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

On the other side, Jiang Ye pulled Ye Cheng and plunged into a well-regarded self-service barbecue restaurant in the mall.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The marbled pork belly curled up happily on the hot plate, sizzling and releasing its oil, instantly filling the air with its aroma.

Jiang Ye focused intently on turning the meat pieces, striving to roast the most fragrant first bite to its perfect state.

Ye Cheng prepared two bowls of dipping sauce: one with extra minced garlic and wasabi, which was Jiang Ye's; and the other, which was lighter, was hers.

The small table in front of the two was piled high with more than a dozen plates of various meats—fatty beef, pork belly, steak, prawns, squid... layer upon layer, quite a bold display of "entering with one's legs between the walls and leaving with one's legs between the walls."

Ye Cheng took a big gulp of plum juice and finally couldn't help but ask the question she had been holding in all the way:

"Jiang Ye, that was such a great opportunity! Weren't you quite interested in that Coach Lin? You should be able to come up with 20, right? Why did you chicken out at the last minute?"

Jiang Ye wrapped the meat in a lettuce leaf, stuffed it into his mouth, and mumbled, "I can take it out, but there's nowhere to use it now. When I'm close to winning you over, I'll go and cram for a core workout. That'll be the best use of my skills and the most cost-effective."

"As expected of you! You always ramble on and on!"

Ye Cheng rolled her eyes at him, picked up a large piece of meat and stuffed it into his bowl: "I saw that sister was forcing a smile, she must be under a lot of pressure from work and life... I have a feeling that she will fall victim to your evil deeds sooner or later, after all, money can solve 99% of the problems these days."

"Really? How did you tell? I think she looks very energetic, and she has such a great presence as a yoga teacher."

"Do you understand a woman's sixth sense?"

"A sixth sense?"

Jiang Ye swallowed the meat in his mouth and subconsciously touched his pocket: "Oh, wow, impressive, impressive. I'll show you our men's sixth sense sometime."

"A man's sixth sense?"

Ye Cheng didn't quite understand, but she was too lazy to ask any more questions. Instead, she continued to tease him: "Anyway, you just missed a great opportunity to get up close and personal with a yoga beauty. Maybe in a couple of days, she'll have a new protector, right? Then you won't even be able to spend your 20 yuan."

Jiang Ye shrugged nonchalantly, picked up a large piece of grilled dried sausage, and said, "If it's there, it's there. You can't force fate."

(Please remember the website 20 ...

He did have a fleeting impulse for a second or two to just bid 20 to accept Lin Wanxing's side quest.

But after thinking about it carefully, I decided to play it safe.

I currently have a little over 45 yuan on hand, of which 10 yuan is reserved as "ticket money" for Yao Yao. That girl's "sincerity" has been shown, so this money cannot be spared.

If I spend another 200,000 yuan on credit cards, I'll only have about 150,000 yuan left.

I need to make arrangements for Ye Cheng's dorm party on Christmas Eve, and I also need to keep Yao Yao motivated these next few days. All of these things will cost money.

In addition, he was thinking about renting a better place as soon as possible, because he couldn't bring girls back from living in that small rental room.

More importantly, he plans to transfer another 10 yuan of "pocket money" to Ye Cheng next week.

As for why I'm giving it to...

"The main problem is we don't have enough money. The money we have now needs to be used to buy you Christmas and New Year's gifts, right? After all, this is our first Christmas and New Year's holiday season, we can't skimp on it!"

When Jiang Ye mentioned the word "gift," he emphasized it. While flipping the meat slices, he secretly observed Ye Cheng's reaction out of the corner of his eye, his eyes full of hints.

Ye Cheng felt a slight joy in her heart, as if she had been tickled by a small feather, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up.

She picked up a piece of pork belly and placed it on Jiang Ye's plate, her tone slightly coquettish: "Okay, okay, I know you're the best, hurry up and eat your meat!"

"Well......"

Jiang Ye looked at Ye Cheng's feigned calm smile and felt a little uneasy.

This woman should have understood my hint... right?

Why does this feel a bit perfunctory?

He was a little uneasy, so he decided to click it again.

"Sigh, I wonder if any girl will care about me this year. I might end up just watching other couples show off their love on my phone and receiving so many gifts that my hands are sore."

Ye Cheng found his roundabout manner both amusing and sweet.

She gave him a flirtatious glance and drawled, "I know! Go ahead and eat your meat, you scoundrel!"

Jiang Ye: "???"

What makes someone a hooligan?

I swear to God! I'm not being a scoundrel right now!

I'm seriously discussing with you the issue of managing expectations for giving and receiving gifts during holidays!

Hey girl, can't you be serious for once? I'm at work right now.

Seeing Ye Cheng's wandering eyes and slightly flushed cheeks, Jiang Ye clicked his tongue and gave up.

Forget it, I'll just throw the 100,000 yuan allowance over next week. Surely she won't leave without any reaction, right?

If all else fails, we'll try to hint at it later.

The two focused intently on the barbecue for a while, and Jiang Ye, having almost finished eating, slowed down.

"By the way, I have a serious question for you. What kind of house do you like? I'm planning to go look around in the next couple of days and rent one."

Ye Cheng was picking up a slice of potato when she heard this and blinked: "Rent?"

"Yes, rent."

Jiang Ye nodded: "Let's rent a comfortable place to live in first."

"Jiang Ye, actually... I've always been a little curious."

Ye Cheng put down the potato, hesitated for a moment, and then her expression became more serious: "How exactly did you earn your money? I know I shouldn't ask, but... you don't have a house, you don't have a car, and your clothes and shoes were all from ordinary brands before, and you were still using an old-fashioned phone. But now you suddenly have so much money, and you spend it without even blinking an eye..."

Seeing that Jiang Ye was about to speak, she quickly waved her hand to interrupt him: "Don't try to fool me with that 'it doesn't matter' excuse again. You were clearly very happy when we bought the watch and the phone; I could tell. You're not the kind of person who's completely indifferent to material things."

Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat, realizing that this was a good opportunity to reiterate the core "gameplay".

"You're right, I am indeed happy."

He put down his chopsticks, and his tone became serious: "But what makes me happy is not the watch or the new phone itself."

"What is that?"

"Because it was a gift from you."

Jiang Ye emphasized the word "gift": "The fact that you willingly spend your time and money on me makes me especially happy. It proves that you care about me and are willing to make sacrifices for me, understand?"

Ye Cheng frowned slightly, feeling that this logic was a bit convoluted: "But... this is actually not much different from what you bought yourself, right?"

"The difference is huge; the meaning is completely different."

Jiang Ye looked intently at her: "If I buy it myself, that's just consumption. But if you give it to me, it's an expression of love, proof of our mutual commitment."

Ye Cheng scratched his head and gave an "Oh" that sounded like he didn't quite understand.

These words... sound very helpful, but upon closer inspection, something still feels off.

After successfully reiterating the core message, "I'll be super happy if you give me a gift," Jiang Ye continued to answer her initial question:

"I know what you're thinking. You guessed right, I only recently figured out a way to make money, I guess I'm just lucky. So far it's been pretty stable."

Ye Cheng nodded, feeling that it was roughly what she had guessed. They had probably caught some trend, and the short-term gains were quite considerable.

She hesitated for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Then... have you ever thought about what would happen if one day your way of making money stopped working, or the profits weren't as high, and all the money you spent on me might be wasted... Would you regret it?"

Jiang Ye looked at her slightly trembling eyelashes and smiled: "Then Ye Cheng, if one day I really stop making money and become penniless, you..."

Ye Cheng lowered her eyes slightly, as if she had a premonition of what he was going to ask. Her heart skipped a beat for no reason, and she remained silent.

"...Can you let me use this for free for a month?"

Ye Cheng: "...?"

She suddenly looked up, staring at Jiang Ye in disbelief, the sadness that had just risen instantly replaced by speechlessness.

How does this bastard's brain work?

How could he suddenly veer off to the Pacific Ocean on such a serious yet tender topic?

Jiang Ye, seemingly oblivious to her death stare, picked up a piece of dried sausage and asked with a puzzled look, "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm asking you a question!"

Ye Cheng was so angry she almost laughed. She couldn't take it anymore, so she gave him the middle finger and let out a soft snort.

"Fine! Fine, fine! If that day ever comes, I'll take pity on you and let you freeload for a month! Then... I'll kick you to the curb! Humph!"

Her words, seemingly a joke, were actually an awkward answer to the underlying question in his first statement—that when that time came, she might...

Although she didn't know why she had this thought, at least at this moment, she felt that she would definitely do it.

"Okay, Chengcheng! It's a deal!"

Jiang Ye was overjoyed and slapped his thigh excitedly: "Then I'll give you a million next month! Then I'll be broke in February, so you can let me get away with this for free for a month! I'll make a comeback in March and give you another million, then I'll continue to get away with this in April, and then in May... Holy crap! Half price! A steal!"

"???"

Hearing this utterly shameless "freebie plan," Ye Cheng felt a chill run down her spine, veins bulged on her forehead, and she almost ground her back teeth to powder.

Oh shit!

This guy!

She couldn't take it anymore, so she got up, went around to Jiang Ye's booth, and unleashed a flurry of punches on his shoulders and back:

"Damn it! Half price, huh?! Freebie, huh?! Holy crap, huh?! I'll make you ripped off! I'll make you ripped off!"

Jiang Ye raised his hand to block while retorting irritably:

"Hey, can you even be reasonable? You agreed to the rules! Whose fault is it that you left these bugs? Why are you hitting the users? Is there no law anymore?!"