The money came too easily, so most girls never developed saving habits.
As Li Yan smoked and thought about his incoming ten thousand yuan, he realized it was already late April.
Late April meant several of his closer female colleagues would probably come asking for loans again...
The amounts weren't huge—Li Yan typically lent out eight hundred to a thousand monthly, occasionally two or three thousand.
Besides being friendly and getting along well, the main reason was that they always paid back extra. An extra hundred or two, sometimes cigarettes or small gifts.
Not that Li Yan was greedy for these small favors, but borrowers who were so considerate made lending worthwhile.
Their relationship was just good colleagues helping each other out. You help me this month, I help you next month. That sort of thing.
His phone lit up with a message from a girl named Zhang Wen.
"Want to grab a late-night snack? I just bought some iced milk tea and got you one too."
Zhang Wen, nineteen years old, sophomore at Hangzhou Communications Polytechnic.
Five-foot-five, 102 pounds, C-cup, long legs, pale skin, shoulder-length hair, single, decent-looking, killer body.
Li Yan met her at a bar gathering. He called her his "business partner."
What kind of business?
Multi-million dollar projects, obviously.
Normally, Li Yan would probably accept the invitation. They'd only known each other a few days—still in the fresh excitement phase.
Going to a hotel to discuss multi-million dollar projects wouldn't be unreasonable.
But right now, with the system just arriving, Li Yan had no time or mood for any projects, even after she sent a follow-up photo of herself in black stockings.
"Can't tonight, got something going on. Next time."
Checking the time—1 AM—Li Yan decided to leave early and head to his rental place.
His work hours were 6 PM to 2 AM. Usually only one person per shift.
Li Yan's tardiness and early departures were routine. This job involved a lot of doing absolutely nothing.
He caught a taxi to Yuhang Green Town Haitang Garden. When he got home, his three roommates obviously hadn't returned yet.
The entire four-bedroom apartment felt empty and quiet with just Li Yan there.
Li Yan shared the place with Lulu, a colleague from Crown International, plus a male model named Liang Yuan, and a female bar promoter.
Total monthly rent was 7,500 yuan. Li Yan's second bedroom cost 1,500.
Between rent, food, cigarettes, alcohol, clothes, and daily necessities, Li Yan's salary barely covered living expenses.
Savings?
Impossible.
"Make money in Hangzhou, spend it in Hangzhou—don't expect to take any home."
Li Yan could certainly rent a place for three to five hundred yuan monthly, strictly budget his meals, quit smoking and drinking, and cut unnecessary social expenses.
That way he could definitely save four to five thousand monthly.
But just thinking about that monk-like existence made Li Yan feel hopeless about the future.
After showering, brushing his teeth, and throwing today's clothes in the washing machine, Li Yan strutted around the living room completely naked.
With roommates still out, he didn't worry about his naked wandering.
Li Yan's favorite thing was coming home after work, washing away the day's dust and fatigue, then lying naked in bed happily playing with his phone.
Having his own private space would be even better.
While 1,500 could rent a single room in Hangzhou, it would definitely be somewhere remote with serious commuting issues.
Plus the conditions couldn't compare to here, so Li Yan ultimately chose the shared apartment.
Back in his bedroom, he locked the door.
Instead of immediately flopping on the bed like usual, Li Yan retrieved his unused suitcase from the small balcony.
He opened it on the floor and pulled out his closet. Clothes packed the entire wardrobe.
Li Yan looked at the mostly unworn clothes—stuff he'd bought in previous years but lost interest in.
Too wasteful to throw away.
But he never wore them either.
So they just hung in the closet, untouched for entire years.
[Within three days, donate clothes and shoes from your closet that you haven't worn for over a year to a welfare institution]
Looking at the task floating in his mind, Li Yan had a clear plan.
Hangzhou First Social Welfare Institute was in Yuhang District where Li Yan lived, not far from his place.
Li Yan sorted through unworn clothes while planning to leave at 9 AM tomorrow to make the donation.
Forget the task rewards—this was worth doing for its own sake.
"Did I seriously buy this gaudy shirt???"
"These ripped jeans are so over-the-top—I bought these too???"
"This one doesn't fit anymore..."
"Don't need this one either..."
"These shoes gotta go..."
"This... this... and this too..."
After half an hour of emptying more than half his closet, the suitcase was stuffed full.
Li Yan even found two shopping bags for the shoes that wouldn't fit, planning to drag the suitcase and carry the bags to the welfare institute tomorrow.
While sorting, Li Yan looked up Hangzhou First Social Welfare Institute's donation process.
They accepted clothing donations, either by mail or drop-off. The institute would disinfect and quarantine all items before cataloging and storing them.
Li Yan couldn't wait for shipping—better to deliver personally and complete the task quickly.
After half an hour of sorting, Li Yan had worked up another sweat.
He set the suitcase and bags aside, went out to wash his face, then finally lay down in bed.
Taking a deep breath, Li Yan set his phone alarm for 9 AM.
This was an unusually early wake-up time for Li Yan. Working in this industry meant he was mostly nocturnal.
Lying in bed with his eyes closed, thinking about his measly savings of eighteen thousand yuan about to become twenty-eight thousand.
Thinking about living more freely next month without worrying about rent and living expenses.
Thinking about future system rewards, Li Yan fell asleep with a smile.
Tomorrow would be a brand new, exciting day!