Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I swear I wasn’t trying to steal my friend’s sister’s Starbucks. I was just a little thirsty.

But when I stood awkwardly in front of her and asked if I could borrow a cup for some water, the look she gave me was full of scrutiny.

“You want coffee?”

“No!” I hurried to explain. “I just want some water.”

Then she pushed her thermos toward me.

“Drink this.”

What was that supposed to mean? It wasn’t like I was Yanjun. How could I dare drink straight from her cup…?

Forcing myself to stay calm, I asked, “Do you have any disposable cups? I can pour some out.”

“No. Just drink from it.”

She didn’t even lift her head. Her voice was calm, like she didn’t care in the slightest, but my mind was already in chaos.

Xu Yanjun said his sister was a clean freak. And she was a doctor, too. So why did she seem so unconcerned about little things like this?

I hesitated over whether to take it or not.

Xu Shanshan suddenly glanced at me, her gaze questioning. I got so nervous that I immediately picked up her thermos.

Then I sat off to the side, unscrewed the lid, poured water into it, and drank without letting my lips touch it, thinking I would wash the lid clean afterward.

“Zhou Yunchuan, I heard from Yanjun that after you graduated from college, you’ve been drawing comics at home?”

Xu Shanshan’s sudden question nearly made me choke on the water. I was slow for a good while before I managed to answer, “I… I was just drawing for fun at first. Quite a few people ended up reading them, so later I simply went full-time.”

“That’s nice.”

Her casual approval left me dazed for a moment.

Was it nice? Other than her brother, Xu Yanjun, it felt like hardly anyone had ever said that.

Even my mom nagged me all the time. Such a perfectly good college graduate, wouldn’t it be better to find a proper job with five social insurances and a housing fund? Why insist on staying home and drawing…?

I started working with comic studios back in college. At first, I worked on-site as an assistant, earning very little.

In this line of work, interest was the only thing keeping you going. I simply liked drawing.

My mom always thought being a college graduate was something amazing, but in reality, college graduates were everywhere. And I was one of the ones who wasn’t doing all that well. During the time I worked in Hangzhou, things went terribly.

Later, my online serialized comic started gaining a bit of traction, so I simply returned to my hometown and became a full-time artist.

To be honest, it always felt a little embarrassing to say out loud. All those distant aunts and uncles were always asking my parents, “Is Yunchuan still living off you at home? How much can drawing even make? Can he earn three thousand a month? If he can’t, he should just go out and get a job.”

Especially my younger aunt. She was always deliberately comparing me to my younger cousin Chenhao. “Oh, our Chenhao joined a real estate company as soon as he graduated. He works there as a drafting and budgeting specialist, and now he makes ten thousand a month. They’re both drawing, but can that even be the same thing?”

And then there was my eldest aunt. Every time, she looked down her nose at people and couldn’t even be bothered to deal with us.

All because her daughter-my older cousin Zhang Simeng-had married well. My cousin-in-law’s family was rich and owned a big company.

Anyway, reality was just like that. This year, my comic finally became a minor hit, and I started earning more than ten thousand a month. Then my younger aunt said, “How can that be the same? Chenhao’s company pays insurance, the five social insurances and housing fund. What does Yunchuan have? What kind of security will he have in the future?”

My eldest aunt leisurely cracked sunflower seeds, looking at everyone from the corner of her eye and insulting whoever she could. “No matter how you put it, aren’t they all just working for someone else? It’s fine if a man is poor. Getting a wife early is also a skill.”

The little bit of pride my mom had just managed to feel was snuffed out again.

My dad, on the other hand, was very supportive of me. He drove a taxi and was cheerful all day long. Whenever he met someone, he would brag, “My son is so good at drawing. He’s really good. He draws online, and he can even make money from it. Last time, after he got paid, he bought me a new phone.”

There’s a saying that’s absolutely right: don’t show off. The people who most can’t stand seeing you do well are often the ones closest to you.

But my mom just wanted to win a little respect.

Ever since I was little, my grandparents had favored my eldest uncle and my younger aunt.

The money the old couple saved over their whole lives was secretly given to my eldest uncle.

One year, my dad was hospitalized with appendicitis. They came to the hospital, took one look, and brought a carton of milk.

But when my younger aunt’s husband was hospitalized with a broken bone, the old couple handed over five thousand yuan outright and kept checking on him every few days.

They even said my aunt’s husband was an outsider, so it would look bad not to give him money, but why would they give money to their own son?

Where could you even go to reason with that? Some parents’ favoritism made no sense at all.

Since they favored my eldest uncle and younger aunt, naturally, they favored those two families’ children as well.

When I was little, I was playing at my grandma’s house. My older cousin and younger cousin were there too, and so was Chenhao.

There were four kids in total. They boiled three eggs. Only when they saw me did they remember-

“Oh, Yunchuan is here too. We only boiled three eggs.”

Then the three of them ate eggs while I watched pitifully from the side.

Not until my dad came to pick me up and saw the scene did the grown man instantly go red-eyed with anger. He scooped me up and left.

“Come on. Dad will boil some for you at home.”

That day, my dad boiled five eggs for me. I ate until I almost threw up.

Then he said, “Don’t tell your mom about this, okay?”

Poor old Dad. I guessed that whole egg incident must have touched some memory from his own childhood.

Even though my mom felt wronged, she really did dote on me. Seeing me busy in front of the computer all the time, she was always buying eye-protecting fruits like blueberries and oranges.

One time, she even bought two pots of cactus and put them in my room, saying they would block radiation.

Compared with those relatives, my middle school best buddies, led by Xu Yanjun, were actually pretty great. They bragged about me without even needing a script-

“Zhou Yunchuan is seriously amazing. The top shut-in comic artist, a big-shot comic artist! He’s my classmate. He’s got a bit of fame!”

“You guys better hurry up and get his autograph before he blows up. Otherwise, you won’t get another chance.”

I was lost in thought, and I couldn’t help laughing. Then I saw Xu Shanshan, who had apparently stood up at some point, leaning against the table and gazing at me with a calm expression.

The second I met those pitch-black eyes, my scalp went numb again. I stammered, “Wh-what time is it?”

The corner of her mouth curved up. She lifted her chin slightly, gesturing at me. “Your phone is in your hand.”

My mouth opened. I hurriedly looked down at my phone. It was ten-thirty.

“Why isn’t Yanjun here yet? I’ll go wait for him at the entrance.”

I pretended to be calm, but when I passed by her, she suddenly blocked my way.

“Are you afraid of me?”

She was so close. That stunning face was staring straight at me… That powerful pressure surrounded me. Her voice was very womanly, very pleasant to hear, and even held a faint, seductive note.

My whole body went numb. Like a dumb dog, I let out two awkward laughs.

“Sis, you’ve got it wrong. No such thing.”

“Good. Otherwise, I would think you did something guilty and didn’t dare face me.”

Her eyes fixed straight on me. In an instant, the tips of my ears burned hot. My mind went completely blank, and I was utterly dazed.

At that critical moment, the door to the consultation room was pushed open. My savior, Xu Yanjun, had finally arrived.

He didn’t come alone. Behind him was another good buddy of ours-our classmate Cheng Yue.

Last time, when I got hauled away by ambulance after eating barbecue, she had been there. I heard from Xu Yanjun that she cried like the world was ending, putting on a full-blown life-and-death farewell scene.

And when I was hospitalized, everyone else bought fruit, but this girl actually showed up holding a bouquet of roses.

She even comforted me. “It’s okay, Yunchuan. Who doesn’t get hemorrhoids? Just cut them off and you’ll be fine. I won’t look down on you.”

I was furious at the time. “So getting hemorrhoids means I deserve to be looked down on?”

She grinned like a lovable idiot. “Who would’ve thought that even a Peerless Handsome Dude like you could get hemorrhoids? In my heart, you don’t even poop.”

“Anyway, what I mean is, don’t feel burdened. Whether you have hemorrhoids or not, whether you poop or not, it doesn’t affect your status in my heart.”

Everyone around us burst out laughing. I was so angry my butt started aching faintly.

“G-e-t-lost!”

Anyway, back to the point. I went to university out of town and only returned to my hometown after graduating. Through Xu Yanjun, I started hanging out again with a few middle school classmates I’d been close to.

To be honest, I actually liked them quite a lot.

Cheng Yue’s family was pretty well-off. Her dad owned several auto repair shops.

Back when she was in school, all she knew how to do was fake being sick to skip class. Who would’ve thought she would be so motivated now? She was often helping out at her family’s repair shops, managing inventory and doing accounts. Sometimes she’d hand tools to the mechanics, and even if she got covered in engine oil, she didn’t care at all.

It was probably related to her interests too. Xu Yanjun said she liked cars.

The former dead-last underachiever had grown into a fine young woman.

Then there was Huizi. Back in school, she had been the obedient girl with thick nearsighted glasses. Who would’ve thought she would now be a resident singer at a bar, with a little fanbase of her own?

Our classmate Xiaoyu always had his hair neatly combed, his leather shoes polished to a shine, and a suit on. He talked to us about financial planning and insurance.

Every single one of us had bought insurance from him. This time, when I had my hemorrhoid surgery, he was the proudest one of all. “See? Yunchuan listened to me and bought the hospitalization medical rider. This surgery basically won’t cost him anything. People say insurance is a scam, but how could it possibly be a scam…?”

Cheng Yue’s younger cousin often hung out with us too. Altogether, there were six of us, and we often ate and drank together or went to the stadium to play badminton.

Anyway, Xu Yanjun said he’d passed by Cheng Yue’s family repair shop on the way. When she heard he was coming to find me, this girl didn’t even finish checking the inventory. She changed into a dress and came right over.

She said excitedly, “After lunch, let’s go watch a movie this afternoon.”

Xu Yanjun and I had no objections. He had taken leave anyway, and being idle was still being idle.

Xu Yanjun also casually asked his sister, just for form’s sake, “Sis, are you eating lunch with us?”

“No time. You guys go eat.”

Sure enough, exactly as expected. None of us took it seriously. But who knew that after saying that, Xu Shanshan would suddenly curve her lips again and say something that struck us like a bolt from the blue?

“Buy movie tickets for tonight. I’ll go with you after I get off work.”

Holy crap!