Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 31: What kind of TV drama scene is this?

He went out and made a phone call to Yang Qingyue.

He has a phone book with a number of numbers written in it, mostly landline numbers, but only a few mobile phone and PHS numbers.

Lu Yiwen, Yang Qingyue, Huo Xiaowen.

It's been so long, and I still haven't asked Xin Mengzhen for her phone number. That girl comes from such a well-off family, she must have a cell phone, but I've never seen her use it.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

It was quite noisy over there. When Yang Qingyue heard his voice, she whispered like a thief, "I'll call back in a bit," and then hung up.

Well, my home is less than two kilometers from their neighborhood. I was originally planning to take a taxi since I've moved beyond the class of relying on my own two feet for transportation, but now I might as well just stroll over there.

Evenings are a time of sentimentality for older men, when they occasionally contemplate the meaning of life.

Walking through the streets of Chongqing, Chen Xuebing felt a sense of disconnect.

The weather was fine today, only a few degrees lower than in Shenzhen, but the temperature seemed much higher for pedestrians on the street.

Couples who walk side by side from time to time, and quarrel at the drop of a hat; a drunk man leaning against a telephone pole, stammering as he calls his wife to report on his dinner party and ask about his child's homework; a woman taking her child to the night market and asking, "Which dress looks good on Mom?"; an old man in a wheelchair and an old woman pushing a wheelchair.

Over 20% of the population in Chongqing are elderly.

In contrast, Shenzhen has the lowest percentage of elderly people in the country, with the highest percentage being only 6%.

This one data comparison is enough.

People in one city live for their families, while people in another city live for themselves.

Which kind of life is more meaningful, and how should society as a whole be structured?

The overall situation suddenly changed.

The intertwined rise of finance and real estate, the internet age, an aging society, economic slowdown, financial warfare…

He strung his memories together into a line.

As I was thinking, I saw a small shop on the street, so I bought a ballpoint pen, took out a small black leather phone book from my pocket, and wrote some keywords on the last page.

There were already quite a few keywords on it. This phone book is very thin and easy to carry. It was in my pocket on the day I was reborn, and it has been in my pocket ever since. During this time, I have written a lot of information, including some stock codes.

He wrote it subtly, without mentioning any sensitive prices or dates, just enough to remind himself.

His occasional flashes of inspiration were actually business opportunities, and he needed to find a way to record them. In his previous life, he had been forgetful since he was thirty. He would look for the remote control while holding it, and he would have to go back to check if the toilet had been flushed before he even reached the living room. Now, reborn with twenty years of prophecy, his past life was a long dream for him. He would live two identical twenty-year periods, which would make it even easier for his memories to be fragmented. It was really hard to say how many memories he would gain and how many things he would forget in the next twenty years.

I had just finished writing when the phone rang.

connected.

"Hello? Is this Chen Xuebing?" came the cautious voice on the other end.

"Yes, I bought a phone."

"Oh! I'll save it! Wait a minute, I'll hang it up for a bit!"

The voices on the other end became excited, as if they were afraid that if they didn't save it now, they wouldn't be able to save it at all.

Chen Xuebing quickly said, "Wait, wait! Don't hang up! Are you home? I'm back, I brought you some food."

"Ah...not here! I'm eating out with my parents!"

"Then give me Xin Mengzhen's phone number. I'll be there soon, and I'll have her come out and get it."

There was a moment's hesitation over there.

"Let me make a call for you first. It's the weekend, her parents might be here."

"it is good."

Chen Xuebing thought that parents these days all have the mentality of secret agents, especially families with daughters, and it was nighttime, so he could only understand.

It's better in later generations. Those born in the 80s and 90s became parents and began to learn to communicate with their children on an equal footing.

He will definitely be an enlightened father in the future.

"Then I'll hang up." Surprisingly, the other end hadn't hung up and asked again.

"it is good."

"You're so cold."

"???"

Even though her parents have changed, why do girls' thought processes remain the same as they have been for decades?
Just as Chen Xuebing was about to say something, the other person actually hung up.

They're messing with my mindset.

I remember Yang Qingyue used to have a really good personality. She was cheerful and easy-going, and her voice was like a silver bell. In my past life, I would think of her from time to time and felt that I might have missed the only gentleness in the Sichuan-Chongqing region. How come she always throws tantrums at me now?
Tsk tsk, it's all a disguise; they even have to find people from other places.

It was Xin Mengzhen... never mind, Xin Mengzhen just took action directly.

Chen Xuebing lamented in his heart that women are all wolves in sheep's clothing, without realizing that it was his fault.

Men should learn to look for problems in women, refuse to be henpecked, and use magic to defeat magic, starting with myself.

Chen Xuebing believes he is the backbone of men in Sichuan and Chongqing.

When he reached the entrance of the residential area, he decided that if Xin Mengzhen continued to act indifferent towards him, he would give her the glutinous rice ball and turn around to leave.

Aloof, haha, I, Kuku, am aloof.

Yang Qingyue didn't return the call, but Chen Xuebing only waited at the door for a few minutes before Xin Mengzhen came out.

She's dressed very differently today.

Her hair was no longer in a ponytail, but draped loosely over her shoulders. Gone were the loose sweatpants and sneakers; in their place were her smooth calves beneath a white skirt, and she wore a pair of high-quality light-colored sandals, revealing her fair toes.

It was just a long dress for home, the kind not suitable for going out, but her whole demeanor had a charm that Chen Xuebing found captivating.

He recalled a scene from the upcoming film "Chinese Paladin" where Liu Yifei covered her shoulders while taking a bath and said, "Don't come any closer."

It makes you really want to come over.

There is no such thing as natural beauty that cannot be concealed. No matter how outstanding one's appearance is, it still needs the right clothes to complement it.

For example, there's a scene later on where the fairy sister takes a bath. In "The Assassins," Lingju has lost her fairy-like aura and only retains a girlish charm.

Xin Mengzhen has a natural advantage, and her outfit today makes her look exceptionally fair, giving her an ethereal appearance.

Senior year of high school, you're not young anymore.

Chen Xuebing secretly found a moral high ground for the thoughts that were gradually stirring in his heart.

"Ugh, I'm not cold wearing this... but it seems pretty hot too. I've been sweating the whole way."

Chen Xuebing's instinctive greeting was a complete failure, but thankfully he realized that asking her if she was cold would make her feel uncomfortable because she was dressed inappropriately, so he quickly changed his words.

He also took off his coat as proof of the second half of his statement.

Faced with beauty, Chen Xuebing had forgotten his principles and was not aloof at all.

As Xin Mengzhen drew closer, she sensed a hint of tension in Chen Xuebing.

When she received Yang Qingyue's call and learned that Chen Xuebing was coming to see her, she was a little conflicted. She thought about how Chen Xuebing had taken a girl to Shenzhen for a week, so when she was about to change her clothes, she inevitably had a question that girls often have to ask: Am I prettier or is she prettier?

So she didn't change; she just wore a pair of pretty sandals and came downstairs.

Xin Mengzhen was slightly pleased with his nervousness.

"When did you come back."

"I just arrived. I went home briefly and came right over because I was worried the stuff would get damaged." Chen Xuebing picked up the Xu Liushan cigarettes he was carrying.

Xin Mengzhen looked at the packaging bag, slightly surprised, and covered her mouth: "Hui Lau Shan has opened in Shenzhen? How did you find it?"

Chen Xuebing really wanted to say that the taxi driver led him there.

Yesterday he remembered he wanted to buy glutinous rice balls, so he asked the taxi driver to take him to a dessert shop. This was the place where he got off the taxi.

But when he spoke, the soldier lied again: "I went through a lot of trouble, I heard this restaurant was delicious, so I went there specifically to find it."

That's not cool.

It's fine if she's not cool, but this girl looks gorgeous today.

Xin Mengzhen laughed even harder, her eyes shining brightly and reaching straight to Chen Xuebing's heart: "Where did you hear that this shop is from Hong Kong? It wasn't even in Guangdong before." Chen Xuebing was taken aback: "I heard it from Hong Kong people! There are a lot of Hong Kong people in Shenzhen, you know."

Xin Mengzhen noticed his guilty conscience and, feeling mischievous, wanted to press him further, but her gaze froze when she saw Chen Xuebing's arm.

"What were you doing in Shenzhen? Why do you have so many injuries?"

Chen Xuebing looked down and then remembered that he had three grotesque bruises crisscrossing his hand, left from when he raised his hand to block the stick.

I intentionally wore a jacket to cover it up when I came back, but I just took it off, leaving me in only a short-sleeved shirt, which made it very noticeable.

Chen Xuebing waved his hand, shaking off the warmth from Xin Mengzhen's palm, and laughed nonchalantly, "Hey, buying these glutinous rice balls was such a struggle! There were only a few left, and I had to fight with other people several times to get them!"

Xin Mengzhen didn't smile at all.

"Did you get into fights like this before? Didn't you go to the hospital for treatment?"

A pair of eyes filled with snowflakes stared at him, as if disappointment would freeze into frost the moment Chen Xuebing said "yes".

Xin Mengzhen hates people who don't cherish themselves.

Feeling guilty under his gaze, Chen Xuebing raised his hand to look at it.

"Sometimes we do treat it, but is it really necessary to treat this kind of injury? It will be absorbed on its own."

He didn't take his injury seriously at all when he went to the hospital that day, because there was no open wound and he didn't treat it at all.

“Yours is different, it’s very serious. If you don’t apply medicine, the bruise may spread, leading to infection and hematoma. Yours is a hematoma.”

As Xin Mengzhen spoke, she pressed her fingertip against a slightly swollen bruise on Chen Xuebing's body.

Chen Xuebing felt a lot of pain, but his expression didn't change at all.

"It's been swollen like this for at least two days." Xin Mengzhen admired Chen Xuebing's composure. She looked around the neighborhood, hesitated for two seconds, and said, "Come to my house, I'll apply some medicine for you."

Chen Xuebing was stunned: "Your home?"

Are it so easy to get into a wealthy family's mansion?
I've never been a rich kid, so I don't know!
“No one’s home, they’ve all gone out.” Xin Mengzhen seemed to have sensed his thoughts and explained, but then added with a slight wariness, “Auntie is here.”

"Auntie is here... never mind, it wouldn't be good if your parents found out." Chen Xuebing quickly refused.

"Why is it bad? It's not like you're doing anything wrong."

Xin Mengzhen's eyes were clear yet filled with doubt, and Chen Xuebing suddenly felt that if he felt guilty, it meant he was planning something.

Chen Xuebing coughed lightly: "You...you have medicine at home? You know how to apply medicine?"

"Am I good at martial arts?"

After Xin Mengzhen finished speaking, she turned and left.

They didn't even take the glutinous rice balls; this move is simply unquestionable.

Chen Xuebing quickly caught up with him.

...

Xin Mengzhen's home is not a villa.

It's just a duplex.

Chen Xuebing walked into the community from the outside, past the landscaped gardens, into a brightly lit elevator building, and then out of the elevator. When Xin Mengzhen opened a door, he saw a staircase leading up to the not-so-bright living room, creating an abrupt two-story height. He deduced that the community originally did not have duplexes, and that her family had bought a two-story house and then combined them to create a two-story duplex.

Moreover, the building is not tall, only about 10 stories from the outside, but judging from the location of the hollowed-out floor slab and the large area, the building should have been constructed using a frame shear wall structure suitable for super high-rise buildings.

Frame-shear wall structures are rare these days, as the floor slabs do not bear weight, or bear only a small amount of weight.

This type of house only began to appear in Chongqing 10 years later. It was very expensive to build and had excellent earthquake resistance.

What a high-end residential community!

The interior decoration is also very luxurious.

"Use this for me. My mom sometimes comes over, and she's a bit of a germaphobe, so it's hard for the cleaning lady to clean up," Xin Mengzhen said, handing him a pair of blue shoe covers instead of slippers.

Chen Xuebing realized that this girl was really impolite, openly complaining that his shoes were dirty.

But she probably didn't mean that, otherwise she wouldn't have brought me along.

As soon as Xin Mengzhen entered the house, she rummaged through drawers and cabinets looking for medicine boxes. Chen Xuebing changed into shoe covers before entering the house, and she had already gone upstairs to look for them.

Chen Xuebing realized that she was lying. There was no auntie there at all. If there were, she would have asked the auntie to take it.

Given her family's circumstances and her father's busy schedule, they probably have a housekeeper, though she may not live there.

When Chen Xuebing saw her carrying a medicine box as she came down, he couldn't help but smile.

It reminds me of the lyrics to the song "Anhe Bridge": A girl holding a box, and a man wiping away sweat.

It's said online that Song Dongye wrote this song at a foot massage parlor.

I just don't know if the technician in front of me is good at it.

"Where's your housekeeper?" Chen Xuebing asked her teasingly.

"I'm asleep." Xin Mengzhen rolled her eyes at him.

Chen Xuebing smiled but remained silent.

Xin Mengzhen pointed to the sofa, her words concise and to the point:

"sit."

Chen Xuebing was speechless for a moment: "Why do you sound like you're scolding a dog?"

Xin Mengzhen let out a soft snort, wanting to laugh but holding it back, and said with a straight face, "That's right, only dogs lick their wounds after a fight, just like you."

"... "

Chen Xuebing sat down on the sofa, and Xin Mengzhen squatted in front of him, her face cold but her touch gentle.

The medicine was an ointment. Xin Mengzhen carefully applied it evenly with a cotton swab, then spread her palms out and rubbed it in for him.

It actually hurt quite a bit when it was being rubbed, and Chen Xuebing couldn't even enjoy the beautiful woman's service, he just gasped for breath a couple of times.

Xin Mengzhen saw Chen Xuebing's swollen bruises in the bright light, and her delicate eyebrows furrowed deeply: "Why did you fight?"

"I didn't fight, I just got robbed and got beaten up. This place isn't very peaceful." Chen Xuebing looked like he had been bullied.

Of course, he wouldn't mention collecting debts. Some girls like hooligans, but most likely not the kind who come to collect debts.

But Xin Meng was really serious.

"You were robbed? Did you call the police? Where was it robbed? I... I can help you, I'll have my uncle ask around."

Chen Xuebing sensed that her family might have some connections, and immediately shook his head, saying, "It's alright, it's resolved."

“There are a lot of criminals at the train station. Be careful when you’re out and about…” Xin Mengzhen believed Chen Xuebing’s words, and her voice softened, becoming very pleasant to hear.

As the ointment was rubbed in, it also became cool and refreshing.

Chen Xuebing observed her delicate profile, fair neck, and a few strands of hair up close, his mind slightly distracted.

"...Are there any other places?" Xin Mengzhen suddenly asked.

“That’s all,” Chen Xuebing replied immediately.

Xin Mengzhen's expression remained unchanged as she stared at him.

This time, Chen Xuebing didn't back down and met her gaze.

Xin Mengzhen suddenly reached behind Chen Xuebing and pressed down hard.

"Hiss..." Chen Xuebing's eyes widened and his back straightened up.

"With so many injuries on your hands, how could you not have them elsewhere?" Xin Mengzhen got up, grabbed a yoga mat from the corner, spread it on the floor, and gave another command:
"Sit down there."

Chen Xuebing's eyebrows twitched.

He sat on the ground. Xin Mengzhen applied medicine to his back.

This pose... is it some kind of Jade Maiden Heart Sutra practice?

(End of this chapter)