Mu Jinyu paused in his steps and turned back with a smile, "Yes, although I helped you resolve the trouble and paid off the gambling debt, and they will never harass you again, your old customers don't know that."
Mu Jinyu directly shared his thoughts, "It will take some time for them to realize that those people won't harass you anymore. I'm afraid you might not be able to hang on, so I called them over to make a show of strength, to let them know that the trouble with the restaurant has been settled."
With a light smile, Mu Jinyu shrugged his shoulders and said, "See, now your old customers have all come back to eat your cooking, haven't they?"
Wen Rou felt warmth in her heart, but then, recalling what Mu Jinyu had just said, her expression suddenly stiffened, and she hurriedly asked, "The gambling debt... Have you already paid it off for me?"
"Uh..." Mu Jinyu, upon hearing Wen Rou's query, realized that he had inadvertently let slip the fact that he had paid off her gambling debt.
It wasn't a big deal anyway. Even if he didn't tell her, in a while, when Wen Rou went to the teahouse to repay the money, she would discover she was no longer in debt and would understand that it must have been him who paid it off.
But by then, if she found out and couldn't find him, it wouldn't mean much. Yet now, because he had carelessly blurted it out, given Wen Rou's strong-willed nature, she probably wouldn't want to be in his debt and would think about repaying him.
Mu Jinyu always had a special feeling for a strong and independent girl like Wen Rou - pity? Admiration?! He was not sure, but it was as if he saw his own self from many years ago in her, and so he thought he should help her if he could.
Otherwise, with his stingy nature, how could he possibly pay off someone else's gambling debt and not expect to be repaid?
However, since he had inadvertently mentioned it, it didn't matter anymore, he had a way to handle it.
Mu Jinyu gave Wen Rou a faint smile and said, "Yeah, I took the liberty of paying it for you first. Remember to pay me back when you have the money."
"Yes, I definitely will," Wen Rou said, her face a mix of emotions as she nodded heavily.
"Then I'll be leaving now." Having said that, Mu Jinyu turned to leave.
But Wen Rou felt something was amiss and quickly ran over to stop Mu Jinyu, staring at him with a pair of clear and clean eyes, she asked, "You're not leaving your address or contact information; how am I supposed to repay you when I have the money?"
Upon hearing this, Mu Jinyu's expression stiffened slightly, realizing that Wen Rou was quite quick-witted. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been deeply moved by now and by the time they came to their senses, he would have already left.
"Address?" Mu Jinyu frowned and made a sour face, "I just came in from a small place, I have no address. I don't even know where I'm going to stay, and I don't have any contact information either. I'm so poor, I can't afford a mobile phone, how about this? In a month, I'll come to your restaurant and collect the money from you?"
"What do you think?" Wen Rou replied drily, her eyes doubtful, not prepared to let him go.
"Uh, then what do you suggest?" Mu Jinyu asked weakly.
After speaking, he felt something was off again. It was he who had paid off Wen Rou's gambling debt. Logically, she should owe him a favor, so why did he find himself in a weak and guilty position?
This wasn't right. It was just ten thousand yuan; if she wanted to repay it, she could, why was he even thinking about looking out for her a little?
Just as he was considering giving in and providing Wen Rou with an address to repay him whenever she had a bit more cash on hand, what she said next caught the words in his throat.
"Did you just say you haven't found a place to stay?" After posing the question, Wen Rou's face turned slightly red as she spoke softly, "Then, for the time being, you can stay at my place. That way, when I have the money, it'll be easier to repay you directly."
"Huh?"
Mu Jinyu's eyes suddenly widened.
To continue living with Wen Rou in a small room? With the possibility of repeating last night's scene at any moment, the thought...
For a young man like him, full of vigor, it was indeed quite exciting.
However, this doesn't seem quite right, does it?
Even though I already have a place to live, to still crowd in with someone else... that's taking advantage of their vulnerability, isn't it?
No, no!
Mu Jinyu shook her head slightly, casting aside those inappropriate thoughts, and raised both hands saying, "Alright, you've defeated me, I'll lay my cards on the table, actually, I do have a place to live..."
Wen Rou's eyes widened in shock, "You have a place to live?! Then last night..."
Her expression turned somewhat displeased.
She thought, could it be... he had approached her on purpose last night?
But that didn't quite seem right either; after all, when she was nearly frozen stiff, he didn't act inappropriately towards her, did he?!
Seeing Wen Rou's misunderstanding, Mu Jinyu hurriedly explained, "I wasn't lying to you last night, I really had nowhere to stay, the place I have now, I just won it?"
"You won it?" Wen Rou caught the crucial information and her expression immediately turned very ugly.
Mu Jinyu knew what the reason was; her family had almost been destroyed by gambling, how could she have any good feelings towards gambling?
Feeling like she was making matters worse, Mu Jinyu quickly explained, "I didn't really want to gamble, nor do I have a gambling addiction, but going to their casino and just beating people up and smashing the place didn't seem right, so I thought I'd try the soft approach before the hard, first by cleaning out their casino through gambling, then finding their boss, to make them stop troubling you..."
After hearing Mu Jinyu's explanation, Wen Rou's expression finally softened, and she said softly, "So that's why those people treated you with so much respect just now? You turned one hundred yuan into 1.1 billion?!"
After speaking, Wen Rou still found it hard to believe.
Mu Jinyu then pulled out the key and property deed to show her, the date on the deed was today, ample proof that Mu Jinyu hadn't lied to her.
After seeing it, Wen Rou urged Mu Jinyu to put them away quickly, looking at him with a somewhat peculiar gaze, feeling both admiration for his prowess and worry, and then hesitated before whispering, "From now on... could you not gamble anymore?"
"Mm." Mu Jinyu nodded without hesitation, agreeing.
It wasn't just because of Wen Rou, but also because he never really had a gambling addiction and he knew the principle that gambling always leads to losses, so even though he loved money, he had no intention of taking that shortcut.
Seeing Mu Jinyu agree so readily, and his eyes were clear and honest, not like he was trying to brush her off, Wen Rou's face finally broke into a gentle and serene smile again.
"Now you can rest assured, right? If you want to pay me back in the future, just come find me at these places." After saying this, Mu Jinyu really prepared to leave.
Wen Rou called out again, "Wait a minute."
"What now?" Mu Jinyu turned back, looking at her helplessly.
Wen Rou then picked up the gifts that the gang had brought as an apology from the counter, trotted over, and said, "These gifts are only here because of you, so they should be considered yours, take them with you."
Mu Jinyu was stunned, then said speechlessly, "These are all skirts, high heels, necklaces, bracelets, and the like, what would I do with them? Are you suggesting I cross-dress?"
"No..." Wen Rou's face flushed with embarrassment at Mu Jinyu's words, quickly shaking her head and saying, "I'm not suggesting you cross-dress, you can give these things to your girlfriend in the future."
"Who knows whether my girlfriend has even been born yet..." Mu Jinyu retorted somewhat speechlessly, then seeing Wen Rou's flushed cheeks as tempting as apples, he felt an impulse to take a bite, and blurted out, "How about you be my girlfriend? I'll give these to you."