Chapter 214: Forsake the depraved path for that which is just

Seeing Li Wan about to leave just like this, Xu Tingsheng felt rather helpless as he didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, “You’re leaving just like this?”

“Huh? I...what?” Li Wan turned, asking rather perturbedly.

She seemed to realise something immediately afterwards as she said earnestly, “I can get your physical data from Mister Angelo.”

Xu Tingsheng forced a smile, “I’m not talking about that. What I mean is-don’t you require us to pay a deposit or something first? Haven’t you wondered what you would do if you finished all of the work, but we didn’t want it anymore?”

Li Wan came to an abrupt realisation, “Right, the deposit!”

Then, she asked, “Then...how much should the deposit be?”

If she had been eighteen or nineteen, having yet to properly integrate into society, there would have been nothing strange about that. Yet, she was thirty years old, having once studied in Italy for six years. She was fluent in Italian and was also considerably skilled in matters related to her profession.

Having left that tailor workshop now, she appeared nervous, childish and at a loss, possessing no societal experience at all whatsoever.

“She’s never discussed a business deal before, perhaps never even thought that she would ever need to do such a thing one day. Now, however, she has no choice but to force herself to do it. She needs this sum of money desperately, even more desperately than hunger pangs, because this type of person usually wouldn’t speak up even if they were hungry. The story of a girl from a rich family that has fallen into decline. It is merely that.”

Already having determined this, Xu Tingsheng was too lazy to even spare her a look as he took out twenty thousand yuan in cash from his bag and handed it directly to her, “A twenty thousand deposit, is that enough?”

“It’s enough.”

Li Wan hesitated for a moment before hanging her handbag on her arm and receiving the money with both hands.

She was even so particular about this.

Xu Tingsheng discovered a pain of smooth, clear hands that originally shouldn’t be appearing on the body of a thirty-year-old woman, shouldn’t even be used to receive money from someone. Currently, though, she was grasping that twenty thousand yuan tightly in her hands.

There were far too many people in this world who forced themselves to do things that they had once been unwilling to do. Therefore, Xu Tingsheng did not have all that much sympathy and compassion for her. It was even more improbable that he had done this because of her beauty.

He asked as cordially as possible, “Then, can you give us a form of identification or guarantee? We’re...also afraid that you might just take the money and run. I hope you can understand this.”

“I, I…” Li Wan hesitated for a while before finally pulling her identity card out of her bag, gazing at Xu Tingsheng with those wide eyes of hers as she asked, “Can I use my identity card? Is it okay if I just leave my identity card with you?”

So there actually did exist thirty-year-old women who were so easy to swindle.

Xu Tingsheng’s mind was thrown into disarray once more as he stiffened for a moment before eventually still extending a hand and accepting her identity card, nodding to her, “That’s fine.”

“Then, that’s all?” Li Wan asked.

“That’s all,” Xu Tingsheng replied.

“Thank you...sir.”

The word ‘sir’ seemed to be uttered by her with quite some difficulty.

Xu Tingsheng thought for a moment. He pointed at the clothes that the three of them were wearing that cost just around a hundred yuan each, next pointing to the decrepit Volkswagen that was parked by the roadside, “We’re not anyone important. Our boss is paying for us to get some decent clothes, thus helping to maintain his image before others.”

As soon as Xu Tingsheng had said this, Li Wan’s nervousness clearly eased greatly.

“Sorry. Rest assured, I won’t cheat you of your money. I’ll give you a call as soon as I’m done,” She said earnestly.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting then.”

……

There was actually someone in this world who dared to leave her identity card with someone else as a guarantee just so easily.

After Li Wan had left, Xu Tingsheng took a look at her identity card that she had left behind: 31 years old, resident of Shenghai City. Name: Li Wan’er.

Huang Yaming and Tan Yao scooted over for a look.

Huang Yaming said, “Li, Wan, Er. Why did she call herself Li Wan?”

Tan Yao said, “It’s probably because she feels that already being 31, it’s kind of inappropriate to still carry that ‘er’ around.

Huang Yaming rebutted, “Feng Xiaogang still calls himself ‘Xiaogang’ despite his age. Do you find that weird?”

Xu Tingsheng said emotionally, “For women, if they’re doted on by someone, they will still call themselves along with that ‘er’ totally naturally even if they’re forty or fifty. No longer being doted on, that ‘er’ will just feel wrong no matter how one thinks about it, because no one spoils her like a child anymore. Especially in front of us, she would be even more unwilling to call herself that.”

Huang Yaming struggled to get his mind around it for a while before asking, “What do you mean?”

Xu Tingsheng said, “A daughter of a rich family, having lived a comfortable life up to thirty-one years of age with her family now having fallen into decline.”

“...How do you know?”

“If you cycle through all your memories from earlier, you’ll be able to get it. It’s actually not hard.”

Huang Yaming and Tan Yao thought about it a little before the latter then slapped his thigh, “The heck! Isn’t this equivalent to a little fluffy sheep transported to the wide plains of Africa?”

Huang Yaming’s face was full of saliva, “Chance! Tingsheng, hurry up and give me her number.”

Xu Tingsheng double-slapped him, scolding laughingly, “Don’t you go thinking that! She doesn’t seem to have such intentions, not intending to benefit from that body of hers. In that case, you’d only be going to hurt her if you set your designs on her.”

“The problem is that wolves don’t care about the opinions of sheep. Can she protect herself?” Huang Yaming asked.

“That would be her own problem then,” Xu Tingsheng said in a cold, indifferent tone.

Huang Yaming had just been about to send a few disparaging remarks Xu Tingsheng’s way when Tan Yao interrupted, “What if she sees the light?”

Xu Tingsheng thought about it, “Sees the light? In that case, she wouldn’t be the kind of woman that we could aspire to. Such a woman-wouldn’t she have free choice of whover she wanted? If she really went all out, the target would be on the level of Shi Zhongjun at the very least. You guys? Don't even think about it.”

“Bro Xu, what about you? Wouldn't you be qualified?” Tan Yao asked him.

“I wouldn't be qualified as well,” Xu Tingsheng replied.

“What about in the future, when...you're qualified enough?”

“I guess I should be qualified enough in the future?” Xu Tingsheng considered it for a moment before smiling wryly, “Many beautiful women exist beneath these heavens, and many good women as well. Yet in this life, I dare not accrue any more debts to women.”

“I understand, there's already too many. Someone who treats you well comes along, and you feel like you owe her. Your heart twinges, and you can't steel yourself and act ruthlessly towards anyone at all, right? This is your flaw,” Huang Yaming put an arm around Xu Tingsheng's shoulder, taunting him.

“Scram! Didn't that thing with Yao Jing have a happy ending? Didn't Mr Zhou say back then that she already almost has a boyfriend?” Xu Tingsheng refuted.

Huang Yaming chortled, ignoring this as he simply continued, “If it is me, when the day comes, I definitely won't have feelings for anyone...I'll just have their bodies. I'll take every single one who comes, love whoever I've just been together with. Whoever’s treating me well is plain unlucky, whoever's serious towards me deserves what they get.”

Then, he pointed first at himself and then at Xu Tingsheng, asking Tan Yao, “Say, Tan Yao, the attitudes of us two towards women-exactly who’s the greater scumbag, really?”

Tan Yao chuckled, pointing at Xu Tingsheng, “For the two of us, we’d merely be getting in the girl's way for a night at most. Bro Xu? Just a little careless, and their entire lives will be done in by him.”

“So, are you tired? Want to forsake the depraved path for that which is just?” Huang Yaming asked Xu Tingsheng.