Chapter 16
“Look, classmate Xia, this is the fruit basket we brought for you.”
Li Ziji held the basket up in front of Xia Fengsheng, his whole face screaming, Look, look.
Xia Fengsheng supported the bottom of the basket. “Thank you.”
“As we should. How’s your recovery going? Does your head still hurt?”
Li Ziji and his group bustled in like relatives making New Year visits, all warmth and concern as they fussed over Xia Fengsheng.
“Classmate Xia, have you had breakfast yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Perfect, neither have we. Want to go to the cafeteria together in a bit?”
It was freezing outside, and Xia Fengsheng had not planned on going out today. There were instant foods stocked up in the dorm, enough to muddle through three meals.
He politely declined.
“That’s true, the cafeteria does get old. Then let’s go eat out in a while. There’s a new boiled fish place over on Linyin East Road outside campus—it tastes pretty good.”
“Hey! Classmate Xia, how did your clothes end up on the floor?” One of the students picked up Xia Fengsheng’s clothes, patted the dust off them with great seriousness, and hung them up properly.
“The morning air is freshest—let’s open the window and air the room out.” Another student had only just cracked the window open when Xia Fengsheng’s nose suddenly tickled and he sneezed hard.
Bang!
The window shut again.
Good lord, the Pea Princess.
Li Ziji laughed and said, “Since you haven’t had breakfast, have an apple to tide you over first. Right now classmate Xia is exactly at the stage where he should be eating apples. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Li Ziji took an apple to the bathroom to wash it clean, then came back out and asked, “Classmate Xia, do you need me to cut it into little bunny shapes for you?”
“……”
After that whole performance, they were practically on the verge of coaxing Xia Fengsheng back into a fetus.
There was no accepting favors for nothing.
Xia Fengsheng’s relationship with them was no more than nodding acquaintanceship. He only knew their names. Beyond that, he had no idea which dorm building they lived in or which room.
They had each other on WeChat, but apart from the initial “you can start chatting now” notification when they first added each other, they had never exchanged a single message.
He knew they definitely wanted something from him.
Li Ziji and the others had not stopped moving since they entered the dorm. They were busy, though it was impossible to tell what they were busy with.
They had praised “Zhao State” inside and out, even to the point where the little patch of grass by the window got a line of, “This grass really is grassy.”
Watching the spinning tops whirling around inside his dorm, Xia Fengsheng said, “If you’ve got something to say, sit down and say it.”
Li Ziji slapped his hands together. As expected of Xia Fengsheng—so understanding. Before losing his memory, he had been incredibly perceptive; after losing it, he was no worse.
Since Xia Fengsheng had already opened the door for them, they might as well just say it outright.
Xia Fengsheng was kind and had high emotional intelligence. As long as they looked troubled enough, he would definitely do his best to help.
“It’s like this, classmate Xia.” Li Ziji spoke as the representative. “Are you free Friday night? We’d like to invite you to an event.”
A flicker of thought moved through Xia Fengsheng’s dark eyes. From Lin Xingcan, he had already learned that Friday was the day for the next stage of project negotiations.
With the negotiations so close and Yang Liwan still not having come to find him, it turned out he had instead sent several lobbyists over.
“What event?” Xia Fengsheng asked, though he already knew.
“Well, classmate Xia, you know we study finance. There are always lots of dinners and drinking rounds and that sort of thing. Don’t underestimate these events—they’re all good chances to expand your network and build connections.”
“It doesn’t matter where you go, without relationships it’s hard to move an inch. Sometimes building a good relationship with someone is far better than shutting yourself away and grinding on your own.”
Li Ziji started with the parts that sounded most reasonable, and the other students all chimed in.
“Exactly. And whether you’re pulling in investment or getting stock support, it all depends on those wealthy people outside school. If you’ve got a relationship in place, then whether you want to start your own business after graduation or join a company, someone can give you a hand.”
“Now that you’ve lost your memory and forgotten all the people you connected with before, wouldn’t that make all your past work go to waste? So we were thinking we’d bring you along to the event too, help you adapt as soon as possible, and make plans for your future.”
At first glance, it all sounded like it was for Xia Fengsheng’s sake.
If Xia Fengsheng had really lost his memory, that was.
If Li Ziji and the others had come to persuade him, then Yang Liwan definitely had to have promised something behind the scenes.
If Xia Fengsheng went, Yang Liwan would be happy, and they would be happy too.
Once the project was successfully secured, the benefits would be endless. Xia Fengsheng knew perfectly well there would not be even the slightest share for him. Not a scrap.
Back then, when Yang Liwan let him into the project, he had also foolishly believed he would get to share a sip of the soup. He had worked tirelessly for so long, running around before and after, assuming Yang Liwan had seen all his effort.
But Yang Liwan had seen nothing.
When it came to the project dividends, Xia Fengsheng’s name was nowhere on the list. Yang Liwan had not even planned to give him a tiny spoonful.
He was still just a puppet Yang Liwan could manipulate with the twitch of a finger.
Xia Fengsheng looked at them with those dark, confused eyes. “Is it really that amazing? If I go, I’ll get to meet important people?”
“Of course. You’ll know once you go. There are plenty of benefits.”
“Really?” Xia Fengsheng stared at them, like a snake coiled in the dark watching its prey, his slit pupils reflecting their mocking faces.
He changed his mind.
Just saying he would not go would be letting them off too easily. And even if he said it, they would only keep chattering in his ear until he went anyway. Since they wanted to profit off him, then they ought to pay a price.
“There are still a few days until Friday. Classmate Xia, if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask us anytime.”
“Right, right. Don’t worry about troubling us. Ask whatever you don’t understand. You don’t need to concern yourself with anything else either. Friday at six, we’ll come pick you up downstairs at your dorm.”
Xia Fengsheng looked at them, moved, his eyes narrowing with a smile. “You guys are seriously so nice.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. We’re all classmates.”
The group laughed a few times. “We won’t disturb your rest anymore, classmate Xia. If there’s anything you want to know, just contact us.”
“Mm-hmm.”
On their way out, they thoughtfully closed the dorm door for him.
The group joked and laughed as they stepped into the elevator, but the moment the doors shut, their faces changed completely.
“Fuck, my face is stiff from smiling. Good thing he agreed to go.”
“If he didn’t go, I’d tie him up and drag him there on Friday if I had to.”
The benefits Yang Liwan had offered were pretty good. As long as Friday’s gathering went smoothly, he would introduce them to important people and recommend them.
“Hey, why does it have to be Xia Fengsheng specifically? Couldn’t the advisor just bring someone else?”
“Are you stupid? Bringing Xia Fengsheng there is basically sending him to sell ass. Some big shot took a liking to him and asked for him by name.”
Someone remembered the way Xia Fengsheng had smiled at them just now. His looks were rare—he had the physique of a mature man, yet when he smiled there was a particular seductive charm to him.
“Honestly, someone selling ass like that really could make something of it. Not like us, who can only bury our heads and work.”
“People laugh at poverty, not prostitution. Anyway, I look down on him.”
Before they came, the group had not actually held such strong hostility toward Xia Fengsheng. Between them, they were practically strangers, just with the added layer of being classmates.
But as the guilt of using him crept higher and higher, all of them felt increasingly uncomfortable in body and mind.
If they did not use Xia Fengsheng, they could not get resources or connections.
If they did use Xia Fengsheng, then they became sinners stabbing a classmate in the back—a classmate who had only recently fallen and whose brain was still not working right.
By pinning something ugly onto Xia Fengsheng, they could ease their own guilt.
See? He was not a good person to begin with. Using him was only natural. Even if they did not use him, he would still go and do that sort of thing anyway.
Baseness is the passport of the base.
And Xia Fengsheng understood that even more deeply than they did.
Time passed, and soon it was Friday evening at six.
Li Ziji came to pick him up along with two other classmates. The remaining two were already waiting at the KTV business lounge.
Tonight, the attendees would not just include the powerful woman and the others, but also competitors eyeing the project like hungry tigers.
The advisor was currently at the dinner table and had told them to go ahead to the KTV lounge first, order the drinks, and keep a close eye on everything. No matter what, they absolutely could not let the other side tamper with anything.
The opponents played dirty as hell. They had to make sure there was nothing wrong with the drinks, otherwise if something happened, the deal would fall through.
Li Ziji was driving. Xia Fengsheng sat in the back with one of the other students.
All the way there, the classmate talked without pause, vividly painting the KTV lounge they were about to attend in glowing terms. “Once you get familiar with those big shots, your career and your whole life will just soar straight into the sky!”
Xia Fengsheng put on a look of surprise. “That amazing? Then can I earn one hundred million?”
The classmate said, “Uh, well…”
Xia Fengsheng continued, “Can I buy a house inside the Third Ring?”
The classmate broke out in sweat. “Actually…”
Xia Fengsheng asked, “Can’t I do either of those?”
Then he sighed. “Figures. If you want to get to heaven, you still have to rely on Shenzhou.”
Seeing Xia Fengsheng looking more and more disappointed, the classmate quickly tried to salvage the situation. “It’s not that you can’t, it’s just a matter of time. These things all build up little by little, right? Obviously you can’t do them immediately, but don’t worry—in no more than a year, you’ll definitely make big money!”
As he spoke, he raised three fingers. “I swear.”
Xia Fengsheng gave him a look.
Did he stick a lightning rod on his head before daring to swear like that?
The car came to a stop in the parking lot, and the group took the elevator up to the ninth floor. Li Ziji first delivered Xia Fengsheng to the private room. The opposing side had not arrived yet, and he had to hurry and go confirm the drinks.
Pointing to the call bell on the coffee table, Li Ziji repeatedly warned him, “Classmate Xia, keep an eye on this pager. No matter who comes in later, don’t let them touch it. If anyone wants to order drinks, just say you’ll call for them, or tell them to go directly to the front desk, understood?”
If you did not know better, you would think it was some kind of state secret.
Xia Fengsheng casually replied, “Got it.”
Li Ziji nodded and got up to go to the front desk. In just the short time he had spent talking to Xia Fengsheng, the rival side had already reached the front desk, and there seemed to be an issue with the order. He had to go take a look.
And just like that, the gaudy, glittering private room was left with only Xia Fengsheng inside.
A pale finger pressed the pager.
The service desk answered quickly from the other side. “How may I help you? Would you like assistance, or would you like to place an order?”
“Order.”
“What would you like?”
“A cup of boiled water.”
After waging three hundred rounds of battle with the rival side at the front desk and narrowly winning—successfully preventing them from altering the drink order—Li Ziji’s group finally let out a sigh of relief and started heading back toward the private room.
The student walking in front was still boasting about his own achievements.
“You can always count on me. As long as Xia Fengsheng’s ass doesn’t mess up tonight, we’ve got this in the bag.”
“Oh, shut up already. Don’t let him hear you.”
The student sneered and knocked on the door panel. “The soundproofing here’s great.”
He pushed open the door.
The next second, a cup of freshly boiled water, still steaming white, splashed dead center across his entire chest.
“Fuck!!”
The others were splashed too, but the student who opened the door took the worst of it. He instantly screamed in pain, the burning across his whole chest making him reflexively want to curse.
The moment Li Ziji saw who was in front of them, he immediately grabbed the student by the arm.
“Hold it in!”
The student’s mouth instantly puckered into a chrysanthemum.
Xia Fengsheng apologized, “I heard someone knocking and came over to look. I didn’t expect I’d accidentally spill it on you.”
“The minute I arrive, I start causing trouble. I’m so clumsy.” Xia Fengsheng looked full of self-reproach. “Maybe I should just leave.”
The splashed classmate, hearing that, hurriedly said, “Not at all, classmate Xia. How could you think that? You’re wonderful.”
“The moment you arrived, my heart felt all warm and cozy.”
That was not false.
At that very moment, the middle of his chest really was steaming.
