Jiang Shi couldn’t understand how someone like Cheng Ye could exist in the world, someone so thick-skinned that it seemed if you slapped him, he’d catch your hand and lick it.

He threw the chocolate Cheng Ye had placed in his arms back at him. “I don’t want your things.”

“Why?” Cheng Ye asked. “Is it not good enough?”

Is this a question of ‘good enough’?

Jiang Shi took a deep breath and patiently explained to him, “At most, we’re just friends. You don’t need to give me these things, and you have no obligation to give me these things. I don’t need anything from you. If you have money, you should save it. You’re all alone, and you’ll only have more expenses in the future.”

At this point, he couldn’t help but glance at the bag in Cheng Ye’s arms. “Where did you get the money to buy all this?”

“I earned it.”

Earned it again…

“You’re with me every day. Where do you find the time to earn money?”

Cheng Ye had no intention of hiding it from Jiang Shi and told him everything.

“I had a friend buy a batch of small goods to bring over and sell. I provided the money, and they were in charge of selling. The money is my cut from the sales.”

Jiang Shi asked him, “How much did you earn in total?”

Cheng Ye said, “One thousand five hundred.”

He had given five hundred to Liu Man and Xiao Liu, given Jiang Shi five hundred last time, and spent another two hundred on these things. Now, Cheng Ye only had three hundred left on him.

Money could be earned again if it was gone, but if Jiang Shi was angry, he had to be coaxed immediately.

Jiang Shi didn’t know he had spent all his money, but he was still dissatisfied with his extravagant behavior. “Is earning money such a big deal? You just spend it like this as soon as you get it? Can’t you think about your future?”

“I did,” Cheng Ye said.

Considered my ass!

Jiang Shi kicked him.

After being kicked, Cheng Ye sat obediently beside Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi said, “Take all your things back and return them. I don’t want them.”

“I can’t return them once they’re bought.” Cheng Ye picked up the chocolate and asked him, “You don’t like this brand?”

“Is this a question of whether I like it or not? This is clearly…”

“This is precisely a question of whether you like it or not,” Cheng Ye looked at him. “Jiang Shi, you just need to consider whether you like it or not. The rest isn’t a problem.”

Looking into his dark eyes, Jiang Shi froze on the spot.

Cheng Ye was still holding the chocolate. “Then let me ask a different way. Do you hate eating this?” He leaned down slightly, getting closer to Jiang Shi, his eyes meeting his. “Look into my eyes and tell me.”

Jiang Shi wanted to say he didn’t like it, but right in front of him were Cheng Ye’s dark eyes. That gaze pierced straight to the bottom of his heart, as if it could see through all his thoughts. The insincere words got stuck in his throat and he couldn’t get them out.

Of course, he couldn’t say he liked it either.

Cheng Ye didn’t expect him to say he liked it. Jiang Shi was like an awkward little hedgehog. He hadn’t smoothed down his quills yet, so naturally, he wouldn’t see him expose his belly and roll around in his hands.

After waiting for three seconds, he withdrew the chocolate and said with certainty, “You like this.”

“…”

Jiang Shi was speechless.

Cheng Ye took out the beef jerky. “Do you hate this?”

Jiang Shi didn’t speak.

Cheng Ye withdrew the beef jerky again.

He took out the cookies. “What about this one?”

Jiang Shi’s gaze wavered for a moment, then he opened his mouth. “Hey! You…”

Cheng Ye put the cookies on his own knee. “Then we won’t have this one.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

The black plastic bag landed on Jiang Shi’s knee. “Young Master, please don’t be mad at me anymore, okay?”

After all this, Jiang Shi’s temper was almost completely gone.

He reached out and squeezed the bag. It crinkled loudly, filled to the brim with snacks. It wasn’t that no one had ever given him snacks before, but this was the first time he felt the weight of it was so heavy.

“Cheng Ye…” Jiang Shi paused for a moment, then said softly, “Why are you so good to me?”

“I’ve told you before.”

“Just because I helped you before?”

“If you must have a reason.”

…

Jiang Shi didn’t speak.

Cheng Ye said, “Don’t feel burdened. Sincerity is worthless. You can squander my sincerity as you please. Of course, you can also squander my money.”

“You bought my entire life for twenty thousand. This life of mine is yours. A dog that has recognized its master can’t be driven away.”

“If it really gets to the point where you can’t stand it, I’ll leave.”

Jiang Shi said, “I feel like I can’t stand you right now.”

Cheng Ye let out a laugh. “I know. That’s not what you really think.”

“…”

Jiang Shi thought, There’s no one in this world more annoying than Cheng Ye.

Although Liu Man seemed like a slacker, he was sharp and good at talking. The batch of goods from Cheng Ye sold quickly in his hands.

He and Xiao Liu would go out to set up their stall before dawn every day, and at night they would come home and count their money until their mouths couldn’t close.

It didn’t matter if he couldn’t get an education. Liu Man felt that by following Cheng Ye, he too could one day make a name for himself.

But his happiness only lasted for two days before all their goods were confiscated.

At the end of the day, they were just two teenagers. They had never seen such a situation before and could only watch helplessly as the city management officers took all their things. It was only after they were taken away that they remembered the phone number Cheng Ye had left them.

He still remembered Cheng Ye’s words in his heart. Even though he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, he didn’t reveal a single detail in the text message.

Jiang Shi received the text message during lunch. He picked up his phone and saw only three words on it—Find Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye was sitting across from him, his rice piled high, with only a dish of potatoes. In two minutes, half of his rice was gone.

Jiang Shi handed the phone to him. “It seems like someone’s looking for you.”

Cheng Ye knew who it was as soon as he saw the phone number. He shoveled down the rest of his rice in a few bites and used Jiang Shi’s phone to call back.

“Brother Cheng!” Liu Man was almost crying on the other end. “Something’s happened. The city management confiscated our goods.”

…

When Cheng Ye jumped over the wall, Liu Man and Xiao Liu were squatting at the school gate, smoking. Seeing him was like seeing their savior. “Brother Cheng!”

Liu Man was on the verge of tears. They had sold less than a third of their goods. If they couldn’t get them back, they would be finished.

Cheng Ye patted his shoulder. “Don’t panic yet. Tell me slowly.”

Liu Man said, “We don’t know what happened either. Today, Xiao Liu and I went to our usual spot to set up the stall. There’s a lot of foot traffic there, and many other vendors. At noon, Xiao Liu went to buy food, and I was watching the stall. Then a group of city management officers came and said we were operating illegally and were going to confiscate our things.”

“There were five or six of them, and they looked very tough. They came over and, without saying a word, just took our things. I didn’t even have time to react.”

After speaking, Liu Man sniffled. “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry. Usually, we only take a portion to sell, but I heard there was some event tonight with a lot of people, so we put everything out. I didn’t expect…”

Cheng Ye asked him, “Did they only take ours, or everyone’s?”

Liu Man was stunned by his question. “I was too panicked at the time, I didn’t pay attention.”

Xiao Liu interjected, “I saw. They only took ours. The city management just shooed the others away.”

Cheng Ye’s brow furrowed in thought.

Liu Man watched the expression on his face. “Is there a problem?”

“It’s hard to say,” Cheng Ye said. “Let’s go over and take a look first.”

He went to the supermarket and bought a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes. With the cigarettes in his pocket, he took Liu Man and Xiao Liu to the city management enforcement department.

The person who received them was a middle-aged man in his thirties. When he heard their purpose, the expression on his face changed slightly. Then he smiled and poured each of them a cup of tea. “Kids, you can take your things back, but your illegal street vending has seriously affected the city’s public order. If you want to get them back, you have to pay a fine.”

Cheng Ye was still wearing his school uniform. Compared to Liu Man and Xiao Liu, who were clearly a little timid, he appeared much more composed.

He took the cigarettes out of his pocket and handed them to the man. “We’re still young, and we’re just vending to make a living. My brother here hasn’t had much schooling and can barely read. He doesn’t really understand the rules. Sir, could you tell us how much the fine is to get our things back?”

The man glanced at the cigarettes in his hand. His fingers twitched, but in the end, he pushed the cigarettes back. “The higher-ups said thirty thousand.”

Cheng Ye was stunned for a moment.

Liu Man immediately got anxious. “Thirty thousand? Why don’t you just rob us!”

The man spread his hands helplessly. “There’s nothing I can do. Those are the rules. We can’t cheat you kids, can we?”

“This isn’t cheating?” Liu Man said. “Our goods aren’t even worth thirty thousand, yet you’re asking us to pay a thirty-thousand-yuan fine?”

“The amount is what it is. If you can afford to pay, you can have your things back. If you can’t, there’s nothing we can do. If you really think we’re cheating you, then you can go and report us.”

“You…”

Cheng Ye pressed down on Liu Man’s shoulder, pushing him back into his seat.

He pushed the cigarettes in his hand towards the man. “We don’t want to make things difficult for you either. Could you please show us a clear path?”

The man glanced at the closed door and took the cigarettes. “This is all from the higher-ups. We can’t do anything about it either.”

He looked at the half-grown boys and sighed. “Young people, don’t be too impulsive. There are many things in this world that are more complicated than you imagine.”

The three of them left the office empty-handed.

Liu Man ran his hands through his hair and kicked the flower bed by the door. “Damn it! Isn’t he just bullying me because I’m uneducated and don’t know anything? Seven or eight thousand yuan worth of goods, and he wants to charge me thirty thousand. He’s clearly trying to scam us. Does he think I won’t report him? I’ll go and report him right now!”

“It’s useless,” Cheng Ye said. “Since he said that, it means he’s not afraid.”

The gap between people is sometimes greater than the gap between a person and a dog. A tiny ant can be crushed with the lift of a finger, and the ant’s futile struggles are destined to cause no ripples.

Xiao Liu’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Then what do we do?”

Cheng Ye looked up at the sky. “There’s nothing we can do. We can’t get them back.”

Xiao Liu immediately burst into tears. “If-if we can’t get them back, what-what are we going to do? And-and Brother Cheng’s money…”

Liu Man had calmed down a bit. He looked at Cheng Ye and hesitated, “Brother, did we offend someone?”

“It has nothing to do with you guys,” Cheng Ye said, ruffling Xiao Liu’s hair. “I’m the one who dragged you into this.”

“Go back,” he said to them. “The money you got from the cut before should be enough for you to live on for a while.”

Liu Man ran his hands through his hair again, his heart filled with curses. “Are we just going to let it go like this?”

Cheng Ye’s eyes were deep. His gaze swept over the large characters on the nameplate.

“We can’t let it go. What I lost today, I will get back with interest sooner or later.”

He had never been an ant that could be crushed with the lift of a hand.

Xiao Liu comforted him, “It’s okay. At least we earned over a thousand. It’s not a total loss.”

He had no idea that Cheng Ye now only had three hundred yuan left on him.

A stab wound through the abdomen, a broken leg, in exchange for ten thousand yuan. Just like that, with a casual word from someone in power, it was sealed away in a dim room, with no hope of seeing the light of day again.