A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

Lin Xiaochen still hasn't gotten used to her boss's style.

Her lips twitched slightly—after following Fu Yan for so many days, the most common responses she heard were "no budget" and "you figure it out yourself." In other words: money is no problem, just don't rent me a dilapidated house.

"Understood, I'll go take a look around in the next couple of days." She took out her notebook, made a note, and then closed it. "Okay, we'll head back now."

"Okay, be careful on the road."

Lin Xiaochen nodded to him, then turned and walked into the night at Houhai. Her back was straight, her steps were brisk, and her canvas bag swayed on her shoulder—even her walking posture looked like she was going to work.

Fu Yan watched her figure disappear around the corner of the alley, then looked up at the night sky.

The moon was big and round, like a white jade plate hanging in the sky.

The moon on the Lantern Festival was indeed beautiful.

He wrapped his coat tighter and slowly walked back along the lakeside. The bar street in Houhai hadn't completely quieted down yet, and the faint sound of a live singer could be heard in the distance. He couldn't tell which bar it was or what the singer was singing; only the melody drifted over, mixed with the cold wind from the lake, barely audible.

Fu Yan suddenly remembered the song "Betrayal" sung by Qin Manni.

"You betrayed me like this..."

The way she sang it didn't sound like she was selling herself.

It's as if they're saying, "Buy me, I'm cheap."

Thinking about this, Fu Yan himself felt that the idea was a bit ridiculous, shook his head, and quickened his pace.

The old locust tree on Yandai Xiejie Street cast shadows in the moonlight. The gate of the courtyard house was ajar, and the light was still on in the east wing—Zhou Shufen was still awake, probably waiting for him to come back.

Fu Yan pushed open the door and was greeted by a wave of warmth.

Zhou Shufen poked her head out from the east wing: "Brother Fu is back? There are hot glutinous rice balls in the kitchen, black sesame ones!"

"Sister Zhou, why aren't you asleep yet? It's so late!"

"It's the Lantern Festival, so someone has to stay up all night."

Fu Yan paused for a moment, then smiled. Because he had to work the next day, he told Xu Wenshu to go home and rest while he stayed at the bar until closing time. He hadn't expected Zhou Shufen to be waiting so late to heat up glutinous rice balls for him. Although he had paid for it, his heart was warmed.

"Okay, I'll eat one bowl."

He went into the kitchen, brought out the bowl of steaming hot glutinous rice balls, sat down at the table, and ate them one by one.

It has black sesame filling and is sweet.

The moonlight outside the window was like water, and the lights inside the room were warm and inviting.

The Lantern Festival has passed.

……

Fu Yan woke up the next morning because of the heat.

To be precise, I was woken up by a heat source pressed against my back.

He groggily turned over and his arm touched something soft—Xu Wenshu was curled up next to him, wrapped in the blanket like a silkworm cocoon, with only half of her face and a tuft of hair showing, her breathing as even as a hibernating cat.

When Fu Yan woke up again, she squinted at the alarm clock on the bedside table—

11:40.

Good guy.

He remembered that it was almost three o'clock when he got back from the bar last night. He took a shower and went straight to sleep. He didn't know when Xu Wenshu left in the middle of the night—he guessed that they were intimate for a while when he got up in the morning, and then she left for work.

I skipped breakfast, missed my morning run, and even missed Sister Zhou's fried cakes.

Fu Yan lingered in bed for three minutes, trying to negotiate with his biological clock—could he sleep a little longer? His biological clock's answer was straightforward: No, your bladder is about to burst.

He rolled out of bed and staggered to the bathroom.

When he came out, the table was already set with food—left by Zhou Shufen, covered with plastic wrap, and a note next to it: "Brother Fu, Sister Xu said you don't need to be woken up, you can sleep a little longer. The food can be heated up and eaten."

Fu Yan looked at the handwriting on the note. It was written by Zhou Shufen, crooked and messy, but the two characters "Brother Fu" were written with extra care.

He smiled, put the food in the microwave for two minutes, and sat down at the table to eat his late breakfast and early lunch.

……

Halfway through the meal, my phone rang.

Fu Yan glanced at the incoming call—Zhang Fan.

"Feed?"

"Yanzi! You fucking still alive?" The voice on the other end of the phone was booming, tinged with the irritability of someone who hadn't had enough sleep. "I've called you three times already!"

"I overslept."

"Overslept? Did you go out partying again last night?"

"What a load of rubbish! My own bar just opened, and I was up all night watching it until closing time."

"Alright, alright, you're not being irresponsible, you're dedicated." Zhang Fan's tone shifted from irritable to serious. "Are you free today? Come sit over here, a few people want to get together with you."

"who?"

"Me, Lao Chen, and Li Hui."

Fu Yan paused for a moment.

Chen Yanpeng, Li Hui.

These two names carried significant weight in China's investment circles in 08—one was the helmsman of Sequoia Capital China, and the other a powerful figure in the private equity world. Zhang Fan himself was also a co-founder of Sequoia Capital China.

To put it bluntly, any one of these three people could have a startup CEO lining up to invite them to dinner.

"Are you going to start a private equity firm?" Fu Yan asked.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhang Fan laughed: "You're still as sharp as ever. Are you coming or not?"

Send me the address.

"Yanjiao, I'll send you my location to your email—wait, do you have QQ? Never mind, I'll just send you a text message instead."

Fu Yan hung up the phone, shoveled the last bite of rice into his mouth, and then sent Zhao Gang a text message: "Leaving in half an hour, heading to Yanjiao."

Zhao Gang replied with a single word: Received.

-

In 08, Yanjiao was a completely different world from the city of Yanjing.

After leaving the Fifth Ring Road, the scenery began to change. High-rise buildings quickly thinned out, replaced by vast construction sites and farmhouses that hadn't yet been demolished. There were quite a few GG signs along the roadside—"New Development in Yanjiao," "Down Payment 30,000," "Eastern Gateway to Beijing"—each trying to tell you: this place will be amazing in the future, but it's not amazing now.

Zhao Gang was driving his A8 on the Tongyan Expressway, while Fu Yan leaned against the back seat looking out the window.

"Brother Fu, this place is pretty remote." Zhao Gang glanced at the rearview mirror.

"It's off-center now, but it won't be in a few years."

"real?"

"It's true. House prices will increase several times over."

Zhao Gang thought for a moment: "Then should I buy one now?"

Fu Yan almost burst out laughing: "You earn 8,000 a month, why would you buy a house in Yanjiao?"

"I can pay in full!"

"Take care of your partner's problem first."

Zhao Gang fell silent and drove quietly. In the rearview mirror, the corners of his mouth were still turned up – Fu Yan said housing prices would rise, and they definitely would; he believed him.

-

The A8 turned onto an inconspicuous side road and drove for about five minutes. On both sides were bare poplar trees and farmland that had not yet turned green. It didn't look like there was any manor at all.

Then, a wrought iron gate appeared.

The gate was at least four meters high, with cast iron patterns, and two security guards in black suits stood at the entrance, looking even stronger than Zhao Gang.

Zhao Gang lowered the car window. The security guard glanced at the license plate, then at the back seat, and then the walkie-talkie beeped twice before the iron gate slowly opened.

As the car drove in, Fu Yan's brow twitched slightly.

The estate was larger than he had imagined.

From the main gate to the main building, the driveway alone is over 300 meters long, lined with neatly trimmed holly trees and plane trees that haven't yet sprouted buds. To the left is an artificial lake, its surface still covered with a thin layer of ice, and in the center of the lake is a small pavilion, looking quite elegant. To the right is a large lawn, bigger than a football field, at the far end of which are parked three cars—a Mercedes-Benz S600, a BMW 760, and a Lexus LS.

These are all cars owned by big shots.

Zhao Gang parked the A8 under the main building's porch, turned off the engine, got out of the car and opened the door for Fu Yan—he was quite skilled at it now, although the first time he opened the door, he almost pulled the door and Fu Yan off the road together.