Chapter 28: Masochistic Tendencies

How could she possibly make that connection? Even if I were to join a club, I wouldn't bother with the Taekwondo club; it’s too much of a hassle, always dragging members in for training at the crack of dawn or late at night.

"Not interested. If you keep pestering me, don't blame me for going to the school administration to report you for harassment," I said.

"How can you be like this? What era are we living in, and you’re still resorting to tattling?" Li Yifeng’s face darkened instantly. She had been given a stern dressing-down by the school administration last time.

"You’ve got that wrong. It doesn't matter what era we’re in—it’s not about the method being new, but whether it works." I didn't know what had gotten into this girl. She had apologized last time, only for me to ignore her, and here she was again. Could it be she has a masochistic streak? Did she actually enjoy the feeling of being bullied? It wasn't impossible! Many people nowadays are pampered from childhood, used to everything going their way, so when they are suddenly criticized, they find it rather novel.

"If you dare to tattle, see if I don't drag you onto the school forum and have every student there judge you," Li Yifeng said, hands on her hips, clearly infuriated.

"Do whatever you want!" I dropped that line and turned around to head back to the dorm.

...

The incense burner arrived on the fourth day. A burner about a meter long and 1.4 meters high was transported to the edge of the school lake. It weighed 1.6 tons. In the end, it took a crane and a dozen people to help maneuver it onto that large rock. I won't go into the twists and turns of that ordeal.

I took a red silk ribbon and wrapped it around the rock. Then, I inserted three sticks of incense into the burner—paying respects not to ghosts or spirits, but to heaven and earth. I spent the entire day busy with this.

It wasn't until evening that all the trivial tasks were finished. The school leaders had booked a private room outside the campus to treat me and the old man to a meal.

"Master Zhang, Mr. Jiang, thank you both so much for your help with this matter!" One of the school leaders raised his glass and clinked it with mine and the old man's. This leader was surnamed Huang, the vice principal in charge of general affairs, security, and logistics. Let's call him Principal Huang.

"Principal Huang is too kind. It was all in a day's work," I said with a smile.

"Indeed, you are a credit to our Capital University—young and promising," Principal Huang praised. "If you ever have any problems or run into any trouble at school in the future, feel free to come see me directly."

With those words, I effectively had a "get out of jail free" card at school. As long as I didn't do anything truly outrageous, I could practically walk sideways through campus from now on.

The banquet was lively, with toasts flowing freely. This Vice Principal Huang was remarkably bold when it came to drinking. After a few rounds, I couldn't handle any more and kept fading out, leaving the old man to hold down the fort.

When I woke up the next day, I was lying in a somewhat familiar room, though for the life of me, I couldn't recall where I had seen it before. There was a faint scent on the quilt, like a girl's room. I propped myself up with one hand. I forgot exactly how late I drank last night, but my tolerance is terrible; I passed out cold, and I had no idea where the old man had dumped me.

My clothes were still on, so I put on some slippers and walked out. Pushing open the door, I saw a profile I was extremely familiar with sitting on the sofa—Liu Qingya.

That old man, why did he bring me here? This was Liu Qingya’s home. I had helped her tidy it up once before; perhaps she had added more furniture or changed the layout later, which was why it felt familiar but I hadn't immediately recognized it.

"You're awake? Do you want something to eat?" Liu Qingya asked.

"Sure, I'm starving." I hadn't eaten much last night before the alcohol knocked me out. I slumped onto the sofa. The TV was playing a romance drama—nothing worth watching—so I flipped through the channels until I found *The Qin Empire*. That would do; it was much more interesting than a romance.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

I hadn't been sitting for long when a knock sounded at the door. I opened it to find the old man, Zhang Yuxuan, standing there.

"Yo, Brother Jiang, you're awake? I thought you'd still be out cold." The old man didn't stand on ceremony; he walked in and sat on the sofa. "Last night, after we finished drinking, I intended to take you back to your dorm, but I figured it was past ten o'clock, and by the time I got you there, the doors would be locked. So, I brought you here instead," he said with a grin.

"Did you get the payment?" I asked.

"You bet I did. I went to the school finance office this morning and picked it up. Fifty thousand in total, all in cash." The old man pulled out a black plastic bag and placed it on the table. "Go ahead and count it!"

"No need to count. Just give me my 250 bills; you can keep the rest. If it's short, it's short for you." I pulled two stacks from the pile and counted out another 50 bills, taking them in my hand. Last time, when Liu Qingya withdrew the check, it had gone straight into a bank account. My parents also sent my living expenses via bank transfer. From childhood to now, this was the first time I had ever seen so much cash. Tsk, tsk, tsk—it felt damn good to touch!

"Have some porridge first. You drank a lot last night, I was worried you wouldn't feel well this morning." Liu Qingya brought out a bowl of porridge from the kitchen and set it on the table.

"Hey, that's not fair. You give it to Brother Jiang but don't make a bowl for me?" the old man asked. "I was the one dragging him here last night; it nearly wore me out."

"Just a moment, I'm coming. There's more, I'll go serve it," Liu Qingya said, heading back to the kitchen.

"No need, you sit down." I grabbed Liu Qingya’s hand and barked at the old man, "If you want some, go get it yourself. What, are you some kind of master sitting there waiting to be served?"

"Fine, fine, you're the boss. I'll do as you say." The old man stood up from the sofa with a look of grievance and went into the kitchen.

The old man was the type who would push his luck if you gave him an inch, so you couldn't be too nice to him. Otherwise, once he got too comfortable, he’d surely pull a fast one on me next time...

...

After finishing the porridge, the old man and I got down to business. He wanted to team up with me to make money—he would go out and solicit jobs, and I would handle the actual work. After all, the old man had a silver tongue and could talk a dead man into living, while I had the technical skills to solve the problems.

According to the old man, we should split the earnings fifty-fifty. But I had told him before, there was no way we were splitting it equally; he was the one selling talk, and I was the one selling labor. It was either seventy-thirty, or we weren't doing it at all. Helpless, the old man had to agree.

The place where Liu Qingya lived was an entire building, with some apartments rented out and others sitting empty. Since we were teaming up, we needed a base where we could rest or discuss matters. Liu Qingya gave us the key to a unit on the twelfth floor. It was a three-bedroom apartment, about 120 square meters—quite spacious.