Five years.
The number circled in his mind like a heavy shackle.
For a poor student, what could change in five years?
He was not even sure he would have a place to call home in this city five years from now.
And she, Wei Zijin, might truly be a wife and mother by then.
He felt as though his heart had been torn in two. One half held the sweetness of love he had only just tasted; the other held the merciless chill of reality.
A roller coaster.
Tonight, his life had taken him on the wildest roller coaster ride imaginable.
From the clouds, where the girl of his dreams had confessed her feelings, he had plunged straight into an abyss where reality denied him everything.
It had all happened so fast he could barely breathe.
He understood Wei Zijin.
From the experiences she had recounted, he could piece together the image of an independent, strong girl whose rationality bordered on coldness.
She was not wrong.
She simply saw things more clearly than anyone else.
In this world, love alone had never been enough.
He even felt a little sorry for her.
Her rationality and maturity had been bought with painful experiences and a bitter price.
Wang Xiaoliang could not help wondering whether tonight would have ended completely differently if he were not a poor student, but a successful man-or even just a man with a steady, respectable job.
He believed the answer was yes.
If he had money, if he had the means to back himself up, he could have answered Wei Zijin's question, "Are you sure you can give me happiness?" with an unhesitating "I can!"
Instead of helplessly asking for more time.
Money.
In the end, it still came down to money.
That realization was like a sharp knife, viciously stabbing his pitiful scrap of self-respect once again.
He remembered Wei Zijin's last few words.
"Even though this is ending, there were never any ulterior interests between us. In that respect, our feelings were pure."
"So we've already done better than them."
By "them," she had meant Chen Xiaoying, Wang Fen, and Li Lanxiang.
The people who treated feelings as bargaining chips to trade for advantages.
The irony was that they had succeeded, while his pure feelings with Wei Zijin had been pronounced dead before they could even begin.
What good was that purity?
What meaning did that victory have?
It was nothing more than an excuse losers used to comfort themselves.
Wang Xiaoliang's lips twisted into a self-mocking smile.
A fierce sense of resentment and humiliation surged from deep within him, sweeping through his entire body in an instant.
He did not want to keep living like this.
He did not want to lose anything else because he had no money.
Especially someone he liked.
Change.
I have to change all of this!
The thought was no longer a vague hope, but a clear, unwavering resolution.
Like a seed, it broke through tonight's soil of humiliation, resentment, and heartbreak, and grew into a towering tree in an instant.
He returned to his dorm room.
Li Jun was out.
It was Saturday. The guy had probably gone to an internet café again to buy an overnight session and play games until morning.
Just as well.
It was quieter alone.
He could hardly wait.
He could hardly wait to return to his desk and take out the old thread-bound book that could change his fate.
The Book of Fate.
This book could change his fate.
At that moment, he believed that without a doubt.
Solemnly, he turned to a new page.
Several lines of bold, vigorous brushwork greeted his eyes.
[Sixth Art of Destiny Modification: People today often seek shortcuts, yet fail to see that those paths are blocked and crowded, while the broad highway lies deserted. If you feel Ease and Contentment when undertaking something, that is your smooth path.]
Wang Xiaoliang read it word by word.
He understood the passage almost immediately.
Most people today preferred taking shortcuts.
But they failed to notice that these so-called shortcuts had become unbearably crowded, even impassable, because too many people were taking them.
Meanwhile, the broad, level highway stood empty, with hardly anyone traveling it.
If doing something felt especially easy and enjoyable, if it came naturally to you, then that was your own broad highway.
There it was again.
Another observation so grounded in reality that it struck straight to the heart of the matter.
After following the Book of Fate's guidance several times, Wang Xiaoliang no longer found it particularly surprising. Instead, he accepted it with an almost instinctive trust.
He began to consider the passage carefully.
"People today often seek shortcuts."
Those words immediately brought tonight's people and events to mind.
To stay in this prosperous city, Wang Fen had dumped her boyfriend of many years without hesitation and turned to the arms of her "backup."
That was a shortcut.
She had traded her youth and affection for a secure future.
Li Lanxiang had chosen the seemingly unremarkable Zhou Qiang.
Most likely, she had made that choice because of Zhou Qiang's capabilities and background.
That was a shortcut too.
She had used her eye for people and her judgment to pick a man with promising prospects.
Then there was the handsome, wealthy Zhao Shengkai.
With what he had to offer, pursuing a campus beauty would hardly have been difficult.
Yet he had set his sights on Chen Xiaoying, who came from a powerful family.
That was a shortcut among shortcuts.
He had used his looks and abilities to climb into a social class that could spare him twenty years of struggle.
Wang Xiaoliang concluded that plenty of people chose shortcuts.
They were clever, pragmatic, and clear about their goals.
They knew what they wanted and used the most direct, efficient means to obtain it.
What about Wei Zijin, then?
She was independent, strong, and rational.
She had rejected the possibility of taking a shortcut. She had said she wanted to make something of herself through her own efforts.
Was that her "broad highway"?
Wang Xiaoliang frowned.
No.
He felt that his understanding had gone slightly astray.
Because Wei Zijin's journey had not been easy.
From her account, he could feel the hardship and exhaustion.
To pay her tuition and living expenses, she had to work part-time as a tutor and perform at all kinds of commercial events.
She was exhausted, body and mind.
She had joined the television station, only to discover that it was far more complicated than school.
That did not fit the Book of Fate's description of "Ease and Contentment" at all.
Where was the problem, then?
Wang Xiaoliang focused again on the latter half of the passage in the Book of Fate.
"If you feel Ease and Contentment when undertaking something, that is your smooth path."
Undertaking something...
What exactly did "undertaking something" mean here?
Did it mean choosing a path in life, or doing a particular task?
A flash of insight struck Wang Xiaoliang.
Perhaps he had misunderstood it from the start.
"Undertaking something" might not refer to the broad direction of one's life, but to a specific profession or skill!
He thought of Wei Zijin at the freshman welcome gala.
It had been her first time hosting a major school event.
Yet onstage, she had been poised and radiant, without the slightest hint of nerves or inexperience.
That confidence and command could not be faked.
For him, even saying a few words in public made his palms sweat with nerves.
For Wei Zijin, however, standing on a stage with everyone's eyes on her was a pleasure.
That was "Ease and Contentment"!
And there was her singing.
How many people had she moved to tears with her rendition of "Father"?
Singing must have been easy and enjoyable for her too.
Hosting and singing.
Those were her skills, her talents!
She had used those talents to take part-time jobs and commercial gigs, earning her tuition and living expenses.
Without asking anyone for help, she had relied on those skills to complete her education and support herself.
Although that road was hard, the core tools she used along it were the things she did best and enjoyed most.
So that was her "broad highway"!
That highway might be covered in thorns, but she held the sharpest sword in her hand.
Once he understood that, everything suddenly became clear to Wang Xiaoliang.
Wei Zijin had found her "smooth path" and was already walking it. Her success was almost inevitable.
She would surely carve out a place of her own in the world.
Then...
What about mine?
Wang Xiaoliang's heart began to race uncontrollably.
Where was my "smooth path"?
What could I do that would make me feel "Ease and Contentment," something that came naturally to me, something I could even enjoy?
And, most importantly, something that could earn me money?
He began frantically searching through the twenty years of his life in his mind.
Ever since childhood, he seemed to have been ordinary at everything.
What was I actually good at?
Selling drinks?
The first thing Wang Xiaoliang thought of was what he had been doing lately.
With the Book of Fate's guidance, selling drinks had indeed gone smoothly, and he had earned some money.
But did it make me feel "Ease and Contentment"?
No.
Every day, he had to buy stock under the blazing sun, haul it up to the fourth floor, then carry it to the Library one backpackful at a time.
It was exhausting, grueling work.
More importantly, Wang Xiaoliang knew very well that it did not count as a "skill."
It was merely an opportunistic business, made possible by the school's ban on food deliveries entering campus and the hot weather.
Once the weather cooled or the school let delivery riders in, his business would collapse immediately.
This was not his "smooth path."
At most, it was a temporary side trail that kept him from starving before his "smooth path" appeared.
He had to find that core skill, the one that would make him feel "Ease and Contentment."
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