Chapter 37 part 1
“I don’t need money.”
This was the first time in his life Luo Shizhen had seen so much money.
He firmly pushed the cards back, beginning to suspect the thermometer might be broken.
Otherwise, why would Lu Qiujin look like he was burning up with a high fever to the point of foolishness?
“Why are you giving me money? I have my own money.”
Luo Shizhen could now be considered very wealthy; he hadn’t spent a single cent of the twenty thousand the school gave him.
Fifty million was simply an astronomical figure.
If Luo Shizhen had earned this money himself, he would be overjoyed. He would build a grand tomb for his grandmother and burn lots of paper money for her.
But he definitely couldn’t accept it from Lu Qiujin.
Moreover, with the money he earned now, although he couldn’t build a grand tomb for his grandmother, he could still afford a new tombstone and burn plenty of paper money.
This was the first time Lu Qiujin had encountered someone refusing free money. But being shrewd, he looked at Luo Shizhen’s expression and realized he was resistant to taking someone else’s money for no reason. He immediately changed his approach.
“I have money. You help me purify and save my life; consider this money a thank-you fee.”
“Actually, fifty million is considered little. After all, compared to life, what is money?”
Luo Shizhen agreed with the statement “life is more important than money.”
But he still didn’t accept it. Just pursing his lips slightly, he said seriously:
“The school already pays me a salary. I am a Purifier; my job is to purify you guys. If you give me extra money, I would be letting the school down too much.”
“Besides, you are too generous. Giving too much… in our hometown, this is called ‘foolishly generous,’ and you’ll suffer losses for it. Don’t just give money to people casually in the future. No matter how much money you have, it won’t last if you spend it like this.”
When Luo Shizhen was little, there was a destitute old man in town. Every time the sun came out, he would bring a stool outside to bask in the sun, wearing patched clothes.
Grandma Luo would talk with the neighbors while Luo Shizhen played nearby, and he heard them talk about this old man.
It was said that when he was young, his family had quite a bit of property. However, he was loose with money and loved enjoyment; if he had money, he had to spend it. When his parents were alive, they could restrain him, but once they passed, he squandered the family fortune within two years.
At this point in the story, Grandma Luo would say to Luo Shizhen:
“Don’t learn from him when you grow up. We common folk must live steadily and honestly; we can’t be spendthrifts.”
The neighbors would laugh, saying Grandma Luo didn’t have much money anyway, so even if Little Shizhen wanted to be a spendthrift, he wouldn’t have the chance.
Luo Shizhen didn’t listen to others’ laughter. He had always been simple-minded; listening to his grandmother was the prime directive in his brain. Whatever his grandmother said was most important.
He nodded obediently at the time, engraving those words in his heart.
Now, looking at Lu Qiujin, his gaze was as if he were looking at a prodigal son.
It was the first time Lu Qiujin heard someone speak to him like this.
He had suffered much hardship, but never poverty.
After all, being of the Wood type and with the Lu family involved in agricultural projects, relying on him, the business had long flourished.
The Lu family put on a good act in public, pretending to be a loving family. As the cash cow, Lu Qiujin had truly never lacked money.
Seeing Luo Shizhen’s earnest expression as he calculated whether the money was enough for him to spend, Lu Qiujin felt a moment of trance.
He even had the feeling that he was married, and his young wife was earnestly planning for the family.
“You’re right.”
Lu Qiujin agreed with Luo Shizhen. “Fifty million is indeed not enough to spend.”
He decided to ask his father for another three hundred million.
Lu Qiujin generally didn’t ask the Lu family for money, although he deserved more than ninety percent of the credit for the Lu family’s current fortune.
It was just that he didn’t care about money himself, so he didn’t care if others cared about it.
Now hearing Luo Shizhen say this, Lu Qiujin also began to feel that he had too little money on hand.
He thought:
If the Lu family doesn’t give it, I’ll just withdraw from the ongoing agricultural projects directly.
As for whether the Lu family would be greatly affected or face any crisis after his withdrawal, Lu Qiujin didn’t care.
Just like he didn’t ask the Lu family for money before because he didn’t care.
Luo Shizhen didn’t know what Lu Qiujin was thinking and felt he was receptive to advice.
“Alright, your hair is dry enough. Let’s sleep!”
Lu Qiujin snapped back to reality, hearing the word “sleep,” and his heart began to burn fiercely again.
“Sleep…”
He repeated unconsciously, looking at the two beds pushed together.
Luo Shizhen didn’t think that much. He got up, placed Lu Qiujin’s hairdryer on the table, and crawled into his quilt.
The feeling of sleeping under a quilt with the air conditioner on was truly wonderful. Luo Shizhen squinted in enjoyment and nuzzled his cheek against the pillow.
He closed his eyes slightly, about to sleep, when he suddenly realized Lu Qiujin hadn’t moved. He looked up in confusion.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Lu Qiujin parroted, “Sleep.”
Luo Shizhen: “Then hurry up and get in.”
Lu Qiujin felt this conversation was too off, but it seemed only he felt that way.
He walked around Luo Shizhen’s bed, got onto his own bed from the other side, and lay under the quilt with his hands at his sides. He lay stiffly, not looking like he was sleeping, but stiff all over as if ready for a funeral.
Luo Shizhen poked him with a finger.
Lu Qiujin’s already stiff body instantly became even stiffer.
He opened his mouth, his voice even drier than before. “What is it?”
Luo Shizhen asked in a whisper, “Won’t it be uncomfortable sleeping so straight?”
Actually, he had a bit of a zombie trauma. Seeing Lu Qiujin lying there so stiffly made him nervous.
Lu Qiujin: “No.”
He paused, feeling his voice was a bit cold and hard, so he added, “I’m used to sleeping like this.”
“Oh…”
Seeing him answer normally, Luo Shizhen felt relieved.
He yawned, wanting to sleep, but remembered he needed to bond with Lu Qiujin.
“Lu Qiujin, are you sleepy now? Do you want to chat to bond?”
Lu Qiujin said almost immediately, “Okay. What should we talk about?”
They were very close. Although not face-to-face, it was close enough for Lu Qiujin to clearly feel another person lying beside him.
Warm, harmless, carrying a hint of coziness.
Lu Qiujin remembered the gentle poke from Luo Shizhen just now—careful, as if afraid of hurting him.
His heart felt like grass was growing in it, starting to itch inexplicably. It was also like a cat’s paw scratching inside, scratching until his heart burned.
An Awakener’s good vision allowed him to see the scene in front of him clearly even with the lights off.
Lu Qiujin dared not turn to look at Luo Shizhen, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling instead.
What would Luo Shizhen ask him?
To bond…
Would he ask about his criteria for a partner?
Then how should he answer?
Speaking of which, Chu Xiao and Xiao Shan liked Luo Shizhen, but Luo Shizhen obviously didn’t like them.
What kind of person did he like?
First, definitely not someone like Xiao Shan; Luo Shizhen clearly just admired his physique.
It was just a bit of muscle. He simply didn’t want to train before; if he wanted to, he could build it too. He would start training tomorrow.
It was also definitely not Chu Xiao. Chu Xiao and Luo Shizhen grew up together and could be called childhood sweethearts.
If Luo Shizhen were to like him, he would have liked him long ago. Why wait until now?
Rong Nian was even more out of the question—a fish with species dysmorphia. How could Luo Shizhen fall for a fish?
In this instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lu Qiujin’s mind, simulating countless questions and countless answers.
He held his breath and listened as Luo Shizhen spoke.
“There was a question on today’s test asking: during combat, when intuition senses something following but the body doesn’t feel followed, where should one check first? Why is the answer A?”
Lu Qiujin: “…”
“I chose B, check the shadow, because a previous question said some Anomalies hide in people’s shadows. But the answer key says A. I forgot to ask the teacher during the make-up lesson just now. Did you get it right? Do you know why it’s A?”
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