Chapter 1 — After I Refunded the Plane Tickets

My colleague asked me to book 4 airline tickets for 80,000 yuan (about 288 million) and then wasted the money. I immediately refunded the tickets, leaving him standing at the airport and making 99 calls. My colleague asked me to book four first-class airline tickets for him, a total of 80,000 yuan (about 288 million). He calmly said he had already transferred the money. But I waited forever, the balance in my account still didn't budge a penny. The first time I mentioned it, he said he was in a meeting. The second time I asked, he started to look annoyed and criticized me for bothering him. The third time, he immediately disappeared, not bothering to answer anymore. Looking at the message to deduct money from my credit card, I burst into cold laughter. The next second, I completely lost my plane tickets. Exactly an hour before takeoff, my phone started vibrating frantically. 99 consecutive missed calls. All from the airport. I slowly picked up the phone, heard the other end screaming until my voice was hoarse, then slowly asked:

“Sorry… who is it?”

Truong Vi held a cup of coffee, his face cheerfully walking to my desk. The eyes of the entire department immediately followed him. He gently placed the coffee cup on the corner of my desk.

“To Tinh, I have to bother you again.”

The voice is neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone around to hear clearly. I raised my head to look at his standard smiling face.

"What is up?"

"Help me book four first-class airline tickets to Shenzhen. One ticket for me, one ticket for General Manager Liu, and the rest are for Thien Vu's side, General Manager Vuong and their people."

He spoke softly as if he was asking me to go downstairs and get the express delivery. My heart sank slightly. Four first class tickets. I opened the ticket booking app, my fingertips quickly scrolling across the screen. Early morning flight tomorrow. Ticket prices pop up. I turned the screen towards him.

“Truong Wei, more than eighty thousand.”

“I see.”

He nodded, his smile still unchanged.

“Just book in advance, I'll transfer the money right away.”

After speaking, he deliberately raised his voice a little more.

“In this whole room, the person I trust the most is To Tinh.”

“Work carefully, never make a mistake.”

There were a few sounds of laughter around. But I was immediately pushed into a difficult position. This isn't the first time either. He really likes to "lift others up" in front of the group like this. I didn't speak, just looked at him. The atmosphere was silent for two seconds. He pretended to care.

“Is it difficult?”

I only said one word.

“Don't worry, move now.”

He patted his chest, took out his phone, and pretended to operate it right in front of me.

“It's done, let's move on.”

He swiped his phone in front of my eyes very quickly. I can't see the screen clearly yet. He put his phone away.

“You're probably late at the bank, it's normal.”

“Quickly book your tickets, General Manager Vuong's side is still waiting for the schedule.”

The commanding tone is extremely natural. It was as if more than eight thousand were already in my account. I opened the banking app. The balance remains unchanged. I refreshed again. Still no. I raised my head to look at him.

“Not received yet.”

Truong Vi's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Oh my god, transferring money to other banks is a bit slow, which is normal.”

"Just book in advance, it will come no matter what. I said it can be done."

He started his usual performance again. I held the phone, not moving. This credit card has capital for me to pay off my home loan this month. The limit is only ten thousand. If you swipe this account, you will almost hit the bottom. What if he doesn't pay... My financial plan for this month will be ruined. He urged.

“Don't believe me?”

The tone began to be mixed with questioning. As if the unreasonable one was me. I took a deep breath. Right in front of him, I clicked payment. Enter password. The screen displays the words "Payment successful". Immediately after that, a message to deduct money from the bank was immediately sent.

“[XX Bank] Your xxxx credit card just spent 81,200 yuan on November 15.”

A series of numbers as cold as ice. Truong Vi smiled with satisfaction.

"That's right, To Tinh is still the most trustworthy."

“Send me the schedule via WeChat.”

He picked up the coffee and turned to leave.

“Zhang Wei.”

I called back. He turned his head. My voice was very calm.

“I know, I know, the bank is just delayed, why are you so stressed?”

He was starting to lose patience.

“I wait for the money to be in my account before sending the schedule.”

I looked straight into his eyes and said each word slowly. The smile on his face immediately stiffened. The surrounding air seemed to freeze as well. He probably didn't expect me to dare to make him lose face in front of a crowd like that. He gritted his teeth and spit out one word.

“You just wait.”

After speaking, he turned around and quickly walked back to his seat. I looked at the dazzling money deduction message on my phone. A bad feeling suddenly arose in my heart. An hour passed. The account balance remains quiet. I sent him the first WeChat message.

“Truong Wei, the money hasn't arrived yet.”

The screen immediately displayed the words "The enemy is entering..." A few seconds later, the message was sent.

"It's in a meeting, don't rush it."

The back also includes the "shh" emoji. Another hour passed. Still no movement. No matter what kind of meeting it is, it must be over. I took out my phone to call him. Just unlocked the screen and saw him post a Moments post. A selfie in a luxury restaurant.

“You work hard all day, you have to reward yourself.”

And behind the photo... Those are those "important customers". It turns out his so-called “meeting”… is here. The blood in my body immediately rushed straight to my brain. Fingers clenched until they turned white. I called Truong Vi directly. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up. The other side was extremely noisy, music and laughter mixed together. His voice was clearly drunk and annoyed.

“It's me, To Tinh.”

"I know it's you, what's going on? I'm receiving guests."

He lowered his voice and his attitude was extremely harsh.

“Where is the money?”

"Didn't I say I was in a meeting? You're really annoying."

“If you have just a little money, do you want to call them all together to take your life like that?”

“To be human, you have to have a bit of a broader vision, okay?”

“I only owe you eighty thousand?”

Every sentence and every word pounded right into my ears. Having finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Hearing the cold "thump" sound on the phone, I was so angry that I trembled. Have some money? Eighty thousand yuan is my four months salary. Yet in his mouth, it was not worth much. And I became a petty, annoying, unreasonable person. That's really cool. I watched the sky outside the window gradually darken. Some corner of my heart is also cold. When I got home, I didn't do anything. Just sitting on the sofa, staring at the phone. Wait until exactly twelve o'clock at night. The bank account still does not have any transfer notification. I sent him a third WeChat message. Also the last news. A photo of the credit card debit message. Accompanied by exactly one sentence:

“If the money is not in your account before seven o'clock tomorrow morning, you will bear the consequences.”

Message just sent. A bright red exclamation mark immediately popped up.

“The message was sent but the other party refused to receive it.”

He blocked me.