Earn Some Pocket Money

After waiting several minutes without a reply from Meng Qianyu,

"Sweep Away Thousands": "What's up, Brother Meng? Is your little sister feeling shy?"

"Lonely Like Me": "Damn! I'm an idiot—she's still on the plane right now."

"Sweep Away Thousands": "Tch."

"Lonely Like Me": "Heh, gotta go. I'm heading to the airport to pick her up. You guys chat, and remember to be on time tomorrow."

"Little Bug in the Night": "Bro, you didn’t even say what time."

"Lonely Like Me": "Five. Just come a bit early tomorrow."

"Little Bug in the Night": "Ok."

Meanwhile, Su Yang and the others continued their conversation.

Liu Bo tagged the four newly added girls in the group chat: "@star (Han Xiaoyu) @That Cloud (Lu Yun) @Little Tang Charge (Tang Ziyun) @Summer Always Hungry (Xia Keke) Hey beauties, come chat!"

After a few seconds, Han Xiaoyu replied: "Don’t feel like talking."

Liu Bo: "Why?"

Han Xiaoyu: "Did you forget we lost the bet and have to cosplay tomorrow?"

Liu Bo: "Holy crap?! I totally forgot!"

Seeing this, Su Yang chimed in: "By the way, did you guys buy the costumes for your cosplay roles yet?"

Liu Bo: "Can I say no?"

Su Yang: "No way, man. No backing out."

Liu Bo: "Bought them, bought them. I always honor my bets—no cheating here."

Zhang Ziming jumped in: "Yang, what’s going on?"

Su Yang: "Last time we went to Shima Town, Lao Meng, Fatty, Han Xiaoyu, and Xia Keke were in one car. They insisted on racing me to see who’d get there first. They lost, so the punishment is cosplaying at tomorrow’s banquet."

Zhang Ziming: "No way?? That’s wild! But I’m kinda looking forward to it! Heh."

Liu Bo: "I’m dead inside."

Xia Keke: "I don’t mind. Yunyun and Ziyun picked a role I actually like."

Su Yang: "Who are you cosplaying?"

Xia Keke: "Seraphine from League of Legends."

Zhang Ziming: "Oho!! Nice choice!"

Shen Yixue: "She’s gorgeous. I love her~"

Zhang Ziming: "Heh, right? Though I wonder if you can pull off her vibe."

Xia Keke: "Who are you looking down on?"

Before Zhang Ziming could reply, Su Yang cut in: "What about Xiaoyu? @star"

Han Xiaoyu: "I’m also cosplaying from LoL."

Su Yang: "Who?"

Han Xiaoyu: "Sona."

Seeing the name, Su Yang paused, then grinned. "36E, huh? Fits her figure perfectly. Heh, Little Lu and Little Tang know how to pick."

Zhang Ziming: "No way!! That’s another great one!"

Han Xiaoyu: "Ugh, I don’t even wanna talk. Making me wear something so embarrassing in public."

Zhang Ziming: "How is it embarrassing? Not at all. You better wear it properly—I think it’s even better than that Seraphine outfit. [smirk]"

Shen Yixue: "[fist]"

Ignoring Shen Yixue’s message, Zhang Ziming pressed on: "What about Lao Meng and Fatty? Who are you two cosplaying?"

Liu Bo: "Yone."

Zhang Ziming: "Yone… You’re not seriously cosplaying Yone, are you?"

Liu Bo: "What? Got a problem with that?"

Zhang Ziming: "Damn, you trying to blind us or something?"

Liu Bo: "It’s not like I want to. We lost, thanks to Brother Meng challenging Yang to that stupid race."

Zhang Ziming: "And what’s Lao Meng cosplaying?"

Su Yang: "Iori Yagami!"

Zhang Ziming: "What the—?! You picked that for him?"

Su Yang chuckled and replied: "Yep. Winner chooses for the losers—no objections allowed. And I went easy on them."

Zhang Ziming: "I can’t even imagine what tomorrow’s gonna look like. I was planning to wear a sharp suit, but maybe I should ditch it. Don’t wanna make Lao Meng lose too much face."

Su Yang: "Nah, wear it. Won’t be a problem."

After a while longer, Lu Yun finally replied.

Lu Yun: "Sorry, was busy and didn’t check my phone. The group’s so lively!"

Zhang Ziming responded: "And you are…?"

Su Yang: "Oh right, you guys haven’t met yet. This is my friend Lu Yun."

Zhang Ziming: "Ah, your friend means my friend too! Hey there, beauty! I’m Zhang Ziming, probably a few years older, so you can call me Brother Ming. @That Cloud"

Shen Yixue: "Call him Brother Fart!"

Zhang Ziming: "Can you not embarrass me for once?? [angry]"

Ignoring him, Shen Yixue said: "@That Cloud, nice to meet you, Lu Yun! I’m Shen Yixue, also a friend of Su Yang’s. Let’s hang out more in the future~"

Lu Yun: "Hi [handshake] Sounds good! Let’s exchange WeChat later~"

Shen Yixue: "Deal!"

A while later, Tang Ziyun finally popped up: "Sorry, just saw this."

Tang Ziyun: "Whoa, what’s everyone talking about? So many messages! Are we really going to a banquet tomorrow?"

Zhang Ziming: "Yep! Time to break out your fanciest outfits."

Tang Ziyun: "Perfect! I’ve got an evening gown I’ve never worn before."

Su Yang: "Then you gotta wear it. A banquet calls for formal wear."

Tang Ziyun smiled sweetly and typed: "Alright~"

After a moment’s thought, Su Yang added: "What about Little Lu? Do you have a gown?"

Lu Yun replied after a short pause: "No, I don’t."

Seeing this, Su Yang exited the group chat and messaged her privately: "Little Lu, I’ll come find you after work. Let’s go buy you a gown."

Lu Yun replied instantly: "Huh? No… no need, right? Do I really have to?"

"Think about it—tomorrow’s event is hosted by Lao Meng, a rich second-gen. The banquet’s gonna be high-class. Besides us, there’ll be other guests, and Meng Qianyu’s the star as his sister. We should at least dress decently."

Lu Yun thought it over: "I guess you’re right. Now I’m kinda nervous~"

"Don’t be. If you wear a stunning gown, you’ll outshine everyone!"

On the other end, Lu Yun blushed: "As if~ Brother Meng’s sister is the main attraction tomorrow."

Su Yang laughed: "Who cares? Just focus on looking your best. I’ll come get you later—I need a suit too. We’ll shop together and grab something for now."

"Okay~"

Back in the group, the chatter eventually died down.

Su Yang checked the time—only 11 AM. Still early before Lu Yun got off work. With nothing to do, he opened Douyin to kill time.

The first thing he saw was a livestream from Wang Doudou, a host he often watched.

Wang Doudou’s account had decent popularity.

His shtick was "training" rich second-gens late at night, rating wealthy big shots to see who had the most clout—a comedic act that drew crowds.

Su Yang used to watch his streams before bed, living vicariously through the lens of the ultra-rich.

But now, his own status had changed.

"Huh, this guy usually streams at night. Why’s he live in broad daylight today?"

He tapped into the stream.

The host was currently video-chatting with a young man called "General Lingling."

After watching for a bit, Su Yang mused: "Maybe I should hop on too? A little flexing might even earn me some pocket money. Heh."

Without hesitation or unnecessary fuss, he directly opened the gift interface and sent five "Carnival" gifts in a row.

Wang Doudou, who was live-streaming, suddenly changed her expression when she saw the Carnival special effects flash across her screen. She gasped in shock and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Who was that?!"