A youth must cherish lofty ambitions, for he once vowed to become the finest in the world. Chapter 150: When one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven (Part 2)

While Baozi and Hu Yan were still surfing the internet in the private booth, Cheng Chen pulled Fang Yu downstairs.
"Did Baozi ask you to borrow money? How did he suddenly become so generous?"
"Not really. I only found out he came because Yan Hua called me."
"That's strange. He didn't ask me for money either."
Fang Yu had his suspicions. Most likely, the fat guy had once again dug into his tuition fees for the next semester. Back in the day, he had done the exact same thing. To please Hu Yan, Baozi had recklessly sacrificed his own education, squandering tens of thousands of yuan into the void, to the point where he even had to buy a fake diploma just to graduate.

Xia Churan and Li Jing had met Baozi and Hu Yan before, and at that moment, they pulled him and Cheng Chen downstairs to gossip.
"Whoa, the fatty actually has some moves. That girl named Hu Yan looks quite decent. How did she end up with him?"
"Exactly. Looking at how poorly that fat guy dresses, could her standards really be that messed up?"

Just then, a text message arrived on his phone, notifying him that 21,609.5 yuan had been deposited into his bank account—likely his salary after tax deductions. His mood instantly brightened.
Zhang Hao called immediately afterward.
"Old Fang, did you see your salary? There'll be another sum wired to you in a few days. Old Hang said there hasn't been a single dividend payout since the company opened, and everyone's looking forward to it."
"Alright, that's only fair. You guys have worked hard; consider it a retroactive year-end bonus."

At dinner time, Baozi initially wanted to find a restaurant nearby on the snack street, but Fang Yu generously waved his hand.
"Forget about it today. My treat to welcome you both. Let's go to the neighboring town to eat; besides, the two of you need to find a place to stay anyway." He certainly had no intention of telling Baozi about the townhouse.

However, driving to the neighboring town took fifteen minutes, and since his new car hadn't arrived yet, he could only offer Baozi and Hu Yan an apologetic shrug.
"There aren't enough seats. You two should take a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw from the school gate."
Hu Yan looked somewhat displeased, glaring at Baozi with a complaining expression.
"Baozi, when on earth are you going to get your sports car back? Going out with you means taking either the city bus or the coach."
Baozi awkwardly flicked his fringe of hair.
"Babe, you know how it is. My dad's always driving my sports car. Don't worry, once we go back for summer vacation, it'll be fine. I'll definitely take you out for a cruise."
"Hmph, your dad is really youthful, driving his son's sports car all day long. Look at how gorgeous Fang Yu's car is."

Baozi pulled him aside with a cheeky grin.
"Hey, I remember your car has four seats, right? Just squeeze us in."
"How could my little car possibly accommodate your tonnage? Both girls are already complaining it's cramped. Forget it, you'd better ride in Cheng Chen's car." Although the Santana 2000 was old and outdated, its interior space was at least normal.

However, once Baozi and Hu Yan were added to the mix, Zhao Bin and Yan Hua—who were also going to dinner—no longer had a place to sit. Lu Zhen loudly claimed he wanted to play video games and naturally stayed behind to man the internet cafe.
Xia Churan was still somewhat worried. After getting into the front passenger seat, she looked around anxiously.
"Fang Yu, you beat up Tai Hongzhou just two days ago, and now you're heading to the town. Could you get recognized?"
"Ha, how is that possible? Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Led by a 640 and followed by a Santana 2000 and a black-smoke-belching auto-rickshaw, the group drove toward the neighboring town. Fang Yu picked a restaurant that the students praised as fairly decent, lifted the door curtain and walked inside. Immediately, a student who recognized him stood up.
"Brother Yu, what brings you here? Come, come, there's a table empty right here."
He smiled non-committally, pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and passed them around.
"Just came to eat with some friends. You guys go ahead and eat."

Baozi looked somewhat envious, immediately puffing out his chest and shaking every ounce of fat on his body three times.
"Oh, Fang Yu, you're doing pretty well for yourself nowadays. People are even calling you Brother Yu. Still, you're not doing as well as me. You know what, the moment I entered school, I was already Brother Jun."
"Oh, give it a rest! If it weren't for those senior students of yours, you wouldn't have had to flee to Fang Yu's place!" Hu Yan refused to pamper the deadbeat fatty and exposed him on the spot.
Naturally aware of what kind of character Baozi was at school, Fang Yu couldn't be bothered to tear down his facade just yet.
"Alright, alright, let's eat first."

As the waiter began serving the dishes, Hu Yan leaned over toward Xia Churan with an expression full of envy.
"Wow, miss, this bag is so pretty. Is it this year's new Luna design?"
Xia Churan glanced sideways at the young man beside her and smiled sweetly.
"Mm-hmm, Fang Yu bought it for me when we went to Shawang."
Hu Yan felt somewhat discouraged and impulsively pinched a handful of Baozi's fat.
"You useless fatty, you said you'd take me to buy a bag, and I'm still using that two-hundred-yuan one from last year."
"Oh, babe, don't rush. Tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow I'll take you to buy one."
"You promised! I don't care, I want that Luna bag of Xia Churan's too."

Baozi's face twitched a few times. He naturally knew that anything Fang Yu bought wouldn't come cheap, but he had to keep up appearances. After eating a few bites of food, he quietly leaned over to Fang Yu.
"Hey, Fang Yu, how much did that bag you bought for Xia Churan cost?"
Rolling his eyes, Fang Yu forced down a piece of chicken in his mouth.
"Don't remember. Can't be that expensive, maybe just a few thousand."

Baozi felt a tightness in his chest, having assumed a few hundred yuan would settle it.
"Oh, not cheap, huh? How many did you buy?"
"What? Don't tell me you're planning to walk away with one?" Fang Yu looked at the fat guy with a half-smile.
"How could that be? Would I, Baozi, be short on cash? Just asking casually. By the way, Yan-zi said she wants to go look for Qin Lu tomorrow. Are you going?"
Thinking to himself that if this deadbeat fatty and Hu Yan went, there was no way he could stay away from his white moonlight, Fang Yu had to bite the bullet and nod.
"Of course. I'll let Lu Lu know after dinner. But tomorrow isn't the weekend, so Lu Lu won't be able to stay out too late."

The meal went relatively harmoniously. Afterward, unable to wait a moment longer, Baozi dragged Hu Yan off to share a bed, completely forgetting to even mention their usual favorite pastime of karaoke.
Back at the townhouse that evening, Xia Churan pulled him over with a curious look.
"Fang Yu, do you think that girl named Hu Yan is actually going to sleep with Baozi tonight?"
Amused, he nodded.
"What, isn't it obvious?"
"But how could Hu Yan possibly take a fancy to Baozi? He's so greasy."
"Ha, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so that's none of your concern, right? Also, I have to accompany the two of them to the city tomorrow."

This remark immediately irritated the young girl, who listlessly waved her hand.
"Agh, you're going to accompany your good class monitor again, right?"
"Otherwise what? We all graduated from the same class. Do you want to go?"
"Hmph, not going. Cheng Chen's going too, right?"
"Hard to say. Cheng Chen can't stand Baozi, and besides, he's not close with Hu Yan or Qin Lu."

After much coaxing, Fang Yu finally had to patiently tell Xia Churan a bedtime story before managing to lull the young girl to sleep.
As for Qin Lu, the white moonlight was quite delighted to hear that Baozi and Hu Yan were visiting. Although their relationship was only average, ever since she came to Xianjiang, she had no other opportunities to meet her old classmates.