Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Seeing the trouble he had caused, Wang Kai panicked, hoisting Li Pingping on his back and rushing out, with their roommate Xu Cheng following, helping to support Li Pingping as they jogged.

Watching their frantic and hurried actions, Shen Wang shook his head resignedly, took his time to put away his belongings, and then followed them with long strides.

At the infirmary, just as Shen Wang expected, after wiping away the intimidating blood, Li Pingping had only suffered a scrape.

During the application of medicine, Li Pingping howled in pain, making Wang Kai feel even more guilty. He firmly held him down to stop him from struggling, turning his head away, unable to bear watching.

Turning around, Wang Kai saw the instigator of the incident, Shen Wang, had taken out his phone and started recording?

...Truly like a real brother.

Wang Kai's gaze at Shen Wang was tinged with dissatisfaction: If it weren't for Shen Wang's baseless comments about his girlfriend, he wouldn't have lashed out, Li Pingping wouldn't have gotten hurt, and yet here was Shen Wang, cheerfully playing with his phone!

Shen Wang, oblivious to Wang Kai's expression, replayed the video of Li Pingping's howling several times before sending it to the 'Close-Knit Family' group chat with a grin.

His younger sister, Liu Yue, probably in class, didn't respond. Shen Wang wasn’t bothered and put away his phone.

The school doctor, a man nearing fifty, quickly tended to Li Pingping's wound. After adjusting his glasses, he advised, "It's nothing serious. Keep the wound dry for the next few days, avoid strenuous exercise, and stay away from spicy and greasy food..."

The others nodded incessantly like pecking chickens, almost ready to jot down the instructions.

"Okay, thank you, doctor," Shen Wang said simply, then turned to Wang Kai.

Wang Kai: "???"

Shen Wang was taken aback, "Aren’t you going to pay the medical fee?"

Wang Kai finally realized, hastily pulling out his phone, "I don’t have cash on me. Can I scan a code to pay...?"

Meanwhile, Shen Wang, along with Li Pingping, had already made a swift exit.

Their other roommate, Xu Cheng, supporting the hopping Li Pingping, hesitated, "Leaving him alone in the infirmary, is that okay?"

"He caused my brother to get hurt. I'm already letting him off easy by not making him pay for more," Shen Wang snorted, "It's just the medical fee."

Li Pingping seemed to want to say something but held back.

He could only think, it was fortunate that he was the one injured and a student at C City University.

If Shen Wang had been the one hurt, he would have laid on the spot until he received a satisfactory amount. In that sense, Shen Wang was indeed more lenient with his roommate.

Xu Cheng looked back towards the infirmary and couldn't help asking, "Shen, why did you say... his girlfriend is a scammer?"

Coming from a rural background, unlike city-dweller Wang Kai, Xu Cheng had an open mind towards some unscientific phenomena, adhering to the belief 'better to believe than not'. He had even seen spirit mediums in the countryside.

Although he thought most of these mediums were charlatans, he still harbored some doubts.

Today, hearing Shen Wang mention things like 'darkening of the forehead' and 'fluttering heart of love', Xu Cheng felt something was off, especially since right after Shen Wang mentioned a 'blood disaster' for Li Pingping in the dorm, Li Pingping got injured.

These series of events instilled a sense of awe in Xu Cheng towards Shen Wang.

"I can read faces," Shen Wang turned to Xu Cheng, "Looking at your face, you had a poor childhood, a destitute youth, and a major crisis at twenty. If you overcome it, you'll live a peaceful life. You may not be rich, but you'll have an ordinary and happy life."

Xu Cheng's heart skipped a beat, swallowing hard, "And if I don't overcome it?"

"If not, you’ll die."

Shen Wang’s casual words turned Xu Cheng’s face pale.

Li Pingping was both annoyed and amused, lightly punching Shen Wang on the shoulder, "Bro, why joke about such things with him? He's timid and believes in these mysterious things."

After saying this, Li Pingping explained to Xu Cheng, "Old Xu, don't listen to him. He doesn’t know anything about this stuff; he's just messing with you."

Li Pingping knew Shen Wang well; they grew up together and he had never seen Shen interested in metaphysics. He must be bluffing.

However, Li Pingping was puzzled. Shen Wang had never shown interest in such matters before, so why bring up metaphysical topics today?

Hearing Li Pingping’s words, Shen Wang just smiled and stayed silent.

Xu Cheng’s complexion gradually regained color, and he smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, I took it too seriously."

Despite Li Pingping's reassurance, Xu Cheng stole glances at Shen Wang's profile, feeling uneasy. He had just turned twenty this year, and his family’s financial situation was indeed poor...

Maybe Li Pingping told his brother about it. Xu Cheng consoled himself.

"Shen Wang? What are you doing here?"

A surprised voice drew their attention. Looking towards the source of the sound.

A few young men dressed in clothes emblazoned with prominent designer logos approached. The leader, dressed casually, had every hair meticulously styled. His features weren't extraordinarily handsome, but he carried an imposing and refined demeanor, akin to a budding coal tycoon.

However, his aura, built on wealth, seemed overly contrived in front of Shen Wang, who was only dressed in street-market clothes.

Just with his face alone, Shen Wang already had the upper hand.

"Are you also a student at this university?" The newcomer lifted his chin, seemingly curious, then realized, "I forgot, you didn’t even get into college. Are you here to experience the university atmosphere?"

Facing Yu Cailiang's blatant hostility, Shen Wang mockingly imitated his pretentious tone, "I was wondering who it was. It turns out to be Tang Jiu's lapdog and sycophant."

The Tang family publicly claimed they had sponsored Shen Wang’s upbringing, but apart from a few people inside the Tang family, no one knew the truth.

Living in the Tang household under questionable circumstances, many believed Shen Wang was Tang father’s illegitimate child, back to claim his share of the inheritance, competing with the rightful heir Tang Jiu. Consequently, most wealthy heirs disliked him.

Among them, Yu Cailiang's dislike for Shen Wang was particularly evident.

Shen Wang rarely saw outsiders at the Tang household. Yu Cailiang, the young master of the Yu family, was also Tang Jiu's close friend and had free access to the Tang residence.

Every time he visited the Tang house and saw Shen Wang, Yu Cailiang inevitably ridiculed and mocked him, which had become a habit.

"You!" Being called a lackey and sycophant, Yu Cailiang's face flushed with anger. "Jiu and I have been playmates since childhood, true childhood friends! Do you even understand what friendship is?"

Shen Wang stroked his chin, pondered for a few seconds, and then laughed: "Indeed, I don't understand your friendship... Oh, wrong, I don't understand the world of flatterers."

Yu Cailiang repeatedly claimed his and Tang Jiu's friendship since childhood, asserting they were close childhood friends, but in reality, Tang Jiu never really cared about him.

As a cultivator, Tang Jiu considered himself above ordinary people, indifferent to not just Yu Cailiang, but everyone else.

Yet, Yu Cailiang was foolishly oblivious to Tang Jiu's indifference, persistently seeking his attention. In the story, Tang Jiu incurs the wrath of Gu Dongting, the most powerful figure in the narrative, nearly bankrupting the Tang family.

Despite his parents' objections, Yu Cailiang went to great lengths to help Tang Jiu, providing him with the means to turn his fortunes around.

Sadly... Shen Wang looked at Yu Cailiang with pity. Unfortunately, after Tang Jiu's turnaround, he only remembered the women who helped him, completely forgetting his childhood friend Yu Cailiang.

Eventually, the Yu family went bankrupt due to a financial crisis, and Yu Cailiang's whereabouts became unknown.

If Tang Jiu's story is a male-oriented power fantasy, then Yu Cailiang's is a tragic tale of a devoted but unrewarded follower.

"Shen Wang, I know you're jealous of Jiu," Yu Cailiang said furiously, yet he started to laugh. He looked at Shen Wang triumphantly, chest puffed out like a rooster, "No matter your relationship with Uncle Tang, the true heir of the Tang family is and will always be Jiu. No matter how hard you try or how jealous you are, it's all in vain!"

"Ah yes, yes, yes, what's true can never become false, and what's false will always remain so," Shen Wang nodded repeatedly. "I said this, make sure to tell this to your 'close friend'."

Is this an admission of defeat? Shen Wang easily agreed with his own words, leaving Yu Cailiang feeling hollow even in his victory.

He had verbally sparred with Shen Wang countless times before, always ending in defeat. This was his first triumph... Yu Cailiang restrained his inner excitement, mimicking Tang Jiu's usual cold and arrogant demeanor: "I will definitely pass your message to him!"

Shen Wang looked at Yu Cailiang with pity: "Believe me, he will be very happy to hear it."

Before knowing the original plot, Shen Wang had been targeted by Yu Cailiang countless times. He once suspected that this seemingly dim-witted rich second generation was playing dumb, but now it seems he overestimated Yu Cailiang's intelligence.

A real pig indeed, the kind that would be completely devoured by a tiger.

Shen Wang couldn't be bothered to argue with him and kindly advised, "You better stay away from Tang Jiu. You're not that bright to begin with, be careful not to get used and end up counting money for him."

With Yu Cailiang's intellect, his usual provocations were child's play. After being rebuffed once, twice, thrice, he still stubbornly went to the Tang house to provoke... It wasn't a conspiracy theory from Shen Wang, but if Tang Jiu wasn't behind this, he'd perform a sword swallowing act right there.

Hearing the word 'money', Yu Cailiang seemed to recall something and hurriedly asked, "I heard you left the Tang house with fifteen million? Uncle and Aunt Tang kindly took you in, and you extorted them? Aren’t you afraid they'll call the police?"

"Not afraid at all." Shen Wang was very calm, "That fifteen million, I'll donate to the orphanage, do good deeds on their behalf, accumulate some karma to avoid suffering in the animal realm after death."

Yu Cailiang, who had a belly full of questions, was speechless at this response, forgetting to consider Shen Wang's indirect insult towards Tang's parents, stammering, "You're going to donate all that fifteen million?"

"Is that a problem?" Shen Wang raised an eyebrow, "If there’s nothing else, Mr. Yu, could you please make way?"

Yu Cailiang stepped aside subconsciously, looking at Shen Wang with a mix of admiration and awe, "Fifteen million, just like that, donated. Even I can’t bear to do it, but he did! What a man."

A follower who had witnessed the entire exchange behind Yu Cailiang grimaced, "Brother Yu, weren’t we here to cause trouble?"

How come you were easily fooled in just a few words, and almost convinced to switch sides? If Brother Jiu finds out, he'll surely deal with you covertly.

Yu Cailiang, oblivious to his follower's worries, kept admiring, "If he wasn't Uncle Tang's illegitimate son, with that boldness, he could even match Brother Jiu, they would definitely become friends."

The follower, unable to bear watching, averted his gaze: Friends who consider whether to electrocute or throw bricks first if you fall into water?