Pretty Girls Are the Best Liars

Pretty Girls Are the Best Liars

Two hundred turned into four hundred sixty?

Earn two and a half days' worth of money in one day?

The Old Master selling boxed lunches immediately grew envious. With a foolish grin, he tugged up his pant leg and squatted beside Jiang Qin. The mixed scent of grease and cigarette smoke hit Jiang Qin in the face, making him feel a little dizzy.

But Jiang Qin said nothing. He simply shifted aside and tucked the cigarette the Old Master handed him behind his ear.

The way he looked now, he did not resemble a high school graduate at all. He looked more like a seasoned hustler who had dropped out to make a living.

"Brother, tell me where you sell those boxed lunches."

As if he had expected this all along, Jiang Qin skillfully raised two fingers. "Old Master, give me two hundred yuan, and I'll tell you the address."

The Old Master's eyes widened like copper bells, gleaming with lightning-like shrewdness. "Two hundred yuan? I can barely make two hundred in a whole day!"

"Wouldn't you make four hundred if you changed locations?"

"Tell me first, and I'll see if it's worth it." The Old Master selling boxed lunches hesitated. Two hundred yuan was no small amount.

"We just went to Internet Cafe Street."

"The east end of Xinghai Road?"

"That's right."

"I thought it was somewhere special. Business there is indeed good, but the city inspectors are too strict. I went once, and they even confiscated my cart. I still haven't gotten it back."

"I'm not finished yet. Give me two hundred yuan, and I'll continue. If you think it's not worth it, I'll return the money. I'm still a student—I'm not going to scam you, am I?" Jiang Qin's voice was full of temptation.

After hesitating for a long while, the Old Master selling boxed lunches pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket. "Go on, then. If it's not worth it, I'm getting my money back."

Jiang Qin rolled up the cash and stuffed it into his pocket. "There's a Foot Massage Parlor called Shui Yun Jian on that street. Go in through the front entrance, and there's a large courtyard inside. The Fire Exits of seven internet cafes all lead directly into that courtyard. Also, the old man guarding the gate likes Hongta Mountain cigarettes. Most importantly, there are no city inspectors there."

"What use is the old man at the gate? Would he dare let me in to sell boxed lunches?"

Jiang Qin smiled calmly. "He's the Boss of Shui Yun Jian's father. He guards the gate because he gets bored staying at home."

The Old Master selling boxed lunches pondered it for a while before delight suddenly spread across his face. "All right, brother. Next time you come by for a boxed lunch, it's on me."

"Sounds good."

"At such a young age, you already know a Foot Massage Parlor inside out. You've got a bright future ahead of you!"

Jiang Qin clasped his hands and gave a small bow. "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Guo Zihang, standing nearby, was stunned for a long time. Trembling slightly, he grabbed Jiang Qin, his eyes full of envy. "Lao Jiang, you've already been to a magical place like a Foot Massage Parlor?"

"It's just a rite of passage for men."

"Huh?"

"All right, quit huh-ing. We made money today, so I'm treating you to something good."

Jiang Qin stood, dusted off his backside, and headed down the main road with more than seven hundred yuan in his pocket.

Watching his carefree figure walk away, Guo Zihang was slightly dazed. He felt as though his friend carried a mature air that came only from weathering life's hardships.

Like those people in TV dramas who had seen through life itself—still laughing and joking on the surface, yet with eyes so deep and sharp they seemed capable of seeing straight to the essence of things.

They had worked themselves to death all morning and only sold a little over three hundred yuan worth of food. The profits were not even enough to buy cigarettes, yet Jiang Qin had the nerve to claim he had made four hundred sixty.

Most importantly, the Old Master selling boxed lunches had looked incredibly shrewd, yet Jiang Qin had actually bluffed him into paying two hundred yuan for nothing more than an address.

Being able to spin wild tales to adults without showing the slightest fear was something Guo Zihang could never do. Even when he helped Mom buy groceries, he did not dare haggle over the price.

No wonder Jiang Qin did not care about having his confession rejected.

Everyone in class thought he was putting on an act, believing he merely wanted to preserve a little of his pitiful, pathetic dignity. But at this moment, Guo Zihang started to believe Jiang Qin. Maybe he truly had not taken it to heart.

But the moment Chu Siqi came up, Guo Zihang's gossiping spirit began blazing again.

"Lao Jiang, how are things between you and Goddess Chu?"

Jiang Qin turned to glance at him. "What could possibly be going on between me and her?"

"You liked her for three years. Is it really just going to end like this? She said she'd consider it once you got to college!" Guo Zihang pressed on. He truly did not understand. They only had to get through Summer Vacation before college began—wouldn't giving up now be such a waste?

"She says college, and that means college? I don't even want to wait anymore. If pretty girls were reliable, pigs would climb trees."

Jiang Qin spoke without expression, every word dripping with mockery for love.

Dating delayed making money, and being a simp delayed life. The bloody lessons of his previous life had proven this beyond doubt. Women only slowed down the speed of making money; beyond that, they were useless.

He had experienced the pain of secret teenage crushes and felt the terror of a three-hundred-thousand-yuan bride price. It was not that he had no interest in women—he simply felt that, given another chance at life, he needed to sort out his priorities.

"But... that's only your guess. What if Chu Siqi really planned to date you as soon as college started? Wouldn't you regret giving up now?"

"Lao Guo, once a man starts thinking that way, he's basically drawing a prison around himself. It's the same in love and at work. If it isn't in your hands yet, then don't believe it no matter how much someone promises you."

Jiang Qin's gaze deepened slightly as he suddenly remembered all the promises he had received when he had first started working in his previous life.

Project bonuses, company shares, overseas trips, living allowances for immediate family—those were no different from Chu Siqi saying, 'Try harder and I'll date you.' They were all legends everyone had heard of, but no one had ever seen.

If he was going to place hope in legends, then he might as well believe in light.

At that thought, Jiang Qin could not help thinking of Diga. What cosmic hero? That bastard was just a deadbeat.

Back then, Diga had borrowed his light and vanished at top speed when fighting Gatanothor. Then, when Jiang Qin's own future became pitch-black, that guy never even mentioned returning his light.

Whatever he did, he would never be a simp. Whatever job he had, he would never be a corporate slave. Working hard to make money—that was the proper path in life.

Meanwhile, Guo Zihang suddenly started scratching his head furiously, making hissing noises through his teeth.

Jiang Qin found it strange and could not help staring at him for a few moments.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't wash your hair before coming out?"

"No, I feel like after listening to you, my brain is about to grow a brain."

"?????"

At four in the afternoon, Jiang Qin and Guo Zihang walked out of the restaurant, full and satisfied after food and drinks.

But Guo Zihang still could not stop thinking about bars. He wanted to beg Jiang Qin to take him there for the experience, but before they had taken more than a few steps, two familiar figures appeared before them.

One was Wang Huiru, the class math representative. The other was the class beauty, Chu Siqi.

The two girls were walking arm in arm out of the Pedestrian Street, one holding a Starch Sausage and the other a candied hawthorn skewer.

The summer heat had left them glistening with sweat. Even the hair on their foreheads had become damp, while their little faces were flushed and rosy from the heat. Their hurried breathing made their already developing chests rise and fall constantly.

Wang Huiru was pretty and delicate, with the air of a girl from a modest household. She had two dimples when she smiled and wore overalls that made her look youthful and lively. On her own, she could be considered a beauty, but walking beside Chu Siqi left her with little advantage.

Chu Siqi wore a beige long dress today, its hem falling to her knees. Her eyes were lively and dazzling, her features exquisite, her red lips full, and her skin fair as snow, making Wang Huiru beside her seem like little more than a backdrop.

When the four met, Wang Huiru was the first to react. She had been looking straight ahead, and she immediately raised a hand in greeting.

"Jiang Qin, Guo Zihang, what are you two doing here?"

Hearing someone call his name, Jiang Qin instinctively looked up. His gaze accidentally met Chu Siqi's amid the bustling crowd.

Then his smile faded, and he turned his head away with a trace of indifference.

Perhaps because he carried memories from his previous life, Jiang Qin always viewed interpersonal relationships from something like a god's-eye perspective. That was why he truly had no favorable impression of Chu Siqi.

But the soul of a man nearing forty had given him enough maturity and composure that he would not simply turn around and leave. Still, that was all.

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