As someone who had been reborn, Chen Mo naturally knew the market trends and numerous money-making opportunities of the next dozen years.
However, 2005 was a very awkward year.
At least in Chen Mo's perception, it was.
The real estate market had yet to take off—that would take several more years—and he did not have enough starting capital right now.
Bitcoin had not been released, and even if it had, it would take a very long time to cash it out.
To make matters worse, there was no World Cup, so gambling on football was out of the question.
The lottery?
Those who understood, understood.
Living off a woman?
That was even more bullshit.
What was he even thinking?
Was living off a woman something you could just do whenever you wanted?
Not everyone could handle the steel wool scouring pad.
Plagiarizing songs? Plagiarizing books?
That was outright theft.
Chen Mo disdained engaging in such petty and dishonest acts.
If he wanted to make money, he would do it uprightly and openly.
As for stock trading, financial management, and the like, they were completely out of the question for Chen Mo.
In his previous life, he had not even gone to college; he was just an ordinary corporate slave, nothing like the reborn protagonists in so many novels.
Before their rebirth, they were either heaven-defying dragon kings with twisted mouths, or filthy rich tycoons throwing money around with three thousand concubines in their harems.
After their rebirth, they were as omnipotent and miraculous as cheaters, able to rake in hundreds of millions with the blink of an eye.
That was pure nonsense.
Therefore, lacking such a cheat-like, Mary-Sue, melodramatic setting, the idea of making brainless, quick money was practically cut off.
However.
Chen Mo was not entirely without ideas for making money.
In his previous life, he had spent over a decade knocking around in Yangcheng's Huaqiangbei, known as the "First Street of Electronics in Xia Country," so he naturally understood the history of the development of electronic equipment and the internet.
Therefore, Chen Mo planned to use this as a breakthrough, doing what should be done along the true timeline.
Having determined his direction, Chen Mo stopped agonizing and prepared to return to the living room to wait patiently for his parents to come off work.
Unexpectedly, the moment he moved, something fell from the corner of the desk. Chen Mo picked it up casually and took a look.
It was a letter.
And an unsealed letter, at that.
Looking at the address and signature on it.
Another wave of memories flooded his mind.
He remembered that when he had just started the eighth grade, Chen Mo, who had a pretentious literary phase back then, submitted a short piece to a small magazine under the pen name [Paomo], and it had actually been published.
Not long after, a girl calling herself [Fish in the Smoke of War] wrote a letter to Chen Mo.
Afterwards, the two of them muddled along and became pen pals.
They made a mutual agreement that, apart from letters, they would not use any other means of contact to communicate.
Just like that, they wrote to each other for five years.
Gradually, they went from being mere acquaintances to confidants.
Therefore, Chen Mo had also shared with [Fish in the Smoke of War] his feelings and efforts regarding Lin Zhitong.
He had revealed that he intended to confess his love to Lin Zhitong after the college entrance examination.
This must have been the last letter he received from her before the college entrance exams.
Busy preparing for the exams, Chen Mo had not replied in a hurry, only writing back after the exams were over.
Little did he know that right after finishing the exams, the team was temporarily notified of an external training competition. Chen Mo had planned to mail the letter after arriving at the training grounds.
Never did he imagine that, due to leaving in such a hurry, the letter had not been packed into his luggage.
After returning from the competition, he had been too busy preparing for his confession to Lin Zhitong, and the matter slipped his mind entirely.
And later on, following the fight, Chen Mo's temperament changed drastically, and he practically cut off all contact with everyone.
Including this letter that was never sent in the first place.
It was never going to be sent, ever again.
Now, having returned through rebirth.
Discovering its existence amidst the unseen workings of fate was perhaps an arrangement by the heavens.
Chen Mo planned to mail it tomorrow.
As for the contents of the letter, Chen Mo vaguely remembered that it stated his intention to truly confess to Lin Zhitong after the college entrance examination; he wasn't clear on the rest.
Now that the confession had failed, Chen Mo planned to change the contents before sending it.
So he pulled out the original stationery, tore it up without even looking at it, and found a new sheet.
Um...
"Damn, I have no idea what to write."
With his state of mind already changed, Chen Mo could not think of what to reply.
After pondering for a while.
In the end, he wrote just four characters on the paper.
——[Confession failed]
He sealed the envelope and returned to the living room.
He turned on the television and waited for his parents to come home from work.
The content on TV was simply too boring, almost lulling Chen Mo to sleep.
Glancing at the clock, it was still early for his parents to return.
Chen Mo went back to his bedroom, grabbed the letter, and headed out.
...
"Why are you back so late again?"
The moment he stepped through the door and heard his father Chen Guozheng's voice, Chen Mo was so emotional he almost shed tears.
This man, upright and unyielding all his life, yet willing to kneel before Wang Zikang's parents for his son's wrongdoing, truly embodied a father's love as grand and steady as a mountain.
Seeing Chen Guozheng in his youth once again in this lifetime, Chen Mo desperately wanted to rush over and give him a hug, but he dared not show too much.
So he simply forced himself to act as usual, changing his shoes while saying:
"Dad, that piece-of-crap bicycle of yours really needs to be replaced. I just rode it to the post office—the chain dropped eight times over the span of just a few miles, otherwise I would have been home long ago."
After changing his shoes, like any child returning home, he inevitably asked:
"Dad, where's Mom?"
Before his voice had even faded.
He Yunlan walked out of the kitchen.
"All you know is running wild outside from morning till night, and now you finally show up. You'll definitely end up just like your dad; even after getting a wife, you'll still be a handful who gives no peace of mind."
——Comrade Chen Guozheng indicated that he had been hit by a stray bullet while minding his own business ヽ(′ー`)?
At this moment.
Chen Mo, who had intended to act as if nothing was wrong, completely lost his composure, his eyes instantly turning red.
Mr. Lao She said: A person, even if they live to be eighty or ninety, can still retain a bit of childishness as long as they have a mother. Losing a loving mother is like a flower stuck in a vase—though it still has color and fragrance, it has lost its root.
A person with a mother has peace in their heart.
Therefore, Chen Mo uncontrollably lunged forward.
Only to be instantly shoved away by Ms. He Yunlan with a single push.
And pushed away with an expression of utter disgust, at that.
"Your hands are covered in grease, what are you coming over here for? Go wash up right now."
Chen Mo only then remembered that his hands had gotten quite a bit of grease on them while putting the bicycle chain back on along the way.
"What are you standing there dazed for? Go on, hurry up!"
Hearing his mother's urging once again, the excitement in Chen Mo's heart cooled by half, and he had no choice but to obediently head to the bathroom.
When he came back after washing his hands, he found that his mother had returned to the kitchen.
Chen Mo originally intended to go see her again, but seeing Chen Guozheng beckon to him, he walked over instead.
"Even though it's already a done deal, I still want to say this: take responsibility for your own choices."
Chen Mo knew his father was talking about the fact that he chose not to attend Beijing Sport University or the Provincial Sports Institute, but instead applied for an ordinary undergraduate institution.
He had to admit.
As far as Chen Mo was concerned, his parents were truly great and open-minded.
When he applied for college choices back then, even though they knew Beijing Sport University was the best choice, they ultimately let him follow his own whims without a single word of blame.
Thinking of this, Chen Mo's heart grew warm once more.
Seeing that Chen Mo remained silent, Chen Guozheng assumed he was feeling guilty and comforted him.
"It's fine, you can study anywhere. As long as you work hard enough, you will surely surpass me in the future and become an even better person."
Upon hearing this, Chen Mo weakly replied:
"Dad, I can't guarantee anything else. But I'm quite confident about finding a wife better than you in the future."
Hearing these words, Chen Guozheng was stunned at first, then looked towards the kitchen.
Chen Mo secretly thought to himself, 'Oh no,' and prepared to slip away.
Before he could even stand up, Chen Guozheng grabbed him by the arm and firmly pressed him back onto the sofa.
——Ah, truly, a father's love is like a mountain... landslide.
╮(─▽─)╭
So he hurriedly turned back, just in time to see Ms. He Yunlan walking towards him.
To save his own skin, Chen Mo immediately changed the subject and asked with a cheeky smile:
"Mom, what delicious food did you make at home today?"
Ms. He Yunlan rolled up her sleeves as she walked over and said:
"Naturally, I made your favorite big fat slap in the face."