In the afternoon, Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi left school early. He sent a ssage on WeChat to Gu Muxue, telling her he wouldn’t be coming for their tutoring session.
The result was predictable: he was t with a pouting emoji from Gu Muxue.
With the release of the new iPhone, Lin Ruoxi, being a developer, upgraded to the latest iPhone 5S. Xue Rui took her old one.
It wasn’t that Xue Rui couldn’t bear to buy a new one; it was just that the new model also had a tiny four-inch screen. The iPhones of this era were too small. On top of the short battery life, they also charged ridiculously slowly. anwhile, the Android ecosystem was a ss, with poor performance and few good options.
He actually preferred using a Nokia. He could just stuff a few extra batteries in his pocket and never have to worry about charging.
All he needed was a universal charger to keep the batteries full, unlike now, where he had to clutch a power bank.
However, Nokia’s Symbian OS had a barren software ecosystem, and the company would go out of business in just a few years. Xue Rui found that a little sad...
"I could’ve just used the old one, really. There was no need to get a new phone," Lin Ruoxi whispered.
She had wanted Xue Rui to have the new phone, but he refused, insisting on using her hand--down.
"I couldn’t possibly use it. I’m happy with your leftovers," Xue Rui said with a pained expression, delivering a classic line of parental guilt-tripping.
Lin Ruoxi’s brow furrowed. Sothing felt off. She felt an uncomfortable pang in her chest but couldn’t quite put her finger on why.
Xue Rui suppressed a laugh. ’This is how you always treat ,’ he thought.
Now that Xue Rui was turning the tables on her, Lin Ruoxi was completely bewildered.
"How about I buy you a new one?" Lin Ruoxi offered. She wanted to give him the best of everything.
Xue Rui waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, why waste the money? I don’t need anything that fancy."
Lin Ruoxi didn’t know what was going on, but she felt awful. Her nose tingled, and her eyes turned red. "I..."
’She can’t take a joke at all,’ Xue Rui thought. He ruffled Lin Ruoxi’s hair. "I’m just ssing with you. The new one has a small screen, too. I want to wait for the larger model next year."
"Okay." Lin Ruoxi broke into a happy smile. She committed his words to mory.
She’d seen the leaks online, too. The new iPhone 6 was rumored to have a much larger screen.
’Next September, I’ll buy him the big one.’
’But by September, we’ll be starting college...’
...
The two arrived at the bank to find it packed. A long line of people snaked all the way out the main entrance.
"What’s going on?" Xue Rui frowned.
The Agricultural Bank of China was swamped today, mostly with middle-aged won and grandmothers.
He quickly spotted the sign at the entrance: "Deposit funds and get free eggs! Deposit 30,000 yuan for a bottle of soybean oil! Deposit..."
’So the bank’s running a promotion today?’ he thought. ’How long is this going to take?’
Even the ICBC next door was just as chaotic.
Xue Rui didn’t bother with the line, pushing his way directly into the bank.
In a backwater city like Hedong, soone with ninety million in personal savings had no business waiting in line. Especially not at a re branch office—the president here would have to worship him like his own father.
In any case, as long as he could get inside, the rest would be easy.
However, Xue Rui had underestimated the allure of free eggs. The won in line squeezed him right back out.
A woman yelled, "What’s with the pushing? Can’t you see there’s a line?"
"I’m not cutting in front of you. I’m going to the VIP service," Xue Rui explained patiently.
"If you want to cut in line for the free eggs, just say so," the woman retorted. "You’re just a student. So young and already such a liar." She didn’t believe a word of his nonsense. A student in a school uniform, a bank VIP? As if.
"Exactly!" soone else chid in. "Since when do banks have VIPs? You think this is the express lane at the supermarket?"
A bank teller, nearly swallowed by the crowd, yelled over the noise, "Please form an orderly line! We have plenty of eggs and rice, so there’s no need to push!"
One of the tellers overheard him but simply dismissed it as a kid’s prank.
Xue Rui was speechless. He couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. Instead, he turned to a young woman in a bank uniform near the door. "What’s with the crowd today?"
The young woman sighed. "It’s the year-end rush to et our deposit targets. You two should probably just wait over there for a bit."
With that, she squeezed back inside and returned with two bottles of water for Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi, motioning for them to wait on the chairs outside.
"Hey, miss, I’ll have a water, too!" a woman called out.
"Are they free? How co I didn’t get one?"
"Uh..." The employee froze, not expecting to have caused such a problem.
Xue Rui pulled a five-yuan note from his pocket and pressed it into her hand. "Keep the change for your trouble."
"They’re not free?" Seeing that money was involved, the crowd imdiately quieted down.
"Thank you," the employee said with an awkward smile. ’That was really clever,’ she thought. ’I had no idea what to do. If my manager had seen that, I would’ve been in serious trouble.’
Xue Rui chatted with the young woman for a mont and quickly understood the situation.
So banks imposed deposit quotas on their employees, requiring them to bring in a certain amount of new funds.
But what were the employees supposed to do? Out of desperation, they resorted to this sort of "exploit"—getting existing custors to withdraw their money and imdiately deposit it again...
’This girl must be a recent college graduate,’ Xue Rui thought. ’She’s so friendly to everyone. It’s obvious she hasn’t been beaten down by the real world yet. Who would willingly serve custors like us—obviously too young, wearing school uniforms, and looking broke?’
The young woman sat down next to Xue Rui, slipping off her high heels to give her feet a break. The shoes were killing her.
"What year are you in?" the employee asked with a smile.
"A senior..."
...
Xue Rui chatted with the employee for a while. He had originally planned to call the bank president or have her get the manager, but her attitude was so good, he figured, why not give the commission to her?
He smiled and said, "How about I get you thirty million in deposits?"
The employee’s eyes lit up at the ntion of thirty million, but then she glanced at his school uniform and gave a resigned smile. "Don’t joke around with . You guys want so candy?"
She glanced around, then pulled a few milk candies from her pocket and placed them in Xue Rui’s hand. She’d been a high school senior once, too, and knew how much academic pressure students were under. A little sugar could provide a quick boost for the brain.
"Study hard," the employee said with a smile. She’d rested long enough. She slipped her high heels, which had been sitting on the floor, back onto her feet, ready to get back to work.
"Wait," Xue Rui said.
He held out a black bank card.
This was the card Bank President Yang had personally delivered to his house, along with a gift...
Luckily, Bank President Yang had called ahead of ti, or his secret would have been blown in front of his family.
Xue Rui glanced at the na tag on her chest. "Yu Minlan."
Yu Minlan took the card, murmuring the na. It was the bank’s highest-tier diamond card, which required a daily average balance of over a million yuan.
"May I ask... your na, sir?" Yu Minlan asked, her breathing quickening. She returned the card with both hands, suddenly starting to believe the high schooler in front of her.
’If I can really land a thirty-million-yuan deposit,’ she thought, ’my entire life will change. A huge commission, a promotion to a permanent position...’
"Your client is her, Lin Ruoxi," Xue Rui said, gently pushing Lin Ruoxi forward.
"Hello, Ms. Lin! Let’s go inside where it’s warm," Yu Minlan said, hastily pulling Lin Ruoxi into the bank, terrified her golden goose would get away.
A smile played on Xue Rui’s lips. ’Yu Minlan is clearly a naive recent graduate,’ he mused, ’and Lin Ruoxi is about to beco her benefactor. This way, Ruoxi will have a female friend she can chat with sotis, even if they aren’t exactly on equal footing... But that’s a good thing. At least she won’t dare to mistreat Ruoxi. Besides, clients like us always get special treatnt, and I don’t want Ruoxi dealing with those scheming old-tirs.’
"Excuse , please make way! Where’s the manager?" Yu Minlan shouted.
As Yu Minlan linked arms with her, Lin Ruoxi kept looking back at Xue Rui, confused.
’She still didn’t understand what was happening. Why does this person keep pulling along?’
Xue Rui followed them, pushing through the crowd.
"You again, you brat! Can’t you just wait in line like everyone else?" soone grumbled.
"Manager!" Yu Minlan shouted urgently. "This lady behind is a diamond card holder!"
The bank manager’s expression changed in an instant. He recalled the bank president telling him recently about a high school student with a ninety-million-yuan deposit.
He imdiately pushed forward to clear a path for Xue Rui, gesturing obsequiously for him to co inside.
"My apologies, everyone," the manager explained to the crowd waiting for their free eggs. "This young man is a valued guest of our bank. Please let him through."
"Banks have VIPs?" soone asked.
"Yes, we do," the manager said. "Anyone with over a million in deposits can beco one. I’m sure all of you will have your day in the VIP lounge as well."
Xue Rui clicked his tongue. ’This guy is a smooth talker,’ he thought.
"Good heavens, he’s just a student and he’s that rich?" The crowd’s attitude shifted instantly from disdain to astonishnt.
"Holy crap..."
This was how the uninford masses were. They would only push aside those who stood in line with them, never envying those who walked the VIP path.
Soone even tried to set Xue Rui up on a date.
Xue Rui felt a headache coming on. "Can’t it just be my dad who’s rich?"
"It doesn’t matter who has the money! How old are you, young man? Do you have a girlfriend?" a woman asked with a grin.
Xue Rui just lowered his head and walked on, ignoring the chatter around him.
Once inside the VIP lounge, the clamor from outside instantly vanished.
The manager poured tea for Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi. "Mr. Xue, what can we help you with today?"
He had only known of such a person’s existence; this was his first ti actually eting Xue Rui. ’Ninety million,’ he thought. ’What an astronomical sum.’
Just hearing the number was enough to make his head spin.
Xue Rui took a calm sip of his tea and pointed to Lin Ruoxi. "Open an account for her. I’m going to deposit so money."
"Of course, I’ll have soone get right on that," the manager said, beaming. He figured this would be another sizable deposit.
Yu Minlan stood there in a daze. ’The commission is going to go to soone with connections again,’ she thought, her spirits sinking.
Xue Rui shook his head and pointed to Yu Minlan. "I only want her to handle it."
Just then, Bank President Yang, having received the news, ca rushing over.
"But she’s not a permanent employee. I’m afraid her skills might not be..."
Bank President Yang saw Xue Rui’s expression shift and shot the manager a glare.
The manager imdiately fell silent.
Bank President Yang glanced around. "Yu Minlan, you’re now a full-ti employee."
He didn’t know what Xue Rui’s relationship with Yu Minlan was, but it didn’t matter.
All that mattered was that if Xue Rui was unhappy, he had to be made happy.
"Mr. Xue, next ti you co, please just call directly."
"Mr. Xue, and this lovely young lady is...?"
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