After finishing a game of basketball and taking a shower, Jiang Beicheng was getting ready to head downstairs for a massage.
His phone pinged with a few WeChat notifications.
Li Xingying had sent him the account details for her studio.
She had been busy with her move these past couple of days and had only managed to sort out her studio's account with the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the bank today.
Jiang Beicheng had promised to give her two million to continue supporting her entrepreneurial endeavors, but private account transfers had limits, so it had to be done through business accounts.
Jiang Beicheng replied to Li Xingying: "I'll transfer it to you after my massage."
Li Xingying: "Young Master Jiang's living the high life, huh? Getting a foot massage in broad daylight."
Jiang Beicheng: "Isn't this just to save my evening for you?"
Li Xingying: "Hehe, great. Perfect timing for Young Master Jiang to check out my new place.
Oh, and…"
"A new bed!"
Jiang Beicheng: "[Sly smile emoji] [Sly smile emoji]"
After a brief casual chat, he put down his phone, letting the soothing sound of the singing bowl in the hands of the massage therapist relax his body and mind.
Li Xingying was returning to the old Western-style house she used to share with her friend Zhou Yu for the last time today.
Their relationship had completely broken down, and they were at the point of having nothing left to say to each other.
There were still some clothes Li Xingying needed to pick up.
When she entered the house, she saw someone she hadn't seen in a long time.
Li Xingying froze for a moment.
"You're back?" Shen Dan said.
Shen Dan was Li Xingying and Zhou Yu's senior from university. Back in school, she had taken good care of them, helping with all sorts of problems, including financial difficulties.
Li Xingying and Zhou Yu had always remembered Shen Dan's kindness.
But after graduating, Shen Dan had gone to Shenzhen to make her way in the world. The first couple of years were tough, with many setbacks, but rumor had it she later met a benefactor who gave her a leg up. Now she was doing well in the beauty business in Guangzhou.
Things were going pretty well for her.
Before Zhou Yu joined that "socialite training class," she had planned to go to Guangzhou to work with Shen Dan on e-commerce livestreaming.
"Big Sis Dan," Li Xingying snapped back to reality, smiling. "It's been so long. I've really missed you."
"If you missed me, you would've come to Guangzhou to find me," Shen Dan said. "Zhou Yu came to visit me in Guangzhou not long ago.
She said you went to New Zealand."
Li Xingying didn't know about Zhou Yu's trip to Guangzhou, nor did she ask.
The two of them hadn't been communicating much lately.
Shen Dan noticed the look in their eyes and smiled. "What kind of grudge could there be between sisters? After so many years of friendship, it shouldn't come to this."
"Big Sis Dan, there are some things you might not know," Li Xingying said. "I don't even know how to explain it to you.
It's our own business, so let us handle it ourselves.
How about I treat you to dinner later?"
Shen Dan said, "Xingying, I heard a bit about your situation from Zhou Yu.
Don't blame her—she didn't want to say anything, but I kept pressing her."
Her tone suddenly grew serious. "Xingying, honestly, in my heart, you've always been an incredibly hardworking girl.
Independent and ambitious.
Look at you—half a year, and you've already grown your short video account to a million followers.
I really admire you.
As someone who's been through it, I'm going to give you some sincere advice today. I truly don't want you to go down that dead-end path.
Get out now while you're not in too deep."
Li Xingying glared at Zhou Yu with an angry look.
Why did she tell Shen Dan these things?
Was she deliberately trying to make a fool of her?
"What you're doing is really disgusting," Li Xingying said to Zhou Yu.
She didn't respond to Shen Dan's words.
Shen Dan's words came from a moral high ground.
She couldn't argue against them.
Nor did she want to argue with the senior who had helped her in the past.
She knew how hard the past six months of starting her business had been. Without the 300,000 yuan Jiang Beicheng lent her, her video account wouldn't have taken off.
Without Jiang Beicheng answering her questions, giving her guidance, and taking her out to see the world, she wouldn't have broken through her bottleneck, and her followers would never have reached a million.
To her, Jiang Beicheng wasn't just the "money tree" Zhou Yu and Shen Dan saw him as.
"Xingying, if what I just said hurt you, I apologize," Shen Dan said, trying to mediate, worried the two would start fighting. "I just want you to head in a better direction."
"Big Sis Dan, I'm doing fine right now," Li Xingying said. "Thank you for your kindness."
Her attitude was clear: don't advise others to be virtuous without understanding their struggles.
She knew what she was doing.
Other people's words couldn't sway her.
"Big Sis Dan, stop talking. She's just pushed open that door, and the temptations inside are too strong. She won't be able to get out anytime soon," Zhou Yu said.
"Zhou Yu, what's with the snide remarks?" Li Xingying shot back.
"Alright, alright, stop it, both of you. It's my fault—I shouldn't have brought up this topic," Shen Dan said, trying to calm things down.
She genuinely meant well when she tried to advise Li Xingying, because she herself had been trapped too deep to get out.
She thought that once she made money and grew her business, she could escape her benefactor's clutches, but instead, she became a tool for her benefactor to make money.
From emotional entanglements to being bound by mutual interests, she couldn't break free unless she was willing to give up everything and start from scratch.
And she was still worried about her benefactor's retaliation and suppression.
That feeling was suffocating.
Clearly, Li Xingying wasn't listening to her at all, and there was nothing she could do.
The three of them fell into an awkward silence.
Suddenly, Li Xingying's WeChat pinged with a voice message from Jiang Beicheng.
She converted it to text and glanced at it.
Then she played it out loud on speaker.
"I've transferred the money to you—two million. Go do what you love with peace of mind. If it's not enough, just let me know. I'm driving now, see you tonight."
Zhou Yu and Shen Dan both looked at Li Xingying.
Li Xingying had deliberately played it for them to hear.
At the end of the day, none of their private matters were all that glorious. What right did they have to judge each other or stand on some moral high ground to play the good guy?
Zhou Yu, of course, recognized Jiang Beicheng's voice.
She was utterly shocked.
How long had Li Xingying been with him? One trip to New Zealand, and she was getting million-yuan transfers?
When Zhou Yu was first with Jiang Beicheng, he'd only bought her things like bags or bracelets to make her happy.
By the time they broke up, Jiang Beicheng had never made any large transfers.
She had long wanted to get some cash out of Jiang Beicheng to buy a house.
How did Li Xingying do it? Was she really that charming?
While Zhou Yu was puzzling over it, Li Xingying looked up at Shen Dan and asked, "Big Sis Dan, if you met a man like this, would you be willing to let him go?"
Shen Dan was stunned.
She couldn't answer Li Xingying's question.
Let alone two million—back in Guangzhou, 100,000 yuan had brought her to her knees.
Of course, back then, she had just gone through a year of hardship and bitterness. When she saw that 100,000 yuan, she thought she'd seen the light and couldn't control her heart or her hands.
Shen Dan truly hadn't expected Li Xingying's benefactor to be so generous.
"Xingying, I don't know what to say right now," Shen Dan said. "If you feel like you can't get out, I just hope you'll stay clear-headed and not let yourself get tied up in mutual interests with him."
Li Xingying said, "Big Sis Dan, I offered to transfer shares of my account to him, but he didn't want them.
He said he doesn't want to make money off a woman."
Shen Dan nodded but didn't comment. She hadn't met the man in person, so she couldn't judge whether he was genuinely generous or a high-level player digging a deep trap for Li Xingying. It wasn't clear yet.
Her phone rang, and Shen Dan snapped back to reality, answering with a smile. "Honey! Alright, send me the address, I'll be there on time.
Oh, by the way, I've got two friends here. If it's okay with you, I'll bring them along.
It's been a while since we've seen each other, and we'd love to catch up over dinner."