Wang Yaofa did not catch the meaning of this eight-character truth at first. It was only after reflecting on his initiation into the path today and his appearance in front of the computer yesterday that it hit him instantly. "Damn, Feng! That is brilliantly put. If you ever decide not to become a top director, you should go ahead and study for a master's degree."
"Your words are so profound and full of substance."
Liu Chuanfeng waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, that's just small potatoes."
"Sweet words can only please a girl for a moment. Having cash in hand is what matters most."
"How do we make cash?"
When the topic turned to making money, Wang Yaofa never lived up to a name that meant 'shining wealth.' The phrase "making money" seemed carved into his very genes as he straightened his right leg, leaned back, and painstakingly fished a somewhat crumpled pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his pocket. "Quickly now, tell it to this old-timer so I may hear."
Liu Chuanfeng took the crooked cigarette and struggled for a moment to straighten it out, but his technique clearly betrayed a veteran smoker. "Got a light?"
With the cigarette clamped between his lips, Wang Yaofa patted his trouser pockets, his eyes freezing. "What the hell, I lost it."
"Wait for me, I'll go swipe one."
With that, he bolted upright and hurried back toward the bathhouse they had just left.
Liu Chuanfeng pinched the wrinkled cigarette in his hand, momentarily speechless. Wasn't there a supermarket right across from the bathhouse?
He was willing to spend six hundred and eighty-eight yuan on a massage, but couldn't spare a single yuan for a lighter?
The mindset of a wealthy family's child: save where you must, spend where you must, and every penny must be spent on the cutting edge.
"Liu Chuanfeng?"
"What are you doing here?"
A female voice rang out. Liu Chuanfeng turned his head. First he looked down: white canvas shoes; white tube socks covering the lower half of her long, fair, and straight legs; hips hugged by light-blue denim shorts swaying slightly with her slender waist. Moving further up, her white T-shirt revealed little in terms of curves, but her collarbones were exquisite.
There were plenty of girls dressed this way, but with this seductive figure, one couldn't help but swallow hard and find it impossible to tear their eyes away at a single glance. She was none other than Sun Qianyue, one of the campus beauties the two had just been discussing.
No wonder she applied for the dance department at Shanghai Theatre Academy; this physique was indeed a perfect fit.
Finally, he looked at her face.
She wore a high ponytail and light makeup. Her pretty melon-seed face always bore a faint smile, and she seemed effortlessly familiar with everyone. Even though she and Liu Chuanfeng had barely exchanged a few words, she greeted him warmly.
"Oh."
Liu Chuanfeng glanced at her and gave a cool, faint nod, perfectly maintaining his aloof campus-god persona. Even though she possessed a pair of legs longer than his own life, he refused to give her a second look. The reason was simple: she was staring right at him, so he would wait until she looked away before looking back.
With girls like this, there was no need to be overly enthusiastic, because she had seen plenty of enthusiastic guys.
Just like now, standing beside her was a protector of flowers whose hair was combed like a small broom, one hand shoved into his pocket. Seeing Liu Chuanfeng's indifferent attitude, he acted as though he himself had been insulted, showing true loyalty.
"Well, well, isn't this our future great director? A score of three hundred and eighty points, and instead of going to a Project 985 or 211 university, you're heading to an arts academy. Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
What do you even know about being a di, rec, tor?
Liu Chuanfeng sighed. He knew this protector of flowers himself; his name was Gao Shuai. Back in their first year of high school, he had chased doggedly after Zhang Jingyi, only to discover that while Zhang Jingyi seemed gentle on the surface, she was actually cold-hearted. After a whole semester, he hadn't even managed to add her on WeChat. At first, he thought it was just because he wasn't enthusiastic enough.
Until the day after school when he saw Zhang Jingyi and Liu Chuanfeng walking together, laughing and chatting, and he felt his world collapse instantly.
After a while, he shifted his pursuit to Sun Qianyue. Unlike Zhang Jingyi, Sun Qianyue always wore a smile, responded to every remark, and frequently managed to stir his emotions.
Looking at him, Liu Chuanfeng felt as though he were looking at his past self from another lifetime, and suddenly felt a bit of pity for the guy.
Unless he had a sudden awakening one day, the person he was destined to yearn for with tears in his eyes would be sweating profusely in someone else's arms, while the person whose WeChat profile he kept refreshing without receiving a reply was already echoing in someone else's life...
What a tragedy!
Liu Chuanfeng ignored him, one hand tucked into his pocket, his gaze deep and distant, a single hand pinching his cigarette as he looked up at the sky, acting as if Gao Shuai were nothing more than air.
This dismissal made Gao Shuai even more miserable. Back when he had gone to demand of Zhang Jingyi why she liked Liu Chuanfeng, the other boy had worn this exact same expression—acting as if none of it had anything to do with him.
From that moment on, a heavy hostility toward Liu Chuanfeng had taken root in his heart. It wasn't until yesterday that he learned Liu Chuanfeng and Zhang Jingyi were not actually together, and that Liu Chuanfeng had even rejected her.
For Gao Shuai, this news felt like a rapid-fire combination punch straight to the face. He still remembered what Zhang Jingyi had said back then: "He's handsomer than you, and his grades are better. Of course I'd choose him."
Yet yesterday's confession incident had made things painfully clear, leaving him feeling like an utter fool. He desperately wanted to shout: "Do you know how hard I've worked these past two years?"
Gao Shuai had developed a psychological shadow regarding confessions, yet he had worked just as hard on the two points Zhang Jingyi had mentioned.
He simply couldn't compete when it came to looks. Although Liu Chuanfeng wasn't actually Liu Chuanfeng from Slam Dunk, he was still a well-known figure at school.
With his sword-like brows, starry eyes, three-dimensional facial features, and a height of one hundred and eighty centimeters, he was a permanent fixture at the top of the campus hunk rankings.
And so, Gao Shuai was filled with sorrow. Aside from his name, which might edge out the other's, his face was no match; the other battleground was academics.
For the past two years, apart from trailing after Sun Qianyue, he had kept his nose to the grindstone with his studies. While his romantic progress was painfully slow, he had achieved modest success academically, listing Shanghai Tongji University as his top choice on his application form—though in his heart, he would have preferred Jinling. Alas, Sun Qianyue was heading to Shanghai.
From the early days when the two could barely exchange a few words to now, when they could go out alone together, Gao Shuai felt he was getting closer and closer to success.
Yet running into Liu Chuanfeng today, and having Sun Qianyue take the initiative to greet him, made Gao Shuai's alarm bells ring frantically.
As Sun Qianyue's long-term simping pursuer—who also regarded Liu Chuanfeng as a potential rival—he naturally paid close attention to the two of them.
In his impression, the two had never had any intersection.
Sun Qianyue frowned slightly. She didn't much care for Gao Shuai's remarks. She was also heading to the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and her own college entrance exam score wasn't particularly high. While Gao Shuai was trying to put down Liu Chuanfeng, he was actually dragging her down into it as well.
Still, he had pursued her for so many years, and she was used to his lack of emotional intelligence when speaking.
Most importantly, she still harbored a certain curiosity about Liu Chuanfeng. The term "bad-boy handsome" suited him to a T. Other boys who pursued her smoked too, but he was somehow different.
In terms of academics, he was considered a good student, but otherwise—had you ever seen a good student smoke?
Moreover, his gaze seemed to have paused on the entrance of the bathhouse.
Following his line of sight, she looked over.
A tall, chubby figure emerged from inside, turning his head slightly with one hand partially cupping his chin. A fleeting spark flashed, and instantly, a wisp of white smoke rose from his palm.
Wang Yaofa exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke, feeling immensely comfortable. Just as he was about to hand the lighter to his good buddy, he noticed two more people had appeared over here.
One he didn't recognize, and the other was none other than Sun Qianyue, the very girl the two had just been discussing. With a face and figure like that, no wonder so many boys liked her; she was vastly better-looking than his No. 66 technician.
Pity she didn't understand the shifting temperatures of a man's heart the way the No. 66 technician did—alternating between ice packs and warm water.
"You guys actually go to places like this!"
Seeing Wang Yaofa swaggering out of the bathhouse, Gao Shuai immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.
"What are you howling about? I just went in to borrow a light."
Wang Yaofa naturally wouldn't admit to it. If word got out, their reputations would be ruined. "If you talk nonsense, I'll sue you for defamation!"
As he spoke, he pointed at Gao Shuai, and the fierce look on his face actually made Gao Shuai take two steps back.
Wang Yaofa's family ran a driving school, and he knew plenty of people; Gao Shuai was genuinely afraid of retaliation.
Sun Qianyue frowned once more at Gao Shuai's cowardly display. Just like this?
How was he supposed to protect her in the future? This sort of embroidered pillowcase was truly unreliable; it was a good thing she hadn't chosen him.
As for the bathhouse?
Wasn't it completely normal for guys to go there?
Besides, who said that going inside meant doing bad things? She found it hard to believe that the two boys, having just graduated, would be up to that sort of business.
Furthermore, he had rejected Zhang Jingyi—that campus beauty Zhang Jingyi who had always kept her under her thumb! Use your brain a little: did a guy like him lack pretty girls?
He definitely wouldn't have gone for that. Sun Qianyue already had her own answer in mind, and even threw another glance at Gao Shuai. Aside from having a little money and knowing how to act cool, the guy was completely brainless. She had no idea how he managed to score so high on the exams.
She refocused her attention on Liu Chuanfeng. He hadn't been affected by Gao Shuai's words in the slightest; he hadn't even looked at him, acting as though Gao Shuai simply didn't exist.
Yes, exactly this vibe!
The aura of an overbearing CEO!
A real man should be like this!
She used to think of him as the model student type, but now she saw a charming, rebellious contrast.
Sun Qianyue felt a slight thrill, giving her a sense of being conquered and a fierce urge to conquer the other person in return.
"I heard you also applied to the Shanghai Theatre Academy. We might be alumni in the future. How about we add each other on WeChat first so it's easier to keep in touch?"