Getting Rich Legally 5

The moment Lin Qi truly laughed was after evening self-study.

When Ge Jianjun saw him walking with Meng Hui, he scrambled away faster than a rabbit, his yellow hair a mess in the wind.

Lin Qi laughed happily at the sight of Ge Jianjun fleeing in panic, grinning so wide his eyes disappeared.

It was the first time Meng Hui had seen Lin Qi laugh like that—such pure joy. He had never seen it once in Lin Qi in his previous life.

Even when their company went public and they rang the bell, Lin Qi had only curved his lips faintly, holding a crystal glass and saying a restrained "cheers."

Watching Lin Qi laugh so hard he could barely hold his backpack, Meng Hui thought to himself that his previous life had been a complete failure.

......

Knock knock. The study door was tapped. Lin Qi turned around. Lin Yue'er had already pushed the door open, her expression a bit serious. "Qiqi, Mom needs to talk to you."

"Mom, go ahead." Lin Qi quickly set down his pen and turned to sit upright, looking at her properly. He had fully gotten into the role of a son—calling Lin Yue'er "Mom" no longer felt awkward.

An obedient, sensible son had always been Lin Yue'er's greatest pride. She worked retail shifts at a department store, alternating day and night shifts, leaving her little time to manage Lin Qi. Fortunately, Lin Qi had always been well-behaved, rarely causing her worry in life or studies.

"Qiqi, tell Mom honestly—have you been hanging out with bad friends lately?" Lin Yue'er asked nervously.

Lin Qi's eyes widened slightly.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Yue'er's heart sank immediately. Her face turned pale. "You must cut ties with that boy right away."

Since she said "boy," Lin Qi was certain she meant Meng Hui.

Before his rebirth, Meng Hui would've been roaming the streets collecting protection fees. After rebirth, he had been attending school obediently for a month now—not exactly a model student, but definitely not "bad."

Though sometimes he was quite bad—thinking of how Meng Hui teased him occasionally made Lin Qi grind his teeth. After calming down, he said, "I'm not friends with bad students."

"Aunt Zhao upstairs has seen it several times—you walking home with some hooligan-looking boy. Is that true?" Lin Yue'er said anxiously. "Short hair like a reform camp prisoner. Tell me honestly—has he been in juvenile detention?"

Lin Qi: pfft, he almost laughed.

"Mom, really no," Lin Qi said helplessly. "He's a new classmate. Teacher Zhang asked me, as class monitor, to help him out. We live in the same direction, so we walk together more often."

Lin Yue'er still wasn't reassured. "When he's at the door, bring him upstairs sometime. I want to meet him. I've never even heard of you having friends before."

Lin Qi's expression dimmed slightly. What she called concern was actually neglect—she knew nothing about his studies or friendships, and hadn't even noticed his broken backpack.

Ever since his stepfather left a month ago, he rarely stayed home, only returning occasionally to smash things and take money. Lin Yue'er often cried in secret. Lin Qi wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. "Okay, I'll invite him over sometime."

"Good boy," Lin Yue'er said, her expression softening. "Mom's going to the night shift. Finish your homework and sleep early. Lock all the doors and windows."

Lin Qi hummed in response and watched her leave.

She wasn't even forty yet, but white hairs already stood out among the black. Time had never treated her kindly. Lin Qi sighed.

"System, can I change Lin Yue'er's fate?" Lin Qi asked softly.

The System didn't respond.

Lin Qi reached out to turn on the desk lamp, suddenly wanting to laugh at himself. He couldn't even control his own fate in this small world—how could he talk about helping others?

......

In the night filled with cicada calls, street vendors appeared one by one along the road near the school, waiting for the students after evening classes.

Soon, the bell rang, the school gates opened, and groups of bicycles streamed out noisily, lighting up the dull summer night.

The air was filled with mouthwatering scents—grilled skewers, fried rice, egg pancakes, popsicles. Sweet, salty, and spicy aromas wove together into a net tempting the appetite. The sizzling of meat, the click of gas igniting—loudest of all were the carefree laughs of youth.

Lin Qi held a sausage and sighed, "I've gained several pounds already."

"Not that exaggerated," Meng Hui said, bending over to pick out a vanilla ice cream from the cooler—Lin Qi's favorite. He paid and handed it to him. "Here."

Lin Qi hesitated, then accepted it. On a summer night, a bite of sausage and a bite of ice cream—it was heaven.

They squeezed out of the crowd and headed home.

The ice cream melted quickly. Lin Qi didn't have enough hands, so he quickly finished the hot sausage and then started licking the melting ice cream off his hands.

Meng Hui carried Lin Qi's broken backpack casually, walking the now-familiar road, occasionally glancing at Lin Qi eating.

Lin Qi ate ice cream very seriously. His pale pink tongue licked from the bottom up bit by bit, like he was doing meticulous work. His big blinking eyes sparkled with a clean, innocent light.

Meng Hui felt thirsty.

He had to admit—whether at eighteen or twenty-eight—whenever he saw Lin Qi, his mind filled with inappropriate thoughts that wouldn't go away.

"Tasty?" Meng Hui asked calmly.

Lin Qi sucked a big bite defensively. "What?"

"Let me try," Meng Hui said, leaning closer.

Lin Qi quickly turned away. "Y-you want some, go buy your own."

Meng Hui bent toward him, the night wind lifting his old school uniform like a flock of pigeons taking flight. His shadow enveloped Lin Qi completely. Smiling, he said, "Didn't I buy that one?"

Lin Qi blushed. Though Meng Hui had dragged him to eat, he couldn't deny he was the one enjoying it.

"I'll pay you," Lin Qi said, digging out three coins and stuffing them into Meng Hui's hand. "Go."

The coins were sticky with melted ice cream. Meng Hui clenched them and put them away. Straightening, he said lazily, "Is that how you talk to Brother Hui?"

Lin Qi sighed inwardly. Here we go again. Enduring humiliation, he said, "Then... Brother Hui, should I go buy one?"

Meng Hui resumed walking. "Forget it today. Tomorrow's a holiday—treat me to a meal."

Lin Qi looked reluctant, then suddenly remembered his mother's request. An idea struck him. "Sure—how about you come eat at my place tomorrow?"

Meng Hui paused briefly, a smile tugging at his lips. His sharp eyes softened. "Meeting the parents already?"

"......"

"Not talking again?"

"No..."

Meng Hui slung an arm over Lin Qi's shoulders again. Lin Qi immediately stuffed the rest of the ice cream into his mouth, resulting in him hissing and grimacing like he'd been burned.

Meng Hui laughed. He wanted to pull this lively Lin Qi into his arms and kiss him hard—but only in his imagination. Instead, he ruffled Lin Qi's hair. "No scallions, no ginger, no cilantro."

Lin Qi swallowed the last bite and muttered an "oh," thinking he sure had the nerve to make requests.

After walking Lin Qi downstairs, Meng Hui didn't go up. The woman upstairs always looked at him suspiciously. To avoid trouble, he said goodbye downstairs. "I'm off. I'll come tomorrow at noon."

"Bye," Lin Qi said weakly, wondering when this life would end.

At this rate, it would be ten more years before he got hit by a car. Ten years—too long.

"Want to get hit by a car?" the System said coolly.

Lin Qi jumped. "Why did you suddenly come back?"

The System ignored that. "You're being passive in your task."

Lin Qi couldn't refute it. He was passive—Meng Hui's Blackening Value at 100% wasn't something he even wanted to think about. And "redeeming him with love" like he did with Du Chengying? Impossible.

At best, maybe brotherly affection.

Trying to defend himself, Lin Qi said, "But Meng Hui is going to school now—that's a positive change, right?"

The System replied coldly, "I told you before—pay attention to the people in each world. Meng Hui is an orphan. Now that he's in school, where does he live? How does he support himself? Do you know any of that?"

Lin Qi was stunned.

System: "How long are you going to keep avoiding it?"

The corridor light flickered. Lin Qi stood there, his face half-lit, his soul seeming to drift far away—to a distant seaside. The salty breeze lifted that person's black hair and robes. He turned back with a smile, his deep eyes holding only him.

"System... I want to know how Du Chengying is now," Lin Qi murmured.

System: "Impossible. Just assume he's dead."

Lin Qi hugged his backpack tightly, breathing unevenly. After a long time, he steadied himself. "System... will I really never see Du Chengying again?"

System replied immediately, "Yes. So you'd better forget him."

"I understand," Lin Qi said slowly.

The System thought he meant acceptance. Instead, Lin Qi entered his room, threw his bag aside, flopped onto the bed—and burst into tears.

System: ......

"Stop crying..." it gritted out.

Lin Qi sobbed, hiccupping, "Even crying bothers you? G-go watch a movie..."

System: He's really grown bold—telling it to get lost???

With a "dead husband buff," the little Synthetic Human was getting harder to handle.

Reluctantly, it coaxed him, "What's done is done. Crying won't help. Focus on your task, or you'll disgrace Synthetic Humans."

That struck a nerve.

As the only Synthetic Human to pass as a Moderator, Lin Qi had always been proud.

"I'll work hard," Lin Qi sniffed, wiping his tears. "But I don't want to forget him."

"Fine, whatever," the System said perfunctorily.

Lin Qi blinked, forcing back tears, and buried his face in his arms.

Lin Yue'er didn't come home that night—or the next morning. When Lin Qi called, she said she was covering a shift and would return at night.

Lin Qi had wanted to mention Meng Hui, but swallowed the words. "Mom, you've worked hard."

"Not really. Just buy wontons downstairs for lunch. There's change in a blue cookie tin in the shoe cabinet."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Lin Qi thought he might as well treat Meng Hui to wontons.

Near noon, the door rattled. Lin Qi hurried out, thinking it was Meng Hui—but it was his stepfather, Sun Chonghai, disheveled and reeking of alcohol.

"Where's your mother?!" he barked.

"She's out," Lin Qi said, not revealing her workplace.

Sun Chonghai ignored him and started rummaging through the house, making a mess. Soon he came out of the bedroom, pockets fuller. "Hiding it in her bra, huh."

He grabbed two bottles of milk and staggered to the door—only to be startled by a tall figure outside.

"Who the hell—?!"

Meng Hui looked down at the drunken man, expressionless.

Sun Chonghai instinctively sensed danger and fled immediately.

"You're here..." Lin Qi said softly. "Sorry, there's no one home to cook. Want to get wontons downstairs? My treat."

Meng Hui entered, closed the door, took off his shoes, and walked up to Lin Qi. After staring for a moment, he said, "Your eyes are swollen."

"I didn't sleep well," Lin Qi said awkwardly.

Meng Hui ruffled his hair, then leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Want me to make him disappear?"