Chapter 2: False Brothers

Leaving the dormitory building, Chen Yang called Lin Wei to confirm their date.

However, Lin Wei seemed busy, telling him to hang up and contact her later.

Chen Yang, with nothing to do, decided to go wait at the date spot. After walking a while, he ran into Zhao Shunfa and Tang Kun, panting as they ran back from the internet cafe.

Zhao Shunfa's height was about the same as Chen Yang's, both 1.8 meters. As a teammate on the school basketball team, he was very strong and served as Zhang Jun's personal bodyguard during college.

Tang Kun was shorter than Chen Yang and Zhao Shunfa, but a bit taller than Zhang Jun, around 1.7 meters. However, compared to Zhang Jun's "deep affection," this guy was a fickle playboy, going through four girlfriends in four years. At the same time, he was Zhang Jun's personal strategist.

In his previous life, those two had always hung around in Zhang Jun's circle. As for Chen Yang, because he was far away in Deep City, his contact with them was limited to the university roommates group. They'd chat about daily life and send holiday greetings via text.

On the contrary, despite also being far apart, Zhang Jun was very enthusiastic toward Chen Yang. Whenever Chen Yang faced any difficulty, Zhang Jun would spare no effort to support him.

So when Tang Kun revealed the truth, Chen Yang truly couldn't accept it. Especially the 3 million that was swindled away, which also strangled his will to live!

"Chen... Chen Yang, what... what's going on between you and Zhang Jun?" asked Tang Kun. This guy, drained by drink and lust, seemed a bit out of breath after that sudden run.

"Didn't you send a message saying Zhang Jun was going to drug me?" Chen Yang looked at Tang Kun and replied calmly. In fact, this was indeed something Tang Kun had told him—only the timing needed to be pushed back twenty years.

Moreover, Chen Yang had reason to suspect that the idea to give him a laxative came from the strategist Tang Kun.

"Chen Yang, don't frame me—I didn't say anything," Tang Kun exclaimed, his breathing now steady. His family's farm had been doing well these years, with Zhang Jun's father as its biggest client. If Zhang Jun mistakenly thought he'd been sabotaged by him, cutting off business, the consequences would be severe.

"Oh, it wasn't you who sent it?" Chen Yang feigned surprise, then looked at Zhao Shunfa and pretended to wonder: "Old Zhao, could it be you?"

Zhao Shunfa hurriedly shook his head to deny. Although he was big and burly, he was also sharp. Seeing that Chen Yang was fine, he understood why Zhang Jun was angry.

There's a mole!

Not me!

Absolutely not me either!

"Chen Yang, Tang Kun and I were watching the World Cup at the internet cafe when we suddenly got a call from Zhang Jun, thinking something was up between you two, so we rushed back to check."

"You're saying Zhang Jun drugged you? No way."

Chen Yang gave him a "you figure it out" look, then told them to go back to the dormitory to find Zhang Jun. He deliberately created conflict just to disgust them.

For four years of college they called each other brothers every day. Yet when it came to slipping him a laxative, they showed no restraint.

However, Zhao Shunfa's words reminded Chen Yang of something.

That World Cup year had plenty of upsets. Tang Kun, a lottery enthusiast, even won second prize in the sports lottery, with a prize of over a hundred thousand. But when treating friends to a meal, he kept regretting not having selected Italy to lose in his bet, missing out on a four-million-dollar jackpot. He's been lamenting that for twenty years.

Chen Yang checked the date on his phone—it was exactly the day before that lottery's sales deadline. So he decided to try his luck.

Arriving at the school gate, Chen Yang hailed a taxi and went straight to the Peninsula Coffee Shop in downtown. Seeing that Lin Wei hadn't called back, he looked for a sports lottery shop nearby.

He took a single bet slip for the sports lottery, filled in the correct options with a pencil according to his memory, gave the shop owner 100 yuan, and asked for it to be multiplied 50 times.

"Kid, buying like that is a waste of money!" said the forty-something shop owner, who seemed somewhat knowledgeable about football. Looking at Chen Yang's bet slip, he didn't immediately print it but seriously asked Chen Yang about it.

Chen Yang smiled: "To seek wealth, one must take risks; if you don't bet on long shots, how can you win big?"

"That's too risky!" the lottery uncle said, eyeing the slip in disbelief: "France and Germany, the two big title favorites, you picked them to draw, and you even had Italy losing outright—this is way too cold!"

"Kid, why not go with a complex bet instead?" the lottery uncle advised seriously. After all, 100 yuan equals three or four days' wages for an ordinary worker; betting like this is a waste.

Chen Yang shook his head, insisting on his choice.

The lottery uncle sighed, carefully printed the ticket, and had Chen Yang double-check it several times. He worried that the frustrated Chen Yang would come looking for trouble after the draw. After all, he'd seen this many times: people full of passion when betting, then wailing when the results came out.

What the owner didn't know was that in a few days he'd regret not having placed a few more bets.

After Chen Yang got the ticket, he also went to a nearby ATM and withdrew five hundred yuan.

Since they were meeting at a coffee shop, they definitely needed to eat something.

He had to buy this bet!

Over four years of college, Lin Wei had helped him a lot. Moreover, he didn't have the habit of letting women pay the bill.

Night fell, and gorgeous lights instantly illuminated the darkness of Xingcheng.

Chen Yang found a window seat on the second floor of the coffee shop, enjoying the city nightscape while keeping an eye on his phone. Around 7:50, Lin Wei finally appeared.

She wore a black uniform, her long white legs wrapped in black stockings, tall and aloof. However, when she sat down, her voice carried a hint of fatigue.

"Chen Yang, the student council has been swamped lately, sorry for keeping you waiting!"

Chen Yang laughed and said, "No problem," then summoned the waiter to order.

Lin Wei said she was dieting and only wanted a cup of coffee.

Chen Yang thought she was trying to save him money, so he pulled out the five hundred yuan he'd just withdrawn and slapped it on the table, saying, "You don't need to save for me. Eat your fill—if it's not enough, just withdraw more."

Lin Wei gave Chen Yang a sideways glance, her face slightly displeased. "Chen Yang, I thought you were different from Zhang Jun, but it turns out you're just as bad. Sure, he's a legitimate rich second-gen, but you're a farmer's son working two jobs a day—what big shot are you pretending to be?"

Chen Yang's face twitched at her retort; he realized he had indeed been deeply influenced by Zhang Jun without noticing.

In his previous life, living had been exhausting; besides family burdens, Zhang Jun's scheming and excessive spending on socializing were also major factors.

The key point is that much of the money spent brought no return. Those who called each other brothers over drinks often ended up being the ones who stabbed you deepest in the back.

Zhang Jun's family were the richest in Qingshui City, with assets exceeding ten billion at their peak. For him, spending a little extra wasted money on socializing was just a drop in the bucket.

Chen Yang was merely a worker; every cent he spent was his own sweat and blood.

However, Lin Wei was definitely not like those drinking-and-meat buddies from his past life; she genuinely helped Chen Yang.

"Lin Wei, over these years you've taken care of me a lot at school; I truly want to thank you, with no other intention."

Lin Wei shook her head, her tone softening considerably: "I appreciate your feelings. I'm really dieting—if you don't believe me, ask Zhang Jun."

Chen Yang had just broken with Zhang Jun; how could he possibly go ask him?

Since Lin Wei said she was dieting, let's just believe her for now!

Although in Chen Yang's view, Lin Wei wasn't the slightest bit overweight.

After ordering, both fell silent for a moment; finally Chen Yang couldn't hold back and spoke first.

"Lin Wei, what do you want from me?"

"My father hopes I'll marry the son of his comrade after graduation. I don't agree with this marriage, so I want to find someone to pretend to marry just to get by."

"I've thought about it, and right now you're the most suitable person to help me solve this trouble." Lin Wei looked at the somewhat flustered Chen Yang and asked earnestly, "Will you help me?"