At first, Cheng Xu had thought about talking to them again, but there was no one he could talk to directly, and they wanted more and more. So, eventually he stopped.
It would be fine if he continued to do what he did now. As long as he was willing to put down his pride and spend money, there would always be some negotiations. He would be able to get by.
However, he thought that he still had a year of school, and he definitely would not have so much time on his hands to manage these things. He did not want to get involved in this mess.
The main source of scrap for the recycling center was the scrap produced by Huang Junjie. There were some scraps sent by the street collectors, too. But he could barely get by with these.
On the way back, Cheng Xu thought about it a lot. 'Could the Donweist Scrap Recycling Center really keep afloat?'
He had no choice. He only had so many channels and connections. Even if he relied on the system to play, his income would only be enough to feed himself.
Refining gold was very profitable, but it was still subject to others' control. He could not do it forever.
They were all people with the system. It would be too miserable if they were satisfied with an income of hundreds or thousands of yuan a day. He wanted to make a career and shine in his own light.
'Was there really no future in collecting scrap?' Cheng Xu did not believe it.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already Li Mengqing's birthday. He stood in front of the mirror and tidied his hair. Today was a special day so he had even used the system to clean up the dirt from his face and trimmed his eyebrows and beard.
He sighed in satisfaction. He felt like he really was a little genius with wisdom and beauty. He picked up the gift and set off to meet her.
When he arrived at the address that Li Mengqing had sent him, Cheng Xu looked around and only saw a beautiful woman waving at him, seated at a restaurant.
'Did she invite me only?' Cheng Xu could feel his heart thumping wildly.
"Young missy, happy birthday!" Cheng Xu handed the box to her.
People liked gifts. Even better if there was a sense of ceremony to these things. So, Cheng Xu had bought an exquisite box and attached a ribbon to it.
Li Mengqing received the gift with a face full of joy and asked him to sit. She also poured a glass of water for him.
"Um… we might have to wait a while. My best friend heard it was my birthday today, so she wants a free meal." She looked a little embarrassed.
"That's fine. It's livelier with one more person."
The two of them grinned at each other but cursed in their hearts. They waited for about twenty minutes. Her best friend finally arrived.
Cheng Xu had never seen this so-called best friend of hers before, nor had he heard of her. The moment she arrived, she sized up Cheng Xu and looked at Li Mengqing.
"So, this is the high school classmate you were talking about?"
"Yes. His name is Cheng Xu." She looked at Cheng Xu. "This is my friend, Gong Xinyi."
"Hello," he said. This new person did not give him a good impression, so he greeted her indifferently.
"Waiter!" Li Mengqing waved at the waiter. "You can serve the dishes now."
"Eh? Have you already ordered? Why didn't you ask me what I wanted to eat?" said Gong Xinyi, a little unhappily.
Cheng Xu clenched his fist. 'Not only are you late but you have a problem with the order too?'
However, Cheng Xu did not say anything aloud since it was Li Mengqing's birthday, and she was her friend.
"Um, I didn't order anything you wouldn't like." Li Mengqing looked a little embarrassed.
The three of them talked for a while. For some reason, she turned her attention back to the gift box on the table.
"Is this a gift from him?" asked Gong Xinyi.
"Yup," said Li Mengqing.
"Can I open it? Can I have a look?"
Before Li Mengqing could answer, Gong Xinyi had already picked up the box.
"Why isn't there a brand on the box?" she asked.
Li Mengqing was horrified. 'I haven't even had the time to see it myself, why are you taking it?'
Gong Xinyi seemed encouraged because of her silence. "Well, I take it that you don't have a problem with me opening it."
She opened the box. Cheng Xu gritted his teeth and tried to calm himself.
"Wow, it's a gold pendant! It's really nice."
Li Mengqing's eyes sparkled. She no longer cared to be polite and snatched the box from her friend's hands.
"Where did you buy it? That must have cost a lot," said Gong Xinyi.
Li Mengqing was also quite curious and wanted to know but she was much too polite to ask something like that.
She did not really want Cheng Xu to buy her something very expensive. She was not afraid of not being able to pay him back, but she knew about Cheng Xu's background. She did not want him to feel as though he had to buy her something expensive. She did not want him to struggle just to buy her a gift.
"Oh, I didn't buy it," he said. "I made it myself." Cheng Xu was running thin on patience. He did not really like her friend.
"Really? You are quite skilled."
Li Mengqing pursed her lips and looked at Cheng Xu.
"You can talk!" said Gong Xinyi. "That's the first words you have actually uttered today."
However, Cheng Xu was being happy a tad bit too early.
"Then, can you make one for me too?" asked Gong Xinyi. "This is really beautiful. I like it!"
"I can't."
"What?! Why are you so stingy? How much would it cost for you to make something like this for me?"
Cheng Xu was about to snap when Li Mengqing suddenly yelled, "Gong Xinyi! Why would he do that for you? Is he close to you? Who are you to him? A complete stranger! Have you ever given him any gifts to shamelessly ask for one right now? Are you crazy? You should be ashamed!"
Gong Xinyi was stunned at her words, so was Cheng Xu. He thought she was so adorable even when she was angry and yelling at other people.
But Gong Xinyi was not in a good mood anymore. She was about to cry. "You both are ganging up on me and bullying me," she sobbed.
If it had been anyone else, Cheng Xu would have felt sorry for her. But he only felt annoyed at Gong Xinyi. He wanted to tell her to cry louder and embarrass herself even more.
Gong Xinyi cried a little longer, but she realized no one cared. The people on the table next to her were listening to a live broadcast. They found her very funny. The more she cried, the more people looked at her strangely. When Gong Xinyi cried, someone had always come to comfort her. That's how she could get anything she wanted. But now, people gave her strange looks, so she got up from the table and ran out of the restaurant.
"Are you alright?" Cheng Xu asked Li Mengqing.
"Yeah," she said. "She is always like this. I have wanted to shout at her for a long time. I have always tolerated when she took my things without asking me but today, she crossed the line. She even wanted my birthday gift!"
Li Mengqing was still a little angry and her cheeks were red. Cheng Xu found her cute.
"Well then, let's eat first."
The dishes were served just in time.