15
As a saleswoman, Chen Linyao liked to think of herself as fairly sharp-witted.
On an online forum, an anonymous user posted the topic: ‘If I want to hire someone to get revenge on a rival without being caught, how much would it cost?’
Reply from User 1: ‘What age do you think this is?
We should use culture to refine our behavior.
Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies; do not curse those who curse you.
Show empathy and humility.’
Reply from User 2: ‘Ridiculous!
Where’s your patriotism, Reply 1?
We should follow the teachings of Laozi.
A truly good person treats both the good and the bad with kindness—that is what makes one truly virtuous.’
Reply from User 3: ‘Reply 1, Jesus didn’t say that exactly.
That’s from the Bible.
The first part is ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,’ Matthew 5:44.
The next part is ‘Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.
On the contrary, repay with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing,’ 1 Peter 3:9.
And the last part is, ‘Be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble,’ 1 Peter 3:8.”
Reply from User 1 again: ‘Alright, alright, I give up.
Big shots, why don’t you all stop attacking me and go educate the original poster instead?’
Reply from User 2: ‘First, I need to instill patriotism into Replies 1 and 3.
But considering Reply 3’s extensive knowledge, that won’t be easy!
What’s the point of studying foreign texts?’
Reply from User 3: ‘Quietly accumulate knowledge, learn without tiring, and teach without weariness.
What difficulty could that pose to me?’
Reply from User 1: ‘Reply 2, why have you gone silent?’
Reply from User 2: ‘Ridiculous!
That’s Confucius’s teaching.
Reply 3 even knows about this?
Turns out you’re a great scholar who understands all the knowledge under heaven.’
Reply from User 3: ‘You flatter me too much.
I’m just a person who loves reading and dare not claim the title of a scholar.’
What began as an unexpected clash between religious ideals and patriotism concluded peacefully.
Chen Linyao, who had posted her comment an hour ago, returned to read the thread and was left speechless.
Reply from User 49: ‘Hiring someone for revenge depends on what you want done and who it’s against.
The harder the task, the higher the price.
I’d say these jobs start at a few thousand yuan.
If the rival is powerful and the employer is wealthy, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands might not be unreasonable.’
Reply from User 1 again: ‘I’ll hire someone now!
Anyone willing to take on Reply 2, go beat them up for me.’
Reply from User 2: ‘Ridiculous!
Whoever takes on User 1’s job, I’ll pay double.
Bring me their address and bank account details.’
Chen Linyao shook her head, thinking these people had way too much time on their hands.
She followed Xie Zhengjie into the bookstore.
By now, the two had arrived at a shopping mall in the city.
He explained that in the Xie Kingdom, there were no large buildings dedicated to selling goods—only markets set up in designated open spaces.
The closest thing to a large building like this would be an auction house.
Before reaching the smartphone section, they passed a bookstore.
Xie Zhengjie, clearly familiar with such places, veered off into the store without saying a word to her.
Xie Zhengjie began flipping through several children’s educational books.
Seeing that they were inexpensive, and realizing she’d have to leave him alone while she worked starting Monday, Chen Linyao decided it might be a good idea to buy a few.
At least they would keep him occupied indoors and prevent him from causing trouble outside.
Checking the time, she realized it was almost time for her meeting and came up with a plan.
“Why don’t we go buy the phone first and come back to browse later? If you like something, I’ll buy a few books for you.”
Her real intention was to drop Xie Zhengjie back at the bookstore while she went to meet Tang Beibei and Ru Yi.
Smiling brightly, Chen Linyao tried to sound genuine, but her expression only made the young man suspicious.
As a former prince, he felt uneasy about lingering in a shop and reading without paying, so he reluctantly followed her out.
Chen Linyao checked the forum post she had written earlier again, exploring the possibilities.
She concluded that engaging in a fight with someone might earn her tens of thousands of yuan.
She hadn’t agreed to buy the phone just because Xie Zhengjie had dangled cultivation training as bait.
Instead, she had calculated that if the young man owed her a favor, she could ask him to do something worth far more than the phone’s cost.
Who do you think I am?
I’m… Chen Linyao, the clever and beautiful saleswoman from Yebin Corporation.
I’ve never made a bad deal in my life.
They passed several phone shops before Chen Linyao chose one that had the largest display and featured advertisements for Chinese brands known for being affordable and reliable.
As they entered, a sharp-eyed saleswoman noticed them immediately.
Her gaze lingered on the young man, noting his smooth, flawless skin and noble demeanor, which radiated an understated wealth despite his simple clothing.
Convinced this was a major sales opportunity, she greeted them warmly.
“Can I help you with anything?” The saleswoman addressed Chen Linyao first.
She wisely avoided approaching the young man directly, aware that women could be territorial.
Approaching the man might cause the woman to feel offended and storm off, ending the sale before it even began.
“No, thanks. We’ll just look around for now,” Chen Linyao had seen the saleswoman’s predatory gleam and knew that if she let her take charge, she’d end up spending far more than planned.
She had already budgeted for Xie Zhengjie’s phone.
No more than 700 yuan.
Chen Linyao’s own phone, in contrast, was a high-end foreign brand she had impulsively bought after being swayed by advertisements last September.
In the end, she had spent almost ten thousand yuan without realizing it.
The saleswoman hesitated before turning to Xie Zhengjie.
She asked politely. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Would you like me to make some recommendations?”
“No need. He’s with me,” Chen Linyao interjected, cutting the conversation short.
“We’ll browse together.”
The saleswoman looked a bit put off but quickly bowed her head and retreated.
She hurried to gossip with her colleagues, muttering about how fierce and overly possessive that woman was.
They’re bound to argue and break up soon.
Chen Linyao didn’t pay any attention to the saleswoman and continued browsing cheap Chinese-brand phones.
Some older models, while functional, were priced as low as 300 yuan.
However, being the kind-hearted person she was, she decided that would be too unfair to Xie Zhengjie and picked a slightly better one priced at nearly 500 yuan instead.
Finding a functional phone within her budget, Chen Linyao felt quite pleased.
“This phone doesn’t look anything like yours,” Xie Zhengjie remarked just as Chen Linyao was about to pay.
“I bought mine a long time ago. New phones come out all the time. I’ll get you a new one instead,” Chen Linyao replied.
The young man gave her a grateful look and then said, “I may have misjudged you before.
You’re actually quite a good person.”
“Of course I am,” Chen Linyao replied shamelessly, grinning.
“You’re so kind that I feel guilty.
How about this—you keep the new phone for yourself, and I’ll use the old one instead.”
Startled, the young woman quickly racked her brain for a way out and responded,
“The old phone is hard to use and difficult to unlock.” Chen Linyao handed him the phone, confident it wouldn’t be easily operable since she had set a two-layer passcode.
But Xie Zhengjie casually swiped his finger across the screen twice, and moments later, he looked up.
“It’s not that hard. I’ll use this one. You’ve already gone out of your way for me; taking the new phone would make me feel bad.”
Chen Linyao froze.
How did he figure out my password?
And worse, she hadn’t even set up fingerprint scanning out of sheer laziness.
“It’s fine.
You should use the new phone.”
“Or is this phone cheap?” Xie Zhengjie asked, narrowing his eyes at the 500-yuan phone.
His suspicion was palpable.
“No, no, that’s not it. New phones are obviously more expensive than old ones. It’s not like an antique where age increases its value,” Chen Linyao felt that beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Surely, this guy can’t even read.
Right?
“Ah, I see,” he replied, seemingly satisfied with her explanation.
Then, with an air of graciousness, he added, “In that case, let’s get the same model as yours, but a new one.
You said it’s an older model, so it shouldn’t be much more expensive, right?”
“…”
Chen Linyao was rendered speechless by her own logic.
Left with no choice, she pointed out a new version of her high-end foreign-brand phone and grudgingly went to pay for it.
Damn it.
Why did you have to decide to be a good person now?!