The hotel was by the river.

The two of them ate in a private room, enjoying the night view.

Before they knew it, the conversation turned to their families.

Xu Yun already knew a little about Chen Xin.

She had been an orphan since childhood—or rather, her parents had died in an accident when she was young.

Her grandmother had raised her all on her own.

Then, shortly before she graduated from college, her grandmother also passed away from an illness. After that, she began a solitary life, writing novels and traveling.

She spent every birthday by herself.

Sometimes, she’d get hungry while writing and go out for a bowl of noodles.

Other times, she’d buy herself a small cake for 20 or 30 yuan.

And sometimes, after pulling an all-nighter to write, she’d be so exhausted she’d just sleep right through it.

When she first started out, she hadn’t found her footing yet and barely made any money from writing. Her royalties were just the basic daily update bonus, barely enough to get by.

Things had gotten a little better in the last two years. Besides covering her daily expenses, she could even save a little.

She had been planning to buy a house, but she spent all her savings on her last trip with Xu Yun.

Fortunately, she’d recently come across a tycoon reader who would casually drop massive donations on her, which completely revived her finances.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had the money to treat Xu Yun to a meal here today.

Even though this was a small county and not a big city, a meal like this still cost several thousand yuan.

The seafood was the main expense.

Chen Xin wasn’t sad or sorrowful as she spoke of these things.

Her tone was calm the entire time, as if she were narrating a story in the third person.

After finishing her story, she turned to Xu Yun, her curiosity piqued.

To be honest, she was very curious about Xu Yun.

Extremely curious!

Since she knew his mother, she also knew that Xu Yun wasn’t some rich heir.

His family situation was just like most ordinary people’s—nothing special.

But Xu Yun was rich.

The kind of person who looked very rich, at that.

This could only mean one thing.

All of Xu Yun’s money was earned by himself, not from his family.

To have earned so much money in his twenties and essentially achieved financial freedom...

It was an incredible accomplishment!

Xu Yun didn’t try to embellish anything. He simply told her about his own situation as they ate.

His story was much simpler than Chen Xin’s.

His maternal grandparents had passed away when he was very young.

After he graduated from elementary school and tested into the county’s top middle school, his father died in an accident.

His paternal grandfather died of an illness the following year.

His mother raised him by herself through middle and high school. In his second year of high school, his paternal grandmother also passed away.

He studied hard and got into a good 211 university.

After graduating, he worked for a few years and was set up on a blind date with a woman. He saved up some money, but just as they were about to get married, they broke up over some disagreements.

After that, he started focusing on making money, and he’s been doing that ever since. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

After he finished, Chen Xin asked curiously, "Can I ask just how much money you’ve made?

If you don’t want to say, that’s fine. I’m just asking."

"There’s nothing I can’t say."

Xu Yun smiled. "Right now, with cash and real estate combined, it’s probably a little over 100 million."

"’A little over’... a hundred million."

Chen Xin clicked her tongue in amazement. He was in his twenties with a net worth of over a hundred million.

And he was self-made!

She said admiringly, "Xu Yun, you’re really amazing!"

"I think I’m pretty amazing too."

Xu Yun said without a shred of modesty, "I’m only going to make more and more money in the future. So, how about you consider me?"

"No way. Men get corrupted when they get rich."

Chen Xin laughed. "Maybe I’ll start liking you when you go bankrupt and become poor."

"Hey, are you cursing me?"

Xu Yun pretended to be offended. "Here I am, kindly spending your birthday with you, and you’re wishing for my bankruptcy!"

"Xu Yun."

Chen Xin suddenly fell silent. She then asked, "Are you holding back your feelings for me, or do you just not like me at all?"

Faced with Chen Xin’s question, Xu Yun was momentarily at a loss for how to answer.

Did he like her?

’Of course I like her. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing all this.’

’But this fondness is the same as what I feel for Su Mu, Li Jinshu, and Jiang Peiyao.’

’It’s just a bit more... pure.’

’But it’s not enough to make me want to stop and settle down for her.’

For a moment, the silent atmosphere in the private room made Xu Yun a little uncomfortable.

He changed the subject, asking, "For your birthday this year, would you like to see some fireworks?"

Seeing that Xu Yun didn’t want to answer her question, Chen Xin tactfully chose not to press the issue.

She looked at the night view outside the window and smiled. "It’s not New Year’s. Why would there be fireworks outside?"

"Actually, besides making money, I also know magic."

Xu Yun said with a grin, "Just say you want to see them, and I’ll conjure them up for you."

"I don’t believe you."

"Just try it, and you’ll see."

"Alright, then."

Chen Xin opened the window and suddenly shouted outside, "I want to see fireworks!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a brilliant streak of light shot up into the sky from the opposite bank of the river.

BANG!

In an instant, a huge firework blossomed in the night sky.

Then, all sorts of fireworks rose into the sky, blooming one after another. The display was even more spectacular than the fireworks show they had seen at Disney.

The entire county was captivated by the fireworks, and people everywhere stopped to watch.

"Wow, who’s setting off fireworks?"

"This fireworks show is magnificent!"

"Some tycoon, huh? This must’ve cost a fortune."

Back in the hotel’s private room, Chen Xin watched the brilliant fireworks display in astonishment before turning her head to look at Xu Yun.

"You did this?"

"Nope. I just recited a spell. It must have been some poor sap."

"Liar!"

Chen Xin cursed him with a laugh, then happily turned her attention back to the fireworks.

Such beautiful fireworks were fleeting, and she didn’t want to miss a single second.