Xinjia took the notes, expecting it to be a pathetic sum until he stopped and counted it. Damn, this was good money, it was enough to get some cool shoes! He had been aiming for that next, now he had a fancy phone, but Jonathan ruined his scam. So he supposed Jonathan did kind of owe him.
He followed him into the elevator and then pocketed the money, frowning at Jonathan. "Oi, why'd you give me money? You want me to owe you something? Well, I ain't gonna. I'm just gonna keep it so, just be warned, I don't care."
"You are a gangster, right? So you've robbed me." Jonathan's voice was dry as he pressed the button for the bottom floor after getting into the elevator. He turned to look at Xinjia again and then, inevitably, he had to reach out and pat his hair. "You are cute, A-jia. Like a puppy. Husky puppy."
It was pretty obvious. "I'm taking care of you. You don't owe me for that. You are fun company."
"Husky?" Well. That was specific. Not the first time he had called him a dog though. Well, no, he usually called him puppy. He shrugged his shoulders and then looked away. "If I'm a dog, you're like a devious cat or fox or something. You're too tricky, it's confusing. You say one thing and then you say another and both seem real so I get confused."
How was that fair, huh? As they reached the lobby, he put his hands into his pockets and walked beside Jonathan, keeping some distance. "This place is so fancy."
"It's not bad." And of course someone like Xinjia would think it was fancy. Jonathan wrapped an arm around him briefly, just to hold him for a moment before they left the building. "Do you like fancy?"
He let go of him so he could hold the door, then he walked outside with him, so he could lead the way to where he remembered parking his car yesterday.
"It's kinda cool. I don't know much about fancy, I ain't never had it. I don't know if I care about places being fancy, I can sleep anywhere, but a bed is pretty nice. Like the one we had. And I like some stuff. Like my phone. My phone is cool, yeah?" He pulled it out and flipped it open, just to show it off to Jonathan. Even if he got it with Grindr scam money, Jonathan had to admit it was pretty sweet.
"Brands are cool too. Like Gucci, Porsche, Armani, Telsa, Samsung. That's real fancy shit right there." He paused as they approached what was definitely Jonathan's car, his mouth hanging open. "You have a Mercedes-Benz!"
"It's a company car." He had no idea whether his little gangster even knew what that meant, but he told him anyway, as he unlocked the car and then got into the driver's seat. He waited for Xinjia to get into the passenger seat and then he started the car, headed in the direction of Wanhua. Very much not where he needed to go for work, but he had promised to drop him off.
"Working for a company comes with a lot of perks. It's stable and I make good money."
"Obviously. Rich gege. Of course you can make this kind of money, you're smart. Smart people become fancy. Idiots like me either get lucky or they don't." So far, he had no luck but he was really hoping that he could make it as a gangster - otherwise he had no idea what he'd do. He was shit at computers, he didn't have his high school agree and he couldn't write so well either.
"You got nice things. I bet the boys you pick up love that." Of course they would, who wouldn't?
"Hm. I think they mostly love my body and what I do to theirs." At least that was what he thought based on observation. He hadn't actually asked any of those boys their opinion on it. Doing a poll after hooking up seemed as if it would really conflict with his general vibe. "There are always odd jobs to do around the office. I could get you a job as an assistant, if you ever wanted. 200 an hour, that's not bad."
Stopping the car at a red light, he looked at Xinjia. "I'd always find a place for you."
"200 an hour?" Woah. That was a lot of money. He could maybe afford to save up and move somewhere nicer. Though he was sure it was office work and he didn't want to admit he couldn't do that sort of thing so he just shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem chill about it all. "Nah, I like my job. Being a gangster is cool and besides, we're like a family. You don't turn your back on family."
And yet, he was starting to wonder. Between the shitty living situation, the lack of jobs and constant fights, maybe it was time to find a new family.
"Bullshit. Family turns its back all the time." As it clearly had in the case of this boy, because he doubted he came from a gangster family. Otherwise he wouldn't be skulking around on the bottom, nowhere near doing any actual gang work. Which might be for the best, since he was not cut out for it. "We can talk more about it. It's not a hard job. Anyone like you can do it."
Otherwise he'd just make up some busy work to keep him occupied.
"Not real family. Not the family you find. Then you're in with them and ... then you're part of something." He hadn't had that since his parents had died. His aunt and uncle only had him for a year while they got rights to everything and then he was in foster care from then onward. He had no inheritance, no home, no nothing. Family could hurt, sure, but it was different when it was like this. He had more choices.
"I'll think about it, okay? But it's my shit and I'll deal with it how I wanna."
"Just buy yourself shoes today." That was his best advice to give, since everything else would take more time. It would also need a bit of introspection on his part, because it wasn't as if he'd been looking for this kind of emotional investment. He supposed sometimes things just happened.
"If you are at the club early enough, I will take you out for dinner. Good dinner." Whatever a kid like that would consider good. "Lots of beef." Probably that.
"beef? Huh. Well. Maybe I'll be early, if I come." He was going to eat beef tonight in his new shoes. What a weird day. He hadn't expected to do all of this with Jonathan. Was he -- no, he wasn't dating him. This was totally different. "Ah, gege, you can drop me off here. I can walk from here, it's just back there."
He gestured vaguely to some back alley and turned to Jonathan, smirking a little. "Don't get too excited wait for me, yeah?" Haha, Jonathan had a crush. So embarrassing.
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He followed him into the elevator and then pocketed the money, frowning at Jonathan. "Oi, why'd you give me money? You want me to owe you something? Well, I ain't gonna. I'm just gonna keep it so, just be warned, I don't care."
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It was pretty obvious. "I'm taking care of you. You don't owe me for that. You are fun company."
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How was that fair, huh? As they reached the lobby, he put his hands into his pockets and walked beside Jonathan, keeping some distance. "This place is so fancy."
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He let go of him so he could hold the door, then he walked outside with him, so he could lead the way to where he remembered parking his car yesterday.
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"Brands are cool too. Like Gucci, Porsche, Armani, Telsa, Samsung. That's real fancy shit right there." He paused as they approached what was definitely Jonathan's car, his mouth hanging open. "You have a Mercedes-Benz!"
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"Working for a company comes with a lot of perks. It's stable and I make good money."
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"You got nice things. I bet the boys you pick up love that." Of course they would, who wouldn't?
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Stopping the car at a red light, he looked at Xinjia. "I'd always find a place for you."
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And yet, he was starting to wonder. Between the shitty living situation, the lack of jobs and constant fights, maybe it was time to find a new family.
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Otherwise he'd just make up some busy work to keep him occupied.
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"I'll think about it, okay? But it's my shit and I'll deal with it how I wanna."
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"If you are at the club early enough, I will take you out for dinner. Good dinner." Whatever a kid like that would consider good. "Lots of beef." Probably that.
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He gestured vaguely to some back alley and turned to Jonathan, smirking a little. "Don't get too excited wait for me, yeah?" Haha, Jonathan had a crush. So embarrassing.