Of course, Ye Qingyang was not about to tell anyone that he “warmed Lu Jingcheng’s bed.” The phrase was far too ambiguous. Even though they only lay under the same blanket chatting, people would definitely get curious about what exactly they talked about.
So before leaving, Ye Qingyang took off the watch and returned it to Lu Jingcheng. He grabbed his backpack and left the dorm with him.
Lu Jingcheng walked him to the entrance of the residential complex. Only after watching him go in did he reluctantly head back home.
Ye Qingyang mentally rehearsed what he would say once he entered. Soon, he reached the apartment, opened the door, and stepped inside.
It was Saturday. Ye Hong’s family was home, lounging on the sofa and watching television together in a warm, cheerful atmosphere.
Then they saw Ye Qingyang walk in.
Ye Hong paused mid–sunflower seed crack. “Why are you back?”
There was undisguised disdain in her tone.
Completely calm, Ye Qingyang put on an innocent expression. “I came back to grab a few things.”
“What things do you even have?” Wang Hui glanced at him disdainfully. Then her sharp eyes caught the logo on his clothes, and she sneered, “Ye Qingyang, did you seriously buy knockoffs? The logo is so obvious—it is like you are afraid people will not notice they are fake.”
Feigning surprise, Ye Qingyang looked down at his clothes. “This? It is genuine.”
Wang Hui laughed. “Stop pretending. Do you think I do not know how much money you have?”
Wang Yue seized the opportunity to lecture him. “We let you move out to study, not to show off and chase vanity.”
Ye Qingyang walked over and sat on the sofa beside them, pulling out his phone. “I am not. I just made a little money recently, so I bought myself some nice things. It is not like I spent your money.”
Wang Hui stared at his phone, eyes full of confusion and surprise. “Ye Qingyang, did you change your phone?”
Ye Qingyang nodded.
Back when he lived at home, he had been using the original host’s old phone inherited from Wang Fan. They had never seen the phone Lu Jingcheng gave him. This time, he deliberately switched to it before coming back—for the sake of showing off.
Wang Hui picked it up skeptically. “Is this real? The real one costs almost ten thousand.”
“I told you, I made some money recently,” Ye Qingyang said with a smile. “Sister, next time I come back, I will buy you a bottle of perfume.”
“You would be that kind?” Wang Hui did not believe him.
Ye Qingyang took back his phone, opened the official store on Tmall, and placed an order for a perfume on the spot. “Here. Just wait for it to arrive in a few days.”
Wang Hui: !!!
She shoved Ye Hong aside and sat next to him. “Yangyang, you really have money now?”
“A little,” Ye Qingyang replied.
The perfume he chose was around five hundred—nothing too expensive.
You cannot catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb. Small benefits had to be given, but only small ones.
Wang Hui was curious. “How did you earn it? Oh right—change the shipping address to my office. Do not send it here. What is the point of sending it home? Sending it to the office is better.”
“Forget it,” Ye Qingyang said. “This one is not expensive—pretty cheap. Next time, when I earn more, I will buy you something pricier. Then I will send it to your office.”
Hearing there would be a next time, Wang Hui’s mood improved instantly. Her tone even softened. “It is fine, just send the next one to the office too. All of them to the office.”
Ye Qingyang: …Mr. Wang Yue, are you not going to say anything about your daughter being so vain?
He had no choice but to message customer service and change the address.
Satisfied, Wang Hui looked at Ye Qingyang with shining eyes. “Yangyang, how did you suddenly become so rich?”
She glanced again at his jacket. “Is it really authentic?”
Ye Qingyang chuckled. “There are so many rich second-generation kids in our class. If I wore fake goods, would I not be asking to be laughed at?”
Wang Hui thought that made sense. “So where did you get the money?”
Ye Qingyang deliberately gave an awkward smile. “Well… I am a bit tired. I will go rest in my room first.”
He stood up as he spoke.
Wang Hui quickly grabbed her phone and, while he had his back turned, snapped a few photos of his clothes.
When Ye Qingyang turned back, she stood up. “We have not taken photos together in a long time. Let us take a selfie.”
Ye Qingyang: …That is so fake. It is not like we have ever taken photos together before!
Still, he did not refuse. He took a selfie with her and then returned to his room.
The moment he closed the door, Wang Hui sent the photos to her group chat with her superficial friends.
Huihui: [Girls, help me check—is this outfit authentic? My freeloading younger brother suddenly seems rich.]
Qiqi: [Wow, designer brands. Your brother is impressive.]
Jingjing: [Looks real. I will get someone to verify.]
Soon, Jingjing replied: [I had someone check. The clothes are authentic. Damn, Huihui, your brother is something. They are all new releases—each piece is in the five-digit range.]
Wang Hui’s eyes widened instantly. [How much? How many digits?]
Jingjing: [At least five digits. Big brand, new collection—of course it is expensive.]
Qiqi: [Now that you mention it, I think a celebrity wore that jacket before.]
Jingjing: [Huihui, your so-called freeloading brother is actually quite handsome. He looks good in those clothes. You are not using a celebrity photo to fool us, are you?]
Wang Hui: …
Huihui: [If I could take selfies with a celebrity, I would be bragging on Weibo, not showing you guys!]
Jingjing: [Fair point.]
Huihui: [So this whole outfit costs tens of thousands?]
Jingjing: [Definitely a lot.]
Wang Hui frowned. Where did Ye Qingyang get this money?
She shared everything she had learned with Ye Hong and Wang Yue.
“That is impossible,” Ye Hong said. “Where would he get that kind of money?”
Wang Yue agreed. “It must be fake.”
“But my friend’s friend already verified it—it is authentic. And just now, when he bought me perfume, he did not even blink. And that phone—it is almost ten thousand. Even if the clothes were fake, making them that realistic would still cost thousands. So where did the money come from?”
Wang Yue frowned. “That is true.”
Ye Hong said, “Did he not mention before that he met a friend? He said he made a little money and thought that friend was impressive, so he wanted to get closer to him. That is why he moved to the dorm.”
“I was wondering why he suddenly wanted to move out. So there are benefits. But in just half a month, he earned this much? That is unbelievable.”
“I do not believe it,” Wang Yue said. “There is no way someone can earn tens of thousands in half a month. He must be putting on a show.”
Ye Hong nodded. “Exactly. Not believable.”
But Wang Hui disagreed. “Come on, what era are we living in? People without ability earn little, but capable people can make millions in minutes. I do not think it is impossible. That school is full of rich kids—just a little from between their fingers is enough for us to live well for years.”
Hearing that, Wang Yue and Ye Hong, who had been firm just moments ago, began to waver.
“Let us ask him during dinner,” Wang Yue said. “See what he says.”
Wang Hui nodded. “If he really has connections, he cannot forget about us. We are his family—my mom is even his guardian.”
“Exactly,” Ye Hong said, crossing her arms. “Without me, would he have grown up properly?”
“So if he really latched onto some rich kid, we can latch on too. He cannot keep all the benefits for himself.”
“Right,” Ye Hong agreed.
Wang Hui craned her neck toward Ye Qingyang’s room. Why was he still not coming out? What was there to rest for? He should hurry up and discuss the important matter!
Ye Qingyang deliberately stayed in his room until dinner time before coming out leisurely.
He guessed Wang Hui would use that time to verify whether his clothes were real or fake. Once she confirmed they were real, she would not be able to sit still and would definitely want to know what had happened over the past half month.
So he deliberately kept her waiting.
As soon as Wang Hui saw him come out, she beckoned him over. “Yangyang, come sit here. My mom cooked several of your favorite dishes today.”
Ye Hong smiled. “Yes, you have not come back in a while. Auntie has missed you. Come, I even made braised chicken wings for you.”
Ye Qingyang deliberately exclaimed, “Wow, really? Auntie, I am so touched. Thank you.”
He walked over with a grateful expression and sat beside Wang Hui. Looking at the chicken wings and braised hairtail fish on the table, he sighed, “Auntie, you are so kind. When I earn more next time, I will buy you a lipstick—the brightest shade.”
Ye Hong beamed. “Good, good. Our Qingyang is thoughtful.”
Wang Hui chimed in, “I want one too. I want a ‘man-slaying’ shade.”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Okay.”
Watching him spend money so casually, Wang Yue finally asked, “Qingyang, where did you get this money? How did you earn it?”
Ye Qingyang deliberately put on a troubled expression. “That… I cannot say.”
“What is there that you cannot say?” Ye Hong pressed. “We are family. What can you not tell your own family?”
“Exactly. You are not doing something shady behind our backs, are you?”
Wang Hui exaggerated, “Yangyang, this is not illegal money, is it?”
“Of course not,” Ye Qingyang quickly denied. “It is from legitimate sources. It is just that even if I tell you, you probably would not believe it. And my friend said this is not something too many people should know. He only helped me because he felt I was poor—he does not want to help others.”
“Am I ‘others’?” Ye Hong shot back. “I am your guardian. If anything happens to you, I am the first one legally responsible.”
“Nothing will happen,” Ye Qingyang said.
“You still have to say it,” Wang Yue insisted. “You suddenly have so much money—if you do not explain, how can anyone feel at ease?”
After circling around and refusing several times on purpose, Ye Qingyang finally put on a helpless expression. “Fine, I will tell you—but you will definitely think it sounds unbelievable.”
“Go ahead,” Ye Hong said, placing a chicken wing in his bowl. “How would we know if we understand if you do not say it?”
Only then did Ye Qingyang reveal the story he had prepared in advance.
“It is about that friend I mentioned before. He helped me make a little money, which is why I could afford to move to the dorm. Seeing that I admired him, he recently switched to another investment project and helped me manage my money again. This project seems even more profitable than the last. He earned a lot, and I followed along and earned a lot too. Seeing that my clothes and phone were not great, he told me to buy some branded items, so I did.”
“What kind of investment can make this much?” Wang Yue asked.
Ye Qingyang shook his head. “I do not know. I cannot understand it. I just let him handle everything. The principal was all provided by him anyway—if it earns money, great; if it loses money, I do not mind.”
“How can you think like that?” Ye Hong scolded. “It is your money—you should care. At the very least, you need to know how it is being made.”
Ye Qingyang scratched his head. “I am not very smart. I cannot understand it. There were so many numbers and complicated things—I could not make sense of it.”
Ye Hong found that reasonable. Her nephew clearly was not bright—he had always ranked last in exams. Expecting him to understand investment and finance was unrealistic.
She glanced at Wang Yue.
Wang Yue said, “Then when you go back, ask him exactly how it works. Get him to explain it clearly, and then tell us. You may not understand, but we definitely will.”
Ye Qingyang did not refuse. “Okay, I will ask him when I go back.”
“Good.” Wang Yue nodded in satisfaction.