A super-rich tycoon? No, just call me the gentlemanly gigolo.

Su Ning carefully recalled Jiang Ye's tone on the phone, and felt it didn't quite match the "reservedly passionate" image Zhi Xia had described. Hesitantly, she said, "I feel... it doesn't seem like it. Are there any other possibilities?"

"Then why don't you take a gamble and see if you can turn him into a 'sentimental big brother'?"

Zhi Xia continued her analysis: "It's about becoming true friends, not getting involved in anything shady, and not needing you to spend a lot of time with them, but occasionally sending them gifts. This kind of 'big brother' is the easiest to manage, but also the most difficult to deal with."

"The problem is I don't know where to start. I can clearly sense he's a bit averse to me, though I don't know why..."

"Yeah, I could tell too. But then again, if he was really that annoyed with you, why didn't he just leave? Why did he stay in the living room and even get a sports car painted for you?"

"So how do I break the ice?"

After a moment's thought, Zhi Xia offered a somewhat risky solution: "Why don't you... try taking the initiative? You can just transfer 500 yuan to him directly."

"Transfer money?" Su Ning was stunned.

"Yes. Just say, 'Brother, getting a 0 on the performance review is too embarrassing. I really have no choice. Here's 500 yuan. Just help me with some online shopping to make things look better.' He'll definitely ask, 'Aren't you just paying for it yourself? You're definitely losing money,' and things like that. Just play the victim and say that you've been working in the hall for so long, you have to save face. You don't want to be looked down upon by the girls or get yelled at by the managers... Basically, talk about how pitiful you are, and see if you can arouse his sympathy or his male chauvinism."

Zhi Xia paused, organizing her thoughts: "If he takes the money and then deletes you, then you're unlucky to have encountered a scammer and have to suffer in silence. If he takes the money but only gives you 500, or even less, then there's no point in continuing to maintain this relationship; he probably doesn't have much power and a narrow mindset."

Su Ning instinctively gripped her phone tighter: "Then... what's the best outcome?"

"The best outcome is that he feels sorry for you, or out of male chauvinism, he not only accepts your 500 but also spends extra money to boost your account. As long as he can boost it to 1000 for you, plus the guild's performance bonus, you won't lose out. Moreover, this shows that he has some ability and isn't entirely averse to you, so there might be a possibility of further development."

Listening to Zhi Xia's analysis, Su Ning subconsciously glanced at her credit card statements on WeChat—8000 yuan owed to China Merchants Bank, 3000 yuan to Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, 5000 yuan to Ping An Bank, and Alipay... and JD Pay Later...

This sum of 500 yuan is not a small amount for her.

She bit her lip and hesitated, "Sister Zhixia... is there a safer way? Like... one where I don't have to pay upfront?"

Zhi Xia sighed: "Otherwise, we can wait until he comes to the hall tomorrow and find an opportunity to have a showdown, punish you severely, and see if he'll feel sorry for you and take action. The rest of us sisters can also chime in and try to get as many people involved as we can. But this method isn't very reliable. Given his attitude towards you today, I don't think it's going to work."

She paused, then her tone suddenly became urgent: "Alright, a new big brother has joined my side, and I need to get on his good side quickly. I can't talk to you anymore. You decide for yourself, just let me know when you've made your decision."

After saying that, Zhixia hung up the phone.

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, Su Ning slowly stopped and stood under the dim streetlights in the park, her mind in turmoil.

For some reason, her intuition told her time and time again that the wild guy disliked her.

Whether it was him giving gifts to other streamers in front of her in the hall today, his lack of enthusiasm when sending WeChat messages, or his impatient tone when he called her just now, it was all because of him.

She scratched her head, then opened the chat window with "Brother Ye" again and made a voice call.

The phone rang three or four times before being answered, and Jiang Ye's impatient voice immediately came from the other end, accompanied by the sound of slurping noodles in the background.

"Feeding? What now? Speak quickly, I think they're cleaning the cow's hooves!"

Su Ning: "..."

She didn't say anything and silently hung up the phone.

Confirmed.

Indeed, I dislike myself.

But... why exactly?

Was it because she deleted him on WeChat? Or because she doesn't do anything risqué?

But as Zhixia said, if he hates himself, why doesn't he change the person or the room?

And most importantly, where did he get his WeChat account from?

What kind of business does the phrase "take care of business" mean when adding someone as a friend?

A series of questions swirled in her mind.

Zhi Xia provided three solutions:

First, the idea of ​​engaging in pornography, making empty promises to scam votes and then blocking people—she couldn't do that.

The older brother wasn't stupid; there was a prerequisite for using this trick—he had to give the other party some "benefits" first.

If she were willing to lower her standards, there would be plenty of people both inside and outside the school willing to spend money on her. She wouldn't have to use the guise of "independent internship" to rent a place alone and work hard as a live streamer to pay off her debts.

Thirdly, she thought she could rely on her acting skills and teamwork with others to make money during tomorrow's competition—judging from the other party's impatient tone just now, she felt her chances were slim, and if she pressed too hard, the other party might just disappear.

That leaves only the second option—to take a gamble.

The bet is that while the other party may dislike him, they won't be so malicious as to abscond with his money.

After all, this was his first time here, and he did casually spend nearly 200 yuan.

Even if he didn't want to help, he probably wouldn't steal the 500 yuan... right?

But 500 yuan...

Su Ning hesitated, then swiped her finger across the screen and opened the credit card cash-out app on her phone. With a determined look, she cashed out another 1000 yuan.

Transferring 500 is a bit too little. If he really only transfers 500, not only will he not complete the task, but he might even be last place, which would still be embarrassing.

If he can help me get 1000 back, even if it's just 1000, at least I won't lose or gain anything, and I won't be at the bottom of the rankings, which will save face.

If he has a change of heart and spends more, even just a few hundred more, then the task will be completed!

No matter what, we can't be last tomorrow!

That would be so embarrassing!

With a do-or-die attitude, Su Ning opened WeChat, found the profile picture of a bowl of rice, and with trembling fingers, entered the amount: 1000.

Taking a deep breath, she clicked "Confirm Payment".

The moment the successful transfer notification popped up, before she even had a chance to exit the interface to edit her subsequent "sob story" post, WeChat beeped with a new message notification!

Su Ning's heart skipped a beat!

Oops!

They received it so quickly?! Did I really run into a scammer?!

She hurriedly exited the transfer interface, opened the chat box, and quickly sent a period to test whether the other party had deleted her.

The message was sent successfully! No red exclamation mark appeared!

She felt a sense of relief and quickly typed in the chat box, preparing to begin her complaint according to Zhixia's strategy:

"Brother, I know this is abrupt, but..."

Before I could finish typing, the chat window suddenly erupted like a volcano, instantly flooded with a barrage of messages from the other party:

[Transfer received]

My dearest Yao Yao! My precious Yao Yao!

[Don't type yet! Listen to what your brother has to say!]

[Hey? Honey, where are you now? Are you home yet?]

[It's dangerous for a girl like you to be out alone so late at night! Go home right now, listen to me!]

Yes, yes, it's so cold and windy outside! If my little one gets cold, I'll be heartbroken!

Put your phone in your pocket, focus on walking, and be careful! Think about what you need to say when you get home safely, and then say it slowly! Don't rush, brother, just think it through before you speak!!!

Please let me know when you get home! Otherwise, I'll be worried sick about my precious baby!

Su Ning stared at the overwhelming enthusiasm, greasy and even paternalistic aura emanating from the screen, a stark contrast to just a few minutes ago. Her mouth gaped slightly, her eyes widened, and she was completely lost in a state of utter bewilderment and confusion.

What... what's going on here?

Split personality?

Or is it that... that 1000 yuan... has some kind of magical power?