An unexpected windfall

He read each message carefully and only snapped out of it when he heard the door close.

Wei Zelin was back.

Their place had no entryway. There was no point, since the floor inside was all bare concrete anyway.

The slippers were in the bathroom, so Wei Zelin walked straight in after opening the door, a plastic bag dangling from his hand.

"How did your interviews go today?"

His very first question struck Shi Yuan right where it hurt, instantly driving all thoughts of the Shi Family out of his head. Wasn't he the pitiful one here, unable to find a job? Even bankrupt, those people had more money than he could earn in a lifetime!

Shi Yuan said listlessly, "Still no luck."

Wei Zelin gave a mocking smile. These were the only tricks the Wei Family was any good at.

"But I did get Ren Zhi's autograph, so that's something." Shi Yuan was getting good at finding silver linings.

Wei Zelin's smile stiffened. He turned his head, hiding the cold gleam behind his glasses from Shi Yuan, but his voice remained warm.

"I saw someone selling peaches on my way back. Let me wash one for you."

How could I let him do everything? Shi Yuan hurried off the bed, taking the bag from him. "I'll wash them. You must be tired after working all day."

They were so poor they didn't even have a refrigerator. The bag felt heavy enough that Shi Yuan worried the peaches would spoil before they could finish them, but when he opened it, there were only two inside.

Shi Yuan took one out and weighed it in his palm. Each had to weigh over half a jin; he needed both hands to hold it while washing it.

Wei Zelin found a plate somewhere and handed it to him.

Shi Yuan held the plate with its two peaches, each bigger than a fist, and had no idea where to start.

"I don't think we have a fruit knife..."

"That's fine. I'll split them for you."

Wei Zelin washed his hands first, then picked up a peach and applied a little pressure. With a crisp crack, it split in two, revealing golden, honey-sweet flesh.

Watching those lean, powerful wrists, Shi Yuan swallowed. To cover it up, he eagerly grabbed a peach half and took a bite-then his eyes lit up.

Naturally, someone who loved sweets also loved fruit. Since sweets were harder on the body, Shi Yuan usually ate more fruit anyway. But with no income now, he had been scrimping and saving and hadn't bought any in ages.

"Brother Lin, how much were these peaches? They're so sweet and juicy!"

Watching his shining eyes and the glistening peach juice on his lips, Wei Zelin's anger gradually faded. His chest swelled with utter contentment.

He smiled. "Ten yuan a jin."

Shi Yuan knew nothing of Wei Zelin's secret thoughts. He was thinking that ten yuan wasn't particularly expensive, and these peaches really were worth the price. He would buy some himself next time.

They shared the peaches. Shi Yuan hadn't had time for dinner, but the huge peaches Wei Zelin had bought filled him up. They were certainly hefty enough.

"Want to go out for a walk?" Wei Zelin suddenly invited him. Shi Yuan felt rather flattered. "Sure."

They went out on foot and didn't go far, merely leaving the Wei Family grounds for a stroll up the mountain before returning.

Early the next morning, Shi Yuan's long-established body clock had him opening his bleary eyes before seven. He instinctively felt around beside his pillow, searching for a while and finding nothing before remembering that he no longer needed to study. He had packed all his books into a box.

Once awake, he started sighing again. Life was hard! At least he'd had some motivation while preparing for the exam.

Wei Zelin had gotten up even earlier. After washing up, they went downstairs for breakfast together. Compared with when they first arrived at the Wei Family home, things now seemed rather harmonious.

After breakfast, Wei Zelin went to work as reliably as ever. Shi Yuan hesitated. There were no suitable schools left to interview with. Should he try a different route and apply for something else?

But ordinary small companies generally didn't provide dormitories, and an intern's pay wouldn't cover rent. Living off his dwindling savings wasn't a solution either. If nothing else worked, he would have to take some casual work first and keep looking for a suitable job.

Having made up his mind, Shi Yuan prepared to head out again. His résumés were ready, and after visiting all the job markets over the past few days, he knew his way around.

Just as he was about to go upstairs to change and fetch his résumés, an unfamiliar number called.

Shi Yuan's spirits lifted. Could it be one of the schools he'd applied to?

"Hello, Shi Yuan? Do you remember me?"

Shi Yuan froze. "Ren Zhi?"

"Good memory. Just what I'd expect from a top graduate from overseas."

Shi Yuan was speechless. Couldn't he just forget about that?

Ren Zhi seemed to be working. It was noisy around him, and Shi Yuan heard someone calling his name.

Ren Zhi answered them, then sped up. "All right, I'm short on time, so I'll get straight to it. If you haven't found a job, I have one for you. My nephew's foreign tutor is going back to M Country to get married soon. I'll send you a number. Call if you're interested."

The calls from the other end grew more urgent. Without waiting for Shi Yuan's response, Ren Zhi tossed his phone to his assistant. "Send him my eldest brother's number."

A job had fallen right into his lap, and Shi Yuan couldn't quite process it. A big star he'd met only once actually remembered that he was looking for work. Tutoring? That sounded pretty good.

Ren Zhi's assistant was a young woman. She caught the phone in a fluster, not knowing who was on the other end.

"Hello? Ren Zhi's gone to film. Can I hang up first and text you the number?"

"Of course. Sorry for the trouble."

The assistant replied politely, "No trouble at all. Just a moment."

The text arrived. Shi Yuan memorized the number and called immediately.

The call was answered after only three rings.

As the caller, Shi Yuan spoke first. "Hello?"

"Yes, who is this?" The voice on the other end was deep and resonant.

A little nervous, Shi Yuan scratched at his phone with his pinky and collected his thoughts. "Ren Zhi referred me. I heard your family needs a foreign-language tutor?"

"Ren Zhi?" The man sounded slightly puzzled. Since when did his younger brother concern himself with things like this?

"Yes. He said your foreign tutor was going back home, so..."

"That's true. Since he referred you, come over and we'll have a look. I should be home around five forty this afternoon. The address is Villa 16, Oak Bay."

With the time and place settled and the call ended, Shi Yuan's nerves eased a little.

He searched for the address on his phone's map and found it was an old villa development in the city center, with only sixteen villas in total.

The appointment was at five forty that afternoon. He didn't feel like taking the bus for now. A shared bike would be fine, and he could get some exercise too.

The map estimated a fifty-two-minute bike ride. He planned to leave at four.

It was still early, so Shi Yuan found a few spoken-language exercises online. It had been nearly half a year since he'd transmigrated here, and he'd been busy preparing for his Teacher Qualification Certificate the whole time. He really hadn't practiced speaking in ages.

Fortunately, once he opened his mouth, the words still flowed smoothly without the slightest hesitation. He could even hold his own against the teacher in the video.

Reassured, Shi Yuan immersed himself in his studies.

Meanwhile, Wei Zelin, who should have been working at the Wei Corporation, had appeared at Huang Shiren's Clubhouse instead.

Shi Yuan had spent three days on the Clubhouse's lowest floor, never knowing that beneath that room lay an even larger boxing ring.

Wei Zelin had taken off his shirt and glasses. Sweat streamed from his temples and the corners of his mouth around his mouthguard, running down to his taut abs.

The heat rising through the air was thick with the scent of hormones.

The man opposite him was slightly shorter but heavily built, his arms bulging with muscles so frighteningly exaggerated that he looked capable of smashing someone apart with a single punch.

Every punch landed solidly. They had already fought two rounds, yet the pace kept accelerating in the final round. It seemed a shame that such an intense match had only one spectator.

When his opponent made a tiny mistake, Wei Zelin seized the opening and threw a heavy punch. His glove struck flesh with a deep, muffled thud, and his opponent went down.

"Here, bro. Wipe your sweat."

Huang Shiren hurried over with a towel.

A lingering savagery still shone in Wei Zelin's eyes. He snatched the towel and strode toward the bathroom without so much as looking at Huang Shiren.

Apparently long accustomed to Wei Zelin being like this, Huang Shiren didn't mind. He picked up a black bag and went to check on the sparring partner.

When Wei Zelin emerged from his shower, he looked relaxed and languid, no longer as unapproachable as before. Huang Shiren handed the resting boxer a wad of cash, then followed Wei Zelin when he headed straight for the office.

The underground office was where Blondie handled his real business. Few of his underlings knew about it; only the handful of trusted men who had followed him all along had ever been down there.

Wei Zelin hadn't put his glasses back on. Holding them in his hand, he carefully cleaned them with a soft cloth. There were only two of them in the office. Wei Zelin said nothing, and Blondie didn't dare speak either.

The phone on the desk buzzed twice. Wei Zelin paused, put on his glasses, and picked it up to read the message.

"He just took a roadside shared bike into town. Villa 16, Oak Bay-the Ren family connected to the municipal government. Their son needs a foreign-language tutor recently, so he may be applying for the position. But the Ren family hasn't posted any recruitment notice online. We don't know how he heard about it."

Blondie couldn't resist running his mouth.

"Who's that, Brother Lin?"

Wei Zelin swept him with an icy glance. Instead of answering, he demanded, "What happened with Ren Zhi? You couldn't even handle a minor celebrity?"

Huang Shiren shrank back under his glare.

"Brother Lin, I can explain. At first, I thought he was just some ordinary minor celebrity too..."

Expressionless, Wei Zelin tipped his chin, signaling for him to continue.

Seeing that Wei Zelin didn't seem inclined to blame him, Huang Shiren slowed his hurried speech.

"Wei Zexuan has had countless scandals, big and small. He never suspected me, but who knew that little celebrity actually had some family backing?

"He's the only son of the Ren family in the furniture business. That wasn't a big deal in itself. They only rose to prominence recently and usually keep a low profile. But when I dug further, things got serious. I received a warning from the municipal government and nearly ended up in the police station.

"Actually, not nearly-Da Kai's already been locked up. I don't know who we're dealing with. I'm not the issue, but what if you got dragged into it too? If that little bastard Wei Zexuan found out, wouldn't it ruin your plans? So I didn't dare make another move against that celebrity."

Wei Zelin raised an eyebrow. "The municipal government? What a coincidence. Shi Yuan went to that Ren family too."

"Brother Lin, what do you mean? Our little Shi has connections like that? He's not pulling some Mission: Impossible stunt, is he?" Huang Shiren was genuinely astonished. He'd always thought the young man was more than he seemed. Maybe everything before had been an act.

Then he realized something didn't add up. "If little Shi had connections in the municipal government, couldn't someone there have given his family a project when they got into trouble and put them back on their feet?"

Wei Zelin glanced at him. "At least you've got some brains. The Shi Family's little tank couldn't hold a fish this big."

Huang Shiren shuddered. "You mean..."

He sprang from his chair and paced back and forth, thinking it over.

"No, I can't rush to get Da Kai out yet. I need to find someone reliable to investigate him and the Wei Family."

Wei Zelin had stayed long enough and rose to leave. He restrained the agitated Huang Shiren with one hand. "Doing that would be what exposes me. Stick to your original plan and make the necessary arrangements for Da Kai. I'll get professionals to investigate what's between them. Carry on as usual. Don't go sticking your neck out."

Naturally, Huang Shiren listened to him, nodding solemnly. He was about to see Wei Zelin off when the man turned back.

"Brother Lin, any other instructions?"

"Where did you get those peaches last time?"

"Huh?"

Huang Shiren froze. Wei Zelin normally wasn't someone who cared about satisfying his palate. In fact, apart from bringing down the Wei Family, he hardly seemed to want anything at all.

"Kuang Yuebin went to R Country on vacation and had them airfreighted over from there. Want more? I still have a few."

"Is he back yet? If not, tell him to send a few more boxes."

The moment Wei Zelin left, Blondie called his friend. "Got any of those peaches from last time left? Send a few more boxes over."

The man on the other end exploded. "A few boxes?! Easy for you to say! Where am I supposed to get them? The entire first harvest goes straight to the local prime minister and nobility. Do you know how hard it was to scrape together what I sent you? I only kept half a box for my own family, damn it! You can't buy them even if you have the money, understand?"

Huang Shiren picked at his ear indifferently. "Not my problem. Brother Lin wants them. Figure something out."

"Brother Lin really wants them?" The man on the other end sounded deeply skeptical.

"If you don't believe me, ask him yourself."

Huang Shiren hung up immediately, leaving the other man so furious he nearly started cursing.