So honest, staring at the other person for a moment with a scrutinizing gaze, she suddenly laughed out loud: "Then let's try being friends."
You'll only know if you're compatible after you've gotten to know each other.
So the two of them went to the cafeteria together for a meal, and then went back to the dormitory together. After that, they went out together almost every day.
However, Lin Miao is very busy. After class every day, she has to work part-time. In the evening, she works as a waitress in a coffee shop. On weekends, she tutors during the day and goes to work at the coffee shop at night.
Zhong Mei and Zhang Xin were slightly better off, as they only had part-time jobs, working as waitresses at a Western restaurant every night. So everyone was very busy, making Lin Xiazhu seem particularly idle, since she didn't have a part-time job.
That weekend, Lin Miao didn't go out to tutor, saying she had quit her tutoring job. She also wanted to treat Lin Xiazhu to a meal, saying, "I'll treat you to hot pot at the Sichuan restaurant next to the school. The spiciness there is really authentic."
Lin Miao is from Sichuan Province and loves spicy food, but Lin Xiazhu doesn't like spicy food. She can eat a little, but too much spice is not good for her stomach. Her stomach will burn and feel very uncomfortable after eating spicy food.
"If you really want to treat me, just take me to a ramen shop for a bowl of zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste). I don't like spicy food." Lin Xiazhu saw that she seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
Finally, I couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering me, "You've cut back on one part-time job, so your income has decreased, and you still have to pay tuition in the second half of the year. Why don't you save some money?"
Lin Miao smiled enigmatically, blinking mysteriously. Now that it was just the two of them in the dormitory, she paused and confessed, "Jiang Yuqing bribed me, giving me five thousand yuan to become your friend so I could find out your true background and see which family's illegitimate daughter you are."
Lin Xiazhu: "..."
What's the deal with "illegitimate daughter"? She didn't understand at all.
Wait a minute, Jiang Yuqing and her group believe she is the illegitimate daughter of a powerful figure, but they have been unable to find out who her scumbag father is, so they sent Lin Miao to get close to her in order to obtain useful information.
It seems that they moved away not because they were annoyed with her, but to lower her guard so that they could deal with her without any worries once they found out who her backer was.
"Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you afraid of offending them?" Lin Xiazhu was very curious about what she was thinking.
"Yes, I'm scared, but I don't like being threatened. They force me to do things I don't want to do, so why should I obey?" She didn't want to earn their money, be treated like a maid, or be spoken to with a condescending attitude. She didn't say it, but she was very unhappy inside.
Lin Xiazhu was stunned for a moment, then laughed. This time, her smile was much more genuine than before. She had been wary of Lin Miao because she was afraid that Lin Miao was being instructed by Jiang Yuqing and others to deliberately approach her in order to monitor her.
She didn't show it on her face, and while dealing with Lin Miao, she had never truly trusted her and could never consider her a friend. However, after observing her for a while, she discovered that Lin Miao was a resilient and opinionated person.
No matter how others took advantage of her, she accepted it gently and continued to live her life happily every day, seemingly unaffected. Even when Lin Xiazhu intentionally or unintentionally distanced herself, she didn't take it to heart and would still smile brightly whenever she saw her.
Then today she directly exposed all the people behind the scenes, seemingly wanting to see Lin Xiazhu's reaction. Seeing that she was not angry, but calm and not too concerned.
Extremely Buddhist-like.
"So why do you insist on treating me to dinner?"
When asked about this, Lin Miao looked a little awkward and said hesitantly, "They give me money, which is also thanks to you. I don't want to keep it all to myself, so I'd like to treat you to a meal."
So that's what she was thinking. But, "You've only treated me to one meal, so we should at least split it 50/50, right?" Lin Xiazhu said with amusement.
“No way. I often have to endure their intimidation and threats, and my mind has suffered a lot of trauma. This money is all compensation for my mental anguish. Don’t even think about it.” Lin Miao became agitated when talking about money.
She comes from a single-parent family. Ten years ago, her mother ran away with someone else because she thought her family was too poor. She lived with her father, but six years ago, her father fell from the second floor while working on a construction site and lost one leg. He has to rely on crutches to walk ever since.
Her high school tuition was paid by her uncles and cousins. Her first semester of college tuition was borrowed from the village committee, which she had to pay back. From the second semester of her freshman year onwards, she earned all her tuition by working part-time jobs because she desperately needed the money.
"I was just kidding. Since they love trying to bribe you so much, I can help you earn more money. Anyway, their family has a lot of money." Lin Xiazhu smiled and winked.
Lin Miao's eyes widened. "You mean you're going to reveal your secrets to me and then use them to exchange for money?"
"What, is this idea bad?" Lin Xiazhu smiled slyly. She had no secrets to reveal, of course she would just make up a story for them.
Sigh, let's just consider it as writing a novel. It'll earn us some royalties. Besides, we don't even need to write it down; we can just dictate it. How easy is that? She has at least a hundred versions in her mind to work with.
For example, you could change Chen Zinan's story into a female version, or adapt Xiao An's story, or listen to the romance dramas you see on TV—you can listen to whichever you want.
"Wouldn't that be a bit unfair?" Lin Miao felt a little embarrassed, as it made them seem like a newly formed fraud gang.
“Personal information is privacy. It’s fair that I’m exchanging my own privacy for money. If I were to hire a private investigator, the price would be even higher. We’ve already been as generous as we can be.” Lin Xiazhu said with a serious expression, showing no sign of joking.
Lin Miao thought for a moment and quickly accepted her suggestion, "But how should we divide the money? We've been playing tricks on them, and when the truth comes out, we'll definitely be retaliated against." So she wanted a larger share of the money.
"Don't worry, if things get out, I'll take full responsibility. I'll hold the sky up if it falls. We'll split the money 40/60, you get 60% and I get 40%, how about that?" Lin Xiazhu said sincerely.
"Okay, I'll do it." Lin Miao scratched her head, feeling that something was wrong. She shouldn't have been used, right? She and Lin Xiazhu were just cooperating, and she even got benefits from it?
Seeing that she agreed, Lin Xiazhu smiled and hugged her arm affectionately, saying, "From now on, we're good friends. We have a secret in common. Let's go eat now, it's on me."
So when they encountered Yan Shi and Jiang Yuqing at the school gate, their expressions were quite meaningful. Seeing the close relationship between Lin Xiazhu and Lin Miao, Jiang Yuqing gave a smug sneer.
"No matter how wealthy Lin Xiazhu's father is, it doesn't change the fact that she's a lowly illegitimate daughter who can only befriend poor people like Lin Miao. It won't be long before she pours out her heart to Lin Miao."
A person with low self-esteem most desires someone to understand her, listen to her feelings, and comfort her to make her feel better. If Lin Miao shows she values her, she'll definitely tell Lin Miao everything.
Let's see how long Lin Xiazhu can keep this a secret. When that happens, she'll have someone spread all of Lin Xiazhu's background and her shameful past, ruining her reputation.
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