Super Rich: Starting the game by going back ten years to buy Bitcoin

"...Li Yichen?"

These two words were nailed to his back.

It wasn't heavy or loud, but every syllable pierced his ears precisely, striking a nerve he hadn't touched in five or six years.

His feet were stuck to the ground, and he couldn't move.

The body reacted before the brain—the muscles in the back of the neck tensed, the shoulder blades pulled in two places, and both hands clenched into fists in the pockets.

There's no escaping it now.

At a distance of ten steps, unless her eyesight is below 0.1, she cannot possibly mistake someone for someone else.

Li Yichen stood still for two seconds.

He quickly thought of what to do – turn around now, pretend you didn't hear, pull Xiao Yuqing up the escalator, and you'll disappear on the third floor in three seconds.

But that was the practice from five or six years ago.

Five or six years ago, he changed his phone card, moved to a different city, and completely disappeared from his own world.

Again?

He's twenty-four. Not eighteen anymore.

If you run away again, it's not just being a coward, it's being a bastard.

Li Yichen slowly turned around.

Ten steps away, Liu Xiaoyu stood at the entrance of that shop, her phone hanging by her side, frozen in place.

Eyes facing each other.

Li Yichen's face was stiff. It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to be serious; his facial muscles were out of control, and he couldn't even twitch the corner of his mouth.

Liu Xiaoyu stared at him.

The emotions in those eyes were so complex—surprise, doubt, anger, grievance, disbelief, five or six emotions swirling together in their sockets. After a couple of seconds, a layer of tears welled up in their eyes.

She took a step.

The first step was slow, the second step was fast, and the third step was almost a jog.

The high heels clicked and clacked on the marble floor of the mall, growing increasingly rapid.

The distance was reduced from ten steps to five steps.

Five steps reduced to three.

Three steps – two steps.

Stopped.

Liu Xiaoyu's foot was stuck two meters away.

Her gaze shifted slightly to Li Yichen's side.

Xiao Yuqing.

A floral print sundress, long hair cascading down her shoulders, her arm linked with Li Yichen's. Beautiful. Very beautiful. The kind of effortless, clean-cut beauty.

Liu Xiaoyu stopped walking.

She stood two meters away, her hands hanging at her sides, her fingers slightly curled.

They didn't go any further.

Her eyes were fixed on Li Yichen.

That kind of staring—not scrutiny, not interrogation, but the kind of staring one gets after groping in the dark for five or six years, finally finding a door, pushing it open, and discovering someone else standing behind it.

Li Yichen's spine was numb.

That gaze was heavier than any of the words Liu Qiang uttered when he stood at the entrance of the alley back then.

The silence lasted for three seconds.

Li Yichen forced a smile. The smile on his face looked more like a grimace.

He raised his right hand and gestured towards Liu Xiaoyu.

"have not seen you for a long time."

Four words. Dry and lifeless. Utterly stupid.

Liu Xiaoyu's lips trembled slightly.

The tears that had been welling up in her eyes for two seconds burst forth the moment she heard those three words.

The tears didn't fall one by one, but rather flowed out in large clumps. They streamed down her cheeks, slid over her chin, and dripped onto the neckline of her black dress, leaving two small dark spots.

She didn't say anything.

She didn't cry or sob; she just stood there, tears streaming down her face, her lips pressed tightly together until they turned white.

Something was blocking Li Yichen's chest.

It was heavy and stuffy.

It was so suffocating that he couldn't breathe.

Five or six years have passed. He thought time could heal all wounds. He thought Liu Xiaoyu had long forgotten him. He thought she would meet someone better, live a better life, and completely erase him, this poor boy, from her memory.

But she stood two meters away, tears streaming down her face, without saying a word.

Those tears were more scalding than any question.

Li Yichen turned his head and looked at Xiao Yuqing.

"Yuqing, get out of the car and wait for me."

Xiao Yuqing's hand was still on his arm.

She glanced at Li Yichen, then at the woman two meters away who was crying. The woman's eyes never left Li Yichen's face, not even when she was crying.

That way of looking at people isn't that of a friend. Nor is it just an ordinary ex-girlfriend.

It's the kind of care that's etched into your bones.

Xiao Yuqing's fingers loosened.

I want to ask why.

But the words stuck in my throat.

What was her relationship with Li Yichen? Strictly speaking, they weren't even boyfriend and girlfriend. She was his kept woman. He gave her two million, and she accepted. The things she said last night in the presidential suite, clinging to his neck, were ultimately just the words of a kept woman.

What gives them the right to ask such questions at a time like this?

Xiao Yuqing nodded.

"Okay. I'll wait for you in the car."

The four words were spoken very calmly. There was no resentment, no jealousy.

She turned and walked towards the escalator, the hem of her floral sundress fluttering slightly in the mall's air conditioning.

The sound of strappy sandals clicking on the marble floor faded into the distance.

There was no turning back.

Li Yichen watched her figure disappear around the corner of the escalator before turning his gaze away.

Only he and Liu Xiaoyu remained in front of him.

The background music in the mall was still playing. I didn't know which song it was, but the melody was sticky and cloying, which sounded particularly jarring against the silence between the two of them.

Liu Xiaoyu spoke up.

"Li Yichen".

Her voice was hoarse.

"Where have you been all these years?"

The first sentence.

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?"

second sentence.

"You heartless man."

His voice was already trembling by the third sentence.

"Big bad guy."

As the last two words were squeezed out through clenched teeth, Liu Xiaoyu rushed over.

Two steps can be covered in a single step.

She crashed headfirst into Li Yichen's arms, raised both fists, and slammed them down on his chest.

One punch. Two punches. Three punches.

Not heavy. The force was so weak it was like a tickle. But every punch was delivered quickly and forcefully, carrying five or six years of grievances and resentment.

"How could you just leave like that! Without even saying goodbye!"

"You even changed your SIM card. Don't you want to see me that much?"

With each sentence he spoke, he would slam his fist down.

Tears fell drop by drop onto Li Yichen's white T-shirt, leaving dark dots.

Li Yichen stood still, his hands hanging at his sides, motionless.

There was no dodging. There was no blocking.

My chest felt dull from the impact, but that pain was nothing compared to the sour feeling in my heart.

He owes her.

Every punch he took was deserved.

Liu Xiaoyu pounded him a dozen times, but her strength gradually diminished. Her fists went from pounding to slapping, and finally she grabbed his T-shirt with both hands, pressed her forehead against his chest, and her shoulders heaved.

Li Yichen stood there for a few seconds.

He reached out and gently placed his hand on her head, patting it twice.

"Xiaoyu, don't cry."

His voice was very low.

"Your face is all messed up from crying."

Liu Xiaoyu's shoulders were still shaking.

"I had no choice but to leave back then."

When I said those words, the lump in my throat eased a little.

Just a little bit.

Liu Xiaoyu's fingers gripped his T-shirt even tighter.

After a long while, she slowly raised her head.

Her face was streaked with tears. Her makeup was half ruined; her eyeliner had smudged, leaving black marks under her eyes. But her eyes were frighteningly bright.

I later learned why you left without saying goodbye back then.

Li Yichen's hand stopped above her head.

"I know because my brother contacted you."

When those words came down, Li Yichen was stunned.

He always assumed Liu Xiaoyu didn't know. The day Liu Qiang came to find him, there were only the two of them in the alley. It was raining so hard, and there was no third person present.

How did she know?

Seeing the astonishment on his face, Liu Xiaoyu forced a smile. The smile was more bitter than a grimace.

"Don't you know my brother? He never hides anything from my mom. If my mom finds out, I'll find out sooner or later too."

Li Yichen withdrew his hand from her head and took a half step back.

The two people put some distance between themselves.

"Don't blame your brother for this."

He looked down at his newly bought Derby shoes.

"He did it for your own good. Back then... I really wasn't good enough for you."

My throat felt dry when I said those words.

It's not a lie.

Li Yichen was eighteen years old. He came from the countryside; his parents worked as bricklayers on construction sites, and their monthly food expenses had to be carefully calculated down to single digits. At that time, what did he have to compare with the Liu family's circumstances?

Liu Qiang is right.

Every single word is correct.

For five or six years, he didn't have the confidence to turn back.

The air hung heavy for two seconds.

Li Yichen raised his head and his gaze fell on Liu Xiaoyu.

I scanned it from top to bottom.

My steps faltered.

He was so focused on dealing with his emotional turmoil that he hadn't paid any attention to what Liu Xiaoyu was wearing. Now, looking closely—

Black dress.

No. It's not a dress.

It's workwear.

The fabric is a stiff polyester blend, and the collar and cuffs are cut in a square shape. There is a name tag on the left chest with the mall's logo and a name printed on it.

"Liu Xiaoyu - Floor Guide"

Li Yichen curled his fingers inside his pocket.

He pointed to the employee badge on Liu Xiaoyu's chest.

"Xiaoyu, do you work here?"

Liu Xiaoyu glanced down at her employee ID card, then looked up again.

He gave a bitter laugh. It was very short. Like a piece of cigarette ash broken off by the wind.

"Yes. I work here."

Six characters.

Li Yichen stared at her.

Something in my head doesn't quite fit.

The Liu family. They're in the trading business. He'd known about them since high school—not the small-scale kind, but the kind with a legitimate company, a proper team, and tens of millions in annual revenue. Liu Qiang drives a BMW, and Liu Xiaoyu has never lacked money growing up. Her school supplies, backpack, and shoes are all the best among her peers.

That was six years ago.

Even without expansion, after six years, relying solely on the existing foundation, there are still hundreds of millions of yuan in assets left.

How did you end up working as a sales assistant in a shopping mall?

"Your home isn't..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

Liu Xiaoyu's bitter smile still lingered on her lips, but what was wrapped in that smile was chillingly cold.

She lowered her head, her fingers pinching the employee badge on her chest, and turned it over.

"Li Yichen, some things... aren't what you think."

Her voice softened.

The mall's loudspeaker blared, and a sweet, cloying female voice announced promotional information for each floor. Bright white lights shone on the floor between the two people.

Liu Xiaoyu raised her head, the tear stains in her eyes still wet, but her eyes had stopped crying.

There was an indescribable weariness inside.

"Our Liu family—"

She paused for a moment.

"It collapsed three years ago."