Chapter 30 On a typical weekday afternoon, Li…

On a typical weekday afternoon, Li Li was wrapped in a blanket in her office, enjoying the air conditioning and watching a TV show, when she suddenly had a craving.

She browsed the nearby food delivery options, but nothing particularly interested her. So she secretly skipped work and went downstairs to a coffee shop two blocks away from her company to enjoy a mocha with a donut.

As fate would have it, Li Li had just pushed open the door when she saw Tan Su chatting with someone by the window.

Because of the recent wave of whistleblowing incidents within the company, there are quite a few people like Li Li who plead for You Chang or beg for forgiveness themselves.

Those who received warnings hoped for their warnings to be withdrawn, those who were notified wanted to remain anonymous, and those whose cases were serious enough to be on the verge of dismissal had to fight even harder.

Tan Su has recently been embroiled in such a controversy.

Li Li thought he was making trouble for himself, so she sat at a nearby table and scanned the QR code to order, keeping a good distance from Tan Su.

Although he couldn't hear them talking, he could sense that the middle-aged woman in the sweater opposite Tan Su was agitated.

Tan Su always had that expressionless look on his face, which was really annoying.

As Li Li had expected, the other party suddenly raised his hand, grabbed the coffee on the table, and splashed it all over him.

Li Li couldn't help but chuckle.

The sticky, wet coffee liquid slid down his shirt, soaking a patch of Tan Su's clothes.

He suppressed his anger and lowered his head to take out a tissue to absorb the fumes.

He saw Li Li peeking around in the glass reflection again, and with an unfriendly expression, he called her over and told her to go back to Yanqi and get some clothes.

Li Li exclaimed dramatically, "Wow, are you going to strip naked and change in the restroom over here?"

Her gaze towards Tan Su turned cold, and she coughed, "What I mean is, don't you know to buy a new outfit at a nearby store?"

There were several brands that Li Li liked to shop at nearby, so she led the way with ease, and they went inside to pick out a gray wool coat that reached the knees for Tan Su, with a black knitted sweater underneath.

She sat on the sofa outside the fitting room, flipping through product catalogs. When Tan Su came out after getting ready, she complimented him, saying, "You look great here."

"I have another meeting in a bit." He frowned; this outfit was too casual and inappropriate for his status.

Li Li said unhappily, "Tan Su, you're not that old, can you stop being so old-fashioned? If you don't like it, choose another one yourself."

After she finished speaking, she got up and stormed out of the door.

The sales assistant immediately brought over the POS machine, smiling, and said, "When you're shopping with your girlfriend, her happiness is the most important thing."

Tan Su didn't say anything more, and lowered his head to swipe his card and sign the bill.

Li Li stood outside the side gate waiting for him. Outside was a side road lined with maple trees. The bricks and stones underfoot were uneven and hadn't been repaired for many years. Yet, many internet celebrities came here to take pictures, praising the place for its traditional old-fashioned style of S City.

Tan Su had one hand in his coat pocket as the autumn wind blew down a shower of leaves that fell to his feet.

Li Li, wearing a khaki coat and carrying an apricot-colored handbag, walked ahead. She suddenly turned around, her lip gloss sparkling as she spoke.

As Li Li backed away, she questioned Tan Su: "Do you even know what the Gray system is? What is Maillard?"

Tan Su did not answer.

He walked in his black leather shoes, following her pace, step by step into late autumn.

——

The Cantonese restaurant, located on the 51st floor of the hotel, offers panoramic views of Macau.

The local guide beside them chatted fluently with the guests in English, introducing the dishes.

Tan Yi silently ate the garlic-flavored fried fish fillets, lost in thought that the kitten would definitely hate this dish.

Tan Congxu noticed his absent-mindedness, suppressed his displeasure, and raised a glass of wine.

He numbly picked up the cup and gulped down half of it.

After finishing their meal, the group went downstairs and moved on to play cards.

When the car arrived, Tan Yi followed behind his father, took a breath of fresh air, and suddenly heard a familiar voice a few meters away.

He turned his head and saw a glamorous woman pulling at a middle-aged man, preventing him from getting into a taxi, and said angrily, "I've already paid for your compensation, you have to sign this today!"

The man was swearing and cursing, probably feeling ashamed and unhappy. He forcefully pushed her away and slammed the car door shut.

The taxi sped away, and the tour guide joked, "Probably another gambling addict from somewhere, whose family is here to apply for quarantine. What a pity, the woman is so pretty."

Macau law has a quarantine measure that can be applied for by the individual or by a relative with the individual's signature, resulting in a maximum two-year ban from entering entertainment venues. Locals have seen far too many cases like this.

The woman who had been left behind stood there, lost and bewildered, seemingly unsure of where to go.

She bit her lip and wiped her face hard. Through the crowd, she suddenly saw Tan Yi standing in the front row. That moment might have been long or just a fleeting instant. Her lips trembled, she turned her face away, and strode out.

Fang Xuan and Tan Yi were not that close in private.

Initially, Li Li added Tan Yi on WeChat because of the meal card incident. In reality, Li Li was the only link between the two in the trio, and now they unexpectedly met for the first time in such an awkward situation.

Fang Xuan walked along the road, tears streaming down her face. In her room, she splashed cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror, feeling utterly disheveled.

Then she received a call on her phone, asking her to come downstairs in half an hour.

Fang Xuan forced herself to touch up her makeup. There were a few outdoor tables and chairs on the first floor of the hotel, where Tan Yi sat and looked at the street scene outside.

Fang Xuan walked over and sat opposite him. She calmed herself down, took out a cigarette from her pocket, put it to her lips, but couldn't find a lighter.

Tan Yi silently tossed over a lighter, bright red, with the word "Good Luck" written on it. It was a gambling token given to the heavy smokers and gamblers by the casino.

Fang Xuan's hand froze; she didn't want to touch it at all.

If you want to close the distance now, you should probably take the initiative to exchange a few pleasantries. After all, the last time they met was several years ago when she brought that model from university onto the ship for a double date with Li Li and Tan Yi.

But she couldn't bring herself to speak, and the other party had no intention of exchanging pleasantries.

Tan Yi pushed a folded piece of paper across the table. The paper was crumpled and wrinkled, with fingerprints and the signature "Fang Yulin" on the blank pages.

Fang Xuan's eyes welled up with tears. She took the cigarette from her lips, her voice choked with emotion, and whispered, "Thank you."

Her destitution and financial straits were now laid bare before the other party.

Tan Yi did not linger after finishing these tasks, as this was an occasion neither of them should have been present in.

Their only unspoken understanding was that they kept it a secret from each other, especially from Li Li.

Fang Xuan achieved her goal. The next day, she submitted an application to the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, checked out of her hotel room, and suddenly covered her face and burst into tears on the plane back to S City.

Half of what she told Li Li about her family situation was true.

When she was very young, her parents did indeed run a soy sauce factory in the suburbs of S City, doing OEM manufacturing for big brands, and the family lived a wealthy life.

Later, the local land was expropriated. The soy sauce factory occupied a large area and received a lot of compensation, as well as resettlement housing.

At that time, the family's liquid assets were properly used for A8.

Fang Yulin suddenly became rich and powerful, and with his wealth, he transferred his daughter to the prestigious private school, Sipo, so that she could receive the best education.

However, he himself had not read many books and was not capable of managing the sudden increase in wealth.

With the factory shut down, Fang Yulin was left with endless bank balances, waking up every day to thousands of yuan in interest.

He started indulging in eating, drinking, whoring, and keeping a mistress. His wife and he were constantly arguing and there was no peace at home. Fang Xuan was upset and wanted to study abroad, which is how she met Li Li and Tan Yi.

Perhaps she could have saved some of her assets by going abroad at that time, but like her mother, she was blinded by Fang Yulin's sudden change of heart.

In reality, behind his smiling demeanor towards his family was the fact that he had been lured into gambling by fellow villagers from the neighborhood.

At first, I just played mahjong at a small underground casino near my home, winning or losing thousands or tens of thousands of yuan a day, which didn't bother me much.

As he played more and more, his addiction grew stronger and stronger. After being taken to Macau, he became completely engrossed in the game.

Fang Xuan's mother had secretly filled out accounts for Fang Yulin many times and even sold a house, but she kept it a secret from Fang Xuan. It wasn't until she graduated from university that her mother secretly slipped her a sum of money, telling her to keep it safe and that she might need it someday.

Fang Xuan was unaware that her family's assets were running out, so she decided to use the money to open a luxury boutique. She was quick-witted and had a wide network of connections, so the business ran quite well.

But when the gambling company called to collect the debt, it was like a bolt from the blue. The astronomical amount Fang Yulin had embezzled was beyond her comprehension.

At first, I was determined to ignore him, but when the store's phone was bombarded with debt collectors and several unemployed people were squatting at the door every day, eyeing customers coming and going.

Fang Xuan knew that she couldn't survive on her own.

Her supposedly strong defenses crumbled the moment the plane took off. She could perhaps endure the darkness if she had never seen the sun.

Fang Xuan recalled Li Li handing her her campus card in the dark of night that year.

At that time, her family had just become rich, and Fang Xuan's heart swelled up like a balloon her father had blown up.

But when faced with the girl with the same straight bangs and bob hairstyle as in Korean dramas, and her dashing male companion, watching their confident demeanor and ease in discussing any topic, Fang Xuan's clamor vanished, replaced by a strong sense of inadequacy that overwhelmed her.

Later, she also started spending money, buying nice bags, wearing designer clothes, and exchanging gifts with Li Li.

But the feeling is always different.

She never had the same unbridled confidence that they had, relying on their families to act recklessly.

Like the night Fang Xuan kicked the model out, she got drunk and lay on the sofa on the boat, swaying with the waves in the harbor.

She said in a sullen, bitter voice, her voice tinged with the effects of alcohol, "I really envy you all."

Li Li leaned against Tan Yi's chest, thinking she was talking about feelings, but unfortunately she never understood Fang Xuan's words.

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Author's note: This week's rankings aren't as tight, so I plan to adjust the pace of the earlier parts as I write.

The last paragraph was revised yesterday.

[Laughing and crying] I really enjoy going back to work.