"Sister Qi, please spare me. I know what you mean, but this is already impossible, and there's no going back." Li Chen shrugged with a helpless expression, his tone blunt and indifferent.
As if Shen Qinglan would be scared walking home alone!
How had she spent her three years in high school, then?
Why hadn't she ever offered to give him a ride home before?
Anyone with a normal mind could hear the estrangement and aloofness in his words.
"Li Chen, you jerk! How can you treat me like this? Isn't it just because I rejected you and hurt your pride? Can I apologize to you?"
"I don't even want you to bring me breakfast or snacks anymore. Can't we go back to the way we used to be? Why did Gu Xirou have to show up and change everything?"
Shen Qinglan's eyes turned red, welling up with tears as she bit her lower lip. She didn't even know why she was so angry.
It felt as though something that rightfully belonged to her had suddenly been snatched away by someone else.
"Even if a broken mirror can be pieced back together, there's always a glaring crack left behind. My affection for you has expired. From that night on, the bond between you and me came to an end."
Li Chen felt a slight pang of emotion as he looked at Shen Qinglan's pretty face and aggrieved expression. If he hadn't known what Shen Qinglan was really like in his past life, he might actually have softened his heart.
Only, how many "what ifs" were there in this world?
Hearing Li Chen speak so directly and clearly, Shen Qinglan's pride and grievance instantly collapsed, and tears spilled unbidden from her eyes.
"Lanlan, why are you crying?" Fang Qi panicked slightly, pulling Shen Qinglan's hand before looking at Li Chen. "Even if you don't like Lanlan anymore, you can still be good friends, right? There's no need to go and start liking Gu Xirou, someone you've only known for a few days!"
"Leaving aside whether things are as you say they are, even if they were, it has nothing to do with anyone else." Li Chen waved a hand and turned directly to leave. "I'm heading out. If I'm late, I'll miss the bus."
Since he had already made things perfectly clear, why waste any more time?
"Fang Qi, how can he just leave like that? Was the way he used to treat me so well all fake?" Shen Qinglan was stamping her feet with pure rage now. She found it impossible to accept that Li Chen, who used to obey her every word, had turned into this.
Fang Qi fell silent for a moment. "Lanlan, have you ever liked Li Chen?"
Shen Qinglan thought about it seriously, her eyes drifting away evasively. "It seems like... no."
Fang Qi was stunned. You don't like the guy? Then what was all this fuss about?
"Lanlan, the other students have all left. We should get going too."
Fang Qi finally sighed. She decided to stay out of their romantic entanglements; if Li Chen was willing to let go, what was the point of clinging to someone who didn't care about you?
Shen Qinglan had enjoyed a privileged upbringing and good grades since childhood, always pampered in the palms of her parents' and teachers' hands. Now that she had been rejected in return by Li Chen, it was purely a matter of bitter resentment.
Right, how did that paranoid saying go? *What I don't want, nobody else is getting either!*
***
Dawn broke, the dark night faded, and the first ray of morning light spilled across the earth.
Li Chen opened his eyes, swiftly washed up and packed his things, then ran down to the mutton rice noodle shop downstairs to polish off a large, satisfying bowl.
After that, he hurriedly caught a bus to school, beads of sweat dotting his forehead by the time he reached the school gates.
He wanted to wait for Gu Xirou in the classroom. After today, his little deskmate would officially be his creditor.
There weren't many people in the classroom yet; even class monitor Zhen Yao and Fang Qi hadn't arrived, let alone Kang Xiaoqiang, who sat at the bottom of the rankings.
Not long after Li Chen sat down, he saw Gu Xirou walk through the classroom door.
Their eyes met in the air. Gu Xirou seemed to be in a very good mood, flashing a sweet and lovely smile at Li Chen.
"Morning, Li Chen. I brought you xiao long bao and yogurt. I bought the dumplings at the shop by my neighborhood entrance—they're really good."
Gu Xirou placed the plastic bag she was holding onto Li Chen's desk before sitting down at her own seat and taking off her schoolbag.
"Xiao long bao? Yogurt?"
Li Chen was stunned, almost dazed by this sudden stroke of happiness.
In the past, he was always the one braving wind and rain to buy breakfast for Shen Qinglan. This was the first time a girl had ever brought breakfast for him.
His resolute vow to lock away his heart and focus solely on making money loosened by another fraction.
"Gu Xirou, have you eaten?..."
"I ate before I left. I bought these specially for you."
Gu Xirou said as she opened her schoolbag.
Li Chen took the xiao long bao and yogurt out of the packaging and secretly rubbed his stomach. It was tough resisting such kindness from a beauty...
"Here, this is for you." Gu Xirou slid a pink cartoon wallet out from under her desk and handed it to Li Chen. "The money inside is what I've saved up myself. See if this is enough."
Li Chen looked at the bulging wallet and hesitated. Judging by his experience, this definitely amounted to more than two thousand!
"What's wrong? Take it quickly. If the other students see, it won't look good for you."
Gu Xirou pushed the wallet directly onto Li Chen's lap without giving him room to refuse.
"This, how much is here?" Li Chen picked up the wallet and tested its weight. He could now be certain that Gu Xirou was a little heiress.
"I haven't counted it, but it's all I have."
Gu Xirou glanced at Li Chen, resting her chin on her slender, fair hands.
Li Chen opened the wallet and made a rough estimate. It was probably close to ten thousand.
There were hundred-yuan bills, fifty-yuan bills, and even a few tens and twenties.
This truly was everything she had!
To be honest, Li Chen was quite moved.
Setting aside their relationship from that night, they had only known each other for a few short days, and she didn't even know his character.
Yet simply because of a single word from him, Gu Xirou was willing to lend him all her savings. You could probably search the entire world and fail to find another foolish girl like her.
"This money... is a bit too much. I only need to borrow two thousand."
"Just take it and use it. Even though I don't know what you're up to, having a bit of extra money on hand is never a bad thing."
"Well, thank you. I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
"It's fine, no rush. I don't really spend much money anyway; anything I need, my parents buy for me."
Some people were born in Rome, while others spent their whole lives as beasts of burden.
Li Chen didn't just feel the truth of this sentiment deeply in the present moment; he had experienced the exact same feeling in his past life.
The difference was that his former self had no choice, whereas now, he possessed the ability to take control of his own destiny.
As long as the trajectory of history remained unchanged and allowed him to snap up that underpriced opportunity to make his first pot of gold, his plan to get rich could be put into motion step by step.
"Gu Xirou, keep this wallet for now. We'll go to the bank together at noon after school lets out." Li Chen quickly handed the wallet back to Gu Xirou.
He didn't have a bank card yet, and carrying this much cash around wasn't safe. That Tieniu would cost at most two thousand, so keeping a little pocket change would be more than enough.
More importantly, he saw Chen Zhigang walking toward him, looking furious and wearing a thoroughly unfriendly expression.