Chapter 19: Quite Good Looking

The half-meter-high weeds outside the stadium swayed in the wind, resembling her disordered and chaotic past.

The phrase “take it easy” was something she had heard too many times since she was young.

“Primary school is the critical time; when you get to middle school, it will be easier.”

“Finish this set of papers, then it will be easy.”

“Raising you to eighteen, then I’ll be at ease.”

“If it weren’t for you, I’d have been at ease by now.”

“Having a daughter is good; once you’re married, you and your husband will be at ease. Why work so hard? In the end, it all goes to outsiders.”

For the first time, she heard someone say, “I hope you take it easy.”

Zhou Shubei stood under the blinding streetlight, with darkness behind him, like when he had appeared suddenly when she was at her wit’s end. He could have ignored her; he had no obligation to help her.

But he reached out twice, like a heavy rain, watering her barren and desolate life.

Jian Li’s chest felt as though it were being drenched by that rain, and she stared at him with wide eyes. The song in the distance still echoed, and the light half-shadowed his profile. Zhou Shubei smiled lightly, “Stop staring at me, sign the papers.”

A two hundred thousand yuan interest-free installment payment was a huge advantage for her.

Jian Li shook her head. “The bank’s interest rate is 3%. I should pay you according to that rate.”

“I can’t just take your money for free,” she didn’t refuse, but followed the normal process of a bank loan. “For the next three years, I’ll pay you interest first, and then the principal. Is that okay?”

“Am I a bank?” Zhou Shubei chuckled. “Bank loans need formal procedures, stamps, signatures. Don’t ask me for those; I don’t have them. I run a small business.”

Jian Li: “A business?”

“I’m not a philanthropist.” Zhou Shubei pulled a blade of grass, “Jian Li, top scorer of Xiyuan City’s college entrance exam, majoring in robotics. With your scores, you could easily choose a more popular major.”

The grass blade was blown sideways, and Zhou Shubei turned it back. “I’m curious about what you’ll be like after graduation.”

Would she be defeated by reality, bowing her head to life, or would she crash into the southern wall without turning back?

Jian Li still stared at him. “And then?”

“Then I’ll know if this 200,000 investment is worth it.” Zhou Shubei twirled the end of the grass in his fingers, shortening the tension, making the curve of the grass blade sharper. “If it’s not worth it, you’ll pay me back the 200,000. If it’s worth it, you’ll pay me back more than that, plus a favor.”

He wanted to invest in her, to see her potential.

“Maybe this sounds like I’m showing off, but this 200,000 isn’t a big deal to me. Buying the possibility of a future is worth it.” Zhou Shubei smirked, self-mocking and disgusted. “You should’ve heard, the Gui family, the one that lacks money the least.”

Jian Li caught a fleeting emotion in his eyes, so quick it almost felt like an illusion.

She no longer hesitated and wrote her name and ID number in the blank space, signed, and dated it. “Do you want me to leave a fingerprint?”

Zhou Shubei tore off the paper, glanced at it, and stuffed it into his pocket. “No need, I’ll send you the password on WeChat.”

He took two steps forward, and the evening breeze blew through. Jian Li heard him laugh lazily again, as usual. “Quite good-looking.”

“……”

By the time she finished packing up and returned to the dorm to wash up, Jian Li still hadn’t figured out what he meant by “quite good-looking.”

Zhou Shubei didn’t appear again in the second half. Jian Li placed the bank card in the innermost compartment of her wallet. As the event neared its end, a boy came over with a flyer and asked her about the campus card. After the first inquiry, a second person curiously approached, and both ended up handling it.

Two 99s.

Jian Li recorded the transaction in her account book, then noted the 200,000, starting to calculate the expenses and income for the next three years for tuition and living costs.

Her phone screen lit up.

[As an investor, I have a request.]

Jian Li replied: [What is it?]

[Zhou Shubei: Your phone and computer need upgrading, and time cost is also a cost.]

Jian Li looked at her battered phone, which constantly displayed storage warnings and sometimes required deleting other apps to open WeChat. The computer was similar; it made a loud fan noise upon booting, would drop frames occasionally, and freeze.

She didn’t know much about these things. Her phone had been given to her by Jian Yunjie, who complained it lagged when playing games. Zhang Wenxiu had smiled and said, “You got into Xiyuan No. 1 High School, so here’s a phone as a reward. Keep it up, don’t embarrass us.”

While she was doing homework in her room, Jian Yunjie was unboxing a new package in the living room, and the brand logo on the box caught her eye.

She remembered that brand was expensive, over 5000 yuan. Jian Yunjie was shouting “Smart AI” at the screen, with the sound of the game blending with the chirping of cicadas outside. She lowered her eyes and muttered, “Thank you, Mom.”

Zhang Wenxiu was pleased and praised her.

The phone vibrated again.

Zhou Shubei sent a few links: [These, look at them, get the ones with better specs.]

After a two-second pause, he seemed to find waiting for the online delivery annoying: [Forget it, we’ll meet at the south gate at noon tomorrow and go to the store.]

Jian Li had no way of refusing: [Okay.]

The following Monday, after a morning full of professional classes, everyone in the lecture hall lay on their desks to rest, not even in a hurry to eat lunch.

“Qian Hao, your group isn’t going to add anyone else?” A classmate asked Qian Hao, “It’ll be faster with four people.”

After the first group experiment, their team submitted the report according to the plan. No one made mistakes, and those who initially doubted their group gradually changed their opinion. Meanwhile, other groups who rejected Jian Li felt they had done more work and were full of conflicts. Two wanted to leave their original groups and join theirs, but Chen Runzhe rejected them, and they tried to approach Qian Hao.

“Three people are enough. A triangle is the most stable shape. What if a square falls over?” Qian Hao gathered his books and stood up, calling Jian Li, “Jian Li, let’s go eat.”

Jian Li agreed, walking out with him. “I have something to do at noon, you go ahead.”

Qian Hao didn’t ask more, “Alright, don’t worry about the group. The class monitor and I won’t agree to adding anyone.”

Jian Li knew this was Chen Runzhe’s suggestion and chuckled lightly. “Okay.”

By the time she arrived at the south gate, Zhou Shubei was already there.

He was facing away from her, playing with a yo-yo, and a child about waist-height was standing beside him, admiring how he threw the yo-yo into the air, which stayed suspended for a while before Zhou Shubei casually flicked his wrist, and the yo-yo rolled back into his hand.

“How did you learn that? Can you teach me?” The child asked, wide-eyed, looking at him like an idol.

“No.” Zhou Shubei rejected.

“Why?” The child offered a trade, “I’ll buy you Chef Xiao Fugu, or stinky tofu, or bring you to eat chicken.”

Zhou Shubei kept playing with the yo-yo, still refusing. “You think a pack of Chef Xiao Fugu will make me teach you? My secret skill?” His tone was lazy. “Unless you give me the ten yuan in your pocket.”

Passersby were stunned by this, and some, holding food, looked at him curiously, confirming it really was Zhou Shubei.

The child asked, “How did you know I have ten yuan?”

Zhou Shubei didn’t answer, maintaining his carefree attitude. “Are you giving it to me or not?”

“This is my pocket money for the afternoon.” The child said.

Zhou Shubei flicked his wrist and returned the yo-yo to him. “We’re not fated, go home.”

He turned around and spotted Jian Li a few steps away. As he was about to speak, his arm was grabbed.

The child took out ten yuan from his pocket, “Teach me.”

Zhou Shubei smirked, slipping the ten yuan into his left pocket, then demonstrated the yo-yo trick again for the child. “Got it?”

The child shook his head, “Not really.”

Zhou Shubei clicked his tongue, pulled another ten yuan from his right pocket, and handed it to the child. “I’m busy today. Come here after school on Friday, and I’ll teach you then.”

The child said, “Okay,” and walked off with his backpack.

Zhou Shubei flagged a taxi, then said to Jian Li, “Let’s go.”

Ten minutes later, the taxi stopped at a nearby shopping district, with a row of mobile phone shops on the left side, each displaying celebrity endorsements on the glass doors.

Zhou Shubei walked straight into the middle shop, the gray storefront, with the brand logo in the center. A staff member in a blue uniform greeted them with a smile. “Are you looking for phones, tablets, or computers?”

The store’s decor was simple. The mobile phone and tablet experience area was on the right, computers were directly opposite the entrance, with the cash register and rest area on the left. Spotlights on the walls cast reflections on the tiled floor. Several kids were gathered around in the experience area, playing games.

Zhou Shubei stopped. “Phones and computers, she’ll use them.”

“This way.” The staff led Jian Li over. “These two models are newly released.”

Jian Li glanced at the prices, gasping. The lowest one was over six thousand yuan. “Do you have anything cheaper? I don’t need a phone for much, just for WeChat, online documents.” Jian Li said, “A bit more memory would be good.”

After all, the features of smartphones were pretty similar.

“This one, released last year, has a Ure Tone display, 12-megapixel camera, supports wireless charging.” The staff introduced, “For more memory, we recommend the 128GB version. It’s enough for processing documents and work software.”

Jian Li looked at the phone on display, which was the same as Zhou Shubei’s, except his was black, and the display model was white.

“Your boyfriend uses this one,” the staff added.

“……”

Jian Li’s brow twitched. She instinctively glanced at Zhou Shubei, who was sitting on the sofa playing games and didn’t hear what they said.

“We’re classmates.” Jian Li explained lightly, “I’ll take this one, the gold color.”

After choosing the phone, Jian Li followed the staff to look at laptops. Three models were available, but other than the screen and appearance differences, Jian Li couldn’t tell what made them different. She didn’t want to buy an expensive computer either.

Just as she was about to say “never mind,” her phone screen lit up.

[Zhou Shubei: The one in the middle, it can last six to seven years.]

Jian Li raised her head, and Zhou Shubei lowered his eyes, continuing to type.

[Zhou Shubei: 512GB memory.]

Jian Li replied: [No need.]

The phone was already beyond her original budget, and buying the computer would exceed her tuition and accommodation fees for three years.

Zhou Shubei paused slightly: [Alright, it’s up to you.]

Jian Li sighed in relief and politely refused the staff’s further recommendations, proceeding to the cash register.

She personally unboxed it, checking the phone to confirm it was brand new and flawless, ensured there was nothing to back up from the old phone, and received a screen protector, case, and a one-year gift voucher. On public holidays, she could come to choose accessories worth up to 200 yuan, with any excess to be covered.

Jian Li inserted her SIM card into the new phone. The screen lit up, prompting her to activate AI. She was finally like Jian Yunjie from three years ago, leaning close, saying, “Hey, Siri.”

The voice recognition worked, the page loaded instantly, and the screen was pristine, protected by the tempered glass and case. The screen displayed the date and time, and only her fingerprint could unlock it. The password was known only to her, and no one would force her to unlock it, to pry into it.

This was the first personal item she owned.

The feeling was strange: happy, excited, and with an indescribable thrill, like the shackles on her were finally loosening, and she could breathe.

“Zhou Shubei.” She called him.

Zhou Shubei, who had been shopping, lifted his eyes and saw her smiling at him. The sunlight, breaking through the clouds in the afternoon, fell warmly on her through the glass.

“Thank you.” She looked at him, her joy visible even through the lens.

Zhou Shubei, momentarily blinded by the light, curved his lips. “You can thank me later.”