The girl stopped kicking Lin Yi's foot and leaned against the window, quietly listening to music.
"We will be arriving at Songshan Station shortly. Passengers getting off, please prepare yourselves. The stop will be fifteen minutes."
The train announcement echoed through the car. Lin Yi started packing his things, getting ready to disembark.
Surprisingly, the girl next to him also began gathering her belongings. Apparently she was getting off at Songshan Station too.
When the girl stood up, Lin Yi sized her up. Just as he'd guessed—she was about 165 centimeters tall.
After getting off the train, Lin Yi gazed in amazement at the magnificent architecture inside the station.
He'd been here once ten years ago, but today, ten years later, Songshan had undergone earth-shaking changes.
"Wait up!"
A sweet female voice called out from behind Lin Yi. He stopped and instinctively turned around.
The girl who'd sat next to him on the train was waving her hand, hurrying toward him.
"What can I do for you?"
Lin Yi didn't think the girl had fallen for him at first sight. Sure, he was pretty handsome, but his outfit was way too country bumpkin.
Earth-colored pants and a white tank top—he looked like a migrant worker.
"You're not actually planning to go cash that in, are you?"
The girl sounded a bit angry. She was still mad that Lin Yi had ignored her warning on the train.
"Oh, that thing."
Lin Yi pulled the pull-tab from his pocket and tossed it on the ground.
"What?!"
Now it was the girl's turn to be stunned!
She'd never expected Lin Yi to do something like this!
"Y-you... you threw it away?"
The girl pointed at Lin Yi in shock, her mouth hanging open.
"Yeah, I threw it away."
Lin Yi nodded. "It was fake anyway. No point keeping it."
"You knew it was fake?"
Hearing Lin Yi's words, the girl was completely confused and stared at him blankly.
What was wrong with this guy?
If he knew it was fake, why did he pay money for it?
Was he mentally unstable?
From his appearance, he didn't look like some rich guy with weird hobbies either.
"I knew. Even if I didn't, you told me on the train!"
Lin Yi said with a laugh.
"Then why did you give him money?"
The girl suddenly looked anxious, wondering what the hell was wrong with this person.
Lin Yi smiled and took his backpack off his shoulder, unzipped it, and opened it in front of the girl.
The girl looked at Lin Yi curiously, then bent down to peer into the backpack. She was shocked!
Inside were seven or eight thick bundles of cash!
"Are you rich? But even if you have money, you shouldn't waste it like that!"
The girl couldn't understand Lin Yi's intentions and thought he was just showing off his wealth.
"This is the money from earlier."
Lin Yi said.
"The money from earlier? What do you mean?"
The girl didn't understand. "You got your money back? But wasn't it only 49,000 yuan? This looks like 70,000 or 80,000 yuan!"
"I also took the 30,000 yuan that glasses guy had on him."
Lin Yi shrugged.
It was no big deal—didn't take any effort. For Lin Yi, nothing could be simpler.
"Huh?"
Now the girl was completely dumbfounded! Lin Yi wasn't crazy at all—he was skilled. Not only had he gotten his own money back, he'd also taken the glasses guy's money!
"Why are you making that face? You're not thinking of reporting me for theft, are you? You seem to have a pretty strong sense of justice."
Seeing the girl's shocked expression, Lin Yi joked with a laugh.
"Of course not!"
The girl blushed and shook her head.
"Thanks though. Girls like you are rare."
Lin Yi said sincerely. "How about we grab some food?"
"No..."
The girl shook her head shyly. "My family's waiting for me at the exit."
Hearing this, Lin Yi nodded and didn't press the issue. Picking up girls required skill, but timing mattered too—being too pushy would backfire. "Alright then, I won't keep you."
Wang Xinyan watched Lin Yi's retreating figure and shook her head. What a strange guy. If her mother wasn't waiting at the exit, she would've liked to talk with Lin Yi a bit more.
It wasn't that Wang Xinyan was interested in Lin Yi romantically. She just felt he was so different from ordinary people!
Carrying that much money in his backpack without depositing it in a bank, dressed like a country bumpkin yet somehow having an indescribable unique aura about him.
"Sir, need a room? Very cheap..."
As soon as Lin Yi left the station, he was surrounded by touts from nearby small hotels.
His migrant worker appearance made him the perfect target for these small inns.
Rich people wouldn't stay at dumps like these. Big hotels didn't need touts.
Lin Yi waved them off, broke through their encirclement, and headed for the taxi stand in the square. Lin Yi held a slip of paper—an address the old man had given him before he left.
Getting into a taxi, the driver asked kindly, "Where to, buddy?"
"This address, please."
Lin Yi handed the slip to the driver.
This driver was one of the unlicensed cabs operating around the station, and he had a good eye for customers.
Seeing Lin Yi as someone from the countryside, probably here for work, he figured he could overcharge him.
Thinking this young guy wouldn't know the roads anyway, he happily took the slip from Lin Yi. The moment he saw the address, the driver's face went pale!
The note read: Songshan City, Guangming Street 36, Pengzhan Building. 11.2 kilometers from the station, via New Second Ring Bridge.
The route was specified and the distance clearly marked. No way to rip him off.
But what was this young guy doing at Pengzhan Building?
That was Songshan City's biggest corporate group. Did this migrant worker-looking guy actually know someone inside?
The driver sighed, set the note aside, and obediently started driving.
Songshan's traffic was good with plenty of bridges. Lin Yi arrived at his destination after going up and down several times. He paid the 24 yuan fare and got out.
Looking up at the towering skyscraper, Lin Yi felt a bit dizzy. This thing was taller than the mountains back home!
Apparently his employer was pretty loaded. The old man was right—this one job might set him up for life.
Though if he fell from up there, he'd probably die.
But back home, the old man had kicked him off mountain peaks into valleys and he hadn't died. Just spent a few days bruised and bedridden.
Lin Yi confirmed the building number and name, made sure it was right, then strolled casually inside.