“Brother Ye, want me to buy you a bottle of water?” A guy sitting on a stool yawned.
“Brother Ye, let me go, I’ll buy it for you.”
“Didn’t you go last time? My turn!”
Zhou Chiye skillfully pulled out his card. He was about to toss it carelessly when he noticed Ji Zhaoxi standing behind him, looking expectant.
Zhou Chiye let out a scoff, half amused and half annoyed. What, she thought she could badmouth him behind his back and still get away with using his card?
No way.
The other guys nearby also noticed Ji Zhaoxi squeezing in, and the air suddenly went quiet.
Zhou Chiye directly tossed the card to one of the guys in front. “Grab me a bottle of water. Buy whatever you want with the card.”
The guy glanced at Ji Zhaoxi, who looked eager, then hesitated and turned to Zhou Chiye. “Brother Ye, how about letting this girl go instead? She seems pretty keen to shop.”
Zhou Chiye’s face turned cold. “No.”
Ji Zhaoxi stared at him with pleading eyes. “Brother Ye!”
Zhou Chiye: …
He frowned hard. Did she think calling him “Brother Ye” would make him forget everything she’d done before?
Besides, he hated that nickname. It made him sound like some kind of wild man.
Zhou Chiye looked at Ji Zhaoxi again. She was still staring at him, wearing exactly the same expression she’d had back when she first tried to scam him…
He gave a cold laugh, said nothing, and swam away.
The guy beside him let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Ji Zhaoxi. “Go ahead, classmate. Make sure to treat yourself. Brother Ye’s got plenty of cash.”
Ji Zhaoxi had been waiting for a chance to take advantage of Zhou Chiye’s wallet.
Zhou Chiye only drank one brand of water, and Ji Zhaoxi had seen it before—it was stocked on the top shelf of the school convenience store’s fridge. She’d always thought it was just for decoration, but apparently, someone really did drink it.
She bought three popsicles and one extra for Ji Huaichuan.
She hurried over to Ji Huaichuan’s classroom building, and when he saw the popsicle in her hand, his face lit up. “Spoiling me, huh!”
But after Ji Zhaoxi explained where the popsicle came from, Ji Huaichuan fell silent, leaning on the railing with a heavy sigh.
He realized money really was a matter of luck.
He worked so hard every day trying to make a little cash, while Ji Zhaoxi always seemed to make it effortlessly.
She could even make money by standing there and getting yelled at. Meanwhile, all he got from people shouting at him was just misery—so much that he’d almost rather pay them to stop!
“Ji Huaichuan, brooding again?” A girl walking behind them smiled and nodded at the two.
Ji Huaichuan: …
He was genuinely depressed, okay?
Ji Zhaoxi went back to the swimming pool, water and popsicle in hand, quietly waiting for Zhou Chiye to come out of the water.
One of the guys noticed the popsicle in her hand and asked curiously, “Hey, why didn’t you buy something more expensive?”
“Isn’t this expensive enough?”
Seeing the sincerity on her face, the guy couldn’t help looking at her with pity. “Stick with Brother Ye, he’ll make sure you’ve got a good life.”
With a splash, Zhou Chiye’s hands gripped the edge of the pool. He wiped the water off his face and climbed out.
Ji Zhaoxi quickly handed him the water and popsicle. He glanced at her, took the water, and downed a few gulps.
“Next time buy something more expensive,” he said impatiently. “Anyone’d think I’m broke.”
The way she was scared to spend any money annoyed him.
When she was scamming him, she only dared to ask for two hundred. Now that she had his card, all she bought was cheap junk like this.
Seeing that she didn’t respond, Zhou Chiye pressed. “Got it?”
“Got it, Brother Ye!” Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes lit up.
So it wasn’t that hard to spend Zhou Chiye’s money after all.
He snorted at her bright eyes. “Look at you. So easy to please.”
It was only a few days ago that Zhou Chiye realized Ji Zhaoxi lived on the same floor as him.
What was strange was that he’d never seen her before—but now he ran into her a dozen times a day.
That afternoon, after school, Ji Huaichuan rushed out of the house with a serious face, not even stopping for dinner.
Tonight, he was going to pull off something big.
But when he got to the street, an old man and an old woman were arguing fiercely over a prime spot for pretending to get hit by cars to collect compensation.
Neither of them cared about dignity anymore. They cursed however they pleased—first in Mandarin, then in their local dialect, then they moved to magical attacks. One sat on the ground chanting something up to the sky, while the other pulled funeral money out of her bag and prepared to burn it for her opponent.
Just as the two staggered away from the spot, Ji Huaichuan quickly lay down on the best available position.
A nearby traffic cop: …
“Hey, kid, I’m right here,” he said with a wry smile.
It was true—when the elders set a bad example, it ruined the youths.
These old-timers had even corrupted the next generation.
They’d abandoned their studies, lost all sense of shame, and kids now couldn't even be bothered to take off their school uniforms. They just ran to the streets every day and flopped down like the old-timers.
This wasn’t the first time he’d caught a student pulling this stunt. He figured it was time to give those old folks a real lesson in manners.
The old folks these days had absolutely terrible moral standards!
In the end, Ji Huaichuan had to write a letter of apology before he was let go with a sour look.
The old woman and old man were also ordered to write statements.
“I can’t read!”
“I’m old, my hands trembling… I can’t hold a pen…”
And just like that, the pair were let off.
Less than five minutes after leaving the police station, Ji Huaichuan watched the old woman start screaming at the old man again, quoting classical sayings and even throwing in a little English.
The old man wasn’t backing down, either. The hands that had supposedly trembled in the station were now strong enough to wrestle, and the two were soon brawling in the street.
Ji Huaichuan: …
He had failed to pull off a fake hit, but still ended up writing a letter of apology. Meanwhile, the two who’d actually succeeded got off scot-free. It really came down to luck…
Ji Zhaoxi felt bad for him too. If she was naturally talented, then he was the kind who grinded every day and still couldn’t land a win.
That evening, Ji Fangyun called them and said she’d sent two thousand yuan.
“So, the bastard—is your dad dead yet?” Ji Fangyun asked casually.
Her tone wasn’t like she was asking about her own husband, but more like gossiping about a stranger.
Ji Zhaoxi answered honestly. “Mom, not yet.”
Ji Fangyun sighed. “Selfish people always live longer.”
She hadn’t been earning much recently. As her thoughts wandered, she resumed scheming over Ji Zhaoxi’s and Ji Huaichuan’s father.
“When your father finally dies, we’ll just throw a cheap funeral banquet. Collect some condolence money too—that should be enough for us to get by.”
Just thinking about that day made Ji Fangyun’s mood brighten.
Every time she felt life was too hard, she’d start fantasizing about it. Just picturing the money she might get made her happy.
But the money from a funeral banquet wouldn’t be much, so Ji Fangyun decided to buy their father a life insurance policy.
If she got a life insurance policy, she’d finally have something to look forward to. She could start counting down the days until he died, and when he did, she’d get a payout. It somehow made her feel like life had gotten better.
Ji Fangyun painted such a beautiful picture that Ji Zhaoxi and Ji Huaichuan’s eyes both started glimmering with hope.
Could such a lucky day really come true?
