Honest Beta gets scammed

In summer, the sun is scorching.

Li Qing, wearing a yellow hard hat, squatted by the roadside at the construction site, holding a fast food box and shoveling rice into his mouth.

He wore a white vest and black cargo pants, covered in dust and paint splatters. His bare arms had smooth, strong muscle lines, clearly honed from manual labor. His wheat-colored skin glistened with sweat in the sunlight.

He ate his rice incredibly fast, his cheeks bulging, and he ate with great relish.

A middle-aged coworker sitting next to me was eating so ravenously that it made me feel quite hungry too.

He took a couple of bites, and seeing that Li Qing wasn't stopping, he chuckled.

"Young man, you look quite young. Looking for a summer job?"

It's July now, and many college students will be looking for work, but very few are willing to work on construction sites carrying bricks.

Li Qing's mouth was stuffed full. When he heard the question, he turned his head with his cheeks puffed out. His eyes were clear and bright. He swallowed the food in his mouth with force, grinned, revealing two rows of neat teeth, and his eyes were curved at the corners, exuding a genuine and honest air.

Then he pointed to himself: "Uncle, I'm twenty-eight, not a student anymore."

"Twenty-eight?" The middle-aged man was taken aback, his gaze sweeping over the boy's face twice before he clicked his tongue in amazement. "Wow, you look like you're in your early twenties!"

Li Qing chuckled twice, then didn't reply and continued eating.

He'd heard this a lot; everyone in the village said he looked young, that it was a family trait.

After a short rest after lunch, as soon as the whistle blew, Li Qing fastened his safety helmet and was once again the first to stand up and walk towards the construction site. He often worked in the fields in the village, and he was strong and tireless, showing no sign of slacking off even under the scorching afternoon sun.

The foreman, a man in his forties, had noticed this young man who had been there for just over a month.

When settling wages in the evening, the foreman gave Li Qing the money and gave him a few extra words of advice: "Little Li, you're a good candidate with your physique and hard work, but in the capital, strength alone isn't enough. You need to be quick-witted so you don't get cheated."

Li Qing took the money, carefully counted each bill, put it in his pocket, and said with a simple smile, "I understand, thank you, Boss Wang."

By the time I returned to the dormitory, it was completely dark.

Li Qing, holding a safety helmet, couldn't help but look up.

Surrounded by towering buildings and numerous large screens, airplanes occasionally fly by, and countless windows light up, creating a galaxy of stars.

He's been in the capital for over a month, and he's still amazed by the sight.

The tallest building in my hometown county is only a dozen stories high. Compared to this place, it's just a small hill. No wonder everyone is so eager to come to the capital to try their luck. This place... is indeed different.

As Li Qing was reflecting on this, he passed by a noodle shop, and the aroma of meat broth mixed with the smell of scallion oil wafted into his nose.

He stopped abruptly.

"Coo coo..."

My stomach growled.

The construction site provides meals and accommodation. He had already eaten dinner, but after a day of heavy physical labor, he was exhausted. In addition, he has a large appetite, so a boxed meal was not enough to fill him up.

Li Qing rubbed his stomach, his eyes fixed on the noodle shop.

After much hesitation, he finally succumbed to the temptation of his cravings and stepped inside.

"Boss, a bowl of noodles, please!"

"What would you like to eat?" the owner replied.

Li Qing craned his neck to look at the menu on the wall, his gaze sweeping from top to bottom. When he saw the prices that often started with "two," his heart skipped a beat.

It's so dark.

He muttered to himself, then pointed to a line of small print in the far corner: "That one, plain noodles."

This is the cheapest noodle dish in the shop, but even the cheapest one costs eighteen yuan a bowl.

Li Qing's heart was bleeding.

The noodles were served quickly, in a clear broth with a few green vegetable leaves floating on the surface. Li Qing licked his lips, not caring about anything else, and picked up his chopsticks to start eating.

As he ate, he felt the noise beside him getting louder and louder.

At first, it was a suppressed argument, but soon the volume suddenly increased.

"Are you crazy?!"

A roar exploded in his ears, startling Li Qing so much that he shuddered, turning his head in shock with half a noodle still in his mouth.

At the table next to him sat two young men, both of whom appeared to be Betas and, judging from their attire, were university students from a nearby university.

One of the bespectacled Beta boys had already stood up; he was the one who had just shouted.

The Beta opposite him was quite good-looking, with delicate features and fair skin. He was clearly not someone to be trifled with. After being yelled at, he refused to back down and slammed his hand on the table, standing up as well.

"I'm just going to work, not to sell myself! Why are you getting so worked up!"

The bespectacled man trembled with anger: "Nobody's stopping you from working, but what kind of place are you going to? Don't you know what kind of people work there?!"

"I know!" the good-looking guy yelled back, "But we need money right now! Besides, I'm just going to work as a waiter, carrying plates, that's all!"

"Waiter? You think he gave you his business card so he'd hire you as a waiter?!"

The two argued so fiercely that their faces turned red, attracting the attention of all the diners in the noodle shop, who all turned to look.

Li Qing silently slurped the noodles into his mouth, hugged his large bowl, and cautiously moved to the corner of the wall, afraid that he would be caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out.

After listening for a while longer, he roughly understood.

The two were indeed college students and a couple. For some reason, they were short of money, so the better-looking Beta found a high-paying part-time job. However, the work location and environment might be a bit complicated, so the bespectacled Beta disagreed, and then the two of them had a fight.

"separate!!"

After arguing for a while, the bespectacled man finally uttered two words, then grabbed his backpack and stormed out of the noodle shop without looking back.

The remaining Beta stood frozen at the table for a long time.

Li Qing noticed that he was holding a small card in his hand, rubbing it repeatedly. Finally, he raised his hand, wiped his eyes haphazardly, dropped the card, and turned to leave.

After the two left, the noodle shop owner and the waiter both breathed a sigh of relief.

As the waiter cleared the table, the rag he left on the table pulled out the small card that had been left behind, which landed right at Li Qing's feet.

Li Qing looked down, paused, and then bent down to pick it up.

The card feels slightly heavy in hand, and the quality is quite good.

On the front is a complex logo crafted with gilding, resembling a crown.

He turned it over to look at the back.

【Shengxin Club】

Four elegant, flowing characters are displayed, with a gold-plated phone number below them.

The card felt cool to the touch and had a slightly rough, grainy texture. Li Qing didn't know anything about the materials or workmanship, but he felt that the card had a high-end feel to it.

It must be quite valuable, right?

It's such a shame that it's gone.

Li Qing didn't think much about what those four words meant and casually put the card into his pocket.

Then he picked up the bowl of noodles, drank the last mouthful of soup clean, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Eighteen yuan, can't waste it.

Wiping his mouth, Li Qing got up, paid the bill, picked up his helmet, and joined the crowds of the capital city at night.