7. Birds Of A Feather — I Just Like Tangible Wealth

Yu Dongxi gave a thumbs-up and said sincerely, “Bro, you’re the real deal.”

“No need to flatter me,” Song Yu replied with a grin. “Come on, let’s head downstairs.”

“Oh.” Yu Dongxi followed behind Song Yu, and as soon as they reached the first floor, they bumped right into Song Ke and the Fifth Young Master, Song Shu.

“Let’s go.” Song Yu walked in front with his hands in his pockets, giving off a big-brother aura. Just a moment ago, the Fifth Young Master had seemed imposing, but now walking behind Song Yu, he looked more like a timid kitten.

“Shu, go bring the car around,” Song Yu turned and tossed the keys to Song Shu.

Song Shu was caught off guard and scrambled to catch the keys, sneaking a glance at Yu Dongxi in the process. But Yu Dongxi’s eyes weren’t on him at all.

Once outside, Yu Dongxi finally saw the full structure. The courtyard was still the same one—but the old, dilapidated ancestral house had been replaced by a grand Western-style mansion.

Rich families really are different. Just looking at the courtyard from the outside, it was obvious they were wealthy—every brick and tile was tasteful.

Each brick was carved with intricate patterns—it must have cost quite a bit.

Yu Dongxi walked up beside Song Yu and, gazing at the locust tree in the distance, clicked her tongue and said, “So what if there’s one more rich person in the world?”

“Money is just a worldly possession,” Song Yu rested his sunglasses in his hand, slowly twirling them. “Miss Yu, that line was out of character. Don’t forget, you’re now the wealthy and beautiful Boss Yu.”

“Ah,” Yu Dongxi shook her head, “in the end, it’s just one big cosplay.”

“Don’t be so negative. Life is just about playing a role, and then playing it for a lifetime.”

“Brother Yu, the car’s out front,” Song Shu reported, still slightly out of breath—he had probably run the whole way back.

“Good.” With his back to the group, Song Yu took off his bandage and then put on his sunglasses, all without stopping.

Yu Dongxi was genuinely curious about Song Yu’s eyes, but since they weren’t that familiar, she kept her sense of boundaries.

Song Yu pulled open the passenger door and said in a very gentlemanly manner, “After you, Miss Yu.”

This car looked rather vintage too—the windows still had hand-crank handles.

Yu Dongxi nodded politely and sat in the passenger seat.

Song Ke and Song Shu sat in the back.

The whole way there, Yu Dongxi remained silent. Song Yu, however, was very chatty—one moment asking about Song Shu’s studies, the next asking about Song Ke’s love life. He even encouraged Song Ke to pursue love freely and not be swayed by the elders at home, and to make the most of youth and romantic experiences.

It was obvious that the setting of this fantasy realm didn’t belong to Yu Dongxi’s era, and Song Ke wasn’t as open-minded as her either. After Song Yu finished talking, Song Ke blushed, unsure whether to nod or shake her head.

Yu Dongxi solved the awkwardness in a very straightforward way—by punching Song Yu.

Song Yu laughed and shut up.

Yu Dongxi glanced sideways, her gaze “accidentally” drifting toward Song Yu’s eyes. Song Yu seemed to sense it, smiled knowingly, and turned to look out the window. Yu Dongxi casually averted her gaze like nothing had happened.

The architectural style of the street was completely different from that of the city Yu Dongxi lived in. She was from the north, while the buildings here resembled those of the Jiangnan water towns—large rivers flowing on both sides, small alley entrances along the road, bluestone pavements, carved railings and tiled roofs, and a light, continuous drizzle.

They arrived at Old Zhong’s Book House.

It was a very traditional Chinese-style building with two stories, much like the little taverns in historical dramas—except the wine racks had been replaced by bookshelves.

“Hey, Ah Yu?”

An elderly man slowly came down from the second floor. His face was rosy, he had long hair and a white beard, and his voice was strong and full of energy.

Seeing him, Song Yu smiled, shook the old man’s outstretched hand, and said, “Uncle Zhong, are you still in good health?”

“Healthy, very healthy. But you—why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” The old man’s tone carried a hint of reproach, but more than that, it was the joy of reuniting with an old friend.

“Looks like your Brother Yu is quite close with that old man,” Yu Dongxi remarked.

“Yeah, that’s the shop owner, Old Zhong. Back in the day, his store was on the brink of bankruptcy. It was Brother Yu who gave him an idea that helped him keep it going,” Song Ke answered softly.

“What idea?” Yu Dongxi asked curiously.

“It was called… the ‘Blind Box Plan’?”

Before Yu Dongxi could ask more, Song Yu called out to her: “Xizi, come over and say hi. This is Uncle Zhong, the bookstore’s owner.”

“Hello, Uncle Zhong,” Yu Dongxi greeted politely.

“What a bright and lively young lady. Where’s your family from…”

“Old Zhong, it’s been so many years and you’re still such a busybody,” Song Yu interrupted with a smile.

“How can you blame me? You—have you still not settled down? It was fine to say you weren’t in a rush when you were a teenager, but now you’re almost thirty and still haven’t started a family?” Old Zhong shot him a reproachful look.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find someone.”

“You brat, all you do is fool me with that sweet mouth of yours. Instead of wasting time sweet-talking me, go spend more time finding a girlfriend! What’s the point of having a good-looking face? And look at you—at least you know a little shame, wearing sunglasses to cover up.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anymore. I’m just going to take the kids inside for a look.”

Song Yu grabbed one of the tassels hanging from Yu Dongxi’s wrist and gave it a gentle tug. She got the hint, and the two of them dashed inside.

What awaited them inside was like a whole other world.

Books lined the walls up to ten meters high, the shelves made entirely of gold. In the middle of the wide hall sat a huge sofa, inlaid with large diamonds. In front of it was a small, exquisite table. The whole room could only be described as… glorious and resplendent.

“Holy crap…” Yu Dongxi felt like everything in front of her was glowing with gold.

“Snap out of it,” Song Yu tapped her on the head.

“Bro, I’m honestly a little shook. He didn’t look like much, but Old Zhong actually has such great taste.”

Song Yu curled his lips into a smile, hands in his pockets, his figure relaxed and stylish. He strode over to the sofa with an air of flair, sat down comfortably, stretched out both arms along the back of the sofa, and said, “The one with taste isn’t Old Zhong—it’s me.”

He patted the seat beside him. “Wanna try sitting down?”

With a sense of reverence, Yu Dongxi cautiously sat down on the sofa. The moment her butt touched the seat, she let out a satisfied sigh.

“Isn’t it super comfortable? They just don’t get me. They say my style is tacky, like some nouveau riche. Tch. No taste.”

Song Yu still couldn’t let it go. He had racked his brains to design this book house, only for people to mock it as tacky.

Unbelievable!

“It is satisfying, but… it kinda pokes my back.”
Yu Dongxi pulled over a cushion and placed it behind her to block the large diamonds from pressing into her back.

“You designed this?”

“Mhm.”

“I really admire it. Only this kind of tangible, visible wealth can appeal to both the refined and the vulgar.”

“You get me.”

Song Yu was deeply moved—hell, this person was practically a soulmate!

“So, what are we doing next?”

“Just sit and chill.”

“Huh?”

“Relax. We’re just part of the background in this segment. We don’t need to do anything—the plot will move forward on its own.”

Song Yu waved his hand nonchalantly, then leisurely opened a nearby cabinet and asked,

“Want something to drink?”

“Pick the most expensive one.”

Yu Dongxi was still turning his words over in her head, not even paying attention to what he was taking out.

So the plot would move on its own…

Did that mean all she had to do was wait?

What exactly were the conditions for leaving this fantasy realm?

And who was the real owner of it?

The manager next door didn’t seem all that reliable, but like Brother Du had said, he was like a cheat code.

Plus, he seemed to know this fantasy realm extremely well.

Wait…

Back when she first entered the fantasy realm, wasn’t it because of Song Yu…?

Could it be that the real owner of this space is actually Song Yu’s uncle?

“Alright, here—this is some wine I brought back from overseas. Expensive, guaranteed.”
A hand reached out in front of her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Yu Dongxi took the wine glass, her mind still running. She took a small sip—an overwhelming sourness filled her mouth. She paused, a bitter taste spreading, and her whole face scrunched up.

“What is this stuff?”

“Red wine. Like I said—expensive.”
Song Yu swirled his own glass and sipped.

“Tastes awful.”

“Forty thousand a bottle…”

“Still—”

“USD.”

“It’s okay, actually.”

Yu Dongxi took another sip—blech.

She was a wild boar—she couldn’t appreciate such delicate stuff.

“Hey, Song Yu, is the owner of this fantasy realm your uncle?”

Instead of overthinking it alone, it was better to externalize her confusion. The most direct and efficient way was to just ask Song Yu himself.

Song Yu shook his head and said, “Not my uncle.”

“Then who? Some other relative?”

“Not really a relative. She almost became my aunt.”

“Almost?”

“Yeah.”

Song Yu swirled the wine glass, and Yu Dongxi couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses.

“But she passed away.”

Yu Dongxi fell silent.

A sorrowful love story slowly took shape in her mind.

“Lovers, in the end, are separated by life and death… sigh.”

Song Yu looked at her in surprise. After a moment of silence, he said seriously, “They weren’t really lovers, though. Didn’t I complain to you before about my uncle? He was just a scumbag. Don’t go filling in some tragic backstory for him. What’s he got to be sad about?”

Yu Dongxi: “…”

No sense of romance at all.

Thud—Yu Dongxi punched Song Yu.

“Tch… Xizi, listen, all men are basically trash. I mean, when it comes to emotions, we’re garbage. Men don’t carry a baby for ten months, so they can’t understand what mothers go through, and they can’t truly empathize with them. When men try to sweet-talk women, nine out of ten things they say are lies. ‘I love you,’ ‘I like you’—those kinds of vague words are just nice to hear, that’s all.”

Song Yu thought he was about to get punched again, but surprisingly, Yu Dongxi fell silent.

After a long while, just as Song Yu was about to speak, he suddenly heard Yu Dongxi let out a bitter laugh and say, “So in the end, it’s men who understand men best.”

Song Yu went quiet for a moment, feeling like he had just corrupted a young, innocent girl without meaning to.

And maybe also unknowingly thrown his good buddy under the bus.

“Actually,” he began, “I just want to say that relationships really depend on the individual. Just treat everything I said earlier as nonsense. I—”

“Love, in the end, all depends on conscience,” Yu Dongxi smiled faintly and shrugged. “Good thing I don’t have one.”

“Don’t say that,” Song Yu frowned. “Don’t worry, I’m always on your side.”

“I’m touched, man,” Yu Dongxi said expressionlessly.

“You’re welcome.”

Yu Dongxi didn’t know why, but at this moment, she really wanted to punch Song Yu twice more.

Song Yu stood up, stretched his legs a bit, then walked over to the bookshelf and picked out a book. Yu Dongxi glanced over—it was the ^[1]Compendium of Materia Medica, It refers to a famous Chinese medical book called 《本草綱目》 (Běncǎo Gāngmù), written by Li Shizhen in the Ming dynasty. The title means a complete … Continue readingCompendium of Materia Medica (Ben Cao Gang Mu).

Song Yu casually brought the book back to his seat, flipped to page seventy-two, and on it was a drawing of a woman.

The woman had distinctly European features—sharp, well-defined, strong—but her expression was gentle and warm.

“What do you think? Not bad, huh? Your bro’s got skills.”

“Who is this?”

“This one? Guess. If you guess right, I’ll praise you.”

Yu Dongxi’s urge to beat Song Yu up reached its peak.

But before she could carry out her grand strategic plan, a loud bang startled them both, and they turned their heads toward the front door at the same time.