Chapter 0271: Small Happiness

On the first day of the millennium, Zhao Fusheng found everything going his way, as if it all heralded a good start. For him, the half year since his rebirth had been moving in an unpredictable direction, with risks and opportunities alike. How far he could go depended on his choices.

Walking on the school path, people around him hurried past. Beside Zhao Fusheng was Wang Zhen, his face full of excitement. Clearly, the guy was still immersed in the good news he had just received.

He did not know that at another fork in time and space, the man in his forties had accomplished nothing, stuck in a mediocre job, living each day like a year. Occasionally, when he gathered with a few friends, he would always get dead drunk.

Time silently carried away the aging youth, burying the secrets of our youth. Zhao Fusheng sometimes wondered how many past memories from his previous life he had forgotten. And how many things he simply did not know.

In the distance, a large tree had several branches, swaying in the wind. Zhao Fusheng vaguely remembered how they used to look.

The wind blew memories into petals, drifting a faint fragrance from the long corridor of time. In a daze, Zhao Fusheng saw, long, long ago, the youth who now stood shoulder to shoulder with him, sitting by the roadside, reaching out a hand to embrace the vast, deep, lonely sky.

Like deep and shallow sorrow, spreading through the narrow stretch of time, transforming into thick cocoons, binding and carving into each person's raw pain.

Time brings great changes to the world.

"Old Zhao, do you think we might one day acquire someone else's website?" Wang Zhen suddenly said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "What, not willing to let go?"

Wang Zhen nodded honestly, a hint of frustration in his tone: "To be honest, if it weren't for the current situation, I probably wouldn't have agreed to sell the website."

He was telling the truth. After all, the website was developing well, and it looked like it might break one million users. In Wang Zhen's view, it was really hard to part with.

But he also knew that Zhao Fusheng couldn't invest any more money, and he himself couldn't afford to. The only option for this website now was to sell it to someone else.

Some big shots who like to show off always say: Let's set a small goal first, earn a hundred million.

But before that, before he became the richest man, Zhao Fusheng didn't believe he dared to brag like that.

Successful people like to feed others chicken soup for the soul because they have indeed succeeded and have the capital to fool people, while losers have no time to ponder all that messy stuff because they are busy working hard.

Many misunderstandings in the world come from not understanding. If things were truly clear at a glance, misunderstandings and doubts would be much fewer.

It's like how we often don't understand what the life of the rich is like. That's because poverty limits our imagination. We may not understand why someone would spend hundreds of thousands to drink a glass of wine.

"Did you tell Dong Chenxi?" Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen nodded: "When that person made the offer earlier, I told her. She said to follow your lead."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "If she knew you agreed to sell the website to buy her a house, she'd be really happy."

Wang Zhen's face showed a happy expression, grinning but saying nothing.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and didn't bring up the matter again.

Although Dong Chenxi didn't say it out loud, deep down she still hoped to sell this house so that Wang Zhen could get his share and buy a house to get married.

Women, like men, are sometimes hypocritical. They are clearly overjoyed, but verbally they insist they didn't think that way.

It's like 'no, don't stop'—how you punctuate that is a great学问.

Of course, men are the same. No matter how ugly a girl is, as long as she has big breasts, long legs, and a perky butt, covering her face makes her tolerable. Only silly little girls believe in things like 'I only love you.'

Back at the dormitory, they met up with Wen Yu and Tan Kaixuan, and the four decided to go out for a meal.

The reason was simple: it was a holiday today, so naturally they had to celebrate.

Last night when Zhao Fusheng went home, he had already told his mother that he wouldn't be back today.

Zhao's mother readily agreed and told Zhao Fusheng that he was old enough not to have to report to her like a little shadow all the time.

Zhao Fusheng privately thought that his mom simply had no time to bother with him.

The reason was simple: New Year's Day had arrived, and the entire Hualian Commercial Building was in a frenzy. Even Li Yuan had brought Fan Beibei to the office to help answer phones, let alone Zhao's father and mother.

All the family members of the shareholders were mobilized. In Zhao's father's words, they aimed to double sales for New Year's Day.

And so, comrade Zhao Fusheng was abandoned.

Of course, he could see that. After all, his parents' career was thriving, which Zhao Fusheng thought was a good thing. He was even considering whether he should tell his father to extend the lease for a few more years if possible.

There was no reason not to continue a profitable business.

"Um, I called Meimei."

As they went downstairs, Wen Yu said a bit sheepishly. He and Han Meimei had already confirmed their relationship. In his own words, a real man's word is his bond; since he had slept with her, he had to take responsibility.

Zhao Fusheng and the others laughed. Tan Kaixuan waved his hand: "We knew you had that in mind. Let's go, we'll pick her up together."

Han Meimei had left a decent impression on the group, so no one objected to her.

Most importantly, it was New Year's Day, and they couldn't very well separate the boyfriend and girlfriend.

As for the fact that a couple had infiltrated a group of singles, Wang Zhen claimed he had a girlfriend, and Zhao Fusheng had long since seen through it all.

The only one feeling a bit down was Tan Kaixuan. But that guy was always easygoing, so it didn't matter.

Since it was New Year's Day, they couldn't choose a barbecue place or the like. Plus, Zhao Fusheng was in a good mood today, so he decided: let Tan Kaixuan treat.

"Why me?" Tan Kaixuan was completely baffled, not understanding why Zhao Fusheng would do this.

Zhao Fusheng grinned: "You know, my script was bought by Brother Liu. When they start filming, I'll definitely go check it out. Brother Liu, Zhou Feifei..."

Before he could finish, Tan Kaixuan waved his hand grandly: "I'm treating today! Eat whatever you want, guys!"

That guy was a crazy fan of Zhou Feifei. Even if Zhao Fusheng told him Zhou Feifei already had a man, he didn't care. In Master Tan's own words: "What I like is her body, not her person..."

Zhao Fusheng expressed admiration for that. A body fan—there was really no way to argue with that.

Since someone was willing to pay, the group naturally didn't hold back. They went to a hotpot restaurant near the school and ordered a huge table of dishes and meat, even making Han Meimei worry that they wouldn't finish it all.

"Don't worry, with these foodies, nothing will be left," Zhao Fusheng comforted her with a smile.

"Really?" Han Meimei blinked, clearly not quite believing it.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and pointed at Wen Yu: "Don't be fooled by how thin your boyfriend is. Last time he and Wang Zhen went out to eat, the two of them ate three jin of dumplings. They're practically reincarnated rice buckets."

Wen Yu's face instantly turned red, and he pointed at Wang Zhen: "He ate most of them!"

Wang Zhen shook his head like a rattle-drum: "Shameless! You clearly ate two plates."

The two were arguing over their appetites. Zhao Fusheng looked at Han Meimei: "See? Got it now?"

Han Meimei giggled and nodded: "Got it."

After joking around for a while, they stopped talking and focused all their attention on eating.

Hotpot is really best in winter. In the cold winter, a steaming hotpot, picking up a few thin slices of lamb, boiling them in the bubbling broth for a dozen seconds, dipping them in sesame sauce and various seasonings, taking a delicious bite—the feeling is indescribably comfortable.

For foodies, this is undoubtedly the ultimate pleasure.

"What's up? Why are you all staring at me?" Unknowingly, Han Meimei became the center of attention. She looked at them strangely, utterly confused.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and pointed at the plate in front of her. Then, Han Meimei's face suddenly turned red.