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Chu Yuening was taken aback, blinking her eyes. "There's... There's no obstacle in life that can't be overcome. Don't cry."

The young man lifted his head, his delicate face adorned with reddened eyes like a rabbit's. He sniffled but didn't manage to speak.

Chu Yuening could clearly hear the rumbling of his empty stomach.

The young man froze in astonishment.

Then, he burst into tears once more.

"My obstacle is just too darn difficult to cross," he wailed.

Chapter 77

A young man in his twenties wept at will.

Some neighbors couldn't help but giggle secretly.

"Would you like to wipe your tears?"

The young man lifted his head, and Chu Yuening offered a tissue with a smile. He took it, but his stomach betrayed him with another growl.

"Didn't have enough to eat?" Chu Yuening got up, opened the sweet soup chest, and scooped a bowl of limited-edition winter black glutinous rice osmanthus lotus seed porridge. She turned around and placed the bowl on the table.

"Go ahead and eat."

The young man's face flushed with embarrassment. Gazing at the steaming, glossy, and fragrant porridge on the table, he swallowed the saliva that kept flowing.

He had searched every pocket and found exactly two hundred and ten yuan—just enough for a fortune-telling session. If not for being at his wits' end, he wouldn't have risked everything on this. The remaining ten yuan were meant for a few packs of instant noodles to sustain him until payday.

That left no money for breakfast.

Chu Yuening had already noticed his predicament and chuckled. "I'll treat you to breakfast, consider it a gesture of friendship."

"R-Really?" The young man seemed unused to such kindness from strangers; tears welled up in his eyes once more.

In a fluster, he wiped his tears with both hands alternately, picked up the bowl, and grabbed a spoon. "T-Thanks."

Chu Yuening donned a white, lacy chiffon blouse with fluttering sleeves that had a few loose threads. As she prepared tea, she exuded an otherworldly aura.

She only put down her teacup after the young man finished his meal and resolved the breakfast issue.

He wiped his mouth with his own tissue, bashfully blushing as he took the initiative to speak, "M-Master, hello. My friends all say you're skilled in fortune-telling, so I specially came to visit today."

Chu Yuening smiled. "Hello."

The young man's face turned even redder, and he subconsciously lowered his head. "My name is Qian Xiuyuan, my nickname is Lai Fu. My family says since I carry the surname 'Qian,' I shouldn't lack money, and adding more blessings to my life would make it perfect."

Chu Yuening nodded in agreement. "Wealth and blessings – your nickname suits you well."

"Suits?" A look of distress appeared again on the young man's delicate face. His eyes quickly welled up as he sniffled. "How does it suit me?"

"Having wealth and blessings is my father's wish. But... since I entered society, one word can describe my life – miserable. Two words would be tragically miserable."

"Have you ever experienced living on plain rice congee and pickles for every meal, with barely any meat for an entire month?"

"Have you experienced sleeping on a bridge, with cars rushing by and stray cats sneaking in to steal your food from time to time?"

"I'm living through all of that right now."

Many of the neighborhood aunties, upon hearing about this young man's hardships, couldn't help but feel compassion.

"What a pity, whose child is this?"

"How can he get any nutrition with just plain congee for every meal?"

"Exactly."

"Son, after your reading, why don't you come to my house for dinner? I'll cook a big pot of stewed dragon bones to nourish you!"

Chu Yuening didn't interrupt him.

It was clear that Qian Xiuyuan needed an outlet for his emotions.

The warmth of the neighbors took Qian Xiuyuan aback, bringing tears to his eyes once more, "Thank you, but it's not just a matter of simple material enjoyment."

He saw the fortune-telling stall as a place to unload his burdens, a venue where the stress that had accumulated in his heart could finally find some relief.

"I graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University with a dream of creating online games, virtual gaming experiences."

"After graduation, I tried to find work in the field, but my family didn't support me. They believed that working on online games was a waste of time. My father even wanted me to enter the food industry. I couldn't understand it. Why should I be limited to working in restaurants after graduating from university? We had a fierce argument, and in the end, I chose to leave home."

The neighbors, intrigued by the term "online game," pondered its meaning.

An online game?

Isn't that just playing games on a computer?

In present-day Hong Kong, arcade machines filled the streets, and colleagues and classmates would gather in groups to play after work. Who would bother with the monotonous computer games?

Comparing the two scenarios, many of the middle-aged neighbors began to empathize with Qian Xiuyuan's father, occasionally voicing their advice.

"Online games? The internet is still in its infancy in Hong Kong, and most people use it for browsing forums and chatting. Online gaming is quite niche."

"It'll be a disaster as soon as you mention it."

"Everyone plays video games now. Online games only require a keyboard; how can you make a career out of it? There's no market for it."

"There are masters in every trade. Working in a restaurant provides stable income and chances for promotion. Honestly, nowadays, everyone in Hong Kong seems to have a postgraduate degree, with PhDs and Masters all around. A university degree isn't that rare anymore."

"Yeah, I even saw a Master's degree holder working on a construction site the other day."

"Experience speaks volumes. Your father is decades older, he's walked more roads and tasted more salt than you have."

"Online games really have no future. If you want to work in gaming, go for video games instead."

"Yeah, buddy, listen to us. Don't end up with nothing."

The voices of dissuasion grew louder.

Qian Xiuyuan explained calmly.

"I haven't started my business yet, and I don't have any capital. But online games are indeed more challenging than expected. There aren't many studios in all of Hong Kong. I managed to secure an internship at a company, but the salary doesn't even cover food or housing – just fifteen hundred dollars."