NOVEL NEXT Xu Lin and Li Bin left the school and headed towards Ma Zhiyu’s house.
Ma Zhiyu’s family runs a fruit shop, and their household conditions are actually quite decent.
However, his parents are very busy, so they essentially let him do his own thing, and they don’t get too upset about his academic performance. Initially, they thought he wouldn’t get into high school, so they went straight into selling fruit.
This is quite different from most parents who want their children to study hard and go to college.
But for Ma Zhiyu, he’s quite relaxed about it. He figured if he couldn’t get into college, he’ll just go back to selling fruit.
This is also where the difference lies between Li Bin and Ma Zhiyu. Both are average students, but Li Bin is at least considering going to college, while Ma Zhiyu has basically given up.
They rode their bikes for half an hour and arrived at a fruit shop called “Ma’s Fruit Shop” near the Linshui Bus Station.
At that moment, a chubby man in a green coat was bargaining with a few customers. “If you want 10 kilograms, I’ll give it to you at 1.5 yuan per kilogram. 5 kilograms for 2 yuan per kilogram. There’s nowhere cheaper around here.”
“Alright, give me 10 kilograms. How much for the pomelos?”
“One pomelo for 10 yuan, about 3 kilograms each, all about the same size.”
“I’ll take one.”
While packing the items, the chubby man, who was Ma Zhiyu’s father, spotted them and waved. “School is over, and Ma Zhiyu hasn’t come back. No, why didn’t he come back with you?”
“He didn’t go to school today.”
“This brat, doesn’t want to study anymore! Wasting money!”
“Uncle, we’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait a moment, take two pomelos!”
“No, no, you’re selling things, we can’t take them for free,” Xu Lin and Li Bin both quickly declined.
But the other party directly grabbed a bag, ran over to them, stared at them aggressively, and looked very fierce. “Don’t make uncle angry, take it, it’s not much money, just come by next time if you want to eat fruit.”
“Thank you, uncle.”
“By the way, if you find Ma Zhiyu, tell him to hurry back home!”
“Okay.”
With that, the two of them left the shop and continued on their way to the internet cafe where Ma Zhiyu liked to go.
“Actually, Uncle Ma is a pretty good person.”
“Yeah, did you see the things on the wall inside?” Xu Lin said, leaving Li Bin puzzled.
“What things?”
“On the wall hung a certificate, Ma Zhiyu’s certificate, without a speck of dust. It seems to be from elementary school. Do you think his parents really don’t want him to study well?”
With Xu Lin’s words, Li Bin trembled, recalling how Uncle Ma scolded Ma Zhiyu just now, perhaps that’s just wanting the best for him.
He also remembered when he didn’t perform well in exams, how his parents reacted, and he felt angry. He thought he was working hard, yet they still scolded him. But now he realized, maybe he wasn’t working hard enough, and they were doing it for his own good.
“Xu Lin, I think I should work harder too. If you can get into the top 50 of the whole school, I’ll aim for the top 100 even if I’m a bit slower.”
“You’ll definitely succeed if you work hard,” Xu Lin smiled. “If you really persevere, you can make it through senior year and get into a university.”
“Really?”
“But you need to truly persevere.”
As the two chatted, they entered a hidden internet cafe in an old residential area, mostly filled with junior and senior high school students.
The cafe manager recognized Li Bin and greeted him, “We got a new machine recently, how many hours do you want today?”
“No, no, we’re here to find Ma Zhiyu. Is he here?”
“That kid came in the afternoon, with a girl, quite the looker.”
“Big brother Xu, where are they now?”
[T/N: Here ” Big brother Xu” is addressed at the cafe manager.]
“They might still be in the private room, upstairs, room 15. You can go and check.”
“Alright, thanks, big brother.”
As they passed through the smoky first floor, the second floor instantly became cleaner and quieter, but the price had doubled from 1.5 to 3 yuan.
Xu Lin also remembered that before his rebirth, this underground internet cafe was gone, but the owner had opened a legitimate one, charging 4 yuan per hour.
The two arrived at room 15, and before they could knock, the door opened, and a girl wearing a tank top and tight jeans stepped out.
She was a bit older than them, with dyed golden hair. Though not as stunning as Ji Yun and the others, she was still quite beautiful.
Xu Lin and Li Bin instantly understood, this must be Ma Zhiyu’s girlfriend, so they called out to him inside.
“Ma Zhiyu?”
“Hey? Who… How did you guys come in?!”
Ma Zhiyu poked his head out from inside, still holding a cigarette in his mouth. Seeing the two people, his expression instantly became somber.
“Is it Teacher or Dad who sent you to find me?”
“We came on our own,” Xu Lin said, walking straight in, and the girl glanced at Li Bin and Xu Lin as well.
“Your friends?”
“Yeah, my buddies. Put on a coat.”
“Okay~ I’ll listen to you.”
Ma Zhiyu smiled and then entered the private room. Seeing Xu Lin and Li Bin’s serious expressions, he felt a bit nervous, but after a few seconds, he steadied himself.
“If you guys came to find me on your own, it wouldn’t be to persuade me to go to school, would it?”
“Let’s not talk about that for now. We’re mainly concerned about you… and that ex-boyfriend of hers.” Li Bin looked towards the blonde girl standing outside the door, deliberately not coming in to disturb them.
“Li Bin, Xu Lin, you don’t need to worry about this. Don’t get involved in trouble. Just focus on your studies, especially you, Xu Lin, don’t disappoint your parents.”
“Ma Zhiyu, don’t be like this. Let’s talk about whether you consider us friends, as brothers?” Xu Lin didn’t care about that, stood up directly, his tone calm but imposing, leaving both Ma Zhiyu and Li Bin stunned.
But the next moment, Ma Zhiyu also took a deep breath. “Just leave me alone, okay?”
“I don’t care if even you don’t care~” Xu Lin also said teasingly, Ma Zhiyu rushed directly to Xu Lin, and Li Bin quickly stood up.
“Hey hey, let’s talk it out.”
“I know you guys mean well for me, but you don’t need to get involved in these matters.” Ma Zhiyu waved his hand and was pulled back to his seat by Li Bin.
“Is there anything I can’t handle? Do you need money or manpower?”
Xu Lin was also speaking very seriously, which made Ma Zhiyu want to laugh a little.
“What can an ordinary student like you do?”
“Don’t worry about me. Can you first tell me about your situation? Just sum it up.”
Seeing this guy so stubborn, Xu Lin also changed his approach, his tone softened a bit, and he no longer pressured him.
“It’s useless to say it, but let me put it this way: I don’t plan to go to school anymore. I plan to work for a while, then take Lu Man back to meet my parents, and then get married.”
“If you’re simply getting married, we naturally congratulate you. After all, everyone has their own choices in life. If you don’t want to study and prefer to work, we support you.”
“But I believe there’s something else.”
“Xu Lin, you’re really smart… Anyway, let me tell you, this matter goes back to over a month ago.”