Bab 14: Chapter 14 - Debt tying him down
Zhu Kang started his job as an official cafe mascot, no scratch that he was just a show doll.
Just kidding, he employed as a barrister but the guys in that shop really let him off the hook. But since he was there only to attract the customers, the others did not give him any other word but to get orders and just chat.
"Zhu, come here. The regulars are here," one of his colleagues called him to a table.
A group of young high school girl sat there looking at him with stars in their eyes.
Suddenly getting so much attention, he was quite overwhelmed.
"Hi." He awkwardly waved at them.
He did not have any memory of his actual life, but when he was a system, he got used to talking to systematic human souls... talking to a real-life human of the opposite sex stressed him out.
"Join us~" they excitedly welcomed I'm into their table.
He sat down in the corner of the seat. "Then....."
"Zhuzhu see. We got the special fondue cake that the owner said you liked. Try it," the girls pushed the cake towards him.
To be honest, it looked very good.
"How much is it I'll pay?" he whispered, taking a spoon full.
"It was just 350 dollars."
Zhu Kang froze. The cake was small.... it should be illegal to call it a cake even because it was shaped just like a cupcake. 'This tiny thing is 350 dollars!! Scam!! Mighty scam!!!'
"How did you girl get that much money!" he silently exclaimed.
The group of girls guiltily looked at themselves.
'They obviously did not get their parent's permission for this,'
"we.... we kind of chipped some money off our tuition fund." One of the smallest ones guiltily whispered.
Zhu Kang sighed. 'It's so not worth it girl. This cake is not worth 350!!! Total scam!!'
As he was thinking about how to pay 350 for eating this shitty cupcake, one of the girls stood up.
"Zhuzhu... you... are you dating anyone? Can you give me your Snapchat id?" a youngest girl in that group mumbled tightly, holding onto her phone.
Zhu Kang froze. 'These girls look barely over fifteen. What kind of nonsense is this? It's a federal offense. Sigh... looks like I need to teach these girls their life lessons.'
"umm... girls, we need to talk," he sat down on the counter and peered at them all. "You are all young and now it seems like a fantasy to fall in love with a handsome man. At this age, I might seem like a cool guy. But you know what I'm broke. I have not even a penny in my name. I work day and night just to pay off my college,"
The girl's just blinked at him in a dazed state.
"So is that a no?" the girl mumbled, glancing at her friends.
Zhu Kang sighed. "Sorry you are too young. If I date you, I might have to go to jail,"
"I.. wait until I grow up please" the girl shot up and ran out the cafe blushing red. Her friends also gave him an apologetic look and followed after her.
The cafe owner walked out with a slight frown. "The hell Zhu, you have to keep them entertained. Make them buy stuff. Aren't you good at recommendations?"
"This is a cafe, not a host bar. Besides, they are all kids don't scam them into spending their tuition money here." He just frowned and walked away.
The next table he had to give company was for a group of women in their twenties. They were kind and even gave him a huge tip.
Counting the dollar bills, he happily walked back to the counter.
"This is how you do business. You could have done the same with those girls,"
"Boss, we can do business, but let's not go overboard."
The man closes his mouth and went about with his work as the cashier.
Just at 11, his shift ended. He swiftly removed the apron and ran out to catch the 11.30 bus.
He glanced at his schedule. It was tutoring. "What kind of subject am I tutoring?"
He was a psyche major and was just in his first year.
"Maybe I am teaching math or something for a high school kid," he mumbled.
Right then, his bus arrived. He hopped on it.
The tutoring went much easier than the cafe gig. He just needed to teach the kid verbal English. The pay was good, and the student was also studious.
Since his time as a system he got well verse in handling 100 languages including English. Almost all his hosts were from other countries. For them to integrate into that world, he helped them with their language. It was much like a tutorial.
Some host chose to skip it. Well, it was safe to say... they suffered a bit in that world before deciding to learn that new language.
After finishing the tutoring, he got the bus to go to his next job, but suddenly he got a message stating that the strip club was closed for the day due to some problems.
"Great, I have some time now,"
He just returned to the dorm and laid down for a small nap. "Why is being an adult so difficult...." he glanced at his phone. "This kid works too hard..."
Zhu knag just hugged the pillow close. Suddenly, a small thought arose in his mind.
'If the original Zhu Kang worked so many shifts, then he must have some money saved, right? But why is it not the case,'
He sat up and checked the bank statement. His college fee was paid a few months ago and after which he was receiving his part time payments.
But just a few months ago, a large amount was transferred from his account to someone named Milton.
"What the hell all my hard earned money...."
She went back a few months and checked the accounts. Every three months the original Zhu Kang had been paying this huge amount to the same guy.
It was not a bank transaction, rather it was sent via Venmo.
"Who is this Milton?" he checked his contacts. There was a man names Milton saved there. Without a second hesitation, he called him.
The ring tone rang loudly.
After a few minutes, a man picked the call. "yo Kang, have you already readied your next installment."
"umm.... just run it through with me. How much should I Venmo you?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Of course it's the usual 20000, you still owe us a shit ton bro." The man said with a small slur.
Zhu Kang glared at his sheets. "Might I ask what do I owe this amount."
The other side of the line went silent.
"You little shit, did you forget? That is the amount for your freedom. If you don't pay us installments by the end of this month, we will come for you," the man chuckled.
Zhu Kang nodded to himself. "I see... I'll talk to you later,"
He cut the call and tightly clenched the phone.
When Gwyn said that he separated from the snake head gang and joined him on his private heists, he did slightly skeptical.
Anyone with a good brain would not let an asset such as a super human just because he asked nicely. There was a catch.
In order to leave... the original Zhu Kang made a deal with that notorious gang.
The original Zhu Kang was never free to leave that gang. He was bound by a huge debt on his head. Any month he could not pay back, he would be pulled back to that gang once again.
Suddenly his head ached so badly and a snippet of memory flashed in front of his eyes.
{"stay away from me and my brother..." he said to a group of faceless men.
"You are our cash cow. How do you expect us to just let you go?" a man sitting on a throne-like chair whispered.
"I will pay it back. Every three months I'll pay it in installments. So.... don't touch my brother..." Zhu Kang went to his knees and begged.}
The memory ended at this.
He sat up, clenching the phone. 'Zhu Kang.... what and all did you give up to be with your brother....'
The original Zhu Kang did not hate his brother. In fact, he loved him enough to protect him with his life.
Hadiah
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