Early the next morning, Xu Tingsheng was rudely awoken by a call from Fang Yuqing.

  Fang Yuqing told him what had happened the previous night.

  Xu Tingsheng gloated over his unfortunate farce, “The heck, you’re really lucky! After you proposed to Yuqing’s Mum, her Dad actually didn’t storm right over and kill you dead. He’s really got quite the good temper.”


  Fang Yuqing exclaimed, “Scram! Wasn’t it all your fault in the first place?”


  Xu Tingsheng said, “What happened then? The most important thing is-what happened then? What did Yuqing say? “


  “She got me a wet towel and brewed me a cup of tea.”


  “She didn’t say anything? “


  “She couldn’t! Uncle and Auntie cornered me on the sofa and educated me for more than two hours, all the way till after 2am in the morning. Yuqing couldn’t get in a word.”


  “What did her parents say then?”


  “They just asked me to properly concentrate on finding a job for now, saying that we should wait till after graduation before talking about these things. Anyway, it was crazy embarrassing.”


  “Seems like Yuqing didn’t tell her parents about your family’s situation.”


  “Right.”


  “What happened afterwards?”


  “Afterwards, I was put up in the guest room and so they went back to sleep. I’d already sobered up then. I didn’t sleep at all the whole night……I went to find Yuqing’s parents early in the morning and took my leave.”


  “You didn’t sneak over to Yuqing’s room in the middle of the night?”


  “Get lost! Can’t you teach me anything proper?”


  “Where are you now then?”


  “In my car, hiding in some bend right outside her home district.”


  “Have Yuqing’s parents left?”


  “Yeah. They probably went off to work.”


  “What about Yuqing then?”


  “I didn’t see her leave. She should still be at home. Still, she just refuses to answer my calls or reply to my messages. What do you think’s happening here? What does Yuqing mean by this? My ring’s still warming my pocket here.”


  “She should be feeling conflicted, hesitant, lost.”


  “So? What should I do?”


  “Go back and knock on her door.”


  “Huh? What for?”


  “After the door opens, you directly go wall-blam.”


  “Wall-blam? What’s that?”


  “Just press Yuqing directly against the wall and forcefully kiss her. Be a bit fiercer, a bit wilder and a bit more domineering. If she pushes you, hold your ground. If she hits you, take it like a man. If she bites you……you’ll just no longer be able to speak in the future at most.”


  “.……You really don’t intend to teach me anything proper, do you?”


  “As soon as women get conflicted and hesitant over something, their minds will just get more and more tangled up in it. They’ll only become more conflicted and hesitant and they’ll forever be unable to make up their minds. At times like these, there’s only a single method that works, which is to make up their minds for them, forcing them to accept your opinion……it’s your choice whether to listen to me or not.”


  “Then……if I really do listen. That……wall-blam, how long do I go on with it?”


  “When she stops resisting and falls limp, that’s when you carry her into her room.”


  “Xu Tingsheng, I seem to remember that you’re the only virgin amongst the lot of us? Where did you learn all of these?”


  “It’s your choice whether to listen to me or not. Anyway……when she’ll do whatever you ask, take out your ring, cry as is appropriate, and say whatever it is that has to be said. Right, remember to put on your clothes before kneeling.”


  “.……only a fool would listen to you.”


  “Like I said, it’s your choice. I’ve got a call coming in. I’m hanging up.”


  Xu Tingsheng hung up, seeing on the screen that he had a missed call from Lu Zhxin.

  He called back, and Lu Zhixin said, “Old Wai came knocking just now. He said he thought that you were here……you didn’t return to your dorm last night. Where are you right now?”


  “It was too late and I couldn’t enter. I stayed at a motel last night,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  Lu Zhixin hesitated for a while before asking softly over the phone, “Why didn’t you come back here to sleep? I don’t actually have the power to kick you out of this place. If you came back, I would still have opened the door for you.”


  Xu Tingsheng laughed, “I was scared that someone might crawl onto my bed in the middle of the night.”


  Lu Zhixin said, “The one that you washed-I already can’t distinguish which one it was anymore.”


  After saying so, she hung up……

  Xu Tingsheng returned to his university and attended two lessons. In the afternoon, he received yet another call from Fang Yuqing. The sound of his car speeding along the road could be heard over the receiver.

  Fang Yuqing said, “I’m on my way back right now.”


  Xu Tingsheng said, “Oh.”


  Fang Yuqing waited for a bit before asking, “Just……oh? You don’t wanna know anything else?”


  Xu Tingsheng said, “Not interested.”


  Fang Yuqing said, “Don’t be like this! I’ll treat you to a meal when I get back. You can have anything you want.”


  “Didn’t you withdraw all your money to buy a ring? You’re taking it back and pawning it?”


  “The ring……heh……it’s already been given away. You can lend me the money first,” Fang Yuqing said, “Well, Yuqing said that she’ll keep the ring first. She won’t wear it, but she will wait for me for two years. Also, her parents’ impression of me actually isn’t bad. Yuqing’s Dad told her afterwards that while the way I looked yesterday night was indeed rather foolish, it was foolishness for Yuqing’s sake at the very least.”


  Fang Yuqing was laughing in a silly manner over on his end of the phone.

  Seeing how Fang Yuqing who had habitually seemed lackadaisical and whimsical before this could actually foolishly go Erguotou for someone else and then be happy in a silly manner, Xu Tingsheng actually felt rather happy for him as well. He was always hoping to see more people around him being blessed by happiness, more happy events occurring.

  “Forget about treating me to a meal first. I’ve invited those friends of yours to a meal tomorrow night. You, Huang Yaming and Tan Yao will all be accompanying me then.”


  “Great!” Fang Yuqing exclaimed excitedly, “We should hurry and get that house built in front of Yuqing’s home as soon as possible. Her current house’s still in Soviet-style architecture. That’s practically archaic.”


  “You’re not gonna join the police anymore? ” Xu Tingsheng asked.

  “I don’t know, I’m a bit hesitant. I talked with my cousin about it yesterday afternoon. And you know what he told me?”


  “What?”


  “He said that for at least one out of every three of their cases right now, there will be various people from up above calling in to ask about it. Some even directly exert pressure on them. The time and effort that’s being spent dealing with such things is even greater than that spent on cracking the cases themselves.”


  Xu Tingsheng hesitated for a moment before saying, “You do as you think fit.”
……

  There existed immense potential for growth in real estate. By the time the second half of 2004 rolled in, many people had already realised this.

  Still, there was something characteristic to real estate, and that was that it was high in quality yet low in quantity……because of that, while countless people knew of its potential, there were few who actually dared to try to get a slice of the pie, and even fewer who would ultimately end up seeing success.

  Generally speaking, apart from the occasional major real estate company ambitiously coming abroad, the overall situation in real estate was considerably stable. From relationships to funding to the various smaller details, it would not be easy for anyone to break this stable equilibrium.

  Even as local real estate companies were competitors, there would generally exist a tacit understanding between them as well.

  It had been three days since Xu Tingsheng had asked the trio to spread the word. Over these mere three days, there were already many who had learnt of this matter. There were those who had come to mess things up for him. Of course, Xu Tingsheng was still sorely insufficient in their eyes. Many had not really taken this matter to heart.

  In name, this dinner was for Xu Tingsheng to thank everyone for their assistance in that park incident which had happened during the summer holidays. The first half of it was to be held in Yanzhou’s sole five star hotel, while the afterparty would be held in Bro Kun’s nightclub.

  Speaking of Wu Kun, Xu Tingsheng only recalled having received a call from him after that previous incident, saying that that other Bro Kun’s gang would be appearing in Yanzhou no longer.

  There were more than forty attendees in total, consisting of both men and women alike. It was evident that some of them had not participated in that park incident at all. Instead, they had come due to the news that Xu Tingsheng had intentionally leaked.

  Xu Tingsheng had a term that described their distinctiveness: the non-inheritors.

  These people mostly had families which were rooted in business or officialdom. Even though they fell under the blanket term of ‘second gen’, most of them were not seriously valued and groomed by their families. They were not inheritors.

  This was actually a very important distinction. It allows Xu Tingsheng to know how he should speak to them, what ‘bait’ he should prepare.

  Their most distinctive characteristic was their intense desire to prove their mettle.