Chapter 1: Everything Is So Beautiful

The moonlight was clear and pure, tree shadows hazy; at ten p.m. in Qincheng, cars occasionally roared past on the main roads.

In a city where housing prices equaled those of a second-tier city, consumption neared first-tier levels, and income fell below fourth-tier standards, nightlife was not rich.

Most shops along the street had long closed; a brightly lit store at the corner stood out prominently—it was one of the few remaining twenty-four-hour convenience stores.

“Forty-six yuan and eighty fen, miss. You can scan the red packet code for mobile payment!”

Zhang Su placed a box of Gold Gangdujie into the shopping bag, pushed it toward the girl who dared not look up, smiled, and tapped the red packet code stuck in the corner—showing no sign of surprise at the unusual item she’d bought; this was basic professional conduct.

Late September was comfortable, allowing one to freely wear light clothing and savor the last warmth of summer.

The girl wore a short JK skirt with white stockings, giving off an impression of strict upbringing and clean purity.

“Th-thank you… no change needed!”

She tossed down a crumpled fifty-yuan note, snatched the shopping bag, and dashed off in quick, hurried steps.

“Hmm… real money…”

Zhang Su put the bill into the POS machine, crossed his arms on the counter, and watched the door with quiet interest.

The girl hurried to the side of a Kawasaki H2, angrily threw the shopping bag into the lap of a handsome guy leaning against the motorcycle.

The handsome guy was thoroughly pleased with her performance; he scooped her up onto the motorcycle’s back seat, then waved at Zhang Su.

Zhang Su smiled and nodded in farewell; as the engine’s roar faded into the distance, the H2’s taillights vanished around the corner.

“Probably lost a truth or dare game again…”

Zhang Su knew the motorcycle guy—a minor rich second-generation who wandered near universities every semester; the JK girl was naturally a freshman at one of them.

Twenty-eight-year-old Zhang Su had just ended a fulfilling short-term romance, with no next target yet in sight—he was in a relaxed, empty period.

“Scroll through my phone…”

With no customers, Zhang Su pulled out his phone and browsed short videos.

“A Certain Superstar Appears at a Crazy Bull Show…”

“Meteorological Bureau Issues Cold Wave Warning, Massive Scale Covering the Entire Country…”

“Save-Time Hero… Why Do Guys All Like Black Stockings? Because…”

Working at a twenty-four-hour convenience store was extremely boring, especially night shifts; after the girl who bought Gangdujie left, only two customers came in. Zhang Su scrolled his phone, smoked, and did some proper exercise—before long, it was time for shift change.

“Welcome!”

The automated greeting echoed from the speaker.

At five minutes to twelve, a young man with dark circles under his eyes walked into the store.

“Bro Su, restocking? I tell you, Bro Su, you’re so hardworking—that’s why the boss made you manager, hehe…”

Saying this, the frail youth scanned the store, saw no customers, and unhesitatingly took a pack of gum from beside the POS machine, opened it, dropped a few pieces into his mouth, and chewed loudly.

Zhang Su saw the youth’s actions and his eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly; he scolded: “Luezi, you’re stealing from the store again? The boss treats you like family—do you see him as a sucker?”

“Come on, it’s just a few yuan—how could the boss care?”

The frail youth Wu Lue turned, walked into the counter, casually tossed the gum to Zhang Su, and grinned: “Bro Su, what does our boss even look like? Male or female? How old? I’ve been here a year, only chatted with him in the group—never seen his real face. So damn mysterious!”

Zhang Su, who trained regularly and moved with great agility, caught the gum mid-air and said seriously: “Luezi, I treat you like a brother, treating you to food and drinks is fine—but if the accounts don’t add up, how am I supposed to explain to the boss?”

Then Zhang Su scanned the gum and told Wu Lue: “Ninety-nine fen. Pay up!”

“Alright, alright, alright!”

Wu Lue reluctantly pulled out his phone, paid while muttering: “You’re just a manager, not even the boss—why be so picky?”

Not even the boss?

Hearing Wu Lue’s words, Zhang Su’s lips curled into a faint smile.

You’ve never met the boss—how do you know I’m not the boss?

That’s right—Zhang Su was the owner of this Yilewen Convenience Store. He had always pretended to be the manager, handled all hiring interviews himself, gave orders through another WeChat account in the group—so none of the staff knew he was the owner!

“It’s not about whether you’re the boss or not, Luezi—this is a matter of principle!”

As he spoke, Zhang Su took the gum, pulled out over a dozen pieces, and stuffed them into his mouth, ignoring Wu Lue’s pained expression.

“I mean…” Zhang Su chewed the gum, pointed a finger in front of Wu Lue’s face, and teased: “You’re ten years younger than me—stop copying your teacher. Look at your body—you’re practically hollowed out, your eye circles are darker than a panda’s!”

Wu Lue rubbed his eye sockets and chuckled, offering no rebuttal—because there was none to give…

“My teacher’s so charming—I’d never skip class.”

“That’s so you!”

Zhang Su, seeing Wu Lue’s unshakable attitude, sighed, slapped half a pack of Huazhi onto the counter, and said: “Three hundred yuan in change left in the till. Come on, help me move some stock to the car.”

“Got it!”

Wu Lue swept the cigarettes into his pocket, pulled on his uniform jacket, and followed Zhang Su toward the warehouse.

“Whoa… Bro Su, this is… can I return the cigarettes to you?”

Wu Lue stared at the cart piled with at least a cubic meter of goods, utterly speechless.

“Stop whining. If you want to return them, return this week’s and last week’s too—or get moving!”

Zhang Su instinctively tapped Wu Lue on the back of the head.

Wu Lue was 1.73 meters tall; Zhang Su stood 1.85 meters—just the right height difference that made Zhang Su love tapping Wu Lue’s head.

Seeing Zhang Su already dragging the cart, Wu Lue didn’t delay—he ran to open the door, helped push the cart, and asked: “Bro Su, are these the goods you mentioned yesterday from that big client?”

Zhang Su nodded casually, focused on his work.

After more than ten minutes, the two stuffed all the cart’s goods into a half-new, half-used Wuling minivan.

“Phew…” Wu Lue wiped sweat from his forehead, glanced at the cargo inside, and asked puzzled: “Bro Su, buying so many instant meals and bottled water? Company camping team-building?”

During the move, Wu Lue noticed the goods were mostly food and drink: various flavors of self-heating pots and meals, plus many buckets of water, drinks, and snacks.

Thud!

Zhang Su slammed the van door shut, clapped his hands, and said: “A streamer—apparently promised fans to stay in his room for a month, eating, drinking, and even going to the bathroom without opening the door… That’s it. Luezi, don’t doze off tonight, stay safe. I’m off!”

He patted Wu Lue’s arm, climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the car.

Driving along the empty road, Zhang Su lit a cigarette, exhaled slowly, and looked at the city he’d lived in for ten years—still feeling no strong sense of belonging.

He wasn’t originally from Qincheng; if not for the events ten years ago, he wouldn’t be living here.

Ten years ago, right after taking the college entrance exam, Zhang Su received bad news: his parents had divorced and both abandoned him. Fortunately, they had some conscience and left him a sum of money—he took it and left his hometown.

As his thoughts drifted, the car stopped at an intersection.

“Bro Su!”

“It really is Bro Su…”

“Bro Su, good evening!”

At that moment, a group of drunk youths on the street spotted Zhang Su and waved enthusiastically—about ten men and women, lively and noisy.

Zhang Su smiled and waved back, then pulled two packs of Liqun from the glove compartment and tossed them over; as the light turned green, he drove off without stopping, amid a chorus of thanks.

Zhang Su got along well with the local hoodlums on several nearby streets, mainly because of business dealings with their boss, and he’d met many young guys along the way.

He occasionally sold them unsharpened iron blades and hollow-core baseball bats, occasionally handed out cigarettes when they met, and with his own considerable martial skill, the young hoodlums treated him respectfully and often visited the convenience store.

New book launch—thank you all for your support!

(End of Chapter)