Chapter 14 Actually, I'm Not Simple at All!

The schoolyard's back garden has always been a coveted spot for couples to date.

Xu Musen arrived as scheduled, found a quiet corner, and sat on the bench to wait.

Before long, He Qiang came running over, panting, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Despite the sweltering summer heat, he had even thrown on a jacket.

"Are you okay? Why are you wearing a jacket in this hot weather?"

Xu Musen asked, looking at him.

"Keep your voice down."

He Qiang caught his breath, his gaze flitting around like a thief, checking to make sure no one was around before continuing, "Hehe, I have a great treasure to show you!"

As he spoke, He Qiang began taking off his jacket.

"Damn! That's not my thing, man!"

Xu Musen got goosebumps watching his friend's lewd movements.

"Get lost!"

He Qiang cursed and, after taking off his jacket, handed over a well-wrapped envelope.

"What's this?" Xu Musen took it instinctively. The feel of it: "Money?"

He Qiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I know you need money for the upfront red packets. This is all the New Year's money and pocket money I've saved. Use it for your emergency."

Xu Musen's hand paused for a moment. Judging by the weight of the envelope, there could be about seven or eight thousand yuan.

Although He Qiang's family was fairly well-off, they didn't let him spend money carelessly. For a student these days, having one hundred yuan a week for pocket money was quite good.

Seven to eight thousand was definitely a substantial amount.

It seemed that He Qiang had indeed pulled out all his savings, even the money meant for buying underwear.

Looking at his pal in front of him, Xu Musen didn't quite know what to say for a moment.

"Where did you get so much money?"

"Don't worry, I didn't borrow it from my family. I sold a few fishing rods I didn't need. Just use it."

He Qiang spoke nonchalantly.

But Xu Musen knew his buddy loved fishing rods more than he loved beautiful women. Selling the rods for money... was almost like selling off a wife to He Qiang.

"We don't need that much, I'll be able to sort things out in a few days."

Xu Musen was touched, but he didn't want his good buddy to scrimp by for the next few days.

"Since it's already sold, just pay me back later for what you don't use," He Qiang waved his hand dismissively, "Stop fussing like a woman!"

Holding the envelope, Xu Musen came back to his senses and smiled slightly, "What if I end up losing it all?"

"If you lose it, you lose it. Worst comes to worst, I'll nab a kidney from you to pay off the debt!"

He Qiang clicked his tongue.

Xu Musen burst into laughter, stretched out his hand, and patted his buddy on the shoulder, "Don't worry, if I don't make you rich in this lifetime, I'd be letting myself down! And I've come to believe in one thing."

"What's that?"

"In tough times, it's not just the wife who can give you a hand. Sometimes a brother can too."

"???"

...

He Qiang had run out to get money at noon and hadn't had lunch yet, so he went off to get ready to eat.

Xu Musen looked at the envelope; indeed, there was about seven to eight thousand yuan inside.

Xu Musen would need quite a bit of money in the near future, as the game's sound effects and art style needed improvement, which was beyond a programmer's capabilities.

Xu Musen took a card out of his pocket, on it was a cute cat avatar. When he got back, he took a closer look and noticed a signature "an" in the cat's pupils.

But this clue was practically useless. Why couldn't it include something like a QQ number or a mobile phone number?

Xu Musen sighed. He didn't feel like returning to class during lunch break. The moment he would appear, gossips would surround him, which was annoying.

He lay on a bench in the garden courtyard, holding the cat illustration in his hands, admiring it. The drawing style was genuinely cute, and just looking at it made him feel at ease.

"It's a shame, I don't know if I'll be able to find that girl again..."

The shadow of the trees was mottled. Xu Musen used the cat illustration to block the sunlight, planning to take a quick nap.

The ground rustled with the crunching of leaves. The leaves danced with the movement of a white dress and a faint fragrance drifted into his nose with the afternoon breeze.

"Who are you looking for?"

A voice without much emotion, but very pleasant and crisp, flowed into Xu Musen's ears like a clear spring.

"Looking for a pretty girl who seems a bit naive, sitting in a wheelchair..."

Xu Musen replied subconsciously, but his body suddenly froze. He slowly lowered the cat illustration that was blocking his view.

In front of him were a pair of bright, stupid-looking peach blossom eyes, just as large, cute, and slightly naive as those on the cat illustration.

She blinked, still with her long hair cascading, and her eyes lit up when she saw it was Xu Musen's face: "Oh, it's you."

"It's you!"

Xu Musen was so excited that he immediately sat up, and their heads almost bumped together, having just been thinking about her; he couldn't believe she appeared before his eyes in the blink of an eye.

Xu Musen subconsciously grabbed her sleeve, "You can't think of running away so fast this time!"

The girl blinked, looking at Xu Musen, then down at her wheelchair, "I can't run anyway..."

"...Sorry, sorry, I got a bit excited."

Xu Musen hurriedly let go, and he took another careful look at the girl in front of him.

He noticed that the dress she wore today was of a similar style to the one he had seen her in before, which looked plain but seemed to be made of good fabric. Of course, what hadn't changed was her dazed and cute appearance.

"Are you a student here too?"

"Yeah."

The girl nodded, then fell silent, just staring at Xu Musen.

"How... did you end up at this place?" Xu Musen asked again.

The girl was still holding a pink lunchbox; she lifted it and said, "I came here for lunch."

"Why don't you eat in the cafeteria?"

"Grandma said, I should try not to eat with everyone else, to avoid being talked about."

The girl seemed to answer any question she was asked.

Xu Musen affirmed in his heart once more.

Plain clothes, sitting in a wheelchair, selling flowers by herself at night, and bringing her lunch to school, it was clear that her family was not in good condition, saving wherever possible.

And she had to worry about her classmates finding out about her simple home-cooked meals and mocking her...

Xu Musen felt a wave of sympathy; they were all trapped by money.

Thinking this, Xu Musen picked up the cat drawing and asked, "Did you draw this yourself?"

"Mmhmm..."

Seeing the drawing, a trace of embarrassment finally appeared in the girl's eyes, which had remained largely unchanged until then.

"You draw very well; in fact, I have a job that I want to collaborate with you on. You'll just need to draw some cartoon images of cats and dogs for me. For each draft, I will give you..."

Xu Musen pondered for a moment, then held up five fingers, "How about I give you fifty yuan?"

Because he needed many cartoon images, like QQ emoji packs; a single image needed to have different expressions, each considered one draft.

It might not sound like much, but a complete set would add up to a substantial amount.

And for a student, fifty yuan a day wasn't a small sum either, and more work meant more money.

"Fifty huh..."

The girl counted on her fingers, as if not very aware of the concept of money, only murmuring, "It's about the same as selling roses for a whole night."

"Exactly, and it's also less tiring. The more you work, the more you earn. With this, you can be self-reliant, and eventually go to the cafeteria to eat with your classmates."

Xu Musen looked at her dazed expression and smiled, thinking of quickly securing this money-making opportunity.

"Self-reliant..."

The girl seemed particularly interested in this phrase, lifting her head with bright, shining eyes she looked at Xu Musen, "Don't deceive me..."

"Liars are little dogs."

Xu Musen said with a smile.

The girl thought for a moment, then stretched out her dainty pinky finger toward Xu Musen.

"Pinky promise!"

In the sunlight, the girl raised her pale cheek, the light falling on her hair, tinting it sacred and pure.

Naive...

If I really wanted to deceive you, what good would a pinky promise do?

Yet, Xu Musen's heart, somewhat numb to emotions, felt touched, and he chuckled as he extended his hand to hook his finger with hers.

"Then it's settled, we meet here again tomorrow, and I look forward to our first collaboration," Xu Musen nodded with a smile.

Seeing the girl's lunchbox, he didn't want to delay her meal any longer.

Xu Musen turned around and was about to walk past the corner when he suddenly looked back and asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

The girl in the wheelchair, holding her lunchbox as a breeze brushed her hair tips, her exquisite face partially visible, said, "My name is An Nuannuan, a very affectionate and warm Nuannuan."

Xu Musen repeated the name silently; indeed, just like her drawing style, it was a very warm name.

He turned around ready to leave, but the girl suddenly spoke up again.

"Oh, and I'm not clumsy at all; most of the time I'm very smart!"

Xu Musen looked back at her serious yet dazed expression and couldn't help laughing out loud. Waving his hand, he turned and left.

The girl in the wheelchair watched his retreating figure disappear before opening her lunchbox.

In the sunlight, even the contents of her lunchbox seemed to glisten...