Chapter 095: Crossing the Ocean

In the kitchen, fragrant with the rich aroma of food, Wang Chunhua merely let out a quiet sigh when her son pressed her for an answer.

“It’s all old history. Why keep digging into it? Don’t bring it up again after this. Do you hear me?”

Seeing his mother’s displeasure, Lin Yu said nothing more and changed the subject at once.

“Mom, what about that milk tea and snack shop I mentioned last time? Have you thought it over?”

“Heh, I’m going to look at the storefronts this afternoon. There are two decent places. One is across from First High School. It’s a small shop, about twenty square meters, and the yearly rent is twenty thousand yuan. The other is near the taekwondo gym where you used to train. That one’s a bit bigger, around thirty square meters, and the annual rent is about twenty-five thousand.” As she spoke, Wang Chunhua placed the fried eggs and ham between the lettuce leaves.

Lin Yu had not expected his mother to have already started making real arrangements, and he looked genuinely startled. After a moment, he asked, “Then, Mom, which one do you prefer?”

Wang Chunhua thought for a moment. “Honestly, I still like the one near First High School better. The students there have very strong spending power. But you’re studying at First High School yourself. I’m afraid if I go there to sell things, I might embarrass you.”

“How could that be? Didn’t Liu Bei once sell straw sandals?” Lin Yu said, his nose stinging a little as he tried to comfort her.

“I know. Kids your age love comparing everything and care most about face. It’s fine, really—going over by Second High School would be just as good.” Wang Chunhua carried the finished sandwiches to the table.

“It’s fine. Let’s go with the First High School side. If you’re closer to me, I’ll feel more at ease too. These days, a lot of high school students are unruly. I’m afraid if you go to the Second High School side, people might bully you.” After taking a bite of the delicious sandwich, Lin Yu made the decision for her.

The taekwondo gym where he used to train was very close to Second High School and Bingcheng Vocational High School. The students there were mostly rougher types, and he worried that people might come around to cause trouble or even shake them down for protection money. He himself was at First High School after all; a distant remedy could not solve an immediate problem.

Inside the sandwich, the eggs and ham were warm, while the meat was cool smoked meat. The taste and texture were excellent—fragrant, but never greasy.

“That works too. After breakfast, I’ll go withdraw the money and see whether I can sign the contract directly. Once that’s done, we’ll renovate right away and then contact suppliers.” Seeing how happily her son ate, Wang Chunhua said with a smile.

“Okay. But didn’t you and Dad say our family had no money left? Where did these twenty or thirty thousand come from?” Lin Yu asked curiously.

“Oh, don’t ask about that. What family doesn’t keep some emergency cash? This money is for emergencies. This time, it really is a matter of fighting with our backs to the wall.” Wang Chunhua gave a long, soft sigh.

“Then when you start renovating, call me. Maybe I can come up with a few little ideas.” Lin Yu said with confidence.

He was thinking of the many coffee shops and small restaurants he had seen in his past life, which would deliberately leave one wall open for students to stick up notes, using it as a marketing trick.

Such a small romantic flourish was nothing remarkable by 2012, and had even started to go out of style. But in Bingcheng in 2002, it would still seem very fashionable.

There was a line in a business book he had once read: any worthwhile idea is a golden key that can unlock wealth.

Lin Yu believed that, honed by his vision from the future, this milk tea shop would one day become a chain and spread across all of Bingcheng.

After breakfast and a bit of tidying up, Wang Chunhua, feeling both excited and determined, went out to arrange the contract.

After resting for a while, Lin Yu went to Qi Yue’s home for tutoring.

He guessed that Xiao Yue was probably still sleeping in, so when he passed KFC, he specially bought some breakfast.

But just as he was about to leave KFC, he suddenly remembered how Lin Ran had once bought breakfast for him and Qi Yue, so he turned back and bought another portion as well, a little return for the favor. Only after that did he continue on, carrying two plastic bags.

Yet just as he reached the foot of the low-rise building at the Wealth Center, he happened to run into Yang Zhilin, dressed in a white tracksuit and just finishing her morning run.

When she saw the two KFC bags in Lin Yu’s hands, a trace of amusement appeared in her eyes.

But true to her nature, Yang Zhilin merely said in an outwardly calm voice, “Buying breakfast this early, and then the two of you eating it together afterward. How thoughtful.”

Seeing the look on the girl’s face, Lin Yu smiled. “I already ate the meat sandwich my mom made. These two portions are one for Qi Yue, and one for you.”

After saying that, he felt he might be the sort of person who could not bear to see a girl unhappy.

As expected, once Yang Zhilin heard that, a faint smile bloomed on her face. She reached out to take one portion and said, “Then we’d better not go up together. You go ahead first.”

“Heh, why do you look a little guilty?” Lin Yu teased with a smile. In truth, the three of them often spent time together, so even if Qi Yue saw the two of them together at that moment, she would not have thought much of it.

“Oh, right. There’s nothing between us to begin with.” Yang Zhilin nodded and headed home at once.

Lin Yu, left a little uncertain by the whole thing, could only smile helplessly and sigh inwardly that girls were indeed the most complicated creatures in the world.

In his heart, he thought, You are so dazzling that it hurts to look at you, yet for the sake of an ordinary Lin Yu, you are sometimes happy and sometimes melancholy. Was it worth it? In truth, even without Xiao Yue, I would still be nowhere near worthy of you. Don’t you understand that?

After a quiet moment of reflection, he strode into the elevator.

When he reached the twelfth floor and opened the door, he found that Lin Ran had not arrived yet, and Qi Yue was already enjoying her sweet dream face down.

Looking at that figure he knew best, Lin Yu smiled faintly.

He thought to himself, You still feel the most familiar to me. We’ll be together for a very, very long time, won’t we?

Muttering to himself for a while in his heart, Lin Yu then climbed quietly onto the snow-white bed and drew the girl into his arms.

Weary at the soul’s core, he too soon fell into deep sleep.

When Lin Yu opened his eyes again, he glanced at the clock out of habit—and was startled to see that it was already eleven in the morning.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and saw that Qi Yue was wearing a headset and video-chatting with her mother, who was far away in Australia.

And the camera on this side was pointed directly toward the bed.

“…What are you doing?”

At that instant, Lin Yu’s face turned bright red.

His sleeping posture had actually been sent across the ocean, all the way to Australia. How was he supposed to bear this?