Chapter 2
The foxy man had s.h.i.+ny hair and was wearing a pair of sungla.s.ses. He was called Ma Hao. He was very well-known in school, not because of his talents, but his strong connections. No wonder Jiang and Ma were QQ friends.
Ma Hao and Jiang Lius.h.i.+ were two different people. Jiang was a simple man, who was not very social. Except his cla.s.smates, very few people knew him.
Jiang vaguely remembered that he had heard from Li Jun that Ma Hao had a friend who gave loans to students. In order to borrow money, some girls went as far as to give him indecent photos.
If they did not pay him back, then their private information and pictures were released to the public, sent to their cla.s.smates, or even to their families.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had been speechless when he’d heard this. He could not understand why some girls would go that far just to satisfy their vanity. Ma Hao often took girls’ indecent photos from his friends and sent them to the student’s group "to share". Many cla.s.smates would then comment on them. Of course, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ did not feel sympathy for those girls.
Originally, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had felt that he could never a.s.sociate with them, but now he believed it was an excellent opportunity.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ called Ma Hao and waited a bit before he answered.
"Ma Hao, can your friend lend me some money?" Jiang got straight to the point.
Ma Hao soon replied, "No problem, just send me your student ID."
Jiang sent a photo of his student card right away. Ma Hao confirmed and asked, "How much do you want to borrow?"
"20,000 yuan!" Jiang said bluntly. According to his understanding, 20,000 yuan should be the highest amount. After all, his family background was not a secret and Ma Hao could casually inquire about it.
Obviously, Ma Hao was shocked; for a student, 20,000 yuan was a significant amount. Many girls borrowed just a thousand or even hundreds.
"What do you want to do? You don’t need that money for an abortion, right?" Ma Hao asked.
"It’s for something important. Don’t ask, just tell me the conditions," Jiang said.
"En…Well, give me your student card as well as your home address. You should also write me an IOU for 25,000 yuan. Meanwhile, record a video of the IOU, reading the above content willingly. When you pay me back, I will destroy it in front of you."
"When will you pay me back?" Ma Hao asked.
"In a month," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
"You should pay me back in time. I trust you because we are cla.s.smates." Ma Hao said.
"Okay," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said in a low voice. The interest of this loan was unfairly high, and Jiang knew that his so-called friend would get a share in this.
Ma Hao seemed very comfortable, as if he did not worry about it at all. If Jiang Lius.h.i.+ did not pay him back, Ma Hao would make him beg for death.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ sneered inside. What interest? What threat? Would I have time to care about Ma Hao while the end of the world is approaching?
In the afternoon, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ found a good car-rental company on the Internet. Then he went to sign the IOU contract with Ma Hao and get the money.
Ma Hao transferred the money to Jiang through the phone. Meanwhile, he curiously looked him up and down and asked, "What on earth do you want to do?"
"It’s for something big. You will know about it in a week," Jiang
Ma Hao had nothing to say. He suddenly regretted lending.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+’s matters were not important to him. Ma Hao was relieved, because he knew that no student dared not pay back the money they owed him.
After getting the money, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ immediately rushed to the car-rental company.
There was a small number of minibuses, so it was hard to get one. Jiang had asked all car-rental companies he had found on the Internet, and only one had a minibus available. The car-rental company urged him to go as soon as possible because they could only reserve the minibus for two hours or so. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ hurried and arrived an hour ahead. Seeing the sign of the store, he felt relieved.
The company was not large and had a simple layout. Behind the reception desk was a lively, sweet girl with a ponytail.
The girl was dressed in a very simple uniform, which made her look clean and elegant. She must have been 18 or 19 years old. When he arrived, she was talking with another client in a suit. She gave him a sweet smile, indicating that he had to wait. Seeing this vivacious girl, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was stunned for a moment. She was very young to be working in a place like this.
As Jiang sat on the sofa, he saw the corner of a sixth-level English vocabulary book under some official doc.u.ments. He realized that the girl had to be a student, and may even be his cla.s.smate; she had to be working part-time there.
This car-rental company was not far from the university. It was cost effective to hire a sweet girl as a receptionist, and it could also boost the business.
"h.e.l.lo, I am Wen Xiaotian, a client manager. You can call me Xiaowen. I'm glad to be of service to you." Wen Xiaotian had probably said the same words to the other client. Her elegant appearance along with the commercial greeting gave him a very pleasant feeling. It was unconstrained, but somewhat cute.
"h.e.l.lo, I booked a minibus online..." Jiang Lius.h.i.+ stood up and said.
"Ah... this..." With a somewhat embarra.s.sed expression, Wen Xiaotianl replied, "I'm so sorry, the gentleman in the suit just rented the last minibus..."
She was the one who had approved that online order. However, the minibus had been rented by her boss, and she felt really embarra.s.sed.
She was just an employee though; how could she influence her boss's decision?
"I’m really sorry. You have to wait and re-book. In a few days, another minibus will be available. By that time, the client will also have returned the minibus," Wen Xiaotian said regrettably.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was stunned for a moment. How could he wait for such a long time? This car was the only one. He could not think of any other way. He suddenly asked, "Has he paid yet?"
"Not yet, but he is about to sign the contract," Wen Xiaotian replied with a puzzled expression; she did not know why he had asked this.
The client in the suit glanced at Jiang with a faint smile. He could see Jiang Luis.h.i.+’s anxious face, but he had been a minute too late.
"Oh, so he hasn’t paid yet. Then tell your boss I will add an additional 200 a day for two weeks. There will be no abrasions, because I will use it in the city," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
Wen Xiaotian was perplexed for a moment. She just stood there wondering what to do; it was the first time she had to deal with something like that.
"I will add 300 yuan!" Seeing Wen Xiaotian not replying, Jiang increased the price again.
Wen Xiaotian was hesitant. It was a big amount, and Jiang Lius.h.i.+ looked very anxious. "Sir, I have to ask my boss," she replied.
The other client just sat there silently with an unreadable expression. He thought that Jiang was the scion of a wealthy family.
"You can rent it to him," the man in the suit said. He knew the boss would immediately agree, so there was no need to ask.
"I’m so sorry. You have to wait until this weekend, but then I will provide you a new one. You see, this client seems to need it urgently..." Wen Xiaotian quickly apologized.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ looked like a 20 year-old student, so the other client could not help but ask, "Young man, why do you want to rent it for so long?"
"Just cause..." Jiang said.
"Just cause…?" Perhaps today’s youngsters really were becoming more egotistical.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ did not care what others thought about him, especially as the end of the world was approaching.
Jiang soon signed a contract with the leasing company. He skimmed through the contract, and sure enough, this kind of leasing agreement was very harsh on the customer. Frequently, there were all sorts of insurance. Even a scratch on it could cost a lot of money.
He just glanced at it and signed it.
This car would be getting a lot more than just a few scratches in the future…
"We need to keep your ID card," Wen Xiaotian said with smile.
Swis.h.!.+
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had long been ready to give his ID card and take the car keys.
Just as he was two steps away from the door, Jiang went back and said, "Can you help me find a driver?"
He did not have a driver's license yet...