Chapter 596: Extra 009 - Tip Reward (Second Update)
Everyone watched as Mu Cidian, one button at a time, took off his vest and removed his white shirt.
A small smile played at the corners of Lina’s mouth.
At that moment, Xin Zaozao sipped her drink as she watched Mu Cidian’s every move.
She remained emotionally unresponsive throughout.
She was well aware of Mu Cidian’s predicament; recently released from prison, Wan Quan squandered all his wealth. He was poor, doing manual labor on construction sites, implying that he couldn’t find a better job. His current job here was by the same logic. His overzealous performance suggested he was short of cash, perhaps due to debt owed by Wan Quan.
But if a wealthy woman were willing to provide for him…
At least he wouldn’t have to live so hand-to-mouth.
Most people in his position wouldn’t refuse.
Being as intelligent as he was, Mu Cidian would certainly know how to improve his life.
His actions may well be a play. Having navigated the business world for so many years, he would know how to catch the attention of a middle-aged woman effortlessly.
After all, in her eyes, Mu Cidian, in his present emaciated state, seemed unlikely to be attractive to any woman.
Xin Zaozao pondered this calmly.
She watched as Mu Cidian unfastened all his clothes.
At that moment.
Upon seeing his naked body, she was stunned for a moment.
She had never seen someone so thin.
He was so thin, it’s as if he was only skin and bones. His skeleton was clearly visible, giving him a somewhat terrifying look. Astonishingly, there were many scars on his body; some healed, some fresh, and the others were discolored. It was indeed horrifying.
At that moment, Xin Zaozao felt as if Mu Cidian was a walking corpse.
How could a living person be so thin?
She wondered how such a tall and thin man could hold himself up.
Even Ji Baijian, when he first recovered from his serious illness, didn’t look as exaggerated.
Despite this.
Despite this, she remained so calm that she didn’t show any emotion.
Mu Cidian didn’t turn to look at Xin Zaozao.
His eyes were fixed on Lina.
Lina was obviously also taken aback by the state of Mu Cidian’s body, and she was momentarily lost for words.
Mu Cidian broke the silence, “The reason I’m rejecting you is that I’m afraid I’ll frighten you.”
Lina snapped back to reality.
The moment she regained her senses, she bluntly said, “You did scare me. Why are you so thin? Are you sick?”
“I hope you can spare me some dignity.” He didn’t want to answer that question.
Even though Lina was a brutal businesswoman, she was not devoid of feelings. She said, “Alright then.”
As she said that.
She took some money out from her wallet, “Take this, I’m satisfied with your answer.”
Several thousand-yuan notes.
It was estimated to be between 10,000-20,000 yuan.
Mu Cidian took the money.
He looked very humble. “Thank you.”
“Go put on your clothes. I’m afraid you’ll die if you catch a cold.” Lina looked at his skeletal figure. She had never seen anyone so thin.
Mu Cidian stood up.
He left the room.
Xin Zaozao also shifted her gaze away.
She said, “Lina, let’s continue drinking.”
Lina glanced at Xin Zaozao. Tonight was about relaxation, so she didn’t want to let anything else ruin their mood. She resumed drinking with Xin Zaozao, while socializing with the young masters around them. Mu Cidian never returned to the room.
The night grew deeper.
Lina was getting somewhat intoxicated. She said, “Zaozao, let’s call it a night. I can’t keep up with you young people.”
“Lina, you’re joking. You look the same age as me. I had no idea that you’re two years older than me.” In fact, she was more than a decade older.
“You’re so good with words. No wonder I like you.” Lina stood up, “I’m really going.”
“Alright, I’m almost done too.”
“Let’s go.”
Both of them were escorted out of the room by the young masters.
Mu Cidian was standing outside the room.
He was responsible for servicing this room, so he had to see things through. He had merely transitioned from the interior to the exterior.
Lina and Xin Zaozao seemed a bit tipsy, so they didn’t notice Mu Cidian at the entrance.
The two of them stumbled their way to the entrance of the KTV.
Luxury cars were parked at the entrance. Xin Zaozao arranged a ride for Lina, and one of the young masters accompanied Lina as they left.
After they left.
Xin Zaozao straightened her posture.
She was a bit tipsy, but not drunk. After years of social climbing, she had learned how to protect herself.
The muscle-bound man next to her saw that everyone else had left, and asked eagerly, “Do you need me to escort you home?”
His implication was obvious.
For them, taking a woman out meant paying an astronomical fee.
“No need,” Xin Zaozao said.
As she said this, she planned to take out some tip money from her bag.
She opened the bag and rummaged for a while, but she couldn’t find her purse.
A frown formed on her brow.
The muscled man seemed to have noticed something too, and he asked, “Are you looking for something?”
“My purse.”
“Maybe you left it in the room?”
“Possibly.” Xin Zaozao quickly returned to the room.
The money itself didn’t matter. However, her purse contained many important identification cards. She didn’t have time to get them all replaced.
With these thoughts in mind, she quickly returned to the room.
At the moment, the room was being cleaned by the janitorial staff.
Xin Zaozao and the muscular man searched the room but couldn’t find the purse.
The muscular man asked the cleaning lady, and she said she hadn’t seen it. She suggested they asked the waiter, who usually cleaned the bottles in the room first, before the cleaning staff did their cleaning.
“I’ll get all the waitstaff that were here just now. Please wait a moment,” the muscled man quickly said.
Xin Zaozao nodded her head.
The muscular man quickly left. Of the four waiters that served them, three returned. The one who didn’t was Mu Cidian.
The three waiters all said, “Because the place was fully booked tonight, we went to help in other rooms after they left. Only the new waiter was left to clean this room. We don’t know where he went to.”
The muscular man wondered, “Could he have taken it?”
“He’s just arrived. We’re not sure about his character. But you can ask him.” Another waiter suggested.
“Where is he now?”
“We don’t know. He was just here.” The waiter said, “Perhaps he took the purse and left…”
“Call the lobby manager over!” the muscular man ordered.
The waiter hurriedly went to call the lobby manager.
After the lobby manager understood the situation, he quickly had someone fetch Mu Cidian.
Mu Cidian was at that moment meeting up with Xiao Yiming, and then was arranged to support Xiao Yiming in his private room.
Now he was suddenly being called away.
He was brought to the original private room, where he saw Xin Zaozao sitting on the sofa, carrying an intense presence, with everyone else standing by her side.
Mu Cidian glanced at her.
Xin Zaozao didn’t speak, instead the lobby manager spoke up, “Start the search!”
And so, Mu Cidian was frisked all over by several waiters.
They found nothing.
The lobby manager asked, “Where did you hide the guest’s wallet?”
Mu Cidian pursed his lips.
“Committing such dirty deeds on your first day of work, do you want me to send you to jail?” the lobby manager threatened, “Be smart, hand over the wallet!”
Mu Cidian didn’t look at the lobby manager at that moment. He turned to look at Xin Zaozao, probably speaking to her for the first time since he went to jail.
He asked, “Do you think the same?”
Xin Zaozao elegantly rose from her seat on the sofa.
She walked towards Mu Cidian.
He was still so tall.
And alarmingly thin.
So although she was wearing heels, she still had to tilt her head back to speak to him. But it did not affect her commanding presence. She responded, “I only seek the truth.”
Without feeling.
Unaffected by him.
Mu Cidian said, “I did find your wallet, but I left it at the front desk.”
Xin Zaozao’s eyes moved slightly.
The lobby manager quickly asked, “You left it at the front desk?”
Mu Cidian nodded.
The lobby manager immediately sent a waiter to the front desk. Xin Zaozao’s wallet was then retrieved and respectfully handed over to her.
Xin Zaozao took the wallet.
The lobby manager hurriedly said, “Please check, Miss Xin, to see if anything is missing.”
Xin Zaozao opened the wallet.
Mu Cidian just watched her movements.
Watched all her distrustful actions towards him.
In fact, Xin Zaozao had reason to suspect him. Just thinking about it, she should realize that he must have been desperate for money lately and capable of anything.
“Is anything missing? Mostly, is there any money missing?” the lobby manager reminded.
“No.” Xin Zaozao answered.
She kept track of her own money. Even though she had given some tips here, she knew exactly how much she had left.
“That’s good then, that’s good.” The lobby manager said hastily. At that moment, he reproached Mu Cidian, “The next time you find a customer’s wallet, not only should you leave it at the front desk, you should also inform me at once. Do you understand? You must stay in contact with the customer. Otherwise, the customer will worry. We should always consider things from the customer’s perspective, got it?”
“Yes.” Mu Cidian nodded.
There would be no consolation for being wronged.
Just that there would be no further blame.
“Miss Xin, let me escort you out,” the lobby manager said eagerly.
The moment Xin Zaozao left, she took a wad of bills from her purse and placed it into Mu Cidian’s hand.
Mu Cidian looked at her.
As she turned and walked away.
It was a tip.
A compensation for the misunderstanding.
For the sake of her inner balance, she chose to brush it off with money.
Xin Zaozao left.
Mu Cidian just watched the several thousand-dollar bills in his hand.
In one night, he made over 20,000. He would probably scare Xiao Yiming silly if he told him.
…
Xin Zaozao sat in the backseat of the car.
She left alone.
She could play the role of a patroness, but she firmly refused to actually take someone home.
She wasn’t that open-minded yet, nor was she interested in that area.
She returned to her apartment, a luxurious hotel suite.
After she kicked Wan Quan out of the Xin Family mansion, she didn’t move back in even after it became truly hers.
She only retrieved her belongings. How important they were, not very important, really.
She tossed her bag on the couch and sat down, still feeling a bit dizzy. She leaned back and looked at the crystal chandelier above.
She felt a certain emotion she couldn’t put into words. Perhaps it was a sense of oppression.
She thought she and Mu Cidian would never cross paths again.
Yet in a city as big as Jin City, she’d run into him twice in such close succession.
She scornfully smirked.
Anyway,
He wasn’t likely to get back on his feet anytime soon, so she had nothing to fear.
And so.
After a long time, she never saw Mu Cidian again.
After all, their environments were vastly different. The previous encounters were probably just extreme coincidences.
Once that coincidence was gone, they would never cross paths again.
Mu Cidian was still working at the KTV nightclub, and during the day, he was still working at the construction site.
He was desperately making money now, wanting first to gather 50,000 to repay his mother’s debt. After that, he’d save some more to do something for himself.
But in reality, after making over 20,000 in tips on his first day at the nightclub, he didn’t receive any more tips for more than a month. So, good luck wasn’t something that would always be there.
It was 11 o’clock at night in Jin City when the nightclub was at its liveliest.
Mu Cidian had just finished serving a private room when he was called into another.
He pushed open the large door of the private room.
Inside, it was lively with many men and women.
Everyone was singing, dancing, drinking, and chatting. The atmosphere in the big, loud private room was great!
Mu Cidian went over to pour drinks for the guests.
He had just crouched down.
“Cidian?” A familiar male voice suddenly called his name.
Mu Cidian looked up.
As he looked up, he saw Song Lifei.