Chapter 8: Magpie 03
I ordered a low-alcohol cocktail for Mosquito, then sat on the sofa with my arms folded across my chest, looking at the girl who was being pulled over by me and who was lowering her head and saying nothing.
"How long have you been here?" I asked.
Mosquito looked up at me, her smoky eyes dim and a little confused, but she didn't say anything. I looked at her low-cut suspender miniskirt and felt it was very dazzling. It happened that Xiaoba finished dancing and walked towards our table happily. I stood up expressionlessly, rushed to Xiaoba, and asked him to take off his shirt and throw it to Mosquito.
"Put it on!" I yelled at the mosquito in annoyance. It seemed like the first time that Xiaoba saw me so anxious, and he was surprised to see me wearing only a vest.
"Sister Ye, who is she?" Xiaoba pointed at Mosquito who was putting on clothes stiffly and whispered in my ear.
I pushed him, patted his shoulder, said "friend", and motioned for him to continue playing and leave us alone.
Even a fool could see that I wanted to talk to Mosquito alone, and Xiaoba was very smart. He nodded at me, grabbed a handful of peanuts and went back to the dance floor.
When he returned to his seat, Mosquito had already put on his clothes, still silent.
"You're not dumb, are you? I asked you how long you've been here! Did you hear me? What do you want me to say so that you can cherish yourself and live like a normal girl?"
I suddenly got angry, and roared as I reached out to grab the name tag that I had just picked up at the toilet door that the bar girl was wearing, and threw it at Mosquito.
"Tell me! What's the matter with you? Are you short of money or something else? Weren't you a celebrity before? Even if you weren't a big name, you were still famous. Could it be that you didn't make a penny and you have to be reduced to selling alcohol here dressed like this? How much money do you need that you are forced to give up looking for a proper job and do this?" My voice was lower, but my tone was colder.
The mosquito finally looked up at me, and there seemed to be mist flashing in its eyes.
"Last time we beat someone up and ran away, the crew didn't want me anymore. We signed a contract before, and they said that I caused the boss not to invest, so I have to pay the penalty. Since my debut, I have only filmed a small commercial. I don't have much money, I don't understand the law, and I have no backing. I do whatever they say. I lost all my money and owed a lot of debts. After talking to you that time, I didn't want to do it anymore. What you said was right, and I understand that I have been ruining myself under the excuse of revenge, so I don't want to live this kind of life anymore. However, after I quit the entertainment industry, I found that I can't do anything, and I don't know what I can do. I have hundreds of thousands of debts, and I still have to take care of my crazy mother. How can I live without money! I know you look down on me, and you must hate me now. But if I had money, who would want to do this? I'm still desperate!" Mosquito twisted his hands together and said to me in a choked voice.
My emotions gradually calmed down and I sat on the sofa, staring blankly at this ill-fated girl.
"Why don't you come to me? Although I don't know what you think, I always thought that we could still be friends after we made it clear that time. The affairs of the previous generation are none of our business. I, Ai Ye, still regard you as a friend, what about you? Do you regard me as a friend? Why didn't you think of looking for me as a friend when you were desperate?"
"What's the point of looking for you! Ai Sheng's company went bankrupt, you and your mother were dumped, and you can't even protect yourselves. Why should I look for you? I'll hold you back! The ones who owe me are Ai Sheng and that bastard Li Guangming. You don't owe me anything, so why should I drag you down ? Hundreds of thousands are not a small amount. What money do you, a student, have?" Mosquito suddenly yelled at me.
I was speechless and felt very uncomfortable. Mosquito was right. Hundreds of thousands of dollars is not a small amount, and for students like us, it is even more not a small amount. Weiwei's bar has just started to run smoothly. Even if it can make money in the future, it will belong to Weiwei. Whether she is willing to lend it to Mosquito to pay off the debt depends on Weiwei's intention.
Of course, I think if Weiwei knew about the mosquito, she would be willing to lend it.
But the question is how long will it take for the bar to make that much money? The daily income must be deducted from everyone's daily expenses, which is hundreds of thousands, which is really a lot.
"How much is the total amount and when do you expect to pay it back? Just tell me clearly and I'll help you figure out the money issue. You don't have to do this job for now and come with me! Weiwei has opened a bar and I'm running it for her now. I don't have much time to go there because of classes. Since you don't have a job anyway, just help me run it there! The people there are all Weiwei's friends. They're all very nice and won't do anything to you. It's better than you staying here. I'll pay you according to my normal salary when the time comes." I rubbed my swollen and aching temple and said to Mosquito.
She looked at me in shock, and after a long while she finally said, "The total debt is one million. I paid back 400,000 yuan myself, and there is still 600,000 yuan left. They charge interest at a loan shark rate, so the sooner I pay it off, the better."
Six hundred thousand! That's a thick stack of RMB!
"Give me the creditor's bank card number and I will help you pay off the money. You can pay me back slowly in the future." I raised my head and drank up the cocktail on the table, then said solemnly to Mosquito.
The expression on Mosquito's face became even more surprised.
"Where do you get so much money?" asked the mosquito.
I put on my headphones and said as I packed up: "I sold our villa for over two million yuan. Half of the money is with me and the other half is with my mom. It was originally meant to be used by my mom and me for the rest of our lives. Now, I'll pay off your debt first. You can earn money slowly anyway."
"Your house? No, I don't want it. That house was bought by Ai Sheng, and the money belongs to Ai Sheng. I don't want Ai Sheng's money! I would rather die than take Ai Sheng's money!" Mosquito screamed, with a look of madness on his face. He grabbed his bag and was about to run, but I caught him.
She was still struggling, covering her ears with her hands and screaming at me.
"I won't take Ai Sheng's money! His money is dirty! I don't want it!" The bar was already very noisy, and with the mosquitoes screaming, even though I was wearing headphones, my eardrums were still hurt.
I really couldn't stand such a depressing and noisy atmosphere, so I gritted my teeth and pulled the restless Mosquito out of the bar. As soon as I got out, I threw her to the ground.
"Why are you yelling? I'm telling you, that's not Ai Sheng's money! That's the money my mom earned with 19 years of hard work! Why is Ai Sheng rich? That's because he married my mom, and my grandpa gave him the company. The company was left to my mom and uncle, and it's in my grandpa's name, not Ai Sheng's. If the company hadn't gone bankrupt, my mom would have gotten more than just an empty house. How can you be like Leng Yuting, making a fuss without even figuring out the facts? Hey, why did I mention Leng Yuting to you? You don't even know her! Anyway, I'm telling you, that money is not Ai Sheng's, don't let it bother you. If you don't want it, and you still want to continue dressing like this to sell alcohol, I won't stop you, go ahead. But I want to tell you, if I were your mother, no matter if I'm crazy or not, if I saw you in this state, I'd rather die!" I yelled angrily at Mosquito.
Mosquito sat on the ground and cried endlessly. I didn't try to comfort her, but just squatted on the ground helplessly, holding my aching head, looking at Mosquito with dull eyes, not knowing what to say.
At this time, in my head that was about to burst with pain, there seemed to be only one thought: Mosquito is tired of crying, and when she is done crying, we can go back to the past. Mosquito came back first, and soon, Weiwei will come back too, and then we can be together again.
We can be together again, Mosquito, Weiwei, and Ye Zi...
