At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Li Xiao had just finished showering when he got home, and before he had even dried his hair, he heard his phone vibrating loudly on the bed.

He picked it up and saw that it was a call from Zheng Hao.

After the call connected, there was none of the ear-piercing noise pollution I had imagined from a karaoke bar. "Brother Xiao, where are you? Want to come out for drinks?"

"Drinking? Weren't you guys singing karaoke?"

"Don't even mention it. Now that you've left, both of the leading ladies have also withdrawn. Lin Xiao had a cold face the whole time, and after a while she said her throat was sore. Xia Kexin was even worse. You just said you weren't going, and the next thing you knew she was going, she told Zhang Qian she was tired and wanted to go home. You couldn't stop her."

"Brother Xiao, no offense, but in today's game, you were the real protagonist. We were all just extras. Now that you, the protagonist, are gone, how can this show continue?"

Li Xiao dried his half-dry hair. "Alright, stop flattering me. It's just a few fewer people, what's the big deal?"

"That's not what we meant, Brother Xiao. The brothers are genuinely bored."

Zheng Hao sighed on the other end of the phone, then his tone changed, and his gossip spirit ignited again, "But seriously, you didn't see how absent-minded Xia Kexin was when she left. Anyone with eyes could tell who she was thinking about."

"Brother Xiao, if you really have any tips for picking up girls, you have to teach me! My happiness for the rest of my life depends on you."

Hearing Zheng Hao's off-key voice, Li Xiao couldn't help but laugh and curse.

"Get lost! What do you want from me on the phone? If you don't want anything, don't bother me."

Zheng Hao chuckled on the other end of the phone, his previous glib tone vanishing. "Hey, Xiao-ge. I have something important to tell you. Fatty Zhou just called and said he's drafted the compliance framework and will have the final version tomorrow. He wants us to register the company on Monday. He asked me to ask you, should we stick with the name Lansheng, or do you want to think about it some more?"

"Let's go with Lansheng. Yanhuai is a good name, so let's not change it."

"Okay, I'll talk to Fatty about it later. Also, my dad replied that Uncle Sun will be at the bureau on Monday afternoon. We just need to bring the materials and go see him before 3 p.m. My dad recommended a well-established firm in the county for the assessment report. They've worked with the land and resources department several times before, so they're familiar with the process and there shouldn't be any problems."

Looking at Zheng Hao, who had matured considerably, Li Xiao didn't hold back his praise, "Haozi, you did a good job."

Hearing Li Xiao's praise, Zheng Hao practically shrugged off, "Of course! Don't you know who I am? The future pillar of the Deng family, would I let you down?"

Li Xiao didn't expect this kid to be so easily pleased and still have that unreliable attitude.

"Stop being so glib. Of course I know how capable you are, Young Master Zheng. But I won't be showing up tomorrow afternoon. I'll leave this to you and Yan Huai."

Zheng Hao on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback, and his voice suddenly rose a few decibels, "You're not going to show up? No, Brother Xiao, this is such a big matter, can you handle it without going and overseeing it yourself? If Yan Huai and I go, I'm afraid we won't be able to handle it."

"That piece of land in the south of the city is just a barren wasteland, worthless in everyone's eyes. I personally went to the Land Bureau to sign a wasteland contract. What do you expect Uncle Sun to think? What do you expect your father's old acquaintances to think? They'll think there's a gold mine buried under that land. By the time we get the property rights, all eyes will be on us."

"What I need to do now is to stay out of the public eye as much as possible, at least until I have a firm grasp on that land. I should avoid showing my face as much as possible."

Zheng Hao was silent for a while on the other end of the phone, seemingly processing what he had just said.

He wasn't really stupid; he was just used to following Li Xiao's lead in everything, and suddenly being pushed to the forefront made him feel a little uneasy.

"Brother Xiao, I understand what you mean. You want this land to appear to outsiders as just a small business run by our Deng family, and have nothing to do with your Li family. Once the formalities are completed and the deed is done, it will be too late even if someone realizes what's happening."

"Smart." Li Xiao chuckled, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

Despite Zheng Hao's seemingly unreliable nature, he is quick-witted when it comes to serious matters.

"Besides, didn't Uncle Zheng already speak to Uncle Sun? Since it's a favor that the elders have already agreed on, if you handle it, Uncle Sun will just think that you're out here to gain experience under the arrangement of your family, and everything will be perfectly natural."

"I don't need to tell you what to do when you get to the station tomorrow, right? Offer cigarettes when you should, call him 'Uncle' when you should, act a little guilty and a little impatient, like a young master being forced to do hard labor at home, understand?"

"Got it! Playing a spoiled brat is a piece of cake for me, it's just me playing myself!"

Zheng Hao agreed readily, then paused, reverting to his cheeky tone, "Brother Xiao, now that we've finished talking about business, let me ask you something unrelated. As for Xia Kexin, aren't you really not planning to take the initiative? She practically ran away the moment you left; her intentions are practically written all over her face."

"And she's so beautiful, Xiao-ge, you're not at a disadvantage at all, are you?"

Hearing Zheng Hao's three sentences, which couldn't escape his gossipy nature, Li Xiao helplessly rubbed his temples.

"Put away all that nonsense in your head."

Zheng Hao chuckled twice on the other end of the phone and wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

He knew Li Xiao too well; this tone meant that the conversation should end there. If he pressed further, Li Xiao might really lose his temper.

"Brother Xiao, you should get some rest. Tomorrow, Fatty and I will handle the paperwork. We'll keep you updated on any progress."

"Okay, I'm hanging up."

After Zheng Hao hung up the phone, the room returned to silence.

Li Xiao leaned against the headboard, picked up his phone and scrolled through the class group chat. He paused on a group photo posted by Wang Lei. He was standing in the back row, slightly to the left, while Xia Kexin stood directly in front of him, her eyes slightly narrowed, smiling happily.

South of the city, an urban village.

This is the oldest area in Jiangyang County, and most of the residents here are migrant workers and impoverished families.

Xia Kexin lives here.

The cramped bedroom didn't even have a decent table lamp. Xia Kexin lay on the bed, holding her phone up to her eyes. The light from the screen made her squint slightly.

Class monitor Wang Lei posted the group photo in the class group chat, and dozens of comments have already been posted below, all filled with various emojis and jokes.

She didn't look at those photos, but instead zoomed in on them, her finger sliding across the screen until only two people remained in the picture—the boy in the back row with a detached expression, and herself standing directly in front of him, her eyes slightly narrowed, smiling like a fool.