Chapter 37: Chapter 34 Broken and Growth
Someone said, inside everyone’s heart lies a Pandora’s Box.
At this moment, Zhou Wang vaguely understood the meaning of this hidden round.
The system, in an unconventional way, allowed him to see the unknown side of Jiang Mo.
This was the reality left behind after tearing off all the labels like “aloof senior sister,” “chaste goddess,” and “campus flower.”
She possessed the vanity that ordinary girls have, perhaps even more so in some aspects. Even when she fell into a hopeless state of hardly affording meals, she still tried to maintain her dignity; the act of changing water seemed laughable.
She didn’t have such high moral standards. On one hand, she unhesitatingly rejected Han Yanqian, yet attempted to sell her “soul” in another way.
...
Just a few photos skirting the edge, it seemed like nothing.
But this was an overturning of her life values and worldview built over two decades.
Once she opened this gap, it was like opening Pandora’s Box. Her bottom line would erode under the temptation of money, continuously lowering until she completely collapsed.
Just by taking a few sexy photos, she could earn a regular employee’s day’s wage. A few small videos could earn her thousands, tens of thousands. Be bolder, and an income of a hundred thousand a month was easily achievable.
Once you get used to making quick money like this, returning to the life of an ordinary person becomes impossible, so in things like “losing one’s footing,” there is only zero times and countless times.
An interesting point here was, Zhou Wang suddenly realized, he was spying not only on Jiang Mo’s reality.
When faced with the choice between “Angel” and “Demon,” Zhou Wang, who had been merely an observer, started to examine his heart.
Was I still just a boy, or had I become a dragon?
Zhou Wang stood quietly for a while, then retreated into the shadows.
…
Suddenly, the WeChat notification sound echoed on the rooftop shrouded in the night.
With tear-filled eyes, Jiang Mo looked up. Upon seeing the caller ID, she was startled at first, then quickly wiped away her tears and took a few deep breaths before picking up the phone and pressing the answer key.
The call connected, yet silence existed on both ends, only the sound of the wind passing through sheets was transmitted faintly through the line.
“Hello? Zhou Wang, is that you?”
Jiang Mo didn’t understand why Zhou Wang suddenly called her, so she cautiously broke the silence, trying to keep her voice calm.
There was another period of silence. Just when Jiang Mo thought Zhou Wang might have dialed by mistake, Zhou Wang’s somewhat ethereal voice sounded.
“Senior Sister Jiang…”
“Mm?”
“I want to support you.”
Boom!
It was as if a thunderbolt exploded in Jiang Mo’s mind, scattering her thoughts to fragments in an instant.
Jiang Mo held her phone dumbfoundedly, glanced around blankly, as if wanting to confirm whether she was sober at that moment.
“What… what did you say?”
Jiang Mo’s voice trembled continuously.
“You heard it.”
“Zhou Wang, you, you…”
Jiang Mo wanted to scold him, to say he was ridiculous, to express her anger. But for some reason, she couldn’t utter a word.
“Senior sister, I know the situation you’re in, I can help you, and I’ve already told you what I want.”
Zhou Wang paused, then his voice became distorted again, “Senior sister, you’ve thought of going back to your previous life too, right? And you wouldn’t want… for others to know you can’t even afford meals, right?”
Listening to Zhou Wang’s last sentence, some courage Jiang Mo had painstakingly gathered instantly shattered into pieces.
It was as if she saw eyes fully capturing her most embarrassing moment—shame, anger, panic, helplessness… all these mixed emotions curled her up, with nowhere to hide.
…
Zhou Wang stood at the stairway corner, listening to the rapid breathing from the other side, feeling a bit awkward inside.
He was just a young man in his early twenties, this was Jiang Mo’s first experience in such matters, and also his—even though he seemed the one in control.
Originally, he didn’t intend to say that last sentence; it was just the freshly absorbed psychological knowledge reminding him—to breach someone’s final mental defense, he needed to strike hard.
Jiang Mo delayed her response, but suddenly Zhou Wang heard the system notification sound.
Ding!
[The host has completed the hidden round, and the round reward has been issued. The host has received: Jiang Mo’s Desire Consumption Gold (initial period).]
[Desire Consumption Gold: Each time the bound subject sinks into desire, different amounts of exclusive consumption money will be generated based on the level of indulgence. This consumption money can only be used for the bound subject.]
[Warm Reminder: The “Angel’s Windbreaker” energy is exhausted, and has been automatically destroyed.]
Ding dong!
[CMB: Your account ending in 1111 has received RMB 1,000,000.00 on July 04 at 22:14.]
Desire Consumption Gold?
Zhou Wang was briefly stunned, but suddenly he snapped awake.
Though Jiang Mo hadn’t yet responded to him, the system had answered on her behalf.
Regarding this “Exclusive Consumption Money,” the system’s explanation was clear—only when the bound subject sinks into desire would it be produced.
The initial million received meant Jiang Mo’s heart had already fallen.
But due to shame and residual dignity, she couldn’t speak out.
Zhou Wang stared at the phone, his face blurred by the screen’s reflection.
He still couldn’t truly see himself, but he knew, in this short while…
He had grown.
Perhaps this was the system’s real goal?
On the other end of the line, Jiang Mo remained silent. Zhou Wang didn’t wait any longer, hanging up the call, and turned to walk downstairs.
…
The sudden busy signal from the phone pulled Jiang Mo’s head from her knees, her expression bewildered.
Zhou Wang suddenly hung up?
So what did he… actually mean?
Working with the same words, but spoken by Han Yanqian and Zhou Wang’s different mouths, Jiang Mo’s feelings were entirely different.
The reason was, despite knowing him only two days, Jiang Mo’s heart was already harboring complex feelings for Zhou Wang. Maybe it was a budding affection, a nascent admiration, or an extension of curiosity.
But, precisely because of this, she was even more unable to accept it.
Yet… the harsh reality rendered her unable to speak words of refusal.
Did Zhou Wang think she’d rejected him? But then, should she call back? If she called back, what should she say?
Just when Jiang Mo was caught in a struggle, unsure what to do, her phone suddenly buzzed with a series of notifications.
When she looked at them, they were all messages from Zhou Wang.
Three in total:
“Please accept: ¥50,000.00.”
“Senior sister, go downstairs now, wait by the roadside, a car from Wanda Hotel will pick you up in 5 minutes.”
“Oh, and remember to delete all those messy contacts on WeChat.”