Chapter 9: Carry her on your back to fulfill your obligations as her sugar daddy.
"This is all we have." Jin Zhao remained calm, his eyes devoid of any emotion. "If you don't eat it, it'll be gone."
After saying that, he stopped waiting for her and started eating.
Jiang Xiliu: "..."
She waited silently for a few seconds, making sure that Jin Zhao wasn't joking with her—that he really hadn't planned to leave any food for her.
The young lady picked up her chopsticks listlessly, struggling with which unpalatable dish to start with.
Suddenly, a piece of meat appeared in the bowl in front of me.
Jiang Xiliu glanced at Jin Zhao, who was eating with great relish, and mercifully stuffed the meat into her mouth. After chewing it once, she spat it out.
"Jin Zhao, this meat has a strange taste."
The young lady doesn't like ginger, so the family always cooks two portions of food at once.
She had never been to the kitchen, and when she went out to eat, Liao would always inform the restaurant of her dietary restrictions beforehand.
Jiang Xiliu herself couldn't explain what was strange about it; she only felt that the meat tasted unpleasant and odd in her mouth.
Jin Zhao thought she was deliberately causing trouble, so he didn't say anything and finished all the remaining food.
—For him, it was a rare treat to have a full stomach.
Jiang Xiliu slammed her chopsticks onto the tray; she was no longer eating.
Jin Zhao assumed she wasn't hungry.
After taking the tray away, he came over to take her.
System 0777 in the brain is comforting the young lady.
[System 0777: Jin Zhao seems very responsible; he definitely won't abandon you. There's a famous food street outside Peking University.]
Jiang Xiliu followed Jin Zhao out of the cafeteria with some skepticism.
The system said the snack street is at the South Gate, and it seems Jin Zhao's part-time job tonight will also take him in that direction.
Jiang Xiliu clung to Jin Zhao's arm with displeasure: "Hey, what job are you going to tonight? Selling alcohol again?"
She was practically hanging on him, swinging her feet a few times before touching the ground, as if she were using him as a swing.
"Game boosting service." Jin Zhao pulled her off his arm. "Walk properly."
The system's response was more enthusiastic than Jiang Xiliu's.
[System 0777 with starry eyes: I really want to play games with him in the future.]
Jiang Xiliu was speechless; this stupid system had absolutely no self-awareness.
"Why do you do all sorts of things?" Jiang Xiliu asked him. "Can this kind of work make money?"
She smelled the aroma of the seasonings.
"If we have money, we'll do it," Jin Zhao said calmly. "We still need to earn money for Grandma's medical expenses."
They've arrived.
I'm finally going to ask her for money.
Jiang Xiliu pretended not to understand: "Oh, then you can work hard to earn money and pay me back later. I'm not in a hurry."
Jin Zhao glanced down at her and gave a faint reply: "Mm."
Jiang Xiliu was still a little anxious—why hadn't he asked her for money yet?
According to the system, she had to follow the original plot and, at the latest, take on the responsibility of paying for Grandma Jin Zhao's medical expenses within a week.
Jiang Xiliu certainly didn't want to rush to pay this money.
But to complete the task, they have no choice but to pay this money.
Jiang Xiliu then decided to put on airs as a sugar daddy; if he asked her sincerely, she would reluctantly agree.
Phew, no rush, no rush, there are still seven days.
Jiang Xiliu remained composed on the surface.
Until we followed Jin Zhao through the bustling night market.
The alluring aroma wafted further and further away, and the young lady's usually composed face grew increasingly sour.
[System 0777: Oh dear, these things are all junk food. You'll definitely get diarrhea if you eat them.]
Jiang Xiliu sneered: "Really? Afraid I'll get diarrhea? I thought he was just being stingy with buying it for me."
[System 0777 spoke the truth with a worried expression: So far, he hasn't earned a single penny from you, and he even paid for two meat dishes and one vegetable dish. You can't expect too much, can you...]
"I spent three million on him!"
[System 0777: Isn't this money for Jiang Huiyi? If it weren't for the Linjiang project, you wouldn't have paid this money, would you?]
"I didn't ask him for medical expenses!" [System 0777: Uh, Jin Zhao sent it to Assistant Liao, didn't you tell him to refuse it because you thought it was too little?]
The young lady, with a cold expression, poked it furiously: "Get lost!!!"
...
Because he had an extra person by his side, Jin Zhao finished the game exceptionally quickly this time—he started "Kuku rampage" almost right from the start, leaving his opponent no room to maneuver.
Jiang Xiliu didn't look at the menu; instead, she used her phone to search for nearby restaurants that she would regret not trying.
The system not only watched the whole thing but also showered her with compliments in her mind.
Jiang Xiliu was extremely annoyed: "If it really doesn't work, you can go and bind him yourself, instead of calling him around here."
The system had no choice but to shut up in frustration.
When Jin Zhao stood up, Jiang Xiliu hadn't yet decided what she wanted to eat.
"Is it over?" she asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, just one match." Jin Zhao asked her, "Where are you staying tonight?"
Jiang Xiliu crossed her arms: "If we're together, where will you stay?"
Jin Zhao: "I live in the dormitory."
[System 0777: Miss, he's lying to you! He rented a place nearby.]
Jiang Xiliu:!
She knew it!
Using the excuse of staying in the dormitory was just a way to get rid of her!
"Jin Zhao," Jiang Xiliu raised her chin, "Do you think I didn't investigate you before I took you as my sugar daddy?"
"I'll give you one more chance to answer, but don't lie."
Jin Zhao remained silent.
Jiang Xiliu's patience was almost exhausted when he finally spoke: "You can't live there."
Jiang Xiliu's intuitive radar went off instantly.
Could it be the female lead?
"I don't care, I'm going to stay here." Jiang Xiliu's eyes darted around, and she added, "You're coming with me."
Jin Zhao's voice was deep and heavy: "You'll regret this."
"I will never regret it!"
...
"Jin Zhao! I can't walk over there." The young lady, who had just been stubbornly insisting she had no regrets, now stood pitifully at the alley entrance, complaining, "It's so dirty here! What's that black water on the ground? Is it sewage? Ugh—"
Jin Zhao, who was walking ahead, had no choice but to turn back and stop beside her: "It's not too late to regret it now."
[System 0777: Task progress updated to 16.]
Jiang Xiliu gritted her teeth: "...I regret it my ass."
He said that, but after looking at the ground, he really couldn't take the first step.
The thought that dirty water might splash onto her calves after just a few steps sent shivers down her spine.
"Jin Zhao." Her voice carried a hint of grievance that she herself was unaware of.
She turned her head to look at the person standing next to her: "You..."
Before she could finish speaking, the man had already bent down and half-squatted in front of her, his back still very straight.
"Come up." Jin Zhao didn't look at her, only staring at the pool of sewage in front of him. "It's already very late."
His voice was low, perhaps because he was tired, or perhaps because he had lost patience with the noise, but clearly, he just wanted to get through this journey as quickly as possible.
Jiang Xiliu was afraid he would change his mind, so she quickly reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.
His back was stiff, and her elbows pressed against it, bone against bone, making her a little uncomfortable. Just as she was about to change her position, he lifted her up.
"Don't move," Jin Zhao warned her. "I'm not responsible if you fall."
Jiang Xiliu lay on his back, secretly rolling her eyes, looking very unconvinced, but her arms quietly tightened around his back, obediently pressing against him—if she really fell and rolled around in the dirty water on the ground, she was afraid she wouldn't even want her own body anymore.
After walking through the smelliest alley, Jiang Xiliu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She rubbed her chin against his shoulder, showing no intention of getting down to walk.
She had barely settled down a couple of steps before she couldn't contain herself again.
She draped one arm over him, while secretly poking his back with the other. The fabric of his summer clothes wasn't thick, and she could vaguely feel the firm muscles underneath. As if she had discovered something new, she became more and more excited as she touched him.
Just as her hand was about to slip down his collar, Jin Zhao suddenly let go. Jiang Xiliu's body slumped, and without support, she gasped in surprise, "Ouch!"
Just as their feet were about to touch the ground, they were firmly supported again.
Jin Zhao paused, glanced back at her, and said, "If you touch me again, I'll dump you on the side of the road."
"It's not like I haven't touched you before." Jiang Xiliu pouted, pulled her hand back from his collar, and instead wrapped her arms around his neck, kicking her legs up and tightly around his waist. "If you don't let me touch you now, I'll touch you tonight."
She emphasized very deliberately, "I'm your sugar daddy."
Jin Zhao ignored her.
As they went deeper into the area, the faint light that shone from the windows of distant houses, which had allowed them to see their feet, was now gone.
The entire alley was pitch black. There were hardly any streetlights or even lit windows. Only the broken cardboard boxes and old wooden planks piled up against the walls stood out indistinctly.
The smells in the air were getting more and more mixed. Before, it was just a single stench, but now it was mixed with the smell of mold, the sour smell of rotten vegetable leaves, and the smell of oil spilled from some unknown house, all of which rushed into my nose.
Jiang Xiliu couldn't help but frown, and subconsciously pressed herself closer to Jin Zhao's back: "Hey, how did you find this place out of so many nice houses?"
What she really wanted to ask was, "Why are there still such dilapidated places now? They look completely uninhabitable."
“It’s cheap,” Jin Zhao said. “Only five hundred yuan a month.”
Although staying in the dormitory could save money, he often worked late into the night and could never make it to the dormitory curfew.
If you actually go to stay in a hotel, even the cheapest one will cost 100 yuan a night, so it's more cost-effective to just rent a room.
But what kind of house can you rent for 500 yuan?
Jiang Xiliu stared at the even more cramped shadows deep in the alley ahead, unable to imagine what it was all about.
Throughout her life, she has lived in old houses with courtyards and bright, spacious apartments in the city center. The worst time she remembered was when she went on a field trip with a school club. Although the room she stayed in that time was not big, it was clean and bright.
Jin Zhao stopped in front of a low door.
Half a rusty iron plaque still hangs on the door.
Jiang Xiliu peeked out from behind: "Have we arrived?"
Jin Zhao hummed in agreement, put her down, and took out his keys to open the door.
A smell mixed with old wood and dampness wafted out.
Even the fearless young lady was a little scared staring at the overgrown yard—it was more eerie than a dismemberment scene in a horror movie.
"Jin Zhao." Jiang Xiliu took a half step back, suddenly wanting to fulfill her obligations as a sugar daddy, "I suddenly remembered that I also have a house near Peking University, shall we go stay there?"
A note from the author:
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The young lady's outward appearance—a sudden change of heart [okay]
In reality—it's impossible for me to live in a place like this [crying emoji]
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