The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 15

Han Xuetao walked over and looked her up and down.

“Didn’t I tell you to take a day off? Why are you here again?”

After what happened yesterday, Li Man cried for half an hour. He didn’t know whether to comfort her or not, but in the end, he forced himself to calm her down and then asked Manager Wang for leave for her. Today, Liu Jun and his team were closing in, and they couldn’t let her get involved again.

But this girl, instead of taking a vacation, arrived even earlier than him.

Li Man put down the rag, looked at him, and her expression was a little unnatural.

“What happened yesterday…I’ve thought about it,” she said. “It was definitely my fault.”

Han Xuetao was taken aback.

“It was quite dangerous,” Li Man said in a lower voice. “That ashtray was glass, and it smashed into the wall behind me. If you hadn’t pulled me away…”

Her face flushed slightly.

“…If you drag me out, I might get hurt.”

She was carried out, but she was too embarrassed to say the word.

“So I have to thank you in person today.”

Han Xuetao was a little surprised. He had seen too many beautiful girls from wealthy families, most of whom were willful. Li Man could be willful at times, but she was generally reasonable. It was rare for her to figure things out on her own and even go out of her way to thank him.

“No need, it’s my pleasure.”

Li Man shook her head: “No, I’ll treat you to milk tea instead! The red velvet cake here is also good, it’s on me!”

Han Xuetao raised an eyebrow: “I’ll treat you.”

He had ordered those cakes for customers many times, but he had never eaten them himself. Besides, it wouldn’t make sense for a high school student to pay for him.

“What are you treating me to?” Li Man asked seriously. “Your family isn’t well-off. Milk tea and cake cost over thirty yuan, enough for you to work for a week. Save the money to pay for your university meal card!”

She turned and ran towards the bar.

Han Xuetao rubbed his nose. Thirty yuan a week? If this girl knew how much he got from Liu Jun…

Fine, let her treat.

Soon Li Man returned with a tray, placed one portion in front of him, and sat down with another portion for herself, a smug look on her face.

The waiters nearby, witnessing this scene, were utterly speechless with despair.

“These two…are they really here to work and study?” a waitress muttered. “Milk tea with red velvet filling, over thirty yuan! I’ve worked here for three years and I’ve never been willing to eat something like that!”

Another person chimed in quietly, “You think they’re here to work? They’re here to find love.”

“Xiao Han is handsome, but is it enough to make a rich girl chase him all the way here?”

“How could it not be? Haven’t you seen them following you around every day?”

Han Xuetao worked here for a few days. He was handsome and clean-cut, so it wasn’t that no female waitresses had a crush on him.

But as everyone knows, he was the one who got into university, and he wasn’t on the same path as them.

Now it’s all good, I don’t have to think about it anymore.

Rich girls have all come here to work together, so what are they still fighting over?

While we were eating, the phone at the bar rang.

“Send two packs of cigarettes to room 508! It’s for Mr. Liu, the guy I was playing mahjong with the other day!”

Han Xuetao understood.

The game on the fifth floor has begun!

Today they weren’t playing mahjong, they were playing Texas Hold’em, and they had a lot of money, so they simply booked a guest room on the fifth floor to avoid being disturbed.

It’s time to close the net.

He put down his fork: “I’ll deliver the cigarettes first, then I’ll come back later.”

Li Man stood up and said, “I’ll stay with you.”

Han Xuetao glanced at her.

“No need, you sit down and finish your cake. I’ll be right back.”

If you keep following me, and something like yesterday happens again, will I be able to stop this net?

He took the cigarette and turned to head towards the stairwell.

Li Man pursed her lips. If they don’t want me to follow, then I won’t. Who cares?

Han Xuetao carried the tray into room 508. He glanced around and saw that the room was not small. The mahjong table had been moved to the wall and replaced with a square table in the center, covered with a green velvet cloth, with playing cards scattered around and bundles of banknotes stacked on all four sides.

Zhou Cheng sat by the window, with Wei Tao and Huang Xiaolong on either side. There was also a stranger there—a tall, thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, who was Liu Zhiyuan, the son of the deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau.

Bao Da was sitting next to Liu Jun.

He changed his outfit today: a shirt tucked into his trousers, a gold-plated belt, a Cantonese Rolex on his wrist, shiny pointed leather shoes, and his hair slicked back with hair gel so thick even a fly would slip on it—he looked exactly like a nouveau riche who had just struck it rich.

Han Xuetao placed two packs of cigarettes on the table.

Bao Da glanced at it and curled his lip: “Yunyan? I don’t like this kind of cigarette.”

He bent down, pulled two packs of cigarettes from the bag at his feet, slammed them on the table, and said, “Try this.”

Speaking with a strong Cantonese accent, he said, “Kenchi, that’s the brand advertised on the big billboard in Luohu Commercial City! In the Special Economic Zone, we all smoke foreign cigarettes!”

He looked at Han Xuetao: “Do you sell them in your store?”

Han Xuetao shook his head: “Only three or five.”

Bao Da smacked his lips: “The taste of the three-five is a little off. Just make do with it, and get me one.”

Han Xuetao looked at Liu Jun: “That cloud and smoke…”

Liu Jun waved his hand: “Keep it, I’ll smoke it. I like smoking this.”

Han Xuetao nodded, turned, and left. The information matched perfectly: “Jianpai” meant everything was going smoothly, “Sanwu” implied the end would be in three hours, and “Yunyan Liuliu” meant luck had stayed; everything proceeded as planned. Bao Da’s side was ready.

He went upstairs, grabbed a pack of “35” cigarettes, and returned it to 508.

When I went back to the sixth floor, most of the guests had left. Around two or three in the afternoon, the lunch customers had left, and the dinner customers hadn’t arrived yet, so the waiters had some free time.

Li Man was still sitting at the small table by the bar. When she saw him come back, she waved and asked, “Finished?”

Han Xuetao sat down opposite her, picked up his own cup of milk tea and took a sip—it was cold, but still drinkable.

Li Man, biting her straw, tilted her head and looked at him: “I have a question for you. After the college entrance exam, should we give our teachers a thank-you card?”

“Give it away if you want.”

“What do you mean by ‘give it away whenever you want’?” she frowned. “I’m asking if it’s necessary.”

Han Xuetao put down his cup: “When it comes to giving gift cards, sincerity is key. Nowadays, eight out of ten people do it, just following the crowd, which is meaningless. It’s only when you remember to give a gift after you go to university and after you graduate and start working that you truly show your thoughtfulness.”

Li Man was stunned. She had never thought of it that way before.

“Should we organize another class reunion? We’ll all be scattered all over the country and won’t see each other again in the future.”

Han Xuetao asked, “Didn’t we already have a get-together at the karaoke bar?”

“That’s for the grade! I’m asking about the class!”

Han Xuetao leaned back in his chair and said indifferently, “Is there a difference? People who care will meet even without gathering, while those who don’t will just sit there playing on their phones.”

“That’s called a block machine,” Li Man corrected. “So… if you were asked to write a sentence in your yearbook, what would you write?”

“Go forward bravely.”

“Huh?” Her eyes widened. “Four words?”

Han Xuetao looked up at her and said, “It’s not about how much you say, but enough. If you write too much, people will forget it as soon as they turn their heads. If you write four words, they might remember them.”

Li Man stared at him, suddenly feeling like she didn’t recognize him. She had asked a question casually, but his answers were nothing like those of an eighteen-year-old high school student.

My competitive spirit suddenly surged.

Li Man, ranked first in her grade and a model student year after year, has never been outdone by anyone. She can accept being outmatched in English, but can she even be outmatched in maturity?

She chewed on the straw for a long time, thinking, and then suddenly spoke:

“Han Xuetao”.

“Um?”

“What exactly happened between you and Zhang Lu from Class Two at the karaoke bar that day?”