When would someone devote himself to making money? First, when he couldn’t afford the basics. Second, when he was saddled with debt. Third, when he needed to be able to step up and shoulder the burden. And beyond those, of course, there was the simple desire to achieve something for himself.
As Xie Jingmo considered this, he handed his tablet to the side. His special assistant immediately took it with both hands.
“Let’s go.” He stood, and six or seven men in suits rose behind him.
The corridor leading to the exit was noisy now, packed with men and women pressing toward them. Voices that set the nerves on edge came one after another.
“Ahhh! Chu Yao, why are you so covered up?”
Not only was he dressed all in black, he was wearing a baseball cap, too.
Chen Hongyang and Coach Song… People were practically scheming right at their doorstep.
As usual, they kept all those indecent advances at bay. But a few still slipped through, tossing business cards at Chu Yao.
“Chu Yao, call me! I’ll take care of you!”
A man in a black mesh top shoved Chen Hongyang’s hand aside and lunged forward.
“Oh, hell!” Chen Hongyang hurriedly grabbed the hem of the man’s shirt and dragged him back.
Chu Yao didn’t look up once. Without a trace of emotion, he tugged his cap lower to hide his eyes, then quickened his pace beneath the crowd’s frenzied stares.
His cold, unapproachable air didn’t calm them down. If anything, it only made them scream louder.
…What a bunch of incomprehensible people.
Xie Jingmo led the way, his bearing composed and his stride even, as though all the commotion behind him had nothing to do with him.
Zhu Yanci walked a step behind Xie Jingmo. With mixed feelings, he glanced back at Chu Yao, who had finally shaken off the fanatics and entered the parking garage through a restricted passage.
“No wonder he doesn’t want to be famous.”
“What do you mean?” Xie Jingmo kept walking.
The special assistant hurried ahead to open the car door for him.
Zhu Yanci and Xie Jingmo were classmates and had grown up in much the same circles. So even though he worked for Xie Jingmo, he spoke casually.
“It’d drive anyone crazy. Just look at all those cards…”
They were in every color.
“The ones with real value don’t get thrown away.” Xie Jingmo bent and got into the car. The next moment, he tossed a 24-karat gold business card to his special assistant. “Take this and give it a try.”
It was an exquisitely crafted, weighty card made of pure gold.
The special assistant thought he’d misheard. Holding the card, which had been made by a master craftsman, he stood there in a daze, unable to move for a moment.
“What, is it hard to do?” Xie Jingmo’s voice was mild, not particularly stern.
But to his special assistant, it carried immense pressure. He came to his senses and quickly replied, “No, sir.”
He was simply surprised.
The chairman had only given these custom-made cards to a handful of people, all figures rarely seen in public. Why give one today to a young man who was only twenty-two?
With all those questions in his mind, the special assistant walked over with the card.
Zhu Yanci had been about to get into the car, but when he saw this, he leaned against the door, intrigued to see what would happen.
“It’s made of gold?” Coach Song leaned over for a look.
The special assistant’s expression was complicated. “Yes. 24-karat gold.”
Judging by its thickness, Coach Song figured it would weigh about a hundred grams if it were solid. In other words, a single card was worth about as much as Chu Yao earned from an ordinary match.
“That’s quite a gesture.”
It wasn’t as if Chu Yao was completely unaffected. In the first few years after his father died, he’d been terrified of being poor. What others spent on an ordinary meal, he had to carefully budget, down to the last detail, just to make sure he and his mother didn’t go hungry.
Back then, his whole world had been dark. He worked himself to the bone, coming home well after midnight, and could barely cover the basics, let alone his mother’s medication.
After gritting his teeth and clawing his way to where he was now, he’d finally secured enough for food and his mother’s medicine. But he still couldn’t get her out of that shabby old apartment, or give Xie Linxi a stable, loving home.
So if it was within his power, he would accept the card.
With that thought, Chu Yao’s gaze fell on the man sitting back against the seat in his car.
The man wore a dark, impeccably tailored suit that exuded refinement and wealth. His looks and build went without saying; he had the kind of proportions one rarely saw.
What stood out most, of course, was his aura. He was calm, with a languid air that suggested he’d had everything he could ever want. It was incredibly compelling.
But the look the man gave him in return… seemed to carry a hint of ulterior interest.
Realizing this, Chu Yao felt a little disappointed. He regretfully looked away.
“I’m sorry, I…”
Before he could finish saying that he didn’t want it, Chen Hongyang suddenly yanked him back from behind.
“Take it.”
Chu Yao stared at him.
“Take it. Seriously. I’ll explain why in a minute.” Chen Hongyang was beside himself with worry.
Chu Yao could guess that the card’s owner was someone important, but he still didn’t want to accept it.
Chen Hongyang was so exasperated that he pulled Chu Yao aside and went to speak with Xie Jingmo’s special assistant himself, accepting the card on Chu Yao’s behalf.
As soon as the special assistant had completed his task, he went back to report to Xie Jingmo.
Xie Jingmo didn’t need to be told. From the way the others had interacted, he’d already figured out what had happened. He gave Chu Yao a long look, then got the driver to pull away without looking back.
Zhu Yanci…
He just felt that the world was a strange place.
Several cars gradually drove out of the parking garage. Only once they had vanished from sight did Chen Hongyang hand the card to Chu Yao. Then he said to the other two in his own car, “It’s one thing for Chu Yao not to know who he is, but Lao Song, you don’t know either?”
Coach Song had even gone on about what a gesture it was. It made Chen Hongyang’s liver ache with frustration.
“He looked a little familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I’d seen him,” Coach Song said. He hadn’t gotten a good look at the name on the card, either.
Chen Hongyang was stumped for a moment. “Xie Jingmo. You really don’t know him?”
“The big shot who controls the lifeblood of our country’s economy. That was his business card, and all you noticed was the hundred grams of gold.” His words came fast and sharp. “How is that any different from being handed a stroke of good luck from the heavens and kicking it away?”
Honestly, sometimes he thought his friends were complete blockheads.
Coach Song looked at Chen Hongyang, suddenly enlightened. “So that’s why he looked familiar.”
He’d seen him on the news.
“Took you long enough.” Chen Hongyang couldn’t help complaining about Chu Yao again. “Didn’t you say you were thinking of changing careers after the international competition? This was such a good chance to make a connection, and you turned it down without even thinking about it.”
Chu Yao had thought about it. But the man was clearly interested in something other than business. What could he do?
“He wants something I can’t give him, and he might not be willing to give me what I want.”
When it came to business, the other man had plenty of options. Even a major company wouldn’t necessarily get to work with him unless there was some particular reason.
Chen Hongyang and Coach Song were both straight as arrows. They had no idea how gay men communicated with a look, so they’d missed what Chu Yao had picked up on.
“What do you mean?”
“I have a boyfriend. You both know that.” Chu Yao fiddled with his phone.
Usually, Xie Linxi would message him around this time to ask him to get dinner. But, unusually, nothing had come through today. So Chu Yao tapped out a message, asking if he wanted to eat together that night.
Xie Linxi didn’t reply for quite a while.
“Sorry, babe. I got a lot of exercise today, so I ate on campus. Let’s get a late-night snack together later, mwah~”
Xie Linxi was Chu Yao’s junior, a very sweet guy who was now in his third year.
“Okay.” Chu Yao’s reply was brief, but his expression softened considerably.
Chen Hongyang only came to his senses after Chu Yao put his phone down. He sounded incredulous.
“You’re joking, right?”
How could Xie Jingmo possibly be into men?
“If I read him right.” Chu Yao watched the scenery flash past outside the window. “Anyway, there’s no way he could’ve recognized my talent at a glance.”
Coach Song and Chen Hongyang had nothing to say to that.
“But honestly, if he took a liking to you, that’d be a blessing from your ancestors.” After a long pause, Chen Hongyang managed to say that much.
Chu Yao took off his baseball cap. “I want a home, Uncle Chen.”
That was why he didn’t want to get involved in any of that messy stuff.
Chen Hongyang suddenly came to his senses. “I was being an idiot.” He sounded a little guilty.
Other people went home to a meal waiting for them and a light in the window. Chu Yao had spent years coming home to darkness and no warmth at all. Sometimes, even in the middle of the night, he’d have to go looking for his mentally ill mother, who had slipped out of the house. More than most people, Chu Yao wanted a warm home.
“It’s okay, Uncle Chen.” Chu Yao knew Chen Hongyang didn’t want him to miss an opportunity. But not every opportunity was easy to take. He wasn’t going to hold on to this piece of gold. “I’ll get off on Qingming Road.”
“Why there?” Chen Hongyang remembered that it was still a fair distance from Chu Yao’s place.
Chu Yao answered honestly. “There’s a gold dealer there.”
Gold dealers usually paid according to the day’s market price, which was better than what pawnshops offered.
“Oh.” Chen Hongyang didn’t say anything more.
After getting out of the car, Chu Yao went straight to the gold dealer he knew. Before weighing the card, he personally melted it down, sparing himself the trouble of having someone else see Xie Jingmo’s information.
At that day’s gold price, the card brought him 43,000 yuan. And after receiving the money, he was thoughtful enough to send a little thank-you money to Chen Hongyang and Coach Song.
He didn’t want to test anyone’s feelings. Even with people he seemed to have a very good relationship with, he dealt with them in terms of give and take.
Fifteen minutes later, Chu Yao walked into a modest little shop.
“Uncle Liu, could I get a pack of cigarettes?”
“Sure.” As Uncle Liu answered, he noticed the bruises showing on Chu Yao’s skin. “Had another match?”
His health hadn’t been good lately. His back was bent, and he was short of breath.
“Didn’t you say you were done fighting?”
“One more match, then I’m done.” Every time Chu Yao earned money, he came here and scanned the payment code to send Uncle Liu a little extra, repaying him for the kindness he’d once shown.
Author’s note:
Thanks to the little angel who sent a grenade: wzjszlz, 1!