Saturday morning’s classes passed quickly. As soon as noon arrived, Song Yunshen and Xu Zhuoyue dashed to the cafeteria.
On the way, Xu Zhuoyue suddenly turned his head and asked, "Why aren’t you betting on lunch with me today? Did the cafeteria lady you bribed ask for the day off?"
"I already told you I didn’t bribe anyone," Song Yunshen said, rolling his eyes. "Are you addicted to losing or what?"
"I haven’t f*cking won even once! Don’t even think about escaping!" Xu Zhuoyue clamored loudly. "I’m still betting on the Orleans chicken leg today! I refuse to believe my luck is this bad!"
"Fine, fine, fine." Song Yunshen didn’t have an entry from the Future Diary for today, so he casually replied, "I’ll bet on the braised pork."
Soon, the two of them arrived at the cafeteria. Just as they got in line and looked up, Xu Zhuoyue suddenly planted his hands on his hips and laughed up at the ceiling three times.
"HA! HA! HA!"
"Is there something wrong with your head?"
"Every dog has its day, and today is mine!" Xu Zhuoyue raised a finger, pointing at the glowing menu board. "Look at that! Read what it says up there!"
Looking utterly speechless, Song Yunshen glanced at the words "Orleans Chicken Leg" before fishing out a meal card from his pocket that he hadn’t used in over a week. He handed it to Xu Zhuoyue. "Take it. Consider it a reward from your daddy."
"Heh." Xu Zhuoyue snatched the meal card away. Since he had finally won for once, he didn’t care that Song Yunshen was taking verbal advantage of him.
Song Yunshen didn’t mind. He had been winning for a whole week anyway. Losing once in a while was just like fattening up a calf for the next slaughter.
The Future Diary didn’t update every day, and its dates were completely random. It just so happened that for the past half-month, the diary entries had all been clustered around this recent week. Originally, Song Yunshen thought the dates in the Future Diary would only cover the immediate future, but what happened yesterday completely shattered that theory. The time span had abruptly leaped from 2025 to a full eleven years later in 2036!
Therefore, it was entirely possible that future entries would pop up from anywhere within that eleven-year gap. He just hoped that the owner of the Future Diary would mature a bit later on... and stop obsessing over what the school cafeteria was serving every single day. Wouldn’t it be better to read up on international news and the stock market? At the very least, they could provide some useful futuristic insights so he could make a little money and finally buy the high-end PC he had his eye on.
"By the way, are you playing basketball this afternoon?" Xu Zhuoyue asked while they were eating.
"Nope," Song Yunshen shook his head. "I have things to do this afternoon."
"Don’t you just need to sign in for that English Club of yours?" Xu Zhuoyue gave him a deadpan look. "Just come over to play after you sign in."
"I have family business."
"What kind of business?"
"I need to go inherit the family fortune."
"Heh, don’t tell me if you don’t want to."
Nobody believed the truth these days. Song Yunshen sighed. After finishing his meal, he and Xu Zhuoyue headed back to the classroom.
Ningjiang Middle School only had half a day of classes on Saturdays. After that, school was out. The afternoon was reserved for club activities. Students in clubs could stay at school for lunch and attend their club activities afterward.
Xu Zhuoyue was a member of the basketball club, while Song Yunshen was in the English Club. It wasn’t that Song Yunshen particularly loved English, but rather that the English Club had very few requirements—he could just sign his name and leave. He could also use this as an excuse to brush off Old Song, showing off his determination to study hard in hopes of getting a bump in his allowance. But now that his allowance had been replaced by rent collection, a "bump" in allowance was no longer a thing. Song Yunshen was even considering quitting the club entirely.
"You really aren’t playing?" Xu Zhuoyue asked as he packed his bag.
Song Yunshen shook his head and pulled out his phone. "I told you I’ve got stuff to do. Go play without me."
"Alright, see ya then." Xu Zhuoyue grabbed his backpack, waved at Song Yunshen, and bolted toward the basketball court.
Song Yunshen opened WeChat while packing his own bag. Displayed on the screen was a chat log from that morning.
[Yan Zhenxia]: Hello! I went out for the night shift yesterday evening and didn’t really check my messages. I’m so sorry.
[Song Yunshen]: It’s fine. My dad should have already spoken to you, right?
[Yan Zhenxia]: Yes, he did. So I’ll be paying rent to you from now on?
[Song Yunshen]: Yeah, that’s right.
[Song Yunshen]: My dad said it’s due at the end of each month. 2,000 for rent, and you pay for your own utilities. Just wanted to confirm this with you.
[Yan Zhenxia]: Yes, that’s correct.
[Song Yunshen]: If there are no other issues, we can just touch base at the end of the month.
[Yan Zhenxia]: Umm... there’s actually something I wanted to mention.
[Song Yunshen]: Go ahead.
[Yan Zhenxia]: I think there’s a problem with our water heater. Recently, the water temperature has been fluctuating between hot and cold, and the water pressure is a bit low. I’m not sure what’s going on.
[Song Yunshen]: Oh, I’ll find some time to come over and take a look for you then.
[Yan Zhenxia]: Okay, okay. So sorry for the trouble. When will you be free?
[Song Yunshen]: How about this afternoon?
[Yan Zhenxia]: No problem. Just let me know when you’re on your way.
[Song Yunshen]: OK.
The tenant’s water heater had a problem, so Song Yunshen really did have something to do. Earning this 2,000 in pocket money wasn’t easy. He planned to go over and see what was wrong with it first. It would be best if he could fix it himself, saving the cost of hiring a repairman. With that thought in mind, Song Yunshen slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed toward the English Club’s activity room.
Ningjiang Middle School boasted a rich and colorful club culture. Well... at least on the surface. In reality, most clubs were just for show. The club participation rate across the whole school was only about twenty percent; the remaining eighty percent hadn’t signed up for anything. Once morning classes ended, those students would just head straight home early.
After all, school let out on Saturday at noon, and they had to be back by Sunday evening for self-study sessions. They called it a two-day weekend, but in truth, it was barely over a day. Most people just wanted to go home as soon as possible to enjoy a little more free time. On this point, Song Yunshen was certainly no exception.
Upon arriving at the English Club’s activity room, he quickly signed his name on the attendance sheet by the door and prepared to leave. Just as he was about to head out, a beautiful figure brushed past him, leaving a faint trace of perfume in the air before pausing in front of the English mailbox. The girl had long, silky hair cascading down her back, and her side profile looked incredibly soft. Unlike Xia Yunuo’s classic V-shaped face, hers was a quintessential oval shape.
"She’s so pretty..." Song Yunshen thought. Since she was wearing a school uniform, he couldn’t make out her figure, but her face alone was enough to leave a lasting impression.
The girl raised her right hand and slipped a letter into the English mailbox. Afterward, she signed in at the door, turned around, and left. Watching her retreating back, Song Yunshen found himself walking toward the English mailbox as if possessed. He opened the box and reached in, taking the letter resting right at the top.
This mailbox was a clever little idea proposed by the English Club’s advisor. Club members could write letters in English. The content didn’t matter—whether it was sharing personal feelings or ranting and complaining, as long as it was written in English, it was acceptable. Other members could then randomly pick a letter from the box and write a reply, also in English, based on its contents.
Song Yunshen didn’t have any ulterior motives; he just thought the girl from earlier was exceptionally pretty. What if she turned out to be his future girlfriend? It was the perfect chance to see what her handwriting looked like.
However, the world didn’t operate on that many coincidences. Acting on a whim, Song Yunshen decided to give it a shot. He tore open the envelope as he walked. But the very next second, he froze in his tracks just as he stepped out the English Club’s doors.