Getting Rich Legally 9

In the 50-meter dash, Meng Hui took first place, casually breaking a school record in the process, and then went non-stop to the high jump.

The high jump had always been a popular event. Just the sight of the long-legged youths standing in a row was enough to attract people's attention.

Holding a bottle of water, Lin Qi hid nervously amidst the crowd.

Meng Hui was lined up in the middle of the crowd, with members of the professional high jump team in sports shorts both in front of and behind him. He had a colorful 'Invincible Hegemony' on his chest and a pair of dust-covered school pants. Even with such an outfit, he still stood out like a crane among a flock of chickens.

Lin Qi could hear the girls around him already whispering and laughing as they discussed Meng Hui. Words like 'so handsome' constantly drifted over.

Lin Qi thought to himself, 'These people have never seen the ceiling of good looks in the cultivation world. How is he that handsome?'

Every youth who jumped over would elicit a burst of cheers from the crowd. When it was Meng Hui's turn, before he even started his run-up, there were already screams coming from the crowd.

Meng Hui did not disappoint. With a stride of his long legs, he jumped over without much effort, drawing another burst of cheers even more excited than for the others.

Lin Qi, squeezed in the crowd, twitched the corner of his mouth. He thought to himself, 'Could Meng Hui have participated in the sports meet just to enjoy being sought after in campus life?' Meng Hui had been acting distant towards him lately; it wasn't as exaggerated as the sports committee member said. The sports committee member just had a personality of watching the fun without minding if it blew up. Lin Qi shook his head and squeezed his way out of the crowd.

The sports meet was bustling with activity, with competitions taking place in every section. However, Lin Qi wasn't really in the mood. Holding a bottle of water, he wandered aimlessly around the field and found an empty patch of grass to sit down on.

Blue skies and white clouds, green grass and red tracks—everything looked exactly like a youthful school. Lin Qi had been in this world for two months, and the emotions in his heart seemed to have calmed down. Yet, occasionally, when he remembered, it still throbbed with pain. If he didn't deliberately try to ignore it, Lin Qi felt he might not even last a single day.

The most important thing for him right now was to live well in this world, stay by Meng Hui's side, and prevent Meng Hui from going astray and stirring up trouble on the borderline of the law like he did in his previous life.

As for everything else, he would just suppress it in his heart for now.

Lin Qi smiled faintly, feeling that he had become a bit more open-minded. Memories possessed power, and he hoped they would be positive ones.

Standing up and patting off the grass clippings on his pants, Lin Qi obediently returned to the high jump circle.

He wouldn't have known if he hadn't returned, but doing so gave him a start. The number of people was at least double what it had been when Lin Qi first left. They formed a watertight circle. Relying on his thin frame, Lin Qi barely managed to squeeze in through a gap.

Only two people were left on the field: one was the boy in a professional sports uniform in front of Meng Hui, and the other was Meng Hui himself.

The watching crowd excitedly pointed at the two who were getting ready. From the discussions of the people around him, Lin Qi understood that not only was this the final round, but both of them were also challenging the school record. Everyone was guessing who would succeed.

Lin Qi didn't even need to think about it; it was definitely Meng Hui. He was the male protagonist of this world, so all the limelight should belong to him.

Meng Hui waved his hand, signaling that he was ready.

Although Lin Qi strongly believed that Meng Hui could snatch the limelight, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The noise from the surrounding crowd also quieted down. Everyone held their breath and focused, waiting to see if this suddenly emerging dark horse could overpower the professional high jump athlete in this sports meet and set a new record.

Meng Hui lazily ran up, and when he reached the bar, he just stopped. "Can't jump over it, I yield."

The crowd burst into an uproar.

Meng Hui calmly walked out through a gap in the crowd. Lin Qi hesitated for a moment but still followed.

Meng Hui walked very fast, and Lin Qi could only jog to catch up. "Brother Hui."

Meng Hui stopped his footsteps when he heard the voice. Lin Qi was already panting a little after running a few steps. Shoving the bottle of water in his hand into Meng Hui's, he hastily said, "Good luck," then sped up and ran past Meng Hui.

Meng Hui looked at Lin Qi's figure, which was running extremely fast, then slowing down to a brisk walk when he couldn't run anymore. He tossed the water in his hand lightly and smiled faintly.

Lin Qi walked back to the bleachers in one breath, his breathing uneven. He patted his chest a few times before recovering. His gaze wandered, feeling as if he were a thief.

"Go, Meng Hui!" A scream next to him pulled Lin Qi's thoughts back. He looked down and saw Meng Hui standing on the track getting ready again. It was the 4x100 relay race.

Lin Qi instantly understood why Meng Hui had just chosen to give up on the high jump directly: it was to rush to the next event.

From the beginning of the sports meet until now, Meng Hui hadn't stopped at all. The sweat-soaked tips of his hair shimmered faintly under the sunlight. He frowned, shook his head, and flung off a head full of sweat.

Lin Qi stared blankly at Meng Hui. The cheering voices around him grew louder and louder. Only he sat quietly. He looked around for a second, then raised his hands to his lips, "Go Class Seven!"

Lin Qi's voice was insignificant amidst the shouts of the crowd, but right when he yelled that out, Meng Hui turned his head. His deep eyes accurately locked onto Lin Qi within the sea of people once again.

In an instant, the sound of the crowd faded away, and it seemed as if only they existed in each other's eyes.

Meng Hui quickly shifted his gaze away, but Lin Qi stared blankly in his direction, lost in thought.

That look in Meng Hui's eyes just now was so familiar, it was like... just like...

The starting gun went off with a 'bang', and Lin Qi's train of thought was interrupted. By the time he tried to ponder over what he was just thinking about, he couldn't recall it no matter how hard he tried.

In the 4x100, Meng Hui did not disappoint expectations. As the anchor leg, he turned the tide and took first place. He was hugged by classmates at the finish line. Meng Hui patted them back, handed the relay baton over to them, and grabbed the water placed by the finish line. Wiping the sweat from his head, he said to the sports committee member, who was jumping up and down cheering, "It's over, I'm leaving."

"Okay, okay, Brother Meng, thanks for your hard work." The sports committee member gave an exaggerated bow. "This way, please."

Meng Hui smiled, waved his hand, and jogged back to the bleachers. His footsteps stopped below the bleachers. He glanced at Lin Qi, who was sitting on the third tier, and sat down in an empty seat on the second tier right in front of Lin Qi.

Lin Qi moved his feet aside.

The number tag on Meng Hui's back was already soaked in sweat, seemingly about to fall off, and his tanned neck was covered in sweat. Lin Qi hesitated for a moment and took out a tissue tucked inside his book. Just as he was about to pass it over, a girl next to Meng Hui handed one over first. He hastily hid the tissue back into his book.

"Wipe your sweat," the girl said shyly.

Holding the water bottle, Meng Hui didn't even look at the girl. "No need." He stood up and walked straight down.

The girl regretfully took back the tissue. Not angry, she sighed with emotion, "So cool."

Lin Qi's gaze followed Meng Hui as he disappeared at the entrance to the field. Before the smile on his face could fully rise, he saw Director Zhang waving at him, looking very tense.

Lin Qi pointed at himself and mouthed, "Me?"

Director Zhang nodded forcefully.

Lin Qi hurriedly ran down.

Director Zhang didn't say a word. He first pulled Lin Qi out of the noisy sports field. Only when they walked under the corridor of the teaching building did he say seriously, "Your mother just called the school. She might not come home tonight, so be careful by yourself at home."

Lin Qi let out an 'oh' and said, "Thank you, teacher." He felt quite strange in his heart. Lin Yue'er was supposed to be on the night shift and not coming home tonight anyway, so why did she specifically call the school to let them know?

Director Zhang patted his shoulder, hesitating to speak. "You... you go play first."

Director Zhang's ambiguous attitude made Lin Qi panic a little. He carefully asked, "Teacher, did something happen at my house?"

Logically speaking, the family misfortune in his house wouldn't happen for at least another few months.

Sun Chonghai went behind Lin Yue'er's back, mortgaged their house for a loan, and ran away. Lin Yue'er fell ill from anger and suddenly passed away from a myocardial infarction.

The original plot was like that. Now that Meng Hui had been reborn, Lin Qi had no idea how the plot would go.

Director Zhang didn't reveal anything. "I'll look for you if there's anything else."

Lin Qi walked back to the sports field in a daze. He was so absent-minded thinking about things that he almost bumped into people again. After almost colliding with a few people in a row, Meng Hui, who had been following him, finally couldn't help but go over and pull him. "What are you thinking about? Walk properly."

Lin Qi raised his head and blankly met Meng Hui's dripping wet face. "...Sorry."

Meng Hui let go of his hand. "Go back and watch the competition." Without saying much else, he gripped his water bottle and walked away.

When the sports meet was nearing its end in the afternoon, a student came over to look for Lin Qi, saying that Director Zhang was looking for him.

The sports committee member to the side said to Lin Qi, "Go quickly and come back quickly, the awards ceremony is about to start."

Lin Qi 'mm'-ed in response, feeling a little flustered for no reason.

Director Zhang was waiting for Lin Qi at the exit of the field. Upon seeing Lin Qi, he said directly, "Get in the car, I'll take you there."

"Teacher, where are we going?" Lin Qi's heart was pounding.

Director Zhang sighed softly, his expression complex. "The police station."

...

"Qiqi—" As soon as Lin Qi got out of the car, Lin Yue'er, who was crying bitterly, threw herself into his arms.

"Mom, I'm here." Lin Qi patted Lin Yue'er's shoulder, his heart beating like a drum. "It's okay, I'm here."

Sun Chonghai was dead.

Drowned. He had been soaking in the water for days, and his face was already beyond recognition. Lin Yue'er came over to identify the body, recognizing him from an old injury on his back. Combined with his clothing and the ID card in his pocket, the police confirmed that the deceased was indeed Sun Chonghai.

Lin Yue'er kept crying, holding Lin Qi's hand as she cried. The police had just asked her several questions and then asked her to call Lin Qi over. Suddenly facing the death of someone close, regardless of what emotion it stemmed from, she cried very heartbreakingly.

But Lin Qi was different.

In the interrogation room, the police looked at the arguably calm and delicate-looking youth in front of them and frowned slightly. "Don't be nervous, we're just asking routine questions."

Lin Qi nodded.

"When was the last time you saw Sun Chonghai?"

"I, I can't remember clearly. He rarely came back. I wake up early and go home late, so it's hard to have the chance to bump into him."

"How was the relationship between you and Sun Chonghai?"

"So-so, I guess," Lin Qi lowered his head. "He was my stepdad, not my biological one."

Police: "Understood. Then how was your mother's relationship with him?"

Lin Qi clenched his hands and said softly, "Also so-so. He was always gambling in recent years. When he came back, it was just to argue with my mom and take money."

The police officer nodded and finished the transcript. "Alright, you can go out. Comfort your mom more, she is quite heartbroken."

"Okay." Lin Qi stood up and walked out. Although he appeared calm on the surface, huge waves had already surged in his heart. A pair of beast-like eyes surfaced in his mind.

—"I'll make him disappear, how about it?"

Lin Qi swallowed his saliva. There were surveillance cameras everywhere in the police station. With a wooden face, he sat down next to the crying Lin Yue'er, held her hand, and said in a low voice, "Mom, don't be sad anymore."

"Mom isn't sad," Lin Yue'er wiped her face. "Mom is just... such a living, breathing person... gone just like that..." Lin Yue'er lowered her head and started crying again.

Lin Qi patted Lin Yue'er's back, his hand trembling a little. "It's alright, Mom, it's alright..."