After much contemplation, Wang Shuo reluctantly swallowed the bitter pill.
Although Chen Xin didn't ask him for the hospital fees again, as a man, he felt he should maintain his dignity. Once words are spoken, they are like nails driven into the ground; he would never pull them out and put them back into his mouth.
That would just be too disgusting...
Of course, he wouldn't admit that it was to avoid losing face in front of Chen Xin, even though he had already lost a lot of face.
Wang Shuo's mind was racing. He had to pay back this money, but how, when, and the manner of repayment were troubling him.
After all, he was just a freshman in college, a young man of eighteen, with his life yet to truly begin, and now he was burdened with a heavy debt.
Ask his parents for help?
No, no, if he were to ask his parents, with their honest nature, they probably wouldn't believe he owed money due to a hospital stay. They might even think he had gotten involved with gambling.
Should he take on part-time jobs to earn the money?
The idea of taking on part-time jobs wasn't bad, but... Wang Shuo thought about the job advertisements he had seen, and the highest pay for day laborers was only 120 yuan per day. Accumulating four hundred thousand yuan would be incredibly difficult.
What about selling some of his technical knowledge?
This... Wang Shuo was intrigued. He had plenty of technical knowledge in his mind, but extracting it was not easy. It was possible that if he wasn't careful during the data transfer process, he could accidentally kill himself. Due to these limitations, he had only learned a small part of the content from the core so far, and that was related to coding...
So, should he become a coder? But do coders make money?
After pondering for a while, Wang Shuo felt confused. He had a lot of knowledge in his head, but none of it taught him how to make money. Perhaps the Ers race considered money a worldly matter, something that should not tarnish the sacredness of technology, so they had omitted that content.
This put Wang Shuo in a difficult position.
And the way Wang Shuo was struggling with his thoughts looked to Chen Xin like he was... scared silly...
A slight change appeared on Chen Xin's usually calm face, and a small curve lifted the corner of her mouth, like the satisfaction of a successful prank, but it was quickly followed by a flash of sorrow. She lowered her head and fell into silence.
The small room became quiet again.
"Wang Shuo."
After a long time, Chen Xin spoke up.
"What."
Wang Shuo's voice was filled with frustration, and there seemed to be a hint of anger, unsure if he was angry about sleeping for a month or the exorbitant medical fees.
"Have you... thought about the future?"
"The future?"
Wang Shuo opened his eyes in surprise, looking at Chen Xin sitting on the sofa. This girl... seems a bit strange today?
"Have you thought about what you want to do in the future, and how you're going to do it?"
"In the future? Maybe start a company and coast through life." Wang Shuo thought about it seriously, then remembered the hefty medical bill and couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness. "I can't even afford to eat tomorrow, so why bother thinking about the future."
"If I could make some money first, then I'd have a future," Wang Shuo said painfully as he closed his eyes, thinking about the huge sum of money that had vanished into thin air. His heart ached; that money was his, earned through his own hard work, his savings for a future wife.
It seemed as though... he had already had that money.
Wang Shuo was still immersed in the sorrow he had created when he saw Chen Xin looking at him quietly.
"Eh..." Wang Shuo wanted to explain.
"You told me yesterday that you're a student at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, majoring in computer science?"
"It's the Computer Science and Technology major at Huazhong University of Science and Technology."
"You said you know a bit about computer languages and programming, and also systems engineering?"
"This..."
"You said you've been exceptionally smart and quick-witted since you were young."
"..."
Sister, are you a tape recorder? These are all things I said, is there a problem? Can't a person boast? Wang Shuo was angry: "I said all of that, so what?"
Chen Xin remained unmoved, her cherry lips moved slightly, and she uttered a sentence: "You just said you want to start a company?"
"That's what I said! Yes!"
"What's its name?"
"What?" Wang Shuo felt like he couldn't keep up with Chen Xin's train of thought.
"The name of the company, what company?"
"Named..." Wang Shuo looked up and suddenly saw the book lying beside him, open to a page with the word "Preamble" in large print.
"Let's call it Qianyan Company, Qianyan Technology Company, heh heh, leading at the forefront of all technology."
"Well, I understand." Chen Xin nodded and stretched out her hand to Wang Shuo, "Now, hand over your ID card."
...
Wang Shuo felt like he was being robbed, and not just by anyone, but by Miss Chen Xin, who had always been respectful and considerate... or so he thought. In any case, it was as if the water from the well was no longer distinct from the water in the river.
He had been robbed of his ID card and his bank card, which didn't have much money in it. Now he owed this wealthy young woman tens of thousands, but that didn't justify such actions, did it?
What was the difference between this and being a thief?
What was the difference between this and using force?
Did she perhaps plan to use his ID for some illegal activities?
Like... getting a fake marriage certificate?
But come on, with her taking his ID, how was he supposed to check out of the hospital? Staying here cost money!
Wang Shuo lay on the bed in pain.
The comfortable hospital bed no longer felt comfortable. Wang Shuo wanted to get up, but then he thought that if he didn't lie down, the money he had already spent would go to waste. He had to endure and continue lying down. This was truly... torturous.
Chen Xin was gone for two days.
During these two days, Zheng Jun and the others finally showed up. Wang Shuo wanted to share his tragic experience with Chen Chengshu, but then he realized that Chen Chengshu was also a wealthy second generation.
The rich second generation had no feelings for money.
He could only pour out his grievances to Li Li, voicing his strongest accusations against the malicious robber, Chen Xin. But... why wasn't the effect very obvious?
Why did all three of his dormmates have smiles of schadenfreude on their faces?
"I think you're getting a good deal and still complaining." Zheng Jun, the dorm leader, spoke with a sense of justice, "Having a beautiful woman take care of you for several days, we're envy...e out the door.
Chen Cheng had the look of someone who had warned him but wasn't believed, occasionally shaking his head and sighing as he left the room.
As for Li Li, he came over and patted Wang Shuo on the shoulder: "Take care of yourself."
What... did that mean?
Where was the basic empathy between people? The closest brotherly love among dormmates? The reputation of the second-in-command in the dorm?
It seemed... he had lost his status in the dorm.
No, he had to pull himself together and rebuild his reputation as the second-in-command in the dorm! He had to make them know that he was not to be underestimated!
Wait, why did that sentence sound odd when read carefully?
At that moment.
In a high-rise office building in the center of W City.
Chen Xin was sitting behind her desk, seriously reviewing the contract in front of her.
Meanwhile, Uncle Chen was sitting on the sofa beside her, looking at his young mistress with a helpless expression, occasionally letting out a bitter smile.
When the young mistress's whimsical nature kicked in, she was much more troublesome than her older sister. Leaving home without notice, ditching her bodyguards, and spending tens of thousands of yuan were all set aside. The fact that she had deigned to make breakfast for a boy she had just met was astonishing. She would spend the entire day there, not answering any calls or replying to any messages. This incident had been brought up by the master several times, and he could tell that the master was also helpless. Being in the wrong, he had no choice but to watch the young mistress act recklessly, only reminding her to stay safe.
This was already... But the young mistress seemed to be getting more and more enthusiastic, and now she was escalating...
"Miss, perhaps... you should reconsider? This isn't a..." Uncle Chen's words were cut off by Chen Xin's clear and cold voice.
"I've already thought it through, Uncle Chen." Chen Xin looked up, "Besides, he saved my life. Isn't my life worth this much?"
She pointed to a section of the contract on the desk and said to the secretary behind her, "Change this clause."
The secretary looked at Chen Xin with a difficult expression, then turned to Uncle Chen for help.
Uncle Chen helplessly nodded.
The secretary immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly took the contract to make the amendments.
"Miss... this... it's two different things." Uncle Chen massaged his temples with a headache and smiled bitterly, "You know, even if the master agrees, the other shareholders won't."
"That's why I've set conditions. I think my aunts and uncles should be very happy to agree to this." Chen Xin said calmly.
"I know what you're thinking, Miss." Uncle Chen shook his head and sighed, "But your approach is really..."
Childish? Chen Xin thought about the decision she had made and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Maybe..."
Even if the outcome was already determined, even if she couldn't change anything, she still had to show her stubbornness.
After all, this might...
Be her last bit of stubbornness.