Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"He borrowed a book from me before, promising to return it before the start of the semester!"

Li Yunjing made up an excuse on the spot and had already slipped out the door, saying, "I'll be right back!"

Before her parents could ask any more questions, the door slammed shut.

Li Yunjing pushed out the bicycle, jumped on, and the wheels spun rapidly in the night.

The cool evening breeze brushed against his cheeks, but it couldn't dispel the burning passion in his heart.

Gao Fujia lives in a new building in the west of the town, which is some distance from his home.

These are buildings constructed a couple of years ago. Compared to the courtyard house where Li Yunjing lives, these buildings are much more orderly and grand, mostly four-story buildings.

Li Yunjing easily found Gao Fu's building, locked his bicycle downstairs, took a deep breath, composed himself, and then went up the stairs.

Knock on the still-new-painted Panpan security door.

After a while, the door opened.

The person who opened the door was Gao Fu's mother, a well-dressed, middle-aged woman with a prosperous appearance. When she saw Li Yunjing, she gave a polite smile: "Oh, it's Yunjing. Looking for Xiaofu? Come in quickly."

"Hello, Auntie, I need to speak with Gao Fu about something."

Li Yunjing nodded politely and went inside.

The living room is spacious and bright, with dark red linoleum flooring, a set of faux leather sofas, and landscape paintings hanging on the walls.

Gao Fu was lounging on the sofa watching TV, a handful of sunflower seeds in his hand. When he saw Li Yunjing, he was visibly taken aback for a moment, then his face broke into his usual slick smile: "Oh, what a rare guest, Li Yunjing! What brings you to my house? I heard you're repeating your senior year? You still have time to come out for a stroll?"

Li Yunjing smiled, ignoring his comment about repeating a grade, and glanced around the living room before saying to Gao Fu's mother, "Auntie, I need to talk to Gao Fu about something."

"Okay, okay, you guys chat, I'll go cut some watermelon for you."

Gao Fu's mother tactfully walked away.

Li Yunjing walked to the sofa, but didn't sit down. Looking down at Gao Fu, who was still eating sunflower seeds, his smile faded slightly. He spoke bluntly, "Gao Fu, shouldn't you settle the accounts for that six hundred yuan from before summer vacation, and those treasury bonds you collected yourself?"

Gao Fu froze as he was cracking sunflower seeds.

The slick smile on his face froze instantly, like a fragile ice shell being struck by a heavy hammer, shattering into an expression of embarrassment and panic.

He subconsciously tossed the melon seeds in his hand back into the plate, his eyes darting away, not daring to look directly into Li Yunjing's calm yet penetrating eyes.

"Yun...Yun Jing, look at you, why are you saying this..."

Gao Fuqian chuckled twice, his voice low, as if afraid his mother in the kitchen would hear, "That money... I'm trying to figure something out. I've received some treasury bonds, but it's not enough..."

"not enough?"

Li Yunjing's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable coldness: "Gao Fu, it was agreed back then that the six hundred yuan I gave you was a loan, it's written in black and white."

He emphasized the word "borrow," tapping lightly on his pocket where the crucial IOU lay.

Gao Fu's face paled.

He did indeed harbor a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).

During the summer vacation, after listening to Li Yunjing's "advice", he thought that if he delayed, he would run away when school started. Would he still dare to come to his home to ask for money?

I never expected that bastard Li Yunjing would actually come knocking on our door.

He did receive some treasury bonds, but not many.

After all, he had no capital; the money was stolen from his home, and given his poor intelligence, he naturally had no way to convert it into cash.

Over time, he accumulated several hundred yuan worth of treasury bonds.

He went to the bank to ask, and some of them hadn't matured yet and couldn't be redeemed at all; they were practically worthless.

During this period, he stole more than a thousand yuan from his home.

If my dad finds out, he'll beat me half to death.

"Yun Jing, Yun Jing, we're brothers, let's talk this out..."

Gao Fu panicked completely, forgetting all about saving face. He stood up from the sofa, moved closer to Li Yunjing, forced a fawning smile, and lowered his voice even further, "That six hundred yuan... I'm a little short on cash for the time being. Those coupons... those coupons are all in my room. You see... how about..."

"Or what?"

Li Yunjing interrupted him, her eyes sharp, "Tight on money? I see you eating sunflower seeds and watching TV, quite leisurely."

"Gao Fu, I don't have time to beat around the bush with you."

"Paying back debts is a matter of course."

"Or, you can return the 600 yuan principal to me now, and we'll be even. You can keep all the profits and losses from the coupons you collected."

"Or...?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the living room, "I'll take the IOU and have a good chat with your uncle and aunt about how you, Young Master Gao, 'invested' in the treasury bond business."

When his parents were mentioned, Gao Fu turned green with fright.

Although his father was the manager of a lumber mill, he was very strict with him and disliked him most for not doing his proper job and getting involved in these "speculation and profiteering" things.

If his father finds out that he not only "borrowed" money from his classmates, but also secretly went to get some treasury bonds, he'll break his legs!

"No! No! Yun Jing, please don't!"

Gao Fu was so anxious he almost covered Li Yunjing's mouth, but he withdrew his hand halfway through, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I...I'll pay! I'll pay! Those coupons...look at those coupons too, see how much they're worth, let's calculate it together!"

Just then, Gao Fu's mother came out of the kitchen carrying a slice of watermelon: "Come on, Yun Jing, Xiao Fu, eat watermelon, it's just been chilled."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Li Yunjing immediately put on a smiling face, took a slice of watermelon, and said, "I'm a little thirsty."

Gao Fu quickly picked up a piece, but found it tasteless.

"What are you two talking about? You're being so secretive."

Gao Fu's mother asked casually.

"It's nothing, Mom. It's just... I borrowed a few review materials from Yun Jing before, and he came over to pick them up."

Gao Fu quickly made up an excuse, while giving Li Yunjing a pleading look.

Li Yunjing sneered inwardly, but nodded in agreement: "Yes, Auntie, I also want to discuss some academic matters with him."

Gao Fu's mother, unsuspecting, gave him a few more words of advice, such as "You need to focus on your studies now that school has started," before going back to her room.

The two of them were left alone in the living room again.

Gao Fu breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked at Li Yunjing with a completely timid and ingratiating gaze.

"Yun Jing, you... wait a moment, I'll go inside and get it."

As Gao Fu spoke, he turned and quickly walked into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Li Yunjing sat in the living room, slowly eating watermelon, his gaze sweeping over the much more spacious and brighter room than his own, without feeling much envy.

He knew that this superficial glamour would be utterly vulnerable in the face of the impending tide of the times.

Only the capital and abilities that you hold in your own hands are your true reliance.