Chapter 113: A Lone Journey of a Thousand Miles (1)

“Put on ‘First to Arrive.’ I want to sing it with Cheng Chen!” He was suddenly in high spirits and walked over to the standing microphone in the private room.

“Even if we lose one another amid the noise and excitement, friendship will be the first to come running... My friend, whenever loneliness weighs so heavily that you cannot even cry out, I will be the first to offer you my care...”

The two grown men gathered around the microphone, singing with fiery enthusiasm. When they happened to exchange a smile, Yan Hua and Lu Zhen were covered in goosebumps.

“Hey, Oil, don’t you think Boss Fang and the others are a little too close? Why does this look like a duet of love songs?”

The moment midnight arrived, firecrackers began exploding outside. In those days, people in the city were still allowed to set them off freely.

“Come on, Happy New Year, everyone! May you make a fortune in the coming year!” he said cheerfully, raising a glass.

“Happy New Year!” “Happy New Year, Happy New Year!”

By the time they left the KTV, Cheng Chen was already thoroughly drunk. Yan Hua and Lu Zhen supported him between them and rented a room at a nearby hotel.

“Boss Fang, are you all right? Why don’t you take a taxi home?” Lu Zhen asked worriedly.

“Mm. I’ll take a taxi in a little while and come back for the car tomorrow.” He nodded and raised a hand to hail a cab.

When he got home, he quietly washed up. The instant he had lain back down in bed, another barrage of firecrackers erupted outside, pounding against his eardrums without end.

“Damn, banning fireworks and firecrackers in the city really is a good idea. At least it wouldn’t be this noisy.” Dissatisfied, he covered his ears with the quilt.

Before he could fall asleep, his father got up again, carried two large bags of firecrackers downstairs, and nearly blasted Fang Yu’s window to pieces.

After struggling through until seven in the morning, just as he was about to drift off, his mother knocked on the door.

“Xiaoyu, get up. It’s the first day of the New Year. Come have some rice cakes before you go back to sleep.”

Reluctantly, Fang Yu got up and ate a bowl of rice cakes. Sure enough, under the influence of the system, he did not receive even a single penny of New Year’s money.

Zhao Bin, on the other hand, had collected several thousand yuan in red envelopes over the holiday. Grinning smugly, he showed them off in front of Fang Yu.

“Look, this one’s from my aunt, and these are from my grandparents.”

In his hometown in 2006, everything was still so tranquil and peaceful. Everyone walking the streets wore cheerful expressions and wished one another a Happy New Year. Even disagreements would vanish at the words, “It’s the New Year, after all.”

After the fifth day of the New Year, the shops along the streets gradually reopened their doors and began doing business for the year. Fang Yu and Zhao Bin had bought two portions of pan-fried buns in the city center and were wolfing them down when the phone rang.

“Mm, Churan, Happy New Year. Why are you calling me at this hour?”

The girl on the other end merely wept without saying a word, which made him panic.

“What’s wrong? Say something. Who bullied you?”

“Fang Yu, will you come and take me back to school?” The girl repeated the sentence several times between sobs.

“Huh? What happened? It’s still the New Year holiday. Why are you in such a hurry to go back?”

“Waaah... I can’t stay here any longer. Please, Fang Yu, have mercy and take me away.”

His heart softened. After thinking it over, he realized Qin Lu did not need him to escort her to school; her father would drive her to SY, leaving him free to make the trip.

“Mm, I can do that. When?”

“The sooner, the better. I really can’t stand this family anymore!” Xia Churan kept her sobs low, evidently afraid that her family would hear.

“All right, then. Can I come the day after tomorrow?” He calculated that he would at least need to inform his family.

“Mm, okay. I’ll wait for you. You mustn’t lie to me!”

After comforting Xia Churan for a while, he hung up and looked at Zhao Bin, who was still chewing on his pan-fried buns.

“I’m going to pick up Xia Churan and take her back to school the day after tomorrow. You can go by yourselves if you want.”

Zhao Bin looked delighted.

“Then I’m going back to school too. There’s nothing to do at home, and I’m craving some milk tea.”

Fang Yu nodded, pulled out his phone, and called Cheng Chen and the others. Without exception, they all said they had been bored stiff during the holiday and would rather return to the snack street to fool around. Fang Yu immediately made the decision: on the seventh day of the New Year, he would first go to Mudong to pick up Xia Churan, while the others would take the old Santana 2000 back to school.

Yan Hua was also willing to go to Xianjiang after being introduced by Lu Zhen. Fang Yu thought it over and agreed. He was not particularly dependable himself, so having one more capable person around could only help.

“School starts this early? The New Year isn’t even over yet.” That evening, his mother looked displeased as she packed his suitcase.

“There’s nothing I can do. We have a placement test when school begins.” He tossed out the excuse without a second thought.

“Study hard. Once you graduate, the family will find a job for you somehow,” his father added from the side.

Fang Yu nodded absently. When the seventh day arrived, he dragged his suitcase out early in the morning, came to the road outside the residential compound, started the 640, and drove toward Mudong.

With navigation, the journey was much faster. He covered four hundred kilometers in only five hours and arrived at the small town where Xia Churan lived.

And that was not all. Along the way, he had also bought several cartons of cigarettes and some liquor at a rest stop. After all, he could not show up at someone’s home during the New Year empty-handed.

“Hello, Churan. I’m almost at your house. Get your things together and come out.” Fang Yu had an excellent memory; after traveling a road once, he could practically remember it. Besides, the village where Xia Churan lived was not difficult to reach, merely inconvenient.

“Mm, my family is eating lunch right now. Have you eaten, Fang Yu? I can bring you something.”

There was noticeably more cheer in the girl’s voice.

“No need. Just hurry out. We still have to drive back to school later.” Thinking of Xia’s snobbish mother, Fang Yu had no desire to deal with her.

The moment the booming 640 entered the backward little village, nearby villagers began poking their heads out to look.

“Good heavens, whose son-in-law is that? That car must cost two or three hundred thousand, right?”

“Ah, you didn’t know? He’s the boyfriend of Old Xia the Third’s daughter from the western end of the village. I heard he does big business in the city.”

“Tsk, tsk, Old Xia the Third’s daughter is a pretty girl. Looks like she’s going to marry into money.”

“Isn’t that girl studying away from home? She probably hooked some rich second-generation heir.”

Fang Yu could not hear any of those rumors from inside the car, but as he drove on, he began to sense that something was wrong. The open ground in front of the Xia residence, which had previously been empty, was now occupied by seven or eight people.

As soon as he brought the car to a stop, several men and women swarmed around it and began inspecting the sports sedan.

Fang Yu climbed out of the driver’s seat with a bewildered expression. An equally sallow-faced, middle-aged woman immediately grabbed him by the arm.

“Oh, tsk, tsk, you must be Churan’s boyfriend, right? What a handsome young man! How old are you this year? What kind of business do you do?”

He could not bring himself to lose his temper in front of everyone, so he forced an awkward smile and pulled his arm free.

“Excuse me, is Xia Churan here? I’ve come to take her back to school.”

“Move aside, move aside! Don’t block my family’s distinguished son-in-law!” Xia’s mother came out of the courtyard as well, beaming with delight as she pushed the others away.

“Er, ha-ha, Happy New Year, Auntie. I came to pick up Xia Churan for school. I didn’t bring much, just a small token of respect.”

He took two cartons of premium cigarettes and a case of expensive liquor from the back seat.

“Oh my, Xiaofang, it was enough that you came. Why bring such costly gifts? Churan will be your wife sooner or later. We’re all family—there’s no need to stand on ceremony.” Xia’s mother deliberately spoke in a loud voice.