Inside the private garden, three people sat around a round white table.
The housekeeper was brewing tea nearby. She placed a cup down and said, “Student Cheng hasn’t visited in a long time. See if Auntie’s tea still tastes the same?”
“Thank you, Auntie Qin.” Cheng Shixu took a small sip. “It is so fragrant. I only love drinking the black tea you brew.” When he finished, Auntie Qin chuckled, then said she still needed to check on the kitchen before leaving.
“This…” Fu Chenming toyed with the small wooden sword. “I quite like it, but selling it to me for ten million? Aren’t you scamming a brother?”
At this moment, ten million was a massive sum of money. Fu Chenming could not easily mobilize that much liquid capital. Cheng Shixu converted the price in his head and said, “Three million, then. This is an antique from the Ji Dynasty during the Yuan period. Don’t you love studying the history of the Ji Dynasty? Buy it, buy it!” He looked at Fu Chenming with sparkling eyes.
If he had not been unable to come up with that much money himself, and not knowing how to explain it to his mom, he would not have come to Fu Chenming. Right now, Fu Chenming was the wealthiest among his circle of friends.
“Fine.” Fu Chenming relaxed, crossing his legs. He tapped a button under the round table with his toe. A moment later, an assistant-like figure walked over. “Young Master Fu.”
Fu Chenming said, “Issue a check for three million…”
“No!” Cheng Shixu said anxiously. “Cashing a check is too much trouble. I do not have time to go to the bank. Just give me a card.”
He Yu, who had been playing on his phone the whole time, reached into his coat and pulled out a black card. “Here, what do you need so much money for? Planning to start a business?” He kept his head down, appearing to be focused on some very important information on his phone.
Fu Chenming swatted his card away. “I have not fallen so low that I need your money.” The assistant handed him a card, which he pushed directly toward Cheng Shixu. He leaned forward slightly, his long hair sliding off his shoulder. “A-Xu, are you raising a glutton? First, you went to my store to get the latest phone, and now it is three million.”
His tone was teasing, but his expression was somewhat serious, as if warning him not to step into a bottomless pit.
Cheng Shixu said, “Do you…” He was about to say that they were overthinking it. This three million was meant for that elderly woman; her family was in trouble, and she did not earn much from her street stall. Carrying a small wooden sword that did not look valuable, if it were stolen by someone who knew its worth or lost, that would be a true loss.
Although he sold it to Fu Chenming for three million, it would definitely solve her emergency. Furthermore, after he took it over, if she did not need it, he could always ask Fu Chenming for it back.
As it turned out, Fu Chenming interrupted him. “As long as the emotional value is sufficient, that is fine. Just do not raise a wolf that will bite you.”
“What are you talking about?” Cheng Shixu hurriedly explained the reason. With various gestures and explanations, he finally helped them understand his intention. It took quite a bit of effort. “That is how it is.” When he finished, he was parched and drained the black tea in one gulp.
He Yu looked at him. “Leave this matter to us. Your grades in the last monthly exam dropped quite severely. Focus on your tutoring; let Uncle Zhao and Auntie Li tutor you properly. Do not ruin their reputations as professors.” He and Fu Chenming exchanged a glance. Fu Chenming snapped his fingers, and the assistant who had retreated to the side stepped forward again. “Young Master Fu?”
“Go take care of it.”
“Understood.”
Seeing his two childhood friends concerned about his studies, Cheng Shixu gave them both a cup of tea with a touched expression. “Do not worry, I will definitely get into West University with you guys. We agreed that once we are in college, you will teach me how to play the stock market.”
“For sure.”
Not long after they finished chatting, the housekeeper came to call them for dinner. Cheng Shixu did not know if Lu Jian was using the phone he had given him, but he decided to give him a call anyway.
At the small stall, a musical melody rang out from the bag. Lu Jian was puzzled. He had not bought an MP3 or a portable player, so where was the music coming from? He took off his gloves, unzipped his backpack, and discovered it was the smartphone ringing.
He took it out, tapped the answer key, and found it did not work. He flipped it back and forth. How do I answer this? It had to be Cheng Shixu calling. He studied it for a long while. When a customer urged him, he asked embarrassedly, “Student, do you know how to answer this?”
The customer took one look and said, “Just slide to the side.”
Lu Jian felt his face flush. “Sorry about that.” He put down the phone to make the milk tea first. After finishing, he picked up the phone again. How do I unlock it?
There were several buttons on the side. He pressed one lightly and saw “Slide up to unlock.” He slid his index finger up, and it unlocked. The desktop featured a Patrick Star image and many apps he had never seen before. However, looking at the icons, he found the “Phone” app. He clicked in, and the recent call logs jumped out. He had not even clicked the phone app again when another call came in. He hurriedly picked it up. “Hello.”
“Lu Jian, I am having dinner at a friend’s place. What are you eating tonight? When are you closing the stall?”
Lu Jian looked at the sky. “I will close at 11:30. Are you staying at the school tonight?” It was the weekend, and he was not sure if Cheng Shixu was returning to the dormitory. Upon hearing that he was, he added, “Give me your address, I will come pick you up.” Business was the same as usual, but if it was too late, he was not sure if Cheng Shixu would be safe returning alone. The area around Experimental High School was full of gray-area businesses and some wayward teenagers helping with debt collection.
Dou Ding settled down at the dining table. Upon hearing that Lu Jian was coming to pick him up, Cheng Shixu chuckled, “Okay, I will send you the address.” It seemed Lu Jian had gotten used to him being around; he was even offering to pick him up now. Hehe.
After hanging up the phone, Fu Chenming glanced teasingly at his phone. “What is this? Is my chauffeur service not comfortable enough? Do you need your boyfriend to come get you?”
“He is not my boyfriend.” Cheng Shixu propped his chin on his hand, waiting for the food. “Lu Jian and I can only be considered friends.” Although they were the same person, he could not bring himself to transfer all the feelings he had for the Lu Jian from his past life onto the young Lu Jian. It was too absurd, and unfair to both the older and younger versions of Lu Jian.
“Friends?” He Yu and Fu Chenming exchanged a look. “You are only friends, yet you spend so much energy and money on him? How much emotional value can he give you?”
The situation right now was that his family and friends were all present, but his boyfriend had disappeared.
“Emotional value…” Cheng Shixu thought about Lu Jian’s attitude toward him. It was honestly quite ordinary. Although it had to do with his own two previous poor approaches, Lu Jian definitely kept his distance.
It felt as though he and Lu Jian were in a relationship of “bestowing favor” and “receiving favor.”
Forget it. Death is death, and rebirth is rebirth. There was no going back to how things were. Watching the young Lu Jian helped ease his longing for the old Lu Jian; that could be considered a form of emotional value.
He Yu saw his conflicted expression and asked, “Are you hiding something from your brothers?”
Seeing their genuine concern, Cheng Shixu gritted his teeth and said, “I will tell you, but do not think I am mentally ill.”
“Go ahead.” Fu Chenming’s expression turned serious. He placed his napkin on the table and dismissed all the servants and the housekeeper.
“It is like this: I was actually reborn. In my past life, I met Lu Jian when I was thirty…” After a long time, Cheng Shixu finished his story. “When I woke up, I was back at sixteen. The hardest time of my life.”
Both his childhood friends looked stunned. Cheng Shixu sighed, “I knew you would not believe me.”
He Yu pinched Fu Chenming’s thigh hard. Fu Chenming let out a marmot-like scream, “What are you doing!!! That hurts so much!” He slapped He Yu on the head in retaliation and rubbed his thigh hard, feeling certain it was already bruised.
After He Yu calmed down, he got up and walked over to Cheng Shixu. Catching him off guard, he pinched Cheng Shixu’s cheeks. Cheng Shixu yelped in pain, “He Yu!!” Then he was pulled into a tight hug. “What is wrong?” Then Fu Chenming ran over to join them in the hug, wailing, “A-Xu, you cannot die! If you die, who is going to come in last place in the horse riding competition for me?”
Cheng Shixu was speechless, pulling on Fu Chenming’s long hair. “That is enough. Do not you think I am talking nonsense?”
Only then did the two brothers let him go, pulling him back and forth to check on him, worriedly saying, “Did it hurt when you were hit? You were always so afraid of pain. When you were little, Auntie Cheng took you to get your vaccines, and despite all the coaxing and lying, you still cried until you went hoarse.”
“Yeah. And when you were in illustration class and a rose thorn pricked your hand, you immediately started shouting that you needed an amputation. Where were you hit? Your head? Were you crushed to pieces?” Fu Chenming stood beside him, patting him here and there. “You only told us about this, right?”
Cheng Shixu hugged one with each arm, rubbing their shoulders soothingly. “Do not worry, I lost consciousness instantly and did not feel any pain. I would not dare talk nonsense about this; you know my dad. Mom would be okay, but if my dad knew I was killed in a car accident, the house would be drowned in his tears.” They were childhood friends, and he knew their psychological resilience too well, which is why he decided to confess.
After everyone calmed down for a long time, He Yu suddenly took out his notebook. “A-Xu, tell us, what are the winning lottery numbers for the next few draws?”
Cheng Shixu: “I do not remember.” Why would he remember that? He did not buy lottery tickets.
He Yu: “You blockhead, your brain is just full of romance, right? What a great opportunity to make money! Then do you remember which plots of land will appreciate in value?”
Fu Chenming also carried his notebook over, pushing He Yu aside. “Right, right, right! Which plot of land will go up in value? I will buy it even if I have to go bankrupt!”
“Well…” He did not pay attention to the lottery, so he really did not know, but he was very clear about which pieces of land would appreciate. “Wanyan Road will have an entire commercial street. The property values nearby will sell for seventy or eighty thousand per square meter. The shop rent will also be over one hundred thousand a year.” Do not ask him why he was so clear; the shop next to that row was his mom’s, and he was very familiar with collecting the rent every year.
“Hey. Assistant Wang, acquire Wanyan Road immediately. Yes, the entire street.” Fu Chenming called immediately. He Yu followed suit, “Mom, are there many abandoned plots on Wanyan Road? Yes, that area is up for tender recently. Buy it. I have connections; it is definitely going to appreciate in value.”
Cheng Shixu watched them busy themselves and silently picked up a piece of cantaloupe. His mouth was a bit dry.
“Are there any other plots?” He Yu asked him while covering his microphone. Fu Chenming asked too. Cheng Shixu mentioned several other commercial areas that had high foot traffic in his past life but had not been built yet. They continued to chatter excitedly about buying land.
He did not have such thoughts. His family was not good at business; his mom followed Auntie He and Auntie Fu for investment advice, and their family wealth could not compare to theirs anyway. Just collecting rent was fine enough.
Once they were finished, He Yu patted Cheng Shixu on the shoulder, nearly knocking the melon out of his mouth. “Are you planning to rekindle your romance with that Lu Jian?”
Cheng Shixu shook his head. “No.” He had thought so at first, but later realized it was different.
“Alright, then I have one more thing to ask you. Do I have a girlfriend?” He Yu sat down, his tone carrying a touch of the youthful shyness of first love.
Cheng Shixu shook his head. “No.”
He Yu’s eyes instantly turned disappointed. So, it did not happen? So they never really made it to the public stage? Soon he perked up again. Forget it, making money is more important.
But he was not satisfied. He took out his phone and, while Fu Chenming was pestering Cheng Shixu about the future, he sent a text message.
[Proud Handsome Pot: You dog, are you being fickle?]
On the other side, Jin Yi, who had just come out of the gym, unexpectedly received this text message. He was puzzled; how was he being fickle?
[Proud Handsome Pot: Pretending not to see it?]
Jin Yi squatted at the entrance of the gym, smoking a cigarette and staring at the text message on his phone. It is really strange. Usually, he would not get a reply even after sending several messages, but today he received two at once. Could “Proud Handsome Pot” be bankrupt?
Before, whenever he called, he would only chat for two sentences before saying he was busy with work.
[Cold and Beautiful Man: Ying ying ying~ What are you saying?]
When He Yu saw the reply, his anger dissipated. Perhaps they would not end up together in the future due to various reasons, but at least for now, he was happy during the time he spent dating the “Cold and Beautiful Man” online.
They met playing an online game. That day, the “Cold and Beautiful Man” was being hung up and beaten by other guilds, and he (from his perspective) descended like a god before the “Cold and Beautiful Man” to save his pitiful and broken self.
Jin Yi was also thinking about that first meeting on the “Youyou” map. He had been hung up and beaten by a group of people, and his equipment was so crappy he could not fight back at all. Soon, a “pay-to-win” big boss descended riding a rainbow horse (a piece of equipment only available by spending 100 sets of 648 currency; it could be picked up when dropped). As soon as he landed, the horse ran away, and all the people who had besieged him ran off to chase the horse. It was just too dramatic.