Chapter 224 - A Friend Like the Wind
Translator: Lav
Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia
Shi Lei specifically told Sun Yiyi not to make food so that he could order a few dishes from a fancy restaurant for takeout, which cost around 2,000 yuan with tip. Adding that to the special local products he had bought in Runzhou for Sun Yiyi and her mother, he had spent 3,000 yuan in total.
Although this amount of money was nothing compared to the 500,000 or 600,000 yuan he had left, meat was still meat, even if the fly was tiny.
Sun Yiyi’s mother also recovered quickly and she could already go grocery shopping, cook, and even do some light ch.o.r.es. At this rate, she would be able to work after New Year’s and Sun Yiyi would be completely free.
Shi Lei left Sun Yiyi’s place at around 9 PM. On the way back to his apartment, he suddenly remembered that neither Zhang Mo nor anyone else had contacted him during the week he went back to Runzhou. They didn’t do their usual party on Wednesdays and he felt uncomfortable, since he thought they were rather straightforward when they tagged along to go eat and drink with him, and even dared to borrow money from him. However, Shi Lei had disappeared for a week, yet none of them remembered him.
After a moment of hesitation, Shi Lei sent a WeChat message to Zhang Mo, wanting to see how the other would reply.
Zhang Mo messaged back quickly, asking: Shi Lei, you’re back?
You know I went to Runzhou?
I was wandering around school the other day and wanted to go visit you at that apartment you rented, but I b.u.mped into Yiyi. She said you went back to Runzhou and she was helping you clean the house.
Shi Lei looked at the message, not knowing how to reply. He hesitated for a long time and finally decided to say it straightforwardly. You guys suck. I went back for a week and you didn’t even contact me!
This time, he didn’t receive a reply for quite some time. Shi Lei got out of the car, still waiting for Zhang Mo’s response.
When he was about to go upstairs, his WeChat notification finally sounded.
s.h.i.tou, are you in your apartment right now? Why don’t we get a drink at Lao w.a.n.g Barbeque?
Okay, Shi Lei immediately replied. I just happened to be downstairs. I’ll be there in ten minutes.
Alright. I’ll leave the internet cafe right now.
When Shi Lei arrived at Lao w.a.n.g Barbeque, Zhang Mo was already there with a bunch of skewers and a dozen beers.
“I’m going to treat you today, so you can’t fight for the bill.” Zhang Mo said and stood up, seeing that Shi Lei had arrived.
Shi Lei smiled. “Yo, you’re such a stingy person, so why are you being so polite with me all of a sudden?”
Zhang Mo opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He simply patted Shi Lei’s shoulder as both of them sat down.
Zhang Mo opened a bottle of beer and pa.s.sed it to Shi Lei while he chugged down another bottle.
“s.h.i.tou, it wasn’t that we didn’t want to contact you. Before this, we were all stinky losers and everyone was calculating how much money the other had and forcing the person with the most money to treat us to a meal. Then you became a fuerdai. We were used the system of having whoever had the most money pay and didn’t really think too much about it. But after we opened our mouths to borrow money from you, we realized that it was wrong. Even though your family is rich, the wind didn’t just blow the money to you. Why the h.e.l.l do you have to always treat us to things, then? You are right. Friends shouldn’t deal too much with money, no matter how close they are. Especially if it’s borrowing money.”
With that, Zhang Mo took a thick envelope out of his pocket and placed it in front of Shi Lei.
“This is the 3,000 yuan that Luo Ming, Xu Yi, and I borrowed from you. Didn’t you ask me why we didn’t contact you this week? We went to earn money. We found part-time jobs. It pays 100 yuan per day. And we found another part-time job over New Year’s break. They pay more money during the New Year’s. We finally gathered 1,000 yuan each. Previously, we were crossing the line. We didn’t feel anything back then, but we came together, did some calculations, and realized that we ate almost 100,000 yuan worth of food. 100,000 yuan! My parents work extremely hard every year and can only earn around that much. But the three of us ate 100,000 yuan worth of food. To be honest, we feel very sorry.”
Seeing Zhang Mo’s chubby face and his meaningful and heartfelt words, Shi Lei finally understood that it wasn’t because those three didn’t want to contact him, but because they felt like they owed him and tried their hardest to repay the money out of guilt.
“We’ve been friends for more than three years. I’m not lacking on the money aspect, and I think it’s nice to eat and drink together.” Shi Lei couldn’t help but feel slightly sorrowful. He had only taken a big sip of the beer before, but now he also chugged it down.
He opened another two beers and Zhang Mo said, “Even if you don’t need it, it’s still your money. As for us, we will be like before. But don’t treat us to fancy dinners even if you don’t care about the money. We’ll keep having our party day, but it’s limited to us four bros hanging out together and have some alcohol at Lao w.a.n.g Barbeque or the Moonlight Restaurant. If not, we can buy some pre-cooked dishes and carry two dozen beers to your apartment to drink. s.h.i.tou, I don’t care whether you are a fuerdai or not. You said this yourself. We are cla.s.smates. Good bros from the same dorm. And that’s how we will be in the future. Those two haven’t come back yet. They went back home. I figured that if they were here, I wouldn’t be able to say this, so I didn’t ask them to come. It’s good enough that you understand it in your heart, but don’t say it out loud. Those two want more face than me.”
Shi Lei was also slightly ashamed for doubting their friendship with him. He couldn’t help but stretch out his hand and pat Zhang Mo’s thick shoulder. “Of course. Us four will gather together for future party days. We’ll treat each other in turn, one person every time. I don’t care what you guys treat me to, but don’t feel apologetic for what I treat you guys to. I have a lot of money, so we can eat something fancy. You guys don’t have as much money, so we can just have something small. In general, just go for something within your capabilities. That’s the right way to interact with friends. There’s no need to feel too embarra.s.sed to hang out with me because I treat you to expensive things. Fatty, what do you think?”
Zhang Mo blinked. His small eyes looked at Shi Lei for while. He still felt in his heart that it was somewhat inappropriate, but eventually nodded heavily and said, “Alright, I don’t really care. d.a.m.n, the atmosphere is so heavy that I was about to cry! Come on, let’s drink!”
They toasted each other loudly.
Shi Lei had a migraine when he woke up the next day. He drank two dozen beers with Zhang Mo, twelve bottles each, and both of them threw up after that.
After he washed up, he headed straight for Deji Plaza. He first bought a Givenchy sheepskin jacket. Using the Black Card, more than 80,000 yuan was gone in an instant.
He also bought a Hermes belt as well as a pair of pants, which were more than 20,000 yuan.
Dior shoes, a little over 10,000 yuan.
He was a new person when he walked out, having spent 120,000 yuan.
A though suddenly came to him, and he went back to the plaza. He found the Chanel store and asked for the renowned Chanel No. 5. A 100mL bottle was over 1,000 yuan. It really wasn’t much to the Shi Lei.
He called Wei Xingyue, knowing that he had to thank her.
“Aiyo, Young Master Shi finally remembered to call me? What, was it satisfying to pretend to be cool in Runzhou?”
A few droplets of sweat formed on Shi Lei’s forehead. “Are you going to die if you don’t criticize me? What are you doing right now? I’ll treat you to something.”
“Aiyo, I must go if Young Master Shi is treating. But do you plan to treat me to lunch or dinner at this time?”
Shi Lei looked at the time. It was just past noon, so he said, “Lunch, of course. It’s only slightly past twelve.”
“Don’t you know that us women need more than two hours just to get changed and do makeup? And I’ll need another hour to get to the city from my house.”
Shi Lei was speechless and could only say, “Do whatever you want then. Well, we can find a place to sit in the afternoon and have dinner together. I’m warning you though, don’t call me ‘Young Master Shi.’ If you do, I won’t treat you anymore.”
Wei Xingyue giggled and stopped teasing him. “Okay, I’ll contact you when I leave the house.”