The First Pot of Gold

Chapter 16: The First Pot of Gold

In this unfamiliar city, without Lin Jing, the person she knew best was Wang Yue.

Wang Yue walked with her to the little lake and listened to Zheng Wei ramble on about what had happened that day. He pieced together a rough idea of the story.

So Wang Yue, who had no idea how to comfort a girl, slowly told Zheng Wei about a friend of his...

In Wang Yue's story, his friend's boyfriend had left without a word. At first, his friend had cried her eyes out every day, but in less than a year, she started dating someone who treated her pretty well.

As for her ex, he had weathered countless romances before realizing he still loved her. So someday in the future, the three of them were bound to be caught up in a tearjerking love triangle.

Zheng Wei was already upset over Lin Jing. At first, she hadn't paid much attention, but after hearing Wang Yue's hole-ridden, bizarre love story, she couldn't help wondering if he'd made it up on the spot. And was it based on her, too?

But as she listened, her sense of hurt gradually faded. Would Lin Jing regret it in the future?

"Want to try the buns by the school gate? We northerners start feeling homesick if we go a day without them." Seeing that Zheng Wei had calmed down, Wang Yue guessed she hadn't eaten. He took a bun from the bag, bit into it, and found it pretty tasty.

He handed the rest to Zheng Wei, letting her take the bag and help herself. In his heart, he thought, It's not that the guys in the dorm aren't loyal.

As the saying went, women were like clothes, but brothers were like limbs. After all, there were plenty of people missing an arm or a leg on the streets, but hardly anyone ran around naked. It was obvious which was more important.

"Really? Let me see if I can taste Jiangxi in it!" Zheng Wei took one and bit off a small piece. It was pretty good! I really miss my mom.

"You're from the south, okay?" Wang Yue pointed out without mercy.

"In the eyes of people from eastern Guangdong, everyone else is a northerner!" Zheng Wei might have been starving, because she ate like a little hamster.

The two of them each ate a big bun by the lake. Their stomachs stopped protesting, and it seemed as if all their troubles vanished along with the last bites.

Seeing that Zheng Wei had settled down, Wang Yue glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist and said, "It's getting late. I'll walk you back to your dorm."

By the time Zheng Wei returned to the dorm, it was almost ten. The other girls had been worried about her, but once they saw her come back, they were relieved.

Seeing how concerned they'd been made Zheng Wei feel warm inside. She set the buns on the table and repeated Wang Yue's words: "These are homesickness buns. Try some."

"Who cares what they're called? I'll take one!" Zhu Xiaobei grabbed a bun in a hurry and took a bite. But she froze. It tasted just like the ones her older sister made!

Zhu Xiaobei watched as her roommates cheerfully dug in, praising the buns between bites. She was happy, but also uneasy.

"So, did you win over your Brother Jing?" Li Weijuan asked casually as she ate. She still didn't believe there was really such a person.

Ruan Wan also looked up at Zheng Wei, but all she saw were Zheng Wei's red eyes, brimming with tears.

"Can't you keep your mouth shut while you're eating?" Zhu Xiaobei was lost in her own thoughts, too, but seeing that something was wrong with Zheng Wei, she quickly cut in.

"Lin Jing doesn't want me anymore!"

The next day in class, Wang Yue sat in the third row as usual, quietly reading. Students trickled into the classroom, but Zheng Wei never showed up, not even by the time class started.

Wang Yue didn't ask about her. He kept studying at his own pace, as usual. The main characters had their own lives, after all. Wang Yue neither tried to enter their circle nor deliberately kept his distance.

After seeing Zheng Wei weep over Lin Jing that day, Wang Yue had thought there might be a small chance they could become friends rather than just people who recognized each other.

But after Zheng Wei disappeared for a few days and came back, whatever warmth had begun to grow between them had faded. They still sometimes sat together in class and exchanged a few words, but most of the time, they didn't interact much.

Zheng Wei's bold antics quickly made her a well-known figure around campus. Everything she did became a favorite topic of conversation among the students. Her roommates were the subject of all sorts of rumors, too.

Wang Yue also gradually heard several versions of the story that Zheng Wei had attempted suicide after a breakup.

He knew it wasn't true. After all, he had witnessed the day Zheng Wei was actually heartbroken. But those versions were bound to include other stories that had happened between the main characters. The names that came up most often were Zheng Wei's roommates, Zhang Kai, and Xu Kaiyang.

On the first day of club recruitment in late October, Wang Yue did as he had in his previous life and didn't join any clubs. Instead, he went to an internet café again. He wanted to check his online banking and see how much he'd earned from his recent jobs.

If nothing had come in, he'd have to figure out his next way to make money. After all, at a time like this, a lot depended on the quality of the people running the businesses.

When he checked, he found over thirty thousand in his bank account. Wang Yue felt like he'd let down all the people who'd transmigrated. How did they manage to spend money so effortlessly?

He compared the receipts the clients had sent to his email against the online banking records one by one. For the few who'd deducted too much, he cut them loose.

After finishing his sarcastic rant about those cheapskates, Wang Yue got in touch with the more generous clients and asked if they had any new outsourcing jobs. He had to provide his wealthy clients with the most comfortable service, after all, and go to them proactively.

And sure enough, he landed another job. Once they agreed on a price, there was nothing more to say. He got right to work.

People came and went from the seat beside Wang Yue, and several different customers took their turns there. Wang Yue remained focused and serious the whole time, without even making a trip to the bathroom. It was as if he'd gone back to his old busy work life.

After several hours of hard work, he was finally done. He checked everything over and sent it to the client. Once he'd finished, Wang Yue stretched. He was about to swivel his chair and get a drink of water when he suddenly remembered he was in an internet café.

He shut down the computer helplessly, went to the bathroom, which made him a little nervous, then headed to the counter to settle the bill with the young woman there.

As he waited for his change, Wang Yue suddenly realized that someone who'd been sitting not far from him looked like Zheng Wei's roommate, Ruan Wan.

Ruan Wan seemed to sense someone watching her. She looked up, saw Wang Yue, and smiled as she nodded.

Wang Yue smiled back, pointed outside, and then left. He really hadn't expected a beauty to be using the internet at this hour, and couldn't help taking a couple of extra glances.

On his way back, Wang Yue wandered around the pedestrian street near campus. He figured he should do something practical with his money; otherwise, it wouldn't be much use to him.

He'd originally been making a few thousand a month to improve his quality of life. Who'd have thought that would turn into tens of thousands? He couldn't just leave it sitting there, could he?