Chapter 301: Senior Brother’s Clear Self-awareness

Chapter 301: Senior Brother's Clear Self-awareness

Lu Chengwen felt that Hua Xuening was simply too adorable.

He directly grabbed a stack of US dollars and stuffed it into the donation box.

The young girls had never seen someone donate like this before.

That was US dollars—a whole ten thousand US dollars!

The young girl and her companion immediately bowed repeatedly.

"Thank you, sir! You are truly a kind person!"

"Sir, here's a rose for you. I hope it brings you good luck!"

"Sir, you and the lady are such wonderful people. Wishing you health and success in everything!"

Lu Chengwen laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Success, success—I definitely need everything to go smoothly! Hahaha! Let's go, Xuening! Today, all your roses are on me. Everyone in the market gets one!"

Those people bowed repeatedly to express their gratitude.

Lu Chengwen strode toward the farmers' market with great vigor.

Hua Xuening followed beside him, feeling wronged. "So much money—all donated! Do you even know how hard it is to earn that much?"

Lu Chengwen hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "Alright, ten thousand bucks! What can it buy? If it makes people happy, even a hundred thousand is worth it!"

Hua Xuening protested loudly, dissatisfied, "That's ten thousand US dollars! It's enough to buy the best tractor!"

Lu Chengwen was in an exceptionally good mood today.

The gradual delivery of several neighborhoods in Chengwen District had significantly improved the business and livelihood conditions in Snow City.

The government's pressure had eased dramatically.

Previously, large groups of people would often cause disturbances, but now there weren't many left. Most of those remaining were confident they'd soon get their housing, too.

Coming to the farmers' market today was purely a whim of his.

He thought about how, in his previous world, when he delivered food, he often visited places like this.

Fishmongers, butchers, peanut and sunflower seed vendors, spice sellers...

The people here were noisy, the smells were strange, and the place was chaotic and dirty, with a mix of all sorts.

Yet this place was the most down-to-earth, the most vibrant with life.

Returning to such a place now, Lu Chengwen felt like it was a lifetime ago.

As he walked, he grew silent.

Memories of the past flooded his mind, making him feel a bit melancholic.

But seeing people handing out roses everywhere, he smiled contentedly.

The world will get better.

...

Long Aotian entered from another gate and was immediately dumbfounded.

Holding the white rose he had specifically bought, he looked at the sea of white roses in the farmers' market and wanted to cry.

Is heaven deliberately messing with me?

How can I make contact now? Everyone could be an expert sent by the organization!

Luo Shiyin and Qi Meishao were equally stunned.

Qi Meishao approached, "Young Master, this..."

Long Aotian's face darkened. "Let's go in and take a look. We'll split up... Uh, remember the code. We must find that person."

Qi Meishao and Luo Shiyin nodded in agreement, then dispersed into the crowd.

Long Aotian walked into the farmers' market, feeling like he was about to explode.

Everywhere he looked, people had white roses, and many young people were handing them out while collecting donations.

Long Aotian thought, How am I supposed to find anyone now!?

This is like searching for a needle in a haystack!

Out of options, he could only try to distinguish—who looked like a top expert from the organization.

Long Aotian spotted someone—a man wearing a bamboo hat, pulling it low over his face, sitting in a corner, tightly pressing his lips together.

His solitary figure and cold demeanor stood out starkly from the bustling market.

Could it be him?

Long Aotian walked up to him and saw that he was busy cleaning a fish.

Long Aotian crouched down slowly, looked around, and whispered, "I..."

The man raised his head and stared directly at him.

Long Aotian mustered his courage, "I'm an idiot."

The man froze and stared at Long Aotian.

Long Aotian felt incredibly awkward. "And you?"

The man suddenly threw the fish into the basin with a slap. "What's wrong with you? Hey, are you proud of being an idiot? I'm just selling fish! If you want fish, I'll sell you fish. If you want seafood, I'll sell you seafood. Just pay up. What does this have to do with you being an idiot!?"

Long Aotian was so furious he nearly fainted and walked away.

The fish vendor called after him, "Hey! Are you buying fish or not? Even idiots can buy fish!"

Long Aotian didn't dare look back. He just waved his hand and left.

The fish vendor shook his head and sat back down to continue working. "What a weirdo. Idiot."

Long Aotian was sweating buckets, feeling utterly depressed as he looked at the sea of white roses.

But fifty billion was within reach. If he messed this up again, there'd be no way to explain it!

He couldn't explain it to the organization, his subordinates—anyone!

So Long Aotian gritted his teeth and continued searching.

This time, he spotted a butcher—a burly man with rippling muscles, chopping meat with a loud clang.

A cigarette hung from the butcher's lips, smoke swirling around him. His focused gaze and cold aura gave him the appearance of a worldly master.

Long Aotian approached, looked left and right, covered his mouth with one hand, leaned toward the butcher, and startled him.

"I'm an idiot," Long Aotian said softly.

The butcher stared at him for over ten seconds. "I can see that. What do you want?"

Long Aotian awkwardly smiled, "Nothing, never mind."

The butcher grabbed him. "Brother, don't take it so hard. It's not a big deal."

Long Aotian forced a laugh, "Let go. I'm leaving."

"No, no!" The butcher insisted, "You should eat more pork to nourish your brain!"

Long Aotian wanted to kill him.

"I don't eat pork. Goodbye."

The butcher wouldn't let up. "Brother, there are many things in this world we can't control—like the fact that you're an idiot. Don't take it too seriously!"

"I'm fine! I'm okay now..."

"No! You should be more confident in yourself!" The butcher was deeply concerned about Long Aotian's mental state. "You have the courage to admit it loudly without any shame—that's already amazing!"

"You… let go…"

"Brother! I dare say, the courage and clarity you've shown about yourself today surpasses 99.99% of the people in this world! Honestly, I even suspect that you might be the only person on earth who would admit it out loud and generously share it with others!"

"I'm kidding! Let go…"

"Brother! This pork offal, take it, it's my treat! Look at this offal—doesn't it look a bit like your brain?"

Long Aotian roared, "Get lost!"

Long Aotian stormed away from the butcher's stall.

The butcher took the cigarette out of his mouth, watching his back as he left. "What a pitiful guy… sigh."

Long Aotian felt like this wasn't going to work at all!

This… the success rate was way too low!

How long would it take to establish a connection like this?

At that moment, a vegetable vendor caught Long Aotian's eye.

She was chubby, her cheeks were rosy, and she was waving at Long Aotian from a distance.

Her face was full of smiles, looking so kind and friendly.

Could it be… they sent a woman this time?

He better not mess this up.

Long Aotian awkwardly walked over, pretending to browse the vegetables. "Ma'am, how much are these vegetables?"

The lady smiled. "Brother, forget about the vegetables for a moment. Here, take this."

She picked up a white rose from the side and handed it to Long Aotian. "I've been watching you wandering around for a while. Don't know what to eat, huh?"

Long Aotian took the white rose and looked closely at her.

She looked like an ordinary person, not a martial artist at all.

Long Aotian smiled faintly. "You're busy, ma'am. I'm not buying any vegetables. Goodbye."

"Wait!" The woman smiled and said, "Don't you have something to say to me?"

What she meant was, "I gave you a flower, so even if you're not buying vegetables, you should at least say thank you, right?"

But Long Aotian was a little stunned.

From her calling him over, to giving him a rose, and now asking him to say something…

He had to try again!

Long Aotian looked around, then leaned in closer to the lady and said, "Ma'am."

"Yes?"

"I'm an idiot."

The lady was taken aback. "Ah… this… I see…"

Long Aotian squinted at her. "Don't you have something to say to me too?"

The woman opened and closed her mouth for a long time before saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any vegetables suitable for idiots here. I have no idea what idiots usually eat…"

"I'd love to help you out, but… your situation… it's the first time I've encountered it in my career…"

Long Aotian felt utterly frustrated. "It's fine, ma'am. You carry on."

"Hey!" The lady called out to him. She wiped her hands, pulled out her phone, and said, "Can you say it again? I've never met anyone as… candid as you before. I want to post it on my social media."

Long Aotian glared at her, trying his best to resist the urge to slap her on the spot.

The lady raised her phone high, making a peace sign as she started recording. "Dear viewers, take a look! Today, while selling vegetables, I met this brother who openly declared himself an idiot! Wow, he's so brave, so straightforward, so…"

She turned back, looking at Long Aotian's resentful gaze. "Brother, give us a smile and say hi to everyone!"

Long Aotian turned to leave, but the lady grabbed him. "Brother, say it again, please! My chance to go viral depends on you…"

Long Aotian left, and the woman kept recording. "I swear, he really said he's an idiot just now. But now he's mad and walking away. So, what did we learn today, folks? Even idiots have dignity…"

Lu Chengwen never expected to run into Luo Shiyin at the market.

The two stood amidst the bustling crowd, speechless.

Lu Chengwen walked up to her. "You've lost weight."

Luo Shiyin lowered her head. "Please… stop contacting me. I can't… I've already made a terrible mistake. I can't keep making it worse…"

Hua Xuening called out, "Shiyin, is Chengwen here?"

Luo Shiyin felt helpless. "I can't tell them."

Hua Xuening, quite certain, said to Lu Chengwen, "So, he's here."

Luo Shiyin smiled bitterly. "Xuening, sometimes, I really envy you."

Hua Xuening was stunned. "Envy me? For what? I'm so dumb."

Luo Shiyin held Hua Xuening's hand. "If Chengwen bullies you, tell me. I'll beat him up for you."

"No way! He's so good to me! It's just…"

"What?"

Hua Xuening hesitated. "I think… I don't know."

Lu Chengwen said, "Shiyin, don't you feel like… ever since we got together, our strength has improved a lot?"

Luo Shiyin nodded. "Yes, I'm close to breaking through to Mid Level Four. But… I've hit a bottleneck."

Lu Chengwen said excitedly, "How about tonight? Come find me, and we'll break through Level Four together. What do you think?"

Luo Shiyin stared at him, shocked. "Lu Chengwen, you… you've been taking advantage of me all this time, just to… gain power? Ha, I really am foolish to have thought…"

"No, that's not it…"

Luo Shiyin turned her head away. "It doesn't matter anymore. I should've known better. Any man who gets close to me either wants dual cultivation or…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Actually, I…"

Luo Shiyin turned around. "Next time we meet, Lu Chengwen, we'll be enemies!"

"Hey! Shiyin, you…"

Hua Xuening smiled. "She's already gone!"

Lu Chengwen, feeling utterly defeated, stood to the side, playing with the white rose in his hand. "I screwed up again… I… I'm just an idiot."

At that moment, someone came closer, lifting their hat slightly and holding up a white rose. "Me too."