After Zou Beiqi’s repeated pleas, Yan Ze finally gave him Heng Shi’s contact information, but only after getting Heng Shi’s personal consent.
Zou Beiqi quickly dialed that string of numbers, and after a good while, the other person picked up: “Speak your mind.”
“I…” Zou Beiqi finally managed to swallow his pride. “My friend got into trouble, and now I need a large sum of money.”
“Your boyfriend?”
“Not my boyfriend. Were you also at the bar last night?” Zou Beiqi had wanted to ask this question for a while, but yesterday when he ran into Heng Shi at the hospital, his father’s situation was far more urgent by comparison, so he hadn’t pursued it.
“Meeting a client.”
Without needing him to explain too much, Heng Shi probably had a rough idea of what had happened. Following Heng Shi’s request, Zou Beiqi came straight to the point: “I need a large sum of money right now. You can consider it as me borrowing from you, and I will agree to any condition.”
“You really are interesting. You cannot even take care of your own family, yet you are taking care of a friend? You want me to set conditions for you? Is there any part of you that is worth anything? If you think giving you medicine and having Yan Ze buy you food means my opinion of you has changed, then you have miscalculated.” Heng Shi chuckled lightly.
“This matter started because of me. What is wrong with caring about a friend? Do you not have friends?”
Heng Shi fell silent on the other end for a moment.
Zou Beiqi was taken aback by this sudden stillness. Did he come on a bit too strong just now?
“Sorry.”
“Alright, I have no obligation to help your friend. Do not contact me again if there is nothing else,” Heng Shi said, hanging up the phone without waiting for Zou Beiqi to react.
The path through Heng Shi was a dead end. Whether or not Sheng Wanzhong’s case went to trial, it was bound to cost a considerable amount of money. Zou Beiqi roughly estimated that after deducting the compensation from the money currently in his account, it would only be enough to sustain his father’s treatment for a little while longer. Relying solely on his own meager monthly salary of a few thousand yuan afterwards, he clearly would not be able to hold out.
The situation was not completely hopeless yet. Zou Beiqi contacted Sheng Wanzhong to say that he had a way to handle the compensation, and asked what opinions the other party’s lawyer had. Just as he expected, if it went to court and Sheng Wanzhong won, that would be fine; but if he lost, Sheng Wanzhong would not only face criminal charges and potentially even larger damages, but he would also have to pay for the plaintiff’s legal fees.
To win a lawsuit, hiring a good lawyer also cost a lot of money. Zou Beiqi suddenly understood why the original villain in the book was so obsessed with money; looking at it now, living without money was truly impossible.
Zou Beiqi and Sheng Wanzhong discussed the matter for a while, and Sheng Wanzhong decided that it was best to avoid a court case if possible and settle out of court with compensation. Zou Beiqi originally wanted to cover the entire amount for Sheng Wanzhong, but the other party felt too guilty and insisted on scraping together his own share.
The book did not go into detail, but Zou Beiqi could tell that Sheng Wanzhong’s family background was not great. Their recent trip had also been a budget trip, buying the cheapest train tickets and having to do odd jobs at their destination to earn money. It was completely normal for an ordinary family without any background to be afraid of getting into trouble.
Just as they stepped out of the bank doors, Zou Beiqi inexplicably felt nauseous. He hurriedly made a gesture to Sheng Wanzhong, who was walking beside him, squatted down by a sewer grate on the side of the road, and began dry heaving uncontrollably.
Sheng Wanzhong hurried over to his side: “Are you alright, Beiqi? Even though it is disgusting to have to wire so much money to that kind of scum, isn’t this reaction a bit too exaggerated?”
“I am fine, it should just be from being too tired lately.” Zou Beiqi finally managed to suppress the wave of nausea.
Sheng Wanzhong gently patted his back: “True, you just came back from leave, and lately you have been working, taking care of your family, and dealing with my mess. I am really sorry, bro.”
“It is fine.” Zou Beiqi let out an almost imperceptible sigh. Even if it was not fine, it had to be fine, because who told him this was life?
Zou Beiqi began browsing recruitment apps for a part-time job. The salaries and benefits did not look very suitable, so he had no choice but to try using his limited connections and ask Sheng Wanzhong if he had any work to recommend.
Sheng Wanzhong: [God, you are already exhausted and busy enough, and you still want to look for a part-time job?]
Zou Beiqi: [My dad needs money for his medical treatment.]
Sheng Wanzhong: [That compensation money is…]
[I am sorry, bro, I am truly sorry. If it were not for me, you would not have to suffer like this.]
Zou Beiqi: [It is considered a loan.]
[I do not blame you. After all, the bar incident started because of me. Even if we had not spent this money, I would still have to work to pay others back.]
Sheng Wanzhong: [Thanks, bro. But where did you get relatives or friends who are so rich and willing to lend to you? It is not loan sharks, is it?]
Zou Beiqi: [No, do not worry.]
After the chat box went silent for a long time, Sheng Wanzhong finally revealed that the bar he went to earlier was hiring servers, and the pay and benefits were pretty decent. After reading the introduction sent by the other party, Zou Beiqi could not help questioning: [Are you sure it is just a server?]
Sheng Wanzhong: [Sure, my friend is an insider, no messing around.]
[It is just that you know how it is, that bar is pretty chaotic. Besides my incident, quite a few other things have happened there. Servers getting beaten up is not unheard of, and even worse.]
[If there is any other good job, honestly I would not really suggest you go there.]
These days, even being a server could be considered a high-risk profession. Zou Beiqi looked at his own slender arms; he had not even been able to pull Sheng Wanzhong away that day. If some hulking muscleman came to teach him a lesson, he really could not guarantee he would be able to protect himself.
He turned major recruitment apps upside down, but they were flooded with cheap labor scam ads. After much deliberation, he decided to apply for the bar job and give it a try.
Consider it seeking wealth through risk.
The interview process went very smoothly. The boss seemed to have the mindset of accepting anyone willing to work, ending the process without asking many questions and even telling Zou Beiqi to come to work the next night.
He arrived early to change into the server uniform, and a few colleagues gave him a few pointers on precautions before his shift officially began.
Zou Beiqi was not very used to the concept of working part-time, including his primary job. He was originally just a college student who had been forced into society right after crossing over. Fortunately, his company work mostly consisted of odd jobs that could be managed using the basic office software suite.
He wove through the crowd carrying a tray of cocktails, and halfway through, Sheng Wanzhong waved at him. After dropping off the drinks at a customer’s table, Zou Beiqi walked over to Sheng Wanzhong: “What are you doing here?”
“Did I not come to check on you? My conscience would hurt if something happened to you.” Sheng Wanzhong shook the wine glass in his hand. “Want a drink?”
“No, I need to get back to work.” Zou Beiqi felt sick at the smell of alcohol. For some reason, lately he could not stand the smell of anything, and everything he ate made him nauseous.
Sheng Wanzhong did not keep him. Holding his tray, Zou Beiqi bustled around more than half the venue, delivering the final glass of cocktail to a corner booth.
Just as the words “Please enjoy” left his mouth, Zou Beiqi looked up and caught sight of the figure sitting furthest away from him on the sofa out of the corner of his eye. It turned out to be Heng Shi, dressed in the exact same sharp suit as when they met at the hospital that night.
Was he meeting a client this time too? Who on earth were these clients that he kept meeting in places like this?
“One glass is missing.” Heng Shi’s fingertip lightly tapped the empty tabletop in front of him.
Zou Beiqi immediately understood, and before long, he brought an identical cocktail over to Heng Shi. He had been holding the glass steady when his lower abdomen suddenly throbbed with unprovoked pain, causing his hand to jerk uncontrollably, spilling the cocktail all over Heng Shi’s suit pants.
“I am sorry…” Enduring the pain, Zou Beiqi immediately grabbed a rag to wipe the stain off Heng Shi’s pants. With a dark expression, the other man pushed his hand away: “No need, I will handle it myself.”
He stood up from the sofa and, passing by Zou Beiqi, coldly lowered his voice: “Do not think this will make me sympathize with you.”
Well, it looked like in Heng Shi’s eyes, he had dropped back down to the status of a despicable villain.
Zou Beiqi’s stomach hurt terribly, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He hurried toward the restroom, intending to steal a moment of rest there, but the next second he could not help leaning over the sink and dry-heaving violently.
“Beiqi!” Sheng Wanzhong had probably noticed him earlier and followed him in. “Your complexion is terrible. Are you really okay?”
“It must just be from being too tired.” Zou Beiqi slowly stood up, supporting himself by the edge of the sink.
“Actually, I wanted to say this last time.” Sheng Wanzhong’s lips moved a few times before he spoke. “Could you be pregnant?”
If Zou Beiqi had been drinking water right then, he probably would have spat out a waterfall. “How is that possible? I have not been involved with anyone.”
“Really? I thought that while I was away, you found yourself a good match.” Sheng Wanzhong frowned. “That does not make sense though. No matter how tired a normal person is, they would not be dry-heaving every other day. Have you been to the hospital?”
“I have not had much time lately, I will squeeze in a visit when I can.”
“No time? Perfect, I brought you this to see if it helps.” With that, Sheng Wanzhong mysteriously shoved something into Zou Beiqi’s hand. Looking down at his palm, the latter discovered it was a pregnancy test.
“I do not…”
“I know, people always have hard-to-mention secrets, and it is normal if you do not want to tell me. Anyway, I have got your back. Just say the word if you need help.” Sheng Wanzhong looked deeply at Zou Beiqi.
Zou Beiqi stared blankly.
Speechless as he was, Zou Beiqi still accepted the item and thanked him. Seeing that his condition had improved slightly, Sheng Wanzhong temporarily left the restroom, telling him to reach out if any issues came up.
Zou Beiqi let out a helpless sigh. Having worked hard for most of the night, even though his lower abdomen had settled down, he had no intention of being so dedicated and returning to work immediately. Instead, he casually found a stall to hide out in and slack off.
He tossed the pregnancy test straight into the trash can. Since the rumor about having relations with Heng Shi was completely false, what reason did he have to be pregnant? Testing for pregnancy was utterly redundant.
Just as he was planning to catch a quick wink, his phone buzzed with a frantic SOS message from a coworker drowning in work. He had no choice but to pull open the stall door. As luck would have it, before he could even step outside, Heng Shi happened to stroll right in front of him, presumably to deal with the alcohol stain on his suit pants.
Given the awkward relationship between them, it did not feel right for Zou Beiqi to greet him, nor did it feel right to ignore him, so he could only awkwardly nod at the other man.
Heng Shi’s gaze shifted past him toward the trash can inside the stall, where the pregnancy test right at the top caught his eye: “You threw that away?”