Chapter 6: Jiang Qin Will Definitely Regret It

"Siqi, why are you crying?"

"Jiang Qin has changed. He would never have treated me like this before. I told him not to leave, but he insisted on going, just to spite me!"

Chu Siqi gritted her teeth, tears welling up in her eyes, her chest heaving as she grew more and more aggrieved. From childhood, she had always been everyone's darling—doted on by her parents, spoiled by her teachers, and surrounded by people who revolved around her. But just moments ago, she had caught a flicker of annoyance in Jiang Qin's eyes, and it hurt her deeply.

Chu Siqi considered herself a kind girl. Even when she rejected Jiang Qin, she didn't shut him down completely. She had encouraged him to keep trying, giving him warmth and hope. But him? He didn't show the slightest bit of gratitude and even looked at her with disgust. Didn't he realize how outrageous he was being?

Back in the day, he used to message her constantly, thrilled even if she replied with a simple "oh." Now, when she took the initiative to talk to him, he still wasn't satisfied!

"Huiru, even though I rejected him, he just stopped chasing me the moment he said he wouldn't. Don't you think that's too much? I clearly gave him hope!"

"Uh…"

Wang Huiru didn't know how to respond.

Logically speaking, after Jiang Qin confessed and got rejected, deciding to give up was a perfectly normal reaction. But Chu Siqi kept talking about "hope" this and "hope" that—what did she even mean?

"Are you starting to like Jiang Qin? Maybe you just wanted to test his resolve, thinking if he persisted a bit longer, you'd agree to be with him?"

Chu Siqi immediately cut her off. "How could that be? I admit I have some feelings for him, but it's not that serious. At the very least, he'd have to chase me for a lot longer!"

Wang Huiru fell silent for a moment. "How long is 'a lot longer' supposed to be?"

"I don't know, but he'd have to show me his greatest sincerity—until I'm so moved that I can't help but consider him."

"Siqi, it's fine to ask him to keep trying, but have you thought about what happens if you meet someone you like even more later on?"

"Of course, I'd choose the person I like more."

"And what about Jiang Qin then?"

Chu Siqi thought for a while before answering, "Then it'd just be a case of fate not being on our side. You can't blame me for that."

Wang Huiru felt a chill run down her spine. "Don't you think Jiang Qin would be pretty pitiful if that happened? After chasing you for so long, only to see you end up with someone else?"

"What can I do about that? I can't just give up someone I like more just because he stuck around longer, right?"

Wang Huiru's mind was a mess. On the surface, Chu Siqi's logic seemed reasonable, but the more she thought about it, the more problematic it became. Wasn't this just stringing someone along?

Still, she and Chu Siqi were best friends. From the standpoint of loyalty, she couldn't take Jiang Qin's side—she had to stand firmly with her friend.

"Don't worry, Siqi. I think Jiang Qin's just pretending."

"Pretending?"

"He's probably just confused after your rejection and feeling a bit humiliated, so he's acting cold. But I bet he won't last a few days before he comes running back to you."

Hearing this, Chu Siqi stopped crying, and her usual haughty demeanor returned. "Even if he does regret it, I'm definitely not giving him another chance!"

Wang Huiru nodded vigorously. "Right, you absolutely shouldn't give him another chance!"

"So when will he regret it?"

"Do you really want to see him regret it?" Wang Huiru couldn't help but ask.

Chu Siqi thought about it and nodded seriously. She felt Jiang Qin was awful for toying with her emotions and pride. Only if he came back regretting everything and she rejected him coldly would she feel satisfied.

Wang Huiru sighed inwardly, unsure of how to respond. She thought it'd be best if Jiang Qin never looked back and got out while he still could. Otherwise, who knew how messy things might get?

What she didn't realize was that Jiang Qin had already seen the ending. He had witnessed how the joys of his youth were discarded like trash, which was exactly why he no longer had any affection for Chu Siqi.

Love is like that—there's no reasoning with it. You can love someone for years, cater to their every whim, and care for them tirelessly without even holding their hand. Then one day, someone else shows up, says a few sweet words, and wins all their affection.

Trying to reason with love? It'll just slap you in the face.

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin returned to his neighborhood, parked his car, and walked to the community garden. He sat on a stone bench and began to ponder—not about Chu Siqi, whom he didn't care about at all, but about his first pot of gold.

The summer vacation wasn't exactly long, but it wasn't short either. In theory, there was time to take things slow and not rush. But starting a business was something better done sooner rather than later, and the issue of securing his first chunk of capital was urgent. He needed to explore every possibility.

After mulling it over, he figured asking his parents might be the easiest route. So, he went upstairs and found Ms. Yuan Youqin, who was enjoying her weekend.

"Mom, how much savings do we have? Can you lend me some? A few tens of thousands would do—hundreds of thousands would be even better."

Ms. Yuan Youqin rummaged under the table and handed him two mahjong tiles—one for 80,000 and one for 90,000. "Spend it wisely."

The corner of Jiang Qin's mouth twitched. "Mom, you won't even give me two 90,000 tiles?"

"Get lost. What savings do we have? Even if we sold you, you wouldn't fetch hundreds of thousands."

At that moment, Jiang Zhenghong looked up at Jiang Qin, seeming like he wanted to say something but hesitating. His breathing grew slightly heavier. Seeing this, Jiang Qin's eyes lit up.

As expected, the old man still had some tricks up his sleeve. With that look, his dad definitely had some secret stash and was debating whether to lend it to him.

"Dad, got something to say to me?"

"Never mind, it's nothing. Go play."

"It's fine, Dad. Stop pretending. Let's lay the cards on the table—I'm ready."

"Uh… son, could you get me a cup of tea?"

"????"

Three minutes later, after pouring the tea, Jiang Qin returned to his room, utterly deflated. He cursed himself for being foolish enough to pin his hopes on his dad.

Mr. Jiang Zhenghong was famously henpecked. If he had more than five bucks in his private stash, he'd be too nervous to sleep. How could he possibly lend out tens of thousands?

Big ventures were out of the question, but small businesses were still an option. Small profits were still profits, and they could add up over time. Besides, starting a business was always toughest at the beginning—relying on others was indeed a bit unrealistic.

Borrow money? Everyone around him was a high schooler—having five bucks in their pocket was a big deal. There was no way to borrow much.

Take out a loan? It was an option worth considering, but the process was too complicated. Plus, in his past life, he'd been crushed by mortgage payments, so he had an instinctive aversion to loans.

Jiang Qin took off his clothes, climbed into bed, and decided to sleep on it. Tomorrow, he'd look for opportunities elsewhere. At the very least, he needed to double the 700 yuan he had on hand.

Reborn and starting a business—it sounded easy, but it was far from simple.