Ji Zhaoxi was completely deflated. She stopped her tutoring business and stopped her “being yelled at” business altogether.
Her business group chats were blowing up, but she had no mood to reply.
She never thought she would be scammed. Those were her knowledge and efforts. She always took her tutoring seriously, adjusting her teaching style according to each person’s foundation.
That guy had originally told Ji Zhaoxi he wanted a monthly tutoring package. He paid a deposit, and Ji Zhaoxi tutored him for a full month. But then he refused to pay the remaining amount.
The guy hadn’t actually sought her out for tutoring in the first place. He had hoped to win her over within that month, but Ji Zhaoxi was like a block of wood—she gave no reaction at all.
He confessed to her for a while, but Ji Zhaoxi just stared at him silently and said, “Don’t you want to get into college anymore?”
The first few times, he found it amusing. But when it kept happening, he started getting annoyed.
He didn’t want to give her the money anymore. Why should he? He had already paid the deposit, and the questions he clicked on were random—he hadn’t even listened. So why should she ask him for money?
The guy thought that after skipping out on payment, Ji Zhaoxi wouldn’t dare say anything. But she actually came straight to his classroom to find him and wouldn’t let it go.
“Crazy woman!”
The boy in the classroom finally returned to his seat, out of breath.
Sure enough, Ji Zhaoxi not being with him was a sign from heaven.
Was she that desperate for money? She had been chasing him for such a small amount all this time.
The boys around him joked, “Isn’t Ji Zhaoxi your goddess? How does it feel being chased by your goddess?”
The boy wiped the sweat off his face, his expression dark and frightening. “Goddess my ass.”
She was just a gold digger.
On the other side of the classroom, Ji Zhaoxi stared out the window with red-rimmed eyes. The playground was so lively, yet it only made her feel worse.
Her gaze landed on a falling leaf, and her eyes grew redder. Her life was like the leaves on that tree—starting to wither away.
She decided to ambush him after school that afternoon and get those two hundred bucks back—no matter what.
Or she could paste their chat history on his classroom door and ruin his reputation!
Those were the fruits of her labor.
When Zhou Chiye arrived at the door of Ji Zhaoxi’s classroom, he immediately saw her staring out the window with red eyes.
Zhou Chiye: …
He knew this pushover was crying again.
Just as Ji Zhaoxi was plotting her revenge, the girl in front of her poked her. “Ji Zhaoxi, someone’s looking for you.”
Ji Zhaoxi froze, then looked at Zhou Chiye standing outside the classroom.
The moment she saw him, tears welled up in her eyes.
Back then, she thought Zhou Chiye looked like a street thug. But it turned out he was the most loyal person.
That other guy had a clean, decent appearance but did something so despicable.
Sometimes, she really couldn’t judge people by their looks.
Just like herself—she looked like a good person, but she wasn’t really one either.
Zhou Chiye frowned as he looked at Ji Zhaoxi, who had walked up to him.
“Look at you.”
Ji Zhaoxi looked utterly miserable, not even having the strength to retort.
Zhou Chiye: …
“How much does he owe you?” Zhou Chiye asked.
Ji Zhaoxi was silent for a moment, then murmured, “Two hundred bucks.”
Zhou Chiye paused as well. “What class is he in?”
Ji Zhaoxi instantly understood that Zhou Chiye was going to step in.
“I’ll take you there, Brother Ye!”
Zhou Chiye decided he would have to find time to correct that nickname later.
They arrived at the teaching building. Classes were still in session.
Ji Zhaoxi stopped in front of a classroom, hearing a teacher’s voice inside. She felt too embarrassed to do this, so she immediately hid behind Zhou Chiye.
Without hesitation, Zhou Chiye knocked on the door and opened it.
“Sorry to interrupt, teacher. We’re looking for a boy in this class,” Zhou Chiye said, nodding politely at the teacher.
The teacher recognized Zhou Chiye and said nothing, just looked at the students calmly.
“Is Qin Junhao here? When are you going to pay back the two hundred you owe?”
Zhou Chiye spotted the boy in the corner whose face had clearly turned awkward.
The moment Qin Junhao saw Ji Zhaoxi behind Zhou Chiye, his expression froze.
Ji Zhaoxi gave him a small smile.
The whole class looked on in gossipy curiosity. Even the sleeping students were wide awake now.
Qin Junhao’s face went through shades of white and green. He sat in his seat, completely silent.
Zhou Chiye stared at him calmly. “Do I need to come get you out?”
Ji Zhaoxi also stared at Qin Junhao seriously.
With no other choice, Qin Junhao stood up and followed them out, his palms sweating.
The three of them stood by the hallway window. Some students near the window tried to peek out, but the teacher cleared her throat, and they quickly pulled their heads back in.
Those curious students were itching to know—why had they walked so far away? Let them see what was happening!
The boy immediately transferred the money to Ji Zhaoxi. His lips trembled. “Is this enough?”
Ji Zhaoxi frowned tightly. “Aren’t you going to apologize to me?”
Immediately, Qin Junhao wanted to snap back, “Why should I?” but feeling the gaze burning into him, he bit his tongue and muttered, “Sorry.”
Seeing his humiliated expression, Ji Zhaoxi finally felt satisfied. She looked up at Zhou Chiye, who met her eyes.
“If you think it’s enough, then it’s enough.”
After Qin Junhao left, Zhou Chiye started going over Ji Zhaoxi’s accounts, mainly checking her income details.
“This is what I earned from being yelled at—two bucks per insult. It’s my biggest earner,” Ji Zhaoxi said, unable to help bragging a little.
Zhou Chiye hummed in acknowledgment and kept scrolling. Ji Zhaoxi couldn’t resist pointing again: “These are from my tutoring. I’m really good at teaching.”
Zhou Chiye nodded. “Not bad.”
Ji Zhaoxi couldn’t help pointing at the two thousand yuan. “This is the prize money from the essay contest I showed you last time.”
Zhou Chiye: “Impressive.”
The more Ji Zhaoxi talked, the happier she got. Every time she mentioned something, she looked for Zhou Chiye’s reaction.
Zhou Chiye’s face was calm.
“Very good.”
“Pretty decent.”
“Really impressive.”
“Nice.”
Finally, they reached the last entry.
Ji Zhaoxi looked a little embarrassed. “This is the twenty thousand I made from that ‘accident’ scenario, Brother Ye, you know about it, right?
“But I only asked for two hundred back then. That guy insisted on giving me twenty thousand. Couldn’t help it that the guy was rich but kind of dumb.”
The “rich but kind of dumb” guy was silent for a moment. “Mm.”
After running through all that, Ji Zhaoxi’s mouth felt dry.
She didn’t just talk about this with Zhou Chiye—she also told her brother, Ji Huaichuan, going over her earnings from time to time.
Just when Ji Zhaoxi thought it was over, Zhou Chiye suddenly spoke.
“I’ll take over all your tutoring and ‘being yelled at’ services. From now on, you’re not allowed to take any other clients.”
Ji Zhaoxi felt like she had been hit by a pile of cash all at once.
Zhou Chiye felt like the light in Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes was about to burn him.
“Why?” She was still a little caught off guard.
“Because you’re dumb.”
“You just insulted me! You have to pay me!”
“Too lazy to pay now. Settle up at the end of the month, I’ll transfer it all at once.”
