Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 54

Wang Defa’s furious outburst drew the attention of the other diners in the noodle shop.

Xia Tian stood up as well, trying to calm him down. “Mr. Wang, please don’t get upset. I’m genuinely here to talk about a business deal with you. I’m not trying to mess with you.”

“Don’t give me that crap! What kind of deal are you talking about? My rent is 8,000 yuan per month, and you offer me 1,000 yuan?!” Wang Defa snapped, his anger still flaring.

Xia Tian pressed his lips together, then, with a respectful demeanor, leaned in to light a cigarette for Wang Defa.

Seeing the calm and composed young man in front of him, who showed no fear despite the tension, Wang Defa’s anger started to subside, though he still didn’t soften his attitude. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it himself without waiting for Xia Tian.

Xia Tian, unfazed, maintained his smile and continued to explain his plan.

“Mr. Wang, I know I can’t offer you 8,000 yuan now, but I can assure you that two months from now, I will make your shop’s rent ten times higher. That means your rent will go from 8,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan per month, with a minimum rental period of six months.”

Wang Defa chuckled sarcastically. “What a bold claim! You think just by saying that, my rent will magically increase tenfold?”

Xia Tian remained patient. “Of course not. Words alone don’t mean anything. That’s why we can sign a contract. If I can’t increase the rent tenfold in two months, I’ll personally pay you ten times the current rent—16,000 yuan for two months.”

Wang Defa was taken aback for a moment.

A contract? That would be legally binding.

If they signed a contract and Xia Tian failed to raise the rent as promised, Wang Defa would be entitled to 160,000 yuan, courtesy of the contract.

There would be no way for Xia Tian to back out, given that the agreement would be enforceable by law.

“Kid, I’m sure you know what a contract means, right?” Wang Defa asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Of course I do. That’s exactly why we should sign one—so you can feel confident renting the shop to me for 1,000 yuan a month.”

Wang Defa was even more surprised. The young man’s calm demeanor and clear confidence seemed genuine.

After a moment of silence, Wang Defa spoke. “Alright, kid. I admit you have guts. But think carefully—once we sign this contract, if you can’t raise the rent in two months, you’ll owe me ten times the rent.”

“If I hadn’t thought this through, I wouldn’t have proposed it.”

“Good! I like your spirit. You know what? I’ll do you one better—I won’t even charge you the 1,000 yuan rent. Two months from now, I want to see how you plan to make my shop’s rent ten times higher!”

Seeing Wang Defa agree to the deal, Xia Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the waitress brought over two bowls of pork trotters noodle soup.

The two of them sat in silence for a while, quietly eating their noodles.

It wasn’t until after they finished eating that Wang Defa tossed Xia Tian a cigarette and said, “Tomorrow at noon, we’ll meet here at this noodle shop and sign the contract.”

“Sounds great. Thank you, Mr. Wang,” Xia Tian replied with a smile. They exchanged phone numbers, and Xia Tian left the noodle shop without hesitation.

Wang Defa watched Xia Tian’s retreating figure, his expression thoughtful.

“This kid doesn’t look more than 20 years old, but he’s got the composure of someone much older,” Wang Defa muttered to himself. “But tenfold rent… Tsk, I’m curious to see what he’s going to pull off.”

—

After parting ways with Wang Defa, Xia Tian walked down the street, his mood noticeably lighter.

He had thought he would have to pay at least half the rent upfront, but unexpectedly, Wang Defa had decided not to charge him a single cent.

“Still, if I don’t manage to increase the rent tenfold in two months, that old guy definitely won’t let me off easy,” Xia Tian murmured to himself.

In the afternoon, Xia Tian visited a design company to finalize the layout and decoration plan for the Heartbreak Museum. Since the museum would feature various “heartbreak literature” quotes, Xia Tian would need to personally write those for the designers.

He planned to finish writing the quotes after signing the rental contract with Wang Defa, then hand them over to the advertising company.

With the venue rental and design plan almost settled, he only needed to provide the quotes to create a complete renovation proposal.

Altogether, the cost was 7,300 yuan.

By the time Xia Tian returned home, it was already past 8 p.m.

“Phew… I’ve finally got everything sorted.”

Lying on his bed, Xia Tian breathed a sigh of relief. That’s when he remembered Ye Ningyu’s mother and her lung cancer.

He did a quick search on his phone.

If caught in the early stages, lung cancer could be completely cured through surgery. Even if it progressed to the middle stage, with proper medical treatment and care, it was still possible to recover.

However, if the cancer advanced to the late stage, things would get complicated.

With that in mind, Xia Tian quickly sent a message to Ye Ningyu on QQ.

[Xia Handsome: Little Ye, are you there?]

[Poke!]

[Poke!]

[Poke!]

[Lemon-Flavored Little Ye: Xia Tian, I’m here.]

Seeing her response, Xia Tian hesitated, trying to figure out how to ask her about her mother’s illness.

After thinking it over, he couldn’t find a more tactful way to approach the subject.

But he didn’t want to delay any longer.

If her mother’s illness was already serious, Xia Tian would take immediate action to help.

In the end, he decided to be direct.

“Um… I forgot to ask earlier, what exactly is your mom sick with? I just found out that I have an uncle who’s a doctor. If the illness isn’t too severe, maybe he could take a look at your mom.”

“Ah, no need. My mom’s illness isn’t that easy to treat, and it would cost a lot of money. But thank you, Xia Tian.”

Xia Tian frowned and sent another message.

“My uncle is family. Maybe he could help you save some money. What’s your mom’s illness? I’ll ask him and see what he says.”

After sending that message, Xia Tian waited a long time for a response.

He stared at the screen, quietly waiting.

It was clear that Ye Ningyu was hesitant to share her mother’s condition with others.

But this time, Xia Tian was the one asking.

She was probably torn.

If she told Xia Tian, that would mean she truly trusted him.

If she didn’t tell him… it would mean Xia Tian still wasn’t on her list of trusted people.

Xia Tian realized he had more work to do to gain her trust.

Finally, after about half an hour, Ye Ningyu responded.

“Um… My mom has lung cancer. It’s not easy to treat. The doctor said she needs surgery and post-treatment. It’s going to be really expensive.”

Seeing that she had opened up to him without holding anything back, Xia Tian smiled.

He quickly followed up with another question. “Lung cancer? What stage is it at?”

“Early stage.”

As soon as he saw those two words, Xia Tian let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness.

It was still early. There was plenty of time to take action.

Very soon, Xia Tian would have the money to help her mother with the treatment.

In his previous life, Ye Ningyu hadn’t ended up going to Tsinghua University.

Something must have happened along the way. Xia Tian didn’t know if No. 1 High School had given her the financial assistance she needed back then.

But to make sure her mother got the treatment she needed this time, Xia Tian couldn’t afford to let anything go wrong on his end.

“Early stage? That’s good. As long as she has surgery, she should make a full recovery!”

“Mm-hmm, as soon as the college entrance exam results come out, I’ll be able to get the money to help my mom with her surgery!”

Reading this, Xia Tian could almost picture Little Ye smiling happily on the other side of the screen.