Chapter 99
Gao Dian spent the whole night earnestly advising Li Yingqiao to break up with him as soon as possible.
You can't indulge a man's bad habits, not even a cat's. Once this happens, it will happen again, and then again, and so on! Don't say I didn't warn you, Left Protector, if some monsters or demons emerge.
“Hmm, what you said makes a lot of sense,” Li Yingqiao nodded in agreement, and then suggested with a smile, “How about we go downstairs for a late-night snack? I’ll call Miaojia, it’s been a long time since we’ve all gotten together.”
Is the focus really on late-night snacks?!
Gao Dian was incredulous. After being indignant for her for so long, she actually asked him if he wanted a late-night snack. He was so angry that his veins throbbed: "Qiaoqiao! I'm serious, even if Miao is my brother, I still have to say, don't try to believe the lies a man spouts! He said he couldn't hold back! Do you expect him to control himself next time?!"
Yu Jinyang chimed in, "Gao Dian, I'll definitely hold back next time."
Gao Dian didn't even turn his head: "Go to hell! Get lost! I really can't believe it, Yu Jinyang, how did our most affectionate Fourth Brother of Fengtan give birth to such a scumbag?"
"..."
When Zheng Miaojia led Zhong Su to the riverside night market stall, she sensed an unprecedented tension. She handed her bag to the man behind her, pulled out a chair and sat down. Seeing Gao Dian sitting with his back to everyone, she glanced at Yu Jinyang, who was leaning back in his chair looking quite harmless, and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Little Pastry? Why are you isolating yourself?"
Yu Jinyang was helping Li Yingqiao check her flight back to Beijing on her phone when she casually said, "She said she felt disgusted seeing my face."
Zhong Su hadn't even sat down after putting down his bag when he paused, "Are we still going to eat? Yu Jinyang's face is disgusting, wouldn't we be even more disgusted?" He then took out his phone, pretending to make a call, "Sun Taihe is still hailing a taxi, I told him not to come yet."
Gao Dian's anger only grew stronger. Miao was, after all, his brother, and this wasn't exactly something to be proud of; he didn't want to air his dirty laundry in public. But Qiaoqiao had already tacitly agreed, and he simply couldn't tolerate this, especially since the victim was his idol.
He clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, glared fiercely at Yu Jinyang, and squeezed out a sentence that only the two of them could hear through gritted teeth: "You'd better tell Qiaoqiao you want to break up."
Yu Jinyang looked up from his phone, gave him a meaningful glance, and looked nonchalant and fearless. He really had the attitude of a playboy who would bully a love-struck scumbag. He lazily draped his arm over the back of the chair and said, "No, as a man, shouldn't you be happy for me to have such a tolerant girlfriend, Gao Dian?"
Gao Dian immediately spat and said, "What am I happy about? Qiaoqiao is just like my sister! If I had known you were this kind of person, Yu Jinyang, if you hadn't helped me out during those years when I was starting my business in Shenzhen, do you think I would still be sitting here having a late-night snack with you now!"
During his years in Shenzhen, Gao Dian tried many startups, all of which resulted in losses. He started with cross-border e-commerce, short video operation services, and even live streaming operations for overseas influencers. Wow, making money from foreigners was incredibly difficult. Many streamers accepted samples from brands that he helped them find, but then didn't get any slots during their live streams. They couldn't possibly travel all the way to Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand just for a few small samples. Back then, he would wake up owing brands hundreds or even thousands of samples, barely making ends meet by swiping his credit cards and borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.
Later, he stopped touching the influencer economy and instead followed others into the smart home industry, focusing on offline customers and building a reputation through extremely long return periods. However, there are no guaranteed jobs during economic downturns. The largest smart home factory they were working with suddenly went bankrupt, and the owner absconded overseas with the money, causing millions of dollars in payments to vanish.
Gao Dian personally advanced more than 300,000 yuan, which his parents had borrowed by mortgaging their old house. The bank kept calling to urge him to pay. If he couldn't pay it back next month, they might have to auction off the house in Xiaohua City. By then, his grandfather had already passed away, but his grandmother was still alive.
She probably couldn't understand why she was suddenly barred from living in the house she had lived in her entire life.
Grandma wouldn't resist; she followed the rules her whole life and didn't understand many things. Her feet had been bound, but later, when asked to stand up and walk, she was able to.
They may not be able to keep up with the pace of society, but they can also withstand the sudden changes in the world, becoming those silent stones in this ever-changing era.
So, at this most desperate moment, he tried contacting Yu Jinyang, who was in Chicago. At that time, he knew that Brother Siyi's business was not as good as before.
He didn't actually intend to borrow money from Yu Jinyang at the time; he just wanted to ask how he had been doing these past few years. He simply missed the days in Fengtan.
Back then, Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang constantly urged me to study and take exams, and I longed to grow up quickly and become the pillar of the family. But I never imagined that people don't feel happiness when they are happy, and only when they are in pain do they realize that they once had happy days.
Gao Dian didn't expect that call would go through. Yu Jinyang had brought the phone card from junior high school with him when he went abroad. Except for the most difficult years when he was working illegally in an underground dance troupe and couldn't keep it on, he later took the exam and got a job at the headquarters of a famous mechanical watch brand in Chicago, and then he regularly topped up the phone card.
That day, he had just finished dinner with the largest movement sheet metal supplier in the North American market. It wasn't a pleasant meeting; the atmosphere was tense even in the purely English-speaking environment. Foreigners from such companies usually don't easily turn hostile. However, due to their deep-seated professional prejudice, they looked down on the Chinese market and refused to provide China with the same premium movement sheet metal and customized services as those in the European market.
Eric at headquarters has consistently insisted on launching brand-customized services in first-tier cities in China, but due to issues with the core movement, the project has been repeatedly rejected at the group's review meetings.
During that period, Yu Jinyang and Eric worked together to lobbied the judges one by one among the group's senior management, working overtime until late at night every day. Eric even joked, "Ken, if you're willing to make a sacrifice, we can at least get three more votes on the judging panel next week, since three of the ladies have publicly pursued you."
Of course, they were far behind by more than just three votes. That same day, Yu Jinyang had just returned to his apartment and hadn't even had a chance to take off his shirt when he received a call from Gao Dian. He casually untied his tie, leaned against the island in the open kitchen, and turned the stove on and off carelessly, reheating a pot of fish soup over and over again. He chatted with his childhood friend for nearly an hour.
During the hour-long call, both of them tacitly avoided mentioning two other names.
Gao Dian was embarrassed to mention it, feeling a bit ashamed. Yu Jinyang, on the other hand, only then realized that when adults no longer have certain relationships, they need to find a reason that won't lead to any misunderstandings if they want to mention each other's names openly. He couldn't find one during that hour because Gao Dian kept stammering and rambling on about irrelevant things.
When Yu Jinyang realized what was going on, he didn't show any awkwardness or unfamiliarity as if they hadn't seen each other for many years. He turned off the stove directly and asked him in a gentle and calm voice, "Gao Dian, is something wrong?"
Gao Dian then poured out his heart, stammering and complaining: "Meow, you can't imagine how unlucky I am. I lose money no matter what I do, and whatever I worry about comes true. Now that manufacturer has run away, and I can't get my debt back. My grandma's house might be lost... I really don't know what to do."
"Have you hired a lawyer?" Yu Jinyang only asked at the time.
Gao Dian was stunned for a moment. "Finding a lawyer won't help. There's no way we'll get the money back. Besides, I'm barely able to afford food right now. Where would I get the money to hire a lawyer? Lawyer fees are expensive, aren't they?"
Yu Jinyang quickly sent him a number and said, "This is a friend of mine from the law department at university. Ask him to send a letter first, at least to file a record. Although it's not guaranteed that you can get it back, you need this. Otherwise, even if the police find the boss later, your share might not be recoverable because the statute of limitations has expired. Don't skimp on this little bit of money. Tell me the rest, how much do you still owe?"
It was then that he realized how reliable Yu Jinyang was. During their school days, he tutored them, reviewed their lessons, and compiled their error notebooks—things that seemed insignificant, yet he did them without complaint, day after day, even during his falling out with Li Yingqiao, without missing a single problem in the notebook. In fact, to Gao Dian and his friends at the time, Yu Jinyang seemed to be born to do these things, a natural learner. Later, after experiencing various forms of workplace manipulation in Shenzhen, Gao Dian realized that telling himself Yu Jinyang liked learning was merely a way to alleviate his own guilt about being lazy.
That very evening, a sum of money appeared in his bank account. Looking at the amount, Gao Dian knew that he must have given him every penny of the money he had saved over the years, just to save his grandmother's house.
Gao Dian couldn't help but cry as soon as he hung up the phone, sobbing uncontrollably. He wiped away his tears forcefully, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed.
Growing up is so hard. Why do I always get deceived? Why do I never learn from my mistakes? Why am I so easily trusting of others?
Why are Qiaoqiao and Miao always able to save him at crucial moments? Why does it seem like they can live whatever life they want with ease?
He went downstairs in tears and ordered himself a bowl of clear beef noodles, vowing to be Li Yingqiao and Yu Jinyang's dog for the rest of his life. No one knew that he hadn't eaten for two days.
It was while he was eating noodles that a message popped up from the childhood number he had just rediscovered—
—+13988xxxxxx: Gao Dian, no matter what, you still have to eat.
He once thought that Miao had abandoned the number, but after he changed phones several times, the number had been deleted from his contacts.
He couldn't help but let the tears flow again. Thinking about it, it really was true. From childhood to adulthood, Miao seemed to be the kind of person who, even if the sky were to fall, would calmly sit down and ask if you had eaten.
Given this past relationship, Gao Dian was actually in a difficult position, so as soon as he sat down, he decided to silently turn his back to the two of them, intending to isolate himself.
...
When Li Yingqiao returned from the restroom, everyone had arrived, and quite a few dishes had been served. Sun Taihe and Zhao Pingnan said they were planning to take some travel wedding photos in a while and asked if they wanted to come along. Gao Dian, still with his back to everyone, stared at the river not far away, reluctantly eating his skewers. Upon hearing this, he immediately snorted disdainfully.
Sun Taihe laughed and asked Gao Dian what was wrong with him.
Gao Dian remained silent, his eyes filled with resentment. Li Yingqiao, only now realizing what was happening, glanced at the instigator beside her, "You haven't explained to him yet?"
Yu Jinyang seemed to have just come to his senses, and said "Ah," with an innocent expression and an uncontrollable smile on his lips, "No."
Li Yingqiao held back, a smile playing on her lips. She was about to nudge Gao Dian with her elbow and say, "That's not true, we were just teasing you."
Zheng Miaojia raised her phone, leaned back, and called out in a clear voice, "Come on, comrades, look at the camera and let's take a group photo. It's rare to have so many of us together! Hurry up!"
Li Yingqiao immediately moved closer to Yu Jinyang, who looked down at her and smiled.
The screen remained blank. Zheng Miaojia clicked her tongue, put down her phone, and said coldly, "Little... cake!"
Gao Dian had always been afraid of Zheng Miaojia since childhood. When they were little, he would explain problems to her and get so frustrated that he would beat himself up. Although Qiaoqiao seemed like a firecracker, easily angered, she actually had a quick temper that subsided just as quickly. But Miaojia was different; once she got angry, she could really hold a grudge for ten days or half a month. So, he could only slowly turn around and, under Miaojia's piercing gaze, give a not-so-perfect "yeah" sign.
All the other boys stood, one-on-one behind their girlfriends, while Gao Dian sat in a row with the girls, looking unhappy.
Sun Taihe and the others were a little confused, thinking that everyone was traveling as couples and he was the only one left out. They pulled Gao Dian's already stiff mouth to its widest extent and gave orders: "Single dog, hurry up and smile. Everyone else, listen to my command, you are only allowed to smile with half of Gao Dian's smile. That way he will be happiest when the photos are posted. Otherwise, he will think we are isolating him."
Gao Dian was shocked: "...Sun Taihe! Are you even human?!"
Even Miao Jia laughed.
Li Yingqiao laughed the loudest, collapsing into Yu Jinyang's arms behind her, feeling utterly exhausted.
Yu Jinyang pulled her into his arms, pinched her nose, and rubbed her earlobe. Li Yingqiao laughed until she couldn't breathe before slapping Yu Jinyang's hand away and turning to Gao Dian, saying, "Alright, we were just teasing you. He didn't do anything to betray me."
Gao Dian was speechless: "If ten people with love-struck minds came along, all eleven of them would say the same thing. Stop trying to cover it up."
Yu Jinyang then looked down at her helplessly and said, "You think I really didn't explain? He's like a dog with its fur standing on end, ready to bite anyone he sees. Don't provoke him. I'll talk to him later—"
The others were completely baffled and were about to ask what was going on.
However, Zheng Miaojia suddenly froze. Her gaze seemed to be drawn to two shrunken figures not far from the selfie camera. Her eyes snapped shut as she stared at a corner of the screen, zooming in on the image.
In the pitch-black night, two figures stood quietly on the riverbank railing not far away. The river wind whipped their hair high, making them look like the two tallest and most stubborn reeds in a reed bed, standing tall against the wind until their long-lost and clear faces were revealed.
Her breathing became noticeably rapid, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
Li Yingqiao also stopped laughing, her gaze fixed on the two magnified, weathered figures on Miao Jia's phone screen, who seemed to be looking in their direction as well.
No one turned around. They were all stunned, even though they could see it with just a turn of their heads. They stared intently at the small phone screen that Miao Jia held up high. She had zoomed in as much as possible, and the two faces were probably much clearer than they appeared to the naked eye.
Apart from Yu Jinyang, everyone present seemed somewhat surprised.
It was Liang Mei and Zhu Xiaoliang.
Gao Dian was the first to stand up and shout towards the railing, "Teacher Liang!!"
"Xiao Liang!!!"
Immediately afterwards, everyone got up and rushed from the night market stall toward the railing.
There were still two tables of people at the late-night food stall, watching them run around, completely unaware of what was going on. Gao Dian stood out the most, having completely forgotten his earlier awkwardness. He ran and jumped, waving vigorously at the people on the railing, with the same exhilarating feeling he had when he made a three-pointer during his teenage years and would run around the court three times.
Even the boss started running right behind them without saying a word, because last week a group of people had run off like that and never came back...
They didn't pay the bill.
Li Yingqiao stopped running and slowly walked towards the two people by the river. As she walked up the embankment, the light gradually brightened, and the moonlight shone calmly on her face. In her memory, there was that thin face, with stern eyes and hair that was still neatly combed.
Her skin had become much darker and she had lost a lot of weight, but she actually smiled when Gao Dian rushed to Liang Mei like a dog.
She abandoned her usual stern demeanor, glanced at him, and said with a smile, "You can't call me Little Pastry anymore. How come you've gained so much weight? You were so skinny in high school."
Gao Dian said, "I've gained weight due to stress. My life is so difficult. But, Xiao Liang, why are your cheekbones so high?"
Liang Mei: "Now you know it's not easy. Back then, when I told you to get a few more points, didn't you think life was pretty easy?"
Gao Dian chuckled.
Zhu Xiaoliang smacked him on the forehead, "Can't you speak properly? Yu Jinyang told me I was handsome when he saw me last year."
Gao Dian: "You have to give that scumbag some emotional value."
The sounds of conversation drifted over impatiently, but Li Yingqiao felt a lump in her throat and her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Yu Jinyang beside her, who was walking at the same leisurely pace as her. She suddenly remembered last night—
"You said last night that you wanted to sleep in the guest room separately, but you actually wanted to call them, right?"
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