The ups and downs of life are as exciting as riding a roller coaster.
Wen Jiaxuan didn’t understand the meaning of this sentence before, but now he fully understands its meaning.
The moment Wen Jiaxuan got his undergraduate diploma, he happily scanned the certificate and sent it to the editor-in-chief of a certain magazine. He thought that the other party would settle the more than 20,000 yuan in manuscript fees owed to him, but he didn’t expect the conversation to go as follows:
The other party actually blocked him.
Wen Jiaxuan’s college roommate, Qian Wuyou, had told him long ago that the editor-in-chief was not very reliable, but Wen Jiaxuan never cared about it.
About half a year ago, Wen Jiaxuan found news of Japanese part-time jobs on Douban. Since then, he has received some game text translations from the editor-in-chief who released the part-time jobs from time to time. Up to now, he has translated a total of over 200,000 words.
At first, Wen Jiaxuan was also a little puzzled. The content he translated was related to game development, and it didn’t look like a magazine article at all. However, the other party paid him 800 yuan for the manuscript every month on time, so he didn’t think much of it.
At that time, Qian Wuyou told him that no one paid the manuscript fee like this, and Wen Jiaxuan even defended the other party, saying that it was to reduce tax deductions for himself.
According to the other party, 14% of the manuscript remuneration tax must be withheld for the portion of the translation fee exceeding 800 yuan, which put Wen Jiaxuan at a disadvantage.
So, the other party proposed to pay 800 yuan per month first and settle the rest after Wen Jiaxuan got his graduation certificate. As long as Wen Jiaxuan obtained the graduation certificate, the other party could make Wen Jiaxuan a regular employee when they issued the salary statement, and the remaining manuscript fee would be paid as salary over the next two months. This way, tax could be deducted according to the progressive tax rate of personal income tax, saving a significant amount of money.
It was the first time Wen Jiaxuan had encountered matters related to tax payment. He searched Baidu for relevant tax laws, tinkered with a calculator for a long time, and finally realized that the other party was genuinely trying to help him save money.
So, on the day when Wen Jiaxuan happily received his graduation certificate, he stared at the screen of his mobile phone, feeling the real danger in the world for the first time in 22 years.
“You’re calling yourself naive now?” Qian Wuyou was not surprised at all, as if he had anticipated this result long ago. “I warned you earlier that I’m much more sensitive than you when it comes to money matters, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
What Qian Wuyou said was accurate; Wen Jiaxuan genuinely didn’t have much concept of money, so he never felt uneasy about being suppressed for several months.
Speaking of which, Wen Jiaxuan’s family circumstances were good. If he hadn’t fallen out with his family, he wouldn’t be working as a Japanese translator to make ends meet.
Wen Jiaxuan’s major had nothing to do with Japanese. He knew Japanese solely because he was a native speaker of both Chinese and Japanese.
Due to his father’s work, Wen Jiaxuan’s primary and junior high school studies were in Japan. Later, his father was transferred back to China, and he moved with him.
Upon returning to China, Wen Jiaxuan experienced anxiety. He faced significant academic pressure, and his grades struggled to keep up. If he hadn’t scored perfectly on the final college entrance exam by using Japanese instead of English, he might not have been accepted into P University.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
After entering university, Wen Jiaxuan differed from classmates who were uncertain about their future. His goal was always crystal clear: he aspired to be a civil servant.
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While Wen Jiaxuan stated that he aspired to become a diplomat, it wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment declaration for the camera.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake that year, he was in Tokyo. The embassy in Roppongi was empty, and officials from other countries stationed in Japan had fled. Only Chinese diplomats remained, enduring the aftershocks that could occur at any moment.
They worked in the yard, pulling down telephone lines from the second floor. While assisting evacuation efforts, they also aided Japan in managing the Fukushima situation. During those times, Wen Jiaxuan, who had spent many years in Japan, felt an unprecedented sense of pride in his motherland.
Since then, the notion of joining the diplomatic corps had remained deeply rooted in Wen Jiaxuan’s mind. However, despite this, his father, Wen Hua, did not support him taking the entrance exam for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wen Hua held a significant position in a state-owned enterprise and had paved the way for Wen Jiaxuan to follow in his footsteps. Yet, Wen Jiaxuan was determined not to take the same path as his father. He deliberately abstained from participating in the autumn recruitment of Wen Hua’s unit and instead took part in the national civil service examination in November of the previous year.
However, experience showed that wisdom comes with age, and Wen Hua’s judgment had been correct. Wen Jiaxuan failed the national examination with honor.
Wen Jiaxuan possessed a strong sense of self-awareness. He believed that it was normal to fail the exam on his first attempt. Therefore, he decided to support himself by working as a translator while preparing for the national exam at the end of the current year.
Since his family didn’t endorse his exam efforts, he rented an apartment and moved out. He had his eyes on a particular place – a one-bedroom apartment outside the fifth ring road of P City, with a monthly rent of 3,000 yuan. He could cover it until the end of the year using his manuscript fees, which amounted to over 20,000 yuan.
Unfortunately, just before he received this crucial starting capital, he found himself abandoned. Wen Jiaxuan stood there, bewildered for a moment, unsure of what to do next.
“Don’t look at me,” Qian Wuyou crossed his arms, adopting an unyielding expression. “I don’t have money to help you.”
Wen Jiaxuan pursed his lips, pitifully tugging at Qian Wuyou’s clothes and said, “Boss Qian…”
“Boss Qian” was the nickname Wen Jiaxuan had bestowed upon Qian Wuyou. Qian Wuyou wasn’t a president, but his family was genuinely affluent. Growing up within a wealthy environment, Qian Wuyou had learned stock trading since middle school. At present, his modest fortune had reached six figures.
However, Qian Wuyou might have money, but he didn’t throw it away frivolously. Even though Wen Jiaxuan spent 800 yuan monthly allowance daily in the cafeteria, Qian Wuyou wouldn’t invite him to dine at a high-end restaurant like Haidilao.
“Therefore, the only reason you’re here today is because you disregarded my advice,” Qian Wuyou ruthlessly brushed off Wen Jiaxuan’s hand from his clothes. “The person you need to seek now isn’t me, but the police.”
Only then did Wen Jiaxuan realize that he could indeed call the police!
Renewed with energy, he felt as though a small spark of hope had been reignited in his bleak life.
However, the cruel reality extinguished that spark of hope before long, subjecting Wen Jiaxuan once more to the roller coaster of emotions.
“Young man, this is a labor dispute, not a scam.”
“You should go to the Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission, and your situation is very complicated.”
“You and the disputed are separated from each other. Even if you want to arbitrate, you have to go to the local area to find the parties.”
“…”
Three or four enthusiastic police officers gave Wen Jiaxuan advice. Wen Jiaxuan listened for a long time and was in a daze. When he finally left the police station, he only figured out one thing: the police can’t do anything about it; he still has to go find that black-hearted editor-in-chief.
“Boss Qian, if you don’t help me, I’ll starve to death.” Wen Jiaxuan hugged Qian Wuyou’s arm tightly, refusing to let go, as if grasping at a straw. “Just be considerate of your best friend. After leaving school, I don’t even have a place to live.”
“That’s what you asked for.” Qian Wuyou pushed Wen Jiaxuan’s face away. “You either go to that liar, or you go to your brother.”
“No, I can’t look for my brother.” Wen Jiaxuan stood up straight and said quite seriously, “My brother and my father are the same species. I can’t give in.”
“You truly know how to use idioms.” Qian Wuyou rolled his eyes speechlessly. “If you’re not looking for your brother, then you’re going to look for that liar.”
Wen Jiaxuan pondered for a moment, and finally clenched his right fist and punched his open left palm, saying with determination, “It seems that this is the only way to do it.”
Qian Wuyou showed a surprised expression. “Are you really going?”
“Otherwise?” Wen Jiaxuan curled his lips helplessly. “I know he is the editor-in-chief of ‘Zeyou Travel’. At worst, I’ll go to his office and confront him.”
Qian Wuyou then asked, “Do you know where his office is?”
“You can check it online.” Wen Jiaxuan said naturally. “I also know that the editor-in-chief’s name is Wu Zehao.”
As early as when Wen Jiaxuan translated for the other party for the first time, the other party introduced himself.
Wen Jiaxuan hadn’t heard of “Zeyou Travel” at that time, but he knew about Baidu. Wu Zehao, the editor-in-chief of “Zeyou Travel,” was originally a popular blogger in the travel circle, and later founded his own company at the beginning of the year, launching a travel-related electronic journal.
Wen Jiaxuan was also curious about why it was necessary to translate game texts for a travel journal, but when he thought about starting his own company, the business scope might involve other industries, so he didn’t see any issue.
Qian Wuyou warned playfully, “Don’t go running into debt collectors, or you might get abducted by human traffickers.”
“How could that happen? I’m not that stupid.” Wen Jiaxuan muttered, feeling dissatisfied. “And I’ll come back as soon as I get the money; I won’t be running around.”
“That’s fine.” Qian Wuyou sighed like an old father. “If you don’t get the money, you can obediently go work at your dad’s place, so you won’t have to worry about it.”
Hearing this, Wen Jiaxuan immediately turned his body to the other side, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Qian Wuyou. He said, “So you’re just the same.”
Qian Wuyou raised his eyebrows. “Do you want the money for travel expenses?”
Wen Jiaxuan was taken aback. “What travel expenses?”
“If I remember correctly, you only have about a hundred yuan with you now.” Qian Wuyou paused. “How are you planning to collect your debt?”
Wen Jiaxuan suddenly realized and hugged Qian Wuyou, saying gratefully, “Boss Qian! I knew you were the best!”
Qian Wuyou mentioned that he was lending Wen Jiaxuan travel expenses, but in reality, he didn’t lend him much.
Through the vast network, Wen Jiaxuan found out that the office address of “Zeyou Travel” was 1-1, No. 11, 11th Street, City H, and the train ride from City P to City H cost 553 yuan.
Qian Wuyou lent Wen Jiaxuan a thousand yuan. Wen Jiaxuan felt puzzled. “Boss Qian, this isn’t enough for the round trip.”
Qian Wuyou replied blankly, “This covers travel expenses as well as accommodation and meals.”
If Wen Jiaxuan negotiated for his wages, then travel expenses for returning home wouldn’t be an issue. If Wen Jiaxuan didn’t negotiate for wages, he, being in a different city and penniless, would definitely surrender to his family, which would be ideal.
Wen Jiaxuan thought to himself that no wonder Qian Wuyou was willing to lend him money. It turned out to be a ploy to force him to give in to his family.
But he didn’t dare to voice his opinion; after all, without Qian Wuyou’s support, he wouldn’t even be able to take the first step in asking for his salary.
A few days later, Wen Jiaxuan and Qian Wuyou officially left the university campus and became two newcomers to society.
Qian Wuyou didn’t need to search for a job; he went directly to work at the family company. Meanwhile, Wen Jiaxuan left his belongings at Qian Wuyou’s place, only carrying a computer on his back as he boarded the bullet train bound for City H. He embarked on his journey to ask for his salary.
Author’s note at the beginning: 1. The bottom will develop in the future. 2. Whether someone is cheated or not is largely tied to their personal experience. Everyone is different, so there’s no need to compare situations online~
Interesting read. Thanks for the translation 🤣❤️
Why am I shipping the bestfriend with him. 😂
On a serious note, I wish I started learning stock/forex trading at a younger age too. It really comes in handy as your second income without worrying for work retrenchment and other work-related-stress. Youngsters, please heed my advice and start planning for your financial independence and literacy.
Thank you for this chapter. 😊
This is the first chapter and I’m already stressing for this clueless MC 🤣
It’s interesting.
Thanks for the chapter~💕