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Chapter 75 of 100

Chapter 75

17 min read4,170 words

This complex emotion reached its peak after three days.

Moving was simple at the time; the two of them didn’t have much in their rented apartment. Zhou Xiaoli, at 22, put it bluntly: “That’s how the proletariat lives!”

Three large storage boxes, two wheeled suitcases, and a pile of miscellaneous household items were all that Zhou Xiaoli and her mother owned, extremely meager.

But even in the rented apartment, it was clean and tidy, with no sense of destitution. Zhou Xiaoli directed everything with ease: “This is how things are at my place, and we’ll do better in the future…” This was similar to what Bak had inspired in her: “Even if we’re poor, we must have hope.”

As for the move, Bak had called ahead. Liu Shufen and her two sisters hadn’t returned from school yet, so the young men toured the place, laughing and joking. They didn’t realize this was the 750,000 yuan house Bak had bought. If they had, they might have confirmed their suspicions about the two of them living together.

After the celebration, they went downstairs to a hot pot restaurant Zhou Xiaoli had reserved. She was truly a household management expert; over a dozen young people drank ten bottles of goji berry wine, and the final bill was only about 700 yuan!

Bak watched as Zhou Xiaoli, acting like a manager, drank and played drinking games with the young workers from the car wash. She even sat between two of them, chatting and laughing.

After seeing off these mostly cohabiting workers, Zhou Xiaoli was visibly tipsy. She managed to stand straight and wave goodbye with Bak, then they walked back to the neighborhood together.

Indeed, Zhou Xiaoli was right; the layout of this housing complex was more upscale. The buildings were spaced far apart, with lawns, ponds, pavilions, and artificial hills. There was even a small forest on a hill. They had to take a detour along the driveway, so they strolled on the stone path through the lawn, feeling like they were in a park.

Zhou Xiaoli spoke first: “I… didn’t let them drink beer because it’s expensive in large quantities. Do you think I’m being stingy?” This low-grade goji berry wine cost only about ten yuan per bottle, with a high alcohol content. Ten bottles had already knocked out several people. If they had drunk beer, it would have cost over a thousand yuan!

Bak, who had run a barbecue stall before, suddenly understood: “I see, that’s smart. I’ve always thought that drinking in moderation is fine, and not drinking is also fine.” He had seen too many Eastern Europeans who drank excessively, and in combat groups, those who liked to drink were less trusted. Drinking too much was also harmful to the body, and neither snipers nor medics liked unstable hands.

Even after drinking, Zhou Xiaoli was still paying attention to Bak’s reaction: “You don’t like… girls drinking?”

Bak shook his head quickly: “Everyone has their own preferences. I can have a couple of drinks, but I don’t like it, and I have no reason to restrict others. Girls drinking can actually be very charming and beautiful.”

Zhou Xiaoli leaned in to look at him: “I’m not that ugly, right? I’ll dye my hair later.” This was the third time she had mentioned it.

Bak praised her: “You’re beautiful, really beautiful. You don’t know how often they were looking at you, not Gu Qian, right?”

Zhou Xiaoli chuckled: “Don’t judge people by their appearance. Is it really just about looks?”

Bak, with a clear mind, replied: “It’s a man’s instinct, okay? I can’t explain it, but at least you feel better about yourself, right? Compared to Gu Qian in the workplace.”

Zhou Xiaoli laughed today: “Yes! I feel more confident when you say that.”

Before Bak could fully digest her words, Zhou Xiaoli exclaimed: “Twins! What beautiful sisters!”

So, the principle of judging by appearance applies to women too. Compared to the female train attendants, Zhou Xiaoli was more hands-on, running a few steps to the building entrance, ignoring her lingering alcohol breath, and trying to pinch one of them. Xiao Yi nimbly dodged, looking at Bak with a questioning gaze, as if asking if this was the sister he mentioned.

Xiao Zhao, staying alert, shouted: “Brother! We want ice cream!” pointing to the nearby convenience store.

Zhou Xiaoli, surprised, turned her head: “These are your sisters?” She had gone to the headquarters early in the morning and had been busy all day, so she was a bit incredulous.

Bak, with basic common sense, nodded to Zhou Xiaoli and waved to stop her: “Eat chocolate… I’ll buy it.”

Zhou Xiaoli, acting like an older sister, reached out to the two girls: “I’ll treat you! Ignore him!” trying to win their favor.

Bak explained: “They’re not feeling well these days.”

Zhou Xiaoli’s face, flushed from drinking, showed no signs of displeasure. She spat at Bak: “You know everything, fine, fine, I’ll take care of it. Let’s… eat chocolate.”

Liu Shufen stood at the entrance of the building, contentedly watching her son and daughter. If this were her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter, it would be perfect!

Bak, seeing Zhou Xiaoli smoothly taking on the role of a mentor, decided not to go upstairs to say goodbye and didn’t say much to the dark beauty, not noticing her intentions.

The next two days were ordinary. Zhou Xiaoli would bring him breakfast, and they would have lunch together, either noodles or something else. In the evening, Bak would drive her back, though the place was really close. Even with her raise, Zhou Xiaoli still walked to work in the morning and took the bus for errands. Bak didn’t offer to drive her.

On the third morning, when Zhou Xiaoli came to give him breakfast, Bak noticed a difference in her demeanor, a hint of a smile, but he didn’t ask.

At noon, a pickup truck arrived at the car wash, loaded with cargo. This was rare, even rarer than a supercar. Bak and the young workers were curious, stretching their necks to look. Only Chen Sanli, the receptionist, ran over, then after a brief conversation, waved his arm with a smile: “Brother Bak! They’re looking for you, not to wash the car… to deliver a car!”

Business wasn’t busy, so a dozen young men gathered around, stretching their necks to look with Bak. Sure enough, the delivery person showed a delivery slip, already paid in full, for a motorcycle worth over 20,000 yuan. At the bottom of the order, the signature was clearly: Zhou Xiaoli!

To put it simply, the motorcycles most young workers rode were new and cost only a few thousand yuan. The one Bak had wrecked was a 1,000 yuan used junk. Zhou Xiaoli’s salary, even with sales commissions, was only about 3,000 to 5,000 yuan a month. This motorcycle, while not comparable to high-end imported models costing over 100,000 yuan, was still in the mid-to-high range.

Without Bak needing to call, Chen Sanli had already run to the neighboring office and knocked on the glass door: “Sister Zhou… your motorcycle has arrived.”

Wearing a baseball cap, slightly mismatched with her suit, Zhou Xiaoli walked out of the manager’s office, followed by a group of real estate salespeople, standing confidently in front of Bak.

“To save me, you wrecked your motorcycle. I bought you a new one. I hope you’ll ride this to take me to and from work!”

Amidst a chorus of whistles and applause, Bak only saw the slightly tanned face, radiating confidence and beauty!

Was this a confession?

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