LBC |Love Beyond Control/Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Southen snow always melted very quickly. The earth had only just been covered with a layer of white before it was trampled into mud in the blink of an eye.

Xinyuan had originally thought that after he fled on that snowy night, He Ye would not let him off so easily.

But to his surprise, seven days passed in a row, and He Ye did not send him even a single message.

It was not until one day, when he was paying and the system showed that the payment had failed, that Xinyuan realized he had accidentally clicked on the bank card He Ye had given him.

Xinyuan froze for a moment. So it turned out that, in He Ye’s eyes, the greatest punishment he could think of was to cut off his bank card.

“I thought you could hold out for how long, turns out your guts can only last one week.”

After receiving the card swipe alert, He Ye quickly called him, as if he were eager to show off that he had won the bet, “This time it’s only giving you a lesson, but you’d better not do it again. Otherwise, I’ll definitely make you regret it.”

Xinyuan did not respond, and did not hang up either.

Because in the rules He Ye had set for him, there was no rule that allowed him to hang up on his own.

He Ye was also used to Xinyuan’s silence, and continued, “Some time ago I had someone find out that your department director has a national-level project he’s about to start. I’ve already helped you get a spot. This year for the New Year, I’m going abroad with your father. You stay in Shancheng and do the project properly, and give me some credit.”

He Ye was especially satisfied with his arrangement, and rarely softened his tone. “I rented an apartment for you. It’s right near your school. The access card and key have already been handed over to your counselor by someone. Remember to go pick them up.”

Xinyuan knew that before, he had been a burden, and now he had become an ornament again.

In He Ye’s plans, being able to get into a good university, pad his resume with good projects, then smoothly get recommended for graduate school, pursue a doctorate, stay on at the university, and ultimately become a tool that could be taken out and displayed, was his only value.

In the blink of an eye, the semester was over. Once the exams ended, the students gradually went home one after another.

Xiang Zhufeng was already in his third year of graduate school. Although he did not have many exams, two papers were both about to be defended, and he also had to prepare for the spring recruitment. Busy on both fronts, he only exchanged a few words with Xinyuan on WeChat until winter break officially began.

“Classmate, the dorm building locks today. Take another good look at your things. If you forget anything, you won’t be able to come back for it.”

In the dorm room, Xiang Zhufeng checked one last time. He actually did not have much stuff, only a few major-related books and a few sets of clothes to change into. One suitcase was enough to hold everything.

Just as they were about to leave the dorm building, Xiang Zhufeng suddenly saw a figure flash past outside the corridor.

“Xinyuan?”

Xiang Zhufeng was very surprised. “Vacation’s been over for so long, why are you still at school?”

Xinyuan was also a little surprised to see Xiang Zhufeng.

He had been keeping the fact that he was staying on campus to work on a project from Xiang Zhufeng, so at this moment he could only say, “Director Wang Muge sent me some more materials some time ago. I felt that the atmosphere at school was a little better, so I wanted to finish reading them before leaving. What about you, why haven’t you left yet?”

Xiang Zhufeng had dragged it out until now because he had nowhere to go home to in the first place.

All the holidays when the dorms were closed were a hassle for him. The later he left, the more rent he could save for one more day outside school.

There was a long staircase at the dorm building entrance. Xiang Zhufeng walked over and helped Xinyuan carry the suitcase down, saying casually, “My parents are both gone, and my hometown is pretty far away too. I usually just rent a place outside school during holidays and don’t go back to live there.”

The suitcase landed with a very soft thud. Xinyuan’s heart also sank for a moment. He stopped on the steps. After a while, he said:

“Actually, so am I.”

“Hm?” Xiang Zhufeng paused.

“I also don’t have a home to go back to,” Xinyuan said.

Xiang Zhufeng slowly turned around, raised his eyes, and looked up at him from below the stairs. There was embarrassment, surprise, and even a hint of sympathy in his eyes.

After a moment, he asked, “The place I rented isn’t very good, but it’s fine to have one more person staying there. Do you want to come with me?”

Xinyuan nodded, tightly concealing the apartment key in his pocket.

The intercity bus passed through streets and alleyways, all the way toward the back side of prosperity.

The destination was in front of a courtyard surrounded by red-brick houses. The entrance was only an inconspicuous narrow gate. After going in, there were three old buildings inside, laid out in the shape of a “hui” character. Standing among them, people looked like trapped beasts thrown into an arena.

Xinyuan followed Xiang Zhufeng for quite a while before stopping in front of a room at the outermost corner.

“You give me your luggage first. When you go upstairs, watch your step, don’t trip.”

In houses built decades ago, it was not yet common to divide them into separate buildings. Seven or eight households were connected in a row, and each family’s doors and windows faced the corridor outside. If you stood even a little too close, you could hear what the people inside were doing.

Xiang Zhufeng’s room was on the sixth floor. Xinyuan walked all the way up very carefully, afraid of bumping into or knocking over something in someone else’s home.

Probably because the layout was too cramped, Xinyuan vaguely felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him. But after looking around several times, he still did not find anything unusual.

“What are you looking at?” Xiang Zhufeng turned back to call him. “It’s this room, come in.”

The room was so small that its entire layout could be seen from outside the door. A low wooden bed was the biggest piece of furniture in the room, and beside it was a table with peeling green paint, looking as if it could fall apart at any moment. There was a kitchen and a bathroom, but each could only fit one person.

Xinyuan had many questions he wanted to ask, but in the end he chose the most pressing one, “Here, there’s only one bed…”

And it was very narrow too. Xiang Zhufeng himself probably would not even have room to stretch out comfortably if he slept on it.

“It’s fine,” Xiang Zhufeng said indifferently. He found a broom by the door and started sweeping neatly and briskly. “I’ll just sleep on the floor. You sleep in the bed.”

For a moment, Xinyuan really regretted following Xiang Zhufeng here so easily.

It was not that he disliked this kind of environment. He simply wanted at least a little preparation, instead of, like right now, adding a whole pile of trouble to Xiang Zhufeng’s already difficult life.

Seeing Xinyuan’s conflict, Xiang Zhufeng deliberately joked, “Compared with my place, do you think that 50-yuan hotel from before was actually pretty luxurious?”

“I didn’t mean that…”

“I know what you mean.”

Xiang Zhufeng put down what he was holding and instead comforted Xinyuan. “Don’t worry. The landlord here is very nice. Later I’ll go ask him to lend me a new set of bedding. Besides, there’s also a chimney opening here. At night, once the coal stove is lit, wherever you sleep will be warm enough.”

“Oh, Xiao Xiang, you’re here.”

The landlord just happened to come up to deliver something. Seeing Xiang Zhufeng, he came in enthusiastically to greet him. “I figured you’d be coming these two days, so I just cleared out two clean cardboard boxes for you, just right for you to put books in.”

After speaking, he sized up Xinyuan. “And this one is?”

“My junior, he’s living with me this year.”

“Oh my, then he’s also a student from a famous university,” the landlord looked Xinyuan up and down again. “If you hadn’t said it, I would have thought he was some high school student who came to you for tutoring. He looks so clean and delicate.”

Just as he said that, Xiang Zhufeng took out a stack of materials from his bag. “The second-year high school math key points you mentioned before, I’ve sorted them all out. Let your little grandson study them properly. If he doesn’t understand something, he can just come over and ask me.”

“Ah, this is too much trouble for you.”

“It’s no trouble, I just happened to do it. You don’t need to be polite. It’s just that I’ll have to trouble you to lend me two thicker quilts too. My junior is afraid of the cold at night.”

The landlord agreed at once. Turning around, he brought over a pile of things along with the quilts.

The small room was quickly packed full. Xinyuan crouched on the floor and first helped Xiang Zhufeng sort out his luggage.

Most of the things in his bag were materials related to his papers. As Xinyuan sorted them, he could not help opening and looking through a few of them. The first was Xiang Zhufeng’s thesis in economic law, Analysis of the Legal Validity and Institutional Construction of “Betting Agreements”.

Xinyuan could not understand much of it, but he could still feel how outstanding Xiang Zhufeng’s professional level was.

He curiously flipped through a few more. When he saw the title of one of them, his hand suddenly stopped, frozen in midair.

– “Using Hanhai Group as the Anchor Point to Discuss Domestic Corporate Management Models and Reform,” author: Xiang Zhufeng.

Hanhai Group?

Xiang Zhufeng?

Xinyuan’s eyes seemed nailed in place. For a moment, he could not believe what he was seeing.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing that Xinyuan’s expression was off, Xiang Zhufeng crouched down. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“I’m fine,” Xinyuan came back to himself and immediately shook his head. “I just crouched for too long, my legs are a little numb…”

Xiang Zhufeng helped Xinyuan onto the bed. Seeing that Xinyuan was still staring at the thesis, he asked, “You’ve heard of Hanhai Group?”

“No…” Xinyuan tried his best to remain natural and averted his gaze. “I was just a little curious why you would want to write about this company.”

“When I first chose the topic, I was also very conflicted. But among the many companies I’ve paid attention to, Hanhai Group’s development history is the most interesting. Their founder started out in building materials in his early years, and gradually became a real estate giant. In the past few years, he also started crossing over into the cultural and entertainment industry. I felt the angle was more diverse, so I chose this company.”

“Then did it go smoothly?” Xinyuan asked tentatively.

“Smoothly beyond expectation.”

Xiang Zhufeng raised an eyebrow. “At first I didn’t expect it either. Our advisor actually knows a director of Hanhai Group. He thought what I wrote was pretty good, and even showed my thesis to their founder.”

The blood in Xinyuan’s entire body froze instantly. He did not even dare ask another word, what happened next.

Xiang Zhufeng was obviously happy. “My advisor said their founder also thought it was very good. Just in time, they had only recently set up a branch in Shancheng, and they were short of people. He asked me to prepare for an interview during this period. If I pass, I can go directly for internship after the New Year.”

Xinyuan knew he should say congratulations, but the words reached his lips, yet he could not make any sound for a long time.

With Xiang Zhufeng’s ability, he would definitely be able to enter Hanhai Group, and maybe he would be appreciated and promoted by Xin Jianye very soon.

Although he rarely appeared by Xin Jianye’s side, there was no wall in the world that did not let the wind through. In name, he was Xin Jianye’s son. If one day Xiang Zhufeng accidentally found out his identity, what would he think of him?

Pretending to be poor? Fake? Full of lies?

Xiang Zhufeng definitely would not understand why, when he clearly had such a good family background, he insisted on pretending to be someone who had nothing, and kept acting in front of him.

“Aren’t you going to cheer me on? You’re the only person I shared this news with.” Xiang Zhufeng looked at him expectantly.

In those few seconds of silence, Xinyuan was shocked for the first time by his own ugliness.

He actually wished for Xiang Zhufeng to miss such a good opportunity, simply because he hoped to keep the current relationship with Xiang Zhufeng forever.

“You definitely can do it,” Xinyuan tried hard to force out a smile. “I believe in you.”

I hope you succeed.

I hope your life gets better and better.

And I also hope that if one day you learn the truth, you can blame me a little less.