Volume One: High School Days Chapter Seven: Ways to Make Money

Frightened, Xiaoya clung to Liu Sheng’s hand and slept through the afternoon. When she awoke at six, she saw Liu Sheng sitting by her side, unmoved. She asked, “You said I’m your woman—were you serious?”

Liu Sheng thought to himself, “Huh? Did I say that? Must’ve slipped out in the heat of the moment.” Hurriedly, he replied, “I only said that to protect you. Besides, you’re very pretty—of course I like you, but...”

“Yaya, I’m home!” Liu Sheng was interrupted by Wang Yu, who entered with a bandage wrapped around his head and a bag of fruit for Xiaoya.

Seeing Wang Yu return, Liu Sheng didn’t linger. He got to his feet, ready to leave. As her brother went to wash the fruit, Xiaoya quickly stood, jumped onto Liu Sheng, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed him fiercely. In a whisper, she said, “I don’t care—I just like you.”

“Come out and have some fruit,” her brother called again. Flustered, Xiaoya climbed down and left the room. Liu Sheng didn’t stay either; he took an apple and left Xiaoya’s home.

On the way, he mused, “Xiaoya is indeed beautiful, but my old regret is Tao Nan. Now that I have another chance, I must be with Tao Nan.”

Beep beep.

Liu Sheng checked his phone—Xiaoya had messaged: “No matter what you say, you’re my little boyfriend from now on, little boyfriend!”

He didn’t reply and simply went home.

“Mom, Dad, I’m back,” Liu Sheng announced as he entered.

His little brother emerged, holding a lollipop. “Here, brother.”

Taking the candy, Liu Sheng looked at his young sibling and thought, “I used to always find you annoying and bullied you. Now that I have a second chance, I’ll make sure you eat the best, drink the best, use the best, and live in the best.”

He scooped up his brother and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

His mother laughed, “He’s sweetening you up—he wants to watch cartoons on the computer today.” Liu Sheng wanted to cry. He’d missed out on so much before, but now he could finally make amends. He often recalled how he used to bully his brother, hogging the computer for games and never letting him near it.

Carrying his brother to his own room, Liu Sheng placed him on the stool in front of the computer. “Watch as long as you like from now on.”

His brother happily dug into his pocket, fished out another lollipop, and offered it. “Here, brother.”

Liu Sheng felt deeply ashamed of his past self for never cherishing moments like this. “You keep it, my teeth hurt,” he said. His brother nodded and started watching cartoons, laughing out loud from time to time, which made Liu Sheng feel warm inside.

Lying in bed, Liu Sheng thought, “I have a brain developed to a hundred percent—why doesn’t it feel like much? Seems I still need to study. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the City Book Tower and read everything. I can’t let my brain go to waste.”

Just then, his father walked in, boasting, “In a few days, the hotpot restaurant will be finished. We’ll be up and running soon—two floors, each four hundred square meters. We’ll be making at least two or three hundred thousand a month. Good times are ahead, ha ha ha!”

Looking at his delighted father, Liu Sheng replied, “Once I graduate, I’ll let you live like emperors.”

His father’s laughter didn’t stop. “You and your big talk. Still, I’m very pleased with your studies now.”

“All right, enough chit-chat. Dinner’s ready, come eat!” called his mother from the living room.

Liu Sheng and his brother chorused, “In a minute!”

The habit of postponing dinner was something the brothers had always shared, never changing no matter what.

The next morning, Liu Sheng woke, washed up quickly, and headed straight out, riding his electric scooter to Ren Xiadong’s house.

Knock knock knock.

“Who is it?” A woman’s voice.

“Auntie, it’s me. I’m here for Ren Xiadong,” Liu Sheng replied.

The door opened. “Liu Sheng, come in. Listen, you boys need to stop fighting—he’s still sleeping. Go on in,” Ren Xiadong’s mother said.

As Liu Sheng walked to Xiadong’s room, he answered, “No more fighting. I’m taking him to the Book Tower to read today.”

“Don’t tease me—he can only look at picture books at best,” she replied skeptically.

“Get up, the sun’s already baking your backside!” Liu Sheng said, glancing at the soundly sleeping Xiadong. He then eyed Xiadong’s leg hair and yanked out a tuft.

With a scream, Xiadong shot up, clutching his blanket. He glared at Liu Sheng and barked, “What’s your problem? Do you know how much that hurts, this early in the morning?”

“Oh, forget it. I’ve invited two girls to meet us at the Book Tower. Since you’re not interested, I’ll just—” Before Liu Sheng finished, Xiadong had already pulled on his pants and was putting on his shoes. “Why didn’t you say so sooner? Sorry for being snappy. Give me a minute.”

After a long while, Xiadong, freshly washed, said, “Let’s go.”

Permed hair was all the rage then. Xiadong’s stiff, spiky hair barely moved in the wind. Liu Sheng ruffled it and remarked, “Man, how much gel did you use? It’s as hard as nails.”

With Xiadong urging him on, the two rode to Xinghai’s largest Book Tower.

“When will those two girls get here?” Xiadong asked, looking around.

“Should be soon. Let’s wait inside,” Liu Sheng replied.

Once inside, Liu Sheng paid little attention to Xiadong. He began flipping through book after book at lightning speed. With his fully developed brain, every page was seared into his memory, instant comprehension of any content. The faster he read, the more powerful his mind became—by the halfway point, he could grasp an entire book.

By noon, Xiadong, still engrossed in comic books, came over and asked, “Hey, are those girls actually coming?”

Liu Sheng put down the book he’d just finished. “Maybe they stood me up?”

Xiadong looked at him, mouth open in disbelief. “You totally tricked me. How could I forget you’re the top student? No wonder you’re so into books now.”

Liu Sheng reached for another book, then glanced at the comics in Xiadong’s hand. “Comics are fun? You might as well just watch cartoons.”

“Tch, who watches cartoons now? There’s no innovation, not like foreign ones. But the good foreign cartoons aren’t available here, so we can only read comics,” Xiadong replied.

Liu Sheng chuckled, about to keep reading, when an idea struck him. He tugged Xiadong’s arm. “You’re right, domestic cartoons are dull now, but in a few years, there’ll be some amazing homegrown animation. Want to get rich? Want to be on top?”

Xiadong found Liu Sheng's recent behavior odd, but he had to admit Liu Sheng was much improved. He whispered, “Of course I do, but—” Liu Sheng cut him off, “That’s enough. Help me gather all the books on animation design.”

With the help of a librarian, they found over a hundred books on animation design. Liu Sheng sat down and sped through them. Xiadong watched in disbelief. “Are you even reading? You’re just flipping pages! Is this a joke?”

Liu Sheng ignored him, absorbed in the books. Xiadong, seeing he was being ignored, turned back to his comics. An hour later, Liu Sheng had finished all the animation design books.

“Let’s go to the Digital Electronics Market. If I have food, you’ll never go hungry,” Liu Sheng promised. He had now mastered animation design and production, and with his one-hundred-percent brain, he was unstoppable.

At the market, Liu Sheng bought a high-end laptop, a drawing tablet, and other equipment.

Walking out, Xiadong said, “You’re loaded—this is tens of thousands spent already.”

“Can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb, haven’t you heard? I’ll practice tonight, and when school starts the day after tomorrow, I’ll explain everything. Just stick with me, you’ll live the good life,” Liu Sheng said, then rode off, first dropping Xiadong home, then hurrying back to delve into animation design.

After an afternoon of work, thanks to his supercharged mind, Liu Sheng completed a twenty-minute short animation. Two ancient generals commanded skeleton armies in the desert, epic battles unfolding in every scene.

From a production standpoint, and in terms of emotional impact, it surpassed the world’s best animation.

When it was done, Liu Sheng uploaded it to all major websites. He wanted to test the waters—if it was successful, he could give his family as much money as he wanted, without raising suspicion. His parents didn’t understand these things anyway.

That afternoon, his little brother returned from kindergarten with their father and spotted the new laptop with excitement. “Brother, is this a new computer?”

Liu Sheng ruffled his hair. “Yes.”

“So does that mean the old one is mine now?” his brother asked mischievously.

Liu Sheng picked up his six-year-old sibling, sat him on his lap. “Yes. When I make more money, I’ll buy you a new one too. Now, come watch the animation I made.”

Twenty minutes later, his brother was ecstatic. “That was awesome! I want to watch it again!”

And so his brother watched it over and over until dinnertime.

“Dinner’s ready, you two troublemakers!” their mother called.

Liu Sheng, still playing on his phone, and his brother, glued to the cartoon, replied in unison, “In a minute!”

“‘In a minute, in a minute, in a minute’—that’s all you two ever say. If you keep this up, you’ll miss dinner entirely!” their mother called again.