Being a man is really too hard.
At this moment, Deng Shangwei and Jiang Youjia found common ground.
Late at night, Deng Shangwei made a trip to the airport. A big shipment was arriving from out of town, July being the peak season for seafood sales. Normally, Deng Shangwei would be raking it in, but now Boss Qin had “canceled” his quota, leaving him unable to get good stock, his company’s business faltering.
With nothing better to do, Deng Shangwei figured he’d play along with Boss Qin’s game, heading to the airport to intercept Yu Wei, hoping Yu Wei might put in a good word with Qin.
Unshaven, short sleeves wrinkled, Yu Wei looked at this version of Deng Shangwei and felt a surge of satisfaction.
This guy had been his dad’s lackey, climbing up by clinging to Qin Xianming’s coattails for two good years, only to get stomped back down now.
A lackey daring to rise above his dad, he deserved this fate!
Yu Wei thought this to himself, but outwardly called him “Uncle Deng” with a polite demeanor, showing reluctance when faced with Deng Shangwei’s plea.
Of course, Yu Wei didn’t need to play the villain, others were eager to pile on Deng Shangwei without him saying a word.
Those two small-time bosses from Qing Shi Bridge, who’d once followed Yu Wenhao, switched to the seafood trade after Yu Wenhao’s fall, using their ties with Deng Shangwei to gain a foothold in Rongcheng’s market. Now, with Boss Qin’s word, they ditched old loyalties, stomping on Deng Shangwei to draw a line, poaching his clients and mocking him relentlessly.
Though Deng Shangwei was acting, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of感慨.
Had he not uncovered Yu Wenhao’s scheme in time, this could’ve been his real fate.
Boss Qin losing faith in him, his wife leaving him, his kids resenting him, the seafood company tanking, a man’s most vital pillars—family and career—crumbling, truly pitiful!
Lost in this thought, Deng Shangwei’s mind drifted.
Yu Wei, seemingly sympathetic, urged him, “Uncle Deng, you and my dad go way back, I’d help if I could, you know Boss Qin’s temper, once he cools off, I’ll definitely speak up for you.”
This guy’s knack for spouting nonsense with a straight face wasn’t half bad.
Speak up?
If Deng Shangwei had truly lost Qin’s trust, with Yu Wei “helping” by Qin’s side, Qin’s bias against him would only deepen!
Thinking this, Deng Shangwei flashed Yu Wei a grateful, ingratiating smile.
Finishing his act for the day, Deng Shangwei prepared to leave, the two seafood bosses already itching to shoo him off.
“You just leaned on your ties with Brother Wen, acting like an elder in front of Yu Wei, banking on his soft heart not to turn you down. Why do you think Boss Qin cut your quota, don’t you get it?”
“Yeah, Little Deng, sort out your family mess before talking business.”
Serves him right!
Both bosses had once fancied Pan Li, who ignored their advances but warmed to Deng Shangwei.
Damn, even a bar girl was this pragmatic, money wasn’t enough, you had to be young and handsome too.
Now look, Deng Shangwei was a wreck, no big earnings ahead, let’s see if that tramp Lili still fancies him!
Their malice was bare, certain Deng Shangwei couldn’t bounce back.
Deng Shangwei didn’t argue, turning to leave.
At the airport entrance, he spotted three flashy sports cars, rare in 2004 Rongcheng, prompting a second glance.
A young guy stepped out, hair streaked with pink-gold, backpack slung over his shoulder, waving casually at the drivers, carefree and bold.
The drivers rolled down their windows, laughing and cursing.
“Rushing to Rongcheng on a whim, then not even staying a couple days, taking a red-eye flight out, He Zhen, you bastard, you just treat us like clowns!”
“Yeah, I’m sick of your face, get lost already!”
“Chasing skirt over bros, don’t stop him, he’s rushing back to tour Egypt with his senior…”
The streaked-hair guy mimed shooting gestures at his pals, sparking laughter and whistles, drawing stares from passersby.
These rich kids were so loud.
Deng Shangwei looked away.
Strangers’ affairs wouldn’t delay his return… not home, but a hotel, pitiful he couldn’t go back, hadn’t held his wife in ages.
Once this mess was over, maybe he should take her on a trip.
Egypt he knew from “The Mummy,” all sand and black beetles crawling from mummies’ mouths, yet people vacationed there, young folks in love these days, he couldn’t fathom it.
In July 2004, He Zhen followed a gut impulse to Rongcheng, unsure what he sought. Twice, he came tantalizingly close to his quarry, only to miss it.
He didn’t notice the round-faced girl in the KTV hallway.
Nor did he pay mind to a downcast man at the airport.
The most precious things are sometimes wrapped in the plainest shells, a lesson He Zhen wouldn’t grasp for years.
…
Wen Ying’s foot swelling had subsided.
After three full days of healing and tackling practice tests, she felt sharper.
The brain’s like a machine, valuable only when used, rusting when idle, so some recall their mental peak as high school after years of work.
Three days of nonstop tests brought Wen Ying a small intellectual boost, she demanded a chance to prove it.
“Teacher Liang, I’ve really improved.”
Liang chuckled, “If you hadn’t made some progress, I’d be too ashamed to take your tutoring fees.”
Such intense cramming—starting one-on-two, Liang teaching two, now two-on-one with Liang and Xie Qian tag-teaming Wen Ying—should yield results, even a cow would improve!
A slacker had no say, Liang’s bluntness stemmed from frustration.
He knew the provincial key school entrance exam loomed, Wen Ying’s middle school score was 578, two months under him failing that exam would be humiliating.
Liang crafted a test paper with care.
It was optional for Xie Qian, designed to gauge Wen Ying’s level, 80% junior high content, 20% first-year high school math.
Wen Ying tackled it with focus.
Holding the paper now, she wasn’t as lost as before.
Junior high math was simple, just forgotten, her recent efforts like oiling a rusty machine, reviving old knowledge.
Groping alone wouldn’t cut it, but with Liang, a provincial key senior teacher, and Xie Qian, a perfect-scorer, guiding her, rebuilding her junior high framework was swift!
—Just 120 points, right?
—Xie Qian underestimated her!
