Living in a small county town, earning a million a year

Chapter 17 Why did you send out the photo of the deceased?

Xu Mu, who was engrossed in a mindless short drama on Douyin, suddenly looked up when she heard this, staring at Bai Xue with a completely bewildered expression.

"???"

There were only three question marks above his head.

Holy crap, are girls these days so open-minded?

"Cough cough!"

Xu Mu coughed quickly, turned off his phone, and looked into Bai Xue's eyes.

Bai Xue's eyes were serious, but there was a hint of panic and determination in them.

Xu Mu didn't know why she had that look in her eyes.

"Sister Baixue, I definitely like you. After all, who doesn't like a girl with fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs?"

"But I believe there is no such thing as love at first sight in this world, only love that grows over time!"

"After all, I'm just an ordinary loser from a small county town."

Xu Mu smiled awkwardly. She saw despair and a hint of helplessness in Bai Xue's eyes.

Bai Xue didn't respond to Xu Mu's words, but kept staring at Xu Mu and said, "Xiao Mu, I've been struggling with this for a long time."

"I contacted all my relatives today, but none of them were willing to lend me money. My mother is still lying in a hospital bed at the People's Hospital and needs money for surgery."

“I know that saying this is morally blackmailing you and disrespectful, but I really need 300,000. As long as you can lend me 300,000, I will do anything you ask me to do, you can even ask me to do that kind of thing like Liu Yang did!”

"???" Xu Mu was stunned, and subconsciously asked, "Liu Yang is richer than me, why don't you go find him?"

"I don't like him, I like you."

"???"

Xu Mu was even more confused. Sensing the somewhat dull atmosphere, she tried to change the subject, "No, sis, we've only known each other for a few days! You like me already? I think I'm pretty ordinary!"

Bai Xue looked at Xu Mu seriously and replied, "Although I've only met you twice, I think you are an honest and pure young man. You don't have that money-grubbing smell, nor do you have the spoiled rich kid Liu Yang. On the contrary, your words and actions are quite mature, and you occasionally have a childlike innocence!"

"You mean my showing off in front of my classmates yesterday was childish?"

Xu Mu felt that Bai Xue was praising him on purpose, but he himself reeked of money.

How could it not reek of money?

He's desperately short of money!

"Yes, isn't that childlike innocence?"

"???"

"Don't you have some misunderstanding about childlike innocence? Do you want to see what they're saying about me in the class group chat right now?"

Xu Mu unlocked her phone, opened the classmate group chat, and showed it to Bai Xue.

Bai Xue didn't look at her phone. Her courage finally faded, and she couldn't help but lower her head silently. "Xu Mu, I'm truly at my wit's end. I understand that what I'm saying is very disrespectful to you! I also understand that my feelings for you are merely affection!"

“You said you don’t believe in love at first sight, but believe in love that grows over time. I think we can develop feelings for each other over time.”

Xu Mu was taken aback by what he heard, and quietly asked, "Sister Bai Xue, is 'growing feelings over time' an idiom or a verb?"

Neither Bai Xue nor Xu Mu were complete novices, and besides, with the internet so developed now, there are countless such memes.

Upon hearing Xu Mu's words, Bai Xue blushed and lowered her head even further.

Her meaning is naturally a verb.

She has very good feelings for Xu Mu, which are incomparable to those for Liu Yang.

Moreover, Xu Mu perfectly meets his criteria for choosing a partner.

However, she knew that Xu Mu looked down on her family.

After what happened last night, Bai Xue stayed in the hospital and thought a lot.

She has no other choice now, so what if she doesn't have a formal title?

She would give anything for this family.

"Sigh..." Xu Mu couldn't help but take out a cigarette from his pocket, light it, and take a deep drag. "Let's talk about this later."

"However, Auntie's condition really can't be delayed any longer!"

"Talk to the doctor tomorrow and ask them to contact the best hospital in Shanghai to arrange the surgery. I'll pay for it."

"After we finish eating, send me your card number."

"Where should we go after we finish eating?" Bai Xue asked with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

If Xu Mu agrees, then Mom's illness can definitely be cured.

Now it's her turn to make the contribution.

She understood that no one in this world would be kind to another person for no reason.

Everyone's efforts are driven by a purpose.

Since Xu Mu was willing to lend her money, she should definitely take the initiative.

This is a lesson Bai Xue learned after entering society, or rather, this is the law governing how society operates.

No one escaped it.

"After dinner, shouldn't everyone go home and find their own mothers?"

Xu Mu asked curiously, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to the hospital to be with your mother?"

Bai Xue looked somewhat deflated, gazing at Xu Mu with a resentful expression, and said, "Xiao Mu, do I really have absolutely no allure in your eyes? Or do you prefer men?"

She practically said it outright: "You're going to sleep with me tonight."

"That's impossible, my sexual orientation is perfectly normal."

Xu Mu shook his head, his gaze towards Bai Xue seeming to say, "Don't slander me."

Of course, he wasn't stupid; how could he not understand what a girl meant when she asked us where we were going after dinner?

"I understand what you mean, but I hope you can focus on getting your mother's illness treated first."

“These things can be done anytime, but medical treatment can’t wait.”

"Thank you." Bai Xue's goodwill towards Xu Mu increased even more.

She understood that Xu Mu was truly different from other boys.

If other guys heard about this opportunity, they would want to take her right there in the private room and try to negotiate with her, squeezing out all sorts of benefits. To put it bluntly, it's an exchange of sex for money. They wouldn't be as addicted to stupid short dramas on Douyin as Xu Mu.

After the dishes were served, Bai Xue took the initiative to put food on Xu Mu's plate.

"Xiao Mu, have you never been in a relationship before?"

Bai Xue thought of a possibility and asked curiously.

"I've dated two people," Xu Mu replied. "One was in my freshman year, and the other was a blind date arranged by my sister-in-law. We just broke up on May 3rd!"

Why did you break up with your boyfriend in college?

"She's my high school classmate! She was there last night!" Xu Mu recounted what happened during their senior year of high school and freshman year of college, which made Bai Xue feel a pang of heartache. "So you spent a lot of money back then, but you didn't even have a relationship with Zhou Mengting?"

"Yes, I matured relatively late back then, and because of this incident, I didn't dare to date for several years."

Xu Mu took a bite of bullfrog and mumbled, "The last woman I met on a blind date was quite materialistic. She was a Voldemort-like mama's girl, and she was the one who broke up with me!"

"The last one was quite proactive, but it cost a lot of money! But that's all in the past; people always have to go through experiences and grow!"

"Your experiences are so strange. First, a jerk; second, a materialistic woman; and now you like turtles, and your job is just writing! Haven't you ever thought about finding someone to marry?"

"My parents keep urging me to get married, but it's no use if I don't find the right person."

“That’s true…” Bai Xue nodded, “Families like yours, just like Old Zhou’s son I mentioned last night, value matching social status, unless they just want to find a woman who can give birth to a son and carry on the family line.”

When Xu Mu saw Bai Xue say that, he understood that she must have misunderstood that his family was very rich and that his parents were both tycoons, while he was just a rather unconventional second-generation rich kid.

However, Xu Mu didn't explain anything, since his money did indeed come from rather strange sources.

The only thing left for my parents to do is shoulder this heavy burden.

While eating, Xu Mu received another message from Zhou Mengting: "Xu Mu, why aren't you replying to my messages?"

Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to a movie.

"And do you think my makeup looks good today?"

Zhou Mengting sent Xu Mu another selfie, which was heavily photoshopped; if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even recognize it as Zhou Mengting.

Xu Mu frowned, feeling somewhat nauseous, and immediately sent a voice message while holding her phone.

"Are you fucking crazy? Why are you sending me your own funeral photo?"

"I'm eating! Don't disgust me!"

(End of this chapter)