Every ti Lu Lin chatted with Zhou Yuwen, there was always this strange, indescribable feeling. Among their dorm mates, it was normal to chat with Zhou Yuwen now and then; Zheng Yanyan did it regularly, and even Su Qing and Shen Yu occasionally ssaged him.
But with Lu Lin, apart from that one ti she asked him for money, there hadn’t been much interaction after he transferred her the funds.
Now, as soon as Zheng Yanyan returned ho, Lu Lin ca to find Zhou Yuwen again.
It was odd, but Zhou Yuwen ignored her. He wasn’t bored; there were plenty of things he needed to do. He had recently made 2.5 million from trading stocks, used 800,000 to buy a car, and was saving the remaining 1.7 million to buy a house.
In 2013, Jinling’s property prices were subtly starting to rise. In so core areas, the prices had already reached 30,000 per square ter, though the university town where Zhou Yuwen was located was a bit cheaper, with average prices around 8,000 to 13,000 per square ter.
Having gotten used to spacious living in his previous life, Zhou Yuwen found small apartnts a bit uncomfortable. Based on his past experiences, he knew which properties would appreciate. The Lanting neighborhood was only in its third phase of developnt and was being marketed as a high-end residence with luxury services. The units ranged from 130 to 200 square ters, with unfinished units priced around 10,000 per square ter.
A few days before the National Day holiday, Zhou Yuwen checked out so pre-sold properties and a few remaining units in the second phase but didn’t find anything suitable. He ended up looking at a resale, a fully furnished apartnt of 180 square ters with four bedrooms.
This neighborhood’s value held up well in later years, mainly because it had 11-story garden-style buildings with low shared space ratios and even offered two bonus balcony areas.
In later years, floor plans had larger shared spaces, sotis taking up to 29 square ters of a 90-square-ter unit. This made new apartnts a worthwhile purchase in recent years.
Good hos were available, but the prices were steep. The 180-square-ter furnished apartnt he viewed had been designed by a European designer, with fully modern renovations, similar to the upscale apartnts often seen in Korean dramas. The primary bedroom’s en-suite bathroom was converted into a walk-in closet with a display case for watches.
All soft furnishings had been removed.
The property agent, knowing Zhou Yuwen drove a BMW M4, was extra attentive, trying every trick to sell the apartnt. He said the owner, due to so business trouble, had to sell at a loss, with a listed price of 15,000 per square ter.
This ant the unit would cost at least 2.7 million.
Without the car purchase, Zhou Yuwen might have managed it, but now it seed out of reach.
Sensing the price might be too high, the agent quickly added that this was a bottom-line price. For instance, one massive glass window had been custom ordered from another city, costing nearly 100,000 alone.
Zhou Yuwen was most impressed by that floor-to-ceiling glass window, which offered an unblocked view of his entire university campus.
As soone experienced with ho buying and renovations, Zhou Yuwen knew this ten thousand wasn’t exaggerated, especially with the added flooring.
The price of 2.7 million wasn’t a bad deal, considering the property’s value could easily reach 8 million in three years.
Zhou Yuwen symbolically asked if the price could go any lower. “If it’s negotiable, I’ll sign right now.”
“Let
check with the owner,” the agent replied.
After a phone call, the final offer was 2.65 million, truly the lowest price.
“Honestly, if I could afford it, I’d buy this myself!” the agent joked with a smile.
“Alright, let’s go for it. Let’s sign the contract,” Zhou Yuwen agreed at last.
“Great!” The agent was thrilled.
Once the deal was set, Zhou Yuwen arranged with the owner to pay a 10% deposit first, as 2.65 million was a substantial amount, and he needed a month to gather the funds. The owner agreed, allowing Zhou Yuwen to start furnishing the place once he paid the deposit.
Typically, 100,000 would have sufficed as a deposit, but Zhou Yuwen put down 260,000. According to the contract, if he breached the deal, the 260,000 would be forfeited, so usually, no one would default.
After signing the contract and paying the 260,000, the apartnt was effectively Zhou Yuwen’s.
Honestly, spending 300,000 like this gave Zhou Yuwen a bit of heartache. After his rebirth and making that 2.5 million, he thought he could coast comfortably for a while. Yet reality hit hard—between buying the car and the apartnt, he felt as broke as before.
It’s true, each stage of life brings its own challenges.
If not for Su Qing’s ntion of virtual currency, Zhou Yuwen wouldn’t have known how to quickly multiply his funds within a month. Being reborn was already lucky enough; timing it to such an opportunity would be a miracle.
For instance, by 2019, virtual currency spiked to tens of thousands per coin. Zhou Yuwen had always viewed it as a value investnt, profitable but requiring years of patience.
He suddenly rembered that in October 2013, there was indeed a peak. Back then, a single virtual coin was around 200 USD, and by November, it had surged to 1,300 USD—a 6.5-fold increase. There was no way stocks could match such a rapid rise in a single month.
If Zhou Yuwen hadn’t known, he might have missed this rare opportunity, and that would have been a pity.
Currently, Zhou Yuwen had 1.4 million on hand. With his newly bought BMW M4, he could secure an additional 600,000 by using it as collateral, bringing his total capital to 2 million. In a month, this could net him 13 million.
With 13 million, Zhou Yuwen could live comfortably for quite so ti. However, as he told Su Qing, trading virtual currency wasn’t legal dostically. To trade, he’d have to make a trip to Hong Kong, and Zhou Yuwen wasn’t about to break the law. He intended to earn legally.
He quickly completed the necessary paperwork and arranged for the car loan, setting his departure for Hong Kong on October 7.
It was only October 5, and after finishing all his preparations, Zhou Yuwen suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.
In just a month, he had moved into a large apartnt and was driving a luxury car.
But why did it feel unfulfilling?
Perhaps, in the end, it all ca down to won.
A few days earlier, Zhou Yuwen had kissed and touched Zheng Yanyan. That night, he felt as if a beast had been locked inside him, ready to break free at any mont. But in the end, Zheng Yanyan refused, saying he’d have to wait three months.
Co on, who can wait three months? If he had known, Zhou Yuwen wouldn’t have gotten into a relationship with her.
Now, Zhou Yuwen was lying alone in his spacious bedroom, scrolling through his phone out of boredom. Since Zheng Yanyan had gone ho, she rarely ssaged him. She’d chat a bit at night, tell him about her day, or send him a photo, often of her and her high school friends shopping.
She even sent him pictures of her friend’s long legs under a short skirt, teasing him: “Hey babe, what do you think of my friend? Legs look nice?”
Zhou Yuwen responded, “Move the cara a little closer.”
“Jerk! ??”
Reading her ssage, Zhou Yuwen smirked. “This is like showing a movie without the full clip.”
Zheng Yanyan laughed at his reply.
The two didn’t chat much over the holiday, but Zhou Yuwen ended up talking a lot with Su Qing.
Su Qing kept saying she wanted to see Zhou Yuwen’s place.
Zhou Yuwen replied, “Then just co over.”
“Do you want
to?”
“It doesn’t matter to .”
Zhou Yuwen had already co to terms with the situation. If Su Qing wanted to press him on it, he was ready to admit it: Yes, I was reborn. So what? I’m dating Zheng Yanyan now; what are you going to do, break us up?
Frankly, it was pure boredom. In the past five days, Zhou Yuwen had t with Li Shiqi twice. She even treated him to a al in her dorm cafeteria and gave him a bag of fruit, saying he should eat more if he felt heaty.
Beyond that, nothing much happened.
Lying in bed, Zhou Yuwen flipped through his contacts, hoping to find soone to chat with. Eventually, he scrolled down to Lu Lin’s ssages.
A few days ago, she’d ssaged, “Aren’t you bored now that Zheng Yanyan’s gone?”
He hadn’t replied.
Well, he was a bit bored.
But was he really going to ssage Lu Lin?
Returning to October 1, after Lu Lin sent her ssage, she went to make instant noodles, as the heat of autumn lingered.
Too lazy to head to the cafeteria, she simply made a bowl of braised beef noodles.
After eating, she checked her phone to see if Zhou Yuwen had replied.
But there was nothing.
A bit disappointed, Lu Lin figured it was only natural. All she ever did was ask him for money or talk about sleeping with him. It’d be strange if he paid her any mind.
After pouring out the noodle soup and flushing it down the toilet, Lu Lin picked up a long, thin cigarette and went to the balcony to smoke.
When the school went on break, the campus quieted down imdiately. In front of the girls' dormitory was a small square, usually bustling with people, but today it was unusually peaceful. Only one couple sat beneath a tree, the guy’s arm around the girl, his hand resting on her thigh, trying to edge it upward since she wasn’t stopping him.
Since she was in the dorm, Lu Lin wasn’t wearing pants—just a black tank top. From behind, her figure looked slim and delicate, but her legs were undeniably long and well-proportioned.
She leaned against the railing on the balcony, quietly smoking.
Inhaling a long draw, she exhaled slowly.
It was a rare mont of peace.
That afternoon, Lu Lin stayed in the dorm, smoking a couple of cigarettes, browsing her phone, watching videos, and reading so web novels.
There was a small part of her hoping Zhou Yuwen would ssage her, but from noon until five in the evening, no ssage ca.
The sun had already begun to set, painting the field in red hues as it dipped below the horizon.
The sky gradually darkened, and the streetlights outside flickered on.
As it got colder, a ssage finally popped up on Lu Lin’s WeChat.
She didn’t rush to check it. Instead, she waited until she’d finished an episode of a show, thinking, Since he left
waiting, I’ll leave him hanging too.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t from Zhou Yuwen.
“Linlin, what are you up to?”
The ssage was from Li Qiang.
Slightly disappointed, Lu Lin replied coldly, “Just on my phone.”
“Oh, not going out?” Li Qiang continued.
Lu Lin ignored him. Then he sent another ssage: “Did you see my new post on my Monts?”
Curious, Lu Lin glanced at Li Qiang’s Monts. He’d posted a picture at a food stall, a beer bottle on the table, his hand on the table with a cigarette between his fingers. The caption read, The road is long; don’t be arrogant—who knows who’ll rise in the end?
The post was clearly ant to impress her, but after a couple of hours, only a few friends from the outreach departnt had liked it, with no reaction from her. Li Qiang assud she hadn’t seen it, so he couldn’t resist ssaging her.
After he sent this ssage, Lu Lin still didn’t reply.
But Li Qiang wasn’t in a hurry this ti. After a month of reflection, he realized he’d co on too strong. Thinking back to all the long texts he’d sent her, he felt embarrassed, realizing they seed desperate rather than romantic.
His focus now was slow and steady, believing his love for Lu Lin was true, and if he was patient, she might co around.
So, over the National Day break, whenever he had ti, he would ssage her.
Out of sheer boredom, Lu Lin would respond to Li Qiang occasionally. Most of the ti, she wouldn’t care, but watching his persistent efforts, she couldn’t help wishing Zhou Yuwen were as attentive.
But she knew it was just a fantasy.
Likely out of pity for Zhou Yuwen’s silence, she sotis replied to Li Qiang’s ssages. Besides that, her week was uneventful, lounging in the dorm or occasionally visiting the campus store.
On October 4, soone invited her to join a part-ti work group for Xianlin University City. The group’s owner, whose userna suggested he was a Xu Zhou Association leader, made an announcent in the group:
“Welco, everyone. Feel free to arrange part-ti work here. If any issues arise, let
know!”
“Xu Zhou Association’s mission is to help each student find suitable part-ti jobs!”
“We, Xu Zhou Association, are here to support each one of you!”
With all the over-the-top slogans and the types of posts Li Qiang had been sharing, Lu Lin wondered if her university was starting to feel more like a club for wannabe tough guys than a place of learning.
But she didn’t care much and found a flyer-distributing job. After working only half a day, she left because the heat was unbearable, and her earnings of thirty yuan barely covered her skincare products. She didn’t even bother collecting her pay before heading back to the dorm.
Back in the dorm, she sotis felt a pang of envy toward Zheng Yanyan.
During the break, Zheng Yanyan ssaged Lu Lin frequently.
From Zhou Yuwen’s point of view, she had been too busy enjoying herself to reach out to him much, though he wasn’t aware that she was still eagerly checking her phone every morning to see if he had sent her anything.
Each ti, she hoped for a ssage. Each ti, she was disappointed.
Every ti she finally ssaged him a quick morning, she gradually stopped expecting anything in return.
When she felt like talking to him, she would tell Lu Lin, “I really want to talk to Zhou Yuwen!”
Lu Lin didn’t quite understand this behavior and said, “Then just ssage him?”
“No, I won’t! He hasn’t ssaged
first, so why should I?”
Zheng Yanyan, a girl who was usually quite proud, felt increasingly insecure with Zhou Yuwen. At tis, she worried she might even end up like Chang Hao—always waiting and never getting the response she wanted.
To avoid that fate, she restrained herself, hoping Zhou Yuwen would take the initiative.
“Zhou Yuwen didn’t talk to
all day today,” she told Lu Lin sadly around ten in the evening.
Lu Lin replied, “Then why don’t you ssage him first?”
“No way! I want to see if he’ll reach out to . Linlin, why don’t you try ssaging him to see if he responds?”
“He won’t respond to ,” Lu Lin replied.
“Don’t be ridiculous! Zhou Yuwen is a jerk; he’d be thrilled if you reached out!”
Zheng Yanyan’s feelings of uncertainty grew with Zhou Yuwen’s hot-and-cold behavior. She didn’t know if he was just another player or if he genuinely cared about her.
She wanted to test him, so she asked Lu Lin to send him a ssage.
Lu Lin couldn’t refuse; she also wanted to know if he’d respond.
So she sent a simple, Hey, you there?
Sure enough, Zhou Yuwen didn’t respond for a long ti.
She had expected this.
Deleting the chat history to leave only the “Hey, you there?” ssage, she sent it to Zheng Yanyan.
“See? I told you he wouldn’t answer .”
“He answered ! ??” Zheng Yanyan replied excitedly.
After a whole day without hearing from him, she assud Zhou Yuwen had gotten tired of her and might even be thinking of ending things.
But a ssage from him saying I’m heading to bed filled her with joy for a good ten minutes. She ssaged Lu Lin, “It seems he still cares; he couldn’t hold back after all.”
“Oh.”
To Lu Lin, this all seed pointless. Wasn’t it just a simple relationship? Why was Zheng Yanyan so hung up on every little thing? It was clear Zhou Yuwen liked her; otherwise, he wouldn’t ignore everyone else, including her.
At the thought of this, Lu Lin felt a bit down.
But Zheng Yanyan was too absorbed in her own romance to notice her friend’s feelings.
Curious, Lu Lin asked her why she trusted Zhou Yuwen so little.
After a mont of thought, Zheng Yanyan recounted what happened on their last night together.
That evening had left her conflicted, as Zhou Yuwen’s actions afterward made her unsure if she had done the right thing by holding back. She sotis wondered if giving in that night would have led to a closer relationship.
But they had just started dating, and it felt too soon.
With no one else to confide in, she ended up pouring her heart out to Lu Lin.
By now, Zheng Yanyan only had Lu Lin left as a friend in the dorm. She felt it necessary to keep Lu Lin on her side because Su Qing and Shen Yu had already ford their own close-knit circle.
If she didn’t maintain a good rapport with Lu Lin, she risked being left out.
So she told Lu Lin everything. “Lu Lin, I’m only telling you this because we’re close sisters. Please don’t tell Su Qing or Shen Yu.”
Lu Lin wasn’t the type to gossip, but after hearing everything, she was surprised. She had always thought Zhou Yuwen had a reserved personality.
After all, she had openly offered herself to him before, and he hadn’t shown any interest.
“Honestly, since that night, I feel strange about things. Have you ever dated anyone, Lu Lin?” Zheng Yanyan asked.
“No.”
“Has a guy ever touched your chest?”
“I’ve never even dated anyone; how could a guy have done that?”
“Oh, I didn’t an anything by it. I just wanted to say… I have this feeling that Zhou Yuwen must have been with other girls before.”
This thought had been bothering Zheng Yanyan. She sotis wondered if Zhou Yuwen had dated Su Qing before—otherwise, why would Su Qing be so attached to him?
“?” Lu Lin sent a question mark in response.
Then Zheng Yanyan explained that Zhou Yuwen’s touch had been way too experienced.
“He kept rubbing with his hand, and it felt… really good. If we hadn’t been in the car, I might have actually given in,” she confessed earnestly, admitting she didn’t know if it was normal to feel like that. The sensations he’d caused had been truly overwhelming.
Lu Lin listened, finding it hard to believe that soone could feel such an intense loss of control.
“It really felt good… a feeling I’d never had before.”
“Yeah, well, if you don’t believe , I’ll let you try it when I’m back.”
“No thanks—I’m not into that.”
“Even if you were, I couldn’t match Zhou Yuwen’s technique. He must’ve practiced on other girls before—maybe even Su Qing.” Zheng Yanyan cursed as she ntioned Su Qing’s na.
Lu Lin sent an ellipsis.
“…”
“You still in the dorm?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Not bored?”
“A little.”
And so, they continued chatting, with Lu Lin replying intermittently.
Just then, her phone pinged with a ssage.
It was from Zhou Yuwen: Are you free tomorrow?
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