T.N: A big thank you to Beverly for (once again) hitting me with her generous double donation! So we have 3 chapters for today! Happy reading!♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡
As far as he remembered, Xu Shen had lived his childhood in the care of a lame old man. He was someone who didn’t like to talk and had a weird temper, and his family was too poor to have food for every meal.
It was indeed a miracle he survived!
Later, when Xu Shen got older, he would go out and find food and clothing on his own, and usually, he managed to find a way out for himself. Only when he was so hungry that he couldn’t stand it, would he go to other people’s houses and beg for food.
The good thing was that the adults in the village knew about his situation and helped when they could.
But those who were the same age gave him the most trouble… The children in the village liked to laugh and throw stones at him, all the way until he had to fight them fiercely… Until all the kids went back home defeated, and from that point on, he became a sort of taboo, someone not welcomed anywhere.
Despite this, Xu Shen still had a home. When he was full, he had a place to sleep. If he found too much food, he would share some with the old man…
But in the winter when he was eight years old, he woke up and found him dead, lying in bed right next to Xu Shen. His cause of death was very simple, just an old person crippled by diseases who couldn’t bear the cold.
Xu Shen carried him to the woods and dug a hole. Two years later, the house left by the old man also collapsed, making him completely homeless.
So when Shu Ran asked if he would recognize his biological parents if they came to see him, Xu Shen just thought it was funny. Really funny!
After laughing for a bit, he thought: “What for?!”
Unless they had experienced the same things as him and understood everything about him, there was no way to get any benefits.
Although he thought like this, Xu Shen still felt that Shu Ran was special. He was willing to show his best side and never ask for affection, or anything in return. As long as Shu Ran was by his side, just like now, he was happy.
But Shu Ran was right about one thing. The reason why he never considered marrying a city girl was precisely the fact that the way they lived was so much different from what he had experienced.
Even Zhou Hui, a girl who was used to enduring hardships, would still find it difficult to understand his world.
Xu Shen thought about the past and glanced at Shu Ran from time to time. All those considerations were abandoned as soon as he met him, making Xu Shen give up the idea of a wife and children in an instant.
For the first time ever, he was willing to put himself in danger for another person, with no safety net under his feet.
“Mixing rice in the soup?” Zhou Hui said to Shu Ran. “Be careful, or your stomach might hurt tonight. Don’t eat like this next time…”
“This will make it more appetizing!” Shu Ran liked eating like this but she was right. Eating fast without chewing the rice grains could really hurt one’s stomach.
“Why do you only eat the tomatoes?” Zhou Hui scooped a spoonful of eggs for her brother. “Mix it with meat and vegetables and you might get taller!”
“Hmm.” Shu Ran answered perfunctorily, whispering to Xu Shen: “Let’s see if my sister gets annoyed. She always has to take care of what I eat….”
“I can hear you, you know?! Isn’t that because I care about you? No kid in our family eats as little as you…” Zhou Hui muttered to herself. “Tian Erwa is the same age as you, but his arms are thicker than your legs…”
“Tian Erwa? Really?” Xu Shen glanced down at Shu Ran’s legs. Then he must be a really strong man…
“That’s not true!” Shu Ran clarified. “You have seen Tian Erwa, the one who was picking snails with me in the village, how could it be so exaggerated1I have also forgotten who Tian Erwa is… He’s Shu Ran little friend from the village, they were picking snails together in the first chapter, before Xu Shen came riding on his white horse-bicycle:))?!”
“But he is indeed stronger than you.” Zhou Hui scooped another spoonful for him. “Don’t you think you should eat more?”
“I agree with this.” Xu Shen was fully on Zhou Hui’s side.
“Here, this is the last bit, I’ll give it to you.” Zhou Hui beamed while receiving support, striking even harder.
“…” Shu Ran’s bowl grew into a little hill, making him worried. When Zhou Hui left with the empty plates, Shu Ran poured more into Xu Shen’s bowl. “Eat quickly, don’t let my sister see it!”
Xu Shen pinched his cheek and commented: “Eat it yourself!”
“But I’m full…”
“And I’m full too.” Xu Shen ate faster than Shu Ran. He was full a long time ago, just sitting next to his wife, accompanying him.
Shu Ran’s stomach was on the verge of exploding, but food was precious. If his bowl was still full when Zhou Hui came back, he would be struck by lightning… And any leftover food would easily spoil in this weather…
His big eyes stared at Xu Shen’s small eyes for a while, sighing bitterly.
“Brother Shen…” Shu Ran never took the initiative to provoke Xu Shen, fearing that it was a fatal move, making him unable to stand it.
“There’s no use calling me brother.” Xu Shen kept strong.
“Is it really useless…?” Shu Ran held his bowl and directly sat down on Xu Shen’s lap. “Would you like a little sip?”
Xu Shen was shocked by his wife’s little sexy moves, but still pleased with it. He looked up at Shu Ran and smiled: “Okay!”
Since Comrade Shu Ran was willing to sacrifice so much, he couldn’t refuse!
Xu Shen put his arm around Shu Ran’s waist and slowly drank the soup from his hands, spoon by spoon. While Shu Ran was concentrating on feeding him, he also had to look back from time to time, in order to avoid Zhou Hui walking in suddenly.
It wasn’t a big bowl of soup. After Xu Shen finished drinking it, Shu Ran said: “See, it was really tasty!”
Before Xu Shen could order more sweet interactions, Shu Ran had already jumped from his lap, running to the kitchen to wash his bowl.
Xu Shen licked his lips. He had no idea how the soup tasted just now… He just remembered touching his wife’s waist.
Not long after, the Chen brothers and Jiang Fan arrived as scheduled. A bag of money was thrown directly on the table, but no one cared about it. They all sat down to drink tea and brag.
Knowing they were coming, Shu Ran took out the rabbit meat and some fried peanuts bought today to entertain them. “Do you want something to drink? I’ll wash the cups.”
“I have nothing to do.” Xu Shen got up and said: “If you’re thirsty, I’ll wash the cup for you.”
“That’s right!” Chen Kai commented. “How could you work alone… Just sit down.”
Seeing them interact like this, Jiang Fan said with interest: “I see you’re living a simple life, how happy are you?!”
“Brother Shen, this place finally feels like home.” Chen Sen smiled, with quite an envious tone.
“Brother Sen, you should consider it too.” Jiang Fan answered him. Chen Sen was the oldest among them, almost thirty.
“Let’s talk about it later…” Chen Sen shook his head.
They all forgot that Chen Sen almost married once, but unfortunately, life was unpredictable. Now he was already in his late twenties, and still a wandering bachelor.
“Brother Sen…” Jiang Fan continued seriously. “I’m not pessimistic, but people change. The person you are waiting for might not be the one you remember…” He knew that Chen Sen understood, so there was no need to say more.
“I know.” Chen Sen sighed.
But he was stubborn and unwilling to accept the facts! Rather than saying he was stuck on that love, it was better to say that he stuck to the prosperous past of the Chen family and the him of that time…
The day he gave up completely on that resentment would be the day he’d be able to marry a wife and live a serious life like Xu Shen.
“What’s wrong with Brother Sen? So bitter and resentful?” Xu Shen came back from washing the cups and placing them on the table.
Shu Ran took out the half bottle of liquor left from their wedding, pouring drinks for everyone. “If you drink alcohol, I won’t drink.”
“No… Why not? Just have some!” Chen Kai didn’t forget how interesting Shu Ran was when drunk… He talked nonsense to many people and even liked to bicker with him.
“Shu Ran won’t drink.” Xu Shen glanced at Chen Kai, advising him to stop making noises.
“Yes, I’ll eat some fried rabbit with my sister.” He turned around and shouted: “Sister, what are you doing? Come and eat!”
“Here are some fruits!” Zhou Hui was holding a plate of chopped honey melons. “I just fished it out of the well. It’s cold!”
“Our sister really knows how to live a good life!” Several men rushed to flatter her, asking: “How is it? Did the talks with brother-in-law go smoothly?”
“It went well.” Zhou Hui smiled. “We’re going to get the certificate on the 29th, but there won’t be a banquet. He’s the only one left in his family, and the house is small and can’t fit many people.” It meant that she didn’t plan to notify her family, and the wedding would happen just like it went with Xu Shen. No one from her side would attend.
“Then let’s just have a meal! Let’s celebrate and have fun on the wedding day!” Everyone cheered.
“Of course!” Zhou Hui nodded. “Everyone is our matchmaker, so we must eat a meal and celebrate!”
“Yeah.” Shu Ran said. “Big brother also has his wedding on the 29th, let’s just have the celebratory dinner tonight.”
“Zhou Qiang is also getting married on the 29th?” Xu Shen heard Zhou Guodong say something about that day, but he forgot. He looked at Shu Ran: “Then shall we go back?”
“I really don’t want to…” Shu Ran didn’t like Zhou Qiang, but if neither he nor his sister went back, it would cause an ugly scene. Although Zhou Guodong and his wife were partial to their eldest son, he still didn’t want to cause problems for them. “Yeah, we still have to go back.”
“If you really don’t want to, we can send some gifts in advance.” Xu Shen suggested. It was easy to appease the Zhou family… Just give them enough money!
Zhou Hui remained silent. She still couldn’t let go of the thought her parents sold her to facilitate Zhou Qiang’s wedding.
The saddest part was that when she cried bitterly, her mother told her: “Parents and children don’t have an overnight fight. No matter what happens, he is still your dad. You can’t hate him!”
But when Zhou Guodong faced her tearful eyes, he just said: “Don’t blame me. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being born into a good family with a capable father!”
It was really hard to let go.
“Dingzi,” Zhou Hui quietly said. “If you don’t want to go back, don’t. You can be filial when you make money in the future. Take care of yourself first, there’s no need to get sick from stressing over this.”
The family relationship in the Zhou family was complicated, and no one else could get involved. It was up to Shu Ran to make his own decision.
Xu Shen snorted and looked at his wife. “See, you disagreed when I said your temper was soft… You have to hesitate for such a long time about such a simple matter. How could you think you have such a tough temper?”
“Get lost!” After hearing him, Shu Ran got angry and kicked Xu Shen under the table. He didn’t care about Zhou Hui’s disapproving look. “I’m looking at the overall situation! I can’t be as wilful as you! I don’t want to cause a scene!”
When everyone thought about it, Shu Ran was indeed quite good at dealing with things. He boldly worked with Xu Shen to take care of his sister’s matters… How could ordinary people have such courage and brains?!
Now everyone was happy thanks to him. Xu Shen was well-treated and the Zhou family was also peaceful. Needless to say, Zhou Hui also found a satisfactory marriage partner.
“Hey, that’s true… I’m with Shu Ran on this.” Jiang Fan, who had some education, said with a smile. “This is called laying the groundwork silently and having a charming personality!”
“Stop talking…” Shu Ran was embarrassed by the praise. Could these people brag without involving him?!
“Jiang Fan, you’ve finally said something humane!” Xu Shen complimented him with a laugh, watching his wife with his peripheral vision.
Shu Ran also wanted to laugh with him, but Zhou Hui was there. As long as the two of them dared to make eyes at each other, this group of insiders would definitely make a fuss. It was better to forget it and let Xu Shen perform a one-man show for the time being… Anyway, he felt… Xu Shen looked really good like this, free and unrestrained.
Zhou Hui didn’t stay long. “I’m done eating, you guys chat. I’ll go upstairs and knit a sweater.”
Was she really that enthusiastic about knitting, or did she know they wanted to talk without her?!
As for her younger brother, Zhou Hui no longer cared. Xu Shen had spoiled him so much that he no longer looked like her younger brother. He was more likely Xu Shen’s younger brother now!
Shu Ran was also gifted with emotional intelligence. When he heard her, he also looked at Xu Shen, asking: “Do you need to discuss something that I have to avoid?”
Xu Shen was depressed about being Shu Ran’s underground lover. As soon as Zhou Hui left, he picked the back of Shu Ran’s head and kissed him in retaliation. Shu Ran was so impressed by his kiss that he took the initiative to comfort him: “Poor you… I feel so sorry for you!”
“Hahaha!” Chen Kai and the others couldn’t stop laughing.
For a moment, it felt like the roles of Xu Shen and Shu Ran had been reversed. Why did Xu Shen look so much like a little wife who needed attention?!
Shu Ran asked again: “Should I leave?”
“Why ask if you need to avoid it…” Xu Shen laughed angrily. “We are not dividing stolen money!”
“How would I know?!” Shu Ran had only a basic understanding of their businesses. Although Xu Shen had said there were no violations of laws and disciplines, he still didn’t believe the water was clean.
“Don’t worry, it’s really not stolen money.” Chen Sen blew on his cigarette and revealed something to Shu Ran: “We did do some side jobs in the past, but stopped doing that a long time ago.”
“What jobs?” Shu Ran believed what Chen Sen said. He didn’t look like someone who could lie.
Chen Sen grinned and looked at Xu Shen: “Ask your man, I’m afraid he’ll beat me up if I tell you.”
“Brother Sen, you are such a coward!” Shu Ran followed Chen Sen’s gaze and looked at Xu Shen. “Since you’re not doing that anymore, why not say it?”
Shu Ran had discovered earlier that they were all really afraid of Xu Shen, needing his permission in order to say anything.
“So curious?” Xu Shen heard him asking more than once, and it was about to get a little annoying.
“Yeah!” Shu Ran nodded. “Of course I’m curious!”
What boy wouldn’t be curious about this?! In front of him was the living embodiment of the Young and Dangerous spirit of the last century… Very mysterious, okay?!
“Then let me tell you something briefly.” Xu Shen had no idea what to do with his wife, and he was thinking of just saying something irrelevant to satisfy his curiosity. “Have you heard of an ambulant casino? We were responsible for sourcing customers, finding the venue, and fulfilling the orders.” After taking a sip of his drink, he continued: “We made money by taking commissions. 10% of everything, very profitable.”
Shu Ran was stunned for a moment. “How many years ago?”
Xu Shen thought for a while: “Four or five.”
“Then…” Shu Ran quickly calculated in his mind. “You were only seventeen or eighteen.”
“Yeah.” Xu Shen nodded. “I started out when I was thirteen.” At seventeen or eighteen he was already an old hand in that world, seeing more than most adults.
“…Was there any danger?” Shu Ran didn’t study law and had no idea when the crime of gambling was first implemented.
“Of course it was dangerous.” Chen Kai continued the story. “The number of customers was limited. If we took people from others, it was similar to cutting off their source of living. There were also a lot of people who made trouble, refused to pay what they owed, and got into fights. It happens often.” He then asked: “Do you know how those people fought?”
Shu Ran: “I don’t…” Asking this question, the answer was probably not what he imagined.
“With a long machete or iron rod.” Chen Kai gestured with his hands to indicate the length. “Cutting people from behind, all the way from the shoulders to the tailbone. Ripping flesh and breaking bones… There was blood everywhere.”
Shu Ran could imagine it…
“Then, have you ever been injured?!” It seemed that there were no stab wounds on Xu Shen’s body…
“Kaizi was chopped.” Chen Sen calmly stated. “And his neck was almost cut off.”
“I almost lost my life, but Brother Shen flew over and saved me!” Chen Kai said with a smile.
Shu Ran’s scalp went numb when he heard it, and he subconsciously touched his own neck: “Later… Why did you stop?”
“The police wanted to arrest everyone.” Jiang Fan said. “The anti-gambling law was enacted in 1979, so that place could no longer be used.”
In just two years, they made a lot of money and lived a luxurious life.
“Oh.” Shu Ran took a sip of tea to calm down his shock. Maybe he was thinking too far, but he suddenly asked: “You have no life on your hands, right?!”
Just like that, the entire living room was instantly silenced by his words. A strange and alarming silence.
Damn, it was scary, okay?!
Shu Ran regretted asking that question, but at the same time wanted to get an answer quickly. Was there a damn answer… Yes or no?!
“Hello?!” Shu Ran’s voice trembled slightly… Were there any lives on your hands, boss?!
Chen Kai and the others shared glances, you look at me, I look at you, and finally, they all looked at Xu Shen.
Shu Ran: “Damn it?!”
“Why are you all looking at me? You never had life spilled on your hands?” Xu Shen took a calm sip from his drink.
Wait… What?!
Shu Ran felt like he was going crazy. What was going on with these people?!
“Yeah, on both of them…” Jiang Fan looked down at his own hands.
“Fuck!” In the end, it was unclear who couldn’t hold it back first and started laughing, prompting all of them to burst into laughter.
Why are they laughing their ass off?!
Shu Ran was confused for a moment, human life… Wait a minute! It was impossible to fool him with all that laughter! Shu Ran turned his head and thought about it in an unholy direction… He suddenly understood the meaning of that joke.
“Damn…” He lowered his head and shook his shoulders. Indeed, they all had human lives on their hands, hundreds of millions at a time2I think it’s pretty clear what hundreds of millions of “lives” spilled on their hands refers to…(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧…
He was both amused and speechless. This group of people was amazing. They made fun of each other regardless of the occasion, full of dirty jokes that only men could understand.
“Be serious, could you stop laughing!” Shu Ran smiled and patted the table to show that he was angry.
Everyone also gave him face. Xu Shen was the first one to become serious, saying: “No, I was just joking with you.”
“Yeah, no.” Chen Sen lit another cigarette and recalled: “When you fight, you bear the consequences. Some people were maimed or injured, but no lives were lost.”
That’s good… Shu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s share the money.” Xu Shen took out the account book and put it on the table. The several people in the room calmed down and listened to his report. Xu Shen’s account was very clear and he clearly read it to them. After deducting the money paid in advance and the salary that belonged to the truck drivers, the rest was divided into four equal parts.
The brothers took their share of the money, divided it further, and gave the excess back to Xu Shen. “You are married now, you should get more in the future.”
“Don’t refuse.” Chen Kai said. “You have a family to support, it’s different from before.”
Xu Shen glanced at Shu Ran and didn’t refuse. He took the money and said: “Then I will accept it and redistribute it when you get married.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Everyone laughed and scolded him.
As an outsider, Shu Ran suddenly felt envious of this group of people. The feelings they had for each other were really good.
He remembered that in modern times, he worked hard to become better every day, fearing that others might catch up with him. But in the end, he didn’t have a single friend to be close to.
After they left, Xu Shen gave Shu Ran all the money, just a little bit over 4.000 yuan. “Do you want to use it? There’s no need to save it.”
Shu Ran didn’t view Xu Shen as anything before and didn’t want to care about his money, but now he fully regarded him as his boyfriend. As one of his own, he thought it was important to take care of this matter.
“What is the bank interest right now?” Shu Ran took the bundle of money.
“Not much…” Xu Shen said a few words.
“Then it is quite a loss to put it in the bank.” Shu Ran struggled internally and asked himself, should he really intervene in this matter?
After closing and opening his eyes a couple of times, he found Xu Shen looking at him, seemingly happy that he was finally serious and willing to take money from him.
“Then, do you have any good ideas?”
“If I said yes…” Shu Ran was speechless. “Would you trust me?”
Xu Shen was not someone who could be fooled by love, and this money was hard-earned… Was he not afraid that he would take the money and run away?!
Opening the little theater in his mind, Shu Ran was glad that all the people Xu Shen had met were not bad people… Ai, no… Xu Shen himself was not a good person…
“You’re not going to hurt me.” Xu Shen said with a smile. “Let me listen and we’ll see. If it’s too outrageous, I might reject it.”
Well, it was not illegal to brag, so Shu Ran thought about some words casually, paused, and said: “Brother Shen, how to use this money depends on whether you want stability or wealth.”
“What should I pick?” Xu Shen hugged him, resting his chin on his shoulder.
“If you want stability, just listen to me. If you have some spare money, buy a courtyard house. You can choose whatever you like, with your eyes closed.” Shu Ran said, thinking it was right. The real estate industry will be blooming in the near future, with a lot of money waiting to be earned.
“And if I want to make money?” Xu Shen has never heard of this before. Buying a courtyard house with his eyes closed?!
“If you want wealth, set up a factory.” Shu Ran leaned on Xu Shen, speaking eloquently. “You’ve been to the coast, so you should know the bosses there are making a fortune by setting up factories. Nowadays, wholesale is a popular business, including clothing… Whether it is clothes or daily necessities, running a factory is very profitable. You can set one up in Nanshi. Anyway, you have enough spare money, right?”
“Hmm…” Xu Shen nodded, thinking it made sense.
“And after you make money by running a factory, you can buy a courtyard house with your eyes closed!” Shu Ran said once again.
Why are you buying courtyard houses with your eyes closed again?!
Xu Shen almost choked and asked funnily: “Just how much do you like courtyard houses?!”
Shu Ran rolled his eyes, it wasn’t because he liked the house, what he liked was the money, okay?!
“It’s not difficult to set up a factory. I also have the manpower. If it’s skills we lack, we can go to the coast and learn secretly.” Xu Shen frowned and rubbed the heart of the person in his arms. “The key is machinery… It’s not easy to buy.”
Yes, that was the biggest investment. Shu Ran didn’t have strong career ambitions, so he pulled his hand away and said: “You can take it slow. We’ll do it later after we have more money.”
Xu Shen was very concerned about this idea. He leaned back in his chair, mumbling: “I’ll think of a way…”
He fully agreed with Shu Ran’s analysis, as it was definitely profitable to set up a factory. They already earned that much just from transporting goods and speculating on price differences. If they also had their own factory, he could make even more money.
“Don’t force it.” Shu Ran didn’t know what to do. The most fearful thing about owning a factory was the possibility of having problems with the capital chain. He patted Xu Shen’s arm and continued: “Why not buy a courtyard house? It’s safer!”
Xu Shen watched his smile, and the longer he thought about it, the funnier it became. “I really like how confident you are!” Speaking in such a crazy tone, with no hesitation at all!
“No way, I know I’m excellent!” Shu Ran answered while laughing. He just took advantage of his transmigration and the information he had from the future. “Think about it, if we really set up a factory, I can be a design consultant, personnel management consultant, marketing consultant, etc… Planning consultant…”
“If we really run a factory, you will be the boss.” Xu Shen interrupted him.
“Like the boss of ideas? Shu Ran looked at himself. “I don’t own a penny to invest!” All his food and accommodations were owned by Xu Shen…
“Who said that? I’m yours, so what’s mine, also belongs to you…” Xu Shen kissed him, exchanging breaths with each other. Still not satisfied, he probed a little deeper.
The sound of kissing quietly overflowed in the living room.
“Let’s go upstairs!” After kissing for a while, Shu Ran’s eyes darkened a little and his voice turned hoarse as he pushed Xu Shen away.
Xu Shen really wanted to press him down on the spot, but at the moment he could only hold back and whisper: “After our sister gets married, if you still dare to flirt with me outside… This is so uncomfortable.”
“?” Shu Ran felt like laughing. Weren’t you the one who kissed first?!
When he said to go upstairs, it was not an invitation, okay?! He was afraid that someone might see them… Do you understand?!
“You go up first.” Xu Shen continued: “I will clean up the room to prevent you from being scolded tomorrow.”
When Chen Kai and the others left, they left behind a table full of peanut shells and a mess all over the floor. If they didn’t clean it now, Zhou Hui would get up in the morning and have to do it.
“Okay!” Shu Ran was not polite to him. He got off the man’s lap and watched Xu Shen mop the floor for a while. Then he went upstairs.
It was not too late, less than 10 in the evening.
Shu Ran sat down in front of Xu Shen’s desk, a little bored and suddenly curious… Was there any kind of nightlife during this era?
There should be a dance hall or club, right?
And Xu Shen, a man who was out on the streets from a young age, must have been there before, right?
Maybe he even drank wine and hugged a girl… Shu Ran thought wildly, opened the desk’s cabinet, and took out his unopened fountain pen, to see if it worked.
He didn’t want to buy it at that time and never tried it before. Xu Shen just recklessly gave it to him. That idiot… Didn’t he know that buying a fountain pen required fate?!
Shu Ran pouted and wrote a few words on the paper. Surprisingly, it was quite good.
In the middle of the night, Shu Ran wasn’t in the mood to practice calligraphy. He was not such a hard worker! The main reason was that the lofty talk just now aroused some… ideas in his heart.
He lacked ambition and anything like that, but he had a scholar’s mentality. He wanted fame, not money!
Getting rich overnight didn’t have much appeal to him because he came from a family that was not short of money. His elders had always paid more attention to reputation and word of mouth, affecting him since he was a child.
How morbid could one’s obsession with fame be?
In order to gain the approval of his elders, Shu Ran swore to spend the rest of his life trying to become the best in reading, writing, and doing things.
In the middle of the winter, he developed hand cramps from calligraphy, but that ailment only fuelled his pride, thinking he was so awesome and others should praise his excellence.
It was so silly now that he thought about it. At that time, Shu Ran truly believed that only those who were good deserved to be loved.
But in the last few years, he finally discovered that it was not like that. Some people were ordinary and there was nothing they were outstanding at, but still, there were people who loved them. Anyway, if he wasn’t loved, then he wasn’t loved… It didn’t matter how good he was, in the end, it was all useless.
The truth was cruel and it almost shattered Shu Ran’s fantasy about “family love”. He felt down for a while, all the way until accepting it was just a matter of luck. No one was perfect and no one could have anything they wanted. Apart from not having the love of his parents, Shu Ran felt that he was lucky enough to not lack anything else, making him feel proud.
When naive children finally grow up, they realize that the love given by others is just the icing on the cake. What mattered was the love he had for himself.
However, some concepts were still deeply ingrained, such as his need for fame. Shu Ran was quite persistent, wanting his name to be well-known and recognized. He just wanted to feast on other’s applause…
“A bit vain,” he admitted.
Shu Ran was writing the outline of a mystery novel in his notebook, so fast that he didn’t even have to think.
Xu Shen had come to the bedroom a long time ago and was startled when he saw Shu Ran fervently writing. He didn’t want to disturb him, so he just stayed aside quietly.
He wrote so fast that Xu Shen was a little curious about what he was writing… Was it a business plan? It didn’t look like much, and he could just ask if he wanted, but Xu Shen knew his knowledge was limited and he was not a good partner for discussion. He could only stay aside and watch.
Shu Ran’s expression was upright and serious, with slightly wrinkled brows. He occasionally raised his hand to support his forehead. His bookish temperament was extremely strong.
Xu Shen couldn’t help but curl up the corners of his mouth. The more he thought about it, the happier he became. Such a good person was now his wife, sharing the same bed with him every night, kissing and hugging… And actually caring about him.
After Shu Ran put down his pen, Xu Shen cleared his throat and asked: “What are you writing?”
“A novel’s outline…” Shu Ran simply showed it to him, as Xu Shen was also interested in books: “It’s a mystery novel, what do you think about this plot?”
During that era, domestic mystery novels were not that popular, and the market was relatively lacking. Shu Ran was quite interested in it, but in the end, his goal was so much bigger than books. He wanted to write scripts for movies, and ultimately create an entire production empire.
Back in school, he thought about doing that for a living, but unfortunately, he failed… On the other hand, the current market environment was like a piece of untouched wasteland, making Shu Ran feel excited when thinking about it.
“A mystery novel?” Xu Shen took the notebook and read it carefully. The number of words was not much, just a page with the main plot and the relationship between the characters. He read it once, looked up at Shu Ran, and then looked down at it again.
“So how is it?” Shu Ran was feeling nervous, but not worried that the story wasn’t good. He probed: “Brother Shen, do you understand it?” There were not that many professional terms…
“The story is very exciting.” Xu Shen’s face was solemn. “Who is the murderer?” Without waiting for Shu Ran’s answer, he added: “No, forget about it, you write it and I’ll guess it myself!”
Guessing was no longer interesting, he wanted to read the rest of the novel and try to understand the reasoning process.
“?” Shu Ran felt like laughing, looking at Xu Shen in disbelief. “Did you get in the mood so fast?” Only read the outline and already wanted to guess who the murderer was…
“The story is good and fascinating.” Xu Shen praised him.
“It’s basic.” “It’s just you, people of this era who didn’t see much of the world…” Shu Ran thought to himself.
“Don’t be modest.” Xu Shen shook the notebook with a complicated look in his eyes. He had long known that his wife was talented, but he never expected that he could write an excellent book with just a wave of his hand…
It could refresh his impression every time.
