Good luck had finally arrived, and there was no stopping it.
Guo Jingyu first followed Li Tongzhou in the same class when he was divided into classes. Soon after that, Gu Yu from the provincial capital, wired him a sum of money. Gu Yu earned a lot in half a month. Because the students who bought computers before used them well, they recommended Gu Yu to the people around them. Word quickly spread. Later, people from several schools around him went to Gu Yu to buy computers on behalf of others.
Gu Yu remitted money to Guo Jingyu two or three times in succession, and by the beginning of October he had collected a total of thirty thousand yuan.
On the phone, Gu Yu was so excited and warmly invited Guo Jingyu to spend the holidays in the provincial capital. “Is there a holiday on National Day? Jingyu, you bring your aunt and uncle, I’ll take you to the hot springs!”
Guo Jingyu replied,”I’m not going, I’m busy with school.”
“You don’t even have a holiday on National Day?”
“We have a day off on National Day, but I’ve already made plans with Li Tongzhou to go to the library to study.”
Gu Yu was feeling a bit sentimental, but before he could say a few more words, he burst into a flurry of gratitude, excitedly exclaiming, “Jingyu, your idea is really fantastic! I never knew you could make so much money in business. You are so smart. No wonder my dad always praises your intelligence! I think our business can thrive for at least another half a year. Even if sales decline afterward, we can still pocket over a thousand bucks from just one computer. It’s way more profitable than working a regular job. When you come back in a while, help me take a look and see if there are any areas that need improvement…”
Guo Jingyu said, “I won’t go.”
Gu Yu asked him, “What’s wrong?”
Guo Jingyu smiled, saying, “Cousin, I’ve got enough on hand for now. After these two months, you don’t have to share the remaining money with me. I’m a student, and my main focus is on studying.” Gu Yu felt a bit at a loss, but Guo Jingyu reassured him, “It’s not about creating distance between us. Money is just a thing. The more you earn, the better. As long as there’s more to be made, but I have other things to attend to as well.”
“But our computer sales are going so well now!”
“Cousin, do you know why I’m making money?”
“… For a better future?”
Gu Yu sounded a bit unsure of himself as he spoke, he’s really uncertain about what his cousin wanted. On the other end of the phone, the person laughed and said, “You’re right. It’s for tomorrow, but I can’t be earning tomorrow’s money with today’s time. Then tomorrow would lose its charm and be boring, wouldn’t it?”
Gu Yu doesn’t quite understand.
Guo Jingyu consoled him, “Did I not tell you before? I’m saving money for my future partner, but I can’t sacrifice the time to be with him just for the sake of saving money!his kind of putting the cart before the horse, I won’t do it. What’s the point of having money later if I lose the person I care about?”
Gu Yu’s gossip radar suddenly became alert, and he exclaimed, “You’re really seeing someone?”
Guo Jingyu replied, “Well, it’s kind of half-official. He hasn’t agreed yet, but I’m putting in the effort.”
“Half?”
“En. He hasn’t said yes yet, but I’ll try harder.”
Guo Jingyu sounded particularly confident that Gu Yu couldn’t help but feel envious. His tone softened as he said, “Jingyu, I don’t know why, but every time I talk to you recently, I feel so enlightened and emotional. You’ve taught me a lot.”
After a brief conversation, Gu Yu hung up the phone.
Guo Jingyu didn’t pay much attention to it and was in a good mood after receiving the money. He walked into the living room, intending to pour himself a glass of water. But as soon as he came out, he saw his dad, who was typically easygoing, stubbornly standing in the living room, having his first-ever dispute with his mom.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Guo Jingyu found it strangely refreshing. His father had been easy going all his life, and it was rare for him to get angry. He was leaning against the hallway wall, sneaking glances while sipping water.
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“Exactly!” Father Guo was full of righteous anger. “I’m going back to work this afternoon, and Mr. Fang from the building across even laughed at me. He said I was wearing an apron while cooking, and it didn’t look manly!”
Mother Guo sat down and asked, “So what do you want to do about it?”
Father Guo hesitated for a moment and whispered, “I want to apply frosted window film.”
“What are you going to apply?”
“… Window film.”
Father Guo made a few gestures to illustrate, “The kind we have on our bathroom window, frosted and semi-transparent. It doesn’t block the light. Once I put it up, they won’t be able to see it from across the street. Otherwise, he’ll keep making fun of me.”
Mother Guo tried to comfort him, saying, “You don’t live with Mr. Fang, so why should you care about what he says? I think you’re just fine as you are. You look especially handsome while cooking.”
Father Guo was adamant and insisted on applying window film to the kitchen right away, or he would go on strike.
Guo Jingyu found it amusing and couldn’t stop laughing as he stood by.
Mother Guo tried to calm her husband, and she gave her son a meaningful look, signaling him to help. What was going on? Because of a few remarks from the neighbors across the street, he was now going on strike and refusing to cook.
Guo Jingyu walked over and asked, “Dad, how did Mr. Fang from across the street see it?”
Father Guo replied, “Of course, he saw it from their window! You know, our apartment layouts are all the same, and our kitchen directly faces theirs. Whenever Mr. Fang looks up, he can see everything. It’s quite vivid!”
Guo Jingyu was puzzled, “But isn’t their kitchen also facing ours?”
Father Guo was momentarily stunned by this question. He blinked his eyes and then suddenly realized, slapping his thigh in happiness, “Right! If Mr. Fang can see us, then he must be cooking in his kitchen too. I’ll go and talk to him about it!”
With a triumphant look, Father Guo went downstairs. He didn’t forget to grab a little basket at the entrance, probably to buy groceries while he was out.
Guo Jingyu rubbed his chin, watched his dad leave without a word, and his mom was the one to warn him first, “Your dad and Mr. Fang are colleagues and have been friends for over a decade. They’re just joking around. You shouldn’t go and stir up trouble. Last time when it rained, Mr. Fang even gave your dad a ride to work, waiting downstairs for over a week.”
Guo Jingyu was taken aback and said with a smile, “Why would I do that? Do you think I’m that kind of person?”
After thinking for a while, his mom added, “And don’t pick on their child.”
Guo Jingyu contemplated for a while and said, “You’re talking about Fang Jingyao, right? He’s several years younger than me. Why would I bully a middle school kid? Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Not long after, Father Guo returned happily, carrying some vegetables. He even added an extra cold dish for dinner, tomato salad with sugar. It had a sweet and sour taste that was particularly refreshing.
After dinner, Guo Jingyu diligently attended his private tutoring class, which his mom had paid for during her spare time. When she finished, he snuck over to talk to his dad.
Father Guo was sitting at the computer playing Spider Solitaire when Guo Jingyu walked in, surprising him. His dad asked, “What’s up? Are you looking for your mom?”
Guo Jingyu smiled and said, “No, I came to talk to you about something.” He glanced at the computer screen and then turned to his dad. “Dad, you know that my eldest uncle usually doesn’t dabble in stocks, right?”
Father Guo nodded, “That’s right. Your eldest uncle is a steady guy, he doesn’t mess with these things.”
“In fact, my eldest uncle has no intention of trading stocks, but my aunt insists.”
Father Guo was left speechless.
“My eldest uncle gave me some money last time, you know, it took a while to save up. He doesn’t trust anyone else, and he can’t trade stocks at home either, for fear of causing family conflicts. He wants you to help with stock trading.”
Father Guo looked uncomfortable and said, “I’m willing to help, but I don’t know anything about stocks.”
Guo Jingyu said, “You don’t need to worry about this. We’ve already written down which stocks my eldest uncle wants to buy. You can buy them and keep them. When my eldest uncle needs them, he’ll let you know.”
After hearing this, Father Guo agreed with a nod.
Guo Jingyu had no choice but to resort to this. He didn’t have an ID yet, and it would take over a year to gain financial independence. For now, this was the best he could do, pretend to be someone else. Fortunately, his dad was an honest man who didn’t ask too many questions. It made things easier to handle.
Using his dad’s identification, Guo Jingyu went online to buy stocks. When choosing which ones to purchase, he settled on Guizhou Maotai.
He had some money to invest, and buying this stock seemed like a fantastic choice. The current price of Guizhou Maotai was around 20 yuan. If he remembered correctly, the following six to seven years will be the time when it will soar. Not to mention that it will increase more than 100 times like Netease and Tencent, but it will also rise enough, from dozens of yuan to hundreds of yuan.
Guo Jingyu was cautious and started with only 3,000 yuan, not going all-in at once. After all, the stock was bound to go up. He planned to add more funds gradually. Buying a substantial amount at once would risk drawing attention.
Father Guo was more nervous than him, diligently recording every step of the process in a notebook and learning the operation.
Guo Jingyu was much more skilled than his dad, highly proficient with computers, and patient when teaching him.
His dad asked quietly, “Jingyu, you’re so skilled. wouldn’t it be better if you did it yourself? I’m worried about making a mistake.”
Guo Jingyu replied, “No, I have something important to do.”
“What’s so important?”
“Studying. Good students focus all their time on school. I can’t afford to be distracted.”
Guo Jingyu said these words righteously. He was earning money for the sake of his future, and that future was still in school. He wouldn’t go anywhere or let anything distract him. Even with an easy task like buying stocks, he refused to do it.
Meanwhile, in the provincial capital,
Gu Yu was packing his bags. His expression was determined, and he only brought a minimal amount of daily necessities and the money he had in his pocket.
He has made a considerable amount of money in recent days, and has somewhat immersed in it. The daily income almost made him forget why he had started earning money in the first place.
He called Guo Jingyu on the phone, and it was like a wake-up call for someone lost in a dream.
Despite being several years younger, his cousin knew what he wanted and his purpose, while Gu Yu had almost lost his way in the road of life.
Thinking of this, Gu Yu felt a mixture of admiration and shame.
He left a letter overnight and then left.
But Guo Jingyu, who was hundreds of miles away, remained unaware of these developments. He was still busy learning how his dad was trading stocks. His goal was straightforward. He wanted to multiply his current funds two or three times. With the initial investment in hand, everything else would fall into place.
Guo Jingyu learned about Gu Yu’s departure from home two weeks later.
That morning, his mom received a phone call, and her brows were furrowed throughout the morning. When she saw him, she asked, “Jingyu, has your cousin been trying to reach you lately?”
Guo Jingyu shook his head and asked, “What happened?”
“Gu Yu ran away!”
“What?”
“He’s gone abroad, and said he wanted to study game production. He dropped out of school as well and left a letter behind before running away.” His mom also looked worried and confused, “You don’t know, your eldest uncle is furious right now. After finally getting in touch and hearing that he’s going abroad to study animation, when we asked more, he wouldn’t say a word. Your eldest uncle is really angry and upset!”
Guo Jingyu was surprised. His brother had only earned money for a little over a month. Could he even cover his tuition? He cautiously asked, “Mom, does my brother have enough money for his tuition abroad?”
His mom replied, “Gu Yu also doesn’t know who influenced him. He sold some computers for a while and made a bit of money. But even then, it’s not enough. He must have a lot of courage to use his third-year tuition fees and then run away!”
The Guo family, including the siblings Gu Yu and Guo Jingyu, would have their eyes wide and round when they were angry. Guo Jingyu’s father lowered his head while eating, afraid to make a sound. Guo Jingyu felt guilty. He finishes his meal and tries to slip away.
“Jingyu, where are you going again?”
“I’m meeting Li Tongzhou to buy reference books at the bookstore. I won’t be back for lunch!”
Mother Guo called out to him twice, but Guo Jingyu was already running away with his bag slung over his shoulder, not even turning back.
***
The author has something to say:
Small Theater GG fee section:
NetEase: Make money.
Guizhou Maotai: Make money.
Tencent: Eventually made the wrong payment.
—
Small Theater 2:
Next door, at Fang Jingyao’s house.
A few days later, they also stuck the same bathroom frosted window film.
Mr. Fang insisted on it, almost crying if it wasn’t done.
Mrs. Fang said, “Your old Fang family, the whole family is crying! Can’t I stick it to you? Hold back your tears!”
K: Gu Yu really said “Im out byee~” TT
