Must Make Some Money!

Aunt Xuan's rejection not only failed to disappoint Dong Xuebin; her ambiguous attitude instead left him both startled and delighted.

Seeing that the time was about right, Dong Xuebin hurriedly called BACK.

"Such a good boy. Have another bite, ah..." Qu Yunxuan held up the banana and brought it toward her own mouth.

Dong Xuebin craned his neck and took a bite, chewing with great satisfaction.

Qu Yunxuan pulled out a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth. "Look at that silly grin. What good thing are you thinking about? Tell Auntie too."

"Ahem, it's nothing. I just feel like laughing. Hehehe, hahahaha." Dong Xuebin still was not satisfied with his overall performance, so he absolutely had to use BACK. For the time being, he could not let Aunt Xuan know that he liked her. If it created any awkwardness or other mishaps, that would be far from ideal. He had to wait until he had left a better and better impression on Aunt Xuan before making the most perfect confession. That way, his chances of success would be greater.

But before that, there seemed to be a huge obstacle standing in Dong Xuebin's way.

Start a company, start a company... Even if Aunt Xuan got commissions for every order in the Advertising Department, how long would it take to make that much money?

After thinking it over for an entire afternoon, Dong Xuebin decided to help Aunt Xuan out. If he put up the money to help her start a company, would not her chances of succeeding be much greater? He happened to be thinking of making money and living a better life himself. If he could earn a million yuan, not only would he gain wealth, but he might very well gain the girl too. Right, right. There were also plenty of places in officialdom where money was needed, such as giving gifts. Mm-hmm, that would be killing three birds with one stone.

I have to make some money.

Target: one million.

One day...

Two days...

After two days of Qu Yunxuan's careful care, Dong Xuebin's condition improved greatly. Not only had the bandages been removed from many of his wounds, but his hands and feet had recovered fifty or sixty percent of their former agility. Aside from being unable to run vigorously, he could now go up and down stairs without limping. Having been bored stiff in the hospital, Dong Xuebin asked the doctor when he could be discharged. Perhaps because the doctor deliberately wanted patients to spend more, he said they would have to observe him for another two days before reaching a conclusion.

Noon.

After eating the hospital-provided meal, Dong Xuebin let out a gloomy breath and listlessly took his medicine.

The food at Jiangong Hospital was very cheap. Ten yuan covered breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that was only for admitted patients; patients' family members were not included. Therefore, Qu Yunxuan had lunch at a small restaurant downstairs. When she returned to the ward after eating a vegetable-filled steamed bun and carrying a box of newly bought Mengniu Yogurt, she saw Dong Xuebin sitting on the bed with his head lowered, staring at his plastic lunchbox and blowing at it over and over in utter boredom.

Qu Yunxuan burst out laughing, walked over, and set the yogurt on the table. "Are you silly? How old are you?"

Dong Xuebin rolled his eyes. "I'm just bored with nothing to do." Over the past two days, he had mostly been thinking about how to make money, but there was nothing in the hospital and nothing he could put into action, which was why he was so bored.

"Then have some yogurt. Here."

"Aunt Xuan, I'm fine now. How about you go back to work?"

"You still can't let your hands touch water. If Auntie leaves, who'll wash your face? Who'll clean your lunchbox?" With a pop, Qu Yunxuan pierced the yogurt with the straw and pushed the tip into Dong Xuebin's mouth. "Drink. If you're really bored, Auntie will take you for a walk near the hospital this afternoon. Where do you want to go?"

Dong Xuebin perked up at once. "Sure, sure. Anywhere's fine. We can just wander around." To Dong Xuebin, anywhere was heaven as long as Aunt Xuan was with him.

Half an hour later.

Dong Xuebin stood at the west gate of Jiangong Hospital. Looking up at the azure sky, he let out a long breath. "I'm seeing daylight again!"

Qu Yunxuan carefully supported him at his side as the two of them slowly wandered north.

Up ahead, a couple was playing badminton with their child, taking up much of the sidewalk. Qu Yunxuan pulled Dong Xuebin a little to the left and edged around them. Unexpectedly, footsteps sounded from behind on the right. Dong Xuebin's left shoulder jolted as someone bumped into him. "Ow!" he cried reflexively, a dull pain spreading through his shoulder. He immediately turned to the right with an unhappy expression. "Can't you watch where you're going?"

The person who had bumped into him was a middle-aged man. Without apologizing, he continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

"Xiao Bin, are you okay?" Qu Yunxuan anxiously steadied him.

Dong Xuebin rubbed his shoulder and frowned. "I'm fine."

Qu Yunxuan immediately lost her temper and shouted at the middle-aged man, "You, stop right there! What's wrong with you?"

The middle-aged man turned back. "What is it?"

"What do you mean, what is it?" Qu Yunxuan's face darkened. "You ran into my little brother, and you can't even apologize?"

The middle-aged man with a briefcase tucked under his arm said impatiently, "It was just a bump. Is something this small really worth making a fuss over?"

"My little brother already has an injured shoulder. Do you think it matters?" Qu Yunxuan looked at him. "Apologize. Now."

Dong Xuebin suddenly felt that the middle-aged man looked familiar. He fell into thought for a moment. Who was he? Where had I seen him before?

The middle-aged man furrowed his brow. "Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Are you sick?"

"You're the one who's sick!" Dong Xuebin flared up, pointing at him angrily. "Say that again if you dare!"

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, swung his arm, and strode away without apologizing at all.

Dong Xuebin was nearly furious to death. He lifted his foot to chase after him. "You, stop right there!"

Qu Yunxuan wanted to chase after him too, but remembering that Dong Xuebin had not fully recovered, she stopped herself and quickly pulled him back. "Forget it, Xiao Bin. There's no need to argue with someone like that. His manners are terrible."

Dong Xuebin glared resentfully at the middle-aged man's retreating back. Just as he was about to say something, an idea suddenly struck him, and he exclaimed, "Aunt Xuan, I remember now! No wonder he looked so familiar. I've seen him on television. He seems to be a member of the expert panel on an antique appraisal program from some other province's television station. His surname is Cheng. The host and guests all call him Teacher Cheng. On the show, he specializes in identifying paper currency and coins." Dong Xuebin had worked in an antique market for a long time, was very interested in collecting, and often watched such programs.

Qu Yunxuan silently shook her head. "And he's an expert?"

Dong Xuebin snorted. "On TV, he looks all proper and respectable. Who knew he was really this kind of person?"

Just then, music rang from Qu Yunxuan's phone. She answered it and listened. "Hello... Mm, mm... What went wrong? How did that happen... Then talk to him about it... Me? I'm on annual leave... He said that? He says no?" Qu Yunxuan glanced at Dong Xuebin. "How about tomorrow? I'll go to the office and talk to him tomorrow... Then he... Sigh... It has to be now? Wasn't the proposal already approved?"

Knowing that something had come up at her newspaper office, Dong Xuebin said, "Go take care of it. Work comes first."

After hesitating, Qu Yunxuan said helplessly into the phone, "All right, I'll go over in a bit. I'm hanging up."

"It's something with the Advertising Department, right?"

Qu Yunxuan gave a quiet mm. "Something went wrong, and they insist that I go fix it. Sigh, I can't even relax during annual leave. Come on, Auntie will take you back to the hospital first."

"No, no. You go. I'll be fine on my own."

"That won't do. What if you fall again?"

"Come on, I'm not a child." Dong Xuebin quickly took two steps forward. "Look, my legs have been fine for ages. Hurry up and go."

"Well... well..." Qu Yunxuan looked at him worriedly, then reached out to smooth down the hair the wind had tousled. "Then Auntie is going. Be extremely, extremely careful when you go back. Use the crosswalk when you cross the street, watch where you step, avoid people, and take the stairs slowly, understand?"

"Okay, okay, I get it."

After Qu Yunxuan left, Dong Xuebin touched the shoulder that Cheng had left sore from the collision.

Those antique appraisal experts were probably all rich beyond belief. Hmph, rich but without manners. What trash.

Right.

Antique collecting.

Stocks were too risky. Could he find a way to make money through antiques?

Second update. Please vote with Recommendation Tickets.

...!!!