A hundred flavors of life

Chapter 1377 An 'Old Friend' Bringed By the Advertisement! (Please Subscribe!)
Seeing his brother groveling like a bastard, and hearing the pointing fingers and whispers of the uninformed passersby, Chen Xun felt a surge of heat rush to his head, his face burning as if the humiliation were falling on him.

He rushed forward, trying to pull Tang Haibing up:

"Hai Bing, are you fucking crazy? Is this really necessary? Get up right now!"

No matter how he pulled or persuaded her, Tang Haibing wouldn't get up until Hua Shier and Fang Hui left.

Only then did Tang Haibing stand up, pulled by Chen Xun, but his eyes were already red. He looked around, grabbed Chen Xun, and, hearing the other's confused question, growled:
"Stop talking nonsense, if you're a bro, come drink with me!"

The two found a small restaurant, and after a few beers, Tang Haibing finally revealed the truth.

He clutched his hair, his face filled with lingering fear.
"Xunzi, listen to your brother's advice, don't provoke that Hua Shier anymore. We really can't afford to offend him!"

Chen Xun was unconvinced and stuck out his neck:

"What's so great about him? He can only fight a little, right?"

"Can you fight?"

Tang Haibing gave a wry smile, pulled a crumpled newspaper from his pocket, slapped it in front of Chen Xun, and pointed with a trembling finger to an article on it:
Look at this! Look closely!

Chen Xun looked down in confusion; it was a follow-up report on a social case that had occurred some time ago.

One story mentions a teenager who fiercely resisted a relative's attempt to seize his family's property, and ultimately...
The report used rather euphemistic language, but Chen Xun already knew what kind of case it was—the one that had been circulating widely recently about "almost wiping out the whole family" and "being stabbed more than a hundred times."

Chen Xun suddenly felt a chill run down his spine: "What are you showing me?"

"I've asked around."

Tang Haibing's voice was dry and filled with fear:

"The person mentioned in the report is Hua Shier!"

"Tell me, can we afford to mess with someone as ruthless as him?"

Chen Xun looked at the printed words in the newspaper and thought of Hua Shier's usual lazy manner, finding it hard to connect the two.

Suddenly, a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Chen Xun's previous resentment and anger were instantly extinguished by this chill, leaving only lingering fear and relief.

Fortunately, his conflict with Hua Shier only resulted in him being slapped a few times, and Chen Xun still feels incredibly lucky to be alive.

He took a big gulp of beer, but the icy liquid couldn't quell the trembling in his heart, and he was speechless for a long time.

The next day at school, Chen Xun seemed to have lost his soul. He deliberately avoided the direction of the last row, and even if his eyes inevitably met Hua Shier's occasionally, he would immediately jump away as if he had been electrocuted, not daring to linger for a moment.

That report and Tang Haibing's terrified eyes were like an invisible shackle, locking away all his pride and resentment, leaving only a deep-seated fear.

Hua Shier naturally noticed Chen Xun's unusual behavior, but he didn't care.

Currently, his relationship with Fang Hui is undergoing a subtle change.

He neither acknowledged nor denied Fang Hui's unilateral announcement of her status as his girlfriend that night.

However, actions often speak louder than words.

They still went to school together, but the situation had changed significantly. They no longer separated at the school gate to avoid suspicion; instead, they walked through the streets together into the school in the morning light.
Fang Hui remained quiet, but the long-standing gloom and timidity in her eyes seemed to have been dispelled by a soft light, and she became more cheerful. Occasionally, when she looked at Hua Shier, a trace of tenderness and dependence would flash across her eyes, which she herself was unaware of.

This change naturally did not escape the notice of the students around them.

Within a few days, various speculations and glances began to quietly circulate in the class.

Qiao Ran was one of the first to notice. He looked at the rare, faint smile on Fang Hui's face, which was blooming because of someone, and felt as if something had gently pricked his heart. A bittersweet sense of loss slowly spread through him.

But he said nothing, silently burying his budding feelings of affection, which he hadn't yet had time to express, deeper into his heart. His gaze toward Hua Shier held a more complex scrutiny.

Lin Jiamo was much more direct. During a break between classes, she pulled Fang Hui to a quiet corner behind the teaching building and asked impatiently:

"You're my deskmate, are you two together?" Her voice carried a nervousness she herself wasn't even aware of.

Fang Hui's cheeks instantly flushed red, her eyes lowered shyly as she stared at the tips of her shoes, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. After several seconds, she finally murmured an almost inaudible "hmm".

Although Hua Shier did not explicitly agree, Fang Hui believed it to be true.

In an instant, Lin Jiamo felt as if a piece of her heart had suddenly gone empty, or as if something was blocking it, making her feel suffocated.

Ever since she witnessed Hua Shier's stunning performance on the court during the Nike Cup finals, her image of her former deskmate, whom she had labeled as "durian mango" and "unreliable," has been completely overturned.

A strange feeling, a mixture of admiration, curiosity, and affection, quietly began to grow.

Hearing Fang Hui confirm it herself, a strong sense of loss and a trace of resentment surged into his heart.

She looked at Fang Hui, trying to force a smile of happiness for her friend, but found her lips to be incredibly stiff.

"Really? That's good."

Lin Jiamo heard her own voice sound somewhat dry and lifeless.

She quickly looked away, forcefully and thoroughly suppressing the vague emotions in her heart that she hadn't had time to clarify or express, hiding them deep within her heart.

For the rest of the day, she seemed somewhat absent-minded, occasionally glancing unconsciously at the person sleeping in class next to her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Hua Shier's life rhythm was not disrupted by anything else. As soon as the school bell rang, he still habitually put his arm around Zhao Ye's shoulder, their destination clear: the internet cafe.

After turning on the computer and logging into QQ, Hua Shier habitually checks if any business has come to him.

A familiar cough sounded, and Hua opened the flashing avatar of "Anything Goes Financial Management Services Co., Ltd." at 12 o'clock.

There are two unread messages.

One of the messages was from the migrant worker who helped collect the debt last time.

The message said he was the son of the migrant worker who was studying at university in his hometown. He first thanked Hua Shier for his previous help to his father. All the migrant workers from his village had received their wages and returned home safely.

Then the young man left a message in a worried tone:
"My dad asked me to tell you that the contractor named Li Laohei has been asking about you lately and saying he's going to settle accounts with you. Be careful, you're all alone in Beijing."

Hua Shier replied with a message: "Understood, thank you."

He had already decided to strike first and go check on Li Laohei's situation that night.

The other message was a friend request from two days ago, with the verification message being "Anything is fine." Hmm, that matches the code. It's obviously an advertisement from the BBS to attract traffic.

Hua accepted the request at 12 o'clock. Unexpectedly, the other party's avatar immediately lit up and sent a message:
"Hello, I'd like to ask, why do you consistently acquire five-figure QQ numbers on BBS? Is it for personal collection, or do you have a positive outlook on the future development of the QQ instant messaging software?"

Hua Shier was taken aback; this opening remark didn't sound like a business commission.

He frowned, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, about to tell the other person, "No small talk, let's get down to business," when his gaze inadvertently swept over the other person's QQ number—10001.

"10001? Is that the telecom customer service number?"

He muttered something subconsciously, then suddenly realized, "Wait! This is a Tencent QQ account!"

A name flashed through his mind like lightning—Little Horse?!

The reason he's not called "Brother Ma" (the "brother" part is missing) is because in the "All Is Well" world, the other person calls him "brother."

He remembered the number; it was Pony Ma's QQ number, the one he'd used in the "All Is Well" world. Meanwhile, far away in Shenzhen, Pony Ma was fretting over a series of anxiety-inducing financial statements and user growth data.

With the chill of the global dot-com bubble bursting and investor confidence still low, Tencent, this rapidly expanding little penguin, is facing immense pressure from surging user numbers and the resulting server and operating costs, putting its cash flow at risk.

He even considered selling the company to alleviate his predicament, but the price offered by the previous negotiating partners was far below his expectations.

This is the most confused and difficult moment he has experienced since starting his business.

He stumbled upon the bizarre business advertisement of "Anything is Possible Company" while aimlessly browsing an online forum.

He was initially just going to laugh it off, but the message "Our company buys five-digit QQ numbers long-term, price negotiable" instantly caught his eye.

When the company is burning through cash, its future is uncertain, and even he, as the boss, feels lost about the company's prospects, someone is actually willing to use real money to buy this seemingly intangible 'virtual asset'?
How much confidence must they have in the future of penguins?

At that moment, it was as if Little Ma was walking in a thick fog, unable to find his way, when he saw a faint glimmer of affirmation from the outside world.

With a complex mix of curiosity, he sent a friend request and waited anxiously for two days before finally receiving a response.

Hua Shier guessed that it was Xiao Ma who contacted him. After thinking about it, he realized that this was the most difficult time for Tencent. He chuckled, made up his mind, and his fingers began to fly across the keyboard.

First, he launched into a nonsensical, rambling monologue.

He spoke eloquently about how the internet is about to disrupt traditional life, and how instant messaging software may occupy a central position in future social interactions and even the entire internet ecosystem.

Then he deliberately threw out a few vague but impressive-sounding concepts, implying that he had many 'brilliant ideas' that could enable the penguin to quickly achieve huge profits.

But when Xiao Ma asked about the specifics, Hua Shier changed the subject and began to pique his interest, saying that each of these ideas was worth a fortune and was the "crystallization of his wisdom," so how could he easily show them to others?

At first, Xiao Ma thought the other party might be a boastful conman, but Hua Shier's occasional forward-thinking concepts and insightful comments on his product's predicament shocked him. After careful consideration, he found them to be incisive and to the point.

That agonizing curiosity and anticipation grew stronger and stronger.

He checked Hua12's IP address, which showed it was located in Beijing. Since he was planning to go to Beijing soon to raise funds, he tentatively suggested:

"I happen to be going to Beijing next week to attend an industry conference. I wonder if I could invite you for a coffee so we can meet and discuss things in detail? I'd like to ask you a few questions!"

Hua Shier smiled, the fish had taken the bait, and replied:

"No problem. Just leave me a message after you confirm your itinerary."

He knew that this was the most difficult time for Penguin, and Hua Shier decided to help Pony Ma in this world out of consideration for his past relationship with him. Well, he firmly refused to admit that it was for the hundreds of billions of dollars in investment returns later.

Hey bro, I'm just doing this for brotherhood, what's wrong with that?

After playing counter-terrorism games with Zhao Ye for an hour, the two of them got off the plane and left.

When he got home, he found a note on the table with neat handwriting. It was left by Fang Hui, telling Hua Shier that the food was ready and in the pot. She told him to heat it up if it got cold when he got back.

Hua Shier smiled slightly, never expecting that 'Zhu Suosuo' had such a virtuous wife and loving mother side!

After the meal, Hua Shier used Qimen Dunjia to deduce Li Laohei's location.

He didn't bother to deal with Xiao Karami, who wasn't a character in the story and wasn't a big shot. He just created a shadow clone to handle it later in the night.

The shadow clone went to Li Laohei's side, but had no intention of sending him to mine. Instead, it found an opportunity to strike his fatal weakness, causing this unscrupulous contractor to die silently.

Li Laohei's death did not cause Hua Shier any trouble, but Tang Haibing's side caused some chaos.

Even if Tang Haibing had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to anger Hua Shier now; any trouble he caused was purely due to external factors.

Because Tang Haibing's unusual "pleading guilty" posture, which lasted for many days, quickly attracted the attention of the media.

Although Tang Haibing remained silent when interviewed by the media, the story was escalated into a social news story as the reports progressed.

When Tang Haibing's parents saw their son on a TV station's social news segment, they could hardly believe their eyes.

Considering their son's recent absent-mindedness, they finally snapped.

Under intense questioning at home, Tang Haibing refused to reveal the reason, repeatedly saying that he was apologizing for past mistakes.

When the situation reached a stalemate, Chen Xun, who came to visit Tang Haibing over the weekend, happened to run into the line of fire.

Under the combined pressure and intimidation of Tang Haibing's parents, who were almost physically abusive, Chen Xun couldn't bear to see his friend in such pain. He blurted out the whole story of how Hua Shier had threatened him and why Tang Haibing had been forced to apologize.

"Outrageous! Utterly lawless!"

Tang Haibing's father was so angry that his face turned ashen and he was trembling all over. He didn't even ask why others were forcing his son to apologize. That very afternoon, he forcibly dragged Tang Haibing to the police station to report the crime.

So, Hua Shier was taken to the police station again.

When questioned by Uncle Hat, he looked innocent and confused, firmly denying that he had ever instructed or threatened Tang Haibing to do anything.
He stated that he had no idea why Tang Haibing was behaving strangely, and even asked the police if he had suffered some kind of mental trauma.

Just when the questioning reached a stalemate, someone no one expected appeared: Fang Hui.

Fang Hui had originally planned to visit Hua Shier during her vacation and cook him lunch, but she pieced together the news from the neighbors' gossip that he had been taken away by the police.

She rushed to the police station, and when she saw Tang Haibing there, a huge panic instantly overwhelmed her.

She didn't understand the law, and her mind was filled with the terrifying image of the Chinese 12th Association being convicted and imprisoned for standing up for her.

Overwhelmed by intense self-reproach and worry for Hua Twelve, she overcame her inherent timidity and told Uncle Hat the truth:
"He's helping me, he's protecting me, please, don't arrest him." Fang Hui cried until she was almost exhausted.

Sobbing, she spoke intermittently for the first time about that dark experience buried deep in her heart.

How Tang Haibing took his anger out on her because of the unexpected death of his friend Li He, how he harassed and intimidated her for a long time, and even forced her to wear a white flower, making her live in fear and depression for more than a year, almost to the point of collapse.

With tears streaming down her face, she told Uncle Hat that it was Hua Twelve's appearance, his protection and encouragement that gave her the courage to slowly emerge from that shadow and feel the sunshine again.

Tang Haibing, under the incredulous gazes of her parents, was so ashamed that she almost hid her head in her crotch.

This fundamentally changed the nature of the case.

The police station immediately contacted Fang Hui's parents.

When these parents, who had long neglected their daughter due to their own relationship problems, learned for the first time from their daughter's heart-wrenching cries at the police station that she had endured such immense pain and pressure alone,...
Shock, shame, heartache, regret—a tidal wave of emotions overwhelmed them.

Fang's mother held her daughter and wept bitterly, while Fang's father was pale-faced, his fists clenched, and he remained silent for a long time.

Faced with Fang Hui's clear accusations, Tang Haibing admitted to everything.

Tang Haibing's parents, who initially didn't believe it, instantly lost all their confidence upon seeing their son's attitude. They never imagined that their son, whom they considered merely 'mischievous,' would do such a terrible thing to a girl.

They had no choice but to lower their heads, adopt a pleading posture, sincerely apologize to Fang Hui's family, and offer to provide financial compensation in the hope of reaching a settlement and preventing the matter from escalating further and causing more serious consequences for Tang Haibing's future.

Ultimately, with the mediation and witnessing of the police station, both families signed a settlement agreement. Tang Haibing apologized in person, the Tang family made financial compensation, and dropped the pursuit of Hua Shier's case.

Hua Shier was also severely criticized and educated by the police, who told him that disputes must be resolved through legal channels and that no form of threat or violence was allowed to be used in private. He was then allowed to leave the police station.

The surface turmoil seemed to have subsided, and the compensation agreement had been signed.

But for Fang Hui's parents, the impact of this incident is far from over.

Because Fang Hui's parents recognized Hua Shier, the dangerous teenager who had made the front page of the newspaper and lived in the same neighborhood as them!
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