Chapter 15

The next thing was to gather the money.

Every month, my family would transfer some pocket money to my card. I usually spent rather carelessly, so I wasn’t even sure how much was left.

I’d ask my parents for a bit more, saying I needed to buy clothes.

I’d borrow some from Lu Yici, Xie Yang, and those other rich young men.

All together, I could probably scrape together a little over a million yuan.

On a rainy weekend, I went to where Yi Chao lived. Uncle Wang held an umbrella and waited with me for quite a while before he finally emerged from that messy little alley. The bruises on his face hadn’t faded yet, and he was holding a battered umbrella in one hand.

When he saw me, he froze for a moment.

A few seconds later, he pressed his lips together and walked toward me.

“I’m here to keep my promise. I’ll lend you 1.2 million yuan. You can pay me back slowly once you start working and have money. I won’t charge any interest.”

“For now, I’ll lend you a million first. Use it to pay off your debt. The remaining two hundred thousand, I’ll give you in two months. I’ll transfer it to you by phone then.”

As I spoke, I took out my phone, unlocked it with my fingerprint, and opened WeChat. “Let’s add each other as friends. It’ll be easier to keep in touch.”

The boy in front of me didn’t move at all.

“You have WeChat, right?”

I looked up at him.

But I saw that he was biting his lower lip, his eyes red, emotions surging inside them.

He was gripping the umbrella so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand stood out.

The rain was easing. I watched him calmly, waiting for his emotions to settle.

I didn’t know how long it took, but eventually tears rolled from his eyes. He took a step back and bowed deeply to me, solemnly.

His voice was hoarse: “Thank you.”