Zhou Jinbei returned to her workstation with a sense of gossip, pushing another WeChat of Zhan Beijue to Jiang Nanfang.
It said he was a fund manager.
After Jiang Nanfang bought her house, she only had over 600,000 cash left in her card. She needed money for daily living, car maintenance, fuel, and various other expenses.
She didn't have spare cash to invest in funds, and hiring a manager meant paying them fees. Therefore, after Zhou Jinbei sent the contact, she didn't pay much attention to it.
Back in Danguo, in her spare time, she also loved perfume making.
It was just that time was tight then, and she didn't have much energy to focus on perfume making, so her career didn't see much progress.
These past two days, she had become free and a lot of inspiration had come to her.
Speaking of perfume, the first thing that came to everyone's mind were a few well-known international brands.
There wasn't a single domestic brand that had gone global. This was a significant market gap.
She thought she might as well put aside her electrical engineering work for a while and explore the perfume market. Who knew, she might find a new path.
Back home, Jiang Nanfang tossed her phone aside and pulled out her old notes from when she ran her perfume studio.
An hour passed, and Zhan Beijue hadn't received any notification about her accepting his friend request. Two hours, three hours...
During lunchtime, Zhou Jinbei took the opportunity to order food for him and asked, "Did you guys add each other on WeChat?"
Zhan Beijue cast a sideways glance at her, too lazy to bother with her.
He didn't know what Zhou Jinbei had told Jiang Nanfang, but she still refused to accept his friend request.
She couldn't even handle such a small matter; useless.
"No?"
Seeing his expression, Zhou Jinbei knew the situation was not good and felt a hint of smugness.
"You think you can be unfaithful when you're out? You're already divorced, and now you're pretending to be good to her. Serves you right that she's ignoring you!"
"Perhaps she's busy. Then you just wait patiently."
She scurried out.
Jiang Nanfang was worrying about money, and Ke Teng, who was far away in Shangcheng, wasn't doing much better.
Penniless, staying at Jian Fei's place for two days was fine, but by the third day, Jian Fei's wallet couldn't take it anymore, and she gave him two options.
Option 1: The apartment would be considered jointly rented. Ke Teng would pay half the rent to her at the end of the month and pay her living expenses at a rate of ten yuan per meal, per day.
Option 2: Move out of the house immediately.
Hearing her meticulously calculate everything with him, Ke Teng was speechless.
"Does my staying with you really affect you that much?"
"Even without me, wouldn't you still have to pay this much rent for a month? Even without me, wouldn't you still have to eat every meal?"
"At most, I'm only taking a bit of your air. Is it necessary to kick someone when they're down and force them to their death?"
Jian Fei knew he didn't want to move, so she took out the ledger she had prepared to show him.
She hadn't officially become a permanent staff member yet; she was only an intern doctor, receiving a subsidy of only 1800 yuan per month.
"You don't need me to tell you what 1800 yuan means in Shangcheng, right?"
"This apartment is only 12 square meters, but the rent is 1500 yuan per month. That means, with my current salary, after paying rent, I'll only have enough for bus fare."
"The money I spend on meals every day is from my previous part-time jobs and the work I did at your place recently."
"So, it's not that I'm stingy, not that I'm kicking you when you're down, and not that I'm forcing you to your death, but that you can't imagine the life of a poor person."
"Ten or eight yuan might be nothing to you, but it could genuinely crush me, Young Master Ke."
Ke Teng had majored in art in college, which was the most expensive major. He had signed with an entertainment company as an idol before graduating.
Since childhood, except for these past few days, he had never lacked money. He couldn't imagine that an intern doctor who had studied diligently for over a decade only received 1800 yuan per month...
It was too exaggerated.
He was immediately rendered speechless by her calculations.
"Alright. Then I'll start looking for a job tomorrow. I'll pay you once I find one. Give me a few days, please."
Jian Fei's expression was blank: "You'd better keep your word."
"I've spent all my savings on this apartment, and in the end, I can't even sleep on a bed. Young Master Ke, experience life and then hurry back. Please take pity on me."
That night, lying on her soft little bed and looking at the thin, stooped figure on the floor, Ke Teng suddenly couldn't sleep either.
No wonder she always wore the same few unfashionable outfits and didn't even bother to wear makeup. It turned out she was so poor...
The next day, Jian Fei asked Ke Teng to wake up with her and go downstairs together.
At a steamed bun stall at the entrance of the residential complex, each of them bought a cup of one-yuan soy milk and a two-yuan steamed bun. Jian Fei gave him 20 yuan in cash.
"This is your travel and lunch money for the day. Don't spend it carelessly."
"You must find a job today. I only have 600 yuan left in my entire possession, and I won't get paid for another half a month. Otherwise, I really won't let you in tonight."
After saying that, she bit into a steamed bun and hurried off to catch the bus.
Ke Teng looked at the pitiful 20 yuan in his hand, sighed, and ambled out of the residential complex.
He didn't rush off. He leaned against a large tree and thought about his future.
He had only been away from home for less than a week. His father might be waiting for him to relent, having prepared a lecture to reprimand him and perhaps make him agree not to go to Nancheng again...
He might as well hold out for ten days to half a month to make his father anxious.
He would just find any job for now!
Even if he really couldn't find one, would Jian Fei really kick him out if he didn't leave tomorrow?
Last time, he was lucky. Wandering around, he found a job handing out flyers.
Today, when he seriously started looking, he encountered one setback after another.
No employer was willing to hire without qualifications and work experience.
For a young man like him, who couldn't present a degree and whose appearance was too flamboyant, people seemed to assume he was a loafer. They wouldn't even give him a proper look, let alone a job.
After wandering for half the day, he ate a bowl of noodles for lunch. He was feeling sleepy in the afternoon, so he went to the park.
The autumn sun was warm on his body, a gentle breeze blew, and the scenery was pleasant. An old man at the next table was playing chess under the shade of a tree. He lay leisurely on the chair, listening.
Unconsciously, he fell asleep.
When he woke up, the old men had already packed up their chessboards and gone home. He hurried to the bus stop.
Back home, it was just after work hours. Office workers were dragging their tired bodies into the residential complex.
Ke Teng, having just finished his nap, was energetic. Seeing everyone's tired faces, he suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
Fearing that others would know he was just loafing around, he subconsciously pretended to be tired and walked back slowly.
Upon returning to his floor, Jian Fei hadn't gotten off work yet.
He had figured out her work schedule these past two days, knowing he would have to wait for a while. He leaned against the doorframe and idly daydreamed.
After who knows how long, he heard footsteps in the hallway.
Then, two women in white shirts and blue professional suits, carrying two folders and large bags, came upstairs.
They looked like insurance sales representatives, or perhaps staff members of the residential complex.
The two women chatted as they walked. Upon seeing Ke Teng, they stopped and looked him up and down.