Chapter 12: Funding the Phone Bill

She must have noticed Chen Xiao looking at her, as she gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

Chen Xiao felt a bit awkward. She probably thought he was trying to welch on his debt, after all, he hadn't gone to pay her back last night, but it wasn't convenient to explain right now.

Seeing her eating with two other young women, they were all wearing the same uniform, so they must be colleagues. They were all beauties, but sitting next to her, they were immediately overshadowed.

"Stop looking. A woman that beautiful isn't for people like us," Wang Jing whispered to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao didn't dare to look either; he felt a bit guilty. Who knew what she was thinking of him right now?

Little did he know, the beauties were also discussing the two of them.

"Did you hear the conversation between those two handsome guys at the next table? The one who works in an office has a base salary of 4,000 yuan. He's a guy, too—it’s probably hard for him to even support himself on that income. It’s really not easy to make money these days!"

"Yeah, even though he works in an office, his income isn't as good as ours in sales. Someone like Xiangjun, our top salesperson, makes over 10,000 a month!"

The most beautiful girl didn't speak, as if she were thinking about something.

"Brother, I’ve been meaning to give you a suggestion back at the company. Since we’re in sales, we really need to pay attention to our attire. Look at you, this is all casual sportswear from your student days; it’s not really suitable for business."

Chen Xiao nodded. He had realized this too. Before, he didn't have the money to be picky, and these past two days he hadn't had the time. He could take some time today to pick out a few outfits. Now, whenever he went to the malls in Jiangzhou, as long as it wasn't a luxury store, he could basically buy whatever he wanted without even looking at the price tags.

With a full wallet, he felt much more confident.

The beauties at the next table finished their meal and prepared to leave. Chen Xiao said to Wang Jing, "Wait for me, I have something to do."

Then he chased after them. Wang Jing was dumbfounded. "Holy crap, is Chen Xiao really that bold?"

"Hey, wait a second!" Once outside the restaurant, Chen Xiao hurriedly called out to them, but since he didn't know her name, he could only shout "Hey."

Fortunately, they turned around and saw Chen Xiao. One of them said, "Another one here to ask for a WeChat. Don't even look, he's definitely aiming for Xiangjun. Let's bolt, no point in being a third wheel!"

Another added, "For sure. Whenever we're with Xiangjun, has anyone ever paid attention to us?"

The woman called Xiangjun also saw Chen Xiao and stopped, letting her two colleagues walk ahead.

Catching up to her, Chen Xiao saw his neighbor waiting for him, her bright, beautiful eyes staring at him without blinking.

Chen Xiao said sheepishly, "Um, sorry about yesterday. I got back really late, so it wasn't convenient to disturb you."

She nodded but didn't speak.

"I haven't asked your name yet?"

"Zhao Xiangjun!"

Chen Xiao gave her a meaningful look. Zhao Xiangjun was quite sensitive and said, "My parents gave me the name!"

Chen Xiao quickly said, "I didn't mean anything else. Actually, you’re much prettier than the Xiangjun from history!"

Zhao Xiangjun gave him a strange look. Chen Xiao felt she was thinking, "Something is wrong with this guy."

"Um, would you mind if I added you on WeChat? I want to transfer the money to you."

"Didn't you say your balance was insufficient?" Zhao Xiangjun asked curiously. Yesterday he had said he was going to withdraw cash because of an insufficient balance, and today he was talking about a WeChat transfer.

"Oh, I linked my bank card!"

"Oh, okay. You don't need to add me on WeChat; I'll just show you my payment code."

It seemed she didn't want to add strangers on WeChat. She opened her payment code, entered 2,000 yuan, and asked Chen Xiao to scan it to pay.

Chen Xiao scanned the code and operated the payment. Payment failed.

"..."

"..."

Chen Xiao stared at Zhao Xiangjun in a daze, noticing her "I knew it" expression. She must have thought he was just putting on a show because he felt bad about running into her but didn't actually have the money to pay her back.

"Chen Xiao, right? Did the bank card linking fail? It's fine, next time. I'm not in a rush to use it; just pay me back after you get your sales commission."

Zhao Xiangjun put her phone away. Not only did she not call him out, but she even gave him a way to save face.

But that wasn't it! Chen Xiao was full of grievances. Seeing Zhao Xiangjun turn and walk away, he hurriedly looked down to find the cause. Finally, he realized his phone service had been suspended. That morning, he’d received a notification that his credit limit for phone charges had been reached, so his outgoing calls were suspended, and naturally, his data was cut off too!

"Hey, um, Zhao Xiangjun, wait a second!" Chen Xiao hurriedly called out to Zhao Xiangjun, who was walking straight ahead.

She turned back, her bright, beautiful eyes full of questions, as if to say: "What else? I already gave you a way out, are you still going to keep acting?"

"Um, my phone service is suspended, so..."

"Oh, I know. It's fine, just pay me back when you get your commission. No rush!" It was all just an excuse anyway—phone suspended, bank card not linked—what difference did the reason make?

Seeing her turn to leave again, Chen Xiao hurriedly said, "Um, could you help me top up my phone credit? Once my data is back on, I can transfer the money to you!"

Zhao Xiangjun turned around abruptly, staring at Chen Xiao in shock. Chen Xiao immediately understood what she was thinking: "How can there be such a shameless person? Not only does he not pay back the money, but he's also tricking me into paying his phone bill?"

"Don't misunderstand, my phone really is suspended!" Chen Xiao explained anxiously!

"No need to explain, I believe your phone is really suspended." Zhao Xiangjun believed him, she just didn't know how he had ended up in a state where he couldn't even afford to top up his phone. No wonder a grown man couldn't afford 2,000 yuan in property fees; today she finally understood—he couldn't even afford 200 yuan for phone credit, let alone 2,000.

"Phone number!"

"138..."

"Alright, I've topped up 300 for you, that should be enough! Chen Xiao, people always encounter difficulties, but difficulties are temporary. As long as you work hard, I believe you'll see the light of day eventually! Keep it up, and pay me back when you get your commission. Consider this phone credit a donation from me!"

No, what did that mean? Chen Xiao was stunned, then realized she thought he was scamming her into paying his phone bill. He quickly said, "Zhao Xiangjun, don't rush off, I have money! I'll transfer it to you right now!"

But this time, Zhao Xiangjun walked away without looking back!

Chen Xiao was left feeling depressed. This was a huge misunderstanding.

He restarted his phone and the network came back, but the beauty was already gone. Chen Xiao thought, "Forget it, I'll give it to her when I get back."

Seeing him return dejectedly, Wang Jing was amused and said, "How was it, brother? Did you get that beauty's WeChat?"

Chen Xiao shook his head.

"I told you, a beauty of that level isn't for people like us. So many rich people are flocking to her; people like us, she wouldn't even bother to look at!"

Chen Xiao shook his head. Zhao Xiangjun really wasn't that kind of person. Although she appeared cold and distant, based on her behavior over the last two days, she must be a very kind-hearted girl. The coldness was just an outward facade!

"Don't be stubborn. We can barely support ourselves on our monthly income; what do we have to satisfy their high consumption? You can't just be together and have the girl spend her money on you."

Chen Xiao thought to himself, *You don't say—she actually just spent money on me!*