Chapter 94: Butterfly Effect

Before leaving, Cao Sheng stuffed one thousand yuan into his grandmother's cotton-padded jacket pocket.

This was a small gesture of his filial piety.

Not many people had been kind to him growing up; apart from his parents, his grandmother had been the kindest, and before his rebirth, he had had no opportunity to show her filial piety before she passed away.

Now that he had money, he naturally wanted to fulfill that filial duty.

This New Year, Cao Sheng’s home was much livelier than in previous years.

Relatives who rarely interacted with his family in the past seemed to have suddenly remembered they had such a relative; besides his uncle, aunt, and cousins visiting, there were also various great-uncles, grand-aunts, and distant uncles-in-law coming to the house to pay New Year calls while carrying gifts.

One relative claimed to have held him when he was a child; another said Cao Sheng had peed on their neck as a baby; yet another said they had loved little A-Sheng from the bottom of their heart since he was small, but in reality, Cao Sheng had absolutely no memory of this relative.

He was somewhat surprised that these relatives were so well-informed.

One or two of them actually knew that the novel he wrote had been published and had even appeared in quite a few news reports.

Some of these relatives who suddenly showed up had ulterior motives.

It was nothing more than borrowing money under various pretexts.

Cao Sheng avoided these matters whenever he could, leaving them mainly to his parents to handle; if a relative tried to borrow from him directly, he would say his royalties were all used for building the house and that writing novels didn't actually earn much money.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, unable to stand the waves of visiting relatives any longer, Cao Sheng said goodbye to his parents early in the morning and left with his luggage.

As he left, he wore a bitter smile.

He thought to himself: If my fame continues to grow, I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to my hometown for the holidays anymore.

In the afternoon.

He returned to his house on Binjiang Road in Huizhou.

Looking at the houses along the entire street adorned with spring couplets and the remnants of firecrackers in front of the doors, while his own courtyard gate was completely bare, he couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation.

His hometown was excessively lively, but here it was cold and quiet.

After entering the courtyard and putting down his luggage, he began to clean up.

Once finished, he took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and went out to find a supermarket.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, many shops had not yet opened.

But the supermarket should be open.

He found a supermarket that was operating and went in to shop.

Spring couplets, firecrackers, various ingredients—since it was the New Year, he should buy some alcohol; thinking this, he pushed a shopping cart toward the liquor section.

Yet, upon getting closer, he saw a familiar figure.

"Big brother! Do you need alcohol?"

"Big brother! Come take a look! Kouzi Cellar, a famous brand! The price is very favorable!"

Wei Dongming, wearing a red vest, was promoting white liquor to people.

Cao Sheng was very surprised.

He remembered that Wei Dongming’s hometown was not in Huizhou; during the New Year, why was Wei Dongming not at home celebrating but here selling liquor?

In his impression, Wei Dongming’s family background was quite good.

After hesitating for a moment, Cao Sheng still pushed the cart over.

"Hey! Number Four!"

He called out, and Wei Dongming, who hadn't managed to keep the previous customer and was sighing with his head down, turned around in surprise upon hearing Cao Sheng’s voice; seeing Cao Sheng, Wei Dongming’s expression shifted slightly, his mouth opened, and he squeezed out a smile, "Yo, Number Three? Are you here to buy things? Happy New Year! Why are you back so early? Didn't you stay in your hometown for a few more days?"

Cao Sheng pushed the cart two steps closer and arrived in front of Wei Dongming, "I should be asking you that! It's the New Year, why didn't you go home? How come you're selling liquor here?"

Wei Dongming gave a self-deprecating laugh, lowered his head, and said, "It's nothing, I just suddenly felt that going home for the New Year was meaningless, so I might as well take advantage of this winter break to train myself."

After a pause, he looked up at Cao Sheng and said with a complex expression, "Cao Sheng, I’ve recently come to understand why you don't date; I also suddenly feel that dating is meaningless, it’s more practical to train my ability to earn money."

Cao Sheng: "..."

At this moment, Cao Sheng felt as if he were looking at Pang Yunhai, who had been dumped by women twice in the original timeline.

Back then, Pang Yunhai had said he would never date again; after graduation, his only focus was starting a business and making money, and he didn't pursue women for seven or eight years.

Thinking of Pang Yunhai, Cao Sheng suddenly remembered something: in the original timeline, Pang Yunhai had been dumped by his long-distance girlfriend before this semester ended, but in this current timeline, he hadn't heard anything about Pang Yunhai being dumped.

Instead, Wei Dongming had lost all face because of pursuing Ai Qian, had gotten into a fight with all his roommates, and now, he hadn't even gone home for the New Year, but was selling liquor here.

The words "butterfly effect" flashed through Cao Sheng’s mind once again.

He felt as if the fates of Wei Dongming and Pang Yunhai had been swapped.

For a moment, he was both surprised by Wei Dongming’s change and puzzled as to why Pang Yunhai in this timeline hadn't been dumped yet.

"When do you get off work?"

Cao Sheng asked.

Wei Dongming: "I get off at four-thirty, why?"

Cao Sheng smiled, "That's soon, come over to my place for a drink later! It's the New Year, and eating alone is boring. How about it? Can you do me this favor?"

Do me a favor...

These were the words Wei Dongming had used when he tried to set up a meal between Ai Qian and Cao Sheng.

Today, Cao Sheng used them to ask Wei Dongming.

Wei Dongming was a bit surprised; he knew his relationship with Cao Sheng was average, and now that he had picked a fight with all his roommates, although he hadn't laid a hand on Cao Sheng, he thought that since he had offended everyone in the dorm, could Cao Sheng, his former roommate, still be close to him?

"Sure! I'll be off in a little while, so could you wait for me here for a bit?"

Wei Dongming agreed with a very complex mood.

In the evening.

In the dining room of Cao Sheng’s house, Cao Sheng and Wei Dongming were eating hot pot, with alcohol on the table—it was the Kouzi Cellar he had bought to support Wei Dongming’s business.

At first, the atmosphere between the two was still a bit unnatural.

After all, they really had no personal friendship, and in the past, Wei Dongming had been jealous of Cao Sheng’s good looks and looked down on his rural background.

Cao Sheng had also been able to sense Wei Dongming’s attitude toward him in the past and, knowing they couldn't be friends, had always kept his distance.

But after a few drinks, the atmosphere at the table loosened up.

Wei Dongming talked more, and Cao Sheng became a listener, occasionally chiming in.

Wei Dongming said he felt like he had grown up overnight.

He had suddenly lost interest in dating and wanted to earn money, to earn a lot of money, to make Ai Qian regret it, and to make Pang Yunhai, Guan Zhi, and all his other roommates regret it too.

As he spoke, he even mentioned that he had looked down on Cao Sheng from the bottom of his heart before, but from today on, Cao Sheng was his friend—the only friend in the whole dorm.

As Cao Sheng listened, he gradually felt that Wei Dongming didn't seem so annoying anymore.

Yes, he had truly disliked Wei Dongming in his heart before.

Cao Sheng wasn't blind to the way Wei Dongming looked down on him; in the original timeline, they had shared a dorm for two and a half years, and he could feel the way Wei Dongming looked at him and the occasional barbs in his words.

It was just that he didn't want to have conflicts with his roommates, so he endured what he could.

But the dislike for Wei Dongming had always been there.

This was also the reason why he had previously felt no psychological burden in using Wei Dongming as the prototype to create a character in the outline of *God Grave*.

What psychological burden could there be in using someone you dislike as a prototype for a character in a book?

But today, he felt that Wei Dongming didn't seem so annoying anymore.

So, he raised his glass to signal, "Number Four! There’s something I want to ask for your opinion on."

Wei Dongming also raised his glass and chuckled, "What is it? Go ahead!"

Cao Sheng: "It’s like this, I want to use you as a prototype to create a character in my new book, and adapt your pursuit of Ai Qian and the fight between you and Pang Yunhai and the others into the story. If you mind, I’ll drop the idea. Do you mind?"

Wei Dongming frowned slightly, lowered his head to think for a moment, and when he looked up again, he asked: "Can you write a better ending for me?"

Cao Sheng was surprised, "What kind of ending do you want?"

Wei Dongming smiled, "It doesn't have to be a great ending, I just hope that when you write this character, you write that he eventually turns over a new leaf, loses interest in romance, and just focuses on earning money. Is that okay?"

Cao Sheng: "Just like that? You think this kind of ending is good?"

Wei Dongming nodded, "I think it’s very good!"

Cao Sheng: "You really don't mind me writing these things about you in a novel?"

Wei Dongming laughed, "What’s there to mind? Not to mention that we’re friends now, even if we weren't, you’re a novelist; isn't it normal to use people around you as prototypes for characters in your book? Which writer doesn't do that? Lu Xun even wrote about Xianglin's Wife standing there like a compass in his book!"