Ch 12 - Arrogant ruffian

TL-ed by weiisnothere

As Lan Lan would usually be 'teased' by Luo Lin, it gave her a good understanding of his cheekiness. However, it was his teasing that gave her a burst of sweetness.

‘Fate... Heaven's decision... This stinky fellow would say such embarrassing stuff every time we meet.’

Luo Lin noticed Lan Lan becoming silent so he shifted the topic: "Lan Lan what are you doing here? Why don't you become a neet during the holidays?"

Lan Lan pointed toward the alley: "I'm here to surf the internet, I live around this area..."

She paused for a moment as though she had something difficult to talk about, "I don't have a computer at home, so I have to visit an internet cafe to surf the internet."

Realization dawned on Luo Lin. Lan Lan came from an ordinary family that was somewhat poor. At One High which comprised many rich folks, she couldn't help but feel a little inferior.

Not having a computer at home was understandable.

Luo Lin felt distressed when he noticed Lan Lan not daring to meet his gaze.

'Sigh, this lass's heart is as pure as her appearance.'

'She will get bullied when she ventures out into society. No no no, how can I allow such a good lady to get influenced by this filthy world?

'In the future, I'll take care of you!'

Luo Lin avoided the awkward subject: "Such a coincidence, I’m also here to surf the internet. I already said we're fated, don't you agree?"

"Ah? Really? You don't have a computer at home?"

'This lass... actually asked such a non-nutritious question...'

"Oh, there's a power outage at my house so I came here to surf the internet..." Luo Lin continued, "But we probably can't surf the internet today, the internet cafes around here are packed."

Lan Lan smiled: "Hehe, I'm not afraid of that." As she said that, she retrieved a tiny card from her purse, "There is a small internet cafe in the alley, not many people visit that place and it only costs a dollar an hour. I signed up for a membership, so it’s only 50 cents per hour, isn't that affordable?"

'Small internet cafe?'

'Why haven't I heard of it?'

A light flashed in Luo Lin's mind as he laughed: "Sounds good, then I'll have to trouble you to guide me there. Lan Lan, let's go to that internet cafe."

Lan Lan nodded with a blushed face, she kept quiet as she led the way.

This was her first time visiting the internet cafe with another boy...

'Does this count as a date?'

'Although this date seems a little casual... but as the naughty guy said, maybe this is fate?'

...

One in front and one in the back, they walked together into the internet cafe Lan Lan mentioned.

When they entered, Luo Lin understood why the fees were so low, and why there were so few customers.

At first glance, there are less than 20 computers with different systems. Cemented floors, old white painted walls, with two light bulbs hanging from the ceiling which dimly illuminated the place.

There were no air conditioners, only an old ceiling fan which creaked as it spun laboriously.

In the store, there was no business license displayed.

The customers were of varying ages, there were high schoolers, vocational school students, even little kids, and a few shabbily dressed middle-aged men.

To put it simply, this was an affordable illegal internet cafe.

A chubby middle-aged lady who seemed to be the manager sat beside a wooden table that looked like a bar counter. She fanned herself using a palm fan and sweated profusely.

"Oh, Lan Lan you're here?"

When the middle-aged lady warmly greeted when she saw Lan Lan and Luo Lin walking in.

"Yes, good afternoon Auntie Zhang. This is my membership card." Lan Lan placed her card on the table.

Auntie Zhang waved her hands: "Lan Lan, how many times have I told you, even if you don't bring along the card, I would still give you a discount." She said that, but her hands swiftly took over Lan Lan's membership card and registered it on her book before returning it.

Lan Lan smiled and took over the card: "It's alright, it's only a card, I can bring it without much hassle.

...Oh, yes, Auntie Zhang, this is my classmate. He has a power outage at home so he came here. Please open up a computer for him and credit it on my membership card."

Auntie Zhang turned her gaze toward Luo Lin, and her vision wasn't bad. She could tell that Luo Lin was not from an ordinary family, so why would he come to this type of internet cafe.

'Perhaps the other internet cafes are full, but he does not look like a poor man so why did he make Lan Lan this little girl treat him?'

'Could he be a love scammer?'

Thinking of this, Auntie Zhang did not reply her.

Luo Lin didn't speak because he was scrutinizing the environment. When he saw Auntie Zhang's gaze, he immediately understood what was going on.

He took out two $100 bills and handed it to Auntie Zhang: "Auntie, sign me up for a membership with that hundred, and credit the other hundred into Lan Lan's membership card.

Auntie Zhang paused slightly before her eyes glowed up.

Two $100 bills!

For an tiny illegal internet cafe like hers, it wasn't a small amount of income!

"Okay!" Auntie Zhang swiftly shoved the money into the drawer. Afterward, she registered Luo Lin as a member and handed him a card, "Little fellow, you and Lan Lan can just go at it, one hour is only fifty cents!"

"..." Luo Lin was rendered speechless.

'What is this fat aunty talking about, what "go at it", and what "one hour is only 50 cents" these kind of words can be easily misunderstood.'

Auntie Zhang froze after saying those words, apparently noticing the ambiguity in her words.

'Thank goodness Lan Lan is innocent and didn’t think toward those unhealthy aspects.'

Lan Lan asked with a flustered face: "Luo Lin, how could I let you put so much money into my card..."

Before Luo Lin could speak, Auntie Zhang was worried Luo Lin might regret and quickly waved her hands. She pointed toward the two computers: "Little fellow, I have opened the computers for you guys. Number 8 and number 9."

Luo Lin nodded and held Lan Lan's hand toward the front.

Lan Lan did not break free from his grasp...

Well, alright. It was her who didn't want to break free.

She felt his warm hand wrapped around her tender hand which felt slightly cold through the seasons. Soon they arrived at the computers but helplessly found that the booths were slightly far apart.

Luo Lin shrugged helplessly and smiled at Lan Lan before he walked toward the 9th booth.

Lan Lan took a seat at the 8th booth. Her heartbeat raced quickly.

'This stinky fellow... he a-actually held my hand. Mother said that girls shouldn't casually hold hands with guys... Am I a casual woman?... '

Thinking of this, Lan Lan felt ashamed, as if her hand being held by Luo Lin was akin to her seducing him.

'Lan Lan oh Lan Lan, why didn’t you let go when he held your hand?'

'But... his hand felt so warm and big, and that subtle scent of tobacco smelled so nice...'

At this moment, Lan Lan was undergoing a fierce internal struggle so much so that they were divided into two opinions. On the surface, she looked like she was blankly browsing the internet with the expression of a lovestruck girl.

In fact, her goodwill toward Luo Lin was somewhat hazy a month or two ago. The only thing she liked was Luo Lin's naughty smirk.

However, in recent days, she noticed that Luo Lin's temperament seemed to have undergone a complete change. He seemed to have become extremely charming, just like a mysterious blackhole that made her want to fall within.

He also became even more mischievous, but also not at the same time...

At this time, Luo Lin acted as though nothing was going on.

He sat before the computer and casually browsed the news. An idea to occupy this illegal internet cafe began to sprout in his heart.

Although this internet cafe only contained 20 sets of computers, the configurations were decent and could run current popular games. If they renovated this internet cafe and made it look more formal, then the size wouldn’t matter anymore.

It would attract more customers, and it's also much more affordable than most internet cafes.

Only the fees are slightly cheaper than other cafes.

The bigger-sized internet cafes usually charge $2-3 for an hour, and after signing up for a membership, every hour comes up to $1 or $1.50.

At that time, the price could be set on how much was invested. All in all, the membership price must be a dollar or less, although profits were small, the turnovers would be rapid.

His card contains at least $40,000 worth of allowance. He could get a little from here and there to pull some investments, and he should be able to take down this internet cafe.

As long as it doesn’t exceed $60,000, it would still be in a reasonable range.

The important thing was that if he decides to renovate this place, then it would be quite costly.

Overall, they need at least a $100,000 Yuan to turn this place around, and that was only a rough estimate.

'The issue is... who should he look for to invest in some stocks?'

Contemplating this, a name popped up in his mind: Qin Wanshu.

However the relationship between them right now was a little ambiguous, so Luo Lin will not be looking for her temporarily. So who else can he look for?

...

Luo Lin stretched his waist and rubbed his temples.

"Haha, Big Sis, you're so idle today? Have you eaten?"

Three men with blonde-dyed hair strutted through the front door and greeted Auntie Zhang.

When Auntie Zhang noticed the three men, a trace of fear flashed in her eyes. She forced herself to smile: "Big brothers, t-this, it's only the beginning of the month, and it's the holidays so there are very little customers, you see... can you delay it for a few more days?"

"No no."

The leader shook his hand: "This is against the rules. You should know that were it not for Brother Dragon, illegal shops like yours would have been shut down.”

“If you don't pay up, then we can only apologize. We will report to Brother Dragon regarding today's matters, and perhaps in two days, the authorities will come down to investigate.”

Auntie Zhang's face paled at the mention of this and quickly pulled out the drawer, handing over the several red notes.

"Big brother, there's only this much at this moment."

The leader of the group smirked in an arrogant manner, he took over the money and smacked his lips: "Why is there only $400 Yuan? What about the remaining $100?!"

Auntie Zhang had a face of difficulty: "I really only have this much, were it not for a person who signed up for membership and paid $200 today, I wouldn't even be able to bring out these $400..."

The customers who were standing by turned to their monitor screens, not daring to look at the three hooligans.

Lan Lan often visited this internet cafe, but this was the first time she encountered this situation. She lacked the awareness and looked at the three men with her watery eyes.

"Oh? Looks pretty fresh."

The leader of the group raised his brow when he noticed Lan Lan's angry expression which brought a smile to his face: "This is such a lousy internet cafe yet there is such a fresh little girl. Little girl, what are you looking at, do you think brother is very handsome? Do you want to hug me tonight?"

"Ha ha ha!"

The other blondies smiled in a sinister manner.