Chapter 47 The Genius Who Was Picked Up Without a Trace
He Youjia's birth date on her ID card indicates that she will be 20 years old in three months. For a normally growing woman, at this age, she should be in college, dating, or doing something else. In short, she should have no pressure in life, only a bellyful of vague worries, and spend most of her time idly wasting her time apart from eating, drinking, and having fun.
But she was clearly not a carefree person.
Xu Weisheng climbed the ladder to the attic, looked around at her living environment, and came down in silence. He leaned close to Jian Zhen and whispered, "There aren't even any lights up there."
She had no luggage, no decent clothes, and lived huddled in the attic like a stray cat. If it weren't for the fact that she and the stone shop owner seemed to get along quite naturally, the two of them would have questioned the old man's motives.
"Didn't you entrust her to Dean Jiang?" Jian Zhen was genuinely puzzled. "How come a perfectly good person like her has not only stopped painting but has also ended up like this?"
Xu Weisheng also wanted to know the answer to this question, but this was not the place to talk about it. He made a proposal to the boss, saying that he and Jian Zhen wanted to take Youjia away.
"You're not planning to kidnap her, are you?" the old man asked, turning around to wary them. His eyes darted around as he sized them up. He probably couldn't find any evidence of human trafficking in their appearances, so he compromised and said, "You have to give me your contact information. In case something happens, I need to know where to find you."
Xu Weisheng pulled out a business card—Jian Zhen was stunned; he actually carried a business card with him now—and handed it to the other person. The other person glanced at the title in front of the name, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes first, followed by suspicion. Before he could question the authenticity of the business card, Xu Weisheng took out his phone and expressed his willingness to buy some stone materials from his shop.
—That shut him up.
"I'm telling you, even if you're rich, there's no need to be so extravagant," Jian Zhen said, looking at a pair of amber pieces worth over 30,000 yuan in the box as the three of them left the stone shop.
"Not bad, right?" Xu Weisheng shook the bag in his hand: "Didn't we just send so many lychee jelly packages?"
Jian Zhen rolled her eyes, slammed the lid of the box shut, and said indignantly, "The most important thing for us now is to hire an accountant."
Xu Weisheng smiled and agreed, "You're right."
The three of them went into a bathhouse, which was chosen by Jian Zhen. At first, Xu Weisheng said, "This is not very good... I've never had a scrub before." Then Jian Zhen raised her hand and flicked his forehead. This action was completely subconscious. After flicking him, the three people present were stunned. Youjia seemed to be watching a comedy and started staring at the two of them and chuckling.
Having no other choice, they moved closer together, whispering to each other with their heads touching.
Jian Zhen: "She doesn't even have a decent set of clothes right now, how can I take her to the mall? Besides, there's food and drinks here, and the clothes I bought for her will be at the door in the time it takes for her to take a shower. The most important thing is!"
She lowered her voice further: "It's all naked inside. I'll just check if she has any wounds."
"You're so clever!" Xu Weisheng was completely convinced, but still asked, unwilling to give up, "Can I not go in?"
“No!” Jian Zhen said decisively.
Xu Weisheng was tricked into buying a package of bathhouse massage tickets. After taking a bath, he soaked in the men's pool for twenty minutes before his number was called. He then shyly got onto the massage bed.
The bathhouse attendant clicked his tongue in praise, saying, "Young man, you've got some good training!"
Xu Weisheng blushed and hummed in agreement, then lay down and followed instructions. When his older brother found out it was his first time, he thoughtfully changed him to a children's bath towel. After that, Xu Weisheng's body no longer belonged to him. Red wine was splashed on him, and the bath towel was put into use, rubbing against every inch of his skin as if he were scrubbing a kitchen wall.
The masseuses at the bathhouse all have an indifferent look towards beauty and ugliness. No matter what topic they talk about, they can gradually make you relax. Xu Weisheng was no exception. He quickly went from feeling embarrassed to enjoying it, and he was already planning his next bathhouse visit before he even left.
The three met at the buffet restaurant wearing bathrobes from the bathhouse. They all looked refreshed. Before Jian Zhen could ask, Xu Weisheng gave a positive review: "I'm so glad you tricked me into going. It felt so good. I feel like I've lost three pounds."
"That's so exaggerated," Jian Zhen laughed, "Then how dirty must you be?"
Yuka, who was putting small snacks on her plate, looked away for a moment—she was too embarrassed to say that she thought she was the dirtiest one.
The two changed the subject and returned to the dining table. Everyone started adding meat to the hot pot while munching on fruit. Jian Zhen and Xu Weisheng sat on one side, and she held up half a watermelon and asked the girl opposite her, "Youjia, why don't you paint anymore?"
He Youjia's hand holding the chopsticks froze in mid-air. She turned to look at Xu Weisheng, who smiled at her and said, "No need to rush, speak slowly."
It turns out that ever since Youjia came to Beijing last year and got a spot as an assistant in Dean Jiang's studio, she quickly integrated into city life with everyone's help. In the capital, everything is expensive, from food and clothing to housing and transportation. Most of the kids who can get into Dean Jiang's studio come from well-off families. These kids aren't malicious; they're just naturally straightforward and simple-minded. They eat and play whatever they want, and then they drag Youjia along to eat and play with them. So, going to high-end restaurants, luxury stores... plus using the best of everything for art supplies and materials is just burning money.
So even though Dean Jiang took good care of Youjia and paid her a generous salary, she quickly went into debt. He Youjia had no concept of money; she was a child who grew up in poverty and didn't know how to make money or how to spend it properly.
But she also had a good conscience. When Dean Jiang was sick and the studio was closed, the finance department didn't pay her salary for two months. She went to his door crying, and people thought she was there to collect a debt. But she wiped away her tears and said, "Please tell Teacher Jiang that I can't trouble him like this anymore!"
He Youjia, facing a financial deficit, thought she could stand on her own even without Dean Jiang's protection. But... clearly, her qualifications were not backed by anyone, and her talents had nowhere to be displayed. Without her paintbrush, she was no different from the little girl who had been homeless for years. Poverty is like a quagmire; once you're trapped in it, it's very difficult to get out on your own. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with a person's character or ability. It's just that most people in the world have never truly experienced poverty, so they find it hard to understand that poverty is as dangerous as drugs.
"Excuse me, could I have a tissue?" Jian Zhen reached out her hand through the steaming mist.
Xu Weisheng turned his head and glanced at her in surprise, only to find that the woman's eyes had actually reddened as Youjia stammered and looked pale.
"Are you touched?" he asked as he handed the paper to Jian Zhen.
"Pah!" Jian Zhen said firmly, "I'm just being empathetic!"
Xu Weisheng laughed, scratching his chin. Actually... hearing Youjia say these things made him feel a little sour, but the story obviously wasn't over yet. He sighed and asked, "Do you still owe money?"
"I don't know." He Youjia lowered her eyes and said softly, "I don't have a phone anymore, so the people asking for money can't find me."
It seemed they still owed money. The three remained silent for a moment. Jian Zhen heard Xu Weisheng take a breath, about to speak, and quickly reached under the table to grab his hand, urging him not to act impulsively.
Xu Weisheng still said, "We'll go to the bank to check later. I can help you pay off the money you owe now, but you have to write an IOU. I'm not giving you this money for nothing; you have to pay it back within a certain period."
Jian Zhen breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Youjia shook her head: "Old Xu, let's just forget about it. Don't worry about me. I... can't make any money."
"Who said that?" Jian Zhen puffed out her cheeks, forced a smile, and looked at her, saying, "You can come work at Touxue!"
"Touxue?" Youjia looked up abruptly, her eyes shining. "Didn't Touxue collapse?"
"Not this time," Jian Zhen said with a smile and a shake of her head.
After leaving the bathhouse, Youjia changed into the new clothes Jianzhen had bought for her and went to the bank with the two of them. They first checked her credit cards, and then found Youjia's old phone number. Fortunately, she hadn't learned how to borrow money from loan sharks before she started going homeless.
While the two were looking through Youjia's spending records, they calculated the amount of her debt. Jianzhen glanced at Youjia, who was immersed in drawing and trying to pass the test, and turned back to Xu Weisheng and whispered, "She'll have to work for Touxuebai for a year, right?"
Her voice, carried by the hot air, blew into Xu Weisheng's ears, making him blush from his left ear to his right. In an instant, he even forgot the result of his mental calculation and had to pretend to check and start over from the beginning.
What's going on between them? Xu Weisheng regrets it every day. His hesitation back then ruined him, and now Jian Zhen has all the power in this relationship. Jian Zhen can whisper in his ear, but if he tries to whisper in Jian Zhen's ear, he should be prepared to be slapped away.
Love is so unfair!
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