CH 2

Chapter 2 - Cause and effect

Fu Shen left in a very casual manner.

The cigarette ends in the ashtray were not finished, and the coffee table was in a mess.

Tang Zhou didn't have much rest last night. His eyelids were fighting to stay awake. With the smell of smoke in the house, he lay down on the sofa and slept.

He entered a dream again, and the world in the dream was strange.

A little boy hid in the corner, holding a broken doll and wiping his tears secretly. He hiccupped from crying so much.

Tang Zhou stood in front of him and asked blankly: "What are you crying for?"

The little boy was startled, and his tears fell down again. He raised his little head and looked at him. He asked in confusion: "Who are you?"

The face of the little boy is a small version of Tang Zhou.

Tang Zhou squatted down and looked at him, "What's the point of crying?"

"The doll is broken." The little boy held the cut-off arm of the doll in distress, "They wouldn't let me play with the doll and they ruined it."

His chest was filled with pain. Tang Zhou stared at the doll and said coldly: "They don't let us play. We can play by ourselves."

"But I have no money, and they won't buy it for me." The boy pouted in grievance.

He couldn't understand why other children could get into their mother's arms, ride on their father's back, get rewards after getting good grades, and get comfort when they were sad, but he had nothing?

His parents never go home. His grandfather often tells him that he is the heir of the Tang family. He can't play with dolls, spout nonsense or go to the playground. He must study endlessly and bear the responsibility that an heir should do.

He doesn't really understand these instructions towards him.

Tang Zhou reached out and touched his head, "Then make money by yourself. When you make money, you can have as many dolls as you want and do whatever you want."

The eyes of the little boy lit up and he quickly asked, "So do you have a lot of dolls now?"

Tang Zhou slightly paused and facing the boy's expectant gaze, he said after a long while: "Yes, I can have as much as I want."

He can have it, but he doesn't need it anymore.

Tang Zhou mocked himself in his heart. As the successor of the Tang family, such a hobby is not decent in the eyes of others. Of course, he certainly can't show it in front of people.

The shadows of his childhood were always engraved in his heart. From the time his grandfather let the servant throw his doll in the trash, and the time he failed to protect it, he didn't deserve to have it anymore.

But in the end, the person who made the decision to throw away his doll, also gave up on him.

As soon as the picture shifted, a face with vertical and horizontal gullies appeared in front of Tang Zhou.

"A Zhou, your father did something wrong, but you are also a member of the Tang family. You can't just watch the company go bankrupt."

"Grandpa, how do you want me to save it?"

"For so many years, I haven't interfered with your private investments, but I've heard that all those investments you've made..."

"Do you want me to sell those shares and take the money to fill the debt for him?"

"A Zhou, he is your father. You are the heir of the Tang family. Do you want to watch the Tang family fall?"

Tang Zhou smiled. He can indeed exchange those shares for a lot of money, but in an emergency situation like this, the value of those shares will be greatly reduced.

But faced with the current condition of the Tang family and his grandfather's request, he had no choice.

He resolutely sold all his shares. As expected, the money he could get from those shares was reduced by nearly half.

"Mr. Tang, Mr. Fu of Deep Blue Technology said he was willing to buy your shares at the market price."

Tang Zhou froze for a moment, "Market price?"

With the current influence of Deep Blue Technology and the market price of his 5% shares, it can be called an incredible amount.

Why did Fu Shen do the opposite when everyone else bought them and was heavily discounted?

Of course, Tang Zhou would not think that Fu Shen was merciful. He decisively dialed Fu Shen's phone.

"Mr. Fu, tell me about your conditions."

Fu Shen laughed deeply, "I hope Mr. Tang can condescend to be my personal assistant for half a year."

The karmic retribution, as expected.

Tang Zhou had to agree, because he is indeed short of money.

The debt that Father Tang made was too big, and Tang Zhou did his best, but the money was still not enough.

Although Lu Ye and Qiao Yuan wanted to help him, they were also powerless.

As a last resort, Tang Zhou could only find Fu Shen.

Fu Shen seemed to have been waiting for a long time. He sat in the wide and bright office, as if holding a winning ticket, "I can lend you, but there is a condition."

Tang Zhou was not surprised and said calmly, "You say it."

"Five years." Fu Shen leaned forward slightly, carefully examining Tang Zhou's expression, "You will be my assistant for another five years."

In Tang Zhou's thought, these five years should be regarded as repaying the Tang family's nurturing. However, five years is very short, and it passed in a blink of an eye.

Tang Zhou turned the tide[1] and brought the Tang family back to life.

Just before Tang Zhou was expected to completely take over the estate of the Tang family, a specious[2] photo instantly pulled Tang Zhou down from the platform.

Old Father Tang had a dark and sullen face. He threw the picture in front of Tang Zhou, "What's going on here?"

In the photo, Fu Shen put his arms around Tang Zhou's shoulders and his face pressed diagonally over him. From the perspective of the photographer, the two seemed to be kissing.

It was just that Fu Shen was drunk. He had to fulfill his duty as an assistant and carried him home.

Tang Zhou's face was expressionless, "Fake."

"What exactly is your relationship with him?" Old Father Tang showed the strength as the head of the family, "Why did he buy your shares in Deep Blue at the market price in the first place?"

Tang Zhou's heart suddenly became cold.

It was so cold that he laughed uncontrollably, "Grandpa, why didn't you ask me when did he buy it that time?"

This sentence stirred up the prestige of the head in the family. Mr. Tang flung the photo on him, "You are from the Tang family and can't lose the face of the Tang family."

Tang Zhou was disheartened. "Even if I like men, It's not as much as Tang Zhen's loss of face."

He knew it was not a coincidence, it was a scheme that was plotted by others.

He sold all his shares to fill the debt made by Tang Zhen. Now he has nothing. If he carries the "accusation" that he was a homosexual, the seat in power of the Tang family will easily fall into the hands of his illegitimate brother.

Tang Zhou, this person, no longer has any value anymore.

The temperature was very chilling. Tang Zhou woke up from his nightmare. The sweat on his back soaked his clothes and it was cold on his body.

He shuddered abruptly.

Until now, he still did not want to believe that he was just cannon fodder in a novel. In order for the protagonist to attack the subject isolated under the difficulties created by the villain, he, the cannon fodder, of course, had to sink into the mud first.

Since he had received the warning of the dream, he will definitely not repeat the same mistake again.

He doesn't want to be a puppet of the Tang family anymore, he just wants to live for himself.

*

Fu Shen returned to the dormitory and patted the bed boards of his roommates to wake them up.

A fat man turned over and looked at him through the gap in the bedside railings, and asked in a daze: "Brother Shen, what's the matter early this morning? Let's sleep a little longer."

The other two didn't move.

"Is it a big deal that Tang Zhou wants to withdraw his investment?" Fu Shen turned his chair and sat down.

The dormitory was quiet for a second. Two people suddenly sat up from their bed, and the other sat up slowly.

"Withdrawal?!"

Fu Shen put the back of his elbow on the table, "Are you guys awake now?"

The fat man hurried down from the pole and moved the chair to sit over. "I’m awake, I’m awake, hurry up and talk about it. What is going on!"

Although he is fat, he moves more flexibly than those two.

Another man crawled and asked, "Why did Tang Shen[3] withdraw his investment?"

"I'm just fooling you guys." Fu Shen waited for everyone to sit down and explained, "He made a condition this morning, saying he wanted forty percent of the shares, do you guys agree?"

"Didn't we have an agreement before?" The fat man was so anxious that his head was sweating, "Tang Shen can't go back on his word, right?"

At the beginning, they really had no choice, so they discussed with Fu Shen to find Tang Zhou, who has the same school as him to cooperate. Fu Shen brought back the good news and said that Tang Zhou promised to inject 5 million yuan in half a year. It was only a month. Why did he change his mind?

The boy in Pikachu pajamas flipped through his phone calendar and hesitantly said, "Today is April Fool's Day, could Tang Shen be joking."　

The skinny boy with dark-framed glasses pushed the edge of his eyewear and said without an expression in his face, "As far as I know, Tang Zhou never jokes."

Tang Zhou is a popular figure in Jiangda. He was born in a rich family. He has never taken second place since he was a child. A legendary gold achiever in the eyes of ordinary people.

Everyone unanimously respected him as "Tang Shen".

It's just that this Tang Shen, who is noble and arrogant, can only talk to his friend Lu Ye, the heir of the Lu family. Unless it's necessary, he rarely comes out. The person is quite mysterious at his whereabouts, appearing at one moment and disappearing after.

There are countless people who want to climb[4] up to him, but most of them can't even meet him.

When they first went to find Tang Zhou to cooperate, they were impetuous. However, they didn't expect that they could really get on with this relationship.

Now Fu Shen brought back the bad news and several of them were at a loss.

The boy in Pikachu pajamas frowned, "Tang Shen is not a person who goes back on his word. Could it really be an April Fool's joke? I tell you, in fact, some people appeared aloof and maybe they were silly but an amusing person inside."

"Although being silly doesn't accord with Tang Shen's temperament." The fat man creased and crumpled his hair, "But can we ask again tomorrow?"

The boy in glasses pondered for a moment and looked at Fu Shen, "According to my statistics, Tang Zhou won't go back in his words halfway when he makes his investment. However, he suddenly changed his mind. Is there a possibility of negotiating again?"

Fu Shen thought for a while, "It's possible."

Raising the price is either euphemistic refusal or giving them a psychological anticipation before bargaining.

The boy in Pikachu pajamas said, "That's not enough ah. If you ask me, let's talk about it again. The four of us go to a restaurant together and fill him with three or five bottles of alcohol. At that time, I'm sure he'll agree to whatever we say."

"What a bad idea!" The fat man punched him. "That's taking advantage of someone."

"It's not a bad idea." The boy in glasses took out a few coupons from the drawer, "This is the restaurant where Tang Zhou, Lu Ye and Qiao Yuan often go, the most high-end one near Jiangda is a little more expensive, but there are coupons. We can sincerely invite him to negotiate there."

"Crap, where did you get that?" The fat man grabbed over to observe, "I have not been there, this time I can satiate my hunger."

The boy in Pikachu pajamas patted his fat belly, "If you eat again, you won't be able to find a girlfriend."

The fat man looked at him with resentment. "I have to deal with 01 every day. Only ghosts can find a girlfriend."

"Hahahaha, then you find a boyfriend instead!"

"Go to hell!"

Ignoring the two who were joking around, the boy in glasses asked Fu Shen: "Tang Zhou suddenly changed his mind, is it related to you?"

Fu Shen smiled and said, "I have that much reputation?"

Thinking of the scene when he came in this morning, he was sure that something must have happened last night, but it should have nothing to do with him.

The boy in glasses patted him on the shoulder, his delicate and pretty face was full of earnest, "Brother Shen, it's been a hard time for you."

Fu Shen was stunned, "You know?"　

He concealed about being Tang Zhou's assistant from his three friends, but he didn't expect to still be found out by Liang Chen.

No wonder this month, when he returned to his dormitory, he found that his water bottle was full and his desk was neat. He never had a share in cleaning on duty.

When they were asked, they said they lost a bet and had to do it.

Liang Chen nodded.

Fu Shen looked at the two men who had hit the door, "And the two of them?"

"Lost a bet with me."

Fu Shen smiled and patted him on the arm.

"Thank you."

Footnotes:

1. (力挽狂澜) lìwǎnkuánglán - to pull strongly against a crazy tide (idiom); fig. to try hard to save a desperate crisis

2. 似是而非 (sìshì'érfēi) - apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom)

3. 神 (Shén) - God / abbr. for 神舟

4. 攀 (pān) - to climb (by pulling oneself up) / to implicate / to claim connections of higher status