The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 26

On the sixth floor of the restaurant, she stood behind the bar, holding a rag in her hand, wiping here and there.

He wiped it twice and glanced up at the stairwell.

Nobody’s here.

After a while, he wiped it twice more and then looked up again.

Still no one.

A customer came out of the elevator, and she put down the dishcloth to order. After ordering, she came back, stood there, and her eyes drifted towards the stairwell.

Yin Qin passed by and glanced at her: “Li Man, why are you always staring at the stairwell?”

“No…no,” Li Man said, looking away. “I was checking…checking if the guests had arrived.”

Yin Qin glanced at her suspiciously and left.

Another half hour passed. After clearing away the dishes and chopsticks, she carried the tray to the kitchen, and on her way back, she deliberately took a detour, passing by the elevator area.

The elevator doors opened and closed, and all the people who came out were unfamiliar faces.

Li Man walked back to the bar and glanced at the clock on the wall.

It’s been over an hour since I started work.

She couldn’t resist any longer and went to find Yinqin.

“Sister Yinqin, why didn’t Han Xuetao come today?”

Yin Qin was wiping the cups and didn’t even look up: “Oh, you didn’t know? Xiao Han took leave.”

Li Man was taken aback: “When did this happen?”

“He called today.” Yin Qin put down her cup. “His father is in the hospital, and he needs to go and stay with him.”

“Hospitalized?” Li Manxin asked, “What illness? Is it serious?”

Yin Qin shook her head: “They didn’t go into details. I just asked for leave, saying I was going to the hospital.”

Li Man opened her mouth, as if to ask something, but then swallowed it back. After a two-second pause, she couldn’t help but ask again, “So how many days off did he take?”

“They didn’t say how many days.” Yin Qin thought for a moment. “They only said it would be when his father was almost fully recovered. It’s also possible that he won’t come at all during the summer vacation.”

“ah?”

Li Man’s shoulders suddenly slumped.

Yin Qin glanced at her: “What’s wrong?”

“No…it’s nothing.” Li Man forced a smile, turned around, and left.

Back at the bar, she leaned against the wall, all her previous energy gone.

He’s not coming at all this summer?

What’s the point of me working here then?

…

After finally getting off work, Li Man returned home.

Gu Aizhi was curled up on the sofa watching TV, “Beijing Love Story,” a currently popular drama where Xu Jinglei plays a character in a romantic relationship. Half a watermelon sat on the coffee table, with a spoon stuck in it.

“You’re back?” Gu Aizhi asked, her eyes fixed on the TV. “The food’s warming up in the pot. Help yourself.”

Li Man changed her shoes, didn’t go to get the rice, and sat down on the sofa.

Gu Aizhi turned to look at her: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling down?”

Li Man remained silent, staring at the television for a few seconds. The two young people on screen were entangled in a lovey-dovey display, and the more she watched, the more annoyed she became.

“Mom,” she suddenly said, “call Manager Wang of Chunmei Hotel tomorrow and tell him I’m not going.”

Gu Aizhi was taken aback, even stopping the sunflower seeds in her hand: “Huh? Why aren’t you going? Weren’t you doing a great job the other day?”

“Can you just stop asking?” Li Man leaned back on the sofa. “I’m going to experience life for a few days, isn’t that enough?”

Gu Aizhi looked at her. This girl came back today looking like she’d been hit by frost, completely different from how she was a few days ago.

“How about we go on a trip together, mother and daughter?” Gu Aizhi asked tentatively. “I can take some time off recently.”

“No.” Li Man sat up. “All you do is play. The rest of my summer vacation is to study English.”

Gu Aizhi was even more stunned: “Isn’t your English pretty good? You’re first in the grade!”

“What’s the use of being first in the grade?” Li Man retorted, her neck stiff. “I can’t understand what foreigners are saying, and I can’t get a word in edgewise. Is there anyone who’s first in the grade like me? It’s all your fault! You always bought me things like Aiwa ultra-thin laptops and Sony CD players, and now I can’t speak English!”

Gu Aizhi was speechless.

Li Man stood up: “I’m not going to say anything more, I’m going inside.”

The door slammed shut.

Gu Aizhi stared at the door for a long time before finally managing to stammer, “Has this child taken some kind of poison today?”

…

Nine o’clock in the evening, at the West Street vegetable market.

Han Xuetao stood in front of the iron gate and glanced inside.

The market was long gone; rows of bare cement platforms stood empty, with rotten vegetable leaves and plastic bags scattered on the ground. A pungent smell of rotten cabbage mixed with fish wafted in the air—unpleasant, yet it made him pause for a few seconds.

He knows this place well.

After being released from prison in his previous life, before leaving Donglin, he lived in this area of ​​West Street for about half a year. The gray building not far away, the room by the window on the third floor, was where he lived back then. The window is dark; he doesn’t know who it’s rented to now.

He withdrew his gaze, climbed over the iron gate, and went inside.

At the end of the market stands an old three-story building. It used to be the administrative office of a wool textile factory. After the factory moved away, the building became vacant and was rented to all sorts of random people. There are several warehouses selling spices on the first floor, the second floor is empty, and the third floor is always locked.

Just as Han Xuetao reached the bottom of the building, a man jumped out of the security office.

“Stop! What are you doing?”

A skinny man, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a flashlight in his hand, shone it in Han Xuetao’s face.

Han Xuetao raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light and pointed to the third floor: “Lu Dahai introduced me.”

The skinny man lowered his flashlight and looked him over: “Lu Dahai? Where is he?”

“His daughter is sick and has gone to the hospital.”

The skinny man cursed, “A gambling addict who knows how to take care of his daughter?” He waved his hand, “Get lost, you’re not allowed in here.”

Han Xuetao didn’t move: “Then call He Biao down.”

The skinny guy was taken aback: “Brother Biao? You know Brother Biao, and you had Lu Dahai introduce you?”

“He Biao doesn’t pay for massages at our hair salon in Wenzhou,” Han Xuetao said. “I’ve come to settle the bill with him.”

The skinny guy’s jaw nearly dropped: “What the hell? Brother Biao… got it for free?”

“If you don’t want to call, that’s fine too.” Han Xuetao looked at him. “You can pay for him, three hundred.”

The skinny man was startled: “What kind of hair salon is this expensive! It’s usually thirty at most!”

Han Xuetao glanced at him, his eyes filled with disdain: “Someone of your caliber?”

The skinny guy was taken aback, feeling embarrassed: “Fine, fine, I’ll call for you. You can ask Brother Biao for it yourself later.”

He turned around and ran up the stairs.

A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

A man stepped down, wearing a gray polo shirt, with a buzz cut, and quite muscular. He was the same man who had led the group to the Chunmei Hotel yesterday afternoon.

He Biao went downstairs, saw Han Xuetao, and was stunned for a moment.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Han Xuetao turned and walked quickly into the vegetable market.

He Biao reacted: “Stop!”

He immediately gave chase.

Han Xuetao didn’t stop, but sped up. The two of them walked one after the other through a row of production platforms and turned into the alley between two rows of brick houses.

He Biao chased to the alleyway, when suddenly a bright light burst out in front of him!

Everything was a blur of white; you couldn’t see anything at all.

He instinctively raised his hand to block, and a sudden numbness shot through his side—

A surge of electricity coursed through his body, like countless needles darting through his veins. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, his consciousness not yet fully gone.

In the distance, the skinny man stood at the bottom of the building, his eyes glazed over by the bright light. He rubbed his eyes and blinked hard. When his vision returned, the market was deserted.

He Biao is gone. The young man is gone too.