A Fortune Ahead

An inexplicable flutter of dread jolted Wang Xiaoliang awake.

He opened his eyes. It was already broad daylight.

Instinctively, he looked toward the bed across from his.

Li Jun's bed was empty.

The quilt was folded neatly, something Li Jun had never done before.

Wang Xiaoliang's heart sank, and a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He hurriedly looked toward the window.

It was open only a narrow crack. With the window restrictor in place, not even a slightly chubby cat could squeeze through, let alone a person.

He felt a little relieved, but his sense of foreboding only grew stronger.

He turned, grabbed his phone from the desk, found Li Jun's number, and called him.

A cold, emotionless automated female voice came through the earpiece.

"The number you have dialed is switched off..."

Wang Xiaoliang hung up. Unwilling to give up, he called again, with the same result.

Only then did he notice an unread text message icon at the top of the screen.

It was from Li Jun.

The timestamp was five in the morning.

"My dear brother, Xiaoliang, forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. Last night at the police station, when that officer said I had to pay a two-thousand-yuan fine, my mind went blank. You were the first person I thought of. Thank you for helping me without a moment's hesitation."

"Liu Xinyu was right about something. He said that after four years of college, all we might really gain was one or two brothers we could trust. Everything else was an illusion. Now I believe him. Having a brother like you has made my life worthwhile."

"I've left. I really can't face staying at school anymore. I've lost both my graduation certificate and my degree certificate. I don't know how I'll face my parents when I go home. Besides, I keep feeling that sooner or later, people will find out what happened to me. I don't want to see anyone looking at me differently again. That feeling is worse than being killed."

"Goodbye, my brother. I'll find a way to pay back the money I owe you as soon as possible. Take care."

Holding his phone, Wang Xiaoliang looked around the empty dorm room, overwhelmed by a sense of utter absurdity.

Room 404.

One dead, one insane, and one on the run.

This room was practically a cursed place.

Wang Xiaoliang shuddered.

He felt it was a miracle he had survived unscathed this long. If he hadn't had that mysterious Book of Fate, perhaps his own fate would have been no better than theirs.

He even began to imagine a terrifying possibility.

He still remembered the first time the four roommates had gone out for a weekend dinner, shortly after their freshman year began. They had all gotten utterly drunk that night. Fourth Brother had suggested spending the night gaming at an internet café, and everyone had agreed enthusiastically, without hesitation.

What if... what if he and Li Jun had never grown apart over those petty disagreements, and had remained close? Then last night, if a drunken Li Jun had slung an arm around his shoulders and said, "Come on, Xiaoliang, I'll take you to find some girls," would he, a normal man in his prime without a girlfriend, have refused outright?

He wasn't that virtuous.

He longed for a woman's body too.

He didn't dare think about it.

He truly didn't dare follow that thought any further.

He couldn't stay here anymore.

Not for another second.

One thought formed in his mind with absolute clarity: Move out! Right now! Immediately!

He sent Zhou Qiang a message: "Qiang, there's still some scrap in the dorm room. Come haul it away today if you have time."

Then he called Liu Xinyu.

"Hey, Xinyu, are you busy? I wanted to ask you for a favor."

"Nope. What's up?"

"I want to move out, but I've got too much stuff to handle alone."

On the other end, Liu Xinyu paused, then readily agreed. "Sure. Wait for me in your room. I'll be right there."

Wang Xiaoliang borrowed a tricycle from the wholesale shop. Between him and Liu Xinyu, they moved everything out in a single trip.

"Did you have another fight with Li Jun?"

Wang Xiaoliang paused in the middle of carrying something. Avoiding Liu Xinyu's gaze, he gave a vague answer. "Something urgent came up with his family, so he went home. It's pretty boring staying in the dorm room alone anyway. Since I'll start paying rent next week, I figured I might as well move out."

"Oh, I see." Liu Xinyu didn't suspect anything. He simply remarked, "I thought you two had fallen out again."

Wang Xiaoliang didn't respond.

Once everything was inside, he left it there to sort out at his own pace.

"Thanks, Xinyu. Come on, let me buy you lunch."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and checked his WeChat balance.

After paying the rent and covering Li Jun's two-thousand-yuan fine, he had less than three hundred yuan left.

He felt a little embarrassed, but added honestly, "I'm a bit short on cash lately, though, so I can only treat you to some simple Sichuan dishes."

Liu Xinyu waved a hand dismissively and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Come on, why even mention that? Simple dishes are fine. Sichuan food's my favorite."

He grinned, showing a mouthful of white teeth. "Besides, you can treat me and let me pick up the bill."

"Absolutely not!" Wang Xiaoliang refused at once.

It was a matter of principle.

They went to the same Fly Restaurant that Zhou Qiang loved.

Wang Xiaoliang ordered four dishes: sliced pork in spicy broth, twice-cooked pork, shredded pork in garlic sauce, and dry-fried green beans. He also ordered two bowls of rice and two bottles of chilled beer.

The lunch rush had already passed, and theirs was the only occupied table.

The owner's wife soon brought their food over. The portions were generous, and the aroma was mouthwatering.

"Here, Xinyu. Let's have a drink." Wang Xiaoliang raised his bottle.

"Cheers. Here's to your new home." Liu Xinyu raised his bottle too and clinked it against his.

The ice-cold beer washed away much of their heat and fatigue.

They ate and chatted, enjoying themselves.

"You know, the food here really is good, and they don't skimp on portions." Liu Xinyu picked up a large mouthful of sliced pork, eating until his lips shone with oil.

Then he changed tack and began to complain. "But this rice is awful. The grains are lousy, there's no bite to them, and they have no fragrance at all. It's worse than the rice at any of our campus cafeterias."

"I honestly don't get it." Liu Xinyu took another sip of beer, warming to the subject. "So many Sichuan restaurants are like this. No matter how good the dishes are, the rice is always a letdown. Can't the owners taste it themselves? Or is this where they deliberately build in their profit margin?"

Wang Xiaoliang had never considered that question.

He remembered the words in the Book of Fate: approach the world with an eye for profit, and wealth can be attained.

Would observing how other people made money help him too?

Liu Xinyu had said that his mind was full of business.

Now Wang Xiaoliang understood what he meant.

Liu Xinyu had truly put those words into practice: approach the world with an eye for profit, and wealth can be attained.

From that, Wang Xiaoliang concluded that Liu Xinyu had a fortune ahead of him.

He was pleased that he could predict Liu Xinyu's future.

Could I tell fortunes now too?

He found his own thought laughable.

Liu Xinyu seemed to notice that Wang Xiaoliang's mind had wandered. He set down his chopsticks and looked at him.

"Xiaoliang."

"Hmm?"

"I just realized, you've been in college for almost four years, and I've never seen you date anyone. Do you... have a secret crush on someone?"