he thought sounded reasonable, “Five thousand.”
Meng Xiao stiffened, “How much? Five thousand? Are you sure it’s not fifty? Do they still need people? Count me in!”
“He means… per month, five thousand a month,” Zhang Yuetong stepped in just in time to smooth things over.
“He’s a junior of mine, someone I know.”
Meng Xiao nodded in understanding, “Right, five thousand a day would be pretty wild. Even five thousand a month for a part-time job isn’t easy to find, huh? Part-time jobs aren’t every day either, right? Don’t college students have classes to attend?”
Zhang Yuetong sighed and continued improvising, “It’s like this, Feiye Group… they have high standards for their employees because… because they deal with foreign clients. Yes, they require fluent foreign language skills, so the pay is slightly better.”
Meng Xiao looked envious, “No wonder. Students from Qingdao are really something, just like Tongtong—total academic elites.”
Zhang Yuetong signaled Lu Lanxiao with her eyes, “Hurry up and get back to work!”
While applying her makeup, Lin Ran said, “Just let him continue slacking off. It’s not easy for the kid to come out and do part-time work—it’s a matter of survival! Besides, Feiye Group’s paying, not us.”
Meng Xiao nodded in agreement, “Workers shouldn’t make life harder for other workers. I support the little brother slacking off… By the way, what’s your name again?”
“Lu Lanxiao.”
“Hello, Lu,” Meng Xiao, who was just accompanying Lin Ran, had nothing to do.
She pulled up a chair and sat beside Lu Lanxiao, starting to chat with him. “How long have you been here?”
“…Quite a while,” Lu Lanxiao replied.
“Then… have you seen Zhou Qibo? What kind of person is he?”
Meng Xiao glanced at Zhang Yuetong and lowered her voice.
Lu Lanxiao looked at her warily, “Why are you asking about him?”
Meng Xiao looked back at Zhang Yuetong again, “He’s trying to poach people from my boss! What a scumbag!”
Lu Lanxiao: “…Never met him.”
At that moment, a middle-aged man in his forties walked into the makeup room.
Meng Xiao remembered Lin Ran mentioning something about a “pervert” earlier.
She immediately got up, blocked the doorway, and asked, “Uncle, are you sure you’re in the right room?”
The middle-aged man smiled politely, “I’m a client from Feiye Group. We invited you here to perform. My name is Lu Qiang, and I’m… a fan of Miss Lin.”
Meng Xiao crossed her arms, “Oh really? So what do you want? An autograph? A photo?”
Lu Qiang chuckled awkwardly, “I… wanted to invite her to dinner.”
Meng Xiao raised an eyebrow, “Sorry, she’s having dinner with me tonight.”
Lu Qiang’s face darkened, “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to her!”
He tried to move past Meng Xiao into the room, but Meng Xiao didn’t follow him. Instead, she called out behind him, “Uncle, what do you think of this?”
Lu Qiang turned around in confusion, only to see Meng Xiao holding an apple.
With a slight squeeze, the apple shattered in her hand with a sharp crack.
Lu Qiang’s face instantly turned pale, “You… aren’t you afraid…”
Meng Xiao tilted her head with a smile, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Lu Qiang stood frozen for a moment before finally turning around and leaving with gritted teeth.
Lin Ran gave a thumbs-up, “Cool!”
Lu Lanxiao gave Meng Xiao a scrutinizing look, then turned his gaze back to Lin Ran.
“Does your boss always hire people… as capable as her?” Lu Lanxiao couldn’t help but ask.
Meng Xiao thought of Zhang Yuetong and shook her head in mild disappointment, “I’m actually the most useless one. I can’t do anything… it’s embarrassing. If it weren’t for living with her, I wouldn’t have had the chance to follow along.” This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Lu Lanxiao: “Living together… so you’re her boyfriend?”
Meng Xiao shrugged, “Obviously not. Can’t you tell?”
Lu Lanxiao: “…How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“Does she pay you a lot of money?”
“Nope…”
His worldview felt slightly shaken.
He couldn’t quite process it.
This Lin Ran… seemed pretty unreliable!
So what kind of person was Lin Ran, really?
What exactly did he lose to this guy in?
Once the makeup was done, the magicians began tidying up their props.
Meng Xiao realized it was time for her to step aside.
Seeing Lu Lanxiao still standing there, she walked over, grabbed him, and pulled him out, “Buddy, let’s go grab something to eat.”
Lu Lanxiao originally didn’t want to follow her, but Meng Xiao’s strength was surprisingly strong, and he was dragged away just like that.
After being pulled by Meng Xiao for a while, Lu Lanxiao struggled to break free.
“Alright, I can walk on my own… This is the office area, there’s no food here. We need to go to the banquet hall over there to find something to eat.”
Meng Xiao’s grip suddenly tightened, and Lu Lanxiao’s arm throbbed in pain.
“Hey, you…” Lu Lanxiao forcefully pulled away and finally escaped Meng Xiao’s grasp.
“That person…” Meng Xiao’s eyes were blazing.
“Ge Siyu!”
“Ge Siyu? Who’s that?” Lu Lanxiao followed Meng Xiao’s gaze and saw a man and a woman hugging and kissing in a corner.
“That man is Zhou Qibo, isn’t he? Isn’t he married?” Meng Xiao pulled out her phone.
“Alright, seducing a married man, being the third party? I’ll take a picture and see how you explain this! Hmph, stealing my role!”
Just as she raised her phone, Lu Lanxiao quickly reached out and snatched it away.
Meng Xiao shouted angrily, “What are you doing?”
“You can’t take photos!” Lu Lanxiao directly turned off her phone.
“If this spreads, it’ll become a scandal for Feiye Group. It’ll cause big trouble.”
“I don’t care about Feiye Group!”
Meng Xiao’s temper flared, and she reached out to grab the phone.
“Give it back to me!”
“You’re with the magic troupe, right?” Lu Lanxiao handed the phone back to her.
“If you do this, who will dare hire your troupe for commercial performances in the future? Do you know how much a single performance costs? Do you want to ruin them?”
Meng Xiao froze for a moment, then took her phone back.
After a brief silence, she finally put it away.
Lu Lanxiao then turned his attention to Ge Siyu and asked, “Do you have a grudge against that woman?”
“A grudge? A huge one!” Meng Xiao bit her lip.
“She bullied me and stole my role! That was my best chance!”
“Then I’ll help you get her out of here.”
Meng Xiao was stunned.
“You?”
A faint smile curled at the corner of Lu Lanxiao’s lips.
“Did you forget? I’m… a waiter here.”
Under Meng Xiao’s bewildered gaze, Lu Lanxiao strode towards Ge Siyu, stopped in front of her, and stretched out his hand.
“Miss, I need to check your invitation. According to the rules, you can’t be here without an invitation.”
Ge Siyu, interrupted in her intimate moment, turned her head irritably.
“A waiter here.”
Lu Lanxiao kept his hand extended.
“Your invitation, Miss.”
Ge Siyu looked arrogant. “I’m a guest of your General Manager Zhaou!”
“Is that so?”
Lu Lanxiao looked at Zhou Qibo.
“Is she… your guest?”
He emphasized the word “guest” with a mocking tone.
Zhou Qibo’s expression stiffened.
After a moment, he squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: “No.”
“You…” Ge Siyu looked at Zhou Qibo in disbelief.
“He’s just a waiter; how could you…”
Lu Lanxiao pointed to the exit.
“Please leave now. Otherwise, I’ll call security to escort you out, and that would be quite embarrassing.”
“I…” Ge Siyu bit her lip and glanced at Zhou Qibo, but seeing that he had no intention of changing his mind, she angrily grabbed her bag and stomped towards the exit.
Zhou Qibo gave Lu Lanxiao a brief glance before turning and walking away.
Meng Xiao watched in shock.
“You… actually dared to ruin your boss’s affair?”
Meng Xiao couldn’t believe it.
“And he didn’t even get mad at you?”
Lu Lanxiao replied calmly, “I’m just a part-timer. What can he do to me? Even if I get fired, it’s no big deal. Plus, he’s afraid we’ll talk about this, isn’t he?”
Meng Xiao nodded.
“True.”
She suddenly burst into laughter.
“Ge Siyu actually got humiliated like that. That felt so satisfying… Buddy, you’re really interesting. Want to be my colleague? What’s your major?”
“…Computer Science.”
“What does that major do? I don’t think my boss needs someone with your specialty…”
“…”
…
Music and the host’s voice echoed from the main hall.
The host was hired directly by Feiye Group, so Lin Ran wasn’t needed on stage.
Today’s banquet was mainly to celebrate a newly signed cooperation project by Feiye Group, and the magic performance was just a side act.
When the host began the announcements, the performers from the magic troupe went on stage.
Lin Ran was the second act.
She glanced at the audience and spotted Zhou Qibo toasting with another middle-aged man.
After performing a few simple magic tricks, she cleared her throat, scanned the audience, and said, “For the next trick, I’d like to invite Mr. Zhou to assist me. I wonder if Mr. Zhou would be willing to join us and share the joy?”
She emphasized the words “share the joy.”
If Zhou Qibo refused, it would make him seem distant and arrogant, inevitably attracting criticism.
Zhou Qibo turned around, forcing a smile.
“It’s my honor to be invited by Miss Lin.”
“Apologies, excuse me, Mr. Qiao.”
Zhou Qibo politely nodded to the guest across from him.
“No worries. I was just about to enjoy Miss Lin’s performance myself.”
Mr. Qiao smiled faintly and lifted his wine glass slightly.
Zhou Qibo adjusted his tie and walked onto the stage.
The guests below applauded as Zhou Qibo stepped onstage.