When a girl sends a message like that, it’s basically her way of saying, "I miss you."
But if it’s from someone you haven’t heard from in a long time, they’re probably about to ask you for money.
And there’s a real art to replying to a message like this.
If you’re too honest, it comes off as boring.
If you say, "I was thinking of you," it sounds greasy and fake.
Lin Jiang: "I was just looking at movie tickets. I wanted to see a movie with you tonight."
Li Zhiyi: "Hehe, I think we’re on the same wavelength. I had the same idea. [blows-kiss.jpg]"
Li Zhiyi: "But I have class today. It ends at 7:30, but you can come early and watch me dance. [smirking.jpg]"
Li Zhiyi: "After it’s over, we can have dinner together and then go see the movie."
Lin Jiang did the math. Dinner after 7:30, then a movie—it would definitely be a late-night showing again.
’Looks like that import/export business project is a must-do for tonight.’
Lin Jiang: "No problem. I’ll come pick you up then."
Li Zhiyi: "Okay, okay. Make sure you eat lunch on time."
Lin Jiang: "OK."
After the brief chat, Lin Jiang turned his attention to expanding the shop.
Besides hiring more people, he also needed to buy more equipment.
When he first opened, he’d bought everything secondhand to save money. While usable, the equipment wasn’t exactly state-of-the-art.
Now that he was expanding, using secondhand stuff wasn’t appropriate anymore. A craftsman needs the right tools for the job; you can’t get by without proper equipment.
Furthermore, after the expansion, management needed to be more formalized, and wages would have to be raised.
On the surface, it didn’t seem like much, but in reality, there was a lot to do.
In the afternoon, the seasoning supplier sent Lin Jiang a message saying that all the required ingredients were ready.
Lin Jiang had bought these seasonings from four different suppliers to prevent his recipe from leaking. Better safe than sorry.
After confirming, Lin Jiang had them call a ride-share to deliver the items to Xu Lin’s other shop.
As for the rest, he didn’t need to worry about it. He could just let Xu Lin handle it.
After taking care of these matters, Lin Jiang went to the shop to help out.
Around seven in the evening, he went to the 18D Dance Studio.
When he got to the entrance, Lin Jiang sent a message to Li Zhiyi.
Lin Jiang: "I’m here."
Li Zhiyi: "Come on in! I want to show you my progress."
Lin Jiang: "As for showing me things... we can find a private place for that later tonight."
Li Zhiyi: "Aiya, just come and see! Everything’s all set up here, and I was really feeling it during practice today."
Lin Jiang pursed his lips. ’I can make you feel it even more tonight.’
Lin Jiang: "Fine, I’m on my way."
Getting out of the car, Lin Jiang ambled toward 18D, twirling his keys.
After entering, Lin Jiang asked the female receptionist for directions and then headed up the stairs to the second floor.
The second floor was sectioned off into dance studios with glass walls.
The decor inside was trendy and avant-garde. There were also photos of the instructors with celebrities, many of them A-listers. No wonder their fees were so high; they clearly had some skills.
After walking a few yards, Lin Jiang saw Li Zhiyi sitting cross-legged on the floor, head down, texting on her phone.
Li Zhiyi was dressed casually in gray sweatpants and white sneakers, with an oversized T-shirt on top. Her hair was tied up messily behind her head, and a few fine beads of sweat dotted her smooth forehead.
Compared to when she was all dressed up, she looked much more natural and down-to-earth at this moment.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
Standing in front of the glass wall, Lin Jiang knocked a few times. She looked up, her face immediately lighting up with joy.
"Brother Jiang, you’re here!"
Li Zhiyi joyfully pushed open the adjacent glass door and welcomed Lin Jiang inside.
"Are outsiders allowed in here?"
In a new place, Lin Jiang felt it was best to follow the rules to avoid any arguments.
"Technically, no, but there’s no one around now, so nobody cares. Everyone else does it too, it’s fine."
Li Zhiyi pulled Lin Jiang inside and said with a smile, "You’re the one who signed me up for these classes, so now it’s time for you to check my homework."
"Forget about your skill level for a second. Just looking at your outfit, you already look like a pro."
"Hehe, well, I do have some basics down. After just a few classes, I picked it up pretty quickly."
Tidying her hair, Li Zhiyi pulled up some BGM on her phone. "Let me show you the results of my training."
Low EQ response: "Okay."
Lin Jiang: "I’ll be your cheering squad."
Lin Jiang took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
PFFT—
Li Zhiyi couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Then she composed herself and stood before Lin Jiang.
The BGM started—it was the classic "Tell Me." Li Zhiyi’s body began to sway rhythmically to the beat of the music.
Admittedly, her dancing was a little bit sexy.
’First-class figure, second-class moves, third-class music, and a perverted me.’
Lin Jiang felt he was a lost cause. As he watched her dance, his mind automatically filtered out her clothes.
Even though he didn’t know anything about dancing, he could tell that Li Zhiyi was genuinely good, even a bit professional.
Unlike some people who, after learning for a while, dance like robots, with hips as stiff as a board.
After about a minute or so, Li Zhiyi stopped.
She energetically swept her hair up, her whole demeanor seeming more youthful.
"So, how was it? Give me some feedback."
"Extremely nice. You should debut."
"Aiya, I’m not that good. It’s just a hobby, something for fun."
"But you’re already very professional."
"Hehe, as long as you like it. Let’s go now."
"Yeah, let’s go get something to eat and recharge."
Li Zhiyi went to pack her things while Lin Jiang waited for her by the door.
Soon, Li Zhiyi finished packing, changed into a skirt and stockings, and walked joyfully toward Lin Jiang.
Just as Lin Jiang was about to turn and leave, he suddenly noticed Li Zhiyi’s expression harden and her smile disappear.
Following her gaze, Lin Jiang saw a woman in black shorts and a white linen top walking toward them, carrying a bag.
In terms of figure, the woman’s body was no worse than Li Zhiyi’s, but their auras were completely different.
Li Zhiyi had a classic oval-shaped face, while the approaching woman had a melon-seed-shaped face with delicate features. She gave off a more imposing and powerful vibe, seeming more aggressive.
But what really caught Lin Jiang’s attention was the blue exclamation mark floating above her head!
’Getting a daily quest from a complete stranger... this is going to be tricky.’
’Never mind the quest’s difficulty; the fact that she’s a stranger raises the difficulty by several levels. I don’t even have an opening to drop a hook.’
"Brother Jiang, let’s go."
Looking at Li Zhiyi’s expression, then at the approaching woman, Lin Jiang sensed that there was some history between these two.
But this wasn’t the right time to ask questions.
At that moment, the approaching woman also saw Li Zhiyi, and their gazes met mid-air.
Lin Jiang felt like sparks were about to fly.
The woman raised an eyebrow, walked straight toward the stairwell, and Li Zhiyi rolled her eyes.
"What’s wrong? Did she do something to you?"
"Our instructor has a performance and needed to bring someone along. He ended up picking her," Li Zhiyi said reluctantly.
"Emmm..."
𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Lin Jiang thought it over for a moment.
’That woman looks like she’s been coming here for a long time, a veteran student. Meanwhile, Zhiyi just started a few days ago. If their skill levels aren’t that different, I’d probably choose the veteran student too.’
’In a situation like this, there’s no point in being reasonable. The correct response is to join her in dissing the other person. You have to act even angrier than she is. As your anger rises, hers will fall, and she’ll calm down quickly.’
"Did she use some dirty trick to steal your spot? That’s so shameless."
"Don’t say that. It wasn’t really a dirty trick," Li Zhiyi said after a thought. "She’s always hanging around the instructor, and our skill levels are about the same, so he picked her."
Li Zhiyi took Lin Jiang’s arm. "I was just venting to you, don’t take it so seriously. It’s not like she did anything to me. And aside from this, she’s actually a pretty nice person."
Lin Jiang really wanted to give himself a thumbs-up. ’One casual sentence, and the problem was perfectly solved.’
"Nongnong, Zhiyi, wait a second, you two. I need to talk to you about something."
As they reached the first floor, a man in a sleeveless shirt called out to them.
"Wait for me, the instructor is calling me," Li Zhiyi whispered, handing her bag to Lin Jiang.
"Okay, go ahead."
The three of them stood off to the side, talking in low voices.
Lin Jiang sat on a chair on the first floor, waiting for Li Zhiyi to return.
Taking the opportunity, he clicked on the exclamation mark above the woman’s head.
[Quest Name: Entrepreneurial Crisis]
[Quest Description: R&D has hit a bottleneck. She is seeking financial support but has hit a wall everywhere and has yet to succeed.]
[Quest Reward: Fitness Card x1, 30 EXP]
’A crappy thing like a Fitness Card can be a reward?’
’Tongzi, have we gotten too familiar? Are you not taking me seriously anymore?’
After complaining internally, Lin Jiang still clicked on it for a look.
[Fitness Card: Check in at a gym for three consecutive days to be rewarded with 8% body fat. Check in for seven days to be rewarded with an eight-pack. Check in for fifteen days to be rewarded with V-lines.]
Lin Jiang: ???
’Tongzi, I’m sorry. I admit I was a little loud with you just now. I’ll still let you watch next time we play cards.’
Lin Jiang thought this reward was excellent. After all, it was a way to transform his own body. A perfect physique like that wasn’t something money could buy.
Subconsciously, Lin Jiang glanced at the young woman not far away.
He had originally assumed she was some rich kid from a well-off family, but it turned out she was an entrepreneur.
That was quite impressive.
He currently had a 25 million investment fund on hand, which was a perfect fit for this quest—it was almost as if it were tailor-made for it. So money wasn’t an issue.
The problem now was how to complete the quest, or rather, how to get in touch with her. Otherwise, finishing the quest would be extremely difficult.
He watched the woman while pondering a solution.
Lin Jiang figured it would be best to understand this woman a little better first.
’Otherwise, it’s like an old sow lying on a bed—you have no idea where to even start.’
Thinking of this, Lin Jiang used his X-ray Vision to look at the woman with the backpack.
Holy crap!
’She’s a grown woman, and she’s still into this?’