Chapter 21 - The Demon Sovereign Borrows Money
“Waiter, two cups of pearl milk tea, please. One with extra sugar, one with less sugar.”
After some pleasantries, Zhou Yan ordered two cups of milk tea from the waiter, then straightened his expression and looked at Lin Fan before him.
“Right, you said you had something to see me about. What is it?”
Seeing Zhou Yan ask directly, Lin Fan didn't beat around the bush either, stating frankly:
“I want to borrow twenty thousand yuan from you.”
Zhou Yan was his best buddy. The two were so close they even knew how many pairs of underwear the other had and what colors they usually wore. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Besides, unlike him who was an orphan, Zhou Yan’s parents were both official civil servants, and his grandparents owned several houses in Modu for rent. He was a bona fide second-generation rich kid, a damn landlord.
Twenty thousand yuan might be a considerable sum for an ordinary person, but for him, it was merely pocket money.
“Just this? It’s only twenty thousand yuan, a small matter~”
Upon hearing it was just about borrowing money, Zhou Yan didn't hesitate in the slightest. With a grand wave of his hand, he directly took out twenty thousand yuan in cash from his bag and slapped it on the table.
This flamboyant gesture startled Lin Fan.
“Why are you carrying so much cash with you?”
Although he knew Zhou Yan was very rich, he never expected him to carry tens of thousands of yuan in cash.
One must know, the current era was the era of mobile payments. Almost everyone used their phones to pay for travel, shopping, and even money transfers.
Cash was both inconvenient and unsafe. Very few people carried cash when they went out now, let alone tens of thousands of yuan.
“The money on a phone is just a string of numbers. The money you can feel in your hand, that’s the real money~”
“Listen to this, this is the sound of money. I’d like to call it the most healing sound in the world~”
Zhou Yan picked up the twenty thousand yuan and held it in his hand, his fingers ruffling through the banknotes, making a rustling sound.
Watching the intoxicated Zhou Yan, Lin Fan couldn't find any words to refute him and even strangely found himself agreeing a little with his words.
Especially for him, who was in urgent need of money at this moment…
Before, he hadn’t thought money was all that great, but now, hearing the sound of rustling banknotes was like hearing heavenly music. Perhaps even depression could be cured on the spot…
“Here.”
Zhou Yan placed the twenty thousand yuan on the table and pushed it in front of Lin Fan.
“Thanks.”
Lin Fan reached out to take it but found that Zhou Yan’s fingers were pressing down firmly on the banknotes.
Zhou Yan’s joking and laughing demeanor changed. His expression became serious. He glanced left and right to confirm no one was around, then leaned over the table towards Lin Fan and asked in a hushed voice:
“Lin Fan, don’t even mention borrowing it. As your brother, I’d have no problem just giving it to you. But you have to tell me the truth, you haven’t been touching the white stuff, have you?”
Lin Fan rolled his eyes at Zhou Yan, speechless.
“Do I look like someone who’s been touching that stuff?”
“Mmm… you really don’t!”
Zhou Yan carefully sized Lin Fan up and shook his head.
Generally, people who have touched the white stuff often have a dazed mental state and an emaciated figure. After a period of withdrawal, they will go crazy, and then fall into a state of listlessness, becoming neither human nor ghost.
The Lin Fan before him was full of vigor, and his physique was so good it was beyond words. No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like someone who had touched the white stuff.
“If not drugs, then what about gambling?” Zhou Yan, still worried, continued to ask.
“No. You know I hate gambling the most.”
“That’s true…”
Zhou Yan nodded, then continued to guess to himself:
“Then did you borrow money from some dark and evil forces and were forced into debt with loan sharks?”
“No!”
Lin Fan’s brow furrowed slightly, a look of impatience on his face.
“Yan Zi, are you lending it or not, just say the word. Why are you asking so many questions? Are you conducting a household registration check?”
“Hehe, don’t blame your brother for asking so many questions. You’ve never borrowed money from me before. I’m just worried you’ve gone astray.”
Zhou Yan put on an apologetic smile, also feeling that he might have asked a bit too much.
Seeing that the other was just concerned about him, Lin Fan couldn't say much more, but just asked curiously:
“You’ve asked about gambling and drugs, and you even thought of loan sharks. Why didn’t you ask about the last one?”
“Oh, that one. That’s no big deal. How much money can that possibly cost?”
Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted, understanding what Lin Fan was referring to. His expression was nonchalant.
“If you like, your bro will take you for a foot massage in a bit. I’ll arrange ten of them for you!”
Lin Fan: “…”
“Never mind, never mind…”
Lin Fan was speechless. He hurriedly waved his hands in refusal and made up a random excuse:
“I’m only borrowing money from you because I was traveling and accidentally spent all my money, that’s all. Don’t overthink it.”
“You should have said so earlier! Now I can rest assured.”
Zhou Yan felt relieved and immediately let go of the twenty thousand yuan he was pressing down on.
“Here, take it~”
“Thanks. I’ll pay you back double in the future.”
Lin Fan took the twenty thousand yuan and promised with gratitude.
Generally, he wouldn't easily borrow money from others, but if he did, even if the other party was his closest brother or friend, he would definitely pay it back. This had always been his principle.
“No problem. No time limit. You can pay me back whenever you want.”
Zhou Yan waved his hand magnanimously, not caring at all. He then casually brought up another topic:
“By the way, since you’re back, you probably quit your old job, right? What are you doing for work now?”
“Mmm… writing novels.”
Lin Fan hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully.
“Huh?”
Zhou Yan’s expression showed his shock, which was then replaced by a look of sudden realization.
“No wonder you needed to borrow money from me. So you’re writing novels…”
Lin Fan: “…”
Lin Fan fell into an embarrassed silence, but he was powerless to refute it.
He really was borrowing money because he hadn't earned any from writing novels…
“Lin Fan, it’s not that I’m trying to be critical, but you should just give up on writing novels. Writing novels is a dead end; you could starve to death one day in the future.”
“How about I introduce you to a new job?” Zhou Yan persuaded earnestly.
Lin Fan didn't hesitate in the slightest, decisively shaking his head in refusal.
“After traveling abroad for so long, I’ve grown to like a free and unrestrained life.”
“Sigh, alright then!”
Seeing Lin Fan’s firm will, Zhou Yan didn't try to persuade him further. He took out another twenty thousand yuan from his backpack.
“Here’s another twenty thousand yuan. I’ll give it to you as well. You should be able to use it later.”
“This forty thousand yuan should be enough to last until you give up. When you can't hold on any longer, just let me know.”
Lin Fan: “…”
“Can’t you wish me a little good luck…”
Looking at the additional twenty thousand yuan on the table, Lin Fan felt both touched and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Zhou Yan laughed heartily, slapped Lin Fan on the shoulder, put on a serious face, and corrected himself:
“Then let me correct myself, I believe you can definitely do it!”
With that, Zhou Yan desperately suppressed the rising corners of his mouth to hold back a laugh.
Lin Fan had a look of helplessness on his face.
This guy doesn't believe him at all, he's just enjoying the show…
As the two were talking, a waitress came to their table holding two lattes.
“Sirs, your two cups of pearl milk tea. Please enjoy.”
The waitress placed the two lattes in front of Lin Fan and Zhou Yan respectively. When she handed the cup to Lin Fan, she even gave him an extra glance and a slight smile.
“As expected, men with good physiques are popular with women wherever they go… damn it!”
“Why isn't she smiling at me! It seems I must put working out on the agenda!”
Zhou Yan took a slurp of his milk tea, his expression incomparably serious.
“You can do it~”
Lin Fan raised his milk tea and took a light sip, offering encouragement with a smile.
He knew his brother all too well. Ever since university, he had been clamoring about working out, buying gym memberships wherever he went, but he had never actually gone.
“I’m absolutely serious this time!”
Zhou Yan had a serious and stern look on his face. After hesitating for a moment, the topic of conversation suddenly changed, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.
“But today is a good day for us bros to reunite. Let’s just start tomorrow~”
“Today, we won’t go home until we’re drunk~!”