Chapter 11: The Uniformed Beauty at the Hotel

  Zhang Yang scratched his head. Becoming a member of a research group formed by three academicians—this was something most scientists could only dream of. But he also knew clearly that he had only spent fifty system points to obtain that theory. In truth, he didn’t understand the principles behind it at all. If he really joined, he probably wouldn’t be of any help and might even expose himself.

  So after thinking it over, he embarrassedly declined, using academic pressure as an excuse.

  Shangguan Hong and the others didn’t think too much of it. Although they were a bit disappointed, they were already overjoyed with the materials Zhang Yang had provided. Before Zhang Yang left, Professor Zheng Yuntai followed him out, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “It’s good that you’re prioritizing your studies, but if you ever have time, our research group will always welcome you.”

  The tall beauty Qiao Xier saw him out. The moment they stepped out of the research institute, she stared hard at Zhang Yang with her big eyes. Before he could react, she slung her arm around his shoulders like an old buddy and gave him a thumbs up. “Not bad, junior. You actually stunned three national treasure-level academicians. From now on, I’m sticking with you.”

  She was about 1.75 meters tall, and with her low heels, she was almost the same height as Zhang Yang. So when she wrapped her arm around him so casually, they really did look like two brothers.

  Only, Zhang Yang could clearly feel something soft pressing against his arm. To be exact—her boobs. And damn, they felt heavy, full, and firm… top quality, no doubt. With her so close, the scent of her perfume filled his nose, and to his horror, his lower half started reacting. Well, guess the title “Vile Scum Overflowing with Evil” wasn’t wrong after all.

  Zhang Yang awkwardly placed his hand in front to cover up and shook his head in fake shame. “Senior, actually… that stuff, I kind of plagiarized it from a foreign website.”

  “Plagiarized? Really? If there was such a paper, I would’ve known! Which site? Give me the link—I’ll copy it too!” Qiao Xier asked, refusing to let him off the hook.

  “Ahem… maybe not plagiarized… just, uh, borrowed inspiration.”

  “How did you ‘borrow’ it?” Qiao Xier’s suspicion spiked, her eyes wide as she grabbed him by the arm. “From where exactly?”

  “Ah, my stomach hurts suddenly… senior, let’s talk another day.” Zhang Yang was nearly in tears. Judging by her tone, she wouldn’t stop until he gave a full explanation. The mysterious thing in his mind was something he could never reveal. So he purposely nudged his elbow—right into her chest—to distract her.

  Sure enough, the squeeze got a reaction. Qiao Xier instinctively released him, and Zhang Yang bolted while clutching his stomach. “Senior! Nature calls—gotta go! See you later!”

  “Hey! Hey—!” Qiao Xier snapped back to her senses only after Zhang Yang vanished. Realizing she’d just been groped, her delicate brows shot up in fury. She’d never been touched there before! That bastard! Clenching her fists, she glared in the direction he ran off. “Hmph, you can run now, but not forever. I’ll dig whatever’s in your head out eventually.”

  Zhang Yang didn’t hear a word of that. His mind was on survival—he still had to make a living. That treasure he got couldn’t feed him, and with only a hundred yuan left, he needed to earn some extra cash.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Meining City was a southern metropolis integrating industry and tourism, ranking among the top economically in Huaxia. So even as an ungraduated university student, as long as Zhang Yang swallowed his pride and worked odd jobs or ran a small stall, he could support himself just fine.

  But now it was different. He had to not only feed himself but also repay relatives and student loans—and more importantly, save up for graduate school. And that required money.

  So street vending was no longer enough. Worse, it was tourist season, and city cleanup campaigns were in full swing. The “heavy weapons”—city management officers—were patrolling everywhere. Not exactly great news for small-time peddlers like him.

  Sure enough, after scouting around outside campus, Zhang Yang noticed that although there were many tourists, there were just as many city management officers. Few dared to set up stalls under such conditions.

  Just as he was about to give up and head back, he happened to spot a flyer for temporary job recruitment.

  “Qingyuan Hotel’s catering department hiring two temporary dishwashers.”

  Without hesitation, Zhang Yang dashed into the lobby at lightning speed. After asking the front desk girl, he was soon led to the administration department.

  There, a tall, fair-skinned beauty with black hair in a bun and curves that strained against her black uniform stared at him. Her gaze moved from Zhang Yang’s decent looks to his still-hanging student ID. Frowning, she said, “We’re only hiring middle-aged women.”

  “Your ad didn’t say that. That’s gender discrimination.” Zhang Yang protested with frustration, waving the crumpled flyer he’d torn off the wall. “Come on, Miss, explain yourself.”

  “Huh?” The woman’s smooth forehead twitched with dark lines as she stared at the crumpled paper in his hand. “Bro, what do you think this is, an imperial decree? You ripped it off—how are we supposed to hire anyone else now?”

  Damn, she was the one in the wrong, yet she blamed him?

  Zhang Yang wanted to snap back but suddenly wondered if that might make the system dock him points again.

  He was already at minus fifty-one. His moral score couldn’t get any worse.

  So he deflated. “Fine, I’ll put it back.”

  Just as he said that, the system chimed softly in his head: 【Anger successfully controlled. Reward: +1 system point. Total: -50. Title: Vile Scum Overflowing with Evil. Keep up the effort, scum.】

  Fuck! Hearing those last two words, Zhang Yang wanted to cry. Holding the flyer, he turned to leave the admin office.

  But before he got far, the uniformed beauty called out, “Zhang Yang, right?”

  “Miss, I just tore down your flyer…” Zhang Yang turned around, putting on a pitiful expression. “You’re not gonna call the cops, are you? I was gonna stick it back up.”

  The woman couldn’t help laughing. “No, I just wanted to ask—why do you want to work as a dishwasher?”

  “Because I’m broke.”

  “I know you—you used to run a stall, didn’t you? Got your stuff smashed by Bai Liangfeng’s gang.” She tapped her chin, thinking. “Right, right—it was over some girl. The campus goddess from the Music Department, Lin Yin, am I right?”

  Zhang Yang froze. Wow, he was famous now? Even a hotel admin staffer—well, her name tag said Deputy Manager Gao Qi—knew about it? This was ridiculous.

  “Yeah, that’s true. But for the record, there’s nothing between me and Goddess Lin. I’m innocent.”

  “Heh, is that so? Come, have a seat.” Gao Qi suddenly smiled sweetly, like a con artist luring prey. “Let’s talk about the job first. Slowly.”

  Talk about the job… slowly? Why did that sound suspicious?

  Zhang Yang eyed her warily and took a step back. “I’m a pure-hearted guy, you know. I don’t do… those rich-lady ‘services’ or whatever.” The implication was clear: lady, I’m not becoming your boy toy.

  “Ahem.” Gao Qi’s face twitched at his expression. “Don’t get the wrong idea.”

  “Here’s the deal—if you really want the job, fine, I can give it to you.” She rubbed her chin, then added slyly, “But I need a little favor. You know that Bai Liangfeng guy, right? Let’s just say… if you had a chance to get some payback, would you take it?”

  Payback on Bai Liangfeng?

  That bastard and his cousin Bai Gang had just screwed with him earlier. If not for them, he wouldn’t have lost fifty points in the system.

  Sure, he wanted revenge—but what if the system penalized him again? He was already “scum.” What came next—“maggot”?

  “What kind of payback?” Though uneasy, Zhang Yang’s dislike for Bai Liangfeng outweighed his fear. He also wanted to hear what this big-breasted beauty had in mind.

  “Here’s the thing…” Gao Qi glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then lowered her voice. “I just saw Bai Liangfeng bring a pretty girl into this hotel. I bet he’s about to ruin another one. I can’t stand it, but as you can see—”

  She tapped her name tag and gave Zhang Yang a knowing look. “I can’t intervene directly. But you can. You wanted a job, right? Forget dishwashing—I’ve got a few guest room attendants on leave, so we’re short-staffed.”

  “All you have to do is go to Room 419 in a bit. Wait till they’re in the heat of it, then burst in. I’ll give you a digital camera—go wild, take photos, cause a scene. I guarantee that guy’s dick will shrivel from the shame. What do you say? You hate him anyway; he can’t touch you. Deal?”

  Damn, this woman was ruthless. So direct!

  Zhang Yang could tell Gao Qi had serious beef with Bai Liangfeng. Her talk about justice was bullshit—this was clearly about payback. Cruel, yes—but honestly, kind of satisfying.

  “Alright, beauty, you’ve got guts.” With a shared enemy, Zhang Yang’s guard dropped a little. Still, he frowned and asked, “But tell me, why do you hate him so much? Don’t tell me he screwed you and ditched you?”

  Zhang Yang made a lewd XXOO gesture and immediately got smacked by Gao Qi.

  “Get lost! Like I’d ever fall for that asshole.” Gao Qi’s eyes flashed with anger as she glared at him. “Just be straight with me—are you in or not? Oh, and that girl he’s with—you know her. It’s your department’s flower, Xu Danlu.”