Chapter 29
The staredown lasted nearly a minute, but the person who finally broke the silence was neither of the two.

It was Hu Shaofeng, the one who loved to show off the most. He put away his alert expression and slouched carelessly, reverting to the appearance of a mere wastrel. The cigarette dangling from his lips shook as he spoke. “Yo, what a coincidence—isn’t this Little Brother Wenhao? Long time no see. How’s Elder Fang, is he still in good health?”

A fake smile appeared on Fang Wenhao’s face. “Thank you for your concern, Brother Shaofeng. My grandfather is fine, he often mentions you.”

“I’ve been very busy recently, but when I have free time, I’ll come to play Go with him.” Hu Shaofeng, full of fighting spirit, approached Fang Wenhao and looked him up and down, then smirked. “How much did you drink? You can’t even stand straight. Are you drowning your sorrows in alcohol? If you have any troubles, don’t hesitate to tell this big brother, big brother will help you out.”

Fuck, you’re the one who is the cause of all my troubles, Fang Wenhao thought. He broke free from Lin Jingzhe’s supporting hold and said, with no trace of his true feelings visible on his face, “I don’t have any worries. I was just having fun with my friends so I drank a few extra glasses. But you, Brother Shaofeng—I’ve heard that not long ago, Uncle Hu gave you a beating yet again? Was your head hit too hard? I see you’re quite worried about it, but you really shouldn’t drink and smoke too much, it will only slow down your recovery.”

Hu Shaofeng visibly choked for a moment. He stopped slouching, leisurely took the unlit cigarette from his mouth, and wedged it between his fingers. With the same hand, he patted Fang Wenhao on the shoulder, leaned closer, and said with a smile, “Beating? Playing, you mean. My dad was never a soldier, how could he have your dad’s strength? It didn’t hurt at all.”

As he spoke, he noticed Lin Jingzhe. To his surprise, he recognized him—it was the “little prince” he saw at Shen City Stock Exchange; this person had actually faked it better than Xiao Chi and as such had left a deep impression on him. Besides, Lin Jingzhe’s outstanding looks already made him memorable. Hu Shaofeng was a little curious about him; after all, in Shen City, he had wondered which family’s child this extraordinary young man was. It might’ve sounded shameless, but as long as they had enough of a background, he knew all of the young people in Yan City by sight. Since after mulling it over for a long time, he still couldn’t recall such a person, he was convinced this “little prince” wasn’t from Yan City.

Who knew that he’d see him again so soon? And among Fang Wenhao’s group of friends.

This was truly unfortunate. Though Hu Shaofeng was straight, when facing a beauty, he couldn’t pretend to ignore him (like Xiao Chi). Originally, he had wanted to make a new friend.

But he and Fang Wenhao had really been bitter enemies for a long time, and enough grudges had accumulated between them to form a mountain.

Simply recalling it made him irritated—Fang Wenhao, that bastard, liked to tell on him practically from the moment they stopped wearing the diapers. Hu Shaofeng had been a mischievous, attention-seeking child: giving the girls in the kindergarten kisses, fighting with the boys, pissing on the principal’s desk… Fang Wenhao couldn’t snatch girls from him, couldn’t beat him in a fight, and when climbing on the principal’s desk, he was slower than him! How could he stand it? And so, he resorted to an insidious scheme: he snitched to Hu Shaofeng’s father.

Not only did Hu Shaofeng’s parents have quick tempers, but they were also especially fond of obedient, cute children. After Fang Wenhao tattled on him, they caught Hu Shaofeng and gave him a thrashing, not caring about the truth of the matter.

Since the two of them went to the same kindergarten, middle school, high school, and now were even attending the same university, Hu Shaofeng had suffered these wrongs for more than ten years. Now, when his father just raised his hand to scratch his nose, his conditioned reflex was to cover his head and flee for his life.

Tell me, how to resolve this hatred?! How!?

It really was a shame that the person he wanted to make friends with had actually chosen the enemy side. Hu Shaofeng pretended to smile and looked at Lin Jingzhe, but spoke to Fang Wenhao, “This friend doesn’t look familiar.”

Fang Wenhao was alarmed enough that he partially sobered up. He and his buddies fighting with Hu Shaofeng was fine since their status was similar and they couldn’t really harm each other, but he never meant to drag Lin Jingzhe into it.

Lin Jingzhe was not from an influential family and had no backing—if by some freak chance Hu Shaofeng decided to give him trouble, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself. Moreover, he had grown up in a small town and presumably had not seen much of the world. Although Hu Shaofeng was simple like this, he had the ability to act intimidating enough; if Lin Jingzhe got scared and didn’t handle it right, the situation might get awkward.

As he pondered how to protect Lin Jingzhe from being noticed, the youth’s voice sounded in his ears, as calm and unperturbed as always, “Hello, Mr. Hu, it’s been a while. We seemed to have crossed paths in Shen City, haven’t we?”

And twice in a row at that. The first time was at the securities company in Shen City, where Hu Shaofeng kept peeking at him from behind a row of potted plants. Although Lin Jingzhe paid it no heed, it had been so obvious even the dead would have noticed. The second time, in the club, the encounter was one-sided—Lin Jingzhe witnessed the young man “with a beauty on each arm”. Let’s just say, he was not very impressed.

However, this sentiment definitely wouldn’t show on his face, so after his first greeting, Lin Jingzhe smiled and stretched out his right hand. “My name is Lin Jingzhe, ‘Jingzhe’ as in the third solar term.”

Hu Shaofeng, thrown off by his confident manner, subconsciously shook the hand offered to him. It was only after the fact that he remembered he shouldn’t have responded so amiably, but it was already too late—with his action, the earlier hostile atmosphere dissipated.

Well, now that things turned out this way, he had to act accordingly. “I remember, I remember, I remembered before you even reminded me. Don’t call me Mr. Hu, it sounds stuffy—since you’re Fang Wenhao’s friend, call me the same way he does.”

Lin Jingzhe nodded and smiled. “Brother Shaofeng.”

The moment he nodded, he felt somebody’s sharp gaze prick him. However, when he glanced up, its owner looked as if nothing had happened, standing not far away and watching the events calmly, a string of prayer beads hanging from his hand.

Since Lin Jingzhe gave them a path of retreat, both sides tacitly agreed to declare a ceasefire and withdraw. Fang Wenhao grabbed Lin Jingzhe, signaling him to hide behind him. The rest of his group joined him, then called out to Curly Hair, “Brother Xiao!”

Lin Jingzhe realized this was probably the rumored Xiao Chi who these youths had been talking about earlier.

Xiao Chi emanated a kind of indifference, a lack of earthly desires, that was more befitting of an ascetic monk than of someone his age. Fang Wenhao and his friends treated him with an obviously different attitude than Hu Shaofeng, even greeting him respectfully.

Xiao Chi stood there, as still and majestic as a mountain. He wrapped the beads twice around his wrist, then patted Fang Wenhao’s head, saying mildly, “Go back to the dormitory before it gets too late and next time, don’t drink so much.”

“Okay.” Fang Wenhao obediently let him pat his head. Seeing Xiao Chi glance at Lin Jingzhe, he hurriedly introduced, “Brother Xiao, this is my new buddy, Lin Jingzhe.”

Xiao Chi nodded calmly, his eyes gentle. After patting Fang Wenhao’s head, he made a move as if he wanted to pat Lin Jingzhe’s too.

Lin Jingzhe immediately intercepted his hand, pulling it down, and shook it with a smile. “Hello, Brother Xiao.”

Feeling the other man’s grip suddenly increase in strength, Lin Jingzhe, refusing to be outdone, reciprocated in turn.

This just-a-moment-too-long handshake ended about three seconds later.

Xiao Chi withdrew his hand as if nothing was wrong and replied calmly, “Hello, nice to meet you.”

In the end, though the beginning of the two groups’ meeting was accompanied by the smell of gunpowder, the spark climbing up the fuse had been put out, and everything settled down in an admirably peaceful manner.

Fang Wenhao seemed anxious to leave as his steps were rather hurried. After walking out of the hotel’s door, he looked back. Seeing that no one was following him, he let out a sigh of relief, then complained, annoyed, “Fuck, how can I be this unlucky? I actually ran into that son of a bitch. It’s a shame Xiao Chi was there too or we could’ve given him a beating.”

He turned to Lin Jingzhe. “Did you remember Hu Shaofeng’s appearance? Remember to hide when you see him in school—he’s not a good thing, it’s best to keep far away from him.

Lin Jingzhe nodded absently, kneading his hand. In his heart, he cursed Xiao Chi—that bastard was not just strong, his hand was big too. Was he a fucking bear?

Today, the other man’s hand was not as hot as last time, but it was still hotter than Lin Jingzhe’s, and it had made his palm sweat a little. “Who was that Xiao Chi?” he asked.

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about Brother Xiao. Though he has a good relationship with Hu Shaofeng, he’s completely different from that son of a bitch. He has a good temper and never argues or fights with other people. Next time you meet him, just be as polite as you were today,” Fang Wenhao explained. He turned to ask the companions behind him, “Hey, did you see? In front of Xiao Chi, Hu Shaofeng acted like a chicken, didn’t he? A chicken, a bald chicken! Since he didn’t dare light that cigarette, why did he even put it in his mouth? A chicken!”

“Ha ha ha ha!” a roar of laughter answered him. After it calmed down, somebody asked, “I’ve heard that not too long ago, Brother Xiao went to a temple again?”

“Temple? No, it seems he went abroad because he didn’t feel well. Before that, the Ministry of Health sent some experts. However, at that time he was practicing a new meditation method and didn’t want to see anyone, so they just took his pulse but didn’t find anything.”

“He looked completely healthy today, so I guess it was nothing, but I’m curious as to what kind of method did he practice?

“Who knows? Hasn’t he always been like that? If you’re curious, go and ask him to discuss the Buddhist doctrine with you…”

“Ah, never mind, forget it…”

In the hotel restaurant, Hu Shaofeng watched his enemy leave with narrowed eyes. He clicked his tongue. “He got off too easily.”

Xiao Chi retracted his gaze, glanced at him, and, without a word, walked off in the opposite direction.

“Hey, wait for me!” Hu Shaofeng ran to catch up with him. He subconsciously put the cigarette back in his mouth, but as his hand touched the lighter in his pocket, it froze. In the end, he awkwardly threw the cigarette into the trash can.

However, he immediately cheered up again. “Did you see it, Fang Wenhao’s silly expression? Ha ha ha! He always gets mad so quickly. You know, in that last bid, he was just 100,000 short!”

“Forgive and forget,” Xiao Chi said, no emotion in his voice.

“I don’t want to! Why should I?” Hu Shaofeng refused to give in. “If he doesn’t like it, let’s see him go to complain to my dad again!” Then, a wicked smile appeared on his face. “Never mind that—you saw that kid with him, right? It’s the one we saw in Shen City.”

Xiao Chi said nothing, and only gave him a sideways glance.

Hu Shaofeng thought he had forgotten, and wanted to facepalm. “You forgot? The one in the trading room, in white clothes and with three bodyguards. He bought 500,000-worth of shares in one go, remember? The one more pretentious than you!”

“Oh.” Xiao Chi stared straight ahead. “I remember.”

Hu Shaofeng didn’t suspect him. He said with a smirk, “And those big, dark eyes—don’t you think he looks like a rabbit?”

Xiao Chi frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Hu Shaofeng then remembered the other meaning of “rabbit”* and explained hurriedly, “No, I didn’t mean that, I meant that his face looks like a rabbit’s, not that he’s… I’m not going to say it. Anyway, he seems like an interesting guy. Whose kid is he? He can hang around with Fang Wenhao, which means he’s not a nobody, so how come I’ve never seen him before? Or maybe…”

[T/N: “Rabbit” (兔子, tùzi) is a slang term for a male prostitute.]

Xiao Chi ignored him, walking forward with firm and steady steps, his hands behind his back. He seemed indifferent, but in fact, he was secretly pinching his right hand.

Just now, Lin Jingzhe had taken advantage of the handshake to squeeze very hard. Xiao Chi suspected the skin on the back of his hand was blue right now.

He thought that the child was too cruel—he himself hadn’t used much force because he just wanted to scare Lin Jingzhe a bit, but Lin Jingzhe actually responded so aggressively.

However, Xiao Chi was quite surprised. That time in the club, his mind was muddled, and he didn’t remember the other man’s appearance clearly; who would have expected that he would recognize him at once? Now that he met Lin Jingzhe with a clear mind, Xiao Chi was surprised to see that the youth was much shorter than him, and quite delicate-looking. No wonder Hu Shaofeng likened him to a rabbit—he really resembled a small white rabbit.

Xiao Chi recalled that at that time, he had barely needed to use any strength to hold him up, and that the young man was so thin it seemed as if there was no meat on his body except on his ass.

Suddenly, there was a movement in front of his eyes. As he woke from his memories and looked up, he saw that Hu Shaofeng had jumped in front of him and pushed open the closed door he had almost run into.

Hu Shaofeng, who was jabbering on the whole way (though Xiao Chi hadn’t heard a word), finally shut up. He looked at the door, then at Xiao Chi. “What’s wrong, are you still feeling unwell?” he asked, concerned.

Xiao Chi felt embarrassed, but no trace of it appeared on his face. Perfectly calm and collected, he walked in through the door. “No.”

“Then what happened just now? You didn’t see it?” Hu Shaofeng decided he was a little worried after all. “Don’t act stubborn, you should pay attention to your health. A few weeks ago, didn’t you go abroad specially to see a doctor? But you still refuse to say what’s wrong. Maybe I should ask my dad? He knows that old traditional Chinese medicine doctor in the Ministry of Health, he can…”

“No need.” The mere mention of his last trip abroad made Xiao Chi upset. At that time, Lin Jingzhe had kneed him a bit too hard. The torturous pain passed before he returned to Yan City, but he soon discovered that something wasn’t right. Even the routine “morning flag-raising ceremony” happened much less frequently. Although he believed in Buddhism, he didn’t plan to become a true monk, so how could he not get scared?

It was impossible to see any of the doctors in Yan City. News in the circle spread in a flash—if he took the chance to let anyone know about his troubles, who knew how this news would be used? And so, he could only make up an excuse and rush abroad.

Fortunately, the doctor told him that there was no actual damage: the problems he was experiencing were psychological in nature.

Xiao Chi was worried, so worried that even reciting sutras didn’t lessen his anxiety. When Hu Shaofeng, the main cause of the disaster, inadvertently reminded him of this matter, his hand clenched around the prayer beads.

“Enough!” he said with a frown, cutting through Hu Shaofeng’s chattering. “Talk about business. How are the stocks at the Shen City Stock Exchange?”

“Oh!” Hu Shaofeng’s attention was immediately diverted. “They’re rising, all of them. Even that six million yuan we added later has already increased its worth by four or five times. Rumour has it that new stocks will be listed soon…”

Xiao Chi nodded slightly, looking tranquil, as if nothing in the world could make him sit up and take notice.

Honestly, he was greatly relieved by the change in topic.

Shen Juanying was a no-nonsense, highly efficient woman. She had stated that she would go see Lin Jingzhe when she was free, and Lin Jingzhe soon met with her.

After fighting a battle of wits against her for many years in Lin Jingzhe’s last life, he was very impressed with her. She was a strong woman, tough and intelligent, very different from Lin Runsheng. “Strong man and weak woman” was clearly a stereotype this couple didn’t conform to.

Maybe this was the secret to a successful marriage. Since one side was more willing to give in, in Lin Jingzhe’s memory, the relationship between his stepmother and father had always been very good. Also, despite her unyielding temperament, she had been very forgiving towards him—during the five years he’d lived in her house, no matter how much trouble he’d caused, Shen Juanying had put up with him and kept him safe.

Therefore, though Lin Jingzhe resented Lin Runsheng in his past life, his relationship with Shen Juanying wasn’t as bad as one might have expected. He never got along with her daughter, Shen Tiantian, but his impression of this stepmother wasn’t bad.

As they took their seats, Lin Jingzhe was a little wary. In his last life, Lin Runsheng brought him home, so it was only natural that Shen Juanying would come into contact with him. However, this time around, he had clearly taken the initiative to stay away from them, so why would she ask to meet him?

“Auntie Shen,” he greeted her cautiously.

Shen Juanying showed him a firm but gentle smile. “Is Biluochun fine?”

Lin Jingzhe nodded. “I’m not picky.”

In addition to the tea, Shen Juanying also ordered an assortment of snacks for him, all of which were not overly sweet and should suit the tastes of most males. After returning the menu, she said with a natural smile, “Your father mentioned that you’re fond of tea. Someone sent me some Da Hong Pao as a gift, but no one at home appreciates tea. When you come for dinner, I’ll pack it up for you so you can bring it back to your dorm room.”

Lin Jingzhe had long become accustomed to her style of action, so he only smiled without replying.

As the first meeting between a stepson and stepmother, it was quite peaceful. Observing this never-before-met stepson, Shen Juanying could understand why her husband’s tone was filled with an unconcealed pride when describing the youth.

She began, “Jingzhe—can I call you this?”

“Of course.”

“Jingzhe, I’m sorry for asking you out so suddenly. I hope I didn’t upset you—neither your father nor I mean you any harm.”

The tea arrived. Recalling that she had a sweet tooth, Lin Jingzhe pushed the sugar and milk towards her, saying calmly, “I know. I have no enmity towards you either.”

Shen Juanying took the sugar and milk, a little thrown off balance. She was surprised he would act so familiarly with her.

This boy was only one year older than her daughter, Shen Tiantian, but facing him, she really didn’t feel like she was talking with a child.

Lin Jingzhe’s straightforward and mature attitude made her more cautious. After thinking about it, she decided to change her strategy and lay all her cards on the table.

“In that case, I won’t hide it from you. That day, after your father returned, he called your mother. When we questioned her, we found that for many years, the situation wasn’t what we believed it to be. Both your father and I are sorry; this was indeed due to our negligence—we shouldn’t have stayed away while you were growing up and should’ve been more concerned about your affairs.”

Lin Jingzhe took a sip of tea, quietly listening, no emotions visible on his face. Shen Juanying’s apology surprised him. This conversation had never happened in his previous life—he and Shen Juanying had always kept a polite distance from each other.

Like visiting a once familiar place after many years had gone by, though many things remained the same, the people had changed. He had already gotten over the past, yet he couldn’t deny that the issue Shen Juanying was mentioning had been a thorn deeply embedded in his heart during his past life.

It was a pity that he was no longer the young man who craved to hear these words. “It wasn’t that bad. At least my grandfather was very good to me,” he replied with a smile.

“We’re exceedingly grateful to him. After learning about his death, your father was depressed for a long time.” Shen Juanying, unable to see through his poker face, could only go on. “You may think we’re just trying to absolve ourselves of blame, but actually, your father had stayed in touch with your grandfather all these years. When he divorced your mother, he was just an ordinary teacher in Qunnan and was unable to raise you—that’s why he left almost all of his property to your mother and agreed to sign an agreement not to contact you after the divorce.”

The expression in Shen Juanying’s eyes grew distant as she reminisced. “Later, he was transferred to Yan City and I had the good fortune to meet him and marry him. His economic situation gradually improved, so he increased the amount of child support accordingly. We thought this money would allow you to live a more comfortable life. We never expected…”

She sighed. “Your father regrets it very much, and I am also ashamed of how we’ve failed you. He has a hard time expressing his feelings; you might’ve gotten the impression that he wasn’t pleased to see you, but you should know that it’s the exact opposite. He really wants to make up for his mistakes—I asked to meet with you today just to say this. Can you give us a chance?”

To be honest, Lin Jingzhe wasn’t good at defending against Shen Juanying’s blunt-force approach. He knew that this woman did not have any bad intentions; even though she didn’t care much about him in his previous life, she treated him well, to the point that even Shen Tiantian had been jealous of him.

This time, Lin Jingzhe didn’t want to intrude on their happy family. He looked down at his tea cup, watching the tightly rolled leaves unfurl and float up and down in the clear infusion, bringing to mind the ups and downs of life.

“If you don’t want to, then at least stop by for a meal?” Shen Juanying asked. “Would it be possible for you to just come over for dinner, nothing more?”

Things were developing in a completely different direction than they had in the past. Lin Jingzhe felt a twinge of regret—why hadn’t he chosen to have a calm and open conversation back then? Perhaps, at that time, he was simply too immature and rebellious and as a result, had been destined to experience some setbacks.

He let out a sigh. “All right.”

After the death of his father, he had often missed their family’s daily dinner together. Although the atmosphere was usually tense, and even though they would inevitably launch into quarrel before it was halfway over, Lin Jingzhe hadn’t treasured what he had until he lost it.

He didn’t want to disturb their lives, but having a meal was fine. Let’s just think of it as fulfilling the long-lost wish of my past self.

Relieved, Shen Juanying smiled more gently. She changed the topic to a lighter one and began to introduce the refreshments on the small dessert tray.

After they finished drinking tea, regardless of what they were hiding in their hearts, both looked friendly and relaxed. Before leaving, Shen Juanying held a bank card, quite rare in those times, and tried to give it to Lin Jingzhe. Lin Jingzhe refused.

He felt guilt towards Lin Runsheng, but only because of his own callous actions towards him—he actually never really acknowledged Lin Runsheng’s identity as his “father”. In his marriage to Shen Juanying, he was clearly economically disadvantaged. Lin Jingzhe remembered that in his last life, Shen Tiantian looked down on him primarily because most of his money came from her mother.

He’d really been a bastard, using money given by the people he had harmed to retaliate against society.

In this life, Lin Jingzhe didn’t want to owe them anything, so it was better not to get financially involved.

Shen Juanying couldn’t get him to accept the card and had no choice but to give up. As she mulled over this meetup while returning home, she couldn’t help but sigh.

Rarely did she encounter a young man so difficult to handle: calm and composed, clearly distinguishing between kindness and hatred, and level-headed almost to the point of coldness. She knew that Lin Runsheng’s wish of getting closer to his son would not be easily achieved.

Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang, who had the initial impression that studying computer science was simply playing games every day, finally realized they had been cheated—though classes had yet to start, the textbooks had already been handed out. They called Lin Jingzhe’s dorm room to complain tearfully that their university was really inhuman!

Lin Jingzhe was packing the uniforms he’d been issued; military training would begin soon, and freshmen were simultaneously looking forward to and dreading it. Hearing Zhou Haitang’s wails, he wanted to burst out laughing but pretended to be surprised instead. “Is that so? It turns out that computer science major means studying things like that!”

Whether they’d been aware of what their major entailed or not, they had already entered the university—since they hadn’t given up on studying from the outset, like Deng Mai, they could only grit their teeth and force themselves to persevere.

What they didn’t know was that Deng Mai was even more miserable than them.

The course had already begun, and the pace was much faster than he expected. All the teachers were professors from various famous universities—the scope and content of their lessons were extensive and their requirements were strict. Many participants of the course had management experience but even they found themselves overwhelmed, let alone Deng Mai who’d never been an exemplary student.

These days, he ran between classes and home and had no time to even give Lin Jingzhe a phone call. The tuition fee was just too huge; he didn’t dare waste it and let Lin Jingzhe down, so he tried to fill his mind with as much knowledge as possible. Finally, watching him skip meals and neglect sleep, Lin Jingzhe had to tell him not to overdo it.

Before the start of the military training, Shen Juanying called on him to fulfill his promise, personally driving to the university to pick up Lin Jingzhe and bring him home for dinner.

The meal was solemn and grand but passed peacefully. Like the countless dinners in his previous life, he, Shen Juanying, Lin Runsheng, and Shen Tiantian were all present. The only difference was Lin Jingzhe’s seat—he no longer rebelliously sat at the opposite end of the table, as far as possible from everyone else.

Auntie Li’s cooking was just as he remembered, and he quietly ate the familiar dishes he hadn’t had for a long, long time. Lin Runsheng, at the head of the table, was obviously very nervous because his face was as scary as if he was about to start a massacre. Shen Juanying nudged him discreetly several times, but this only caused his expression to turn even fiercer.

Fortunately, Lin Jingzhe was quite at ease in this high-pressure environment. What startled him were the small changes in details, such as Shen Juanying taking the initiative to serve him food or Shen Tiantian, who during their first meeting in his past life had glared at him as if she wanted to strangle him, but this time just sat opposite him, looking a bit uncomfortable as she sneaked several covert glances at him.

Even though the atmosphere was still a little awkward, Lin Jingzhe had never imagined such a harmonious dinner could take place at this table.

How much could a different beginning change the course of the future?

Lin Jingzhe looked at the things laid out on his bed. Shen Tiantian delivered them to him upon her mother’s request—since he refused to accept money, recently, Shen Juanying began to send him some practical items.

It was obvious that Shen Tiantian had yet to adapt to this brother who suddenly popped up out of nowhere. She was conflicted, which was understandable, but in general, her attitude was kind, a far cry from their antagonistic relationship in the past. It was hard for Lin Jingzhe to reject her, so every time, he ended up accepting whatever she brought. He couldn’t help but lament Shen Juanying’s methods—she was always able to find the right person to help achieve her goals.

There were a lot of things, most of them daily necessities. After a moment of hesitation, Lin Jingzhe put a few bottles of the expensive-looking sunscreen into his bag. Wang Jun and Lu Xiaojiang, who whispered between themselves for a long time, finally couldn’t hold back. “Lin Jingzhe, who is that pretty girl who brings you things recently? She looks really good, is she your girlfriend?”

Lin Jingzhe glanced back at the open dormitory door; it took him a while to tear his gaze away.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he said to them, smiling slightly. “That’s my sister.”

It was 1990, and the economy was just beginning to take off. The military base wasn’t nearby, so it took a while for the freshmen scheduled for military training to reach it.

The cultural relics smuggling ring discovered in Qunnan Province shocked the whole country. After a thorough investigation, many criminals had been arrested and countless antiques had been found in shipping containers at the province’s ports. Among them were many national treasure-level cultural relics, whose trade was explicitly prohibited by the state! In total, their worth exceeded one billion yuan!

At the same time, many long-established overseas channels for the sale of stolen goods had been discovered, and the so-called “fences” were arrested and extradited to China.

This shocking news made headlines across the country. In Yan City, where politics was a popular topic, this event was on everyone’s lips. The Qunnan’s provincial leaders, who fully supported the investigation of this case, won a commendation for their outstanding achievements. In addition, the National Museum welcomed a large number of well-preserved, priceless cultural relics, which were promptly put on display.

Although ordinary people were not aware of the significance of this news, they still celebrated. They took their families and rushed to the museum—which at that time didn’t charge for tickets—to celebrate the recovery of these treasures which had been a hair’s breadth away from being lost to the Chinese nation.

With Qunnan taking the lead, other provinces and cities plagued by smuggling also began to move, and the central government put forward the slogan “Let’s Combat Smuggling”, putting wind in their sails. Like a rapidly spreading prairie fire, this war soon enveloped the entire country!

Apart from a small number of insiders, none knew that the spark that started it all had been a donation of ancient bronzeware made by an unassuming young man in a small town in Qunnan Province a few months earlier.

Daily newspapers were available in the base. Lin Jingzhe read a two-page-long article praising the successes of the anti-smuggling campaign, with some surprise.

He remembered no shocking incidents of this level happening at this time in his previous life—it had taken about five more years before the country started to crack down on smuggling.

Unexpectedly, he saw the bronzes he donated in one of the pictures. It would be a lie to say that there was no trace of regret in his heart, but the description of the visitors’ enthusiasm, oohing and aahing over the antiques, made a stronger emotional impact.

As he turned the page, his gaze fell on an article that didn’t deserve such a humble spot in the paper.

It said that Yan City’s government, predicting that urban development would become more and more rapid, had decided to allocate more funds to public transport, planning to build more subway lines and city overpasses. New city districts were also being planned.

The author was full of confidence for the future and was eagerly looking forward to it, as if the international metropolis, accommodating tens of millions of people, was already in his line of sight.

The present-day citizens might not have understood this vision and may have even scoffed at it, but in this eloquent article, Lin Jingzhe saw a shadow of the next century, considerably more magnificent than what was being described in the text.

This was an era of rapid development, full of hope. This time, the recovery of the cultural relics happened much earlier, precipitating the country’s crackdown on smuggling in advance, and prompting people to visit the museum to view priceless cultural relics, indirectly encouraging them to be filled with expectations for the future.

And Lin Jingzhe, who had already experienced it once, seemed to be inextricably intertwined with it.