A Touching Brotherhood

A long time later, someone asked Wu Wei, "If life could be lived over again, what would you do to make yourself better?"

Wu Wei thought for a few seconds, then replied, "I cannot imagine how I could do any better than I have already."

At the time, Wu Wei did not know why that person would ask him such a thing; later, he understood, but he still did not care.

Because he truly did not know what it looked like to be better than himself.

The people of the world all strove to reach him as their goal.

Yet he stood alone at the absolute peak, looking all around him, and there was no one else in sight.

Beneath his feet lay the end of the Great Dao.

Great Qin Empire, year 2222.

Imperial Capital University, School of Computer Science.

After class, Li Long called out to stop Wu Wei.

"Wu Wei, don't forget our 307 gathering tonight."

"Don't worry, I'll be there on time. It's you, the local tycoon, footing the bill anyway."

There were four people in dormitory 307: Wu Wei, Li Long, Wang Zixuan, and Kuang Zhiguo. The bond between the roommates was quite good; after all, they were the same age, and playing games or basketball together was enough to make them friends.

Li Long had originally suggested ranking themselves by age as "First" through "Fourth," but Wu Wei had strongly opposed and rejected it, arguing that it was too tacky—a trope that would be considered a "poison point" if written into a novel these days.

Li Long was a web novel author himself, and after thinking about it, he agreed, so the idea was dropped.

However, this did not affect the bond between the brothers.

Their dorm had a tradition of gathering once a week, having promised that if any of them struck it rich in the future, they wouldn't forget the others, so they kept their connection alive early on.

Most of the time they went Dutch, but Li Long's new novel seemed to be performing very well, so he had taken the initiative this time, declaring early on that he would treat them.

Naturally, there was nothing more to be said.

8:00 PM.

In a private room at a restaurant near the school gate, the four of them raised their glasses to drink.

The difference was that the other three were drinking beer, while Wu Wei was drinking a Nutri-Express.

Wu Wei could not drink alcohol; he would get drunk the moment he touched it. His roommates knew this, so they never forced him.

But today, Li Long was a bit tipsy.

He held a bottle of beer, draped an arm over Wu Wei's shoulder, and asked loudly, "Wu Wei, are we brothers?"

"Of course."

"If we're brothers, then have a drink with me. I'm happy today—my novel hit ten thousand subscriptions. From now on, I'm a tall, rich, and handsome web novelist."

Wu Wei was a little surprised.

As Li Long's roommate, Wu Wei had been exposed to it often and naturally understood a bit about web novels, so he knew the weight of ten thousand subscriptions.

He hadn't expected Li Long, whose talent he considered mediocre, to actually reach ten thousand subscriptions. Honestly, Wu Wei had always felt Li Long was a typical "coolie" type of writer with no real talent, and that hitting three thousand average subscriptions for a boutique status was probably his limit.

I actually misjudged him. It seems writing web novels isn't entirely about skill.

No, I can't think like that. That would be too unfair to my brother.

Wu Wei quickly pushed these thoughts away, then picked up a bottle of Nutri-Express and clinked it against Li Long's: "This is indeed a great joy. I toast you, Brother Long."

"Cut the fake stuff. Wu Wei, do you know why I insist on you drinking with me? Because you're the one who helped me hit ten thousand subscriptions."

"I helped you hit ten thousand?" Wu Wei truly didn't understand this time.

"Yeah, I wrote you into the book. I thought I was just writing casually, but I didn't expect people these days to love reading about 'academic tyrants' so much. It just exploded in popularity."

Wu Wei: "..."

"Tell me, shouldn't we clink glasses and have a drink?"

"That's right, have a drink! Wu Wei, we'll carry you back to the dorm today."

"Just let Brother Long book you a room. Come on, Wu Wei, have one."

Wu Wei frowned.

"Wu Wei, are you looking down on me? If you treat me like a brother, have a drink. I'll book you a hotel room right now. It's Saturday tomorrow, no classes." Li Long's expression turned sour.

Honestly, Wu Wei felt a bit helpless.

It wasn't that he couldn't drink; on the contrary, his tolerance was excellent. Drinking all three of them under the table would be no problem for him at all.

It was just that he didn't like to drink. He disliked the taste of alcohol. In Wu Wei's sensory perception, liquor was spicy, beer was bitter, and red wine tasted strange—he truly didn't know what was so good about them.

That was why he always told people he couldn't drink and would pass out after one glass, to prevent others from pestering him.

Drinking wasn't hard for Wu Wei; what was hard was pretending to be drunk afterward.

The rules could not be broken; Wu Wei knew the horrors of the drinking table all too well.

But since the three of them had said this much, not giving them any face would indeed be bad. It wasn't that Wu Wei cared that much about them, but as a college student, if he soured his relationship with his roommates, the next few years would be very awkward.

Because of Li Long, Wu Wei had paid attention to some web novels and knew that many protagonists loved to be mavericks and stand against the world, but he didn't suffer from middle-school syndrome and naturally had no desire to be that kind of person.

After weighing his options, Wu Wei could only say helplessly, "Only one glass."

Li Long's face lit up with joy. "One glass is one glass! Good brother, the fact that you're having your first drink with me—I'll remember this favor. I'll book you a five-star hotel room tonight."

As expected, Wu Wei "passed out" after a single glass.

Li Long and the other two burst into laughter; it was their first time seeing someone with such a low tolerance for alcohol.

Once they were wined and dined, Wang Zixuan and Kuang Zhiguo had also drunk quite a bit. Li Long waved his hand grandly and booked four rooms at the nearest five-star hotel.

The group helped the "slumbering" Wu Wei into his room, after which Wang Zixuan and Kuang Zhiguo each returned to their own rooms.

Wu Wei found it strange; why hadn't Li Long left yet?

Just then, Li Long took out his phone and made a call.

"Is the lady I asked you to prepare ready?"

"Rest assured, since your money is in place, our person will definitely be in place."

"That's good. XX Hotel, Room XXX. Get over here immediately."

Wu Wei didn't open his eyes, but a warmth spread through his heart.

Li Long was truly a stand-up brother; he hadn't expected him to find a woman for him as well.

The service was truly thorough; this friendship was well worth the effort.

Just as he was thinking this, he sensed Li Long approach the bedside and heard him whisper, "Wu Wei, when you find out you've contracted AIDS, don't bother thanking me. I really went to a lot of trouble to find a lady who carries the virus."

Wu Wei: "???"

"Good brother, don't blame me. It's all forced by you. Who told you to treat me that way in your past life?"

Wu Wei nearly lost his composure.

"You knew full well that I liked Lan Meng, yet you still accepted her pursuit, and even livestreamed the videos of you and her in a hotel room to me."

"What a truly good brother you are, Wu Wei. I was so damn moved by you that I simply had to repay you."