Long-lost happiness

"Hey, Wu Fatty, you alright?" Early the next morning, I dialed the number Wu Tian had given me.

"I'm alright, man. Sorry about last night—I drank too much and even had you cover the bill," Wu Fatty said sheepishly.

"No worries, I saw you were out cold and didn't bother waking you up," I replied. Though, in reality, I tried calling him for a while but ended up paying when I couldn't get through to him.

"Heh. Let's go out sometime, just the two of us. Don't bring Zhao Yanyan along—hard to talk with her around," he suggested.

I agreed casually, still puzzled about whether he liked Yanyan or not. Sometimes, this guy could be pretty amusing.

"Who are you calling?" Yanyan sat up beside me, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Just called Wu Fatty to check if he survived the night," I said, putting the phone back on the bedside table.

"Oh." Yanyan murmured, cuddling back into my arms to continue sleeping. Suddenly, she sat up again and exclaimed, "Wait, I didn't go home last night?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Oh no, I'm dead! Grandpa must be worried sick!" She covered her face in distress.

"Don't worry, I already called your dad last night and told him you were staying over at my place." I patted her bare back reassuringly.

"Oh…then I'll just sleep a little longer." She murmured and snuggled back onto me, falling asleep again.

I dozed off with her, only waking up much later to find the sun high in the sky. Yanyan was already awake, watching me with her big, curious eyes.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I glanced at the clock and realized it was past eleven.

"I didn't want to. I just love lying here with you," she replied playfully.

"Aren't you worried about missing school?" I asked.

"When I woke up, I was already late—what's a few more minutes?" Yanyan had clearly picked up some of my laid-back habits.

After getting up and taking a quick shower together, we checked out and strolled down the street. By late January, the whole city of Songjiang was buzzing with the New Year spirit; stalls selling holiday goods and fireworks lined every street corner.

"Look, there's someone selling candied hawthorns! I want some!" Yanyan pointed to a vendor nearby.

"Alright, I'll get you some." I fished out a fifty-cent coin from my pocket and walked over.

"One stick of candied hawthorns, please," I handed the coin to the vendor.

As he looked up, we both froze.

"Chen Yong!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing selling candied hawthorns?"

"Just trying to make a little extra money! I'm really sorry, but the money you lent me before… I ended up losing it all to Yang Kaiyuan, so now I'm out here selling these," he said, embarrassed, handing me two sticks.

"One is enough. You keep the rest to sell," I said, taking just one stick.

"Don't worry about it; these aren't worth much—I make them myself," Chen Yong said, smiling. "By the way, Wei'er mentioned you'd be visiting us tonight?"

"Yes, we arranged it yesterday," I confirmed.

After chatting briefly with Chen Yong, I quickly took my leave—Zhao Yanyan was still waiting for her candied hawthorns.

Back at school, I tracked down Guo Qing and told him about the issue with Yang Kaiyuan. Guo Qing, already holding a grudge against Yang Shuguang, was immediately enraged. He picked up his phone, called over forty of his guys, and they all armed themselves with cleavers, axes, iron rods, and stormed off toward Songjiang First People's Hospital.

The security guard at the hospital entrance, seeing this intimidating crew, didn't dare utter a word and promptly slipped into the nearby duty room. At the front desk, Guo Qing easily intimidated the staff into revealing Yang Kaiyuan's room number.

For the past few days, Yang Kaiyuan had been living in luxury. The hospital's premium ward was no joke—not only was it a private room, but it had its own bathroom and shower. With someone covering his medical expenses, Yang Kaiyuan didn't hold back on his spending, savoring every amenity. At that moment, he was in bed flirting with a girl he'd met at a nightclub, when suddenly, the door was kicked open.

Startled by the sudden noise, Yang Kaiyuan looked up in shock.

"Get that girl out of here," Guo Qing commanded with a dark expression.

"G-Guo… Brother Guo!" Yang Kaiyuan stammered. He knew exactly who Guo Qing was. Although he'd managed to avoid him up to now thanks to his father's connections, he also knew that, when push came to shove, these gang members could still come after him, no matter who he was.

"So you still remember to call me 'brother'? I thought you'd gotten yourself beaten senseless." Guo Qing sneered.

"N-no way, Brother Guo! Songjiang isn't that big—who doesn't know you around here?" Yang Kaiyuan didn't know Guo Qing's intentions and kept his words careful.

"So you're not stupid, huh? If you're not, why on earth would you pull such a reckless stunt? You got a death wish or something, trying to extort the brother of my boss's future girlfriend?" Guo Qing barked, delivering a sharp kick to the hospital bed.

"I-I didn't know your boss's relatives!" Yang Kaiyuan stuttered, his head spinning from Guo Qing's furious rant.

"What, you extort so many people you can't even keep them straight?" Guo Qing retorted.

"No, no, I don't extort anyone! Besides, extortion is illegal," Yang Kaiyuan hurriedly tried to explain.

"I don't have time for your excuses. Chen Yong—ring a bell? By tomorrow, get your dad to cough up fifty thousand yuan and send it to his family. Then, we're done." Guo Qing said coldly.

"Alright, alright! Fifty thousand—no problem!" Yang Kaiyuan nodded instantly.

"Good. Alright, boys, go give him a little 'massage,'" Guo Qing instructed his crew.

"Wait, Brother Guo! I already agreed to pay, so why are they coming at me?" Yang Kaiyuan stared at the thugs in terror.

"Originally, I planned to finish you off today. But since you agreed to pay, I'll let you live. You die, and who do I collect from? Still, you've got to give the boys some fun—you can't let them come here for nothing. Oh, and tell Yang Shuguang that if I don't see the money by tomorrow, he'll be next." Guo Qing added.

"Do whatever you need to do, just don't kill him," Guo Qing said, then walked out of the hospital room without looking back.

Yang Shuguang was left to swallow his anger, unable to retaliate even though he desperately wanted to. He'd never expected Liu Lei would go to Guo Qing to help the Chen family. He had thought Chen Yong and Liu Lei were merely acquaintances and that asking Chen Yong to pay him some compensation was no big deal; legally speaking, he was within his rights to seek damages for his medical expenses.

However, just when he thought he would get his money, his son had been beaten severely instead. According to the doctor, Yang Kaiyuan would likely be bedridden for at least six months, and even then, it was uncertain if he'd fully recover.

Yang Shuguang was furious and called up some of his old contacts, asking if they'd help him out. But upon learning that the target was Guo Qing, each of them shook their heads and refused. Guo's name carried serious weight in the underworld of Songjiang, and no one wanted to provoke him just to do Yang Shuguang a favor, especially when they weren't even certain they could win.

Feeling helpless, Yang Shuguang cursed his recent demotion. Just a few days ago, these people would have been calling him "Brother Yang," flattering him and begging him to join them for drinks. Now that he'd lost his position, all those former "friends" had turned their backs.

At first, he considered reporting the incident to the police, since Guo Qing's actions were clearly extortion. But then he thought about his own past deeds, realizing the report would likely be in vain. In the end, he had no choice but to head to the bank.

As the school bell rang, I briefly explained to Zhao Yanyan where I was going, not hiding anything from her. She just reminded me to come home early, and to call her no matter how late I returned.

"Liu Lei!" Chen Weier called out happily from a short distance as I walked out of the school.

"Don't you seniors have evening classes?" I asked, surprised to see her with her schoolbag.

"I took the night off!" she replied, blushing.

"Are we heading to your place now?" I checked my watch—it was only 4:30. The spicy hot pot stand her family ran probably wasn't closed yet.

"Uh... how about we just walk around for a bit first?" she suggested softly.

I felt a small thrill; Weier was actually inviting me to go shopping with her.

"Sure! Where do you want to go?" I asked, smiling.

"Let's go near the department store?" she asked, a bit shyly.

"Sounds great!" The department store was in Songjiang's commercial district, surrounded by brand-name clothing stores that many girls loved to visit. I hadn't expected Weier to like it, but I supposed it made sense—after all, most girls loved beautiful things.

The department store was about a ten-minute walk from the school. We walked side by side, close but not quite touching. I stayed close, and as we crossed the street, I seized the chance to "accidentally" brush my hand against hers.

Weier immediately jumped to the side, her face reddening, but when she looked up and saw my calm expression, she shook her head, smiling at herself as if she'd overreacted.

I noticed her expression, knowing that things between us were already closer than they'd been that day we went to the bookstore. Even though I had my intentions with Weier, I knew I couldn't rush things.

"Let's check out that store!" Weier said excitedly, pointing at the big sign for the "Ladies' Boutique" and skipping ahead.

"Sure!" I replied, watching the lively figure in front of me. Maybe this was the real Chen Weier—carefree, just like other girls her age who love to shop, try on beautiful clothes, and dress up.

"Liu Lei, do you think this outfit looks nice?" Weier asked excitedly, pointing at a white suit.

"Hmm… I think it would look even better on you!" I replied.

"Really?" she beamed. All girls love to hear approval from someone they like.

"Of course! Why don't you try it on?" I encouraged her. The fitted outfit looked incredibly stylish, and I could only imagine how stunning Weier would look in it.

"Oh, I can't afford this!" She pointed to the price tag and stuck out her tongue. The tag read 698 yuan, almost as much as a month's salary for an average worker.

"You can try it on even if you're not buying!" I continued to encourage her.

"Hm… I don't know if that's okay," she murmured, hesitating but still staring at the suit.

"It's fine! Look, lots of people here try things on without buying." I reasoned.

"Well… alright, then!" Weier, though wanting to try it on, was held back by her reserved nature. But with a little encouragement, she finally gathered the courage.

After a few minutes, she opened the fitting room door and stepped out.

I could hardly believe my eyes. The elegant, graceful figure before me was worlds away from the simple Weier I knew. This was a stunning transformation—pure, refined, beautiful beyond words. Even though I was used to seeing beautiful girls, I was taken aback.

After the momentary shock, I gathered myself and said sincerely, "Weier, you look beautiful! This outfit seems like it was made just for you."

Her cheeks flushed, radiant with happiness.

"Darling, do you think I look good in this?" a girl's voice suddenly interrupted. Another girl about Weier's age stood outside another fitting room, trying on a jacket.

"You look amazing!" the boy next to her replied.

"But this is too expensive," she said, shaking her head.

"No price is too high if it's for you. I'll buy it for you!" he responded.

"You're the best!" she smiled happily, radiating joy.

As the couple walked away, Weier whispered softly, "She's so lucky. Love feels like such a luxury for me." I saw the sadness wash over her face as memories of the sacrifices she had made for her family surfaced. She turned and went back to the fitting room, taking off the outfit that seemed so perfect for her but felt impossibly out of reach.

Her words were quiet, but I heard them clearly. I waved over the sales assistant and handed her my bank card.

When we left the boutique, Weier cast a curious look at the bag I was holding, but her mood was low, so she didn't ask any questions.