"Long Aotian, where are we going?" Hu Yuying sat at the back, looking at her toes and asking softly.
She wondered if she was too heavy and if Long Aotian was tired. Thinking this, she wanted to sneak a glance at him, but from the back, she couldn’t see.
"Taking you out to eat," Long Aotian said. The college entrance exams were over, and the weight on his heart had lifted. He felt free and wanted to enjoy some good food.
"Long Aotian..."
"If you don’t want me to hit you, shut up," Long Aotian quickly brought Hu Yuying to Haiwan City’s food street.
With the college entrance exams over, the pressure on all the students had suddenly vanished, and they had begun their carefree, unrestrained lives.
At this moment, the place was, without exaggeration, packed with people.
"There are so many people," Hu Yuying said, a little shocked by the crowd.
"More people means more fun. Stick close, don’t get lost."
"I won’t get lost."
Then Long Aotian took Hu Yuying on their day of indulgence.
The key was the liveliness; lively places always brought joy.
"Do you want some candied hawthorn?"
"No."
"Boss, give us two sticks."
"Is it good?"
"Mhm, sweet and sour, it’s delicious."
They had only made it halfway through the food street, and Hu Yuying’s hands were already full.
Seeing that Long Aotian was about to buy her more food, she quickly grabbed his sleeve. "Long Aotian, I haven’t finished what I have yet, don’t buy more."
Coming from a poor family, she had worked hard for money since she was young, which had cultivated her thrifty nature.
Watching Long Aotian spend money like water made her head spin. The amount he was spending was more than what she earned in a week—no, a month—from her part-time job.
Even though it wasn’t her money, she still felt a pang of pain seeing him spend so much.
"This is just the beginning, you little miser. Today, Long Aotian is covering all your expenses."
Knowing how hard it was to earn money, hearing this made her even more heartbroken for the money Long Aotian was about to spend.
"Hey, that thing looks fun, let’s check it out." Long Aotian pulled Hu Yuying through the crowd, heading forward.
Hu Yuying, who had been about to say something, blushed when she felt Long Aotian grab her wrist. She bit her lip lightly and couldn’t bring herself to say anything.
"Does this look good?"
"W-what?" She had been spacing out and didn’t hear him clearly.
Before she could react, Long Aotian had already picked up a pair of bunny ears and put them on her head.
"Hahaha, so cute."
Hearing this, Hu Yuying shyly lowered her eyes. Long Aotian was so annoying, doing this in front of so many people. She was utterly embarrassed.
"This one’s nice too."
Long Aotian picked up a crystal tiara hairpin, removed the bunny ears, and placed the tiara on her head.
"This looks good. How much is it?"
Hu Yuying looked around, thinking she should buy something for Long Aotian too.
After scanning the area, her eyes settled on the middle of the stall, where some strange, fluffy tails were displayed.
"Long Aotian, what is this? Why does this tail have a shiny plug on it? Is it an accessory for something? It’s so weird."
Hearing her, Long Aotian looked at what Hu Yuying was holding.
His mouth twitched. "Sweetie, put that down. It’s not something you should be touching yet."
With that, he tossed it back onto the stall and pulled Hu Yuying away from the crowd. Once they were at a distance, he said, "You eat first. I need to make a call."
Hu Yuying looked at Long Aotian’s red ears in confusion, then heard him say into the phone, "Yes, I want to report something. At stall number 69 on XXX Food Street, they’re selling adult products..."
Her beautiful eyes showed a hint of confusion as she turned to look back at the crowded stall. What was it about that strange thing that made Long Aotian react so strongly?
Eavesdropping on his call, she realized those strange items were called adult products...
Suddenly, she saw a man and a woman holding what looked like a white fox tail. They whispered something, and the woman’s face turned red as she playfully hit the man a couple of times.
Before she could watch for more than a few seconds, a figure blocked her view.
Looking up, she saw it was Long Aotian, who then grabbed her by the neck and pulled her away.
Even as she obediently followed him, Hu Yuying couldn’t figure out why Long Aotian seemed a little angry.
She didn’t dare ask, sensing it wasn’t something good. If she asked, she’d probably get hit.
"Those bastards, making money like this," Long Aotian muttered, growing angrier the more he thought about it.
"Long Aotian, what did you say? I didn’t catch that."
"Nothing. I was just asking what your plans are next."
Hu Yuying answered obediently, "I plan to earn some money first, then go back home to visit my grandparents before school starts."
"How much do they pay you for a day’s work at that place?"
"28 yuan."
"How much?" Long Aotian was so shocked that the bike wobbled.
Feeling the bike sway, Hu Yuying instinctively wrapped her arms around Long Aotian’s waist to steady herself.
"W-what’s wrong?" she asked, embarrassed by where her hands were but not pulling them away.
Thankfully, he had asked. Four hours for 7 yuan? Scamming college students was one thing, but high schoolers too? "So greedy!"
"It’s not like that," Hu Yuying quickly explained. "It’s because I only work mornings. If I worked full days, the pay would be more."
Screech—
Long Aotian hit the brakes, and the bike came to a stop.
Due to inertia, Hu Yuying, sitting behind him, leaned forward and bumped into Long Aotian.
She looked up, her pretty eyes slightly red. She clearly felt Long Aotian’s body stiffen for a moment.
Hu Yuying didn’t show much on the surface, but in reality, she had quite a bit going for her.
In that brief moment of contact, Long Aotian distinctly felt the softness pressing against him, a tender sensation.
For no reason, his heart skipped a beat.
Seeing Hu Yuying’s arms still wrapped around his waist, Long Aotian coughed twice. "Tomorrow, Long Aotian will take you to earn some money."
"How are we going to earn money?" Hu Yuying had no idea.
"Selling clothes," Long Aotian said, getting back on the bike. But this time, he didn’t continue their shopping spree. Instead, he headed home.
The original story had a lot of business-related content, but things like stocks, finance, and app development were completely beyond him.
He relied solely on his memories to buy stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other investments that were bound to rise in value, slowly accumulating wealth.
But when it came to small, speculative businesses, Long Aotian, with his years of experience navigating society, was very skilled.