Chapter 12

Lan Xi had been feeling great recently after Xie Cheng was conquered. He had been taking her wherever he went.

He had been focused on expanding his clientele lately, so there were many banquets. By extension, Lan Xi was also eating and drinking to her heart's content, sampling many Earth delicacies.

Lan Xi also upheld the elegance a princess should have, very carefully unearthing an Earth secret to dining—

At the end of several of the meals, Xie Cheng did not pay. He only needed to matter-of-factly tell the server, "Put it on my tab."

"You don't need to pay? Can we leave like this? Won't we get arrested and put in jail?"

Xie Cheng looked very unimpressed by her questions. "It's already been put on my tab, hasn't it?" He glanced at Lan Xi. "Or do you insist on paying for me now? Are you an alien?"

"..."

Lan Xi didn't have money.

Of course she couldn't pay for Xie Cheng.

She also didn't dare ask any more, afraid that too many questions would expose her alien identity. Just look at Xie Cheng's questioning—he was already suspicious!

But to Lan Xi's surprise, after Xie Cheng said "put it on my tab," the restaurant staff really didn't stop them. No one came to arrest them and put them in jail.

The first time, Lan Xi was still a little apprehensive. The second and third times...

As it happened more and more, Lan Xi went from nervous to brazenly confident.

So this was a hidden dining password!

Almost as soon as she learned of this code, Lan Xi didn't hesitate at all to put it into practice.

That night, she appeared at the restaurant again by herself.

Trying it alone for the first time, Lan Xi still lacked confidence. Therefore, she only ordered simple dishes. When the meal ended and the server handed her the check, she imitated Xie Cheng—

"Put it on the tab, Xie Cheng's tab!"

This server had just served Lan Xi and Xie Cheng at lunch. She was stunned for a moment. "Alright, then I'll put it on Mr. Xie's tab, but I'll need you to sign here."

...

When Lan Xi left the hotel, she still couldn't quite believe it.

So it turns out eating for free is just that easy!

Having succeeded the first time, Lan Xi eagerly prepared for her second and third times...

She went to several restaurants Xie Cheng had taken her to and ate and drank extravagantly. She didn't miss a single meal, morning, afternoon, or night, feasting on everything from Boston live lobster to imported oysters. She also opened several bottles of imported wine. As long as she was brazen enough, when leaving, tossing out "Put it on the tab, Xie Cheng's tab," the other party never asked her to pay.

...

Because she ate very full every day, Lan Xi was bursting with seemingly endless energy, working exceptionally energetically every day.

And in the office, although Liang Di was out on leave to take care of Cao An, the atmosphere was still very harmonious. Especially Wan Yan—ever since Lan Xi had spoken up for her at the concert last time, recently, Lan Xi often noticed Wan Yan looking thoughtfully at her, gaze deep, as if planning something grand, probably wanting to repay her. If that gaze could be embodied, it would be hot enough to burn two holes in Lan Xi's clothes.

Actually, there was absolutely no need. After all, great kindness needs no thanks.

But it seemed Wan Yan didn't think that way.

During the lunch break, she specially bought Lan Xi afternoon tea, then walked over to Lan Xi's desk with a gentle smile. "Lan Xi, are you free now?"

Lan Xi nodded.

"It's like this—I've been organizing contracts recently and discovered that our Cheng Xin Technology has a cooperation agreement with a company called ChenYu Technology. The other party still owes us 20 million yuan in payments which they have been dragging out without giving to us."

Wan Yan lowered her voice, "You know about Cheng Xin Technology's incentive mechanism right? Whoever retrieves those final payments can get a percentage cut out of it. So if someone brings back that 20 million, they can directly get a 200,000 yuan bonus."

She heaved a regretful sigh. "The fact that this final payment from ChenYu Technology hasn't been collected yet, others may not know about it yet. I wanted to go get it myself at first, but my current workload is too heavy. So I was thinking, since you happen to be free..."

It seemed Wan Yan's desire to repay her was very strong, which was why she was so unstintingly offering Lan Xi this money-making opportunity.

Since she had already gone to such lengths, Lan Xi did not demur either. Xie Cheng was out at meetings today anyway, so she really was quite free.

"Alright, I'll go!"

Wan Yan pursed her lips in a slight smile. "Great. Their CEO is surnamed Wu, called Wu Lie. He's currently recuperating at home. I'll send you his address and contact info. It just so happens you can go pay him a visit now and bring up the matter of the payment."

Lan Xi felt very moved. "When I get the 200,000 yuan, I'll split it with you 50-50!"

"How could I do that?" Wan Yan blinked. "Have you forgotten our Cheng Xin Technology office system? Once someone takes on a task, they have to register themselves as the responsible party in the system, right? Since this task is now yours, naturally any accomplishments will also be yours.

"So how could I take your money? That wouldn't be appropriate or in line with regulations. You must remember that retrieving this payment from ChenYu Technology is your task and has nothing to do with me."

It seemed Wan Yan's desire to repay kindness was very strong! Even though it was such a good opportunity, she had completely excluded herself from it!

In order not to fail Wan Yan's sincerity, Lan Xi claimed this task in the system according to Wan Yan's instructions before heading out to collect the payment.

**

Watching Lan Xi's rushing figure, Wan Yan nearly burst out laughing coldly.

Messing with her was still too advanced for this girl.

ChenYu Technology specialized in map navigation. Two years ago, they started developing real-time weather functions and signed a contract to cooperate with Cheng Xin Technology ever since. Cheng Xin Technology provided them with the latest meteorological data predictions and real-time weather information aggregation analysis. But other than the first installment paid in advance, ChenYu Technology still owed them the final payment for the project, always dragging it out with all kinds of excuses whenever they were chased for payment.

Their CEO was the seasoned smiling tiger Wu. This person was quite difficult to deal with. This 20 million yuan payment had in fact already been owed for over a year. It wasn't like Xie Cheng hadn't sent people to chase payments before, but every time someone went, Wu would be very polite and humble, with a good attitude. He was watertight, apologizing and making promises, not giving you any reason to slap his smirking face, but he wouldn't pay the money, refusing to pay even if he died.

This guy was also quite the publicity seeker, a well-known hypocrite. His surface was extremely polite and proper, mouthing righteousness and morality, but in reality, he was just a dressed-up rogue.

The 20 million yuan final payment and 200,000 yuan bonus had attracted no shortage of people who tried collecting payments first, but no one had succeeded. Instead, huge amounts of effort were spent.

Wan Yan didn't tell Lan Xi that according to office system regulations, once someone took on a task in the system, completion of that task would be included in performance assessments. If the completion rate was zero, not only would they be unable to get a cut of the payment upon successful collection, failure to complete would be awaiting them—not only losing out on bonuses, but even facing deductions or even firing for more serious offenses.

If it were some good job, someone would have already claimed it. It had always gone untouched because normal people all knew it was a trap, but the newly arrived Lan Xi clearly didn't understand that.

Now that Lan Xi had claimed the payment collection task in the system, all Wan Yan had to do was sit back and watch the show.

Share 20 million yuan? Dream on! **

Lan Xi was unaware of Wan Yan's scheme. Following the address Wan Yan gave her, she arrived at ChenYu Technology CEO Wu's villa.

Hearing she was from Cheng Xin Technology, Wu welcomed Lan Xi very warmly.

When Lan Xi brought up the final payment, Wu was completely cooperative—

"I know it's not good owing this money for so long. I really did forget about it before. Miss Lan, just wait, I'll call my finance manager. She's out today. Let me see if she's back at the company yet. If she's returned, I'll have her send the money to you right away."

"Please sit and have some tea while you're going through the trouble to come. We can just wait for my finance manager to return to the company."

As Wu spoke, he personally poured tea for Lan Xi, and kindly introduced the tea leaves to her, occasionally chatting about daily life with Lan Xi as well. He seemed quite reasonable.

Lan Xi felt even more grateful to Wan Yan in her heart.

She never expected that standing up for Wan Yan that one time would earn such trust and repayment from her!

Although they weren't related, from now on, she would take extra care of Wan Yan!

Wu Lie was unexpectedly amenable when Lan Xi went to ask him for the overdue payment. Isn't Mr. Wu usually difficult to deal with?

After a cup of tea, Wu Lie apologetically looked at his phone, "I'm afraid our accounting department is stuck in traffic on their way back to the office. It may take another two or three hours before they get back. That road is terribly congested. Without a couple more hours, I'm afraid..."

As Wu Lie spoke, he looked towards Lan Xi, "Your company must be very busy. If you have things to do, feel free to head back first. Don't worry, as soon as the accounting department gets back, I'll keep an eye on them to make sure the payment goes through."

As he spoke, Wu Lie sighed, "I've got this handled. After all, it's just me rattling around this big house. My kids are all away at boarding school, so it's just me, an empty nester."

Wu Lie looked quite pitiful, "If you weren't so busy, I'd definitely want to chat with you more, maybe over some tea or a meal. I felt an instant rapport with you. Please come by often in the future if you have time..."

Look at how considerate he's being!

Lan Xi had already been led to the door by Wu Lie, but in that moment, she felt that she should return the courtesy—

"Mr. Wu, I'm not leaving!"

"My work can wait. I'm not that busy!"

"So I've decided I'll stay and chat with you! It must get lonely being in this big house all by yourself!"

Who wouldn't feel lonely living alone in a house this huge?!

Wu Lie seemed stunned by Lan Xi's decision. After a pause, he awkwardly responded, "Sure, sure. It's good you can sit a while longer and keep me company."

"Here, have something to eat before you go. I just bought this..."

"And this drink is also tasty. Let me pour you some."

"Since we hit it off, make yourself at home. Don't be shy, feel free to help yourself!"

...

Two hours later...

As Wu Lie poured more tea, he glanced anxiously at the clock on the wall. He was clearly growing impatient...

Wu Lie had a standard ploy. On the surface, there didn't seem anything to fault—he was polite, gracious, promised to keep an eye on accounting, and claimed payment delays were due to accounting getting stuck in traffic, having emergencies, suddenly quitting...

Not only did Wu Lie owe Lan Xi's company money, he owed other companies too. His MO was largely the same.

When older debt collectors showed up, he'd quickly build rapport by chatting about parenting. For younger ones, he'd kindly look after them like a kindly uncle, urging them to eat and drink.

This usually made the debt collectors less inclined to firmly insist repayment. After all, Wu Lie's manner was extremely gracious—hadn't he already told accounting to process the payment? It was just that accounting was held up in traffic or had personal emergencies...

Some persistent ones would sit around Wu Lie's house awhile longer, but most people couldn't stand wasting so much time and would leave unsatisfied.

Lan Xi had already broken records with how long she'd stayed.

Whenever Wu Lie absentmindedly asked if she wanted more food or to sit longer, she'd readily accept...

...

Lan Xi had arrived at Wu Lie's place in the morning. Wu Lie was very hospitable, urging her to eat this and that. Soon, lunchtime rolled around.

"Ms. Lan, look at the time. I'm getting on in years and not very mobile, so I only ordered one takeout meal. If you don't head back soon, your company cafeteria will probably close..."

Wu Lie looked hopefully towards the door, seemingly wanting to say more but hesitating.

A widower living alone in a big house is pretty pitiable.

He kept glancing at the door, probably worried I'd leave!

Lan Xi felt tremendous sympathy. "It's fine, I won't rush back for the cafeteria. Since you have limited mobility, I'll just eat takeout here with you. Mr. Wu, just order me a meal too. I don't mind."

"..."

After the meal, Wu Lie seemed worried. He repeatedly asked Lan Xi, "You've been here all morning. Is it really okay not to head back to work?"

Then he glanced at his phone, "Oh dear. Accounting says her elderly relative took a fall and needs emergency treatment...I'm afraid we'll be waiting a while longer..."

He looked apologetically at Lan Xi, "She's been with us for years, like a sister to me. With her family situation, how could I urge her to come back to work?"

"I can't focus much after lunch at my age. I need a nap, but I wouldn't feel right leaving you here alone waiting for accounting. That would hardly reflect the Wu family's hospitality. So..."

Deeply moved, Lan Xi hastily interrupted the seemingly conflicted Wu Lie, "Mr. Wu, don't feel burdened! Go rest! Just order me plenty of afternoon tea—snacks, desserts, drinks—so I'm not just sitting here waiting. I can snack while I wait!"

"...Please get me fresh orange juice, candied haws, Turkish apricots, candied chestnuts, flower cakes, hawthorn cakes, caramel roasted peanuts, dried mango, white chocolate, and blueberry sandwich cookies."

Wu Lie's expression was hard to describe. Lan Xi patted him reassuringly, "No need to be so moved. I do feel we hit it off, so like you said, I'll make myself at home."

Perhaps worried about accounting's family, Wu Lie looked visibly anxious, "It seems her elderly relative has passed. They'll need to make funeral arrangements...that could take days before we can process payment..."

Wu Lie said helplessly, "She's like a sister to me. With her family situation, how could I urge her to work?"

"Is it okay if I take that nap? But I'd feel bad leaving you here alone waiting for accounting. That would hardly reflect our hospitality. So..."

Deeply moved, Lan Xi interrupted, "Mr. Wu, don't fret! Nap away! As long as accounting hasn't paid, I can tell President Cheng I'm here trying to collect payment for work reasons. He can't fault me for that. So whenever I have time, I'll just swing by!"

"Oh, could you turn on the TV for me? And what's your WiFi password?"

...

Lan Xi truly enjoyed Wu Lie's place—the big house with great natural lighting and landscaping. In the courtyard by the floor-to-ceiling windows, a lush tree was thriving.

Since she was to make herself at home, Lan Xi made herself comfortable on the couch and happily dug into the delivery snacks.

Wu Lie, who was going to nap, didn't leave. Sitting next to Lan Xi, he seemed somewhat gloomy, "Ms Lan, accounting just said her relative has passed. They'll need to handle funeral arrangements."

He glanced out the window into the courtyard, "You see, at this time every day, I can tell it's getting late because the afternoon light gets blocked by that tallow tree in the yard." Wu Lie was privately furious, but mindful of etiquette even when dodging debts. Maintaining face took priority, so he always acted gentlemanly to stroke his ego—especially when deftly fending off debt collectors with mild, polite speech. He rather enjoyed their helpless yet etiquette-bound departure.

He carefully chose victims who valued face, etiquette, and propriety, and thus wouldn't kick up a big fuss over debts. Many victims didn't even make trouble over unpaid debts to save face, allowing Wu Lie's rampant abuse.

So accustomed was he to this approach that Wu Lie, self-proclaimed gentleman, still sought to tactfully urge Lan Xi to leave.

"You see, it's getting late..."

Just as Wu Lie was about to continue, Lan Xi cut him off.

"Mr. Wu, with this tree blocking the afternoon light in your living room all day, it must be pretty bothersome."

"Huh? Yes, yes, it is somewhat bothersome, but mainly I wanted to say, it's rather dark out..."

Wu Lie wanted to go on, but a phone call interrupted him. He apologized to Lan Xi with a smile before stepping aside to take the call.

Lan Xi was the only one left in the living room.

Mr. Wu was gentle and reasonable, and had bought her so much food.

The more friends, the more paths; Lan Xi felt this friendship was settled.

She looked at the thick, gnarled branches of the tree in the courtyard, then rolled up her sleeves.

Helping friends share worries and solve difficulties is a valuable and excellent quality!

......

**

Xie Cheng had been busy meeting with several suppliers the past few days. Receiving Wu Lie's phone call was unexpected, since after owing the balance payment, Wu Lie would never voluntarily show his existence if he could, wishing Xie Cheng could forget about the 20 million balance and forget about him.

"President Xie! Your 20 million, I have already arranged for my finance team to wire it! Under normal circumstances it will show in your company's account in less than 2 hours!"

Xie Cheng froze, barely believing his own ears.

On the other end of the phone, Wu Lie had completely changed from his usual leisurely, gentle and refined image. One could almost describe it as crying and screaming: "I already paid the money, can you please spare me!"

Xie Cheng's brows furrowed slightly: "What?"

"I, Wu Lie, am begging you, hurry and bring Lan Xi from your company back!"

......

Xie Cheng didn't understand, but after having the finance department check, he discovered Wu Lie really did pay the 20 million balance.

After logging into the company's office system, Xie Cheng found that just this morning, Lan Xi had taken on this thankless debt collection job.

But what exactly happened?

Xie Cheng thought back on Lan Xi's past actions, and had an ominous feeling.

He tried but failed to contact Lan Xi, while Wu Lie was still sending him frantic pleas for help.

Xie Cheng had just finished a meeting, and had no schedule after, originally planning to head back to the office. And Wu Lie's address happened to be on the way back to the office, so he simply drove his car there directly.

**

When Lan Xi saw Xie Cheng, she was looking forward to dinner.

She had a great day at Wu Lie's house, while also completing her work - Wu Lie said finance had already paid the balance.

Of course, before this, as thanks for Wu Lie's warm hospitality, Lan Xi had first given Wu Lie a big gift.

Lan Xi thought the first thing Xie Cheng would say upon seeing her was praise, but Xie Cheng pressed his lips, only asking one question -

"You beat up Wu Lie, didn't you? What's he been beaten into?"

"......" Lan Xi was unhappy, "What are you saying? While it's true I'm very good at beating people up, I don't only rely on primitive methods to solve everything."

"And Mr. Wu is so nice. We're already friends! How could I beat my own friend?"

Xie Cheng's face showed disbelief: "Friends?" He looked around the living room, "Then where's your friend? Where is he?"

Lan Xi pointed at the courtyard: "There, look."

Following where Lan Xi pointed, Xie Cheng finally discovered Wu Lie - contrary to his usual easygoing and refined manner, he was hugging a broken yellow rosewood tree, crying like he had just lost his parents.

Xie Cheng walked closer, and could finally make out what he was wailing -

"My darling! I paid a high price for this rare specimen, raised it from a small sapling, watering and fertilizing and pest management, never missing anything for 20 years! It finally grew this big! How can you say it's gone just like that! How could it meet such a tragic end!"

......

Yellow rosewood can only grow in relatively hot climates. The lowest temperature it can withstand is 7 degrees Celsius, while Rong City's winter temperatures can even drop below zero. It was not a suitable environment for yellow rosewood, so in Wu Lie's courtyard, Xie Cheng discovered that regardless of cost, Wu Lie had built a glass greenhouse to create a habitat it could survive in. The courtyard walls also had humidity and temperature monitors.

Under Wu Lie's meticulous care, the yellow rosewood had also grown exceptionally well. It was obvious he had spent a lot of money and effort on it. But now, the once thick trunk had snapped off from the base, leaving only a bare tree stump......

Xie Cheng's earlier bad feeling grew stronger. He looked incredulously at Lan Xi, still sitting on the sofa eating snacks -

"Don't tell me you did this?"

Lan Xi's mouth was full of chestnuts but her voice was proud: "Of course I did!"

"......"

She helpfully explained to Xie Cheng what had happened, summarizing: "Since the yellow rosewood was blocking the sunlight, and that was no good, after eating so many of Mr. Wu's snacks today, I should do him a favor. So when he went to take a call, I took the chance and pushed the tree over to surprise him."

Xie Cheng was expressionless as he pointed at the bawling Wu Lie: "But don't you think he looks nothing like he's happily surprised? More like his parents just died?"

"Oh, that." Lan Xi was very blasé. "Not long ago he took a call that an elderly person in their company's finance team passed away. Mr. Wu is very kind, he treated that finance person like a younger sister, so it's equivalent to his own elder passing away! Of course he'd cry this hard, like he lost his own parents!"

Speaking to here, Lan Xi added: "President Xie, Mr. Wu is not bad actually. He kept wanting me to eat more, drink more, treat this place like home. I've been here since this morning waiting for them to wire the payment. Who knew this would happen."

"......" Xie Cheng looked like he didn't know what to say. After a pause, he rubbed his brow before looking back at Lan Xi. "Since the overdue payment has now been sent to ChenYu Technology, can you leave now?"

"I'm not leaving yet!" Lan Xi was very justified. She pointed at the snacks in front of her, "Mr. Wu bought me so much snacks, I haven't finished them yet! And Mr. Wu said to treat this place like my own home. After checking it out, the living environment here beats the employee dorms. I checked out the rooms too, the south facing one on 2nd floor looks good. I've decided to settle down here......"

"......" Xie Cheng finally understood why Wu Lie was so anxious to pay and call him.

This Miss Lan Xi was not something regular people could afford.

Her irregular behavior tormented not just Xie Cheng, but indiscriminately wore down others too.

Yet Xie Cheng suddenly felt his mood turn much better.

This state of mind was very strange. It was like finally realizing he wasn't the only unlucky one, that he was far from Lan Xi's sole victim. It actually made him feel extremely comforted and relieved. And as an experienced victim, upon seeing the dumbstruck new victim, he strangely felt a sense of superiority from having seen the world.

Xie Cheng realized that recently, his whole worldview felt like it was being reshaped.