Chapter 4: Making money is the most important thing.

The school was only two or three kilometers from home.

It wasn't far, but the midsummer sun was still somewhat oppressive.

Xu Musen knew that if he had just apologized earlier, he might be sitting in a BMW with Yao Mingyue, enjoying the air conditioning by now.

But at this moment, the outside heat felt like a rare breath of freedom to Xu Musen.

Humming a tune, he quickly arrived at his home.

This neighborhood was a mix of villas and low-rise apartments.

Once upon a time, the Xu and Yao families both lived in villas, and their relationship extended beyond mere neighbors to involve business collaborations.

However, in the year they graduated from elementary school, Xu Musen's father and Yao Mingyue's father were in a car accident while traveling together to negotiate a contract.

Yao Mingyue's father eventually passed away after unsuccessful medical treatment, while Xu Musen's father was seriously injured and now had some trouble walking.

Moreover, because the accident delayed the contract, both families lost a substantial amount of money.

Out of guilt, Xu Musen's father did not take any of the compensation money for the accident, leaving it all to Yao Mingyue and her mother.

This accident dealt a major blow to both family businesses.

Yao Mingyue's family gradually recovered with the aid of the compensation money, but the Xu family's situation continued to worsen.

Yao Mingyue's mother also offered financial help to them, but Xu's father, feeling guilty, never accepted it.

Moreover, as businessmen know, you can save someone in a crisis but not someone in poverty, so they chose to survive on their own slowly.

Things might have gotten better slowly, but later Xu Musen's father was swindled by a business partner who ran off with the investment money.

That's what finally knocked Xu Musen's family down and out.

Money, money, money... it's always about money...

Xu Musen slowly exhaled, determined that since fate had given him another chance, he would definitely not let these things happen again.

He wanted to make money.

Xu Musen remembered the current time period; the internet was already making a splash, and smartphones were becoming widespread. The next twenty years would belong to the internet.

His mind was full of ideas for making money, but no matter what he wanted to do, he needed some capital to start.

He checked his pockets, hmm, twenty yuan and fifty cents, and that included the money for tomorrow's breakfast.

Xu Musen knew a bit about stocks, but with the meager amount in his pocket, he didn't even have the means to start and be cut as a leek by the market.

Did he think he could turn twenty yuan into twenty-five million?

As for things like the lottery, Xu Musen chuckled. When the judge is in their pocket, what's the point in playing?

Of course, there were those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, like the future cryptocurrency boom. He could stock up now and sell before the bubble burst, but even then, it would take years to appreciate in value.

As someone reborn, enduring several more years of a penniless life would be a total failure.

Difficult...

He arrived at his front door.

This was the townhouse area in the same neighborhood. To scrape together some money, his family had sold their villa that was next door to Yao Mingyue's and moved here.

Even this townhouse wouldn't survive the next crisis.

Xu Musen felt somewhat nostalgic as he took out the keys and opened the front door.

Inside the house, the aroma of cooked food wafted through the air, immediately recognizable as his mother's cooking.

In the living room, Xu Bianjun was puffing on a cigarette while poring over the financial newspaper, seemingly trying to discover an opportunity that would bring in a bucket of gold each day.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back," Xu Musen called out, his voice trembling slightly. No matter what, the atmosphere at home was still harmonious, and his parents still young, not marked by the lines of worry like in his previous life.

Xu Bianjun looked up at his son, nodded, and then went back to reading his newspaper.

"Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner!"

From the kitchen, Jie Yunxia's voice was as bright as ever.

It had been so long since he had heard such conversations.

Xu Musen felt exceptionally at peace as he entered the kitchen and saw that his mother had already cooked two or three dishes.

Two vegetable dishes and a plate of ribs.

Even though money was tight, his parents had never skimped on his meals.

He was at the age of growing, and no matter how hard it was at home, they would make sure Xu Musen ate well.

"Mom, you have worked hard." Xu Musen looked at his mother's face, which still had few wrinkles, and felt deeply moved.

"Why are you sweet-talking me today? I've already given you your allowance, and there's no more if you ask again."

His mother responded with caution.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I just genuinely want to thank you."

"Go on, if you really want to thank me, then take the bowl over there and stop being in the way."

"Roger that!"

Xu Musen chuckled and suddenly felt that being nagged by his parents like this was a form of happiness too. He briskly took the bowl to the living room.

"This kid..." His mother looked at her son, who was being so well-behaved today, and couldn't help but smile.

At the dinner table, the family of three was eating in harmony.

"Dad, Mom, you both should eat more too."

Xu Musen put a rib onto his dad's and mom's plates.

This led both of them to exchange glances, then to look at their son who was somewhat out of the ordinary today.

"We made this especially for you, so you just eat it. We're old now, we shouldn't eat so much meat at night," his mother said.

Xu Musen smiled and replied, "You two have lost weight, you seem like you need the meat more than I do. You should also take care of your health."

These words made Xu Bianjun and Jie Yunxia pause and feel a warmth in their hearts. At the same time, it left them with mixed feelings.

"Silly child, no matter what, your food will not be short at home. Go ahead and eat yours." His mother's voice was a bit nasal, but her heart was very comforted.

Xu Musen felt a bit troubled inside. It was only after growing up that he realized that their parents' so-called dislike of meat, and preference for fish heads, was all so the child could have more to eat.

Moreover, during this time, Xu Musen was busy revolving around Yao Mingyue, having been called to meet with parents several times due to his confession and his studies were also on shaky ground. He hadn't fully appreciated his parents' difficulties.

"Dad, Mom, I was ignorant before, but I won't be anymore."

Xu Musen said earnestly.

The parents exchanged a glance, sighing with the realization that their son had grown up, and they couldn't help nodding in agreement.

"So, Dad and Mom, can you lend me some money? I want to start a business."

The chopsticks of the two, just about to pick up ribs, stopped in mid-air as they looked at each other once more.

Then his mother said with a forced smile, "Sure, how much do you need?"

"The more the better. Ten or eighty thousand would be great. I promise to earn back several times more for you!"

Xu Musen thought there were still some stocks he could buy at this time.

"Okay, okay."

His mother nodded, pointed to the cabinet on the balcony, and said, "You should look in the cabinet. There should still be some of the paper money left that we burned for your grandparents at the tomb. Take a few hundred billion and start your business with that."

Xu Musen: ...

"Mom, are you joking with me?"

"It's you who are pulling my leg here. I was saying you're up to no good. Even if we had that kind of money, it would be set aside for your college and future marriage!"

His mother glared at her son, annoyed. That kid always has one trick after another.

His father also chuckled and started advising Xu Musen to focus and study well, that there was no need for him to worry about family matters.

Xu Musen felt a bit helpless; a skilled woman can't cook without rice.

...

Meanwhile, in a villa area a hundred or two meters away.

Yao Mingyue was sitting on a soft sofa, in a living room decorated exquisitely and richly yet without ostentation. She had already changed into her home silk pajamas, and her fair arms and two slender, straight beautiful legs were exposed to the air.

Her flawless skin showed no signs of pores and was as tender and white as though soaked in milk, with a delicate and lithe figure.

Eighteen years old.

But her body already far surpassed her female peers in curves, leaning on the sofa with her diminutive feet occasionally swaying, the full toes like a cluster of crystal grapes, seemingly carrying enchanting fragrance.

However, her incredibly beautiful face was cold at the moment. She kept looking at her phone, waiting for that alert tone that would ring countless times every day.

But since she had been home for so long, that familiar profile picture had not lit up even once.

The more she waited, the more irritable she felt inside. For the first time, she realized just how annoying it was to wait for a message from someone!