"I’m sorry, Sister Manman, I just..." Yang Xintian apologized.
Wang Manman stopped her. Seeing the concern in Yang Xintian’s eyes, her heart softened. She’s still just a young girl, and she ans no harm. She’s just worried about , so there’s no reason to bla her.
"It’s okay, Tian Tian. Your kindness ans a lot to ."
Afterward, the two of them drank a few more glasses, and the earlier unpleasantness vanished into thin air.
Suddenly, a few unwelco guests arrived at the bar. Wang Manman’s sharp eyes spotted her landlord, and her scalp tingled. Still, she steeled herself and walked over to greet them.
"Boss lady, we need to have a good talk about the rent face to face. It’s just not getting sorted out over the phone or on WeChat."
The landlord hadn’t co alone. A few burly n stood behind him, blocking the entrance.
Wang Manman frowned and forced a smile. "Please, co with . Don’t block the doorway; you’re preventing custors from coming in and out."
"What custors? This bar of yours barely has any," one of the n with the landlord remarked disrespectfully.
Wang Manman glared at him, but it had no effect. Instead, it only provoked a round of laughter from the group.
"Are you here to collect the rent? Or have you decided to take back the property and not rent it out anymore?" Wang Manman’s single question was enough to make the landlord silence his cronies.
He had brought these n to intimidate her, but his real intention was still to collect the rent. After all, the market wasn’t great. If she really left, it was uncertain how long it would take to find another tenant. And ti is money.
"You lot, stop blocking her entrance! How is she supposed to do business?" the landlord said to his n. "Go inside, find a table, and have a few drinks. Co get after I’ve finished my discussion."
The landlord sent his henchn away and then sat down on a high stool at the bar. "The rent is due next month. What are your plans?"
"You can see for yourself that my business isn’t doing well," Wang Manman said, sitting beside him. "I can’t co up with that much money right now. How about I pay for half a year’s rent first? I’ll go back to annual paynts as soon as I have the funds."
The landlord drumd his fingers on the bar, his brow furrowed. "That puts in a difficult position. The contract specifies annual paynts. What’s this about paying for half a year?"
They had already discussed this issue a few tis on the phone, but they still hadn’t reached an agreent.
The key issue was that the landlord had lost a lot of money on the stock market this year and urgently needed cash to cover the hole. The annual rent was one million yuan. If she only paid half, he’d be short five hundred thousand. He couldn’t plug that financial hole, and if the tigress at ho found out, he would surely die a horrible death. That was why he had been refusing to agree.
Five hundred thousand... it might not sound like much, but for , it’s the last straw. What should I do? I already scraped together the first five hundred thousand by borrowing from all my friends and relatives. Coming up with another five hundred thousand is truly impossible now. And the landlord doesn’t seem like the reasonable type.
"Sister Manman, I have tens of thousands of yuan here. Let transfer it to you," Yang Xintian offered, coming to her rescue.
Wang Manman was moved but refused. That amount of money wouldn’t solve the problem.
At that mont, Xiao Shao strolled over, holding his glass with a smile. "Sister Manman, are you in so kind of trouble? Why don’t you tell about it? Maybe I can help."
Wang Manman rejected him without a second thought.
This man is a regular custor at my bar. I’ve seen him bring at least five different won here. Get them drunk, take them to a hotel—the whole package. This guy is not a good person. He has money and isn’t afraid to lend it, but I wouldn’t dare to accept. The man is a playboy. To him, won are like clothes. He’d cherish a new one, but as soon as he got his way and grew bored, he’d toss her aside without a second thought.
Yang Xintian looked at him angrily. "What business is it of yours? Keep this up, and I’ll go tell Zi Xuan."
The threat carried so weight, but not much.
"Don’t slander . I’m just trying to help."
Yang Xintian scoffed, "Hmph! If you were that kind-hearted, the sun would rise from the west tomorrow."
"You two are giving a headache with all this arguing," the landlord cut in, pointing at Wang Manman. "So what’s it going to be? Can you give a straight answer or not?"
Wang Manman was speechless, unsure of what to say.
If this really isn’t going to work out, I might as well just close the bar for good. But the next second, she felt a pang of reluctance. This bar was sothing she and her husband had built together, a testant to their love. Even though they’d moved several tis, the sign had always stayed the sa.
"Well? Boss Lady, you’ve been in business for so many years. Surely you can co up with one million, can’t you?" the landlord pressed, growing anxious. Is this deal going to fall through?
"Landlord, I’m sorry, I really can’t co up with one million right now..."
She hadn’t even finished her sentence when Yang Xintian interrupted her.
"Uncle Sun, we’re over here!" she shouted, waving her hands enthusiastically, afraid Sun Dasheng wouldn’t see them.
Then she leaned close and whispered into Wang Manman’s ear, "Sister Manman, just listen to . You can’t go wrong with my Uncle Sun. Look at him! He’s tall, strong, and handso, not to ntion rich and willing to spend money on won. Tell , where else could you find a man that good? How can you still be so picky?"
Wang Manman finally voiced her true feelings, whispering so only Yang Xintian could hear. "Tian Tian, it’s not that I dislike him or look down on him. I’m afraid *he* won’t be interested in . I’m a married woman with a child. What could he possibly see in ? Is he interested in my fading beauty, or does he want to bear his children? I think you were just being wishful; he never had any intention like that at all."
Alright then. Yang Xintian finally understood Wang Manman’s earlier reaction. But Wang Manman wasn’t wrong. This was all just her own baseless enthusiasm. She hadn’t laid the groundwork with either of them and had just charged in to play matchmaker. There was no helping it; she was still just a student. How could she possibly think things through so thoroughly?
So she quickly ran over to Sun Dasheng, stopped him, and explained the whole situation in detail. This left Sun Dasheng sowhat amused and exasperated.
"You little girl, you’re really kind-hearted, aren’t you? But do you really need to rush around like this over us adults’ business?"
"Uncle Sun, can you please just help her?" Yang Xintian pleaded, resorting to acting spoiled since she had no other ideas.
But she was t with an outright refusal as he simply shook his head. Her little face fell with disappointnt.
Sun Dasheng patted her on the head. "Will you dare to do sothing like this again? A lot of things aren’t as simple as you think.
"Like your Sister Manman said, she has a family and children. What you did wasn’t helping her; it was harming her. You’re still too young and don’t consider things from all angles."
"Uncle Sun, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault," Yang Xintian admitted. It was clear she genuinely realized her mistake.
"Don’t be disheartened. Sotis people with good intentions ss things up. The fact that you can recognize your mistake already makes you better than a lot of people."
"Really?" Yang Xintian asked, blinking her big eyes.
"Of course!" Sun Dasheng nodded.
"Then what should Sister Manman do? I really want to help her," Yang Xintian asked.
"Then go help her," Sun Dasheng said.
"But I don’t have any money! If I ask my parents, they’ll kill ," she said.
"Don’t you still have , your Uncle Sun?" he reminded her.
His words made her eyes light up. "Uncle Sun, do you an...?"
"Consider this money a loan from . You’ll have to pay back later," Sun Dasheng said, pinching her little cheek before transferring the money to her card.
She spun around happily. Who knew the problem could be solved like this?
What she didn’t realize was that most people would have handled the situation this way from the start. For so reason, her mind worked differently. There was a perfectly straight road right in front of her, yet she insisted on taking the winding side path.
"Thank you, Uncle Sun!" she chirped, leaping onto him and giving him a quick kiss.
She then spun around and ran towards Wang Manman, shouting as she went, "Sister Manman, I have the money now! You don’t have to close the bar!"
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