After five bigwigs in Beijing's elite circle fell into their trap, I fled.

Chapter 9 Part-time Job Plan
At noon, Qin Dou actually compiled a list of reliable part-time jobs for Jiang Shu.

He could also clearly sense the deep, heartfelt goodwill his arrogant deskmate felt towards him after seeing the list.

"Those stock trading and investment options are not suitable for someone like you who has no money. The ones I've listed here all require little to no cost and have minimal risk."

Qin Dou spread the list out in front of Jiang Shu. "Take a look first, and ask me if you don't understand anything—of course, I can't explain everything, I just know a little more than you."

Jiang Shu did not make a decision immediately, but carefully read through each item one by one.

Qin Dou suggested: "Among these part-time jobs, live streaming is the one you should consider first. If you do it well, the income can be quite considerable."

"Live stream?" Jiang Shu thought for a moment. "You mean performing your talents in front of a camera for thousands of people?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to involve performing talents, just having something special. For example, cooking, mukbang, product promotion, or sitcoms..."

Jiang Shu shook her head decisively: "I like being pleased, but I don't like pleasing others. This won't do."

Qin Dou thought about her personality and said, "How about running a food delivery business? It's more flexible in terms of time, and you can earn a hundred or so yuan a day, which should be enough to cover your living expenses."

Jiang Shu: "Negative reviews will result in a deduction of money, and the deduction will be particularly severe."

Qin Dou: "...Or how about driving a taxi? You only need to pay a deposit at the rental shop, which is more flexible than delivering food."

Jiang Shu: "I heard that the platform's commission rate is quite high now."

Qin Dou: "How about off-the-job marketing? Distributing flyers, doing weekend sales part-time jobs, a hundred or two a day, it's all about being out in the sun and wind—but you're so tough, you shouldn't be afraid."

"Can you tell me anything else?"

"You have a nice voice, why not try joining an amateur voice-over team? -- I don't recommend going solo, as equipment is a huge expense in the early stages. Joining someone else's team and getting the equipment for free is more suitable for you."

"Freebies? I'm not that kind of person."

……

The entrance of Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School.

Looking at the cold, nutritious meal in his hand, the Qin family's old butler, unwilling to give up, asked the gatekeeper again:

When will my young master come out for dinner?

"I just asked, and your young master Qin is still explaining problems to his classmates, saying he's not going to eat anymore," the security guard explained patiently.

"My young master..." Butler Qin was greatly pleased, "He's even explaining problems to his classmates now..."

Whether or not they actually talked about one or two questions along the way, nobody knows.

Five minutes before afternoon class, the talkative Qin Dou had already started chatting about everything from part-time jobs to worldviews, and then from life philosophies to dreams for ten years from now...

As for being hungry—the girls are hungry too, so surely I'm not worse off than them?
Qin Dou secretly pressed his stomach: "Jiang Shu, actually, most of the students in our class don't have great grades, but most of them are planning how to enhance their resumes. In fact, those part-time jobs I just mentioned might bring in money quickly in the short term, but they won't help your future development much. As your deskmate, I still suggest that you use your spare time to learn some useful skills, such as a less common language."

Jiang Shu found Qin Dou even more pleasing to the eye!
Jiang Shu: "I see you're at the bottom of every subject, even worse than me. So how do you plan your studies? I'd like to see if I can learn from you?"

Before Qin Dou could speak, Lin Shuangshuang in the front row turned around and said, "Qin Dou will go to a well-known architecture school in the United States to get his resume. His father hopes that he will become a top architect in the 'Cloud' Group in the future. I will go to the United States to study at one of the top three music conservatories in the world, and follow in the footsteps of my husband Yan Yu."

She took a sip of water and pointed to other people: "Like Zhang Mai, his family has a large design team, and his parents are planning to send him abroad to study related majors; Xu Yan's father is a famous director, and she will definitely go into the entertainment industry in the future; Li Mengmeng won the gold medal in the National Informatics Competition last year and has already secured a place in Beijing's Jinghua University through a guaranteed admission program..."

Li Shuangshuang named nearly half of the students, which moved Jiang Shu deeply.

"So, Jiang Shu, what about you?" Several more classmates gathered around.

Jiang Shu fell silent.

After school in the afternoon, Jiang Shu took her phone from the teacher's office, walked to a quiet spot on campus, and made another call to Xinghua Village.

Xinghua Village.

Smoke rose from the chimneys of neighboring villages around the mountain, but Xinghua Village was still struggling to survive.

Several villagers gathered together, all dressed in identical black bodysuits. The material of the clothes was indistinguishable, but the lapels were embroidered with different flowers.

Beyond the bodysuit, a dark cape fluttered in the wind.

At this moment, the old village chief, with his newly bought pipe in his mouth, sat at the head of the table: "As usual, let's leave our last words first."

The villagers remained calm, as if they had long been accustomed to it: "If I don't come back, don't bring my remains back—I've been a resident of Xinghua Village for decades, and I don't want to continue being a ghost of Xinghua Village."

"The pile of gold I buried in the grave is for Shubao as her dowry..."

"As for me, the village chief can ask Li Erniang for me if I can be buried under her bed."

"I have no attachments. Just give me a decent funeral when I die."

The only landline in the village started ringing at that moment.

The phone rang for a good ten seconds before the village chief slowly walked toward the telephone pole not far away.

Someone behind him was faster: "Let me pick her up. This might be the last time I hear Shubao's voice."

The village chief stamped his foot, and four villagers rushed forward, crowding around the phone.

On the other end, Jiang Shu's cool voice rang out: "It's me."

The villager who grabbed the phone replied, "I'm your second grandfather. Honey, what's up with the phone call?"

"Regarding my future, I allow you to have a slightly excessive expectation of me." The girl's voice had an inexplicable arrogance.

"Just being alive is enough."

"That's it?"

“Baby, you know the situation in our village. You're the only son of the younger generation. The whole village is counting on you to see them off in their old age…”

Jiang Shu hung up the phone decisively.

The old village chief puffed out a cloud of smoke: "Alright, you should go now."

Several villagers silently put on the hoods of their cloaks, covering themselves completely except for their eyes.

His footsteps were as eerie as a ghost's, and he flashed to the village entrance in just a few steps.

Those simple, honest eyes suddenly turned cold and deep the moment they left Xinghua Village.

The old village chief stood there, muttering to himself, "Speaking of which, which bastard stole my cloak half a year ago..."

Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School.

Jiang Shu chuckled after hanging up the phone. Let alone seeing off the entire village, even seeing off that long-lived tortoise in the mountains was no easy task!

However, Qin Dou reminded her today that life is long and it's time to set goals for the future.

It's okay if my family doesn't have any expectations of me; I can set myself a few small goals.

So when Li Yubai came to No. 082 Xinghua Lane again that evening, Jiang Shu did not take out the large stack of math materials she had prepared immediately.

Instead, he placed Qin Dou's list of part-time jobs on the table.

That night, Li Yubai truly wore starry blue. The deep blue was embroidered with silver thread featuring subtle iris patterns that still retained a traditional Chinese style, and his face remained stunningly beautiful.

Jiang Shu stared at him for a long time before letting him into the house. "Looking like you, how come you don't have a girlfriend?"

Li Yubai sighed softly: "There's a girl I've liked for many years, but I don't dare to pursue her."

"Because of the single clause in the 'sugar daddy' agreement?"

"Not at all."

“You can’t do it this way.” Jiang Shu said arrogantly. “Since you’re following me, you don’t need to be timid. If you want something, you have to take it by force.”

Li Yubai gazed at the girl quietly, his eyes sparkling: "Okay."

Jiang Shu thought for a moment and added, "Take it and leave it for now—you can start using it after our agreement is terminated."

Li Yu felt a slight warmth on his white earlobes and decided to change the subject: "Shall we start discussing the questions now?"

Jiang Shu pointed to the list of part-time jobs: "You're good at making money, so check it out for me first."

(End of this chapter)