Chapter 35: A Chance Encounter
Chapter 35: Chapter 35: A Chance Encounter
"No money," Lin Xi replied without a second thought, directly refusing.
Why should he lend money? Lin Xi didn’t even know what this girl’s name was, let alone the fact that they had just met and already brought a lot of trouble.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache, and now she wanted to borrow money?
She wanted so much too; after calculating quietly, he realized that after paying for last night’s room, he only had a little over four thousand left.
"You’re so poor, little brother." Su Qiaoqiao didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Instead, she was quite surprised and decided to settle for less, "Then five thousand?"
Lin Xi turned and left, too lazy to bother.
"Hey, hey, hey, how can you be like this?" Su Qiaoqiao quickly followed, shouting.
"Think about it, I’m all alone out here at such a young age. Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, and sleeping all take money. At least I need to last for a while!"
"Otherwise, I’d get caught and would have to accompany someone again..."
"Little brother, don’t leave. Are you really that cold-hearted? Then you shouldn’t have saved me just now."
.....
As they bickered along the way, numerous people on the street gave them strange looks.
Lin Xi was really helpless, so he decided to find a place to eat lunch and calm Su Qiaoqiao down, planning to discuss the money-lending issue afterward.
Actually, Lin Xi had already seen through it. This was just a little trickster; she wasn’t really someone whose father pawned her off to the loan sharks.
On the surface, her clothes looked quite ordinary, without even a brand, but Lin Xi wasn’t someone who hadn’t seen the world. A closer look at her outfit revealed extraordinary material and exquisite tailoring, something even common high-end brands couldn’t compare to.
During his time abroad, when dealing with some top-tier businessmen, he noticed they almost never wore branded clothing, opting instead for custom-made pieces by top designers.
This signifies a status that’s understated, and the clothes on the girl were similar.
Of course, the price would be scarier too. Lin Xi estimated that just her outfit alone was worth over a hundred thousand.
And for someone with a cold constitution to live past eighteen was a miracle in itself. Even a fortune in the billions wouldn’t be enough to buy those special herbs required throughout the years.
Moreover, when the girl mentioned borrowing ten thousand, she acted like it was nothing, almost as if she didn’t expect Lin Xi to refuse.
So, was she really an average person? Or was she someone pawned to loan sharks because her father was a drunk?
After walking for a while, Lin Xi brought Su Qiaoqiao to McDonald’s.
Before Lin Xi could say anything, Su Qiaoqiao ordered a ton of food worth several hundred, making Lin Xi’s heart ache a little.
"Little brother, order for yourself. I’ve ordered already." After speaking, Su Qiaoqiao went to find a seat. In truth, this was her first time at such a place, and she found many things intriguing.
Lin Xi was speechless, looking at her petite frame, wondering if she could really eat that much.
Though he felt heartache, Lin Xi still ordered a chicken burger meal for himself. After all, he couldn’t let himself go hungry.
In the end, he paid four hundred and two while bearing the odd gazes of the staff. Lin Xi carried two full trays to the seat opposite Su Qiaoqiao, "Eat up."
"Thank you, little brother." Su Qiaoqiao’s eyes lit up, and she started eating voraciously, clearly having been starving.
Lin Xi didn’t say much else, silently eating the meal he ordered.
But soon he noticed something odd. Su Qiaoqiao kept glancing at him as she ate, making him curious, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Little brother, you’re quite handsome."
Lin Xi ignored it, thinking to himself that the girl must be blind to just realize that now.
"Little brother, my name is Su Qiaoqiao, what’s yours?" Su Qiaoqiao realized that she still didn’t know Lin Xi’s name and asked.
"Lin Xi," he replied.
"Lin Xi? That sounds so formal. I’ll just keep calling you little brother." Su Qiaoqiao sucked the oil off her fingers.
"Little brother, thank you for today."
Su Qiaoqiao said this genuinely, as she truly felt it.
If it weren’t for the little brother today, who knows what would have happened with the bad guys, or she’d be dragged back home without any freedom.
More impressively, the little brother could control her cold condition and even gave her a bottle of the Red Fire Pill.
Su Qiaoqiao was not blind; she recognized that the Red Fire Pill was no ordinary item and not something money could easily buy.
Not to mention, he patiently brought her out to eat.
This place seemed to be called McSomething-whatever, and it was her first time having such greasy food. Despite being junk food, the experience was unique, and it tasted quite good.
At home, she never had such things.
Her daily meals were always arranged by her father according to what famous doctors prescribed, just the same few dishes, a so-called diet with not even a bit of meat.
They explained that she couldn’t have meat because of her cold condition.
Because of it, she rarely left home and rarely tasted meat.
"Little brother, do you think from now on I can eat meat every day? Anything I want, without being controlled by anyone?" Su Qiaoqiao widened her eyes, looking at Lin Xi with a pleading expression.
Lin Xi understood her meaning. He knew the hardships of having a cold constitution, or it might be fair to describe it as a tragic existence.
"Sure," Lin Xi replied.
If Su Qiaoqiao hadn’t met him, then her fate would have been destined by the heavens.
But now it’s different; Su Qiaoqiao met him, and he wouldn’t sit by and do nothing, especially for such an adorable little girl.
Hearing Lin Xi’s affirmation, Su Qiaoqiao cheered excitedly, "Little brother, then you’ll protect me from now on, okay? If anyone bullies me, help me teach them a lesson just like today."
Before Lin Xi could respond, he felt a gust of wind behind him and instinctively dodged, standing up sideways to avoid the blow.
"You scoundrel, shamelessly running here to scam more little girls!" Zhou Yan now stood guarding Su Qiaoqiao, scolding angrily.
Lin Xi stood opposite them, noting that Zhou Yan wasn’t in her police uniform today. She wore a loose shirt on top and denim shorts on the bottom, dressed quite coolly.
But while she was feeling cool, others’ eyes were almost on fire.
Because although the shirt was loose, it still showed off her figure, and the denim shorts...
"Walking around dressed like this really increases the crime rate, doesn’t it?" Lin Xi thought to himself.
Initially, Su Qiaoqiao was confused, but after Zhou Yan spoke, she remained quietly behind Zhou Yan, playfully winking at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi felt a headache coming on, knowing Su Qiaoqiao wouldn’t help explain things.
Zhou Yan looked at Lin Xi with eyes almost shooting flames.
Because of last night’s incident, the chief gave her a two-day leave to rest. For a workaholic like her, it was pure torture.
"Don’t be afraid, little girl. I’m a cop; you’ll be alright," Zhou Yan reassured Su Qiaoqiao behind her.
Su Qiaoqiao mumbled, "Mm," putting on a pitiful act.
Zhou Yan, seeing this, was even more furious. But before she could speak, Lin Xi seriously asked, "Did you get addicted to being beaten by me?"
PS: Thanks again for the tip from Vitamin. I’ll update an extra Chapter for you this Saturday. Today’s update was late because I went out to buy a showerhead and ran into two coworkers who dragged me out for BBQ. 2333 By the way, if you don’t have book coins, you can vote for recommendations, and if you don’t have those, you can leave comments in the review section to boost popularity. Thanks, everyone.