Chapter 53: Selling Myself to Pay Off Debts?

The startup base in rooms 101 and 102 of Teaching Building Z had been secured, but the dilapidated tables and chairs inside, the waist-high weeds outside, and the irregularly parked bicycles nearby were all problems that needed solving.

Relying solely on the current few martial arts figures was too inefficient, especially since Yang Tianxing was well aware that some of the "great heroes" were not very eager to work part-time.

This was the time to utilize the class monitor's resources, especially since Yang Tianxing was the kind of class monitor who held a lot of prestige.

He stated plainly in class that his startup base needed help and hoped his classmates would lend a hand; under his call, the students of Public Management Class 2 basically all went to help or watch the excitement.

Of course, there were strings attached; the boys all demanded that Yang Tianxing organize another class activity as soon as possible.

After the last creative movie-watching session where boys and girls were paired by drawing lots, it was clear that the collective cohesion was increasing; previously, the boys' group and the girls' group had very little intersection, but now everyone could sit together and chat happily.

"What's difficult about a gathering?"

Standing outside Z-101 and 102, Yang Tianxing said loudly: "After these two rooms are cleaned up, I can specifically set aside half of one to be a class activity room. Everyone can come here to rest, chat, and play cards when they're free. We'll be having a gathering every day!"

The boys clapped and cheered upon hearing this; the most obvious difference between university and high school was the lack of a fixed activity space, which eventually led to the formation of small groups based on dormitories, leaving the class structure in name only.

Now, the suggestion Yang Tianxing proposed met everyone's subconscious needs; the more people who responded, the less forced the work felt.

He Yulin looked at the boys' reactions, shook her head, and said to Liu Jiaoyue: "Look at how capable your boyfriend is. Even though everyone knows they are doing things for his private benefit, they are still willing. They really are a bunch of fools."

Liu Jiaoyue was already used to being teased by He Yulin; she didn't know how to explain it, so she just whispered: "Yulin, I want to go back to the dormitory for a moment."

"This is your boyfriend's shop, and it might even be your family's property in the future. Are you thinking of slacking off already?"

He Yulin said in surprise.

"No, it's not that."

This time, He Yulin was too blunt, and Liu Jiaoyue stomped her feet in embarrassment: "I want to go back to change my clothes before coming back."

Liu Jiaoyue was wearing that royal blue down jacket, and she couldn't bear to wear it while working, so she had to go back to change into old clothes.

Watching Liu Jiaoyue's back as she jogged away, He Yulin sighed for no reason.

"That is the biggest fool of them all."

……………

Dozens of people working together was very efficient; the dilapidated tables and chairs were all carried outside, the weeds were pulled clean, the bluestone floor was laid out in an orderly fashion, and not far away was a garden filled with clusters of unknown green plants.

In the bleak late autumn, a few small daisies swayed in the wind.

Yang Tianxing wasn't stingy either; he bought several cases of drinks, mineral water, and snacks and candies for everyone to eat and drink as they pleased. Fu Yiming and Song Fei and the others were carrying cabinets with cigarettes in their mouths, Qian Jiale and the others were arranging the bicycles, and the girls were either sweeping the floor or wiping the walls.

However, there were also those who slacked off; Yi Min complained of being tired after working for a while and wanted to sneak off to go online.

Song Fei discovered him and blocked him from leaving: "Old Six, you dog-begotten bastard, were you a network cable in your past life? This is Second Brother's property, you're not allowed to go, get back to cleaning properly!"

A sense of collective belonging was gradually cultivated amidst this sweat and laughter. While Yang Tianxing was drinking water, Deng Yidi walked over with a fragrant breeze and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to really start a business, but I'm not surprised at all."

Regarding Deng Yidi, Yang Tianxing always felt something was a bit strange; girls like this usually liked older men, so could it be that he had already been seen through by her?

"I'm puzzled myself as to how I ended up starting a business for no apparent reason."

Yang Tianxing replied, half-perfunctorily and half-seriously.

Deng Yidi smiled, her lipstick-coated lips looking somewhat sexy, and she handed over a bottle of mineral water: "Can you help me twist this open?"

Yang Tianxing didn't refuse, and with a "Crack!", he twisted it open and handed it to her; during this process, their fingers touched slightly.

Deng Yidi looked somewhat shy, but Yang Tianxing's expression didn't change.

"How much did you invest in the early stages?"

Deng Yidi tilted her tender white neck to take two sips of water and continued to ask.

"Not much, though I'm so poor now I'm practically selling myself."

Yang Tianxing didn't want to tell the truth and replied with a smile.

Deng Yidi was very experienced in dealing with such jokes; she took out her wallet right in front of him and said: "Class monitor, how much to sell yourself? Let me see if I have enough cash."

"Hahahaha."

Yang Tianxing couldn't help but laugh, and the surrounding classmates who were watching the excitement joined in the teasing.

He Yulin, who was wiping the windows, saw Deng Yidi and Yang Tianxing "flirting" and muttered: "Shameless!"

After scolding, she turned her head to look at Liu Jiaoyue, who seemed not to have heard the laughter; she was kneeling on the ground in her old school uniform, her peach-blossom eyes wide and blinking, carefully and bit by bit wiping the green moss in the corner of the wall.

He Yulin suddenly felt a bit heartbroken; Yang Tianxing was truly too flirtatious, and Liu Jiaoyue was a bit frighteningly simple-minded.

"Scumbag!"

……………

After working for almost the whole afternoon, the cleaning task could basically be considered complete; what remained were some finishing decoration projects, which Yang Tianxing would have to slowly refine.

The students went back one by one; although they were physically a bit exhausted, they were mentally satisfied.

Especially when the boys were working, they could banter and talk with the girls; it could almost count as a collective class activity. They actually felt a lingering attachment to this feeling, and thinking that this could be used as a class activity room in the future gave them a sense of pride in having built it themselves.

Yang Tianxing sat on the steps smoking, thinking about the next development plan in his mind, occasionally looking back to see Liu Jiaoyue's figure.

The few corners covered in spiderwebs were the dirtiest, and the other female students were disgusted by them, so it was Liu Jiaoyue alone who knelt to clean them.

Before long, hearing footsteps behind him, Yang Tianxing asked: "Is it cleaned up?"

"Mm."

Liu Jiaoyue replied softly.

Yang Tianxing looked up and discovered that Liu Jiaoyue's hair was stuck with some cobwebs, and the knees of her pants were covered in dust.

At this moment, the sunset glow shone on Liu Jiaoyue's gentle profile, and there was actually a kind of quietness engraved in time.

Yang Tianxing finished admiring her with a smile, extinguished his cigarette butt, and said: "Let's eat together tonight?"

Liu Jiaoyue didn't make a sound.

Yang Tianxing thought Liu Jiaoyue was unwilling and didn't intend to force her, but unexpectedly, Liu Jiaoyue spoke up softly on her own initiative.

"The, the 1,500 yuan from the student grant last time, I sent 1,000 yuan to my grandmother, and there is 475 yuan left."

Yang Tianxing didn't understand what Liu Jiaoyue meant by this and listened quietly.

Liu Jiaoyue half-squatted, not letting herself be taller than Yang Tianxing who was sitting on the ground, and then took out that worn-out little wallet that was familiar to Yang Tianxing.

She first took out 400 yuan from inside, thought for a moment, and then took out another 50 yuan; 450 yuan was a huge sum of money for Liu Jiaoyue.

She raised her head, her peach-blossom eyes clear and innocent, and cautiously handed the money to Yang Tianxing.

"What are you doing?"

Yang Tianxing was very puzzled.

"You, please don't go and sell your body, okay?"