Water and Fire~Chapter 140: Labor Income

 

Chapter 140: Labor Income

As Chu Qianmiao slipped out of the motel, she felt a throbbing pain all over her body. It was the first time she realized how much effort it took to initiate something. As she clambered into the taxi, holding onto her waist, she thought, "Let's just give the initiative back to Ren Yan. It's better for me to just sit back and enjoy the results."

She took a taxi home. Today was Saturday, and she and Gu Miaoyu had already agreed to bring Miaomiao to Gu Miaoyu's house for the weekend. They would both be pampered by her.

In the car, she received a call from Gu Miaoyu. Gu Miaoyu told her she would be out for a while in the morning and asked her to take Miaomiao home and wait for her.

After picking up Miaomiao at home, Chu Qianmiao went downstairs and hailed a taxi, heading straight to Gu Miaoyu's house.

While in the taxi, she received a call from Ren Yan.

She answered the call with a stifled smirk.

Ren Yan's voice had the hoarseness of someone just waking up, that sandy, magnetic voice that echoed through the summer morning with a distinctly sexy air.

At this moment, his sexy hoarseness was tinged with a hint of doubt: "Where are you?"

Chu Qianmiao forced a silent laugh, then stifled it: "I'm on my way to a date with President Gu."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. The person on the other end must have been coming to terms with reality—she had indeed slept with him all night and then left him alone in a motel...

After a while, the voice on the other end spoke again: "What do you mean by 200 yuan?"

Chu Qianmiao glanced up at the driver, rolled down the window beside her, and leaned out a little, trying to let her voice fade as quickly as possible in the whistling wind.

"You worked hard last night. This is your service fee." She tried hard to stifle a laugh, speaking in a serious tone, like a ruthless, overbearing female CEO dealing with a little white duck.

A chuckle rang out from the phone.

Chu Qianmiao covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

—She laughed again!

A long silence followed. When the voice returned, it was higher in pitch, filled with discontent. "Is this really all I'm worth?"

Chu Qianmiao quickly lifted the phone from her ear and covered the receiver with her other hand.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The driver slammed on the brakes and turned back to tell her they had reached their destination.

Chu Qianmiao quickly paid the fare and got out, carrying Miaomiao's mobile home.

She teased Ren Yan, "Two hundred is too much? Then give me fifty back and send it to WeChat."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. Chu Qianmiao could almost see the person on the other end, feeling both amused and annoyed. When Ren Yan spoke again, Chu Qianmiao noticed a change in his voice. It became hoarse but also slightly charming. "Excuse me, are you dissatisfied with my service in some way? Is that why you're only willing to pay two hundred?"

Chu Qianmiao hadn't noticed that Ren Yan had quietly changed the concept of two hundred a night.

She stood in the open space of the community, holding Miaomiao. The sun blazed down, making her face flush. She thought that her skills were a little weak, and her ability to handle embarrassment was much worse than Ren Yan's cold and indifferent attitude.

She held her phone and angrily pointed at Ren Yan, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why are you talking about this kind of thing in broad daylight?"

The old-faced man said confidently, "Who said that two people need to communicate promptly?"

Chu Qianmiao was taken aback by the rebuke.

He also made her laugh: "Ha, you've improved. You've become a bit stubborn!"

Ren Yan's voice became even hoarser and more charming than before: "Let me ask you a question."

Chu Qianmiao: "Go ahead."

She walked to the door of her apartment, took out the access card Gu Miaoyu had given her, swiped it open, and went to the elevator to wait.

"How long do you plan to stay with Gu Miaoyu?" Ren Yan asked.

Chu Qianmiao got in the elevator, pressed the floor button, and asked back: "A long time. Why are you asking?"

Ren Yan's voice was so hoarse it could have aroused desire: "I want to earn 200 yuan tonight. Do you have a chance?"

Chu Qianmiao: "………………"

She almost threw the cat cage in her hand!

"Why are you so naked now? Talking about this in broad daylight, aren't you ashamed?!" Fortunately, there was no one else in the elevator, so Chu Qianmiao grilled Ren Yan.

"Didn't you say that?" Ren Yan's self-righteous tone intensified. "If you have something on your mind, say it. Don't hold it in."

"!!!" Chu Qianmiao gasped, clutching her phone.

What was going on? Throwing money and walking away—she had the upper hand! Why couldn't she control him now?!?!

***

After Chu Qianmiao opened the door and entered the house, carrying Miaomiao, she heard Ren Yan suddenly say something.

She was so frightened that she dropped both Miaomiao and her phone.

Ren Yan said, without warning, "Let's get married."

Chu Qianmiao's heart was pounding, her mind filled with huge question marks and exclamation points.???!!!!

She patted her chest to calm herself, picked up her phone, and then released Miaomiao, rubbing her face to soothe her.

Then she asked Ren Yan, "Wait a minute, what's wrong with you? I haven't even agreed to be your girlfriend yet, and now you want to marry me?!"

Ren Yan's voice was still hoarse, but with a more composed tone: "We had s*x last night, so we can skip ahead."

"???!" Chu Qianmiao, clutching her phone, was stunned and incredulous by this statement—it sounded so tempting to argue, yet at the same time, it seemed to have some truth to it, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She finally, holding her phone, asked fiercely, "Brother, you just drove yesterday, and you want to get married today? Are you speeding?!"

***

Chu Qianmiao, supporting her aching waist, walked to the sofa in Gu Miaoyu's living room and collapsed onto it.

Over the next few minutes, she heard Ren Yan repeat the same thing at least three more times: Why don't we skip the boyfriend-girlfriend relationship and get married?

It wasn't until Miaomiao clung to the sofa, howling in frustration, that Chu Qianmiao remembered she needed to feed her. She quickly said to Ren Yan, "We'll discuss what you're talking about later. I have to take care of Meow Ancestor right now!"

She hung up Ren Yan's phone, propped herself up, and stood up. She apologized profusely to the howling Meow Ancestor, then hurried to cut some meat and bring it some water.

Meow Ancestor ate with a slurp, contentedly ignoring her. Chu Qianmiao looked at Huang Rongrong's plump little cat and envied its happy life. Everyone loved it, treating it like a little ancestor. Even Ren Yan, when he was still a quiet and reserved child, doted on it. She had actually asked Ren Yan why he loved Meow Ancestor so much. But his answer was a riddle in itself.

He said, "Maybe it's because I've long had a crush on another little animal that looks very similar to Meow Ancestor."

She pressed for information on what that other little animal was, but no matter how she asked, she couldn't get an answer. Ren Yan just looked at her with a half-smile and remained silent. His aloof expression made her want to get him drunk, strip him naked, and then sell his photos of the financial elite online.

After petting Miaomiao twice, Chu Qianmiao lay back on the sofa. Just as she was about to call Gu Miaoyu to ask when she'd be home, the door opened in the hallway.

Gu Miaoyu had returned.

Chu Qianmiao tried to sit up, but her waist was so sore that she couldn't move. She lay there groaning, "Little Daogu, come help me! My waist's almost broken!"

Gu Miaoyu pressed the tip of her tongue against her upper teeth, making a tsk-tsk sound. "What happened to our Teacher Chu? Maybe she got run over by a bulldozer?"

She teased Chu Qianmiao using the same name she used for Ren Yan.

Gu Miaoyu lifted Chu Qianmiao up by the shoulders and grumbled, "You bought such a soft sofa? It's like a sand pit. If someone falls in there and doesn't scream for help, there's no chance of being pulled out alive!" She sat up straight, glanced at Gu Miaoyu, and exclaimed, "Huh?"

"Why is your mouth swollen?"

She immediately remembered the time her mouth was swollen.

"Don't try to fool me with the idea that you went out so early to eat spicy noodles!" She quickly blocked Gu Miaoyu's path.

Gu Miaoyu: "...Then I'll eat spicy noodles."

"Get lost!" Chu Qianmiao was unconvinced. "You look like you've been sucked on! Don't think I'm inexperienced!"

After a pause, Chu Qianmiao looked at the shy Gu Miaoyu and understood: "You went out so early to meet Shao Yuan?"

Gu Miaoyu nodded and mumbled a vague "hmm."

Chu Qianmiao laughed heartily. "Isn't the timing of your private reunion a little unconventional?" Her face was filled with disbelief. "Other people meet after dark, but you're meeting at dawn! What's going on? Hasn't Shao Yuan adjusted to the time difference abroad?"

Gu Miaoyu laughed heartily and patted Chu Qianmiao. "Go to hell!" She then changed the subject and asked, "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with your waist?"

Miaomiao, swaying her chubby body, trotted towards Gu Miaoyu. After a run-up, she took a desperate hop, but still couldn't reach Gu Miaoyu's lap.

Gu Miaoyu, amused by Miaomiao's silly behavior, bent down, picked it up, and placed it on her lap, petting it while chatting with Chu Qianmiao.

Chu Qianmiao leaned back on the sofa and sighed with accomplishment. "I slept with Ren Yan all night last night! Thanks to that p*rnographic novel of yours, the actual action was full of excitement and variety. I played four different roles, meaning he was slept with four women in one night. He was exhausted."

After a pause, she continued with a stifled smirk, "And then I left before dawn this morning. Before I left, I threw two hundred yuan next to his pillow."

Gu Miaoyu, who was sipping water, burst out laughing. "Won't he be furious when he wakes up and sees this?"

Meow Meow meowed against her lap, as if agreeing with her.

Chu Qianmiao could no longer hold it in and laughed triumphantly: "Yes, on the way here, he called me and asked me what the two hundred yuan meant. I told him that it was the value of his entire night!" Gu Miaoyu laughed so hard that she pounded the sofa: "You are too mean! Why don't you give me more?" Chu Qianmiao rolled her eyes: "How can that be? This price was determined by scientific research after we discussed it before. Two hundred yuan is not more!" (chapter 116) Gu Miaoyu laughed so hard that her shoulders shook: "You are so good at dealing with him!" Chu Qianmiao looked relieved: "Who told him and his brothers to push me around in the past? I have now avenged this little grudge!" Gu Miaoyu asked: "So, are you two even now?" Chu Qianmiao nodded: "Yeah, we are even now. I am no longer angry." Gu Miaoyu: "Then you can continue to be his girlfriend." Chu Qianmiao spread her hands: "He doesn't let me be his girlfriend..." Gu Miaoyu shook her head and said that Ren Yan was a straight man with abnormal brain circuits.

Chu Qianmiao continued: "...He's skipping this step and urging me to marry him. He's already urged me four times this morning. Do you think he's been provoked by something?"

Gu Miaoyu was stunned again, her mouth and eyes wide open. Even Miaomiao was affected by her emotions, her eyes widening.

"Ren Yan's brain circuit isn't abnormal, it's extremely abnormal!!!"

"Meow!"

Miaomiao strongly followed suit.

After calming down her surprise, Gu Miaoyu held her chin and asked Chu Qianmiao, "So, what do you think?"

Chu Qianmiao chuckled, "I don't have any ideas. Right now, he wants to marry me, and I don't."

Gu Miaoyu kept shaking her head, "I've been watching you two's ups and downs over the past few years. It's more exciting and lively than watching a TV series!"

As they were talking, Chu Qianmiao's phone, which she had left on the coffee table, rang.

She struggled against the sofa, her back aching so much that she couldn't stand up.

Gu Miaoyu helped the disabled woman home and took her phone, handing it to her. The screen was still on, and she spotted a message from Ren Yan, but couldn't quite read the content.

Chu Qianmiao took the phone, read the message, and scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes in a mixture of anger and laughter.

Gu Miaoyu, curious, stroked her cat's head and asked, "What's going on? What did Teacher Ren say to you that pissed you off like this? Share it so I can piss you off like this in the future."

Chu Qianmiao spun the phone in front of Gu Miaoyu and said, "Look! See if this old man has any integrity left!"

Gu Miaoyu looked closely. The message from Ren Yan to Chu Qianmiao read: "Okay, if you want to talk about marriage later, we can. Now let's talk about the labor fee. Just now on the phone, you said it was 200 yuan per session. Four times last night, and you still owe me 600 yuan."

Gu Miaoyu was laughing so hard her whole body was shaking, and even Miaomiao jumped to the ground.

"Ren Yan finally knows how to fall in love! Look how flirty he is with you now, hahahaha!" Gu Miaoyu pounded the sofa and laughed.

***

The next day, when Chu Qianmiao and Ren Yan were on a date, she handed him another six hundred yuan.

She expected some reaction from Ren Yan, perhaps a frown, a questioning expression, or a fit of laughter.

But none of that happened. He actually accepted the money with a clear conscience...

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

On the way to lunch, Chu Qianmiao couldn't help herself and asked Ren Yan, "Why are you so comfortable accepting money? Don't you question whether I'm humiliating you and your body?"

Ren Yan, steering the wheel and looking at the road ahead, replied indifferently, "You can humiliate me the same way tonight."

Chu Qianmiao: "..............."

She looked at his tightly buttoned shirt collar, his indifferent expression, his noble and cool jawline... He looked like a man of abstinence. But how did he manage to do it? He casually opened his mouth to her with such a restrained demeanor! Dirty! Dang!

"You wish!" Chu Qianmiao finally uttered this dryly.

Ren Yan parked the car and led Chu Qianmiao into the restaurant. As they walked in, Ren Yan explained that this restaurant was his grandmother's favorite. His grandmother was a picky eater, and while she wouldn't approve of the food at other restaurants, she raved about this one. So, whenever she arranged a meal, she'd always choose this place.

Chu Qianmiao immediately became excited about the food.

But it was dinner time, and the private room was full, so Chu Qianmiao and Ren Yan had to dine in. They chose a window seat in the open area.

To plan what to eat together, they ordered the dishes.

Chu Qianmiao and Ren Yan sat on the same side.

As they huddled together, debating whether to steam or salt-bake the shrimp, Chu Qianmiao felt a shadow flash before her eyes.

She looked up and saw Tan Shen sitting across from her.

And not only him, but also Li Tang. As Chu Qianmiao looked up at Tan Shen, Li Tang had caught up and sat next to him.

For a moment, Chu Qianmiao thought it was quite a coincidence. But then she wasn't surprised—after all, this was Tan Shen's grandmother's favorite restaurant.

Chu Qianmiao felt Ren Yan raise his head as well. She also felt his body stiffen.

She rested her hand on her knee, resting it on the table, giving him a reassuring pat.

She thought the situation was truly bizarre. These four people embodied the most awkward relationship in the world: her ex-boyfriend and her boyfriend were facing each other, she was facing her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend, and their ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends were sitting together.

She politely offered a bland greeting: "Are you two busy? I'm sorry, we just wanted to eat by ourselves and hadn't thought of dining with you."

Li Tang smiled coldly: "Ms. Chu, you're probably overthinking it. We've already eaten and are about to leave."

Chu Qianmiao glanced at her, her eyes filled with a distant, "Then please leave quickly" look, and returned her cold smile.

Li Tang frowned at the sharp edge of her gaze.

Tan Shen, sitting opposite, spoke.

He smiled, a warm smile, as if he had suddenly returned to the sunny, youthful self he had been when Chu Qianmiao first met him.

Chu Qianmiao sighed inwardly, feeling that the sunshine before him was only an illusion.

Tan Shen smiled, looking directly at Ren Yan, and asked, "Did you cause the review of Henong Shares to be suspended?"

His question was direct. Though his smile was bright and warm, his intention to engage in a fight was clear, waiting for a single "yes" before drawing his sword.

Ren Yan stared at him coldly, saying nothing.

He wore a look of complete and complete indifference.

Tan Shen was enraged by his indifference. His sunny, warm smile shattered.

The facade shattered, revealing his true self. He stared at Ren Yan with disgust and resentment: "Do you think you're superior just by keeping silent? Why are you pretending to be so self-righteous? Speak up, didn't you?"

Chu Qianmiao knew Ren Yan was genuinely too lazy to speak to Tan Shen. She answered for him, "It wasn't him." She looked at Tan Shen and said in a straightforward voice, "It was me."

Tan Shen's expression changed dramatically as he watched her. His right hand, resting on the table, suddenly clenched into a fist. He clenched it so hard that the knuckles turned pale blue.

"You do this to me?!" he asked grimly after a moment.

Chu Qianmiao remained straightforward: "What do you think I did to you? Tan Shen, when you ask me this, shouldn't you consider that you were the one who first resorted to such tactics against me? Wasn't it you who first reported Zhaohuan Education that led to the subsequent suspension of the review of Hanhai Home Textiles Shares? Logic is a complete concept; you have to look at both the front and the back. You can't just focus on the half that appears innocent to you."

Tan Shen's clenched fist was almost trembling. The way he looked at Chu Qianmiao reminded her of the phrase "savage and vindictive."

"I'm not targeting you!" he said coldly.

Chu Qianmiao couldn't help but smile.

"Are you trying to tell me you're targeting Ren Yan?" her voice suddenly grew cold. "But have you ever considered that he's just a nominal consultant for Hanhai Home Textiles, and I'm the person in charge of the entire project? So, who do you think will suffer more from your covert tactics, him or me? Do you still feel innocent? Tan Shen, you've always been like this. You'll do anything to achieve your goals, completely oblivious to the harm it might cause others. Ultimately, you're just too self-pitying and selfish."

Tan Shen looked at her, then at Ren Yan, then back at her again. He smiled at her, a smile that blended emotion and emotion, tinged with an unknown, sinister quality.

"So now, have you chosen your side? Are you going to stand up against me and him?"

Sensing Ren Yan about to speak, Chu Qianmiao squeezed the hand on his knee, stifling his desire to speak.

She felt Ren Yan's hand reach out and cup the one on his knee. She turned her palm over and clasped their fingers tightly.

She calmly told Tan Shen, "No one wants to oppose you. Tan Shen, let me be frank, there are many interesting things in this world. Targeting you seems frivolous by comparison. Perhaps you're not as worthy of being targeted as you think."

Chu Qianmiao thought that Tan Shen's current state stemmed from a lack of someone around him who could speak harshly to him. His grandmother doted on him, his cousin ignored him, and his women were willing to coax him for the sake of their long-term friendship.

She had been caught between the brothers and endured much pain and suffering. She fully understood what had happened to the love letter she had given Ren Yan. Caught between her and Ren Yan, Tan Shen had been deceitful and deceptive, causing them and Ren Yan to waste countless years and endure countless misunderstandings and hurts.

She had every reason to want her to speak harshly to him.

But Li Tang clearly didn't think so. As soon as she finished her words, Li Tang retaliated with a sneer: "Chu Qianmiao, does your sharp tongue make you so uncultured?"

Chu Qianmiao cast a cold glance at Li Tang. The disdain in that glance would make anyone with any sense of shame feel humiliated and infuriated.

"When others are discussing relevant matters, it's uncultured for an unrelated person to interrupt without knowing their place, isn't it?" she replied coldly.

Li Tang's face suddenly changed: "You..."

Tan Shen glanced at her and interrupted her: "Don't interrupt."

Li Tang's face flushed and then blue.

Chu Qianmiao suddenly felt pity for this woman. How could she have lost her self-respect? Shouldn't she just get up and leave at this moment?

Chu Qianmiao turned to look at Tan Shen, who suddenly smiled at her, a smile that made her feel uneasy.

He pointed at Ren Yan, then at Chu Qianmiao: "Can you really keep getting along? Do you really not care about anything? Chu Qianmiao, don't you care that he's my brother? Ren Yan, don't you care that your woman is with me?"

Chu Qianmiao was afraid Ren Yan would fall for Tan Shen's trick, so she squeezed his hand to keep him quiet. She was there to deal with the venom lurking in Tan Shen's words.

But Ren Yan wouldn't give in. He spoke coldly: "You've asked me this question many times as a threat. Now, I'm telling you clearly: I never cared that she was once your girlfriend. All I cared about was how she would feel if she knew you and I were brothers."

Chu Qianmiao's heart pounded as she listened to Ren Yan's words.

"And Tan Shen, where do you place yourself when you humiliate others? Can you extricate yourself from that humiliation?" He nodded his chin at Li Tang. "When you said those words, did you consider the feelings of those around you?"

—She was your brother's girlfriend once, too.

Li Tang's face turned ashen.

Chu Qianmiao squeezed Ren Yan's hand firmly.

Ren Yan returned the squeeze.

Tan Shen looked at them, his expression and voice gloomy. "You won't be happy together!"

Chu Qianmiao lifted her hand, which was tightly clasped beneath the table, onto the surface and shook it for Tan Shen to see.

"No, we will be happy," she said firmly.

Tan Shen stared at the two clasped hands, his eyes bloodshot.

"Alright," he said, looking at their hands with a smile. "Since you're so brave and fearless, wait for the challenge."