Chapter 2539 — A Young Idler, an Old Beggar

"Very well then. Since you insist, I have no reason to refuse. But I have already told you the consequences, so when you get back you must make them clear to Old Master Zhao." Yu Xiaochen said.

"No problem, don't worry, Uncle. Even if my leg breaks and something goes wrong, it won't come back on you!" Zhao Qibing had no idea what Yu Xiaochen was really thinking and assumed he was merely afraid of taking responsibility, so he agreed at once.

Yu Xiaochen nodded and said nothing more, then saw Zhao Qibing off. Zhao Qibing was eager to cultivate and rushed home, and Yu Xiaochen made no effort to keep him. Yu Xiaochen looked down on Zhao Qibing from the start—a man who had climbed to his position through trickery, with no real ability at all. He had swindled a Qi Condensation Pill and risen on the strength of it, without a shred of genuine skill.

In Donghai City, the afternoon passed without incident. When school let out, Wei Zhao walked out of the classroom together with Wang Xinyan and Han Jingyi and headed for the parking lot. Wang Xinyan still looked well, though she had grown rather drowsy; she had taken the Chinese medicine Wei Zhao had prepared both in the morning and at noon, and it felt quite good.

Kang Zhaolong saw Wang Xinyan together with Wei Zhao, but he could not muster the slightest temper. The only thing he could do was squat in a corner, draw circles on the ground, and curse Wei Zhao—anything else was beyond him. Even Zhong Yongliang, a disciple sent down from an ancient sect, had been beaten by Wei Zhao. For the first time, doubt began to stir in Kang Zhaolong's heart: even if his brother Kang Zhaoming became an elder of the Xuandan Sect, would he really be able to deal with Wei Zhao then?

If Kang Zhaoming acted himself, he could never be Wei Zhao's match. Having followed You Panhu for some time, Kang Zhaolong had learned a great deal. Alchemists did have their own power rankings, but those rankings could not be used in combat—their fighting strength was simply too low. Even if Kang Zhaoming were a heaven-tier alchemist, he might not be Wei Zhao's opponent.

Besides, even the heaven-tier experts of the Hidden You family were no match for Wei Zhao. Unless Kang Zhaoming brought a whole group of Xuandan Sect experts to deal with Wei Zhao, there was no hope at all! At this thought, Kang Zhaolong felt a wave of despondency.

His confidence, which had once swelled to the point of bursting, had now curdled into something close to disappointment. That was how people were: in the instant they learned of some good fortune, their confidence peaked and they believed they could do anything; but as time passed and a few days went by and they calmed down, they grew anxious over every gain and loss. That was exactly the state Kang Zhaolong was in.

Naturally, Wei Zhao paid no attention to what Kang Zhaolong thought. Whatever the man was thinking, as long as he did not cause trouble for the time being, Wei Zhao would not bother with him.

That evening, Wang Xinyan again slept in Wei Zhao's bedroom. She had even taken a bath that day, though she had turned her back to Wei Zhao while bathing. Although she had adopted a tacitly permissive attitude about certain matters, on questions of principle like this she still held her ground...

After Chen Xi returned home safely, Mother Chen resolutely moved house. The family's circumstances had improved considerably by then; thanks to Lai Pangzi's connections, she had gotten a job as a warehouse keeper at the Songshan City branch of Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals. It was a position that required no particular expertise, was not tiring, and paid well—usually such a post went only to the boss's relatives and associates.

Though she often had to work the night shift, it was one day on and one day off, and most of the time she simply sat in the office with her colleagues reading the newspaper to pass the time. She only had work to do when a salesman brought clients to collect goods, so it was easy and not the least bit tiring.

Mother Chen was deeply grateful to Wei Zhao for all of this, and she often told Chen Xi that one must remember kindness and repay it, urging her to study hard so that she could repay Wei Zhao in the future.

Chen Xi understood all this well enough, but the repayment in her heart took a different form entirely. If Mother Chen ever found out, she would surely scold her for being a bad girl at such a young age... But there was nothing to be done. After spending so long with a fierce girl like Ying Ziyu, even Chen Xi's innocent mind could not help being influenced.

Zhao Guangyin's fleeting reappearance had also put Mother Chen's mind at rest, letting her see through his ugly face completely. It had been a trap from the start, luring Wei Zhao to his death. In an instant Mother Chen gave up all hope in Zhao Guangyin and resolutely moved out with Chen Xi.

Ying Ziyu's living quarters were not bad—neither fancy nor shabby. It just so happened that the elderly couple downstairs and their children were going abroad and had two apartments across the hall from each other to rent out. Mother Chen rented one, and Grandpa Zhu rented the other.

In truth, Mother Chen was being a bit overly cautious. For one thing, it was utterly impossible for Zhao Guangyin to appear before her again; given his temperament, once he had used someone he was done with them—what would be the point of further contact, unless he wanted that woman Yu Xiaojin to go mad?

Besides, with Leader Zhu around, did it really matter where the mother and daughter moved? The only difference was that after moving here, Chen Xi moved into Ying Ziyu's home. Her excuse was perfectly reasonable: the two of them could help each other with their studies.

Since Mother Chen sometimes had to work the night shift and had no time to look after Chen Xi, she raised no objection at all to Chen Xi's decision. And so Chen Xi's innocent little head began to be polluted by Ying Ziyu once again.

"Xiao Xi, you came first in the whole grade on this exam, you know. Aren't you going to report it to Brother Wei Zhao?" Ying Ziyu lay on the bed drinking milk and nudged Chen Xi, who was reading, with her foot.

"Ah... call Brother Wei Zhao? Is that really all right?" Chen Xi hesitated, but egged on by Ying Ziyu, she rather wanted to do it.

"What's wrong with it?" Ying Ziyu said carelessly. "Xiao Xi, I'm not criticizing you, but Brother Wei Zhao has so many pretty women around him. If you don't take the initiative yourself, when will your turn ever come? Haven't you heard the saying? 'A young idler, an old beggar.' If you don't want to end up crying in a BMW someday, you'd better start working hard now!"

"A young idler, an old beggar? Isn't that about studying? What does it have to do with this... And what do you mean, crying in a BMW? I don't even have a BMW!" Chen Xi was utterly bewildered by Ying Ziyu's baffling words.

"It's all the same, isn't it? It means if you don't work hard to pursue Brother Wei Zhao now, when you grow up and regret it, you'll cry!" Ying Ziyu explained. "Brother Wei Zhao treats you so well—of course he'll buy you a BMW someday, but he'll also treat you like a little sister, and that's when you'll be sitting in the BMW crying."

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