Chapter 139: The Return Journey

On March 10, the group finally embarked on their journey home. There was no time difference between Shawan and the interior. At 4:30 PM, Fang Yu lifted the curtain of the Seven Stars Internet Cafe to find Shi Jicheng and Pan Yan sitting at the cashier’s desk, flirting.

"Oh! Boss Fang, you’re back! Yan Hua is on the night shift and hasn’t arrived yet," Shi Jicheng said, hopping up cheerfully.

"Hmm, thank you for your hard work. How has business been these past few days?" Fang Yu asked, casually flipping through the ledger on the counter.

"About the same as before. I had Pan Yan come over to help out, and we had a few snacks. You don’t mind, do you, Boss?" Shi Jicheng asked with a ingratiating smile.

Fang Yu waved his hand dismissively. "It’s fine, help yourself. From now on, the internet cafe won't charge you. Let me see the inventory list." Despite his words, he had already caught sight of the trash can overflowing with snack wrappers; it seemed the girl Pan Yan had quite the sweet tooth.

Xia Churan and the other two girls had plenty to keep them busy; they had purchased quite a lot of things on their trip and needed to organize everything carefully.

As soon as Fang Yu swapped his SIM card back to his domestic number, dozens of missed calls popped up instantly. His heart sank—he’d forgotten to call his "White Moonlight" for the entire duration of the trip!

For one, Fang Yu hadn't had much chance to travel before his rebirth. For another, with Xia Churan constantly by his side, he couldn't exactly let Qin Lu know about his whereabouts.

He hurriedly dialed her number. Qin Lu sounded deeply aggrieved on the other end. "You jerk, Fang Yu! Why couldn't I reach you at all? I haven't slept well in days. Are you planning on cutting me off?"

"Lulu, I’m so sorry, it’s my fault. I had to swap my SIM card in Shawan. How about I come over tomorrow to make it up to you?" He apologized in a low, submissive tone.

"No, go attend to your own business," she said, clearly genuinely upset.

"Then I’ll wait downstairs at your dorm building. I won’t leave until you come out."

"Hmph, do whatever you want. Don’t think that means I’ll forgive you."

After much coaxing, his "White Moonlight" finally relented and agreed to meet him at the school the next day. No sooner had he hung up and let out a sigh of relief than Zhang Hao’s call came through.

"Damn it, Old Fang! You finally answered. I thought something had happened to you."

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was on a business trip to Shawan and forgot about the SIM card issue." He had spent the last half-hour doing nothing but apologizing.

"Anyway, I’m calling to tell you that the phones are about to hit the market. Did you see the ads we put out?" Zhang Hao’s voice was filled with excitement.

"Already? How many units did we mass-produce?"

"Not many. We were worried they wouldn't sell, so we produced a test batch. If they sell well, we can add more orders."

Fang Yu thought about it. It made sense. To be frank, the build quality of these phones was mediocre at best, and the ringer volume was ridiculously loud—they were essentially "shanzhai" (knockoff) phones. Apart from having the "Baoleme" app as a backbone, they were otherwise unremarkable.

After chatting with Zhang Hao, seeing that it wasn't quite time to close up yet, he quickly called the Qinglu headquarters. The product manager answered.

"Hello, Boss Fang. Yes, the goods from Shawan have arrived. We’ve unloaded a batch and are currently shipping them out to the various outlets."

It had been several days since he finalized the contract, and it seemed the supplier had been quite punctual.

Reassured, Fang Yu told Shi Jicheng to head home and rest while he stayed behind to review the accounts from the past few days. As for Cheng Chen and the others, he decided to let them have the night off.

When he returned to the townhouse, he could hear the sound of laughter coming from Cheng Chen’s room even from the stairs. Li Jing must have moved in as well. He shook his head and headed straight to the third floor. Xia Churan was happily posing in front of a full-length mirror, trying on two new outfits.

"Oh! Fang Yu, you're back! Are you hungry? Do you want me to cook you a late-night snack?" The girl tossed her clothes aside and turned to wrap her arms around his neck, acting spoiled.

The sweet fragrance in the room was incredibly alluring. Fang Yu’s hand instinctively reached for her slim waist, but he quickly pulled it away with an awkward cough. "I’m fine, I’m not hungry. You’ve been back for a while now, haven't you finished unpacking?"

"Hee hee, do they look good? I’m trying them on one by one. Which one do you like? Should I wear it tomorrow?"

"They’re all yours; wear whatever you like, whenever you want. Oh, by the way, I won't be around tomorrow during the day." He offered a dry laugh and rubbed his nose.

The girl let go, looking indignant, and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Right, right, of course. Young Master Fang has to go see his girlfriend again, doesn't he?"

"What else would I do? Qin Lu didn't come with me to Shawan, did she?" he said, feigning innocence.

Xia Churan pouted, clearly unconvinced. "Hmph, you only ever care about Qin Lu. Fine, whatever. Just make sure you're back for dinner tomorrow evening. I’m in a good mood for once, and I’m planning on going to the market to buy groceries."

Thinking of her cooking skills, Fang Yu couldn't help but swallow hard. "Alright then, but I want oil-popped shrimp. Make sure you get live ones."

A smile played on the girl's lips. "Alright, alright, you picky eater. I know. Go wash up; you must be exhausted today."

As he stepped out of Xia Churan’s room, Cheng Chen happened to be pushing his door open to head downstairs for a drink from the fridge.

"Fang Yu, let me tell you something. I think Zhao Bin has been acting a bit strange."

Confused, Fang Yu opened the fridge and handed a can of cola to him. "What’s wrong? Didn't we just get back today?"

Cheng Chen waved his hand and took a sip of the cola. "I went back to the snack street this afternoon to get a couple of milk teas for Li Jing and me. I happened to see Zhao Bin at the corner of the street talking to Zhang Yan. It sounded like he was bad-mouthing Lu Zhen."

"Oh? What’s going on? Tell me." He sat down.

"What else could it be? He was probably saying that Lu Zhen was visiting brothels in Shawan and hugging other girls in bars. I didn't dare get too close for fear of being spotted, so I just caught a few sentences and left," Cheng Chen explained vividly.

Fang Yu frowned immediately. He had said it before: if they were going to be friends, there were certain boundaries they had to respect. Even if Lu Zhen had a thousand faults, it wasn't Zhao Bin’s place to criticize him, especially not to Zhang Yan—that was clearly a personal matter.

Looking back, even Baozi had never breathed a word about Xia Churan in front of Qin Lu.

He quickly pulled out his phone to call Lu Zhen and warn him, but the line was busy. It seemed the cat was already out of the bag; it was too late to give a heads-up.

It wasn't until he had showered and was lying in bed, ready to sleep, that Lu Zhen called him back.

"Hey, Boss Fang, what’s up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Who were you on the phone with just now?"

"Who else? Zhang Yan. Some bastard told her I was looking for girls in Shawan, and now she’s threatening to break up with me. I suspect it was Zhao Bin." Lu Zhen wasn't stupid; besides him and Cheng Chen, only Zhao Bin could have done such a thing.

"I was actually just about to warn you, but never mind. Let’s talk after I get back from the city tomorrow." He was far too exhausted to deal with anyone else's relationship drama.

Lu Zhen was surprisingly blunt, swearing a few times before saying he wouldn't be coming back to the townhouse tonight. He hadn't played games in days, so he told Yan Hua to take another night off while he stayed behind to cover the shift.