Chapter 63: Ah, So Delicious~

“So you’re really trying to force me into farming and reforming myself, huh?”

“Well, I won’t! I just won’t!”

“I, the great Feng Xiao, weigh 140 jin, and 139 of that is pure rebellion.”

“Hmph!”

“Farming? Not happening. Not in this lifetime!”

After his dramatic rant, Feng Xiao grabbed the suitcase that had been thrown out with him and marched off with pride and indignation.

So what if he had no home to go back to? So what if his bank cards were frozen? He still had his bros!

Worst case, he’d crash at a buddy’s place for ten days or so.

And while he was at it, he’d shut off his phone and pull a disappearing act.

Let’s see who panics first.

And who gets all heartbroken?

Hmph!

With that thought, Feng Xiao hailed a cab and headed straight to Xu Ming’s place.

The Xu family had built their fortune in the department store business and now owned several malls in Jiang City.

They had always maintained a working relationship with the Feng family.

That’s how Feng Xiao and Xu Ming first met—through family business ties.

The two had a decent relationship.

But when Feng Xiao arrived at the Xu residence, he immediately sensed something was off.

Even his good buddy Xu Ming looked distant, with a cold glint in his eyes.

“Old Xu, what’s going on?”

“Don’t tell me your stepmother’s stirring up trouble again?”

“I’m running away from home. I can’t stay in that house another day,” Xu Ming said, face cold.

“What? Seriously, Old Xu? If you just up and leave, won’t that be handing your stepmother and her illegitimate kids exactly what they want?”

“I said, I’m running away from home!” Xu Ming repeated firmly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll run away with you, happy now?”

With that, the two of them left the Xu residence, one after the other.

Feng Xiao grabbed his still-warm suitcase from the villa gate and followed Xu Ming as they wandered off.

Sigh, Xu Ming wasn’t going to be much help.

So now what?

Maybe he should try Fatty Huang.

That guy was always the most loyal of the bunch!

Thinking of this, Feng Xiao pulled out his phone and called Huang He.

But Huang He told him that, at his mom’s request, he was currently tagging along behind Lu Jianshen, playing the role of loyal lackey.

Apparently, they were at a farm buying baby chicks and ducklings.

After hanging up, he even excitedly sent Feng Xiao a video of himself playing with the chicks.

“Old Feng, look! These little ducklings and chicks are so cute, ahhh!”

In the video, Fatty Huang looked like an invading soldier in a village, wildly chasing after the fluffy chicks.

He was running and laughing like a total idiot.

Feng Xiao was speechless: “…”

Fatty Huang’s IQ really did deserve its spot at the bottom of F6.

“??? Fatty Huang, did your mom kick you out because she doesn’t like you?”

“Why are you working outside and having such a blast doing it?” Feng Xiao asked, confused.

“Old Feng, you don’t get it. My mom said I should hang out with smart people more!” Fatty Huang replied with a voice message.

“What? Your mom thinks if you hang out with smart people, you’ll get smarter too?”

“No, what she meant was, I should learn from Brother Shen. Whatever he does, I’ll do too.”

“Who knows, I might get lucky and strike gold.”

“After all, Brother Shen is the son of the richest man. He’s probably inherited some of that billionaire brainpower.”

“I thought about it and figured my mom had a point.”

“Don’t you guys think that mountain of Brother Shen’s sister is a great investment opportunity?”

“I’ve decided. I’m paying for all the baby animals Brother Shen’s buying today!” Fatty Huang declared generously.

“…” Feng Xiao.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Fatty Huang was being an idiot or a genius.

“Alright, gotta go. I’m heading into the mountains with Brother Shen to deliver the animals. Bye!”

With that, Fatty Huang hung up.

“……” Feng Xiao and Xu Ming were left speechless, then exchanged a look.

Along the way, Feng Xiao had already vented all his frustrations about his parents to Xu Ming.

Xu Ming had also shared some of the favoritism and grievances he faced at home.

So now, both of them had sworn: they would not go back home. Absolutely not.

Which brought up the next problem—where to go now?

“I’ll try Da Cong.”

Xu Ming called Zhou Sicong, but couldn’t get through.

Knowing Zhou’s usual antics, he was probably all dolled up, speeding around in his sports car, hitting on college girls.

Once that guy started flirting, he completely forgot his bros.

Tch, scumbag!

He’s bound to get burned by a woman someday!

“What now? Only Old Mo’s left. Let’s hope he comes through.”

Feng Xiao then called their last hope, Mo Chenjing.

Only to find out that Mo had gone on a business trip with his dad the night before.

“That bastard Mo definitely bailed early because he was afraid Brother Shen would drag him into digging holes again today.”

“Agreed,” Xu Ming nodded.

“But hey, at least Old Mo just sent me 100,000 yuan on WeChat.”

“Come on, let’s check into a hotel and grab something to eat.”

“We’ll figure out the rest later.” With a wave of his hand, Feng Xiao led the charge to a five-star hotel in Jiang City.

But when they got there and tried to pay, Feng Xiao realized…

The money in his WeChat account couldn’t be used?

And all his cards had really been frozen by his heartless parents?

So now, he was completely broke?

He couldn’t even afford a meal?

Maybe… try a quick online loan?

He gave it a shot.

But the moment the loan money hit his bank account, it was frozen too.

Feng Xiao exploded: “Damn it!”

He was about to lose it, seriously!

(｀Δ′)ゞ

“Old Xu, you try.”

“I think… maybe we should just go help out on Brother Shen’s sister’s mountain.”

“Do some work, get some food.”

“The food at that orphanage is pretty good.”

“And the kids there are cute too.”

“Way better than the vibe at my house,” Xu Ming suggested.

“No way, no way! I’d rather starve to death than mooch off their orphanage food.”

“Where’s my dignity then? My pride?”

With that, Feng Xiao snatched Xu Ming’s phone to try applying for a loan.

Only to find that poor Xu Ming had also had his cards frozen by his dad, who turned into a stepdad the moment he got a new wife.

“…………” The two pitiful souls, united in misery, clung to each other and cried.

Waaah, we’re so hungry.

Two hours later.

At the orphanage gates.

Dragging their suitcases, Feng Xiao and Xu Ming approached the security guard, Yan Fang.

“Hello, we’re friends of Director Lu. We were here yesterday.”

“Yes, I remember. Are you here to see the Director?”

“She took everyone up the mountain to plant trees.”

“Why don’t you give her a call?” Yan Fang suggested.

“We… don’t have Director Lu’s number. Only her brother Lu Jianshen’s,” Feng Xiao said awkwardly.

“Then I’ll call her.”

“May I ask what business you have with the Director?”

“We’re here to help her plant trees. For free,” Feng Xiao said, face stiff, enunciating each word.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Xu Ming nodded.

“???” Yan Fang.

These rich city kids really had the weirdest ideas. Totally incomprehensible.

She called Lu Qingqiang and explained the situation.

“The Director said it’s almost noon. They’ll be back soon, so you don’t need to go up the mountain.”

“She said you can look around the orphanage first. If you’re hungry, go eat at the canteen.”

“If you really want to help, you can carry and drill wood in the afternoon.”

With that, she let them in.

The two of them headed straight for the canteen.

Inside, Master Zhao and his new assistant Liu Xiang were busy working.

When they saw someone walk in—and familiar faces at that—they greeted them.

“Master Zhao, is there food? We’re starving,” Feng Xiao asked shamelessly.

“Yes, for lunch we’ve got noodles. There’s tomato and egg over noodles, minced pork with soybean paste over noodles, shredded pork in garlic sauce over noodles, sour soup noodles, spinach noodles with hot oil, and stir-fried hand-pulled noodles with egg. Which one do you want?”

“Minced pork with soybean paste over noodles!” said Feng Xiao.

“Sour soup noodles,” said Xu Ming.

“Alright, Xiangzi, make them each a bowl of noodles.”

“Got it, Uncle.”

Five minutes later, as he slurped down his noodles, Feng Xiao exclaimed, “Ah, so good!”

— Translator’s Notes —

– F6: F6 is the name of the friend group consisting of six members: Feng Xiao, Xu Ming, Huang He (Fatty Huang), Zhou Sicong (Da Cong), Mo Chenjing (Old Mo), and Lu Jianshen (Brother Shen).