Of course, Yu Zi knew he wouldn’t be the protagonist of a CEO novel.

After Yu Qing went abroad, he didn’t leave any assets to him. He had long lost the “domineering” right. Even if his face was thick-skinned, he couldn’t find a so-called wealthy investor to squander money on him like Xie Dongcheng imagined.

The so-called upper class society had a more brutal truth: once you lost power, no one would waste a second on you. Let alone money.

Now, even David, a nameless pawn surviving on the remnants of the Yu family’s fortune, could ride on his head and cause trouble.

Xie Dongcheng turned on the car stereo, and a song Yu Zi had never heard before played.

The melody was nice, but the sound quality was average.

Xie Dongcheng drove Yu Zi to the motor vehicle inspection center to get the annual inspection done. This old second-hand car had quite a few problems, and Xie Dongcheng was a bit worried.

The inspection center was next to an old factory in the outskirts, with countless cars coming in and out in the afternoon, raising dust.

Yu Zi opened the car door and subconsciously fanned himself with his hand.

“Wait for me outside. The inspection will be quick. I’ll be out soon,” Xie Dongcheng said to him as he pressed the window button.

Yu Zi nodded.

Yu Zi watched as he drove into the center and took a walk before feeling a bit familiar with the place. Yu Qing once wanted to set up an outdoor tennis club nearby, not to make money, but purely for his friends to have fun. Unfortunately, the funding chain broke, and the land remained vacant.

The autumn wind in North City became more rampant. Yu Zi’s hair was blown messy by the wind, and the camphor trees on the roadside rustled in the wind.

There was also a camphor tree in the front yard of the Yu family’s villa, which Shang Ping had transplanted from outside on his tenth birthday. It had been lush for more than ten years, regardless of the seasons.

I wonder how that tree is doing now.

Yu Zi sighed as he looked at the wild camphor trees in front of him.

Fortunately, Xie Dongcheng didn’t make him wait too long, and he came out in less than an hour.

Xie Dongcheng pressed the window button, “Let’s go.”

Yu Zi got into the passenger seat and saw a new inspection sticker on the window. This old car could live for another year.

But after he got in the car, he realized Xie Dongcheng wasn’t driving home.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s a night market nearby.”

“It’s not even late, and there’s already a night market?” Yu Zi glanced at the time on the dashboard; it wasn’t even six in the evening.

“It’s the night market in the university town. It opens early.”

Yu Zi usually didn’t like going to crowded places like this, but if he went home now, he would only face that fish tank and that small TV. After a moment’s thought, he didn’t refuse and leaned his head against the car window as Xie Dongcheng drove there.

The second-hand Corolla sped along the edge of the city, passing through empty suburban roads before entering the small roads of the university town.

Xie Dongcheng skillfully parked the car in a side position within the white lines on the roadside.

Yu Zi teased, “Looks like you did well in the driving test.”

Xie Dongcheng scratched his head, “Not bad, passed on the first try.”

Yu Zi chuckled, praising him a bit and making him proud.

It wasn’t dark yet, but the night market was already bustling with people.

The sides of the road were filled with small carts, frying and cooking, and various pots were already bubbling, filling the air with the smell of oil.

Yu Zi walked on the innermost side of the road, trying to keep a distance from the crowd.

Xie Dongcheng, on the other hand, seemed like a mouse in a rice jar and quickly dove into the crowd.

In less than five minutes, he came out holding two glass bottles. He raised his hand and threw one bottle to Yu Zi.

Yu Zi hurriedly reached out to catch it.

“What’s this?” Yu Zi raised the bottle and glanced inside. It contained a semi-transparent liquid with bubbles constantly rising. “Is it artificial sweetener soda?”

Yu Zi never drank these diluted industrial beverages, as he only felt a cheap artificial sweetener taste.

“You should try it. It’s really delicious,” Xie Dongcheng popped the bottle cap open and took a sip, his throat rolling several times.

Feeling like he was under a spell from Xie Dongcheng’s expression, Yu Zi thought he might as well give it a try. Mimicking Xie Dongcheng, he unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip.

Xie Dongcheng’s eyes were full of anticipation, waiting for his reaction.

After taking a sip, Yu Zi didn’t say anything. He took another sip from the bottle, but this time it lasted longer than the first.

“How is it?” Xie Dongcheng couldn’t resist asking directly.

“Not bad,” Yu Zi looked at Xie Dongcheng’s eyes through the glass bottle.

“I told you it’s good. I’ve loved Hongbaolai since I was a child.”

“Go find a seat over there, I’ll go buy food,” Xie Dongcheng pointed to a less crowded area to the south.

Yu Zi looked over, where there were fewer people and a long row of tables and chairs. He nodded and pointed to the bottle in Xie Dongcheng’s hand, “Give it to me, I’ll help you carry it over.”

Xie Dongcheng threw the bottle to him and ran off to buy food for them.

Yu Zi watched his head, which didn’t seem out of place among this group of college students. He still didn’t know how old Xie Dongcheng was, but since they both had been working for a few years, they should be around the same age.

Soon, Yu Zi found a relatively clean table and sat down, carefully wiping the oil stains off the tabletop with a tissue.

The setting sun in the distance was about to sink below the horizon, and the night market began to take on its nighttime appearance.

After about fifteen minutes, Xie Dongcheng came back carrying two plastic bags.

He pulled out the opposite plastic chair, opened the box in his hand, and a hot steam immediately wafted out.

“What’s this?”

“Steak!” Xie Dongcheng handed Yu Zi a pair of disposable chopsticks, “It’s definitely not as good as what you used to eat, but I guarantee it’s delicious.”

Yu Zi had eaten steak at many high-end restaurants, but this 15-dollar version with an additional fried egg was a first for him.

Taking the first bite, the meat was indeed a bit ordinary, not as authentic as a whole cut.

But considering the $15 price tag, Yu Zi gave his assessment: it was actually quite tasty.

Halfway through eating, he looked up and asked, “Why did you suddenly bring me here to eat?”

“You looked unhappy?” Xie Dongcheng replied.

Yu Zi touched his face, “Is it that obvious?”

Xie Dongcheng nodded, “Whenever you’re unhappy, you look like this.”

Yu Zi became curious. This guy even noticed his mood while driving?

“What do I look like when I’m unhappy?”

Xie Dongcheng pressed his eye corner, his eyelids drooping slightly, “Like this. One New Year’s Eve, I don’t know who you had a fight with. Anyway, you had this expression all night. I drove you around the outskirts of the city for three or four laps before returning to the villa in the western suburbs.”

“You spent a whole night with me?”

“Yeah.”

Yu Zi didn’t have much of an impression of that memory. Mainly, he had quarreled with his family many times, and New Year’s Eve was a period of conflict. Skipping New Year’s Eve dinner was something he had done before.

He didn’t expect that he had also spent a New Year’s Eve night with this guy.

Rarely curious about the person in front of him, Yu Zi took a sip of soda and asked, “What about your family? Didn’t they urge you to go back for New Year’s Eve dinner?”

Xie Dongcheng hesitated for a moment, pursed his lips, and answered after a moment, “No.”

Yu Zi didn’t know which question his “no” was answering.

He didn’t want to ask further, so he changed the subject, “I haven’t asked, how old are you?”

“Me?” Xie Dongcheng pointed to his nose.

“Who else?”

“I’m twenty-three.”

Yu Zi frowned, “You’re only twenty-three?!”

He always thought the person in front of him was about the same age as himself, but it turned out he was two years younger.

Xie Dongcheng nodded.

“That’s not right. But you started working early,” Yu Zi calculated the years. Xie Dongcheng was around twenty when he started driving for him. Normally, at this age, he hadn’t even graduated from college yet.

Xie Dongcheng explained softly, “I didn’t finish college.”

The glass bottle knocked against the edge of the table, making a crisp sound. Yu Zi pushed the bottle inward.

“Why didn’t you finish?”

Xie Dongcheng didn’t answer immediately, his eyes evasive.

“Actually, if you had finished college, you would have more options now. Driving isn’t a long-term job,” Yu Zi looked at his face, saying these things rarely. He just felt that the person in front of him had a good character, although a bit dull, but not lacking in intelligence. It seemed unfair for someone so young to only be driving for a living.

“It’s fine like this,” Xie Dongcheng didn’t explain much, drinking soda and averting his gaze.

Yu Zi wanted to say something more, but he opened his mouth and swallowed back the words. His current situation didn’t seem to have any special convincing power either.

He had studied at the best business school in China, but now he couldn’t find a job and had to rely on others?

Sometimes, a person’s efforts seemed insignificant in the face of circumstances.

The conversation quickly turned back to Yu Zi.

Xie Dongcheng turned his gaze back, “Why did you stay in a motel that day? Doesn’t your family have plenty of houses…”

“They were all auctioned off,” Yu Zi said casually, as if it were no big deal, “to fill the hole my dad made.”

“What about Mr. Yu?” Xie Dongcheng asked cautiously, “I mean, your father.”

“He’s gone abroad.”

He opened the voice message left by Yu Qing and turned up the volume.

After listening, Xie Dongcheng glanced at him. “He went by himself? Why didn’t he take you with him?”

Now it was Yu Zi’s turn to be stunned.

He had never wanted to think about why he was left behind. He moved around, shifted from side to side, clutching that lonely voice message, comforting himself that this was his fate.

But the answer to the question didn’t require much thought; it was glaringly obvious.

He was the only son of Yu Qing and Shang Ping. Even though the mistress of the house had long been replaced, Yu Qing wouldn’t just abandon him completely in the country.

Thinking of this, he laughed and his eyes curved. “Because I’m a damned homosexual.”

Xie Dongcheng almost sprayed out the soda in his mouth. He didn’t expect Yu Zi to be so straightforward.

When he used to drive for Yu Zi, he only knew that this young master had a somewhat unpredictable temper.

He had heard some rumors about Yu Zi, but he didn’t pay much attention to them at the time.

At this moment, hearing these words directly from his mouth was a bit too shocking.

“Do you find it disgusting?” Yu Zi asked lightly.

“No, it’s just… I can’t quite follow your line of thought.” Xie Dongcheng patted his forehead, “But he wouldn’t just… because of this, right?”

“He would,” Yu Zi interrupted him.

In Yu Qing’s eyes, his fundamental purpose was to marry a powerful and wealthy woman, have children, and naturally inherit the family fortune. His original plan was to have Yu Zi replicate his path, also marrying a wealthy girl in North City. Not only could the family property be inherited by offspring, but he could also harvest the wealth of others.

But Yu Zi’s premature coming out made him feel a loss of control. His plans fell apart directly.

“I’m gay, which means I can’t get married or have children in my lifetime. For him, I, as a person, have no value,” Yu Zi said.

Xie Dongcheng’s gaze wavered, and he seemed reluctant to look him in the eyes anymore.

“Why? Do you pity me?”

Xie Dongcheng nodded, unsure how to comfort him.

Yu Zi shrugged, seemingly indifferent. “People from families like ours deserve bankruptcy. There’s nothing to sympathize with.”

Xie Dongcheng quickly shook his head. “No. I think you’re a good person.”

“Just because I lent you that five thousand?”

“Not only that…”

Xie Dongcheng couldn’t explain, stopping halfway through.

He thought of the content of that voice message and asked instead, “He said he would come back for you in a year. Will you go abroad then?”

Yu Zi didn’t want to discuss this topic further and casually replied, “Who knows about the future.”

The sky had completely darkened, and the night enveloped the street, filled with the noisy sounds of hawkers and students bargaining.

Xie Dongcheng took a sip of soda, his gaze momentarily darkening.