Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âIâve known Xu Chaomu for eight years, so according to your logic, Xu Chaomu is very likely to have been led astray by me.â Li Beitingâs voice wasnât loud, but it carried an undeniable force.
âNo no no, thatâs not what I meant.â It was the homeroom teacherâs turn to be dumbstruck.
Xu Chaomu and President Li knew each other for eight years?
Even she could be wrong sometimes.
âThatâs settled then, I think you donât need to come to school tomorrow.â Li Beiting said casually.
âPresident Li, you canât do this. Iâm really doing this for the good of these two kids. Sitting together, they get distracted. Look, they have college entrance exams next yearâ¦â
Li Beiting cut her off: âMe not letting you come to school is also for their good.â âPresident Li, President Liâ¦â The homeroom teacher was truly panicked now.
Xu Chaomu and Yu Weiwei felt extremely satisfied. They exchanged glances, realizing that Li Beiting could be reliable at times.
âOh, by the way, do you know who Xu Chaomuâs brother is?â
Before leaving, Li Beiting took a glance at the homeroom teacher and casually picked up the magazine from the table.
The homeroom teacher had already guessed that the background was not small.
She actually believed Xu Chaomuâs nonsense and really thought her family was poor, so poor that her brother couldnât even afford a wife.
The homeroom teacher waited for Li Beiting to continue, but he didnât speak again and walked out of the conference room.
Xu Chaomu and Yu Weiwei hurried to follow him.
Actually, Xu Chaomu was quite puzzled. From the tone of Li Beitingâs voice, Shen Chi seemed to be quite formidable. In the Shen Family, she had once asked the servants who they feared the most. She would have thought it was Shen Cexian or Liu Rumei, but they unanimously told her: the Fourth Young Master Shen.
Xu Chaomu couldnât figure it out. Was Shen Chi that terrifying?
âPresident Li, President Li!â
The homeroom teacher wanted to catch up, but with a wave of his hand, Li Beitingâs assistant blocked her at the door.
Yu Weiwei pulled on Li Beitingâs arm: âSecond uncle, youâre really awesome!â Li Beiting was unimpressed.
âSecond uncle, letâs discuss something?â Yu Weiwei tried to cozy up to him.
âIâve taken this magazine, focus more in class from now on. Xu Chaomu, you as well! Otherwise, Iâll tell Shen Chi about this, and you wonât be able to handle
the consequences!â
Li Beiting waved the magazine in his hand without mercy.
âIâm not afraid of him!â Xu Chaomu mumbled.
âYouâre not afraid of him because he hasnât lost his temper with you!â Li Beiting said indifferently.
Xu Chaomu tilted her head. He hadnât lost his temper with her? He was always wearing a cold face.
âHey, hey, hey, second uncle, youâre leaving, but leave the magazine. Whatâs a big man like you doing with an entertainment magazine? You wouldnât happen to fancy the cover girl, would you?â Yu Weiwei caught up.
Yu Weiwei knew something was off with his look. He must be captivated by some beauty; men were all lecherous. He probably wanted to keep it to admire at his leisure.
Li Beiting unwrapped the magazine to take a look, and his gaze landed on the cover girl. The expression in his eyes was complex.
âWho would dare to fancy her?â Li Beiting mumbled to himself.
Yu Weiwei only knew that the magazine cost ten yuan, and she hadnât finished reading it yet.
She reached out her hand: âIf you donât like it, just give it to me. I love reading it; there are so many handsome guys inside!â
âThen I definitely canât give it to you.â Li Beiting shot her a glance and continued walking down the stairs.
âHey, hey, Li Beiting! Youâre taking advantage of us!â
Yu Weiwei shouted until she was hoarse, but Li Beiting had already got into his Maserati and sped away.
âSigh, Ouyangâs gone. If Ouyang hadnât left, maybe he couldâve fixed us up with eight or ten copies.â
âSo thereâs nothing we can do? Come on, after school Iâll treat you to a visit to a bookstore where you can feast your eyes!â Xu Chaomu said generously.
Therefore, when school was out, Xu Chaomu sneakily took Yu Weiwei past the school and into a long alley that strayed from the city center.
The long alley exuded an ancient aura. Because it was early spring, green weeds had already covered it, and snails occasionally crawled along the eaves, making the place very quiet.
People walked through the alley from time to time, and elderly were resting on chairs at the entrance of stores. Unlike the bustling city center, time here moved slowly.
âWhat is this place?â Yu Weiwei asked.
âItâs the night market. Donât be fooled by how quiet it is now; just wait until itâs past six oâclock, and it will be bustling!â
Usually, either Shen Chi or Old Cheng would come to pick up Xu Chaomu after school, so Xu Chaomu never had the chance to sneak out.
But Xu Chaomu felt she was grown up and wondered why she should always be looked after by Shen Chi!
âWhereâs the bookstore?â asked Yu Weiwei.
âSilly, when the time comes, people will set up their book stalls. Iâm telling you, they have any book you could want. You can find everything except what you canât imagine!â
âHow did you find such a great place?â Yu Weiwei asked, as if sheâd discovered a new continent. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âOuyang mentioned it to me before, but I didnât pay attention. Now that heâs gone, we need to fend for ourselves,â Xu Chaomu said thoughtfully.
As the saying goes, if you want something done right, do it yourself.
Until they found the next buddy, they had to rely on themselves for everything.
Yu Weiwei glanced at her watch, it was almost six oâclock.
The two wandered around the alley, which was permeated with a different atmosphere from the busy areas.
Sure enough, as soon as it turned six, vendors began to appear one after another.
It was gradually getting dark, and streetlights were coming on everywhere. The number of people increased, and the calls of the vendors became clearer.
Xu Chaomu was somewhat reminded of her life a decade ago, when she lived in a place like this alley, simple and restrained, oozing with a faint charm.
Back then, she and her mother relied on each other. Although their life was modest, her mother cherished her deeply.
âChaomu, thereâs a book stall over there with a lot of books!â Yu Weiwei exclaimed, pulling Xu Chaomu along as if sheâd found a treasure.
The book stall owner was a girl about the same age as them, with a high ponytail, a light yellow top, light blue jeans, and a constant gentle smile on her face.
She was squatting down, carefully arranging the books.
Xu Chaomu also ran over and indeed, there were many books.
Unfortunately, she had no interest in books like âComprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance,â âEvening Talks by the Fireplace,â or âVegetable Root
Discourses.â Instead, titles like âThe Secret History of Qin Shi Huang,â âNocturnal Talks amongst Womenfolk,â and âThe CEOâs Fiancéeâ greatly appealed to her.
She sneakily picked up a book, her eyes shining. Sheâd found a gemâthe âsecretâ books were available too!
Yu Weiwei leaned in, âWow, Xu Chaomu, youâve lost your integrity! What do you need these for? Arenât you ashamed!â
âShh, shh, shh, keep it down. Donât tell me youâve never read them!â
âLike me, Yu Weiwei, upright and straightforward, with an open and clear conscience, I have neverâ¦â
âNever what?â Xu Chaomu squinted at her.
âNever⦠Never anything but read them openly and aboveboard!â
After speaking, Yu Weiwei picked up a âMale Health Manualâ and started to read it with interest.
A muscle twitched in Xu Chaomuâs cheek. âMale Health Manualâ⦠That was really losing all integrity!
But later on, it was proven that Yu Weiwei was indeed âupright and straightforward,â âwith an open and clear conscience,â because whatever she wanted to see, she saw it in the open and aboveboard.
For instance, she wanted to see men, so later on, she opened a menâs research institute.
It specialized in treating all kinds of infertility and disorders⦠and was known for its immediate effects, fast and safe!