Chapter 101
Chapter 101
He Yuchuan had indeed worked part-time as a print model in college. He wasn’t lying about that.
But at first, he wasn’t that hardworking.
At first, while his friends and roommates were doing things like supervising students’ homework at off-campus tutoring centers for 40 to 60 yuan a day, working as hip-hop teachers at street dance training centers for 15 to 20 yuan per student per class, or pooling money to open a fried skewer stall at the south gate of campus…
Just thinking about this kind of day-rate job gave He Yuchuan a headache. He thought it was no different from hauling bricks on a construction site or folding towels on an assembly line.
What He Yuchuan wanted was the kind of job where he could make a lot of money in a very short time, then lie low and spend it for a very long time – ideally making one lump sum a year and living off it for a year.
His common ground with Qin Bao from earlier in the story was that neither of them knew how to do anything and neither wanted to learn, but the difference was that Qin Bao asked for nothing, while He Yuchuan didn’t miss out on any of life’s pleasures.
If he ate every meal at the campus cafeteria, he would probably only need a little over a thousand yuan a month for living expenses.
But He Yuchuan didn’t like cafeteria food. He liked hot pot, barbecue, seafood, and French cuisine. He also liked going out to sing karaoke and get massages…
On weekends, he never hung out in the library. He hung out in bars.
The atmosphere in bars was ambiguous and heated, the music deafening. On those wild nights, He Yuchuan often raised his glass again and again, scanned WeChat QR codes with pretty girls on their phones, then went off with arms slung around each other’s shoulders and never came home until dawn.
Back then, the food He Yuchuan remembered most vividly was neither the beloved cafeteria egg-filled flatbread nor the chestnut cakes that required a half-hour line at the school gate, but the boiled corn sold at the 24-hour convenience store by the bar.
After dancing until two in the morning, completely exhausted, biting into a corn cob while sitting on a small stool in the convenience store – that tasted better than anything.
The reason he could spend money and play so recklessly wasn’t his parents. It was his girlfriend.
He had a girlfriend in college. She was beautiful and came from a well-off family. She liked He Yuchuan’s tall, handsome looks, and from the first time she saw him, she pursued him like crazy, determined to make him her boyfriend.
In the more than half a year they were together, the girl bought He Yuchuan bags, shoes, clothes, and paid for meals… She spent tens of thousands of yuan on him inside and out.
She was passionate and generous, like a bright, dazzling little sun, and she never minded giving.
He Yuchuan relied on her heavily and promised that once he graduated, he would marry her.
Unfortunately, later the little sun met a boy who was taller and even more handsome than He Yuchuan, so she pursued him with even greater passion and generosity, and started a happier romance with him.
He Yuchuan got himself so drunk he was like a drunken stray dog, pitifully going to wait outside her dorm building and beg to get back together.
The little sun came back from a walk, arm in arm with her new boyfriend. When she saw He Yuchuan, she froze for a moment.
She turned to say something to her new boyfriend, then walked over to He Yuchuan and politely asked:
“Hey, He Yuchuan. Are you okay?”
He Yuchuan looked at her eyes dejectedly. “I’m not okay.”
The little sun nodded and patted his shoulder. “If you’re not okay, then keep yourself busy. Go study, or find a job.”
He Yuchuan was left speechless. After a long while, he finally squeezed out, “Without you, what am I supposed to do?”
The little sun had already walked several meters away. Hearing that, she turned back and said with a suppressed laugh, “Can you only rely on women? Can’t you rely on yourself?”
After saying that, she flicked her ponytail and went into the dorm building.
Hearing her say that, He Yuchuan instantly felt a wave of shame, so he asked around about the little sun’s new boyfriend.
He had thought this would be a man who relied entirely on himself, but the answer he got was – Little Sun had spent even more money on him than she had on He Yuchuan.
He Yuchuan felt absurd and furious, and sank even further into spending his days in nightclubs.
Once, he walked out of a nightclub and stood by the road smoking, when he saw a drunk woman slowly staggering out of the club alone.
After only a couple of steps, she swayed as if she was about to fall. Suddenly, a man in loafers darted out from somewhere and eagerly moved in to support her.
The woman waved him off drunkenly. “Get lost.”
The man in loafers froze. “I came to help you out of kindness. Don’t you fucking be ungrateful.”
The woman lifted her head. “I told you to get lost.”
Only then did He Yuchuan get a clear look at her face. She was beautiful, with fair skin – the classic southern beauty type.
The guy in the loafers shoved her hard. He Yuchuan rushed over to steady her, then kicked the man in the shin. The guy dropped to his knees with a thud.
He scrambled back up and started cursing He Yuchuan out. He Yuchuan said calmly, “I’ll count to three. If you’re not gone by then, you’ll be leaving lying down.”
He Yuchuan said, “One…”
The guy in the loafers tripped over his own feet and fled in a panic.
The woman crouched by the roadside. He Yuchuan walked over and crouched beside her.
“Where do you live? I’ll call a car and send you home.”
The woman gave a silly grin, patted him on the shoulder, and slurred, “Handsome boy… this head, these shoulders… not bad at all. Come report in tomorrow.”
As she spoke, she pulled a business card out of her bag and shoved it haphazardly into He Yuchuan’s collar. Then she staggered to her feet and headed toward a red Ferrari, yanking open the door.
He Yuchuan didn’t even have time to pull the card out of his collar. His eyes went straight to that glossy red Ferrari, unable to look away.
The woman sat in the car and called a friend. It was a convertible, so He Yuchuan could hear her perfectly.
“I drank too much! I can’t drive… Your brother’s driver took your brother on a business trip. Can you come help me…? What? A price? What price? Oh, you mean a designated driver… I don’t know how to use that. When have I ever used one? I don’t even have the app on my phone…”
He Yuchuan walked over, bent down, and asked, “Do you need help? I can drive for you.”
The woman took the phone away from her ear. “You didn’t drink?”
He Yuchuan shook his head. “Lucky coincidence. My stomach hurt today, so I didn’t drink.”
The woman shouted into the phone again, “All right, I found a designated driver. Bye!”
She got out of the car, and He Yuchuan obediently stepped aside to make room for her.
The woman poked him in the cheek. “You’re kind of adorably slow. What are you standing there for? Get in and drive!”
And just like that, He Yuchuan drove her home. Her place was a standalone villa. He Yuchuan almost wanted to post a location-tagged moment right then and there just to show off.
After they got out, He Yuchuan was still trying to think of an excuse to go inside and sit for a while, but the woman tossed him a “thanks” and walked in without looking back. He Yuchuan could only slink over to the roadside and hail a cab.
At last, he pulled the business card from his collar and read the words under the streetlight:
Songtan Tianxue Model Agency Co., Ltd.
General Manager: Wen Tianxue
Early the next morning, He Yuchuan walked through the doors of Songtan Tianxue Model Agency Co., Ltd. in a suit and leather shoes.
He didn’t go to the HR department. Instead, he went straight to the door of the general manager’s office and knocked politely twice.
A woman’s voice said, “Come in.”
So He Yuchuan walked in.
Three months later, He Yuchuan moved out of the school dormitory.
The move caused quite a commotion, mainly because he had far too many clothes, shoes, and bags.
The guys who didn’t care about fashion sneered at him. The ones who did were left speechless.
In the dorm building, three guys stood together, whispering.
Guy A said, “Hey, why’d he suddenly move out?”
Guy B said, “Heh. Maybe he had too many clothes and the dorm couldn’t fit His Majesty anymore.”
Guy C said, “You’re being shallow. He moved out because he’s got money now and can live in a big place off campus!”
Guy A said, “Where’d you hear that? Reliable?”
Guy C said, “Everyone in our major knows!”
Guy A said, “Damn, hurry up and tell us. How’d he suddenly get rich?”
Guy C said, “He used to date Xu Yangyang, remember?”
Guy A said, “Yeah, that rich, pretty girl from the art school. She spent a ton on him… But didn’t they break up ages ago?”
Guy C said, “Tsk! He’s latched on to an even bigger sugar mama now. This one’s the real deal. Xu Yangyang’s pocket change is nothing compared to her!”
Guy A said, “Hehehehehe. A professional pretty boy for life, huh…”