Chapter 632

Li Heng asked, “It’s almost dark—why are you two rushing off to Wujiaochang?”

Wei Xiaozhu, knowing he was worried about their safety, said, “It’s been a while since we last saw Bai Wanying and Zhang Bing; today’s free, so we’re going to visit them. Zhou Zhangming and Liu Yanling are already there—they’ll be back soon, so you don’t need to worry about safety.”

Before he could reply, Wei Xiaozhu added, “If you go back to Lushan Village now, you won’t see Mai Sui or Shihe—they’re staying in the dorm tonight.”

Li Heng asked, “Did they tell you?”

Wei Xiaozhu pointed to Lao Li Restaurant, “Their dorm roommate had a birthday party half an hour ago—they were all eating here. Mai Sui told me they’re sleeping in the dorm tonight.”

Hearing this, Li Heng paused, then abandoned the idea of returning to Lushan Village immediately and joined them on the way to Wujiaochang.

On the way, Dai Qing asked him, “Are you out collecting writing material again? How come we haven’t seen you since school started?”

Li Heng replied casually, “I was performing in the Netherlands—you know that. Then I stayed in Jingcheng for a while due to some matters.”

What did he do in Jingcheng? The two women exchanged glances and wisely didn’t press further.

They’d assumed only Zhou Zhangming and Liu Yanling were at Zhang Bing’s place, but Tang Dailing and Wei Sisi were there too.

Seeing Li Heng arrive, the people inside became ecstatic. Zhou Zhangming said nothing, pulled out two cigarettes, shoved one into Li Heng’s mouth, and lit it himself with a match: “Old Li, you’re finally back! If you didn’t show up, our two dorms would’ve fallen apart.”

“Fallen apart? Why?” Li Heng asked.

Liu Yanling, with her 36D figure, chimed in, “We’ve all been waiting for you, the great busybody, to come back for dinner. If you don’t show, the dinner won’t happen—and if it drags on too long, won’t it just fall apart?”

Li Heng apologized, “It’s my fault. Next time we dine together, I’ll drink three cups as penance.”

Wei Sisi, hand on her hip, said, “No need to wait for next time—let’s do it tonight. I really want to see how the great writer who made France’s number one beauty lose her mind drinks.”

As she spoke, Wei Sisi patted her bag, “I even brought the camera I saved up for months to buy—I’ll take a nice close-up of you drinking.”

Li Heng rubbed his stomach—he’d already eaten two meals straight, and he was full—but he didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for drinking: “Fine, let’s drink.”

Zhang Bing promptly went to fetch the alcohol. Bai Wanying didn’t sit idle either, calling Dai Qing over to help slice braised dishes as snacks.

Dai Qing rolled up her sleeves and said, “Do you have any other vegetables in the kitchen? Braised dishes alone won’t be enough for so many people—I’ll cook two more dishes.”

“We do. Come with me,” Bai Wanying said, rolling her wheelchair toward the kitchen.

Seeing this, Wei Sisi and Liu Yanling followed, offering to help in the kitchen.

Wei Xiaozhu stayed put—she wasn’t skilled in cooking, so she sat and chatted with the others.

Li Heng, Zhou Zhangming, Wei Xiaozhu, Tang Dailing, and Zhang Bing sat around the table, chatting about winter break, Lunar New Year—but gradually, the conversation drifted to Leyao and Li Guoyi.

Tang Dailing said, “After learning Leyao went abroad to study, Old Li became a different person—no longer smiling, no longer talking, always silent. He either reads books, always poring over Water Margin and the Criminal Code.”

Li Heng asked, “I get Water Margin—but why the Criminal Code?”

Tang Dailing shook his head, “I asked him. He said he was bored and just flipping through it.”

At this, the group exchanged glances—none of them believed that nonsense.

Just flipping through it?

Who flips through the Criminal Code casually?

Bai Wanying returned, chased out of the kitchen by the women there, who told her to rest more. She’d overheard their conversation and slowly rolled her wheelchair over to say, “He’s probably resentful, figuring out how to get revenge.”

Zhou Zhangming and Tang Dailing, unaware of the details, asked in unison, “Revenge on whom?”

In Zhou Zhangming and Tang Dailing’s eyes: months had passed, the suspect hadn’t even been identified—how could anyone seek revenge? And how?

Bai Wanying exchanged a knowing glance with Li Heng and Wei Xiaozhu, sighed, and said, “The authorities haven’t reached a conclusion, so I won’t say more. But I believe Li Guoyi has a suspect in mind. Don’t you watch—he’s not the type to swallow humiliation.”

Zhou Zhangming finished his cigarette and said, “I agree with Wanying. We really need to talk some sense into Old Li—he mustn’t do anything stupid.”

No one replied—they all believed they couldn’t stop Li Guoyi.

As Tang Dailing had said: “If I had a suspect, I wouldn’t be able to swallow this either.”

Wei Xiaozhu, who disliked talk of violence, changed the subject: “By the way, Tang Dailing—how’s Li Guoyi’s health? Has he been discharged?”

Tang Dailing said, “He was discharged last week. Li Guang and I helped him move his things.”

Li Heng asked, “When will he return to class?”

Tang Dailing replied, “Probably next week. He said he’d rest at home for about half a month.”

The alcohol and dishes arrived.

Li Heng kept his word and drank three cups as penance.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Wei Sisi excitedly took six photos of him, joking that if his life ever got too hard and he needed money, he could sell these pictures.

Li Heng played along: “Comrade Wei Sisi, should I strike a pose?”

Wei Sisi peeked out from behind the camera: “What’s a pose?”

Then, understanding the English meaning, she nodded: “Oh, oh—I get it. Xiaozhu, move aside—I’m taking a photo of Big Rich Li and Qingqing together.”

At this, everyone instantly understood, and all eyes turned to Li Heng and Dai Qing.

Wei Xiaozhu smiled faintly and began to rise, intending to step aside.

Under so many stares, Dai Qing’s face flushed, and she gripped her friend’s arm tightly, refusing to let Wei Xiaozhu leave.

Wei Xiaozhu sighed, sat back down, and joined them in the middle for the photo.

After the photo, Wei Xiaozhu brought over a bottle of wine, poured a glass for Li Heng, one for Dai Qing, and one for herself, then said to him, “Li Heng, let’s drink together, the three of us.”

“Fine,” Li Heng readily agreed, raised his glass, clinked it with theirs, and drank it down in one gulp.

Wei Xiaozhu drank hers in one gulp too, then set her cup down and asked, “Was it cold in Jingcheng?”

Li Heng answered, “Cold.”

Wei Xiaozhu said, “I read in the paper that Anta’s sales doubled in two months, hitting a hundred million—true?”

At this, the table fell silent. Everyone stopped drinking, joking, or talking, and quietly leaned in to listen.

Li Heng had been fully focused on accompanying Zijin, or helping revise textbooks and fill gaps at the New Future School, and hadn’t paid attention to such reports.

But he quickly realized—this was probably Li Wang exaggerating, turning 80 million into a hundred million.

The purpose, of course, was obvious: advertising, telling the public how wildly popular, how hot, how famous Anta had become.

Realizing this, he wouldn’t undermine it—he replied vaguely, “Probably. I’ve been busy lately and haven’t checked, but I heard the factory runs three shifts nonstop.”

Hearing this, everyone quietly sucked in a breath.

Everyone knew Li Heng’s nature—he always downplayed things, kept quiet. If he said “probably,” it meant it was true.

A hundred million!

A hundred million!

In just two months—everyone at the table, even those prepared for it, were stunned.

Zhang Bing couldn’t help calculating in his head: how many braised snacks, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted corn would he need to sell to reach a hundred million?

Fifty years?

A lifetime? Two?

Just imagining it, Zhang Bing shivered—he realized the gap was too vast. Even if he ran his small shop for ten lifetimes, he’d never earn that much.

Seeing everyone silent, dazed, Bai Wanying broke the tension with a joke: “Ah, Li Heng, if I’d known you were this good at making money, I should’ve taken your offer before—got my body healed first.”

Li Heng said sincerely, “It’s not too late. If you say the word, I can help arrange treatment at any hospital, domestic or abroad.”

She met his gaze for three seconds, then still refused: “Thank you, but I’ll wait until graduation. If I still can’t afford treatment after graduation, I’ll come beg you then.”

Last time, her reason had been graduation.

This time, it was the same reason.

Li Heng turned his gaze to Zhang Bing, considering asking him to offer comfort, but after a moment’s thought, he abandoned the idea.

Though Bai Wanying was disabled, her will was not—she was a girl with strong convictions. Her decisions were beyond even Zhang Bing’s power to change.

Wei Sisi poured Li Heng another glass: “Big Rich, let’s drink.”

Li Heng smiled and didn’t refuse, instead saying to Tang Dailing, “Old Tang, join us.”

But Wei Sisi stopped him, pouting: “I’m drinking because of your wealth—a hundred million! Heaven, I never dreamed of it. My ears are still ringing. Old Tang, wait until you make ten thousand, then I’ll drink with you.”

Everyone laughed, teasing Tang Dailing to hurry up and earn money—or his girlfriend would run off.

Tang Dailing scratched the back of his head, smiling helplessly—he was still a student; even a hundred yuan was hard to come by, let alone ten thousand.

After they finished drinking, Liu Yanling leaned over: “Big Rich, you still need a woman?”

Everyone turned to look at Li Heng, then Liu Yanling, then Zhou Zhangming, faces twisted in amusement.

Li Heng was confused—what was this girl up to?

Liu Yanling winked and said, “I have a younger sister—she’s got great grades and is quite pretty. She’ll probably get into Fudan this fall. If you’re interested, I can introduce you.”