Chapter 126 – I Have a Friend

However, Cheng Hu was afraid of upsetting his girlfriend, so he didn’t voice the thoughts in his heart.

Instead, he smiled and offered his blessing.

“Don’t worry, with your luck, you’ll find it in no time.”

“You and that sweet mouth of yours.”

Hearing Cheng Hu’s words, Zhou Yu felt her gloom ease a little.

“By the way, why are you suddenly treating me to hotpot today?”

“Because I made some money, of course.”

“You got a part-time job? No way, you’ve been holed up in the dorm playing games this whole break.”

“Hehe, I made it by playing games.”

Cheng Hu grinned as he spoke. Since the start of the break, their luck had been insane—they’d managed to get two pieces of the Ancient Moon Set. Plus, the materials they got from farming gear sold for over 6,600 yuan.

Split four ways, that was over 1,600 per person.

When Zhou Yu heard that, she frowned slightly.

“Next year you guys are going to start internships. Don’t play too many games—it might affect your studies.”

“I know, we only play during our free time. It hasn’t impacted our classes, so don’t worry.”

Cheng Hu reassured her, then gave a mysterious smile.

“I even got you something—take a look.”

As he spoke,

He pulled a box from his backpack and slid it in front of his girlfriend.

Zhou Yu peeked at it curiously and was stunned.

It was a laptop. And not just any laptop—she’d been eyeing this one for a while. It cost over 5,000 yuan, which was why it had been sitting in her shopping cart. She’d planned to buy it after earning some money from work.

She hadn’t expected Cheng Hu to buy it for her.

But then a concerning thought crossed her mind. She knew a bit about Cheng Hu’s family situation—how could he afford something like this?

She couldn’t help but think of those recent news stories about people selling kidneys to buy phones.

“Where did you get the money for this laptop?”

“From the game! You don’t know—this game…”

Cheng Hu excitedly explained everything. Before he came home, he’d sold one Ancient Moon Set for 3,000 yuan—that one was all his. Yesterday, he split another 1,600 yuan with his friends. Plus, he’d saved some money from before, just enough to buy the laptop.

Zhou Yu was shocked by the explanation. She hadn’t imagined that someone could make so much money just from a game.

And the first thing he thought of spending it on… was her. He must’ve seen the laptop in her shopping cart.

“Thank you. But this is way too expensive—I can’t accept it.”

“Why are you being so formal with me? You’re about to start working soon. Once you start making money, you can buy me something in return. Besides, your current laptop is super laggy—it totally messes with your design work.”

Cheng Hu waved it off like it was no big deal.

Zhou Yu thought it over. He had a point—she could just pay it back later.

“Alright, then I’ll accept it. Once I start working and earning, I’ll become your sugar mama.”

“That might not happen. My roommates and I decided that we’ll keep using this game to make money while we’re still in school. We’ll save up and, after graduation, we’re going to start an animation studio together. So who knows who’ll be the one spoiling who?”

……

Beiming County

“Mom, I’m going to Second Aunt’s place today—I won’t be home for lunch.”

Early in the morning,

Chen Mo greeted his mom and left the house.

It was Saturday, and tomorrow was Sunday. He’d be returning to the company soon.

But there was still one important thing he hadn’t done yet—he needed to go to his second aunt’s house and ask his cousin about that milk tea shop that lost money.

That was a big deal. It would affect how much he’d ultimately be able to settle for, so he had to get to the bottom of it.

If that business really was a money pit, then he’d need to make a move.

His second aunt’s house was in the north of town. Walking there would take half an hour, so he decided to take a xiao beng beng.

The xiao beng beng was a common mode of transportation in their county—it was a three-wheeled electric vehicle with a canopy. For just three yuan, you could get anywhere in town.

Before heading to his aunt’s place, he stopped by the supermarket to buy a bag of rice, a bag of flour, and a barrel of soybean oil. You don’t visit relatives empty-handed.

Rice, flour, and oil were the most common gifts in that area.

In the north of town,

The electric tricycle stopped in front of a building’s entrance. The driver even helped unload the goods.

Chen Mo thanked him, then pulled out his phone to call his cousin.

There was no way he could carry all that stuff by himself.

Not long after,

A burly man came bounding down the stairs—it was his cousin, Li Zhengqi.

“Little bro, you didn’t have to bring anything!”

Li Zhengqi easily hoisted the bag of flour onto one shoulder and grabbed the oil barrel with his other hand.

“Don’t carry the rice. I’ll bring it up after I drop this off.”

“Big bro, it’s just a bag of rice. I can handle it.”

Chen Mo chuckled, slung the rice over his shoulder, and followed him upstairs.

“Chen Mo’s here? You silly boy—no need to bring gifts when you visit! Old Li, grab the rice from him—it’s heavy.”

Just as they reached the third floor, his second aunt, Yang Xiuhe, was already standing at the door to welcome them.

“No need to change your shoes—the floor’s not clean anyway.”

Chen Mo was just about to switch shoes when his aunt enthusiastically ushered him inside.

As soon as he sat down on the sofa,

She launched into a barrage of questions:

What kind of work are you doing? Is it tiring? Got a girlfriend yet? … and so on.

Finally,

Chen Mo managed to pull his cousin aside for a private chat.

“Big bro, can I ask you something?”

“What’s up? Why so mysterious?”

Seeing his younger cousin drag him into the bedroom looking all secretive, Li Zhengqi was curious.

“I want to ask about your wife’s sister. She joined a milk tea franchise and ended up losing money. What exactly happened?”

Chen Mo asked directly.

Li Zhengqi froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something.

“My mom told you, didn’t she? Why are you digging into this?”

“I have a friend who’s thinking about investing in a milk tea shop, so I figured I’d help him do a little research—see what pitfalls to avoid.”

Chen Mo casually made up an excuse. He couldn’t exactly say that he was planning to open one himself.

If he did, his family would definitely freak out.

“Oh, I see. But I don’t know the full details. If you really want to know, you should talk to the person it happened to.”

Li Zhengqi scratched his head awkwardly—he hadn’t paid much attention to the matter and didn’t know the ins and outs.

“Alright then, just give me her number.”

Chen Mo hadn’t planned on getting answers here anyway—getting the contact was his real goal.

He could’ve just called directly, but since he was back home, he had to visit some relatives too.

“No need for a number—she’s upstairs. I’ll take you up.”