20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3723 Be a Person Like Duroy

Seven or eight ounces of wine were barely enough to make Zhao Chang'an drunk. When he returned to his room and checked the time, it was already 10:30 p.m.

Ye Yiyi must have been asleep by now. During her time in the Netherlands, she always went to bed before 10 p.m. without fail, and would sleep after receiving comfort from Zhao Chang'an.

Liu Cui is unlikely to come over tonight. Even if she manages to sneak past Liu Mingjie, the staff on duty in the hotel lobby are all watching.

Especially in a small town, and as a staff member of the scenic area, Liu Cui certainly had to be careful about this impact.

Zhao Chang'an went to the bathroom to wash up and returned to his room. He had originally planned to contact Wen Ye and Liu Yihui tonight, but decided against it at this time, especially for Lao Liu, lest he cause him insomnia.

Sitting on the sofa, I lit a cigarette and couldn't help but clench my strong right hand. It felt really good, especially that forbidden, clandestine feeling—it was very exciting.

On the way here, he deliberately used some force, and his five fingers sank deep into the ground. This proves that Zhao Chang'an used a lot of force, and Su Ying is indeed very well-endowed.

Just like the snow after a snowfall, if the snow is light, your shoes will only leave a shallow layer of footprints. But if it's a heavy snowfall, your feet will leave deep snow pits with every step.

As for Su Ying's age, Zhao Chang'an's mental age is actually two or three years older than Su Ying's current age. In his simple and unpretentious eyes, Su Ying is still a beautiful young woman.

Zhao Chang'an smiled slightly, a hint of wickedness in his eyes and the corners of his mouth, and took a book out of his bag.

It's the English version of Maupassant's "Bel-Ami". I bought a copy at a bookstore in Stockholm. They say you can only read books if you borrow them. I bought it seven or eight days ago, and I've only read three chapters so far.

Zhao Chang'an had read the Chinese version of this book during his university years in his previous life, and the memory was still fresh in his mind. He felt contempt for the shamelessness and despicable nature of Duroy, the ultimate gigolo. However, now, when he reads it again, he sees it as a story of a humble little man's rise from adversity.

Unable to sleep tonight, Zhao Chang'an decided to read this original classic novel for a while.

Look at Duroy, who went from being a child from a poor, uncouth peasant family to venturing alone to Paris, becoming the husband of the talented artist Madeleine, Forestier, and a good friend of the policy editor of the French Times. Madeleine wrote news reports for her husband and Duroy, helping Duroy gain a foothold in the newspaper.

Mrs. Walter, the wife of the newspaper owner, and Mrs. Marel, a wealthy woman, became his lovers one after the other.

He then married Madeleine, a widow, divorced her and took half of Forestier's inheritance, and married Susan, the daughter of a newspaper owner, thus achieving a remarkable turnaround in his life and a leap in social class.

After supporting Forestier and Duroy, Madeleine found a young man named Jean Ledor, who was smart and beautiful, to help him write news reports, perfectly replicating his style.

There isn't a single good person in the entire book, but they are all truly normal people. The one who lives the most carefree and insightful life is Madeleine, and the one who achieves the most successful comeback is Duroy.

One should strive to be like Duroy, and never like Boule de Suif.

Zhao Chang'an had just read a few pages when his phone rang. It was Su Ying calling.

He was a little surprised, feeling that the call was incomprehensible and unbelievable. It was late at night, and they had already said everything they needed to say. Could it be that she had scratched him and was coming to settle scores with him, wanting him to apply medicine for her?
But this isn't the time to think about these things; we'll find out once we answer the phone.

"Aunt Su."

Zhao Chang'an's address of "Aunt" was rather unclear; if you didn't listen carefully on the other end of the phone, you could hear that he was calling out "Su Ying."

"Still not resting?"

Su Ying's voice sounded very calm on the phone.

"No, it's not even eleven o'clock yet. Besides, I've been in Europe for so many days, and I haven't adjusted to the time difference yet. I'm not sleepy."

"I'll come sit at your place for a while." "Okay."

Su Ying's room and Zhao Chang'an's room were not far apart, both on the third floor. Liu Mingxiong and Wei Rulong's rooms were on the fourth floor. Zhao Chang'an had just checked outside the hotel and found that, apart from Wang Yu's room on the third floor, the lights in Ye Yiyi's, Qi Xuan'er's, and Fan Chufei's rooms on the third floor were all off.

Zhao Chang'an had no idea why Su Ying had come to see him at this time. As for whether she wanted to throw herself into his arms, Zhao Chang'an would rather believe in ghosts than believe that was possible.

In late February, the temperature in the mountain city at night can still reach close to zero degrees Celsius, so the air conditioner is on in the room. Zhao Chang'an is wearing the pajamas that Liu Cui bought in advance and placed in this room.

It's a Donald Duck cartoon pajama set, and wearing it feels a bit funny.

Zhao Chang'an casually placed the book on the sofa, stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.

He stepped out the door and peeked outside. He saw Su Ying with her hair in a bun, wearing a pink Mickey Mouse nightgown that matched Zhao Chang'an's, standing at the door of his room, looking at him.

Liu Cui bought Zhao Chang'an khaki pajamas and pants, while Su Ying wore a pink nightgown that was just below her knees. She also wore her thin, fitted down jacket over her top. Zhao Chang'an noticed that the nightgown had a Mickey Mouse pattern on it, suggesting they were matching items.

To avoid embarrassment, Zhao Chang'an smiled and waved at Su Ying before retreating back into the room to pour her some water.

A faint fragrance wafted into her nose, and Su Ying quietly entered the room and closed the door.

However, she didn't take off her down jacket. She walked to the sofa and said to Zhao Chang'an, who was holding tea leaves and gesturing to her, "Put in more tea leaves. I'm used to drinking strong tea."

"Some people can't drink tea at night because it makes them prone to insomnia."

Zhao Chang'an smiled and glanced at Su Ying. Her fair skin shone with a glaze-like luster under the light, and her eyes were beautiful. If you didn't look closely at the shallow wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead, she would look as beautiful as a woman in her twenties.

Especially when she wears her hair in a bun, it looks particularly fashionable and youthful, and it also shows off her soft face shape and long neck.

"I'm used to it, it doesn't bother me."

Su Ying sat down, her two straight, slender, snow-white legs pressed tightly together.

The slippers in the hotel were all sandals. Zhao Chang'an saw that Su Ying's feet were small, fair, and delicate, with red nail polish on her toenails, which were very beautiful and alluring.

His mouth was getting dry, so he quickly bent down to pour water for Su Ying, placed the disposable paper cup on the coffee table in front of her, and sat down.

Su Ying clearly noticed Zhao Chang'an's indecent behavior. Regardless of what she thought in her heart, she didn't show any unusual expression on her face. She warmed her hands with the paper cup, then put it down, picked up the cigarettes and lighter on the coffee table, and lit one.

"Aunt Su, just tell me what's on your mind, but if you're trying to persuade me to leave Wanwan, don't bother."

Although Zhao Chang'an didn't know Su Ying's purpose in coming, there were many things and ideas that could be discussed. However, when it came to Liu Cui, Zhao Chang'an was being cautious from the start, blocking any possibility and not giving Su Ying a chance to speak.

"You two are already like that, what am I supposed to say?"

Su Ying wanted to say that since you care so much about Liu Cui, why are you flirting with other women? But saying these things would only make her feel good, and would be meaningless.

Moreover, as a student from a rural area who had to work part-time to support herself through school until her second year of college, she certainly understood how difficult it was for a child from a disadvantaged background to carve out a bright future.

The reason she is said to have gone up to her sophomore year is because she met her mentor at the citywide college student debate competition in the second semester of her sophomore year, and from then on she never had to worry about tuition and living expenses.

(End of this chapter)