What nobody noticed was that just as Wang Shiyu was holding out her drink toward Xu Ye, campus belle Jiang Wei happened to be walking past the basketball courts. She didn’t stop — just glanced over and continued on her way to the cafeteria.
Xu Ye and his two roommates retraced their steps back, stopping at the shop along the way to grab three bottles of mineral water.
Zhang Xinzhou made a passing complaint: “This is so inconvenient. Walking this far just for a bottle of water.”
Yang Fei didn’t respond. He was still stewing.
Why had Wang Shiyu offered Xu Ye her drink and not him? Xu Ye already had a girlfriend. He was the one who’d been chatting with her. So why, on that basketball court just now, had she not looked at him even once?
Xu Ye, meanwhile, had been pulled somewhere else entirely by Zhang Xinzhou’s offhand remark.
Right.
Why weren’t vending machines everywhere yet?
A few years from now, you’d see them in schools, internet cafés, tourist spots, pretty much any public venue worth mentioning. Which meant right now, from where he was standing, that was a real opportunity.
And the operational complexity seemed low — find the machines, place them somewhere with foot traffic, and let them run.
He held his excitement in check and started working through the feasibility in his head.
After the morning lecture ended, Xu Ye pulled Zhang Xinzhou aside and they went to the cafeteria together at pace. Once they’d gotten their food and sat down, Xu Ye leaned in with the air of someone about to share state secrets. “Zhang Xinzhou. I’ve thought of another money-making idea.”
“So that’s what you were doing during class instead of listening. You were daydreaming about money.”
“Pretty much.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Vending machines.”
Zhang Xinzhou’s brow furrowed into three lines. “Vending machines?”
“Yeah.” Xu Ye had done a quick search on his phone during the break. “I looked it up — companies are already making these. A basic unit runs two or three thousand yuan. A higher-end one maybe five thousand. You can stock them with drinks, water, even adult products. Put them somewhere people actually go, and the returns are solid.”
Zhang Xinzhou quickly identified the problem. “But if we want to place them on campus, we’d need the school’s permission, right?”
“That goes through the logistics department.”
Xu Ye said, “If you think it’s worth pursuing, I’ll go talk to whoever’s in charge of logistics.”
“How much capital are we looking at?”
“First phase, a few tens of thousands should be enough — run a pilot on campus, see if it works, then replicate the model at other schools. That’s where it gets capital-intensive.”
“If you can actually get the logistics director on board, I’m in.”
“Good. I’ll go find Director Jiang this evening.”
“How do you know our logistics director is named Jiang?”
“School website.” Xu Ye took a couple of bites and pushed himself up. “Eat up and come with me to a tobacco and liquor shop.”
Zhang Xinzhou looked puzzled. “What for?”
“To buy something. You don’t show up empty-handed when you want a favor from someone.”
…
At the tobacco and liquor shop.
Xu Ye bought two cartons of cigarettes, then put down the bottle of baijiu he’d been considering and changed his mind.
Showing up with both cigarettes and alcohol felt too transactional. And the real problem was that cheap liquor wouldn’t cut it, and good liquor was beyond his budget right now.
He used what he would’ve spent on the bottle to buy some loose-leaf tea instead — no packaging, no brand name, priced by weight but on the expensive end — then had it wrapped up nicely. Face intact, budget intact.
Zhang Xinzhou smiled when they walked out. “Most people know cigarette prices, so those are fine. But this tea has no brand on it at all. What if he doesn’t recognize the quality?”
“Then I’ll just tell him straight — smell this, and you’ll think it’s already New Year.”
“Ha.”
Zhang Xinzhou knew Xu Ye was being playful. With his social instincts, getting this gift in front of the right person and making it land wouldn’t be a problem.
They went through the afternoon’s classes as usual.
After the last period, Xu Ye stopped by the shop first, then rode the scooter over to the admin building with his cigarettes and tea, planning to wait for Director Jiang.
Showing up inside with a bag full of gifts would make it instantly obvious he was looking for a favor — and that could make things awkward for Jiang. So instead, he sat on the scooter at a distance from the main entrance and watched. Patience.
Time slipped by. The sky darkened.
Just when Xu Ye was starting to run out of it, Director Jiang finally emerged from the building. He was about to move when he noticed two other school administrators right behind Jiang, all of them talking and laughing together. He held off.
Jiang and the other two chatted their way to the parking lot, said their goodbyes, and Jiang got in his car and drove off.
Xu Ye hadn’t given up. He started after the car on the scooter.
He tailed it for about five or six minutes before the Volkswagen ahead pulled over to the curb. His pulse jumped — was this his moment?
Then he watched, from his scooter, as Jiang Wei walked up and got into the passenger seat.
He stared.
Hold on.
What is happening right now?
Could this be one of those… 主任が学校の花を威圧する.avi situations? [TL: a deliberately oblique reference to a certain genre of Japanese adult video — Xu Ye is briefly, idiotically wondering if the school logistics director is doing something shady with the campus belle, before immediately talking himself out of it]
No, that couldn’t be right. They’d barely left the school gate. If that was what was happening, they’d be immediately visible to half the campus.
Xu Ye muttered to himself: Jiang Wei… Director Jiang… both surnamed Jiang. Probably relatives. Whatever, just ask.
He pulled out his phone and messaged her.
Xu Ye: Campus belle extraordinaire, you there?
Jiang Wei: No.
Xu Ye: I need to talk to you about something real.
Xu Ye: Where are you right now?
Jiang Wei: In a car.
Xu Ye: What’s your relationship to the school’s logistics director?
Jiang Wei: He’s my uncle. How did you know we were connected?
Xu Ye: Just watched you get in his car.
Xu Ye: How about meeting up at the fruit shop tomorrow at noon?
Jiang Wei: You’re going to give me more apples?
Xu Ye: Of course.
Jiang Wei: Hmm.
Xu Ye read her “hmm” as agreement and felt a wave of satisfaction.
He hadn’t expected that kind of luck. Going to Director Jiang directly, with no context, would have felt presumptuous no matter how he’d dressed it up. If Jiang Wei was willing to be the bridge between them, this got a lot easier.
He rode the scooter back to campus and that evening sent Qingqing a heads-up.
Xu Ye: I’ve got some things going on this weekend. Is it okay if I come see you next week instead?
Chen Qingqing: Oh.
Xu Ye: Not happy about it?
Xu Ye: I can still come this weekend if—
Chen Qingqing: I’m fine.
Chen Qingqing: Focus on what you need to do.
Xu Ye: What are you up to right now?
Chen Qingqing: Putting on vitamin E lotion.
Xu Ye: Vitamin E lotion? What’s that for?
Chen Qingqing: Brightening.
Xu Ye: Where?
Chen Qingqing: My legs.
Xu Ye: Open a video call, let me see the legs.
Chen Qingqing: No.
Xu Ye: Come on~
Chen Qingqing: No.
Just as Qingqing was about to reply again, Zhang Ruowei sent something into the dorm group chat — photos she’d just secretly taken — and leaned over Qingqing’s shoulder toward her phone. “Xu Ye, I’ve already sent the pictures to the group. Enjoy.”
Xu Ye opened the group chat. Sure enough, Zhang Ruowei had snapped two photos of Qingqing’s legs.
Xu Ye: Zhang Ruowei, you’re a saint.
Zhang Ruowei: I know.
Xu Ye: Though I’d still like to see a bit more.
Zhang Ruowei burst out laughing despite herself. “Xu Ye, with this level of perversion, aren’t you worried about getting your account banned?”
Xu Ye responded with the gravity of someone delivering a philosophical position: “Sure, being inappropriate might get you banned. But being afraid of the ban and holding back is basically getting yourself permanently banned.”
“You absolute menace!”
(End of Chapter 93)