Chapter 31

The HR representative in charge of assigning dorms even smiled as she handed Weng Shao his key. "You're lucky. You came late, and the other employees have mostly already moved in. I could only arrange an empty room for you."

She sounded utterly certain, so Weng Shao had no choice but to believe her. He did not want to live under the same roof as strangers anyway.

When Weng Shao returned to the dorm, he was surprised to find someone inside.

The living room and kitchen lights were both on. A pair of women's black strappy cloth shoes sat by the door, and a pungent, fragrant smell drifted from the kitchen. Weng Shao knew at once that it was Mao Xue Wang, his favorite dish.

Yu Huixin, who was stir-frying in the kitchen, heard movement at the door. She poked her head out and saw Weng Shao standing blankly in the entryway, dusty from travel and dragging a large suitcase. She could not help smiling. "You're back."

"I'm cooking. Go wash your hands first. Dinner will be ready soon."

As Weng Shao changed his shoes, he asked, "How did you know I was coming back?"

Yu Huixin said, "President Pei told me. He called and said you were home and wanted to eat the omurice I made. So I went straight to the supermarket after work to buy groceries."

Yu Huixin now worked as a cleaner at the Lakeside Garden sales office. She started at seven every morning and got off at six in the evening, with one day off every week. Her life was easy and pleasant, and she could enjoy the sense of accomplishment that came from earning and spending her own money.

Yu Huixin had lived more than half her life, yet she had never felt so much like a real person. That was why she was deeply grateful to President Pei, who had brought her this new life. Maybe not unquestioning obedience, but she would certainly carry out his instructions without fail.

"President Pei really is a good person. He's so busy, yet he still remembered to call me and remind me to come home after work and cook for you." At that, Yu Huixin sighed and earnestly reminded Weng Shao, "You mustn't let down President Pei's faith in you."

Weng Shao froze. He truly had not expected Pei Xingze to call Yu Huixin—and even fabricate intelligence.

As they spoke, Yu Huixin swiftly brought the steaming Mao Xue Wang to the table. Seeing Weng Shao still standing there in a daze, she urged, "What are you standing around for? Go wash your hands and eat."

Coming back to himself, Weng Shao placed the omurice and fried skewers he had bought downstairs on the dining table. "It's so late. I didn't want to trouble you. I bought omurice and fried skewers downstairs too."

"It's just cooking a meal. What's troublesome about that? Didn't I cook every day back home? Why are you being so polite with me?" Yu Huixin took the omurice and fried skewers from him. "Since you bought these, I didn't need to make any. We'll save the leftover rice and make fried rice for you tomorrow."

"Oh, do you want something to drink? There's cola and juice in the fridge. The supermarket was having a sale when I went grocery shopping. A bottle of cola was only one yuan."

Chatting away, Yu Huixin carried the omurice and fried skewers into the kitchen. She opened a cabinet, found two clean plates, and poured the food onto them. "I'll taste the omurice from outside too, see how it's different from mine."

She had thought restaurant omurice would surely be delicious, but after one bite, Yu Huixin frowned. "Why do I think it's not as good as mine?"

"It really isn't as good as yours," Weng Shao replied. Taking a change of clothes, he went to the bathroom for a quick combat shower. When he came out, Yu Huixin had already served the rice and was waiting to eat.

The Weng family had no rule about not talking while eating or sleeping. Yu Huixin had also been holding in a bellyful of questions for Weng Shao. She picked up her chopsticks, absentmindedly took two bites of rice, then began firing questions at him. "When you went to Jinghai to record the show, did you see your dad and second uncle? Did they give you trouble?"

"What did you all talk about while recording?"

"When will your show air?"

Weng Shao answered every question. "I saw them."

"They gave me trouble."

"We talked about a lot."

"Probably soon."

Yu Huixin suddenly fell silent. After a long while, she took a deep breath. "Maybe I should go back to the village."

"If I go back and take care of your dad, they won't be able to say anything else."

"You're still young. Even if the law says children must support their parents, there's no reason to make a child who's still in school support them. Isn't the Weng family just looking for someone to take care of their hero? As long as I go back—"

"I'm not afraid of what they say, and you don't need to go back." Weng Shao interrupted Yu Huixin. "I told you, I'd take you to Jinghai and let you live a good life. I won't go back on my word."

"I'm not worried about that—"

"What if you got to live in a big villa with the Weng family?"

"Huh?" Yu Huixin even suspected she had misheard. She stared blankly at Weng Shao, completely unable to understand what he was saying.

Weng Shao said, "Don't follow the enemy's line of thinking. The more they want you to do something, the less you should do it."

Yu Huixin's mind was a complete mess. "But—"

"No buts." Weng Shao patiently reassured her. "Weng Yingjie's family would love nothing more than to knock us back to square one. They want us to suffer for the rest of our lives. Do you want to grant their wish?"

Of course Yu Huixin did not.

Why could Weng Yingjie's family live in villas and drive luxury cars in a big city, living the lives of the upper class? Yet she could not even work as a cleaner in Qingyuan City without people gossiping and pointing fingers at her?

Wasn't it because they thought she and Weng Shao were easy to bully?

"So you need to listen to me." Weng Shao coaxed her step by step. "Only I can give you all a good life."

Yu Huixin was so flustered that she did not even notice Weng Shao had said "you all." She said worriedly, "But they're doing everything they can to ruin your reputation. I'm afraid..."

Weng Shao smiled. "There's an old saying: 'When granaries are full, people understand propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, people understand honor and shame.' Do you know what that means?"

Yu Huixin looked lost. She had not even finished middle school, so of course she did not know what it meant.

"It means people only care about reputation and etiquette when they're so full they have nothing better to do. I'm not full yet, so I don't care."

Yu Huixin was dumbfounded. She might not be educated, but she still felt that saying probably was not supposed to mean that.

Weng Shao placed a slice of fatty beef in Yu Huixin's bowl. "We're not even full yet, so why should we be afraid of a bunch of idiots who are too full for their own good? Don't you think?"

Yu Huixin picked up the beef with a bewildered expression and chewed it. She wanted to say something. She looked at Weng Shao, hesitated for a long time, and in the end said nothing.

After dinner, Yu Huixin chased Weng Shao, who wanted to wash the dishes, back into his bedroom. She washed the dishes herself, cut fruit for him, and only then left. Before leaving, she did not forget to remind him, "You've been busy all day. Get some rest early too."

As for herself, she carried the other half of the fruit back to the women's dorm downstairs. The other two girls sharing her room were sales consultants at Lakeside Garden. They were young, pretty, and sweet-talking. They had seen the story of Weng Shao and Yu Huixin online and felt great sympathy for the mother and son, often sharing their own fruit and snacks with Yu Huixin.

Weng Shao readily agreed, but he had no intention of actually doing as she said. Returning to his room, he opened his laptop—this computer had also been sponsored by a brand. The model he used was not particularly high-end, but it was more than enough for work.

Weng Shao logged into his QQ account. Before he could check the group messages and emails, Pei Xingze called again. "Have you finished dinner? Was Auntie's omurice good?"

"My mom's Mao Xue Wang was delicious. It wasn't spicy, but it was fragrant. As for the omurice, I bought it downstairs." As he checked his messages, Weng Shao "questioned" Pei Xingze. "Why did you fabricate intelligence?"

Pei Xingze chuckled softly. "It's not that serious."

"I just thought that when someone comes home alone, if they see a light left on for them, they probably won't feel so lonely." On the other end of the line, Pei Xingze's voice carried an inexplicable magnetism as it steadily slipped into Weng Shao's ears. "I hope that person will be me. But if it can't be, then there should at least be someone."

"Weng Shao, you're too lonely. That isn't good."

Weng Shao remained silent for a long time.

Author's note: "When granaries are full, people understand propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, people understand honor and shame" is a common saying from Guanzi: Herding the People. It means that only when ordinary people have full granaries and ample food and clothing can they concern themselves with etiquette and value honor and shame.

Weng Shao deliberately twisted its meaning. Don't learn from him!

Chapter 31

The next morning, Weng Shao was woken by the constant chiming of message notifications in the group chats.

When he opened his computer, the QQ groups he had created were already exploding, with over a thousand unread messages. The last message was from Zhang Chang: [Weng Shao, are you awake? When are we going to look at houses?]

Weng Shao glanced at the time displayed at the bottom of the screen—6:23 a.m.

As expected of ascetics who had just graduated from high school. Even during summer vacation, they could not sleep in because their body clocks had not adjusted yet.

Weng Shao replied: [I'm awake. At eight o'clock this morning, three buses will depart from the sales office along three different routes to pick you up and take you to view the houses. Calculate the time and wait outside your homes.]

After saying that, Weng Shao sent three bus route maps to the group, along with the approximate arrival time at each client's doorstep.

Zhou Mingjing replied in the group: [Did you draw these route maps and departure schedules yourself?]

Jiang Rui gave Weng Shao a thumbs-up.

Back when the college entrance exams had just ended, Weng Shao had cleverly spread the news that he was working as a property consultant at Lakeside Garden. At first, only his homeroom teacher, Teacher Chen, had shown interest in his part-time job and expressed a desire to visit Lakeside Garden—whether she bought anything or not, she still wanted to support her student's work.

But no one had expected that once Weng Shao made a move, he would unleash a whole series of investigations and visits. He thoroughly checked every property development currently on sale, large and small, throughout Qingyuan City, and even registered several online accounts specifically to share related information.