When Su Qingyu opened his eyes, he found himself in a dormitory.
It was a six person dormitory. Some of the beds were a complete mess, piled high with clothes, while other beds had already been stripped of their bedding and neatly rolled up blankets. Suitcases had been placed on top of them.
It was an ordinary dormitory, resembling a typical university dormitory. Moreover, judging from the state of the room, it was very likely the dormitory of fourth year students who were about to graduate.
The dormitory followed the typical arrangement of beds above and desks below. Beneath each bed was a study desk, with two rows of bookshelves attached to the wall.
At that moment, Su Qingyu was sitting at the desk.
The two rows of books on the shelves were neatly arranged. Among them, titles such as Nicholson’s Microeconomics and Eighteen Lectures on Microeconomics by Ping Xinqiao made it clear that the original owner was a student in the School of Economics.
Su Qingyu lowered his head and looked at the clothes he was wearing once more. They were simple enough: a white shirt and a pair of jeans. Judging from the quality of the fabric and the texture of the buttons, the original owner’s family background should have been fairly ordinary. However, the watch on his wrist was anything but ordinary.
This time, as soon as 527 entered the world, it asked Su Qingyu, 【Host, would you like to receive the plot of this world?】
Having already gained a rough understanding of the original owner’s identity, Su Qingyu replied, 【Okay.】
The original owner whose body Su Qingyu had transmigrated into this time was named Jiang Chu. Unlike Xu Yunhan, he did not come from a family with an extraordinary background or possess an impressive identity. He was a relatively ordinary person, or at least, that was what he had believed about himself while he was still alive.
When Jiang Chu was five years old, his father passed away.
He had been raised by his mother alone. His mother had a disability in her hands, having lost the little finger and ring finger of her right hand. Because of this, there were many kinds of work she was unable to do. To support Jiang Chu and put him through school, she sold stinky tofu in a poor, small county town.
Jiang Chu had always been a source of pride for his mother. From a young age, he worked hard and performed well academically. In their hometown, he was famous as the kind of child other parents would point to when telling their own children to work harder, the proverbial “other people’s child.”
Just as everyone had hoped, he was admitted to a prestigious first class university.
He should have had a smooth and promising life ahead of him. After graduating from a top university, he could have achieved something remarkable, built a successful career, or found a good job and lived a comfortable, leisurely, respectable life.
But the turning point in his life came with the appearance of a man named Sheng Xun.
Sheng Xun was a young master from a wealthy and influential family. One day, he saw Jiang Chu working part time to support himself at the university library. From that moment onward, he began pursuing him.
At first, Jiang Chu was overwhelmed with unease in the face of Sheng Xun’s advances. The main reason was that he had never imagined a man could fall in love with him.
Throughout the eighteen years he had spent living in his small hometown, the idea that two men could be together had never even existed in his world.
In the beginning, he constantly avoided Sheng Xun. Whenever Sheng Xun gave him gifts, he refused them. With his face flushed red, he would tell him that he couldn’t be with him.
However, Sheng Xun’s pursuit was simply too passionate.
And so was the world he represented.
Jiang Chu had never encountered someone like him before. Sheng Xun lived a life that was bold, brilliant and completely uninhibited yet, in the smallest details, he was gentle and considerate. He could be a friend, a teacher and someone who opened one door after another to worlds Jiang Chu had never experienced.
Just being by his side and watching him seemed enough to let some of that radiance rub off on Jiang Chu.
In the end, Jiang Chu still chose to be with him.
They began dating during their second year of university. Their campus romance was pure and beautiful and Jiang Chu found himself sinking deeper and deeper into the relationship.
The first cracks in their relationship began to appear when they were in their fourth year, approaching graduation.
By then, they were no longer merely students sheltered by the university. They had begun to take their first steps into society, becoming half fledged members of the adult world and facing the trials that came with it.
The first incident involved Jiang Chu’s mother, Jin Wanwan, who had come from their hometown to visit him.
The long journey had left his mother, who suffered from motion sickness, looking exhausted and haggard. Jiang Chu found a hotel near the university and took her there to stay. He spent the entire day accompanying her until late into the night.
The hotel was located right beside the university’s food street. Jin Wanwan sat by the window, looking outside and said to Jiang Chu, “Chuchu, what if I come here and sell stinky tofu? Business back home has been getting worse and worse. If I come here, I’ll also be able to see you more often.”
Their hometown produced soybeans in abundance and tofu and stinky tofu had become increasingly popular local products. However, there weren’t many people in the area and it was difficult to make much money. Coming here would indeed be a good option.
Jiang Chu hesitated slightly but he still said to his mother, “I’ll look into it first and see whether there are any shops available for rent and how much the rent costs.”
“Ah, ah, alright!” His mother quickly agreed.
When Jiang Chu returned to the university that evening, Sheng Xun was waiting for him there.
Jiang Chu told Sheng Xun about his mother’s idea but he hadn’t expected Sheng Xun’s expression to change so abruptly.
Sheng Xun immediately moved closer to him and sniffed at his body.
“There isn’t any stinky tofu smell on you, is there?”
Before Jiang Chu could answer, Sheng Xun promptly took him back to the dormitory. He retrieved a change of clothes for him and told him to wash up before putting them on.
Jiang Chu was sensitive and his feelings were hurt a little at that moment. However, he didn’t say anything.
Sheng Xun had always been like this.
Not long after they had started dating, he began telling Jiang Chu what kind of clothes he should wear and what kind of hairstyle he should get. He even bought him toiletries and bathing products.
Jiang Chu had always believed that, because he had grown up in a small, remote place, his sense of fashion and his understanding of the world were inferior to Sheng Xun’s.
So he simply followed whatever Sheng Xun told him to do.
He wore the clothes Sheng Xun recommended, went with him to get his hair styled and sprayed the perfume Sheng Xun had given him.
This time was no different.
…..
After washing up, he changed into the clothes Sheng Xun had brought out for him.
Sheng Xun was sitting on the sofa, his expression extremely unpleasant. When he saw Jiang Chu come out, he leaned closer and sniffed him again. Only after confirming that the smell was gone did his expression improve slightly.
Then he said to Jiang Chu, “Chuchu, you know that my family is quite well known around here. Now that you’re with me, you can’t exactly make me lose face, can you?”
Jiang Chu felt another sharp sting in his heart.
“What do you mean, make you lose face?”
Sheng Xun continued, “We’re going to get married, aren’t we?”
Those words immediately filled Jiang Chu’s heart with sweetness again.
“You know what kind of backgrounds my friends come from. After we get married, if they find out that my wife’s family sells stinky tofu, they’ll laugh their heads off at me. Even when I graduate and join the company, I won’t have any prestige.”
Jiang Chu opened his mouth, wanting to say something but no words came out.
Sheng Xun immediately continued, “And if your mother starts selling stinky tofu outside the university, your classmates will look down on you once they find out. Our Chuchu is practically the campus heartthrob. You’re someone who stands out among everyone here.”
Jiang Chu pressed his lips together, his resolve beginning to waver.
Ever since he was young, he had been the best student in his hometown. From elementary school all the way through high school, without exception, he had always been the student teachers loved most and the classmate everyone else admired and envied.
It was only after entering this university that he realized how deep and vast the world outside his hometown truly was and how much of it he had never seen.
Some of his classmates drove expensive luxury cars to school.
Some carried bags that, on their own, cost as much as his mother could earn through two or three years of hard work.
Some had traveled all over the world and possessed broad horizons and experiences far beyond his own.
Others had received elite education from childhood and casually used terms and expressions he couldn’t even understand.
Jiang Chu had never been the kind of person to compare himself with others out of jealousy, nor did he allow himself to become consumed by envy. Instead, he worked even harder at his studies, earning the highest scholarship year after year.
And yet, the enormous gap between himself and his classmates, combined with the growing sense that he was small and mediocre, still caused an inferiority complex to take root within him.
Sheng Xun placed both hands around his shoulders and looked at him with an expression of fascination.
“Chuchu, do you know how wonderful you are? You’re like a famous flower that has been accidentally left growing among wild weeds. You should be as elegant and refined as an orchid. You shouldn’t be contaminated by the filth of the world.”
Jiang Chu became completely immersed in the way Sheng Xun looked at him.
This was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with Sheng Xun in the first place.
He had always felt as though Sheng Xun cherished him and loved him as something precious. Even though Sheng Xun was a young master from a wealthy family, there were times when he lowered his own status and treated Jiang Chu as though he were an idol, a godlike figure worthy of admiration.
In Sheng Xun’s heart, Jiang Chu deserved everything good that life had to offer.
Sheng Xun said, “Let your mother continue selling it at home. She’s more familiar with that place and she’ll be more comfortable there. We don’t need her to make a lot of money. If she doesn’t earn enough, we’ll be starting work soon anyway, won’t we? We can just send her money.”
This time, Jiang Chu didn’t hesitate any longer.
“Okay.”
…..
The following day, he told his mother that the rent here was too expensive and that the available stalls were too limited, so it wouldn’t be suitable.
His mother opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something but in the end, she only nodded and asked him to come over for a meal.
She personally prepared three meals for him and on the third day, she left.
After that, his relationship with Sheng Xun grew even closer.
It was the time of year when fourth year students were busy with various internships. Jiang Chu began interning at Sheng Xun’s family company, where he started getting acquainted with Sheng Xun’s friends and family.
All of Sheng Xun’s friends were rich second generation heirs. On the surface, they didn’t look down on Jiang Chu but they couldn’t exactly be called enthusiastic toward him either. Occasionally, when they went to bars, they would invite him along.
Once, Jiang Chu drank too much and went to the bathroom to throw up. After washing his hands and returning, he heard Sheng Xun’s friends discussing him.
“Is he even capable of holding his liquor? He can’t even drink a cocktail? Don’t tell me that’s his first time drinking one, hahaha!”
“I just think he’s such a buzzkill. Tsk, he’s so damn boring. I wonder if he’s any fun in bed?”
“Sheng Xun, didn’t you only take a fancy to his face? Haven’t you gotten tired of him yet?”
“Let’s make a bet and see how long Sheng Xun takes to get bored of him this time. I bet he’ll last three months at most!”
“It’s already been more than a year, hasn’t it? You think he can still last another three months?”
At that time, Jiang Chu was standing behind a pillar, listening to every word.
His back was straight and the injuries on his arm from falling while learning to dance, something Sheng Xun had asked him to do, were still there.
He touched the wound and looked toward Sheng Xun.
Sheng Xun was smoking. His eyes, obscured behind the drifting smoke, were deep and impossible to read. Jiang Chu couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
It was only after he finished smoking that Sheng Xun finally spoke.
“He’s my boyfriend. Don’t talk about him like that.”
After saying this, he lifted his head and saw Jiang Chu standing there.
His friends noticed him too.
However, none of them seemed embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, now that they had been caught, they simply stopped bothering to conceal their disdain for Jiang Chu.
On the way back, Sheng Xun said to him, “Don’t take what they say to heart. They’ve grown up in this circle since they were children. That’s just how they are.”
That night, in bed, Sheng Xun held Jiang Chu in his arms with an infatuated expression. He buried his face against him, breathing in his scent and gazed at his face with obvious excitement.
But Jiang Chu’s mind remained filled with the words he had heard from Sheng Xun’s friends.
Sheng Xun really did fall for my face, didn’t he?
Am I actually that much fun in bed?
From that point onward, Sheng Xun’s friends made no effort to hide their contempt for him.
One of them would ask, “Does your hometown even have a railway yet?”
Another would immediately follow up with, “What’s a train? I’ve never ridden one in my life.”
Little by little, Jiang Chu stopped interacting with Sheng Xun’s friends altogether.
Whenever Sheng Xun went out to spend time with them, Jiang Chu would stay in his dormitory or rented apartment, spending entire days and nights reading books and watching documentaries. He worked to expand his knowledge, broaden his horizons and build up his understanding of the world.
Then, following Sheng Xun’s suggestion, he began learning the piano and taking dance lessons.
He wanted to become someone who would never embarrass Sheng Xun, someone who could fit naturally into his world after they got married.
…
After graduation, Jiang Chu officially stayed on to work at the Sheng family’s company.
He worked diligently and his abilities were strong. His work gradually helped him regain some of the confidence he had lost.
Unfortunately, the good days did not last long.
One day, Sheng Xun’s parents came to the company for an inspection. In addition to meeting with the department heads, they specifically asked for Jiang Chu, who had only joined the company recently, to come and speak with them.
Jiang Chu was summoned but he wasn’t asked to enter the office together with the other department leaders. Instead, he was made to wait outside.
He waited for a long time.
As the minutes passed, more and more people began looking in his direction, whispering and exchanging glances.
It was only after more than three hours that Jiang Chu was finally called into the office.
Sheng Xun’s parents were seated on the sofa.
Both of them were dressed in refined, exquisitely tailored clothing. Sheng Xun’s mother, in particular, was wearing a high end custom made dress. A valuable bright green jadeite bangle adorned her wrist.
She was clearly around the same age as Jiang Chu’s mother yet she looked more than a decade younger.
When Jiang Chu saw them, a faint sense of happiness rose in his heart.
However, Sheng Xun’s mother looked at him with undisguised disgust.
“You’re Jiang Chu, the person Sheng Xun likes?”
Jiang Chu nodded.
“Yes, Madam Sheng. Hello. My name is Jiang Chu.”
The next words out of her mouth were blunt and merciless.
“Our family will never accept you. You should make other arrangements as soon as possible.”
Jiang Chu froze for a moment.
He had expected that the Sheng family wouldn’t accept him easily. He had known from the beginning that their approval would be difficult to obtain.
But he hadn’t expected them to be so direct.
Sheng Xun’s father spoke as well, his face cold.
“What does being with another man even mean? Don’t you find it shameful? In any case, our family cannot afford to lose face over this. Sheng Xun must marry a woman whose family background matches ours!”
“We’ve already made our position clear,” Sheng Xun’s mother continued. “Don’t make a fool of yourself by persisting. If there’s anything you want, you can name your conditions.”
Her next words carried a clear warning.
“We don’t want this to become ugly. Let’s preserve each other’s dignity and handle this properly.”
Of course, Jiang Chu refused.
Starting 1-29 chapters would be covered soon too! 😁
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ChaptersChapter 30 · Fengdu Underworld (1)Chapter 31 · Fengdu Underworld (2)Chapter 32 Part 1 · The Humble Young Master (1)Chapter 32 Part 2 · The Humble Young Master (1)Chapter 33 Part 1 · The Humble Young Master (2)Chapter 33 Part 2 · The Humble Young Master (2)Chapter 34 Part 1 · The Humble Young Master (3)Chapter 34 Part 2 · The Humble Young Master (3)Chapter 35 · The Humble Young Master (4)Chapter 36 · The Humble Young Master (5)