Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 168 Reverse Responsibility
Huangpu River.

The moon, the size of a copper coin, emitted a halo of light.

"Oh! That's you!... And then you cut your hair?"

"Yeah, I thought you didn't like it, so I cut it."

Chen Xuebing recalled his sensitivity and naivety at that time and laughed: "Back then, there was a trend of shaving one's head to show determination. I thought I had grown my hair long but shaved it off, so I would definitely win you over."

Xin Mengzhen recalled carefully, and the same smile as that day appeared on her face.

"It wasn't about whether it looked good or bad; I was just thinking of a joke at the time."

"What joke?" Chen Xuebing asked, turning his head.

"Well... a guy went to challenge someone to a fight, thinking there were only two of them, but when he flipped his hair, there were six of them... I saw you guys looking like you were going to have a group fight, and then you flipped your hair again... Pfft."

"How could you have such a strange idea? Shaving your head to show your determination? People shave their heads for the college entrance exam, haha..."

Xin Mengzhen smiled and turned her head to carefully examine Chen Xuebing.

"You've changed a lot this year."

Chen Xuebing shook his head and smiled.

For him, it has actually been a full twenty-one years.

The mature have matured, and the immature remain immature.

That fleeting glance back then later blossomed into the purest love in my heart.

The feelings that arise in moments when there is no need to measure them are the purest for him.

Why is a man's life always so simple?

Because his whole life has been about making up for the frustrations of his youth. In his past life, many of his friends were still playing Legend of Mir even when they were nearly forty, dominating Shabak with a single hit; others were playing Fantasy Westward Journey, where they used to go a week without eating in order to get game time cards, but later they were eating takeout while playing Fantasy Westward Journey; and some even invested all their earnings in bicycles, because when they were young they wanted a Giant mountain bike, and their parents gave them a princess handlebar bike.

Some people turn their old, dead cats into specimens, while others treat luncheon meat as a supreme delicacy. Regret always fills life, but only the regrets of youth are like the bullet that hits right between the eyebrows.

What you gain later in life is nothing compared to that sour apple you tasted in your youth.

However, when he asked Xin Mengzhen this question, she was very late in investing in the relationship. The emotional pace was not equal. He considered love at first sight as an important moment, but her deep impression of him began with her talent. This is also one of the manifestations of girls maturing earlier than boys.

When he was reborn, Xin Mengzhen seemed somewhat naive again.

Their thinking was always out of sync.

A forty-year-old's mind inevitably wanders. Sometimes he suddenly remembers that Xin Mengzhen was only 18 years old. Perhaps the Xin Mengzhen he has always secretly loved was the 38-year-old Xin Mengzhen from his previous life.

Whenever he thought of these things, he subconsciously treated Xin Mengzhen like a child, making it difficult for him to have a passionate, two-way relationship with her.

Sometimes I even think that this world seems fake, and doesn't belong to my true self.

"clatter."

Chen Xuebing felt something was missing in his throat, so he took out a pack of 1916 cigarettes with a sweat-soaked exterior from his pocket, took one out of the nearly empty cigarette box, and lit it with a lighter.

He takes a puff, and the wind takes a puff.

Xin Mengzhen saw a nearly empty pack of cigarettes and really wanted to ask Chen Xuebing when he started smoking.

After thinking about it, I still didn't say anything.

But just as Chen Xuebing took a couple of puffs, she suddenly reached out and pinched the cigarette that Chen Xuebing was holding between his two fingers.

Chen Xuebing let go in surprise, and Xin Mengzhen awkwardly pinched the cigarette holder to her cherry-red lips and took a light puff.

"Cough, cough."

Every first-time smoker will choke, experiencing a slight dizziness from the suffocation, and their eyes will be stung by the smoke.

Xin Mengzhen was unusually disheveled.

"Damn it!" Chen Xuebing roared, "Why are you smoking if you can't even do it?"

Xin Mengzhen covered her eyes with the back of her hand, which had been stung by the fumes. When she lowered her hand, her eyes were a little red.

"It doesn't taste good. Is there a kind of cigarette for women that has a milder flavor?" she asked with a smile, her eyes red.

Chen Xuebing's lips twitched. He walked behind her, grabbed her arm, snatched the cigarette, flicked it with his thumb, and the sparks on the cigarette tip drifted into the air and disappeared. He then unethically threw the cigarette into the Huangpu River.

"I'm not smoking anymore, okay?"

As he spoke, he naturally embraced Xin Mengzhen.

The surrounding smoke was dispersed by the wind, and the faint scent of soap on Xin Mengzhen's body became more noticeable.

She turned her head to the side, her ponytail gently brushing against Chen Xuebing's nose, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.

"I just want to know more about you."

"There's no need to know that much; there are other ways."

Chen Xuebing spoke resentfully, his hand touching the flat yet elastic abs through the thin sportswear, and his arms around Xin Mengzhen tightened slightly.

Two young bodies were pressed together, full of implications.

At this moment, all other distracting thoughts in Chen Xuebing's mind disappeared, leaving only a simple, unambiguous thought.

Xin Mengzhen sensed something and her ears turned bright red.

She hurriedly changed the subject, asking, "When are you going back?"

Chen Xuebing refused to change the subject, focusing solely on a certain issue: "Where to? A hotel? I haven't booked one yet, you book it for me."

"No, I'm going back to Chongqing."

“I’m not going back. I’ll buy a house in Shanghai tomorrow.” Chen Xuebing closed his eyes and buried his head in her long neck, inhaling the fragrance of her hair.

Xin Mengzhen struggled but couldn't break free. Instead, her body temperature rose several times due to her exertion, emanating a seductive scent. Chen Xuebing was completely intoxicated, thinking that even if the sky fell, he would still take her.

"Um, could you come with me to meet a senior on Monday?" Xin Mengzhen reluctantly resorted to her trump card.

"Senior?" Chen Xuebing opened his eyes: "What senior?"

"A senior who's even better than you."

"In what aspect? There are so many students at Fudan University who are better than me."

"Of course, it's about doing business."

"impossible."

“Really, she’s much better than you.” Xin Mengzhen said with certainty.

Innocence is shattered.

Chen Xuebing released his grip: "Who??"

Xin Mengzhen took the opportunity to run away, pursing her lips and smiling slightly.

“You’ll see when you get there, we’ll catch you!” (“Big Potato” in Cantonese: idiot)

Chen Xuebing stared at himself, pointing at himself: "Me, Big Sweet Potato? You're ungrateful! Now that you have status at home and don't need me anymore, you turn to your senior, right?"

"Hehe—you like it when I speak Cantonese, right? BB~ come and pursue me."

Xin Mengzhen's "BB" made Chen Xuebing's soul melt, and he ran away immediately after shouting it.

Chen Xuebing recalled a joke by Fei.

If you chase me, and you catch me, I'll let you have your way with me.

The soldier's foot moved with the speed of the wind.

"what--"

Xin Mengzhen was quickly approached and screamed without any regard for her image as a beautiful woman.

……

Night, Jin Mao Tower, hotel.

"Pork intestines!"

"Soft-shelled turtle!"

"Pork chop!"

"Lu Ge!"

"Bighead shrimp!"

The two of them turned off the lights, opened the window, and practiced Cantonese in bed.

Originally, she hadn't really planned to learn Cantonese, but when Chen Xuebing couldn't win Xin Mengzhen over with his shameless kisses and groping, she had no choice but to ask her to say "BB" in Cantonese again. As a result, Xin Mengzhen, whose clothes were all torn and wrinkled, sat on the edge of the bed, tidying her messy hair while frantically spitting out words to him with a flushed face.

It's definitely not a good thing for a Cantonese person to recite the names of dishes to you, but Xin Mengzhen was just being coquettish.

The real swear word for fruit in Cantonese is "杏加橙" (xìng jiā chéng), which is equivalent to "冚家铲" (kān jiā chǎn), meaning the whole family dies.

Xin Mengzhen's resistance was surprisingly strong, so Chen Xuebing didn't continue with the "just kiss, no touching," "just touching, no moving," and "just rubbing, no penetration" routine. Instead, he held her hand and leaned her against the pillow, quietly watching her.

Seeing that he was quiet, Xin Mengzhen relaxed and looked out the window.

Her profile, filtered through the neon lights of Shanghai, resembled an anime version of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, so beautiful that one couldn't bear to disturb it.

Happy birthday, BB, you're 20 now.

The cool voice spoke tender words, which delighted Chen Xuebing, who then took advantage of the situation and laughed:
"If you're not used to calling me that, you can call me husband."

Xin Mengzhen frowned, feeling a chill.

"Wow, you're so slick. I heard from Qingyue that you had a lot of girlfriends in high school, didn't you?"

An unavoidable topic was finally brought up by Xin Mengzhen for the first time. Chen Xuebing's middle school life was always labeled as "Big Brother," and it was indeed not an ordinary one. He started dating in junior high school, but he never got into serious relationships. Some of his relationships only lasted two or three days, and the frequency of his relationships was actually not very high.

Later, after entering society and making money, he found himself in the limelight of another man.

Therefore, he is mostly passive and rarely says sweet words, let alone being slick. He is always straightforward with women, satisfying their physical needs as long as they are met. He spends most of his time on ideas like "a great man is born between heaven and earth".

After his rebirth, many girls inquired about him, especially after he went to university. However, he knew that he would become famous in the future, and his private life would inevitably be exposed and magnified. Therefore, he became more ascetic and did not get involved with girls he was not familiar with.

Even when he was with Yang Qingyue, he would think about the day when he would have to choose between the two, and subconsciously suppressed his feelings.

These hormones that he had been suppressing would only be fully released in front of Xin Mengzhen.

He shook his head, which was propped up on his hand, and was about to deny it when he smiled faintly: "Ex-girlfriends, huh? Dozens of them. Want me to count them for you?"

“Okay.” Xin Mengzhen said with interest, a strange smile curving her lips.

Chen Xuebing calmly replied, "You go first."

"No." Xin Mengzhen said with a hint of pride.

Chen Xuebing coughed.

Embarrassed.

From the ease with which he hugged Xin Mengzhen for the first time, kissed her at the Oriental Hotel, and caressed her intimately, he instinctively felt that Xin Mengzhen was probably not in her first relationship, which was why he asked her so confidently. However, the result was beyond his expectations.

"So you dared to come to the hotel and sleep with me last time? Weren't you afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself and then wouldn't take responsibility?"

"I don't know." Xin Mengzhen's eyes were as innocent as a child's at that moment. Then she turned to look at him and asked, "Do you think I'm too casual?"

"No." Chen Xuebing immediately shook his head, raising his hand to gently touch her cheek: "I just feel very lucky."

Xin Mengzhen covered his hand with her hand, letting his fingertips linger on her face, and looked at the TV wall in front of her with a somewhat confused look in her eyes, and said softly:
"Actually, in my high school in Guangdong, some girls were very open-minded. I heard a lot of things and I knew a lot, but I had no interest in boys at all. I hated it when they showed interest in me. I thought I would never date anyone in the future. When you hugged me, I felt less repulsed by you. Later, at the Oriental Hotel, I actually thought, if I was wrong, then so be it. Anyway, I don't want to marry anyone or be anyone's wife in the future."

Xin Meng's words were filled with uncertainty about the future of their relationship, leaving Chen Xuebing speechless.

He never thought that way. He only felt that since he had been reborn, all regrets would be made up for, and Xin Mengzhen's future would definitely belong to him.

But, Life is a fucking movie.

Life is not a novel; life is just a bad movie.

In Xin Mengzhen's eyes, she may not necessarily be her future, but perhaps just the beginning of her life's blossoming.

She was unguarded, perhaps because I happened to unlock her heart when she was vulnerable and gave her the warmth she needed most.

But a smart girl wouldn't pin her future on a relationship that hasn't even been defined yet, no matter how strong he seems.

Ultimately, it was because I didn't give her enough confidence.

"Mengzhen."

"Huh?" Xin Mengzhen came back to her senses.

"Come with me tomorrow, I'm looking to buy an apartment in Shanghai."

This is the second time Chen Xuebing has said this today, but his tone is completely different.

It was full of seriousness.

Xin Mengzhen was slightly taken aback, a hint of joy rising in her heart, but then she pursed her lips, feeling that Chen Xuebing might be different from what she thought, and she shouldn't be too happy too soon.

"Great! Investing in a property in Shanghai is a good choice. Prices have dropped somewhat recently, especially in Jing'an."

Chen Xuebing shook her hand, interrupting her.

"It's not an investment, it's buying a house."

He said affectionately, "I'm a bit short on cash lately and don't have any spare money to invest in a house, but I can afford the down payment. I want to buy a small house with you, just enough for the two of us. This will be our first house. If business doesn't go well in the future and we can't afford a big house, this house might just be our wedding house, our home."

Her tone was somewhat pitiful at the end of her sentence, and Chen Xuebing looked at her with some trepidation after she finished speaking.

He's good at pretending.

It's as if it took a lot of hard work and determination to finally afford a small house.

In fact, the "small house" he mentioned was by no means a small house in the conventional sense, and when he said "our wedding house," he did not seem to be seeking Xin Mengzhen's opinion at all.

But that tone and look instantly melted Xin Mengzhen's heart.

Xin Mengzhen's personality is like that of a second Chen Xuebing in the world: independent and strong-willed, she is gentle but not forceful. She never thought that girls should just enjoy the fruits of men's hunting. If she wants something, she has to work for it herself.

Chen Xuebing had always been in a dominant position, helping her, so his words now had an unparalleled destructive effect on her.

Very reassuring.

At that moment, she felt like an old man who had slept with a young girl, and she wanted to gently pat Chen Xuebing's back and tell him:
"It's okay, I'll buy you whatever you need in the future."

The mindset of taking responsibility in reverse led to this achievement.

Chen Xuebing secretly chuckled as he watched Xin Mengzhen's increasingly affectionate gaze.

Damn, I've managed to avoid the topic of my ex-girlfriend.

"BB".

Xin Mengzhen touched Chen Xuebing's cheek with her hand.

Chen Xuebing suddenly realized that the emotion in Xin Mengzhen's eyes seemed to go beyond that.

Xin Mengzhen put her other hand behind her head, slowly removing the rubber band that had just tied her ponytail, letting her black hair fall loose.

Chen Xuebing easily found himself in her tender eyes.

He tentatively took her hand and moved closer to her face, which showed some nervousness.

They were face-to-face, close enough to hear each other breathing.

Xin Mengzhen's breath was as fragrant as orchids.

Chen Xuebing's prominent Adam's apple bobbed.

He kissed her.

"Um"

A soft groan ignited the man's passion, and his fiery hands began to haphazardly undress him.

rustling sounds.

"Window, curtains!"

"what!"

Xin Mengzhen screamed as Chen Xuebing lifted her up with one arm, draped her over him, and quickly carried her to the window.

In reality, it's over 300 meters above the ground, and no one can see this area.

Draw the curtains.

The bedside reading lamp was turned on.

The pale yellow light illuminated the hot young couple.

Chen Xuebing gently placed her beside the bed, wanting to ask her solemnly, "Are you ready?"

But the dazed look in his eyes made him shut up, and he leaned in for a passionate kiss.

"Ah."

With a sweet moan that melted anyone's heart, Chen Xuebing's passion erupted completely.

A hungry wolf pounces on its prey.

The wolf-hair brush, with its powerful strokes penetrating the back of the Xuan paper, painted a bright and vibrant picture of peach blossoms in full bloom. With the final touch, the painter's ink continued to flow, blending and spreading across the beautiful scenery.

From 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock, Chen Xuebing finally calmed down, holding the soft and charming body in his arms, ready to go to sleep.

The clock struck 00:00, and the wooden pendant hanging on the phone by the bedside flickered, emitting a faint light.

Chen Xuebing groggily reached for his phone, opened it, and saw a text message notification.

Yang Qingyue.

He immediately regretted it, but when he turned around, he found that Xin Mengzhen was also looking at her phone screen, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and open the text message.

I'm 20 now, the stars are shining, and life is peaceful.

The simple birthday wishes brought him a great sense of relief.

He turned his head and asked cautiously, "Um... Shall I reply?"

The head in her arms nodded gently.

Chen Xuebing sat up with relief and replied on his phone.

【Thanks】

He had just typed one word when a warm hand suddenly touched his leg, startling him.

"What are you doing?"

Xin Mengzhen squinted her eyes, her gaze dreamy.

"I want more."

"Gulp." Chen Xuebing swallowed hard, feeling completely drained. "...Should I rest for a bit?"

Her beautiful body, without warning, lay on top of him and whispered in his ear.

"I'm on top this time."

(I was just discharged from the hospital yesterday and have started updating normally again.)
(End of this chapter)