Li Tianwen chuckled: "You've come to the right place today. We worked overtime at noon and finished the afternoon's experiment. So, we're all planning to chip in and have some fun while the teacher's not home. It's two hundred yuan per person. Do you want to join?"
"Of course I'll go, it's better than staying in the lab, right?" Zhao Qiang reached into his pocket and pulled out all his change, totaling 180 yuan. To blend in with his classmates, Zhao Qiang didn't want to just throw out a wad of hundred-yuan bills; that would be showing off.
Men in love are indeed generous; Zhang Zhen waved his hand magnanimously, "Xiao Zhao, I'll cover the remaining twenty yuan for you."
Zhao Qiang stopped himself from reaching for money in his other pocket. He never cared about his clothes, and given his rural background, he was generally perceived as a studious but impoverished student. This group's relaxation activity hadn't initially included Zhao Qiang in the plans, precisely because they were worried he wouldn't have the spare cash. However, since they were there, it wouldn't be good to leave him out, so they wanted him to spend as little money as possible.
Ni Xiu was still the same, always doing more than saying. She simply pulled out three hundred yuan and tossed it to Zhang Zhen, implying that Zhao Qiang could skip the small change. Zhang Zhen chuckled and only took one hundred-yuan bill from Zhao Qiang, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Alright, Xiao Xiu's salary isn't low, let her treat you this time."
Li Tianwen said, "Director Zhang, if your paper is published and you receive a prize or sell a patent, you must treat us to a good meal."
Zhang Zhen smiled and said, "Definitely, definitely, it's still far from over."
Zhao Qiang asked, "What patent? Did you come up with an invention, senior brother?"
Li Tianwen said, "You haven't been here these past few days, so you don't know, but Director Zhang has worked on a paper on reducing the radiation of nuclear waste, and it has already been recommended by the professor to a journal. The professor said that his technology is very good and there is hope that it can be patented in the future."
Zhao Qiang could easily guess with a snap of his fingers that this technology must have originated from the recent experiment on reducing radiation levels in the mixture. It shouldn't have been exclusively Zhang Zhen's, but since the teacher had agreed, Zhang Zhen must have his reasons. Therefore, Zhao Qiang congratulated Zhang Zhen, saying, "Senior brother, congratulations! May you have double happiness in the future—marrying our sister-in-law and selling this technology for a good price!"
Zhang Zhen's face lit up with joy: "It's all just a pipe dream, we'll see when the time comes."
After changing their clothes, everyone left the lab and stood in front of the lab building to discuss their options. Li Tianwen said, "Let's go to Tianmeng Nightclub. There's something to see and do there, and we can order some food too. I'm starving."
Han Chao hesitated for a moment: "The cost of living there isn't low."
Zhang Zhen waved his hand magnanimously: "I'll make up the difference if you don't have enough money. Let's go." Zhang Zhen was a full-time employee in the lab, and his salary was higher than everyone else's.
Tianmeng Nightclub was even more luxurious than when Zhao Qiang last visited. The doormen were all incredibly handsome, and as soon as you entered, you were greeted by women in cheongsams. Everyone went straight into the lobby, ordered some snacks and dried fruit—the cheapest kind—and a case of beer. They sat down in the lobby, where a female singer was performing in a sweet, gentle voice. Occasionally, two or three men and women would dance a few steps below the stage. This wasn't even the most exciting time yet; midnight was when the real revelry would begin.
Li Tianwen looked around with envious eyes: "This place is really nice, so decadent and extravagant. When I have money in the future, I'll definitely come here every night, and before I leave, I'll even pick up a woman, preferably the one singing on stage."
Han Chao patted Li Tianwen on the back of the head: "? Don't really lose your mind."
Everyone opened beer, but Zhao Qiang naturally declined, preferring to drink soft drinks alone. No one pressured him; he first downed two bottles of beer and ate some snacks to fill his stomach, and then he naturally started talking.
Han Chao said, "The director's girlfriend is quite pretty; she's a white-collar worker whom the teacher asked someone to introduce to him."
Li Tianwen asked, "Director, have you asked my sister-in-law when we're having wedding candy?"
Zhang Zhen said, "You guys are really stirring up trouble. I've only met her a few times. How can we be talking about marriage? Besides, from what she said, she wants to buy a house and a car before getting married, otherwise she doesn't plan to get married. That's why I've been worried about this these past few days. She won't answer my calls. Sigh, why are women these days so materialistic?"
Ni Xiu coldly replied, "Is it feasible to be unrealistic? Will I suffer and toil with you men in the future?"
Zhao Qiang scratched his head. This whole situation was neither entirely reasonable nor entirely unreasonable. In short, love and material things are always a contradictory pair. Dare you say you only want love and not material things? Fine, then take your beloved woman to the streets to beg. Dare you say you only want material things and not love? Fine, then wait until the woman beside you treats you like an ATM.
Han Chao clinked glasses with Zhang Zhen. "Director, what are you worried about? Everything is about to change, isn't it? As long as your paper is published, and then buyers come knocking on your door, asking for tens of millions, won't that solve everything?"
Zhao Qiang now somewhat understood why Professor Gu had attributed the invention to Zhang Zhen. After years of research with Professor Gu, if Zhang Zhen couldn't even find a wife because he was poor, wouldn't that drive Professor Gu crazy? Anyway, Zhao Qiang no longer needed money and was even afraid of having the title of inventor attached to him, so he simply let Zhang Zhen have it.
Furthermore, Zhang Zhen played a decisive role in the success of this experiment. Although Zhao Qiang had given Li Tianwen some pointers, Li Tianwen's limited skills were insufficient; Zhang Zhen's contribution was the most significant. Zhao Qiang admired Zhang Zhen's work in experimental research; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept Gu Yu by his side for so many years, and even personally arranged his marriage.
Listening to Han Chao's words, Zhang Zhen also felt a sense of anticipation. He tilted his head back and finished the beer in his glass, then slammed the glass back onto the table, saying, "I hope it will be like that then. I'm a 32-year-old man, and it's really inconvenient without a woman to take care of me."
Li Tianwen laughed heartily: "It's probably because it's inconvenient at night; the feeling can't compare to actual combat."
Zhang Zhen threw a dried fruit at Li Tianwen; that guy never said anything good. Ni Xiu wasn't interested in drinking, and naturally, she wasn't interested in the dirty jokes between men. Her gaze wandered around the lobby. Because it was afternoon, the atmosphere in the nightclub wasn't very lively, but people were still constantly coming in, showing that Zhang Lingfeng was making quite a bit of money in this area.
"Hmm," Ni Xiu sighed softly. Li Tianwen, who was sitting next to her, heard this and said, "What's wrong, Senior Sister? Did you see a man you like? You must put aside all your worries and bravely rush over. We'll take care of the teacher."
Ni Xiu pinched Li Tianwen's arm: "Stop joking with me, doesn't that woman look familiar?"
Li Tianwen followed Ni Xiu's finger and exclaimed, "No way, isn't that my sister-in-law?" Ni Xiu tried to remind Li Tianwen to keep his voice down, but it was too late. Zhang Zhen naturally noticed the words "sister-in-law" and followed Li Tianwen's gaze.
I just sat down at a table not far away. There were nine people in total, two women and four men, all quite young. One of the women was facing our table. My first impression of her was that she was very feminine, with a sophisticated urban professional vibe in her clothes and makeup. She was also quite pretty, but she couldn't have been older than twenty-nine or twenty-seven. She seemed a bit too young for Zhang Zhen.
A young office worker was sitting next to a man. Initially, nothing seemed amiss; they were chatting and laughing. But then, for some reason, the man suddenly grabbed the young woman's hand and affectionately placed it in his lap. The young woman leaned against his arm, pressing her ample breasts against it. This was no ordinary behavior.
Li Tianwen blurted out, "No way, I must be seeing things. How could my sister-in-law be intimate with another man?"
With a crash, Zhang Zhen smashed the wine glass on the table. The lighting in the hall was dim, and the laser lights were flashing and dazzling, but the distance between the two sides wasn't far, and Zhang Zhen could recognize this woman even with his eyes closed. Ni Xiu and Li Tianwen could mistake her, but he had absolutely no reason to.
Han Chao grabbed Zhang Zhen: "Director, calm down! Maybe that's her brother, or maybe we've mistaken him for someone else." They'd only met their mentor's wife once, so they weren't entirely sure. Causing trouble here wouldn't be wise.
Li Tianwen said, "What's so difficult about that? We'll just go and take a look."
Ni Xiu glared at Li Tianwen; he was clearly eager to stir up trouble.
Zhang Zhen jumped to his feet, his face flushed. Everyone had already drunk about two bottles of beer. Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal, but the situation was rather complicated. Even without alcohol, people are prone to impulsiveness, let alone after drinking. Zhang Zhen strode towards the white-collar worker, his footsteps thumping.
Li Tianwen and Han Chao naturally followed closely behind, worried that something might happen to Zhang Zhen! Zhao Qiang was rather troubled, but he still had to keep up; causing a scene here wouldn't be good for anyone.
Volume Two [333] Woman
"Lan Mei!" Zhang Zhen roared. No one would remain silent after being cuckolded. If Zhang Zhen left without a word, would he still be a man?
The young office worker was startled by the shout and jumped up, nearly causing the man holding her arm to fall over. Luckily, it was a sofa, so no one was hurt.
"Zhang Zhen?" The young office worker, Lan Mei, recognized the man who had yelled at her, somewhat surprised and astonished.
"Who is he!" Zhang Zhen shouted, pointing at the man on the sofa.
Lan Mei hesitated for a moment, then said, "Zhang Zhen, to tell you the truth, this is my boyfriend, Zeng Kefan."
Zeng Kefan got up from the sofa, looking disdainful, and said, "Lan Mei, who is this person? Is she out of her mind, spouting nonsense?"
Zhang Zhen yelled, "You're the one who's sick!"
Zeng Kefan chuckled: "I'm perfectly normal. It's you who's barking like a dog. Isn't that just crazy?"
Lan Mei nudged Zeng Kefan back and said, "Kefan, don't say anything. This is my friend. We've only known each other for a few days. I have something to say to him. Can you do me a favor?"
As soon as Zeng Kefan sat down, he said, "Fine, I'll give you this face, but if he doesn't appreciate it, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Li Tianwen stepped forward and raised his fist, saying, "Damn it, what do you want!"
Zeng Kefan had five friends. One of them was a woman and didn't have much of an intimidating presence, but the other three were no pushovers. They all stood up at the same time, startling Li Tianwen, who took two steps back.
Lan Mei grabbed Zhang Zhen's arm and said, "We'll go talk to you and tell your friend not to be so impulsive. You're still students; don't get yourself into trouble."
Since Lan Mei was willing to tell him, Zhang Zhen naturally called Li Tianwen back. Everyone returned to their seats, and Zhang Zhen nervously asked, "Lan Mei, who is that person?" At this moment, Zhang Zhen still held onto a sliver of hope.
Lan Mei said, "Didn't I tell you? My boyfriend's family is in the steel business."
Chang Chen looked surprised: "I don't believe this is true. If you have a boyfriend, why are you dating me?"
Lan Mei smiled wryly, "I haven't known him for very long either. I met you before I even knew him. Didn't I remind you a few days ago not to call me anymore? Don't you understand?"
Zhao Qiang thought to himself, "Senior Brother Zhang didn't even realize he'd been dumped. He's such a terrible man. It seems I shouldn't read too many books in the future, or I'll easily make the same mistake—always thinking things are too rosy and too simplistic."
Zhang Zhen raised his voice high: "But why is that! What do I lack compared to him!"
Lan Mei said, "Zhang Zhen, don't you understand? You have no house, no car, no high income, no savings, no background, no qualifications, nothing at all. Do you think I would continue talking to you? Did you take everything I said as a joke?"
Chang Chen was just worried that his girlfriend needed a house and a car before they'd get married, but it turns out she was hinting at breaking up. Poor Chang Chen was still dreaming of settling down with her after getting the patent money.
Li Tianwen interrupted Lan Mei, saying, "How could you say that? What kind of woman are you? You're such a snob!"
Lan Mei glanced at Li Tianwen: "What do you know? What right do you have to speak here? Do you think love is like air, something you can breathe in and be full? Don't you need to eat? Don't you need to wear clothes? Don't you need medical treatment? Don't you need a place to live? Then tell me, what is love? Is it about going homeless, watching others buy expensive clothes and makeup books while you can only buy cheap stuff from street vendors, watching yourself grow old day by day while your savings don't increase by a single penny? Living a life of constant struggle, haggling over every single cent?"
Li Tianwen was speechless, completely stumped by Lan Mei. Did he not want money? That would be a lie. He longed for better food and housing, to not have to work, to be served by a group of beautiful women after work, to go wherever he wanted, and to buy whatever he desired. Otherwise, why would he go to university? To serve his country? Sorry, he'd never considered that.
Ni Xiu was straightforward, saying to Lan Mei, "Stop with the nonsense, just tell me what you plan to do with our senior brother."
Lan Mei said, "We're breaking up. I hinted to him about this before, so Zhang Zhen, don't have any thoughts about what happened today. We're impossible. And don't treat Zeng Kefan like an enemy. This has nothing to do with him. On the contrary, I should be grateful to him. He's given me a comfortable life, and I enjoy living like this. I'm sorry, I can't imagine the hardships I'd face with you, so I chose him."
Zhang Zhen deflated like a punctured balloon. He understood Li Tianwen and Lan Mei's conversation perfectly; it was the reality of society—everyone pursued material enjoyment, and who wanted to endure hardship? He could only blame himself for being incompetent and unable to provide happiness for a woman.
Zhang Zhen remembered something and said, "Lan Mei, I've come up with a new invention, which might be worth selling..."
Lan Mei interrupted Zhang Zhen, saying, "I'm sorry, Zhang Zhen. I don't care how much money you'll have in the future. I only care about the present because I can't afford to squander my youth. I have to move on. Thank you for the meals you treated me to before; I can't repay you for that."
After saying that, Lan Mei stood up and walked towards the other table. Zhang Zhen opened his mouth but didn't say anything to stop her. Even if he was stupid, he knew that everything was beyond repair. Li Tianwen stood up angrily but was pulled back by Ni Xiu. Since the relationship had already broken down, what was the use of outsiders interfering, especially with a woman like this who was only interested in profit?
Han Chao patted Zhang Zhen on the shoulder: "Senior brother, don't be sad. There are plenty of good women in the world. We can still find wives even without her."
Zhang Zhen grabbed the beer from the table and gulped it down from the bottle! Li Tianwen rushed over to snatch it away, "Senior brother, what are you doing! It's not worth it for a woman like that!"
Lan Mei returned to Zeng Kefan's side and whispered a few words. Zeng Kefan smiled, greeted his friends again, and everyone stood up. Zeng Kefan walked over to Zhao Qiang, waved, and said, "Everyone, it's on me today. Have fun, drink as much as you want, bye-bye!"
Zhang Zhen, with his keen eyesight, imagined how humiliating it would be to be insulted! But Lan Mei's words struck a nerve. Yes, he was short of money. Who in this world doesn't like money? Who doesn't love money? People think that following him will bring them hardship and suffering, so why shouldn't they allow her to find happiness? He had no right to stop her. Who was to blame? He could only blame himself for being incompetent!
Li Tianwen jumped up, waving his fist, provoked by Zeng Kefan, but Han Chao grabbed him and said, "What are you doing!"
Li Tianwen cursed, "Damn it, I'll beat him to death!"
Han Chao said, "Can you beat them? If a dog bites you, are you going to bite the dog back?"
Zeng Kefan didn't mind Han Chao's veiled insults at all. He casually lit a cigarette. "Gentlemen, let's go gamble a couple of rounds. You guys take your time." Zeng Kefan's friend waved his fist at Li Tianwen. These guys were big and muscular; if it really came down to a fight, Li Tianwen would be no match for them. This was also why Han Chao stopped him. If he could beat them, Han Chao would have done it long ago.
Zeng Kefan, holding Lan Mei's hand, walked triumphantly past Zhang Zhen and the others. Lan Mei kept her head down and didn't look at Zhang Zhen. Soon they disappeared from the hall. Zhang Zhen's anger had long since turned into tears. At this moment, he was intoxicated not by the wine, but by his own emotions. His eyes were blurry, his body swayed slightly, and his fingers trembled slightly.
Zhao Qiang finally spoke up, "Senior brother, don't be like this. I think it's her business what choice she makes. If you're really a man, do something to make her regret it!"
Ni Xiu said, "Yes, let her regret how much of a failure she was for not choosing you!"
Zhang Zhen collapsed onto the table, sobbing uncontrollably: "What can I do? All I know is research, all I know is studying. Even if I lost my dad's life savings, I still wouldn't make any money in business."
Zhao Qiang said, "Senior brother, the research and reading you mentioned are also our strengths. Look at you, you've come up with a method for dealing with nuclear waste, which will bring in millions of dollars. Isn't that a skill?"
Zhang Zhen cried even harder, "Xiao Zhao, stop talking. I know in my heart that the teacher took pity on me because of my age. Otherwise, how could I have published this paper? And I shouldn't have been able to keep all the patent money. This is everyone's research result. Your idea was also key to our experiment, but I shamelessly took it all. I'm so sorry to you all."
Ni Xiu grabbed Zhang Zhen by the collar: "Zhang Zhen! Are you even a man?! We did this willingly. Without you, the experiment wouldn't have succeeded at all. You have the right to do it! If you cry and wail for a woman, we will all look down on you! What's wrong with doing research? Without us, how would the country's science and technology develop? And how would those businessmen make any money? We may have studied for over ten years and not be good at dealing with the dirty things in society, but those who can truly withstand the test of society are not necessarily the ones who can do it!"
Han Chao also advised Zhang Zhen: "Yes, senior brother, you should listen to Xiaoxiu's words. If we work hard and make some earth-shattering inventions, then we can win over not only a materialistic woman, but also a thousand or ten thousand virgins!"
Han Chao's words made Ni Xiu glare at him angrily, but Zhang Zhen listened instead, raising his head and saying, "Is there still hope at my age?"
Han Chao said, "Yes! Let's work together and make sure no one looks down on us in the future!"
Zhang Zhen wiped away his tears: "Okay! Let's work together, and we all have to succeed!"
Fueled by alcohol, the group clasped hands, a vow to the future: even if not for the sake of some worthless national development, they would work hard and earn more money for themselves.
The atmosphere seemed to lighten because of this incident, so they drank even more. After all, Zeng Kefan had said it was his treat, so why would they try to save him money? Li Tianwen even called over a waiter to confirm, and upon learning that a portion of the money had indeed been prepaid, he immediately instructed the waiter to use the remaining money to buy snacks with the drinks, leaving him not a single penny.
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, everyone staggered out. No work that night, so they could just go home and sleep. Tomorrow, they'd try to be good students in the lab before the teachers returned. Everyone has moments of indulgence, right? After sobering up, everything would continue. This was a kind of catharsis for their monotonous lives.
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Volume 2 [334] Borrowing Money