Chapter 3: Keep Up

Lu Yan let out a mocking laugh. So this girl grabbed the corner of his shirt just for that? He was about to refuse when his phone rang—it was Qin Yichuan.

“Hey, Old Lu, did you fall into the toilet or something? Why haven’t you come out yet? You know what? That chick from earlier, she’s really stubborn. I had her right in my grasp, but she managed to slip away. What a waste. If you weren’t interested, I was planning to enjoy her myself tonight.”

As Lu Yan listened to Qin Yichuan’s complaints, he glanced down at Li Qingqing, who was still clinging to the hem of his shirt. With a teasing tone, he said, “Stubborn, huh? Now I’m curious to see just how stubborn.”

Staring at her blank, dazed expression, Lu Yan found it amusing. He had been overly cautious.

The girl in front of him looked very young—clearly still a student, probably not even out in society yet. He wasn’t sure if she was even of age. Her skin was pale and soft, and although she wore a sexy red dress meant for the nightclub, it carried a different sort of appeal on her. Her legs were long and slender—just his type.

Maybe it was because she’d just been crying, but her cheeks and the tip of her nose were both flushed red. Her tear-filled eyes gave her a pitiful look, the kind that made people want to bully her—hard.

Seeing that the man wasn’t saying anything, Li Qingqing began to panic. She sniffled and looked like she was about to cry again.

At that moment, Lu Yan finally spoke in a low voice. “How old are you? What do you do?”

Li Qingqing immediately lit up at the question. “Sir, I’m 21. I’m a student at Haihua University…” As she spoke, her head lowered even more. What she was doing was something shameful—saying it aloud was humiliating.

Lu Yan sneered. “College students these days really have all kinds of ways to make money.”

Still, judging from the way she cried just now, she was probably just some poor girl forced into this by circumstance.

He didn’t ask any further. Instead, he turned and said coldly, “Keep up.”

…

After showering, Lu Yan came out of the bathroom. He was awake now, half-naked, lounging lazily on the bed as he silently watched Li Qingqing change her clothes. His chiseled chest and abs made her steal a second glance despite herself.

Ignoring his gaze, Li Qingqing quickly changed back into her own clothes. Then she pulled out her phone, brought up her payment QR code, and handed it to Lu Yan, purposely avoiding looking at his dangerously attractive physique.

“How much?” the man asked.

Li Qingqing hesitated for a moment, unsure what number to say. But going by Manager Shi’s price…

“More than eighty thousand…”

Yes, just more than eighty thousand—that way, she wouldn’t lose out.

Lu Yan scoffed, then casually picked up his phone and scanned her payment code without hesitation.

Beep—

Li Qingqing looked down at the incoming transfer and her eyes instantly widened.

A hundred thousand!

She had made the right choice—dealing directly with a patron earned her far more.

She bowed deeply toward Lu Yan and sincerely said, “Thank you.”

Watching her leave, Lu Yan’s eyes glinted with a faint, unreadable smile.

…

After leaving the hotel, Li Qingqing headed straight back to school.

It was Saturday, and her classmates were all busy planning where to go for the weekend. Only Li Qingqing was still fretting over the remaining eighty thousand yuan of her down payment.

Count Nightclub had already fired her. They didn’t even pay her this month’s salary, and she didn’t dare go back and ask for it.

Lying on her dorm bed, Li Qingqing scrolled through job listings on a recruitment app.

Her roommates were all putting on makeup and getting ready to head out for a fun night.

“Qingqing, we’re going out to a bar tonight. Want to come?” Shen Lu asked while curling her hair.

“I’ll pass. I’ve got something else to do.”

Shen Lu could tell—Li Qingqing was definitely worried about money again. She was the one who had introduced Li Qingqing to the job at Count Nightclub, so she knew about the firing too.

“Qingqing, I know about a job. Want to give it a try?”

Hearing the word “job,” Li Qingqing immediately sat up.

“What kind of job?”

Shen Lu glanced at the two roommates who had already finished getting ready. She said to them, “You two go wait downstairs for me. I’ll be right there.”

Once the roommates had left, Shen Lu came over to Li Qingqing’s bed and said, “I’m not sure if you’d mind—it’s a nanny job. But the pay is really good.”

At this point, Li Qingqing didn’t care about dignity anymore.

“I don’t mind, Lulu. As long as I can earn money, I’ll do it.”

“Alright, I’ll let Butler Liang know tomorrow and get you an interview. The address is No. 88, Kangwu Road, Lu Family Villa.”