Chapter Four: Pig Butchering Scam

Lin Yu landed in Pudong around 3 p.m., and was just planning to take the afternoon off when he received a call from Cheng Shi. "Are you free tonight? Let's grab some time for dinner?"

Cheng Shi was a friend Lin Yu met when she first came to Shanghai. At that time, neither of them was well-off, and they ended up sharing an apartment for a while by chance. Later, she got a boyfriend, and Lin Yu's salary gradually increased, so she moved out and rented a one-bedroom apartment near her company.

However, the two still maintained the habit of eating together every now and then, and occasionally on Friday nights, they would meet up to explore newly opened bars and restaurants.

Lin Yu didn't have many friends in Shanghai, with Cheng Shi being one of the few. The reason for saying "a few" was probably because Cheng Shi's strict self-discipline and strict rules towards others always made Lin Yu feel tense.

Lin Yu believes that making friends is a relaxing thing, and only colleagues and bosses should be on call at all times. Cheng Shi, on the other hand, gives her the feeling of an imperious boss, the kind who gives a slap and then a juicy treat.

Cheng Shi comes from a remote mountain village in the south. She is the eldest child in her family, with a younger sister and a younger brother. This kind of family structure is very common in their area. She said that when she was a child, her family could only receive cable TV during the Chinese New Year.

Many girls around her were engaged and had weddings before they reached marriageable age; their children were already running around before they even got their marriage certificates; some even got divorced before their second child was born. In such a closed and backward village, Cheng Shi was an anomaly. She was determined to escape the mountain village from a very young age.

Cheng Shi studied very hard, and even without tutoring, her grades were always consistently the best in her grade. Although no one in her family cared about her test scores or how many awards she received, and they repeatedly tried to persuade her to drop out of school and get married, she eventually managed to get into a prestigious 985 university in Shanghai, fulfilling her wish to escape her hometown.

During her studies, her parents couldn't afford her tuition and living expenses, so she applied for a student loan from the school based on her excellent grades, while also working part-time to save up for living expenses. Just before graduation, she benefited from a Shanghai government policy and was able to register her residency in Shanghai as a recent graduate. This decision solidified her resolve to settle down in Shanghai.

She was as hard and tenacious as her name suggested, secretly vowing to completely break with her broken first half of life. So after graduation, she rode the wave of the internet boom and applied for a product manager position at a large internet company. In just a few years, she had risen to the P8 level and was raking in bonuses.

As the saying goes, "every profession has its own secrets," and Lin Yu couldn't understand the mechanisms of the internet industry. However, he greatly admired Cheng Shi, who stayed up all night making PPTs and preparing report materials, and then went to catch the subway during rush hour the next day with full makeup and looking impeccably dressed.

At work, she is like a perpetual motion machine. Her fear of poverty is her driving force, forcing her to constantly break down her original self and step forward step by step on her own fragments.

Over the years, Cheng Shi's annual salary has steadily increased, far surpassing Lin Yu's. Lin Yu is a typical Libra, always full of ambitious ideas, but when it comes to actually making changes, he becomes passive and unmotivated.

Occasionally, when she hears about Cheng Shi's bonus figures, she'll work like a zombie for a few weeks, but after a while, she reverts to her old routine of mindlessly drawing at work and mindlessly entertaining herself after work. Compared to Cheng Shi, she's more like a fresh corpse.

Cheng Shi would sometimes criticize her with exasperation, but she also understood that their situations were different. Cheng Shi was someone with no way out; she had achieved what she had today entirely through her relentless hard work and ruthless self-exploitation. Behind her was an abyss, and beneath her feet was a conveyor belt moving in the opposite direction; even if it stopped, she would fall.

Although Lin Yu is somewhat competitive at heart, this good quality has always been in a semi-dormant state.

When I was in school, I would work hard to achieve certain goals. But after I started working, I became completely indifferent to it and only maintained a basic sense of responsibility. Except for deadlines that I had to meet or night shifts that I had to work overtime, I was unwilling to waste any extra effort.

Although Lin Yu's parents are divorced, she is their only child. While their attempt to live together as a couple failed, they maintained an astonishing understanding in handling Lin Yu's affairs.

Therefore, although she was not a rich girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she was not an ordinary white-collar worker who needed to worry about making a living. She was firmly in the comfort zone of being above the middle class but not quite middle class.

This innate sense of security allows her to always navigate the workplace with ease and composure. After all, even if she gets fired tomorrow, she won't be lying on the street starving the day after.

Two completely different bloodlines flowed through her veins: her mother's decisive and assertive nature, and her father's whimsical and romantic spirit. These two genes battled day and night within her, like a never-ending tug-of-war. Before the harsh realities of life hit, her father's poetic genes temporarily held the upper hand.

Lin Yu pushed her suitcase towards the exit with one hand, holding the phone to her cheek. "Okay, you choose the place, send me the location." She had a feeling that Cheng Shi's call this time was probably not for anything good.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yu saw Jiang Chuan at the arrivals area. He stood quietly in the corner with his hands in his pockets, watching her. Strangely, no matter where Jiang Chuan was in the group, Lin Yu could always spot him at a glance.

In April in Shanghai, the cold front receded, and spring was just beginning to emerge. Jiang Chuan was tall and slender, wearing a gray casual suit jacket over a well-tailored camel-colored long cashmere coat. Lin Yu remembered that this was the Valentine's Day gift she had given him two months ago.

What made it so memorable was that this coat cost her a whole month's salary, which really stung. Now that Jiang Chuan was wearing it everywhere, it was a good thing that she hadn't wasted a month's worth of bread.

Jiang Chuan's skin had a pampered, fair complexion, and beneath his high, straight nose was a pair of thin lips with distinct lines. His lips were pale and his mouth was pressed down at the corners, yet there was always a faint smile, which made his beautiful phoenix eyes appear even more long and deep.

When Lin Yu first met Jiang Chuan, he noticed that Jiang Chuan had a pair of very intelligent and insightful eyes, as if he could absorb everything he looked at into his dark pupils, like King Medes of Phrygia, who could turn stone into gold.

She walked over in a few steps, put her arm around Jiang Chuan's neck, tiptoed and gently kissed the corner of his upturned lips, her thumb lingering on the stray hairs at the back of his neck. "Aren't there any flowers? I love fresh flowers the most."

Jiang Chuan found Lin Yu's mild temper quite endearing. He habitually took Lin Yu's suitcase, patted the back of her head with his hand, smiled silently, and then slid his hand down to take Lin Yu's hand and walk towards the underground parking garage.

The journey from the airport to Lin Yu's home takes about half an hour. She did not move in with Jiang Chuan too early because Lin Yu always felt that her and Jiang Chuan's lifestyles were somewhat incompatible.

Jiang Chuan is a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. Even though his work schedule often involves working day and night, his home is always spotless, forever resembling an uninhabited showroom.

In contrast, Lin Yu was somewhat carefree and procrastinating, leaving his blankets unmade and socks lying around. It was as if he was engaging in a silent struggle with Lin Min's disciplined and orderly approach.

Despite their many incompatibilities, Jiang Chuan was, in the eyes of society, the perfect marriage partner, and their sex life was exceptionally harmonious. Most importantly, his parents were deceased, eliminating the possibility of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflicts.

This perfect, rich, and handsome guy, blinded by love and eager to please, is actively showing interest in me. Even if it's not as dramatic as Zhang Yunzhou's pursuit of Yao Fangfang back then, I've already hit the jackpot. Only a fool would let her go.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Lin Yu decided to continue living in her rented one-bedroom apartment until she got married, maintaining her current freedom to the greatest extent possible. At the same time, out of caution, she also wanted to at least confirm that Jiang Chuan wasn't some new type of "pig butchering scammer."

She adhered to one principle: she could be seduced by her looks, but she would never give him money. Fortunately, so far Jiang Chuan had been quite generous to her and hadn't shown any signs of wanting to borrow money from her.

Although Lin Yu's rented apartment was less than 40 square meters and located in an old neighborhood, it was far less spacious and comfortable than Jiang Chuan's apartment, which was also more conveniently located.

But in its bedroom there was a bay window facing the road, which was not of high grade. Lin Yu laid a thick plush cushion on the bay window and placed a pink low table on it.

As she got older, she developed a fondness for all things pink. Occasionally, on weekend evenings, she would sit cross-legged on the bay window, leaning against the window while drinking and aimlessly observing the passersby outside. This feeling made Lin Yu feel relaxed and at ease.

This window always reminds her of her childhood bedroom, which also had a similar window, giving her the feeling of peering into her childhood self through the window.

Jiang Chuan always unconditionally approved of Lin Yu's taste. Even though most normal people would prioritize finding a quiet house, she preferred to join in the fun.

Jiang Chuan parked the car downstairs at Lin Yu's building, leaned to the side with one hand on the steering wheel, and tentatively asked, "Want to have dinner together tonight?"

Lin Yu stared at the tip of his high, straight nose, with a small mole embedded in the side, only clearly visible up close, which looked especially sexy when his gaze locked onto her. "No, I have an appointment with Cheng Shi, let's do it another day."

He didn't press the matter further, raising an eyebrow and nodding. "I'll be a bit busy in the next few weeks, but you can come to my place on weekends and I'll cook for you."

Jiang Chuan is a native Shanghainese, but he has no relatives in Shanghai and has been living alone for many years. His parents were among the first to venture into business, and when they were alive, they ran several factories that made utility poles, and their business was very successful.

Therefore, he grew up in a privileged family environment, living in a luxury villa, attending an international school, and receiving a lot of pocket money. His parents had a harmonious relationship and doted on him, so Jiang Chuan had a happy childhood that most people could only dream of.

However, at the beginning of the 20th century, the factory experienced a major upheaval due to a failed transformation, and the Jiang family fell from grace overnight. The debt black hole that could not be filled even by selling villas and luxury cars eventually swallowed up this once glorious family completely.

On the day the bankruptcy judgment was issued, Jiang's parents moved into an old, moldy tenement building in the suburbs with Jiang Chuan, who was still in high school, and his mother, who was over seventy years old. They lived in the cramped one-room apartment for three years.

Jiang Chuan dropped out of the elite private school and transferred to a nearby private school to finish high school. Without the help of a tutor, he was admitted to a well-known local university, majoring in law.

Life gradually improved. The parents started working day and night on long-distance transport, planning to first pay off the workers' wages and then rebuild the family business.

The story ends with an ending that is as cliché as can be.

Jiang Chuan's parents were involved in a car accident while driving while fatigued. They failed to avoid an oncoming drunk driver in time, and their vehicle crashed directly into the highway guardrail and plunged down the embankment. Both parents died on the spot, leaving Jiang Chuan with outstanding debts and a frail and sickly grandmother.

Jiang Chuan calmly cooperated with the police to handle the aftermath of the accident. On the day the compensation money arrived in his account, he personally crossed out the debt figures from the first few lines of his father's ledger, as if completing a cruel ritual.

After they went bankrupt, those once-helpful relatives disappeared, and he had to handle his parents' funeral arrangements all by himself, without a proper burial.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; all that's left is a handful of ashes that are hardly worth mentioning. In life, people toil and struggle for houses and money, but after death, they only need to lie peacefully in a small space, with a wall filled with ashes serving as their permanent home.

The day he walked out of the funeral home, the weather was exceptionally good. He looked up at the dazzling blue sky and suddenly had the illusion that he had just been born. This funeral home, which marked the end of his parents' lives, was his new starting point. Every step he took after leaving here would be an uphill climb.

Over the next few years, he supported himself through university with government pensions and extra income from teaching piano after school. At the same time, he and two alumni who had graduated years earlier established a small law firm. By graduation day, their firm, through careful management, was gradually gaining recognition in the industry.

He paid off the debts that had once overwhelmed his parents one by one, his grandmother was admitted to a special care ward with a view of the falling plane tree leaves, and through his own efforts, he gained the right to overlook the entire Huangpu River. Those financial figures that once suffocated his parents now seemed to have become something less important in his life.