Chapter 23

Five minutes later, Xu Shijia felt like Liu Laolao, who had entered the Grand View Garden for the first time, overwhelmed by the terrifying crowd in the subway.

“Why is it so big underground here?”

“Why are there so many people? It feels like the air isn’t flowing, the air quality is terrible, and so many people aren’t wearing masks. The virus and bacteria must be off the charts…”

“Why are there so many routes…? Is the red line Line 1? Or Line 2?”

…

Xu Shijia felt like a country worker seeing the city for the first time, completely shocked by the complex routes of the subway. He pursed his lips and hurriedly followed Lin Shu, afraid that the crowd would separate him from Lin Shu.

At first, the subway Lin Shu and Xu Shijia took was the same train. They arrived just in time, as the sound of the train arriving echoed as they were heading down to the station.

“Come on, hurry up! The train’s just arrived,” Lin Shu urged.

Unfortunately, after a moment of surprise, Xu Shijia gradually adapted to his surroundings. He lost the initial awkwardness and began to exude a rather confident demeanor.

Even though he was in the noisy, chaotic subway station, Xu Shijia strolled leisurely with his hands in his pockets, looking like a model on a runway, standing out in stark contrast to those around him.

“You see, experiencing life is quite necessary. I really haven’t taken the subway before, but I adapt well. It’s just the subway; it’s not a big deal.”

He regained his confidence: “Although there are many people at the subway station, it’s not as terrifying as you said. I just needed a moment to get used to it.”

He glanced at the crowd of people running to catch the train and, with an air of aloofness, said, “But there’s no need to rush like this. Everyone is too anxious. Life should have some relaxation; if you miss this train, there will be another one. I would never run so desperately just to catch the subway…”

Unfortunately, before he could finish his thought, the alert sound indicating that the subway doors were about to close rang out from the platform.

Almost simultaneously, the crowd behind Xu Shijia, which had only been walking briskly, surged forward in a rush. He could no longer maintain his elegance and was knocked off balance by those running behind him, nearly falling over. The crowd pressed him forward, and he couldn’t stop to preserve his dignity. By the time he regained his composure, he was packed into the subway like a sardine in a can, surrounded by a sea of dark heads, with no room to breathe.

Lin Shu was used to the crowded subway, but Xu Shijia clearly was not.

He could no longer maintain his cold, elegant demeanor; his eyes frantically searched for Lin Shu, resembling a pig waiting for rescue in a flood. Combined with his striking features, it created a somewhat naive, bewildered beauty.

On one side of him stood a maintenance worker, causing Xu Shijia’s expensive suit to brush against the oil-stained clothes of the other man. On his other side was a hefty uncle, whose protruding belly was pressed against Xu Shijia’s backside. Behind him was a well-dressed aunt who had sprayed on perfume. Even from a distance, Lin Shu could still smell the rich fragrance mingled with the sweat from the subway and the aroma of food some passengers had brought on, creating a noxious scent that was enough to assault the senses.

Just moments ago, Xu Shijia had confidently claimed to have adapted to the subway, but now his face showed despair and shock. He was clearly holding his breath to avoid the unpleasant odor, causing his face to flush red, and his expression of suffocation became all the more real.

He clearly wanted to escape the situation; however, in the cramped subway car, even the slightest movement drew criticism—

“Young man, can you show a bit of public spirit and stop pushing around?”

His long legs, which he took pride in, went unappreciated and were even criticized—

“Exactly! You’re so tall and big, taking up a lot of space. Look at those legs! If you put them out like that, you’ll trip me!”

“You should pay for two tickets with a body like yours!”

…

Xu Shijia finally couldn’t hold back: “You were the one pushing me! I felt you touch my backside! And the perfume you’re wearing is making me allergic!”

But his counterattack evidently provoked an even fiercer backlash from the middle-aged aunt—

“How can someone who looks so presentable talk like that? Is it your first time on the subway?”

The aunt was fierce: “Touching your backside? It’s totally normal to get pushed in the subway! How did it turn into touching? Besides, you’re a man; what’s your backside worth? If it were that valuable, would you really be taking the subway?”

“If you’re so picky about this and that, why not take a taxi if you have the money?”

“My perfume is a brand name; it’s a privilege for you to smell it!”

“Young man, are you looking for trouble or trying to get my attention? I’ve got a partner! I’m not interested in you!”

…

Clearly, looks, status, elegance, and physique had no power in this subway car.

All the rules Xu Shijia had learned throughout his life crumbled before him as he faced the reality of the crowded subway.

By the time they reached the transfer station ten minutes later, he looked like a shell of his former self.

Even worse, he had actually developed an allergy.

Now, his eyes were red, tears streaming down from irritation, his formerly neat clothes wrinkled and stripped of their luxurious appeal. His meticulously styled hair had become a messy disarray, and aside from his striking features, he now resembled the exhausted office workers around him—completely drained.

In just ten minutes on the subway, Xu Shijia had lost his composure, his face pale, looking as if he had been returned to his true form.

Lin Shu looked down at him from above: “Still want to ride?”

“No more riding, no more riding.” Xu Shijia’s eyes and nose were red, and the allergic reaction made him look as if he were on the verge of tears, adding a touch of vulnerability to his already shattered appearance.

But even at this moment, the man was still trying to save face: “I thought about it, and lawyers should maintain a distance from their clients. There’s no need for me to be too close to the crowd. A successful lawyer should retain a certain level of mystery; being too down-to-earth makes it hard to charge high fees…”

At this point, Lin Shu naturally couldn’t ignore Xu Shijia, who was suffering from allergies, and just leave him behind.

…

In the end, she took Xu Shijia to buy allergy medication, ensuring he took it and that his allergic reaction subsided before she helped him hail a cab to send him home.

Xu Shijia was clearly deeply affected, sitting in the car without a word, dejected. The arrogance in his demeanor had vanished, replaced by a hint of melancholy.

It was a bit pitiful.

But also a bit amusing.

Lin Shu internally wished for Xu Shijia to accept the harsh realities of life soon and then earnestly work his way up to success.

**

Xu Shijia was indeed very depressed. He didn’t understand what was happening; everything had changed too suddenly. But this time, it seemed his family was serious.

After his father notified him about the suspension of his trust fund payments, Xu Shijia was furious and declared he would rely on himself. Yet now, on the second day of trying to be independent, he felt the stark and brutal realities of life.

Fortunately, after a tiring day, he was finally almost home.

He watched as the taxi drove into his familiar neighborhood, and then he saw the entrance to his residential complex.

He said goodbye to Lin Shu as he got out of the car, noticing several people standing at the entrance of the community, seemingly waiting for him.

Sure enough, as soon as Xu Shijia got out of the car, one of them came forward to greet him.

Xu Shijia felt a little relieved.

Look, this is the difference between a high-end community and an ordinary one. This is what differentiated service looks like; this is the significance of having a home in a luxurious residential area. Good property management makes everything feel warm and comfortable…

Home, sweet home.

Xu Shijia felt a rare emotional stir within him, only to hear the approaching figure exclaim dramatically—

“Brother Xu! I’ve been waiting for you to come back!”

Xu Shijia usually drove a sports car, so he rarely walked into the community in a taxi like today. This was also his first time receiving such treatment.

Many people lived in this upscale community, and the fact that someone could recognize him showed how unique his temperament was. He stood out no matter where he went, and such a warm welcome indicated that the security guard was discerning. It was evident that despite his low profile, his presence was still remarkable…

Unfortunately, just as Xu Shijia’s pride was about to swell, he heard the person continue—

“Brother Xu! I’ve waited so long for you! I tried calling, but you didn’t answer! You’re the only one in the entire community who hasn’t paid the property fee!”

…

Xu Shijia initially couldn’t see the person standing in the dark. Now that he stepped forward, the streetlights finally illuminated the identity of the person.

It wasn’t a security guard; it was the property manager, Xiao Liu.

For the first time in his life, Xu Shijia felt a tingle of dread on the back of his neck.

He shouldn’t have gotten out of the car here.

What kind of nonsense property management was this? Wasn’t it just because he hadn’t paid the property fee on time? Was it really necessary to make a fuss about it?

Xu Shijia decided to retract the compliment he had just given in his mind. This community was no good!

Xiao Liu had evidently been waiting in the cold wind for quite some time to catch Xu Shijia: “I saw your car parked in the garage, so I thought maybe you took a taxi out. And look, I was right! You successful people tend to forget things; you must be really busy these days and forgot to pay the property fee.”

Xiao Liu began to play the sympathy card: “Brother Xu, I won’t hide it from you, I just started this job, and the timely collection of property fees is part of my performance evaluation. If I can’t collect them on time, my salary will be docked.”

“The main thing is, everyone else has paid; you’re the only one left. If you pay, I can keep my salary safe.” Xiao Liu said earnestly, “So Brother Xu, could you please pay the property fee today? Otherwise, I’ll have to wait for you at the entrance every day! That wouldn’t be convenient for either of us!”

“…”

Xu Shijia also wanted to pay the property fee.

But…

He had no money.

For the first time in Xu Shijia’s life, the words “no money” appeared in his dictionary.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

It was too embarrassing!

So, Xu Shijia cleared his throat and feigned indifference: “It’s a bit late today; I have some things to take care of. Let’s do it tomorrow…”

Xiao Liu, accustomed to mingling in wealthy neighborhoods, had become somewhat arrogant and had developed a tendency to bully others.

As soon as he heard Xu Shijia’s words, his expression changed immediately. He spoke sarcastically, “You live in such an expensive place and are so wealthy; you can’t possibly make it hard for me, a small person, by refusing to pay, right?”

“Besides, if you delay paying the property fee, your property services will be affected. For example, your access card will become invalid. If the access card is invalid, our security must be responsible; if we can’t confirm you’re a resident, we certainly can’t let you in. If you keep delaying payments, they might even cut off your water and electricity…”

…

Xu Shijia had never been treated like this before in his life.

He was furious, nearly exploding.

How dare he speak to him like this!

How dare he threaten and ridicule him!

“With my busy schedule, when do I have time to pay the property fee immediately? Besides, it’s just a temporary delay in payment! Is it really that serious? Moreover, it’s only the first half of the year; you want to collect the fee for the second half already, which is unreasonable.”

Xu Shijia said with a stern face, “Also, I remember that the property contract clearly states that the fees should be paid quarterly.”

“And as for your claim that if I don’t pay the property fees for the second half of the year, my water and electricity will be cut off—that’s even more illegal. As long as I pay my water and electricity bills normally, you have no right to interfere. If you dare to cut off my water and electricity, I’ll sue you!”

Xiao Liu, clearly intimidated, softened his attitude on the spot: “Oh, Brother Xu, let’s keep things friendly. I was just forced to say those things by the manager; they were all part of the process.”

“I don’t know how the property contract stipulates it, but my manager’s task for me is to collect all the fees tonight. Can you just help me out? You can go home first, and I’ll send you the payment QR code later. If you want to pay by card, I can bring the POS machine to you.”

Xiao Liu tried to flatter: “Look, I was blind not to recognize your greatness just now. The outfit you’re wearing screams expensive! It was my lack of insight. With your demeanor and style, how could you possibly not afford to pay the property fees? It was totally my fault for rushing you and making you upset!”

“You’re mistaken, Xiao Liu,” Xu Shijia calmly interrupted his flattery. “I need to clarify something.”

“A man wearing custom-tailored clothes and looking elegant might still not be able to pay the property fees.”

Xiao Liu quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, that can happen too.”

Xu Shijia remained composed and said, “I won’t be paying the property fees anytime soon.”

“But why, Brother Xu?”

“Because I’m one of those people.”

It turns out that when faced with poverty, things like pride and self-respect don’t exist. Once a person becomes poor, they realize that there’s really nothing they can’t say.

Poverty can make someone grow and change rapidly in a short period of time.

Xu Shijia then heard himself calmly say, “My current financial situation is being adjusted.”

Unfortunately, Xiao Liu didn’t understand Xu Shijia’s subtle hint. He stood there, dazed, as if he hadn’t comprehended: “What do you mean?”

Why can’t he get it?

Does it really have to be spelled out so bluntly?

Xu Shijia restrained his emotions, took a deep breath, and said in a loud, clear voice:

“What I mean is—”

“I have no money right now!!!”

…

**

After seeing Xu Shijia comfortably sipping on Coffee Factory coffee yesterday, without any apparent decline in his standard of living, and with Xinhé Group’s stock not only not falling but even spiking recently, coupled with the continuous flow of positive market news, Wang Tie Niu reasoned that Xinhé had safely weathered its crisis. He concluded that Xu Shijia was back on top of the world, and as someone with insider knowledge of Xinhé, he immediately bought the stock again.

But the next day at work, he noticed something unusual: the usually tardy and absentee Xu Shijia was sitting at his desk, on time.

This was good. Even though Xinhé had survived the crisis, it was clear that the upheaval had made the “crown prince” realize the importance of being prepared, so he seemed determined to work hard and master a skill.

Wang Tie Niu didn’t have time to dwell on it, though; he was starving.

He had left the house early today and hadn’t had time to grab breakfast, so he nudged his colleague, Liu Xuhui, and said, “Brother Hui, the breakfast place downstairs is running a group deal—if two or more people join, it’s only five yuan per person. Do you want in? It’s a great bargain!”

Liu Xuhui enthusiastically responded, “Count me in! You place the order, and I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

“Got it!”

Wang Tie Niu grinned and prepared to place the order and head downstairs to pick it up.

However, as he passed by Xu Shijia’s desk, Xu called out to him.

The “crown prince” still exuded his usual aura of elegance. His posture was impeccable, and everything about his movements radiated nobility, creating an undeniable sense of class difference.

With Xinhé’s troubles over, the crown prince was still the crown prince.

As Wang Tie Niu faced Xu Shijia again, the sympathy and closeness he’d felt during Xu’s recent fall from grace faded, replaced by a sense of distance. He couldn’t afford to offend someone as well-connected as Xu Shijia, so he felt a little anxious.

It was early in the morning, and he hadn’t done anything to upset the crown prince.

Xu Shijia’s expression was cold, his voice tinged with aloofness, the kind that comes with being in a superior position: “Brother Tie Niu, I need to talk to you about something.”

Uh-oh.

With such a serious tone, could it be that the crown prince, now back in power, was planning to clean house, fire Lin Shu, and disband their team?

Just as Wang Tie Niu was mentally preparing to update his resume, he heard Xu Shijia say, in a cold and deliberate tone:

“Add me to your five-yuan breakfast group order.”

“…”

Wang Tie Niu was stunned.

He thought he must have heard wrong. “You want to join the five-yuan breakfast group?”

Xu Shijia coldly replied, “Yes.”

“But didn’t you once say that something costing five yuan would have production costs of at most fifty cents, and would be full of E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Helicobacter pylori…?”

Xu Shijia looked at him, expressionless: “I’ve been having some gut microbiome imbalance lately. Adding some bacteria might help. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No…”

The sound of a five-yuan transfer notification on Wang Tie Niu’s phone reminded him that Xu Shijia wasn’t joking.

He was utterly baffled.

When Wang Tie Niu handed Xu Shijia his five-yuan breakfast, he noticed that Xu didn’t seem to mind it at all. In fact, his eyes even lit up when he saw the flatbread in the meal.

Although the crown prince’s movements were still graceful and composed, there was a certain urgency in the way he ate the flatbread—it was clear he hadn’t eaten in a while.

It looked like he hadn’t had anything since the previous meal!

And since it was obvious that he wasn’t used to eating flatbread (which was quite dry), Wang Tie Niu saw him almost choke on his first bite. Even so, true to his crown prince status, Xu Shijia refused to let any discomfort show and managed to hold back a cough until he could wash down the bread with a sip of soy milk.

Something wasn’t right.

But soon, things got even stranger.

Around noon, when Wang Tie Niu was sharing some discount codes for meal delivery in the group chat, Xu Shijia walked over to his desk.

As a fellow man, Wang Tie Niu had to admit that Xu Shijia was objectively good-looking, with the kind of refined features young women these days adored. His face was perpetually cold and difficult to approach, making him all the more alluring.

Now, this handsome and aloof crown prince was staring straight at Wang Tie Niu.

“Brother Tie Niu, I can’t seem to find something in the group chat. Could you send it again?”

Over the past few days, Wang Tie Niu had shared several work-related case studies in the chat. He was pleasantly surprised by Xu Shijia’s eagerness to learn and was about to ask which case he wanted to review when Xu calmly added:

“Oh, it’s the discount codes for meal delivery platforms you shared earlier. I clicked on them, but they were all claimed. Could you send them again?”

“……”

Wang Tie Niu was stunned. The crown prince wanted to order takeout? Didn’t he always eat customized private chef meals?

Before him, Xu Shijia brushed aside a lock of hair from his forehead, still looking every bit as elegant and reserved as ever, but his words were anything but reserved:

“I went through the chat history. A few days ago, you shared a PDF on saving money, but when I clicked on it, the file had expired. Could you send that again?”

“And I remember you mentioned that there are discounts on the ride-hailing app. Where can I find those vouchers?”

Even though Xu Shijia was asking for discount coupons and seeking Wang Tie Niu’s help, his expression remained cold and aloof, making Wang Tie Niu feel as if he was born to serve him. Without thinking, he re-sent the vouchers to the group chat.

Once Xu Shijia received the vouchers, he finally smiled at Wang Tie Niu: “Thanks, Brother Tie Niu. This afternoon, I noticed there’s a buy-one-get-one-free deal on coffee. If you buy two cups, it’s basically half price. Since it might be hard for you to take advantage of the deal alone, let me help you out. You can buy two cups, and I’ll transfer you the money for one.”

Wang Tie Niu instinctively nodded.

A moment later, when he came to his senses, confusion set in. He wasn’t even planning to drink coffee this afternoon! Why would he need a buy-one-get-one-free deal? And if Xu Shijia was thanking him, shouldn’t he be offering to buy him the coffee instead?

Also…

“Didn’t you say before that ordinary coffee like this tastes too rough for you?”

Faced with Wang Tie Niu’s question, Xu Shijia remained composed: “Oh, sometimes people need to consume rough things. It’s like how you occasionally need to eat whole grains—you can’t just eat refined rice and flour all the time. Too delicate a diet can negatively affect your jaw and oral development. So for my health, I’m now pairing my meals with some rough-tasting coffee.”

Wang Tie Niu: “…” The “rough” in coffee and the “rough” in whole grains are clearly not the same kind of “rough.”

What was going on with the crown prince? Such down-to-earth behavior wasn’t like him at all.

This was way too strange.

A meticulous mind is key to a lawyer’s work.

After observing for a bit and reflecting carefully, Wang Tie Niu sensed something was wrong!

Though only 24 hours had passed since yesterday, Xu Shijia’s lifestyle had plummeted drastically in terms of consumption!

Details matter, and this was the first clear signal!

Xinhé! In danger!

He had thought Xinhé had turned the corner, and everything was looking bright again. But now, it seemed that the crown prince’s recent lavish behavior was nothing more than a fleeting moment before the collapse!

Xinhé clearly hadn’t escaped its crisis, which is why the crown prince was now willing to swallow his pride, work hard, hunt for discount coupons, and eagerly join group deals…

Wang Tie Niu slapped his thigh in frustration, realizing he’d made a mistake buying that stock again! He needed to sell it off!

Xinhé is really going under this time!

Even the crown prince is on the verge of being poorer than him!