She read the message out loud:
"Tonight, call the owner of that dessert shop we visited last time. Tell her you want to place an order for 100 pastries. Here's the pastry money—I'll transfer it to you."
Handing the phone back to Xu Huanran, her voice was tinged with jealousy. "What kind of dessert shop would make him go to all this trouble, using you as a middleman to help?"
Clearly, Aaron intended to boost the dessert shop owner's sales but didn't want her to know his true identity, so he gave money to his good buddy and told him to help out.
Such a roundabout way—must be a pretty girl running that shop, Yao Ning sulked to herself.
"I remember now—that plain girl!" Xu Huanran exclaimed, slapping his thigh and recounting the events of that day to Yao Ning.
She touched her chin and knit her brows. "Marian?"
Xu Huanran gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't recall her, right? I told you—those two were so average-looking, there's no way someone would remember them after all this time! If everyone were as pretty as you, Ning Ning, I'd definitely remember them, heh heh heh!"
In response, Yao Ning landed a punch on his shoulder. "Dude, could you show some respect? Stop going on about so-called 'plain girls' like some hooligan."
Yao Qian could only shake his head and give Xu Huanran a kick. "Hurry up and make that call."
"What? Really order?" Xu Huanran screeched, "No way, I'm not ordering even if someone else pays! A hundred pastries—who's gonna eat them all?"
"Exactly! Buying them is easy, but who's going to eat them? We're not about to toss them all in the trash," Yao Ning mumbled for once in agreement with Xu Huanran.
But Yao Qian was helpless. Their buddy had just texted him, instructing him to ensure Xu Huanran made the call and didn't leave otherwise.
Yao Ning grabbed her brother's phone, her lips twisting. "He's pretty invested in this, huh."
With no alternative, Xu Huanran reluctantly dialed the dessert shop number. He set his phone to speaker so all three of them could hear.
The shop owner on the other end was plainly stunned upon hearing his request for 100 pastries. After a long pause, she asked, "…Sir, did I hear you correctly—100 pastries? Are you hosting a party?"
"Who cares!" he snapped impatiently. "I said a hundred, so a hundred. None of your business what I plan to do with them."
He was being so rude that Zoe, on the other end, rolled her eyes at the phone: "Sorry, I'm not taking this order. We're a small operation and can't serve a 'big god' like you. Please find someone else."
Xu Huanran snorted. What kind of store turns down business? This was like using a tiny knife on his butt—he sure was learning something new every day!
"I'll give you 50% upfront," he shot back. Money's no issue—I'll pay 50% deposit instead of the usual 10%. How's that for being a big spender?
But Zoe wasn't buying it. Her shop ran on small margins and high volume. Even if he gave 50% first, if he bailed on the remaining balance tomorrow, she'd still lose money. "Forget it, I'm not gonna waste time. I'm not selling to you."
By now, this had morphed from fear of him ditching to downright personal conflict, and Xu Huanran was at the end of his rope. He massaged his throbbing temple. "If I pay you 100k yuan right now, will you do it?"
Ten… ten what?
A hundred thousand?!
Zoe went silent—since opening her store, she hadn't earned 100k altogether.
"Ha, changed your mind?" he crowed. "Then take the order and do it for me!"
He hung up, immediately added Zoe on WeChat, transferred her the money—all in one go—then slumped back on the couch, tiptoes bouncing smugly.
"See? A hundred grand sealed the deal. I thought she had more spine."
Yao Qian sighed. "Right, so she lost her dignity, and you lost your money. You're both about equal—neither of you can laugh at the other."
After all, their buddy had only transferred him 20k, so this guy was shelling out an extra 80k of his own just to force that shop to take his order. Maybe something was off in his head. Sighing, Yao Qian idly scrolled through his phone, only to have his attention snared by a local headline.