“Miss, take a look at these dresses. Only 19.9 yuan each—cheap and durable.”
The vendor was a middle-aged woman with a strong regional accent. Seeing that Song Kening genuinely wanted to buy something, she immediately came over enthusiastically to promote her goods.
Song Kening picked up a light-colored floral dress, then compared it with a plain-colored one beside it.
The quality was indeed poor, but the clothes didn’t mind that she was broke, so what more could she ask for?
“I’ll take both.”
After folding the dresses and setting them aside, she lowered her head and continued rummaging through the stall.
“Big sister, do you have men’s sportswear that would fit a 1.9-meter-tall man?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The woman immediately pulled out a plastic bag and took out a dark-gray tracksuit.
“This is our largest size. It’ll definitely fit someone who’s 1.9 meters tall. It’s 19.9 yuan too—cheap and durable!”
Song Kening took it, shook it open, and felt the fabric.
It was a little rough, but it was decent enough.
Just as she nodded, her eyes landed on the underwear piled nearby.
“Big sister, how much are the men’s underwear?”
“Three for 9.9 yuan. Pick whatever you like!”
Song Kening crouched down and chose three pairs of pure cotton underwear for herself, then picked three pairs for Lu Zhiyu as well.
She looked at the wire-free bras hanging beside them.
“And the bras?”
“Those are 9.9 yuan each too. Two are a better deal!”
She picked out one nude-colored and one black bra in her size, gathered all the clothes together, and looked up.
“Big sister, how much altogether?”
The woman tapped away on her calculator.
“Two dresses are 39.8, the tracksuit is 19.9, six pairs of underwear are two sets at 19.8, and two bras are 19.8. Just give me 99 yuan!”
Song Kening pulled the hundred-yuan bill from her pocket and handed it over.
The woman took the money, reached into her waist pouch, pulled out a one-yuan coin, and handed it back.
“Here’s your change, dear.”
Song Kening slipped the coin into her pocket.
The woman quickly stuffed the clothes she’d bought into a plastic bag and handed it to her.
“Come again next time!”
“Okay, big sister. Could you give me one more large plastic bag?”
“No problem!”
Under a streetlight some distance away, Lu Zhiyu stood quietly.
When he saw Song Kening approaching with two large plastic bags, he asked,
“Finished shopping?”
“Mm!”
Song Kening handed one of the bags toward him.
“I bought you a tracksuit to change into and three pairs of underwear. You’ll have to make do with them for now.”
Lu Zhiyu lowered his eyes and glanced at the cheap sportswear inside the bag, but didn’t reach out to take it.
He looked incredulous.
“You bought all this with that hundred yuan?”
Song Kening couldn’t hide the little smugness in her eyes.
“Two dresses cost 39.8, our three pairs of underwear each came to 19.8, and my two bras were 19.8. I only spent 99 yuan in total, so I still have one yuan left!”
Lu Zhiyu gave a soft “Mm.”
Song Kening looked around before pointing at the public restroom nearby.
“Wait here for me. I’m going inside to change.”
He looked down at the cheap plastic bag by his feet.
In the past, his underwear had been handmade in Italy, with a single pair costing four figures.
His suits were custom-made Armani.
His shirts were Zegna.
His shoes were Berluti.
A single outfit could be worth ten years of an ordinary person’s salary.
And now, all his wealth had been reduced to the cash he’d gotten from selling his suit.
Lu Zhiyu raised his eyes toward the skyscrapers glittering with neon in the distance.
That was the headquarters of NEX Group, the company he’d founded himself.
Now, everything there had nothing to do with him anymore.
He was nothing more than a stray dog.
A short while later, the door of the public restroom opened, and Song Kening walked out.
She had stuffed the bathrobe into a plastic bag.
She couldn’t bear to throw it away. The quality was pretty good. It could even be used as a blanket.
She had changed into the floral dress.
Her hair was once again tied into a fresh-looking bun.
The dress was cheap and poorly cut, but somehow, when she wore it, she still managed to bring out a touch of pure, lively beauty.
The sharp and mean look she’d had before was completely gone.
Lu Zhiyu quickly shifted his gaze away.
Song Kening walked up to him.
“Should we go to the train station now?”
Lu Zhiyu didn’t answer.
He bent down, picked up the plastic bags from the ground, and walked toward the street.
Song Kening followed him along the roadside for more than ten minutes before they turned into a quiet alley.
They stopped in front of a shop with a sign that read “Phone Repair.”
Lu Zhiyu pushed the door open and walked inside.
The shopkeeper was slouched behind the counter watching short videos on his phone.
When someone entered, he lazily lifted his eyelids.
“Phone repair or buying a phone?”
“Buying. Under 1,000 yuan.”
Lu Zhiyu walked up to the counter.
Song Kening followed behind him.
Suddenly remembering something, she gently tugged at his sleeve and asked softly,
“Where’s your phone?”
“The commercial investigation bureau confiscated it.”
Song Kening thought for a moment.
“My phone is gone too. Can you buy me one as well?”
Lu Zhiyu lowered his eyes and glanced at her without saying anything.
The shopkeeper took several phones from beneath the counter and lined them up on the glass display.
“These are all under 1,000 yuan. 699, 799, and 999. Pick one yourselves.”
Lu Zhiyu picked up the 799-yuan model and examined it.
Then he said to the shopkeeper,
“Two of this one.”
Song Kening leaned over for a look and immediately nodded.
“This one is fine. As long as it works, there’s no need to buy an expensive one.”
The shopkeeper smiled and took two SIM cards from a drawer.
“Want SIM cards too? Sign up today and you get one month of data free.”
“Two.”
Lu Zhiyu paused before adding,
“She doesn’t have an ID. Can you register hers under my name?”
The shopkeeper looked Song Kening up and down.
“Sure. Yours will work.”
Lu Zhiyu took out his ID and handed it over.
After completing the registration, the two phones and two SIM cards came to a total of 1,698 yuan.
Song Kening watched as another stack of cash disappeared.
Between the clothes, phones, and SIM cards, 1,800 yuan was already gone.
They had only 3,200 yuan left.
The shopkeeper pushed the phones toward them and pointed toward the corner.
“Chargers, screen protectors, and phone cases are over there. Take whatever you need. They’re free.”
Song Kening picked out two transparent silicone cases and had the shopkeeper apply the screen protectors.
Only then did she happily slip the phone into her pocket.
After leaving the phone shop, Lu Zhiyu stood at the entrance of the alley, looking down as he downloaded some apps.
Song Kening leaned over to take a look.
The screen showed the 12306 train-ticket booking page.
Lu Zhiyu searched for trains from Huacheng to Yangcheng.
Then, almost subconsciously, he glanced at Song Kening’s stomach.
He booked one lower berth and one hard seat.
Song Kening hurriedly stopped him.
“Just get two hard seats. It’ll be cheaper.”
Lu Zhiyu’s voice was calm but left no room for argument.
“Weren’t you worried about being pregnant? You take the sleeper.”
Before Song Kening could argue, his finger tapped the screen.
Payment successful: 533 yuan.
Hmph. This 799-yuan smartphone is pretty smooth.
Now they only had 2,600 yuan left.
They still needed to rent a place in Yangcheng, buy household necessities, and cover their living expenses.
She had no idea if it would be enough.
She felt slightly worried, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
They could only take things one step at a time.
“Let’s go. To the train station.”
Lu Zhiyu put away his phone and started walking.
“Wait!”
Song Kening grabbed his arm and pointed toward a community supermarket across the street.
“Things at the train station are ridiculously expensive. Let’s buy some food at the supermarket first and bring it with us!”
The two crossed the street and entered the supermarket.
Song Kening pushed a shopping cart straight toward the food section.
She reached for a cup of instant noodles.
But just as her hand touched the container, she pulled it back and switched to the packet noodles beside it.
Lu Zhiyu watched her entire sequence of actions in confusion.
“Why didn’t you take the cup noodles?”
“The cup ones are several yuan more expensive. The packets are cheaper. We can just ask for two plastic forks at the checkout.”
After explaining this matter-of-factly, Song Kening headed to the household goods section.
She picked up a large, old-fashioned enamel mug with a lid, decorated with the traditional double-happiness character.
Song Kening held it up with a grin and proudly showed it to him.
“Look! We can use this to make instant noodles, rinse our mouths, or drink water. Three uses in one! It’s only 10 yuan for two!”
Lu Zhiyu looked at the mug decorated with the double-happiness symbol.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Song Kening pushed the cart toward the discounted bread section.
She picked up a bag of bread nearing its expiration date and checked the label.
“There’s only one day left. That’s fine. Even if it’s three days past the expiration date, it’ll still be edible.”
She tossed the bread into the cart and turned to Lu Zhiyu.
“This is only five yuan.”
Lu Zhiyu said nothing.
He simply looked at her quietly.
Song Kening suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Nothing.”
Lu Zhiyu withdrew his gaze.
“When did you become so good at managing a household?”
The original owner had been a vicious female supporting character who spent money like water.
There was no way she’d ever been this careful with money.
Song Kening casually came up with an excuse.
“You’ve fallen on hard times. If I don’t save money too, what are we supposed to do, live on fresh air?”
Lu Zhiyu didn’t question her further.
Song Kening secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as she pushed the cart forward, Lu Zhiyu walked past her, picked up two bottles of pure milk from the shelf, and put them into the cart.
Song Kening looked down at the two bottles of milk.
Was he treating her like a pregnant woman and taking care of her?
Finally, Song Kening picked out two toothbrushes, a tube of toothpaste, one gray towel, and one pink towel.
The cashier packed everything into plastic bags.
Song Kening carried one bag out of the supermarket while Lu Zhiyu carried the other.
When they reached the roadside, Lu Zhiyu raised his hand to hail a taxi.
Song Kening immediately grabbed his arm.
“Taking a taxi? Let’s take the bus! It’s only two yuan to the train station. We have to save every penny!”
Lu Zhiyu silently lowered his hand.
The two walked to the bus stop.
The night breeze sent fallen leaves swirling through the air.
Only a few people were scattered around the bus stop, all looking down at their phones.
Lu Zhiyu stood beneath the bus sign, his eyes lowered, his thoughts impossible to read.
Song Kening stood beside him, looking at the scene before her.
It all felt absurd and unreal.
The mighty CEO of a trillion-yuan empire, who used to have private chauffeurs and private jets whenever he went out, had now fallen so far that he was standing at a bus stop with her, waiting for a two-yuan bus.
She turned her head and looked at him.
The streetlight outlined the hard, sharp lines of his profile.
There was barely any expression on his face.
Neither loneliness nor embarrassment could be seen.
He simply stood there quietly.
Song Kening looked away.
The novel had opened with Lu Zhiyu’s return three years later.
He was ruthless and heartless, an obsessive monster devoid of emotion.
But the man standing before her clearly still had warmth in him.
He had given her the only hundred yuan he had to buy clothes.
He had booked her a sleeper berth while taking a hard seat himself.
He had even bought her milk to make sure she got enough nutrition.
Song Kening couldn’t understand it.
What exactly would he have to go through during these three years to become the cold-blooded, obsessive man described in the novel?
A bus slowly approached from the distance.
Song Kening looked up at Lu Zhiyu.
“The bus is here!”
Lu Zhiyu gave a low response.
He reached out and took the plastic bags from her hands, carrying them both as they walked toward the bus door.
Song Kening hurried after him and stepped onto the bus.