Gu Zhe shook his head and looked up at the sky.
Pitch-black.
Oppressive and silent.
"I've lived two lives and still been this naive. I really am a disgrace to transmigrators!"
He gave a bitter chuckle.
"Maybe I used to avoid thinking about those things. My last life was so stifling that I deliberately chased the flattery of fair-weather friends!"
"Well, at least I still have some little shop!"
"Am I stuck with the 'blessing' of working nine to nine, seven days a week? Dad, couldn't you have waited until I'd gotten bored of partying every night before going bankrupt?"
Beep, beep, beep.
His phone kept chiming.
He picked it up and looked.
Countless messages from friends, classmates, and relatives asked whether his family really had gone bankrupt.
For some reason, perhaps he was imagining it, their words seemed to carry a hint of secret delight.
There were also several group chats.
High school, college, clubs, and so on...
People kept tagging him in those, too.
Then they shared gossip articles about the Gu Family's lightning-fast bankruptcy.
Some asked whether it was true.
Others offered all sorts of analysis and discussion.
Overall, it felt like everyone was joining a gleeful spectacle over the bankruptcy of the wealthiest family.
Gu Zhe felt he had treated these classmates and friends pretty well.
He had always been generous. As long as their requests weren't excessive, he had never refused.
He might have been a little flashy, but he had lived two lives, after all. He had never bullied anyone or treated anyone with disrespect.
He had that much decency, and the Gu Family had raised him that well.
But now...
Gu Zhe shook his head.
Then he opened his Moments feed.
The first post that caught his eye read, "I'm broke as hell. Anyone who fucking asks me for money is trying to kill me! Funny.jpg."
It was from his close buddy Wang Qiang, whose family ran hotels.
Maybe he really is broke. Maybe I'm overthinking it!
Another friend, Qin Jianghe.
"Off to Europe for a honeymoon with my girlfriend. Phone switched off, enjoying some peaceful time for two. Grinning.jpg!"
His friend Wan Zhong, nicknamed Big Rice Dumpling.
"Dad's grounding me. Says I hang around with a bunch of bad influences. More importantly, he's confiscated all my bank cards."
Attached were a picture of bank cards being taken away and a bitter-looking emoji.
He kept scrolling through his Moments feed.
There was also a classmate, Wang Hong.
"Sigh, a classmate's family has fallen on hard times. Thinking back, he supported me quite a lot. I'll have to look out for him if I get the chance."
Gu Zhe was speechless.
If he remembered correctly, Wang Hong had borrowed several thousand from him not long ago. He was pretty sure the guy had called it a loan. Over their three-plus years at college, he had borrowed money several times.
Back then, Gu Zhe hadn't cared about such small sums.
So he had never brought them up.
What, now it's become all the 'support' I gave him? And he'll look out for me someday?
There was also his roommate.
Luo Hua, whom they usually called Hua.
He had borrowed Gu Zhe's car and used his VIP card to woo his girlfriend.
"Run, guys! Someone's about to ask for money... Prank.jpg."
He made it sound like a joke.
There was a comment underneath.
"Now you've got me worried, too. I'm broke as fuck myself, bro. We may be brothers, but money really ruins friendships! Adding a cute.jpg!"
The commenter was Gao Ming, who had first called him Boss Gu at the nightclub, then Old Gu, before rushing off to work on his thesis.
That guy had also reaped plenty of benefits from hanging around him.
Gu Zhe checked his Moments feed, too.
There were several photos: Gu Zhe brimming with confidence in the private room, everyone eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Gu Zhe looking devastated and disbelieving, and reference books on Gao Ming's desk beside a thesis draft on his computer screen.
Above those photos was a piece of inspirational fluff: "Turns out relying on yourself is best. Don't depend on anyone. Parents grow old, friends get tired of you, and only your own strength lasts. Don't trouble others or rely on anyone. Everyone leaves in the end, so process all your emotions yourself and put them on silent mode."
Motherfucker!
Beautifully written. Keep it up next time.
If he hadn't clearly remembered how smoothly Gao Ming used to flatter him while calling him boss,
Gu Zhe might almost have believed it.
Then he opened the Moments feeds of some of the girls who used to flirt with him.
Exactly as expected.
They had already blocked him!
Gu Zhe stopped scrolling.
That told him plenty about how fickle people could be.
His drinking buddies had scattered.
In this world, people really did flock to make good times better, but rarely offered help when it mattered.
Perhaps some people thought the higher you stood, the harder you fell, and the Gu Family was beyond saving!
These people.
His friends wanted to draw a line between themselves and him.
His classmates had suddenly discovered independence and self-respect.
Were they all planning ahead, afraid this newly fallen rich kid would ask them for money?
Was I already someone nobody could stand?
Women! Friends!
Gu Zhe had to admit he was a failure.
What sort of people had I been hanging around with?
He didn't go get his limited-edition sports car. The bank would probably track it down soon; he knew better than to underestimate how quickly those institutions could turn on him, so he would leave it here.
He couldn't be bothered going to his luxury apartment or villa, either.
He didn't want to see people gloating.
He waved the hundred-yuan note in his hand.
Then he flagged down a random cab by the roadside.
"Driver, number 49, Stillheart Road Old Street, South District!"
At least he still had somewhere to take shelter.
As the taxi drove along,
Gu Zhe closed his eyes and reflected on life's sorrows for a moment.
Then he looked at the driver.
He was around forty, his face weathered by the years.
The slightly worn taxi carried the warmth of ordinary life.
Gu Zhe hadn't ridden in a cheap taxi like this in many, many years.
Still, the despondency inside him slowly settled.
Seeing people's true colors now wasn't such a bad thing. Without this upheaval, he might really have spent his life with that sort of woman. The thought sent an inexplicable chill through him.
Fine, then. Fine!
I'll be as easygoing as Mom and Dad.
It's not like I've never lived an ordinary life!
My last life was worse. At least I've enjoyed some extravagance in this one.
Thinking of it that way,
he felt much better!
Only the bitter smile remained on his lips.
So even I, Gu Zhe, have moments when I feed myself inspirational fluff!
"Bro, looks like you came out of Heaven on Earth. Taking a taxi, huh? You work as a male escort there, right? Tsk, tsk, being handsome sure is nice. You can make a living off your face!"
"By the way, bro, I heard Heaven on Earth has girls of every race. Is that true? Working right there, you must get first pick, huh... heh heh..."
Gu Zhe watched the scenery outside and ignored him!
"Oh, bro, you're going to Stillheart Old Street? That place is all funeral supply shops. Dead as a graveyard. It's nighttime now, nobody's around. What are you going there for?"
At that point,
the driver couldn't help shuddering.
He stole a glance in the rearview mirror at Gu Zhe's sharp brows, bright eyes, and impeccably dressed, roguish appearance.
He relaxed a little.
"Heh heh, let me tell you, that street has its own legend. You know the Gu Family, the richest family around? They say their ancestors made their fortune there. Tsk, tsk, I wonder if they built up good karma with the dead to get that lucky!"
Gu Zhe smiled faintly.
"Really? Then you haven't seen the news. Their good karma has run out!"
"Uh, I don't get what you mean. But, uh, going to a street full of that much gloomy energy this late, you'd better pray for luck. Heh, some people say the world isn't ordinary anymore. My son even said that thing from '99 couldn't be kept secret anymore!"
A glint flashed through Gu Zhe's eyes.
Yes, the world seemed different. He knew that, too.
Otherwise, his family's funeral business wouldn't have been hit and taken over.
The end of the world?
It didn't seem like it. All those supposed changes were nothing more than distant rumors online.
He hadn't seen anything unusual in everyday life.
He had once hoped for something different himself. He was a transmigrator, after all.
But after searching for over a decade, he had never found any special cheat ability.
He had already resigned himself to a mediocre life as a rich heir.
Who could have imagined it would get even worse now?
They reached their destination.
Before he had even found his footing,
the taxi driver ducked his head and sped away.
Gu Zhe shook his head. Looking at the funeral supply shops with their black-and-white signs lining the street, he knew drivers were especially superstitious about certain things.
Those near-identical black-and-white storefronts, with paper flowers and spirit money occasionally fluttering into the air,
combined with the late-night silence and near-total absence of people, really were a little creepy.