Wang Xiaoliang carried that heavy backpack and found a corner seat against the window. He placed the bag on the chair next to him, moving very gently for fear that the clinking sound of bottles and cans inside would disturb the peace here.
His heart was still beating wildly and stubbornly.
He simply didn't dare to look up at the surrounding students. That small card with the price list written on it felt like a branding iron in his pocket, burning him so that he sat on pins and needles.
It was still too early.
He found a perfect excuse for himself. It was only past eight o'clock, and everyone was just starting to study; who would want to drink a beverage? Right, he would wait a bit longer, wait until noon, until everyone became thirsty and tired again.
He pretended to take out a professional textbook and opened it, but he couldn't read a single word. His peripheral vision uncontrollably swept across rows of seats.
He was predicting his first target.
Time ticked away second by second, and there were more and more people in the library, soon leaving not a single empty seat to be found.
Wang Xiaoliang's heart sank bit by bit as well. He discovered a fatal problem: many of the people who came to the library today had their own water cups or opened beverage bottles placed on their desks.
There was the handsome guy brewing goji berries in a thermos, the junior girl carrying flower tea in a small kettle, and the male student who directly took a bottle of mineral water out of his bag.
They were all prepared.
If he didn't make a move now, the four boxes of beverages under his bed might really become his staple food for the next half month. At the thought of that consequence, his stomach twitched.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He took a deep breath, the air seemingly carrying immense pressure as it pressed heavily into his chest. He fished that thick paper card out of his pocket, his fingertips turning somewhat pale from the exertion.
He stood up.
His movements were somewhat stiff; the female student at the neighboring seat gave him a strange look, and he quickly sat back down.
No, it was too humiliating.
However, his living expenses...
At the thought of that meager number, an inexplicable force rose from the soles of his feet. He stood up once again, and this time, without the slightest hesitation.
He decided to start from the first row.
His first target was a male student sitting in the first row against the aisle. That male student was wearing headphones and engrossed in grinding through practice problems; most importantly, his desk was completely empty, with neither a water cup nor a beverage.
Wang Xiaoliang walked over to his side, bent down, and gently placed that small card next to the male student's books.
The male student's problem-solving motion stopped.
He raised his head, looked at Wang Xiaoliang with some confusion, and then his gaze landed on the card.
He picked up the card.
Wang Xiaoliang felt as though his breathing had stalled.
The male student finished reading the words on the card, looked up at Wang Xiaoliang again, and showed no particular reaction on his face; he simply returned the card calmly and shook his head.
The entire process was silent and noiseless.
The rejection was crisp and decisive.
Wang Xiaoliang took the card, nodded, and turned away. Even though he was rejected, the heaviest stone in his heart suddenly dropped to the ground.
As it turned out, it wasn't that terrifying either.
He wasn't treated as a liar, nor was he scolded. The other party simply expressed in a straightforward manner that he didn't need it.
This rejection, however, gave him tremendous confidence.
He walked toward his second target, a female student who was typing frantically. There was likewise no water on her desk.
Wang Xiaoliang waited for the gap when she paused, repeated his previous action, and handed the card over.
The female student merely glanced at the card, without even picking it up, shook her head at him directly, and then immediately went back to typing frantically, as if he were merely an insignificant breeze.
Rejected once more.
Wang Xiaoliang didn't feel the slightest bit of annoyance in his heart; instead, he opened up entirely. He no longer thought about whether he would be rejected or whether he would lose face. His goal became exceptionally clear: to look only for those who had no water cups or beverages on their desks.
Third person, shook his head.
Fourth person, waved a hand.
Fifth person, glanced at the card, glanced at his bulging backpack, hesitated for a moment, and still shook his head.
When he walked up to the sixth student, it was a somewhat chubby-looking male student who was irritably pulling at his hair while staring at the code on the computer screen.
Wang Xiaoliang placed the card beside his keyboard.
The male student picked up the card and read it aloud: "Cola, two-fifty?"
His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet study room, it appeared exceptionally clear. Several people around them all raised their heads.
Wang Xiaoliang's heart instantly leaped to his throat.
"Yeah," he replied in a breathy whisper.
"It's a buck fifty cheaper than downstairs," the male student muttered, looking up to ask him, "For real?"
"Give me a bottle." The male student didn't wait for Wang Xiaoliang's reply.
Wang Xiaoliang hurriedly squatted down, unzipped his backpack, and cautiously fished out a bottle of cola from inside.
The male student shook his phone.
Wang Xiaoliang hastily pulled out his phone and handed the QR code for payment right in front of him.
The first bottle!
Sold!
A massive wave of joy and a sense of achievement instantly crushed all his previous tension and unease.
Even though he earned less than a yuan, he was so happy he almost burst out laughing.
He straightened his back and continued forward.
A female student wearing glasses asked him in a low voice after he handed her the card, "Classmate, do you have milk tea?"
Wang Xiaoliang paused for a moment and shook his head.
"Oh, alright." The female student looked somewhat disappointed.
Wang Xiaoliang kept this little interlude in mind and continued walking toward the next target.
With the first success, the subsequent matters became logical.
"I want a bottle of Pulse."
"Is there any Red Bull left? Give me a bottle."
"Classmate, get me a bottle of Iced Black Tea."
Before he had even finished walking the first floor of the library, that densely packed backpack of his actually emptied out. Sixteen bottles of beverages, not a single one left.
He mentally calculated his revenue and costs, netting a profit of over twenty yuan.
Twenty-something yuan!
Wang Xiaoliang trembled with excitement as he practically sprinted out of the library and ran all the way back to the dormitory.
He tossed the empty bag onto the bed, and without even catching his breath, immediately opened a box of beverages and packed a full bag once again.
This time, his steps were so light they felt as though they were about to fly.
Returning to the library, a subtle change had occurred in the situation. The chubby male student who had bought a beverage from him earlier saw him return and beckoned directly to him.
"Bro, another bottle of cola! Add me on WeChat so it's easier to find you."
A classmate next to him also leaned over: "Selling drinks? What do you have?"
"Take a look." Wang Xiaoliang handed the card over.
"Damn, this price is decent! Get me a bottle of Red Bull!"
Many people took the initiative to add his WeChat, making it convenient to "place orders" at any time.
The second bag of beverages sold out twice as fast as the first.
He ran back and forth between the dormitory and the library tirelessly.
The third trip.
The fourth trip.
After several trips back and forth, the four boxes of beverages under the bed had already completely sold out.
He sat on the chair, looking at the balance inside WeChat.
Deducting the principal.
He earned a total of one hundred and fifty-one yuan and fifty cents.
This was the first time since his birth that he had earned money with his own two hands.
Over a hundred yuan was a huge fortune to him.
An indescribable excitement and thrill filled every fiber of his being, and he even wanted to rush into the hallway and shout a few times.
He jogged out of the dormitory once more, his destination still that wholesale shop deep in the alley.
"Boss!"
He rushed into the shop, where the boss was listening to storytelling on the radio.
"Yo, you're back already?" The boss glanced at him, somewhat surprised.
"Boss, give me four more boxes! No, one box each of Red Bull, Iced Black Tea, Pulse, and cola! Plus an extra box of Nestlé Coffee!" Wang Xiaoliang's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
This time the boss sat up straight from the chair and reassessed him: "Not bad, kid. You sold out?"
"Sold out!"
"Alright, let me calculate it for you." The boss picked up the calculator and pressed a few buttons. "Do you still need the cart?"
"Yes! Yes!"
"Go haul them." The boss waved his hand. "You don't need to leave your ID card as a deposit this time."
"Thanks, boss!"
Wang Xiaoliang dragged out that dilapidated tricycle once again and huffed and puffed as he loaded five boxes of beverages onto the cart. This time, he pedaled even harder than before, and the "creak" of the chain sounded to him like a triumphal melody.
Returning downstairs to the dorm building, he first carried one box up.
In the dorm, roommate Li Jun was wearing headphones and frantically striking the keyboard, the screen displaying a colorful gaming interface. Seeing Wang Xiaoliang carry the beverages in, he merely glanced at them and turned back to continue his combat.
Wang Xiaoliang didn't disturb him; he put the drinks down and turned to go back downstairs.
When he walked into the dorm carrying the second box of beverages, drenched in sweat, Li Jun removed his headphones.
"Are there more?"
Wang Xiaoliang was stunned: "Yeah."
"Let's go, together." Li Jun stood up and followed him downstairs.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, carried all the beverages up. In the corner of the dormitory, the five boxes of beverages were stacked neatly.
By the time Wang Xiaoliang returned, panting heavily from finishing the return of the tricycle, Li Jun was leaning back in his chair, pointing at that pile of beverages.
"Is this also what that lousy book talked about?"
Li Jun's tone carried a hint of banter, but it held much more concern.
"You kid, don't get obsessed to the point of going crazy."
Wang Xiaoliang knew Li Jun meant well. He chuckled, ripped open a box of Red Bull, took out a can, and tossed it over.
"Nah, I just wanted to learn to earn a bit of money on my own."
Li Jun caught the Red Bull, pulled the tab, took a sip, and said nothing more.
Right at that moment, the dorm door was knocked twice, and Liu Xinyu from next door in 402 poked his head in.
"Yo, Xiaoliang, Li Jun, what are you guys up to? I just saw you guys carrying drinks box by box. Are you preparing to start a business?"
Liu Xinyu usually had a good relationship with them and was a social butterfly.
"Are you selling? Suddenly felt like drinking cola, too lazy to go downstairs."
Before Wang Xiaoliang could speak, he pulled a bottle from the cola box and handed it over: "Take it and drink, don't talk about money."
"Hey, this won't do." Liu Xinyu instead pushed the cola back. "Doing business requires the rules of doing business. How much a bottle? Brother's going to open your market."
Unable to sway him, Wang Xiaoliang had no choice but to say: "Two-fifty."
"Two-fifty?" Liu Xinyu's eyes lit up. "This price is righteous enough! It's even cheaper than the supermarket!"
He immediately fished out his phone and sent Wang Xiaoliang a red envelope.
"Alright, I'm heading back. You guys get busy." Liu Xinyu took the cola and walked away whistling.
In less than five minutes, the dorm door was pushed open again.
It was another person from Dormitory 402. As soon as he entered, he shouted: "Xiaoliang, I heard you have cheap cola for sale here?"
Following closely after, guys from 403, 405... wave after wave of people surged into Dormitory 404.
"I want two bottles of Iced Black Tea!"
"How much is the Pulse?"
"Xiaoliang, get me a can of Red Bull to perk up!"
The small dormitory instantly transformed into a temporary canteen, bustling with extraordinary liveliness. Wang Xiaoliang frantically collected money and retrieved drinks; Li Jun was also startled by this spectacle and took the initiative to come over to help grab beverages.
Before long, a box and a half of the five boxes of drinks just carried upstairs were already empty.
Wang Xiaoliang had no idea how Liu Xinyu had publicized things for him outside, and simply sighed inwardly that this guy was truly loyal.
Finally, no more people entered the doorway, the clamor receded, and only Wang Xiaoliang and Li Jun were left.
Wang Xiaoliang finished washing up and sat at his own desk. According to his original plan, this time should have been spent starting to review his coursework.
However, his hand unconsciously reached beneath his pillow and fished out that antique book that had changed his fate.
He opened the book.
On the new page, familiar, beautiful calligraphy written with a writing brush came into view.
[Sixth Art of Destiny Modification: When the timely hour arrives, fortune is born; perceive it and conform to it. If one can walk in step with the Dao, it will be like sailing downstream with the current, going everywhere without hindrance.]
Wang Xiaoliang savored these words word by word.
The right time had arrived, and luck had come; he had to perceive the existence of fortune and ride the trend. If he could conform to the laws of the "Dao," then everything would be plain sailing, and whatever he did would go smoothly.
He put down the book, leaned against the chair, and replayed everything that had happened over the past few days in his mind.
His luck really had arrived.
Before you continue