48 Hours a Day

Chapter 960: Buying Happiness

No matter how unwilling Xu Qian was, the shuttle would still arrive at the first level. After walking out of the station, Xu Qian first raised her head and looked at the dull sky above her head. It was unlike the third level. Although the sky on the first level also had clouds, they would not move. After watching it for too long, it could even cause discomfort to some people. Other than that, only two preset temperatures were available during the day and night. These two presets never changed over time.

Xu Qian let out a long sigh. “I don’t know how in hell’s name did I live in this hellhole for almost a year.”

“Do you still remember this place?” Zhang Heng asked.

“How could I not? When I moved to the second level as a streamer, I had a nightmare. I dreamt my viewers kept dropping in numbers, and eventually, I was forced to move back here. Thank you for making that nightmare a reality.” Xu Qian looked at the small stalls around the station, and a look of contempt flashed across her eyes. She then pulled out her coat worth 20,000 credits.

“Let’s go. Didn’t you say you wanted to go to the small restaurant I worked at? We can go back earlier if we are done with what we are supposed to do here.” Xu Qian finally thought through the whole thing. Since she could not say no to this trip, it was better for her to cooperate with Zhang Heng and end this nightmare as soon as possible.

Before getting off of the car, Xu Qian took out a pair of large sunglasses from her bag and put them on. It covered half of her face. After that, the two drove to the small restaurant Xu Qian had worked at. As soon as they got out of the car, they saw two young girls in short skirts standing by the door of the small restaurant. They surrounded a man, trying to convince him to dine at the restaurant.

The upper body of one of the girls was completely attached to the man. “We have Cantonese, Sichuan, and Huaiyang cuisine! You can also enjoy a 30% discount when you top up our membership card...”

However, she was shoved away before she could finish.

“Go away. Don’t stand in my way.”

After that, the man wanted to continue walking, but he did not expect another woman to stop in front of him. Furious, he was about to swear, but when he saw how the woman dressed, he immediately swallowed the swear words he was about to spit out.

“There’s no need for you to push others if you don’t want to eat here,” Xu Qian snapped coldly.

“Why? Are you with them? Are you guys here to sell food or make money by scamming others?” the passerby asked angrily.

“I don’t know them. All I know is that they are just doing their job,” Xu Qian said as she walked up to the girl the man had pushed away. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked the employee. “And why did you get so close to the man? Did your stupid [BEEP] boss make you do this? Why listen to him?”

The girl smiled and whispered, “I’m fine.”

Xu Qian checked her arm and confirmed that there was no bruise on her before she stood up. After that, she said to the passerby, “You are lucky that she is not hurt. Apologize to her right now.”

“Apologize to her? Why?”

And the girl who was being pushed by the man quickly said, “No need. I’m at fault. It has nothing to do with this gentleman.”

“No. You misunderstood me. It has nothing to do with you either. I just want to hear him saying sorry,” Xu Qian said lightly.

“Where did this mad woman come from? What’s wrong with you?” The man was laughing even though he was furious. He was a man with a short temper. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pushed the girl in the short skirt earlier. In fact, if Xu Qian did not dress so well and Zhang Heng was not beside her, he would have resort to violence again.

Xu Qian did not refute him. She then activated the projection of her own bracelet, entered three thousand credits in the transfer interface, and said to the man, “Apologize, and the money is yours.”

Not only the man who pushed the girl was taken aback, but the two girls in short skirts next to him were also shocked beyond words. One of them moved her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she decided not to say it in the end.

“Is it true? Are you trying to mess with me?”

The man was a little skeptical about whether he did not believe that such a good thing would happen to him. The average monthly salary on the first level was only two thousand credits, way lower than the credits Xu Qian offered if he apologized.

“It’s just three thousand credits. So why would I need to lie?” Xu Qian said and looked at the two girls. “They will be our witness.”

The man hesitated for a moment. He was not considering whether to apologize to the girl. Instead, he was worried Xu Qian might break her promise. However, he figured out that he had nothing to lose if he apologized. So, the man decided to do what Xu Qian asked and apologized to the girl he pushed.

“I’m sorry.”

After that, he turned and looked at Xu Qian. However, she did not make any moves. Instead, she asked the man, “Aren’t you going to apologize to me too?”

Seeing the man was a little puzzled, Xu Qian reminded, “You called me a crazy woman just now.”

“...”

“I’m sorry.” He had done it once. So, he did not mind apologizing again.

When he was done apologizing for the second time, Xu Qian spoke to him. “Reach out your hand.” She then flashed her bracelet at the man’s bracelet and then entered the password. A few seconds later, three thousand credits had been added to his account.

The man gulped, and he almost called Xu Qian insane. When Xu Qian looked at him, she knew what he was thinking at the moment. It seemed like he was worried that she might regret her decision. After receiving the transfer, he started to run away as fast as possible.

Xu Qian nodded at the two girls and asked, “Aren’t you girls supposed to bring in more customers?”

The two employees quickly snapped back to reality. One outside the restaurant continued to attract more customers, while the other smiled and led the way.

“Please, come inside.”

Although this small restaurant named Fu Ji could cook all kinds of dishes, its area was really small. In total, it could only fit four tables. The two girls in short skirts were both ushers and waitresses. Other than that, one more girl was responsible for cleaning, and the lady boss worked as a cashier. As for the boss, he was now working as a cook in the kitchen part-time.

While the girl walked away to bring them the menu, Zhang Heng said to Xu Qian, “If you give those three thousand credits to the girl who was being pushed, she should feel happier.”

“Why should I do that? She didn’t even sustain any injuries. And I’m not her mother. Why should I pay her?” Xu Qian said. “I did say that I feel unhappy because he didn’t apologize to the girl after he pushed her. I spent the three thousand credits to buy happiness for myself.”