Chapter 57: Chapter 57: How Much Is Su Zhi per Pound

"Name a price."

Cao Mingyu pulled out a black and gold bank card, his eyes glinting with a look of absolute determination.

"How much for you to give Su Zhi to me?"

Shao Ya shot back, "How about ten bucks a pound?"

"Five bucks a pound!"

"Eight. Can’t go any lower."

"..." Su Zhi stared at the sky.

Yu Bao tilted its head, watching curiously.

Its special feed was thirty-five bucks a pound. ’Yu Bao was trying to calculate how many pounds of feed one Su Zhi was worth...’

"Seven-fifty! Deal!"

Cao Mingyu immediately grabbed Su Zhi’s hand.

Su Zhi quickly yanked his hand back and stuffed it in his pocket, a wary look on his face.

Cao Mingyu said urgently, "If you think seven-fifty a pound is too cheap, I can do eight!"

"Fine my ass! Are you out of your mind?"

Su Zhi shot him an annoyed glare. "Get lost. Stop causing trouble."

"I’m not leaving."

Cao Mingyu stood firmly in front of him, his gaze emotional, and declared at the top of his lungs, "I will not leave until I have earned your great friendship!"

"Ooooh~" Shao Ya cupped her face with her hands.

Yu Bao seemed to understand something and watched them thoughtfully, but Xiaoyue, the big brother, covered its eyes.

"Meeeow."

While blocking Yu Bao’s view, Xiaoyue stared intently at the scene.

’This is too much for you to handle, kid. Big bro will watch for you.’

Seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, Su Zhi’s face darkened as he grabbed both Cao Mingyu and Shao Ya and quickly ducked into a small alley.

As they entered, he could still hear snippets from the crowd: ’So that kid swings both ways. He’s got the pretty, white-haired girl and the passionate boy as his wings...’

"I’m begging you, bro, just leave me alone, okay?"

For the first time ever, there was a hint of fear in Su Zhi’s voice.

"No!"

Cao Mingyu declared righteously, "I’m not looking for a lackey. I want to become your equal, a true friend who will speak the honest truth!"

Su Zhi: "Fuck."

’Dammit, what part of me is attracting other guys?’

Seeing Su Zhi remained unmoved, Cao Mingyu turned his gaze to Shao Ya. "You’re Shao Ya, right?"

The young woman tilted her head. "Hm? What does this have to do with me?"

"I’m very sorry to have bothered you so abruptly. Here’s what happened..."

Using the oratorical skills he’d honed from giving numerous speeches in front of school leadership, Cao Mingyu vividly recounted the short story of how he and Su Zhi met, grew to understand each other, fought like bitter rivals, and finally came to respect one another as equals.

Finally, Cao Mingyu bowed and said:

"Student Su Zhi’s personal charisma has completely captivated me! I implore him to become my friend!"

Shao Ya beamed like a proud aunt.

"Hey! Don’t just ship us randomly!"

Su Zhi was so anxious he was scratching his head. "He was the one who brought people to corner me in the classroom! There was no bitter rivalry!"

"Initiating the arbitration match was not my intention, but the school’s arrangement."

Cao Mingyu said, "Besides, we got to know each other through the competition, didn’t we?"

"Exactly! You can’t get to know someone without a fight."

Shao Ya coaxed him in the gentle tone one might use to persuade a child to accept a blind date. "Look, he’s being so nice about it. Just give in."

’Give in my ass! This is getting even weirder...’ Su Zhi was cursing internally. Words rose to his lips only to be swallowed, then rose again.

What was more problematic was that now, when he looked at Cao Mingyu, he didn’t find him quite so irritating anymore...

’Could it be... I’m being assimilated?!’

"Here, Yu Bao."

"SNIFF SNIFF!"

"Huh?!"

Su Zhi had zoned out for only a moment, but when he looked back, he saw Cao Mingyu squatting on the ground, feeding Yu Bao a handful of snacks made specifically for Yu Dian Dogs.

Yu Bao was gobbling them down with such gusto it couldn’t even make a sound, its tail wagging so fast it looked like a propeller.

Xiaoyue sat nearby, turning its head away, pretending not to be tempted.

Cao Mingyu then pulled out a handful of snacks made for Huajing Cats. "Here, Xiaoyue."

Xiaoyue was a reserved little cat; it wouldn’t just take food from a stranger.

It first glanced at Shao Ya, and after getting a frantic nod of approval from her, it also dropped its "big brother" image and began to chow down.

"I wish I could keep feeding you guys in the future."

Cao Mingyu sighed. "Unfortunately, Student Su Zhi doesn’t want to be my friend. I suppose our fated connection ends here."

With that, Cao Mingyu melancholically buried his head between his knees.

"Woof."

Yu Bao froze, forgetting all about eating, and patted Cao Mingyu’s shoulder.

’Don’t worry, leave it to me!’

"Woof~ Woof~"

Yu Bao ran over to Su Zhi and started rubbing insistently against his leg.

Su Zhi was dumbfounded. ’What the hell is this social butterfly bandit?’

After being stared at for a while by Cao Mingyu’s earnest and sincere, puppy-dog eyes, Su Zhi finally sighed in resignation.

’He’s a little weird... but he doesn’t seem like a bad person at heart.’

"Fine, I agree. I agree, alright?"

"Thank you so much!"

Cao Mingyu immediately seized his hand in a tight grip. "From now on, I’ll be a part of your life!"

"..."

’Maybe I should have been more firm...’ Su Zhi was suddenly filled with regret.

As he was lamenting, Cao Mingyu suddenly shoved a yellow, crystalline solid that felt like rock into Su Zhi’s hand.

Su Zhi’s eyes widened.

Tier Two Earth Resources, an Earth Vein Thought!

He turned his head and saw that Shao Ya had also been given a Thousand-Year Leaf.

"A little something to mark our new acquaintance. Think of it as a welcome gift."

Cao Mingyu blinked, a worried look in his eyes. "Of course, such a gift shouldn’t be too expensive, or it might make the recipient uncomfortable. So I just..."

"Mingyu, it’s tacky to talk about gifts. I became your friend because I admire your noble character."

Su Zhi carefully put away the resource and patted Cao Mingyu’s shoulder with a solemn expression.

"Don’t worry about what the world thinks. From now on, give as much as you want to give. A life lived true to one’s heart is the only one with meaning!"

Cao Mingyu trembled as if doused with cold water, savoring the words for a long, long time.

He was unable to reply, simply nodding repeatedly, his eyes welling up with tears.

’A life lived true to one’s heart is the only one with meaning!’

’As expected of Su Zhi! So well said!’

·

On the way home, the three of them walked side-by-side.

Su Zhi looked at Cao Mingyu with emotion. "You know, your personality is... pretty different from when you’re on a podium giving a speech."

Cao Mingyu’s gaze was burning. "So Student Su Zhi prefers the current me, right!"

’If I had to choose, the old you was better...’ Su Zhi kept his hands in his pockets and said nothing.

"That’s right. The old me lived behind a mask. It was you, Student Su Zhi, who removed that mask and redeemed me."

Shao Ya: "Ooooh~"

"..." Su Zhi pretended not to hear.

After walking and chatting for a while, Su Zhi realized they had arrived at the entrance to his apartment building.

Looking at Cao Mingyu, Su Zhi’s expression became that of a bewildered old man staring at his phone on the subway.

’At least I didn’t end up bringing Liu Yuhang home today...’

’But I brought back this weirdo instead?’

"Um, we’re home now."

"Alright! I won’t disturb you any longer!"

Cao Mingyu took out his phone and pressed a button. A Maybach immediately drove out from the shadows, its rear door opening automatically.

"Goodbye, Student Su Zhi!"

"..."

Watching Cao Mingyu’s car disappear into the darkness, Su Zhi was struck by the vast inequalities of the world.

"Well then, I’ll see you when you’re back at school."

The white-haired girl smiled. "When your two weeks are up, I’ll organize all of Class Ten to respectfully welcome the Dragon King’s return to school!"

Su Zhi laughed. "Now you’re getting the hang of it."

"Bye!"

The girl stomped her foot, activating the sound-controlled lights for the entire building, and CLACK-CLACKED her way upstairs.

Su Zhi waited for the lights to go out, then took Yu Bao home as well.

·

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