I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 4
4
The makeup brush swept lightly over her eyes.
With the help of the smoky rose makeup, Yu Lili’s fair, delicate face instantly transformed into that of a wild little kitten.
“Wow.” Du Tanyu, leaning against the dressing table with one leg bent, twirled the car keys in her hand and marveled at the reflection in the mirror. “Honestly, if you’d shown up with this makeup the other day, it would’ve taken me a while to recognize you.”
Yu Lili set down the makeup brush and made an exaggerated expression at the mirror.
Du Tanyu sounded uncertain. “Are you really sure about using Anna’s identity to meet Tan Suran again?”
“What else can I do? Get fired? This is an opportunity I fought hard for,” Yu Lili said, propping her chin on her hand.
“Even if Tan Suran is sabotaging you behind the scenes, you still have your parents, don’t you? Would they really just stand by and do nothing?”
Yu Lili let out a dry laugh. “If Tan Suran really ruins this job for me, forget my dad—my mom would probably send her a ‘People’s Hero’ banner, complete with gongs and drums, to welcome me home.”
“Ugh, same world, different dreams. My old man gets mad at me for lazing around, while your mom actually wants you to go home and mooch off them.”
Speaking of this, Yu Lili puffed out her cheeks. From the day she started looking for internships, her mom had been firmly against it, insisting that the outside world was too stressful and that she should come home, let her dad arrange a job for her, and learn how to manage the family business. After some back-and-forth, Yu Lili agreed that if she couldn’t successfully transition into a full-time photographer, she’d listen to her mom and return home as a freeloader.
But Yu Lili’s fight for freedom came with conditions.
Glancing at the credit card overdue payment notification on her phone, she slowly turned to Du Tanyu with a pleading smile. “Du Du, dear Du Du…”
Du Tanyu raised an eyebrow and immediately took a step back, rubbing away the goosebumps on her arms. “Just say it outright.”
Yu Lili pursed her lips and, under Du Tanyu’s watchful gaze, raised her hand, then pinched her thumb and forefinger together, blowing Du Tanyu a kiss.
Confused, Du Tanyu clasped her hands together and blew a heart back at Yu Lili.
“Not a heart—it’s this.”
Yu Lili rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, making the universal gesture for money.
Du Tanyu’s mouth fell open in realization. “Ohhh—”
Yu Lili nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll pay you back once I get my internship salary next month.”
One percent.
That was the part Yu Lili left unsaid.
“How much is your internship salary?”
“1,500.”
“And how much do you want to borrow?”
“Ta-da!” Yu Lili held up two fingers, forming a “2” and wagging them back and forth.
Du Tanyu waved it off. “Just 200? Don’t even bother paying me back.”
“Not 200.”
Du Tanyu said magnanimously, “2,000 is fine too.”
Yu Lili shook her head.
“T-two… 20,000?” Du Tanyu’s voice wavered slightly.
Yu Lili kept shaking her head.
Du Tanyu grabbed her bag and turned to leave. “I’ve got stuff to do, gotta run.”
Yu Lili yanked on her bag strap. “Are we friends or not?”
“No, Lili, you know I’m just using my mom’s credit card. And, what a coincidence, my mom and your mom are besties. And another coincidence—right before I left today, they were having a girls’ get-together, and your mom told me that if I secretly helped you out, she’d have her bestie freeze my allowance. We can’t both be living off thin air, can we?”
Yu Lili hung her head and let out a long sigh.
Du Tanyu walked back over. “Why don’t you call your mom and apologize? She’s your mom, after all—she wouldn’t just watch you suffer.”
Yu Lili blinked. “You’ve got a point.”
Then she dialed her dad’s number.
Asking her mom for money was absolutely out of the question.
But she could take a detour—get it from her dad instead.
The phone rang three times before connecting.
“Lili, how are you? Do you have enough money?”
Ah, her dear dad—straight to the point in three sentences.
“Heh heh heh. I’m just a tiny, tiny bit short on cash right now. Would President Yu consider making a small investment? It’s the perfect time to get in, you know.”
“Invest in what?”
“Invest in a little cutie with AAAA+ potential and AAAAA+ returns, cuteness off the charts.”
On the other end of the line, Dad suddenly took a sharp breath.
Unaware, Yu Lili kept going. “Once I start making money, my first paycheck will go entirely to you—buy whatever you want! Dad, don’t you like tea? We’ll get premium tea leaves, one of each kind! We’re going all out, no limits!”
Du Tanyu, listening nearby, nearly laughed herself sick.
Uncle Yu wouldn’t need dinner tonight—Yu Lili’s empty promises were more than enough to fill him up.
“Lili, I haven’t seen any work skills from you, but your ability to sweet-talk has definitely improved. Even asking for money has to be done with flair.” The voice on the other end suddenly changed.
Hearing it, Yu Lili immediately wilted, murmuring weakly, “Mom.”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk me. It won’t work. If you come home, money won’t be an issue—you could even throw it on the streets for all I care. But if you insist on making it on your own, then prove it to us.”
“…”
“Also, the rent for your current place is only paid through the end of this month. After that, you’re on your own.”
“…”
After hanging up, Yu Lili slumped.
Du Tanyu’s expression was complicated as she texted her own parents: Mom, Dad, I love you. Please never abandon me, okay?
“Lili, if it really comes to it, I’ll withdraw some cash from a friend tomorrow and give it to you.”
Yu Lili shook her head and snorted. “It’s fine. If my parents won’t help, I still have their parents to rely on.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone buzzed with a voice message from her mom.
Yu Lili reluctantly tapped to play it.
“Oh, and don’t even think about going to your grandparents for money. You’re a grown adult—how shameless would it be to beg money from the elderly?” Her mom’s stern voice echoed through the room.
Yu Lili clutched her chest. “Oh my god.”
Her brows knitted together. “Oh my god, how does she know me so well?” She covered her face and let out a dramatic, heartbroken sob.
“Lili, don’t cry.” Du Tanyu said sympathetically.
Then, dead serious, she added, “Your makeup will run, and all that effort will be wasted.”
Yu Lili: “…”
The money issue remained unresolved, but the Tan Suran problem had to be dealt with.
Before leaving, Du Tanyu gave Yu Lili a once-over and asked uncertainly, “Are you sure about this?”
“You don’t get it. This is called keeping a low profile—doing my absolute best to tone down my irrepressible charm, just a little.”
“But… dressed like that in a bar, who wouldn’t stare at you?”
Yep.
Any normal person who saw a twenty-year-old girl in a bar wearing a face mask, hat, gloves, and a red-flower-green-leaf grandma-style sweater would instinctively do a double take.
“Also, I just thought of a serious problem. You can change your face with makeup, but what if Tan Suran recognizes your voice?”
…
Level Bar
8:00 PM
The crowd was slowly building, though it wasn’t the bar’s peak hour yet.
In the farthest corner booth, Tan Suran scrolled through her tablet, handling company documents.
The surrounding noise didn’t distract her.
Not until a shadow fell over her table.
She looked up.
Taking in the visitor’s rural-chic outfit, Tan Suran arched a brow and gestured with her chin. “Have a seat.”
Yu Lili—no, Anna—plopped down across from Tan Suran, hands in her pockets, legs crossed, shoulders swaying like a little punk, glaring impatiently at Tan Suran.
“Long time no see.”
Yu Lili rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, making sure Tan Suran got a full view of her sclera.
Yes.
After careful planning with Du Tanyu, Anna’s persona was that of a wild, rebellious girl.
That way, she could reject Tan Suran firmly and decisively.
Wild little Anna pulled out her phone, tapped a few times, then shoved the screen in Tan Suran’s face.
In bold, bratty white letters, it read: [What do you want?]
Tan Suran tucked her hair behind her ear and slid the gilded drink menu toward Yu Lili. “What would you like to drink?”
Yu Lili scowled and typed again: [Not drinking. Spit it out.]
Tan Suran crossed her legs. “Why aren’t you speaking?”
[I’m mute.]
“Since when? You were fine last time.”
[Just now.]
This was Yu Lili’s solution—to avoid Tan Suran recognizing her voice, she’d pretend to be mute.
Tan Suran smirked but didn’t respond. Instead, she subtly pushed an empty glass across the table with her fingers.
She watched lazily as the glass teetered toward the edge between her and Yu Lili.
Yu Lili reflexively caught it and clutched her chest. “That scared me—”
Then she remembered her mute act and promptly sealed her lips.
Tan Suran raised an amused brow. “Did I just witness a medical miracle?”
Yu Lili covered her face and typed: [It was a temporary recovery.]
[Now I’m mute again.]
[Fine. The truth is, my voice is too enchanting, and I didn’t want to mesmerize you to death.]
Tan Suran narrowed her eyes at the rapidly typing girl. “You needn’t worry about that.” Her phone chimed twice. She glanced at it and began handling work matters.
Yu Lili propped her chin on her hand. Rather than letting Tan Suran keep beating around the bush, it was better to cut to the chase.
The only reason Tan Suran wanted to meet was to rekindle their fling.
She tapped the screen loudly, drawing attention to four bold words: [I’m married.]
Tan Suran gave it a cursory glance before looking back down. “I don’t mind.”
Yu Lili clenched her fists. She’d underestimated Tan Suran.
How naive of her to think this woman had any morals. That was on her.
Tan Suran locked her phone and looked up. “Let’s talk seriously.”
Yu Lili: [No thanks. Not interested.]
Tan Suran lifted her wineglass. Her moonlit face, framed by the pale red liquor, looked even more noble and aloof. “I’d love to know the reason for your resistance. Yu Lili must have told you who I am. I can’t think of a single reason for you to refuse.”
Hearing her own name, Yu Lili felt a pang of guilt. She lowered her head and typed randomly: [I don’t like women with acne.]
Only then did Tan Suran properly look up. “Acne?”
Yu Lili nodded emphatically, pointing to her forehead and making a disgusted face.
Tan Suran’s red lips curled. “All I’m asking is for you to—”
Yu Lili was resolute: [I’d rather die than yield.]
“—be my driver.”
Yu Lili: ???
Driver???
Yu Lili shook her head without hesitation.
After all that effort to track her down, Tan Suran just wanted her to be a driver?
Was she out of her mind?
Or was “driver” just a euphemism for “mistress”?
Even more impossible.
As Yu Lili was typing, two notifications popped up.
One from her landlord: [Next quarter’s rent is due next week. Let me know if you’re not renewing—this place is in high demand.]
The other from a friend in the secondhand trade: [Lili, I asked the boss about your watch. He offered 150K.]
Yu Lili’s eyes nearly bulged out. That watch was a limited-edition antique, worth six figures at the bare minimum. How dare they lowball her like that?
Her friend followed up: [It’s just not his usual market. I know the price is too low. Want me to ask around for you?]
“Are you considering it?” Tan Suran’s voice pulled her back.
Annoyed, Yu Lili wanted to wrap this up quickly and typed aggressively: [I have a day job. Sorry.]
[And if you really need a driver, they’re everywhere. Why me?]
Tan Suran: “I happen to need a night driver. As for why you…” She gave Yu Lili’s rural outfit a once-over. “You’ve got a simple, honest vibe. Plus, you’re mute. Bonus points.”
Yu Lili: “…”
So infuriating.
Tan Suran slowly slid a check across the table.
The stark white check stood out against the dark glass surface.
Tan Suran’s cool voice took on a sultry edge in the bar’s atmosphere, like a hook reeling her in. “As you can see, I’m very wealthy. Exceptionally so.”
Yu Lili scoffed and was about to refuse—until her disdainful gaze landed on the check’s amount.
Instantly, her eyes morphed into sparkling dollar signs.