Page 3

"Where's your brother?" Qin Zhenguo scooped a bowl of rice from the pot and asked casually.

"He went back to school, I guess!" Qin Yi replied offhandedly.

"..." Qin Zhenguo said nothing. He silently finished his meal, then said to Qin Yi, "Your mother is still at the factory watching the workers. I'm taking her some food. Stay home and don't run around, understand?"

"Okay!" Qin Yi answered absentmindedly, hugging his knees as he sat on the sofa and watched Qin Zhenguo busily pack food into a thermos lunchbox before hurrying off.

"I'm alone again!" Qin Yi shouted in boredom. He got up and turned on the television in the living room. TVs were still black-and-white then, without even a remote control. After listlessly watching the black-and-white movie for a while, Qin Yi could not bear it any longer. He casually switched off the TV, took off his school uniform and changed into jeans, then locked the door and went out.

After the reform and opening up, Father Qin and Mother Qin decisively quit their stagnant state-owned enterprise jobs and went into business for themselves. At first, they only did small-time business, buying batches of trendy clothes, cassette tapes, and such from the south and reselling them. Later, after making some money, they opened their own clothing factory. Their products were good quality and fashionable—at least by the standards of the time—so they gained a foothold and became one of the larger garment factories in Northeast China. Their business later grew bigger and bigger, expanding into catering, entertainment, and other industries. By the year Qin Yi was reborn, they had become one of Northeast China's wealthiest families. It could be said that, apart from finance and software, they had a hand in nearly every kind of real industry. His brother was promising too. After graduating high school, he went directly to M Country to study abroad, and after returning, he started his own business and made a name for himself. In S City in 2010, who had not heard of the Qin family?

With a wealthy family and doting relatives, Qin Yi had naturally lived a comfortable life and never suffered the slightest grievance. If not for that arranged marriage, his life would likely have remained so privileged forever. Now that he had suddenly been reborn into the nineties, the lack of material comforts left Qin Yi, who had grown accustomed to luxury, deeply uncomfortable.

Walking down the old streets, Qin Yi wandered around aimlessly. With the five yuan Qin Rong had just given him in his pocket, he looked at the streets full of goods that were all shoddy and felt no desire to spend money at all. The stifling gloom in his heart only grew worse. Just as he was feeling thoroughly aggrieved, he suddenly heard someone selling lottery tickets ahead. Indifferently, Qin Yi walked inside.

The tiny shop was probably only five square meters. Its walls were shabby, and there was only a crude glass display counter. Behind it, a man in a sleeveless undershirt sat with a cigarette dangling from his lips as he read the newspaper. Seeing Qin Yi enter, he smiled. "Well, if it isn't the Qin family's youngest. What brings you to your uncle's place?"

In a small town in the nineties, people were simple, warmhearted, and kind. Nearly every household on the same street knew one another. It was nothing like the cold indifference of later years. Neighbors got along remarkably well, truly embodying the saying that distant relatives were not as good as close neighbors.

The scruffy middle-aged man before him was Zhao Laifu, the Qin family's old neighbor of over twenty years. Though his name was rustic, he was absolutely shrewd. He had extensive connections, and in later years became the leading figure in S City's gambling industry. However, he loved showing off. Whenever he had nothing to do, he liked wandering the streets in an undershirt and shorts. If someone foolishly offended him, one phone call would bring dozens of cars over. A terribly pointless hobby.

Still, he had truly treated the Qin brothers well. Especially Qin Yi. In his previous life, Qin Yi had frequented all sorts of pleasure-seeking places, yet no one had dared touch him. Much of that was because this man had protected him. So Qin Yi had always thought quite well of him.

"Uncle Zhao, give me a lottery ticket," Qin Yi said with a smile.

"Hey! What made you want to play this?" Zhao Laifu immediately stood up. "Let Uncle Zhao tell you, this isn't a good thing. It's all a scam. Don't get sucked into it."

"It's fine. I'm just bored and playing around. This is my first time," Qin Yi replied with a smile.

"That's good, then." Hearing this, Zhao Laifu did not make much of it. "Give me a number, and Uncle Zhao will write one up for you."

"Okay!" Qin Yi casually rattled off a set of numbers.

"Here." A moment later, Zhao Laifu handed the lottery ticket to Qin Yi.

"Thanks, Uncle Zhao. Here's the money." Qin Yi accepted the ticket, took out the five yuan Qin Rong had given him, and handed it to Zhao Laifu.

"You brat, why are you paying to buy a lottery ticket from Uncle Zhao? Are you trying to embarrass me?" Zhao Laifu hissed, sounding dissatisfied.

"I buy lottery tickets for the thrill of spending money. Today, I just want to spend money. If you won't take it, then I don't want it." As Qin Yi spoke, he tossed the ticket onto the counter, his expression darkening.

"You brat, Uncle Zhao was just being nice to you! And now you're pulling a face?" Zhao Laifu said with an amused smile. The youngest Qin boy was good in every way, except his temperament was too spoiled. Nothing could go even slightly against his wishes. Thinking that fifty cents was nothing to the Qin family, Zhao Laifu took the five yuan from the counter and gave him his change.

After taking the four yuan and fifty cents Zhao Laifu gave him, Qin Yi put away the lottery ticket and said, "Uncle Zhao, I'm heading out!"

"It's getting late. Don't wander around. Be careful some child snatchers don't abduct you," Zhao Laifu said uneasily after glancing at the sky outside.

"It's fine! I'm going to my brother's school to pick him up," Qin Yi replied casually.

"Your brother doesn't get out until nine tonight! What are you going there for?" Before Zhao Laifu had even finished speaking, Qin Yi had already vanished. He could only laugh helplessly. "That kid!"

After leaving Zhao Laifu's place, Qin Yi went to the arcade and played some arcade games. When he figured the time was about right, he came out and headed toward Qin Rong's school.

By the time he reached the entrance to Qin Rong's school, it was already dark. Qin Yi sat on the curb in boredom, propping up his head as he waited. Qin Rong would be dismissed in around ten minutes.

Just as he was getting bored, an enraged shout came from the dark alley nearby. "Nie Haotian, let's see where the hell you can run today!"

Qin Yi's heart jolted when he heard that. Instinctively, he looked toward the alley. At that moment, the school dismissal bell suddenly rang as well.

Author's note: Little Eight is very hardworking!

Don't just freeload, okay?

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Leave comments too, okay~~~!

☆, Chapter Four: Building Good Karma—Continued Revisions

The iron school gates creaked open, and a sea of students surged out, completely swallowing Qin Yi just as he stood up to enter the dark alley. Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, disorderly shouts, and the odor of sweat produced by summer heat made Qin Yi feel slightly nauseated. By the time he finally fought his way through the crowd and reached the alley, there was no one inside apart from the scattered, overturned trash.

In an instant, Qin Yi felt the heart he had been holding high suddenly plummet. The enormous drop left him dazed. He stood blankly in the filthy, narrow alley, at a complete loss, until someone heavily patted his shoulder. Behind him, Qin Rong's somewhat angry voice reached his ears. "Didn't I tell you to stay home? What are you doing here so late?"

Qin Yi turned around and saw Qin Rong's face. Though he was trying hard to remain calm, he still looked tense. His refined features had all drawn together because of his anger, making Qin Rong look faintly comical.

"I thought I saw someone I knew pass by, so I came in to take a look," Qin Yi said instinctively.

"It's been pretty chaotic at night these past few days. Don't come out at night anymore," Qin Rong said with a frown. After speaking, he seemed to realize his tone had been too stiff, so he added in a low voice, "Tomorrow, I'll ask the teacher for leave. I won't attend evening self-study anymore. It's junior high's final year anyway. Evening self-study is just reviewing old material, and I can review at home too."

"Okay." Qin Yi nodded indifferently. In his previous life, Qin Rong had not attended evening self-study during his final year either, and he had still become the top scorer in the high school entrance exam. So Qin Yi did not think much of it.

Seeing Qin Yi's distraught appearance, Qin Rong opened his mouth as though to say something. After thinking it over, he swallowed the words. He reached out and patted Qin Yi's head. "Let's go."

"Okay!" Qin Yi replied instinctively.

Under the dim yellow streetlights, the two boys' thin figures walked farther and farther away. Their shadows stretched longer and longer until they overlapped...

By the time they got home, it was already past nine-thirty. Qin Zhenguo and Tang Manru were sitting in the living room doing the accounts. The table was covered in slips of paper and account books, making it look exceptionally messy. Hearing the two enter, Qin Zhenguo looked up instinctively. As expected, behind Qin Rong, he saw Qin Yi standing there with his head hanging low and no energy at all.

"Didn't I tell you to stay home? You run around outside every day. One of these days, some child trafficker will catch you and sell you off," Qin Zhenguo said, trying to scare him.

"Enough, don't say nonsense. Good things don't come true, but bad things do. If it really happened like you said, you wouldn't even know how to cry." Tang Manru shot Qin Zhenguo a glare and scolded him with a smile. Then she turned to Qin Yi. "Xiao Yi, don't listen to your father's nonsense. There's roast duck in the kitchen for you, and it's still warm! Didn't you say a few days ago that you wanted roast duck? Hurry and go eat."

"Okay!" Qin Yi answered just as absentmindedly. His thoughts were still trapped on that furious shout from earlier.

He remembered never seeing Nie Haotian in his previous life. Could Nie Haotian have been reborn too? Unfortunately, he had not seen the man today, so there was no way to confirm his suspicion.

Seeing Qin Yi still looking dazed, Qin Rong frowned imperceptibly. He reached out, grabbed Qin Yi's blankly standing figure, and pulled him toward the kitchen. There, they saw an aluminum basin turned upside down on the cutting board. When they turned it over, a whole roast duck sat on a plate beneath it. Without saying anything, Qin Rong first washed his hands, then tore off a duck leg and stuffed it into Qin Yi's mouth. "Eat. Stop overthinking."

"Okay!" Qin Yi instinctively took the duck leg. Then, with a smack, Qin Rong slapped down the right hand he had just raised.

"What are you doing?" Qin Yi said in extreme grievance as he looked at the back of his hand, now bright red.

"How many times have I told you to wash your hands before eating? Why can't you remember?" Qin Rong glared at him. Then, seeing Qin Yi's deeply aggrieved expression, he paused. He pulled over the hand Qin Yi was covering in his palm, held it in his own, and gently rubbed it. Then, without allowing any argument, he pressed Qin Yi's hands into the washbasin, lathered them with soap, and carefully washed them clean.

"Eat." Qin Rong stuffed the duck leg Qin Yi had already bitten into back into his mouth and spoke lightly.

After eating his fill, washing up, and getting ready for bed, Qin Yi patted his stomach as he entered the bedroom. Beside the desk, Qin Rong was still writing and calculating beneath the desk lamp. The warm yellow light fell across his face, making his already refined features appear even more perfect. Qin Yi knew very well just how eye-catching that handsome face would be more than ten years later.

Feeling the intense gaze from beside him, Qin Rong looked over curiously. On the luxurious wooden bed, wildly out of place with the room's decor, Qin Yi lay there listlessly in cotton pajamas printed with Donald Duck. Though he was an innocent boy of eleven or twelve, he looked at Qin Rong with eyes that seemed full of remembrance. It was as if, in that instant, the boy had already crossed the distance of several centuries. The powerful sense of incongruity made even the normally calm and self-controlled Qin Rong frown unconsciously.

After lowering his head to think for a while, Qin Rong finally sighed and packed up the books on the desk. Then he got up, walked to the bed, took off his shoes, and lay down. Facing Qin Yi's somewhat bewildered face, he asked, "What's with you today? You've been acting strange."

"Brother, do you believe me? I'm actually already twenty-seven years old this year," Qin Yi said very seriously as he looked at Qin Rong.

"Oh? Is that something you only discovered today?" Qin Rong answered just as seriously. As he spoke, he adjusted himself into a comfortable position and put on a solemn posture, as though he truly intended to discuss the matter in depth.