Chapter 24: The Truth Revealed

After finishing his spicy cold noodles, Gu Cheng returned to the hotel, washed up quickly, and went to bed. Having had some alcohol, he didn’t wake until the sun was already high in the sky the next day.

As his mind cleared, he realized he’d been quite dissolute lately—drinking for two nights in a row. After getting up, he first sent Wen Huiying a few emails, giving instructions on the details for the next steps of the transaction. Then he sent another email to Quan Shunyu, asking for assistance with the payment procedures.

Afterward, he left the hotel to buy a phone.

As he stepped out onto the street in front of the hotel, his eyes landed by chance on a large pharmacy, with a scale set outside the entrance.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled Quan Baoya’s parting words from yesterday, when she’d admonished him: “Looks to me like you’ve gained at least five pounds!”

Well, no point in ignoring the warning signs, he thought.

So Gu Cheng walked over to the scale, inserted a one-yuan coin, and checked both his height and weight.

“What? One meter eighty-one, and now one hundred forty-two jin? I’ve really put on six pounds?”

No, this won’t do—he needed to exercise more. The greatest benefit of this new life was that his body was far superior to his previous one: taller, leaner, and more handsome. He couldn’t let that go to waste for the sake of making money.

Time to cut down on junk food.

Leaving the pharmacy, he continued searching for a place to buy a phone.

He wandered for quite a while before realizing that in the year 2000, there were no standalone mobile phone stores—only China Mobile branches selling phones alongside their service plans.

So he bought a Nokia 7110 at the service hall, got a new SIM card, and spent several thousand yuan. The clerk informed him that this was the latest model, just released that day; at present, it was the only phone in the country capable of accessing the GPRS data network, with a blazing speed of 20 kilobytes per second.

Gu Cheng chose this phone mainly because it could forward emails.

He didn’t have an assistant, had to travel constantly, and handle overseas contacts. If he couldn’t forward important messages promptly, it would be a real headache.

After buying the phone, Gu Cheng found a donkey meat sandwich shop and settled both breakfast and lunch in one go.

Since it was not yet eleven, the place was nearly empty.

He took out his new phone and called his family.

He dialed his cousin Pan Jieying’s number.

She was the only one in the family with a mobile phone. He’d contacted her more than half a month ago, about starting his company, and she’d been quite concerned.

The phone rang twice before being answered, a gentle and polite voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Cousin, it’s me, Cheng. I’m back in the country.”

Her voice immediately softened, with a trace of reproach: “You… you’re back already? When will you be home? I’ll come pick you up. Why haven’t you called the family? Does Grandma know?”

“It’s not that. I’m in the capital on some business. It’ll be about ten more days before I return. There’s a long story behind it; I’ll explain everything properly once I’m back.”

“Take care of yourself, then. You’re still so young, running around on your own…”

“Come on, cousin, I’ve been abroad for almost two years—surely Beijing isn’t more dangerous than a foreign country! If I’d known you’d worry, I wouldn’t have called.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t nag you.”

After a few more words, Gu Cheng ended the call.

He’d originally thought his cousin might hand the phone to Grandma or his aunt. But seeing how anxious she was already, if his grandmother knew he was back, she’d be wracked with worry. Better to wait another ten days and explain in person when he returned home.

…

Gu Cheng thought that would be the end of it. He spent the next two days in Beijing, meeting with Boss Ding daily to fine-tune the details of their transaction, and browsing the latest industry news online in his spare time.

On the evening of May 3rd, just after leaving Huang Yi Company, he received a call from his cousin.

“Cousin, what’s up?”

“Where are you? I’m at Beijing West Station.”

Gu Cheng was momentarily stunned.

“What?”

“I’ve come to see you!”

His scalp tingled—he knew he’d ended up causing trouble for his family.

“Go to Anheqiao Subway Station. I’ll pick you up.”

He hung up, tidied himself up, and rushed to the station.

About an hour later, Gu Cheng met a tall, beautiful, slender young woman at the subway station, lugging two big bags. He didn’t recognize her at first.

After all, it had been nearly two years since they’d seen each other.

Gu Cheng had been in a growth spurt—he’d only been 1.6 meters tall when he went abroad. Now he was 1.8 meters.

Pan Jieying, his cousin, had already been seventeen then, her looks and figure already set. But university is a place where girls really transform: many arrive as freshmen not even knowing how to use makeup, still innocent and a bit rustic, and graduate four years later fully able to dress up.

Pan Jieying was no exception.

They stared at each other for a long moment before Pan Jieying rushed up to Gu Cheng, ready to drop her bags on the ground. But just as her fingers loosened, she thought better of it and, not wanting to break anything, shoved the bag straps into Gu Cheng’s hands in a huff.

Gu Cheng had no choice but to take them.

Freed up, Pan Jieying threw her arms around her younger cousin.

She hugged him so tightly that her chin knocked painfully into his chest. She had to tilt her head up and rise on her tiptoes in her heels, finally managing to rest her chin on his shoulder.

Yes, this way she finally looked like a big sister doting on her little brother. At first, misjudging their height difference, it had seemed more like she was throwing herself into his arms.

“You’ve grown so tall,” Pan Jieying said, her eyes red and tears slipping down her cheeks.

Gu Cheng’s arms were occupied by her cunning luggage, so he couldn’t resist.

“Cousin, these are heavy. It’s hard to talk like this—let’s get back to the hotel and put them down. You really didn’t have to bring anything.”

Only then did Pan Jieying let go: “Now you complain they’re heavy? Heartless boy, I carried them all the way from Qiantang to Beijing without a word of complaint.”

Gu Cheng’s place was just a few hundred meters from the subway station, so they arrived quickly. As soon as they got in, Pan Jieying freshened up, washing away the fatigue of travel.

Seeing her washing her face, Gu Cheng made himself at home, unpacking the bags.

The first was full of snacks and daily necessities: lotus-leaf pastries, beancurd candy, and so on—all his childhood favorites. There was even a Wushan roast chicken wrapped in foil, which made Gu Cheng laugh and cry at once.

Why bring Wushan roast chicken all the way to Beijing? They could just have Peking Duck here! There’d be more than enough roast chicken to eat once they were back home.

He opened the second bag, then quickly zipped it back up—it was filled with his cousin’s changes of clothes and undergarments.

“Are you planning to stay in Beijing, cousin?”

From the bathroom, Pan Jieying replied, half admiring herself in the mirror and half complaining, “Of course I am! I came all this way to see you. It’s May Day holiday, and I’ve already finished my graduate entrance exams—there’s nothing else to do.”

“By the way, how did you get here? Next time, take a plane.”

“You spendthrift! Flights are expensive. I got a hard sleeper for just over two hundred yuan.”

In 2000, airlines rarely offered discounts—most tickets were full price, and a single flight could easily cost over a thousand yuan.

Pan Jieying had only a little money from internships and part-time jobs at university, so of course she was frugal.

Gu Cheng felt a mix of emotions.

“Cousin, just stay for a week. When you go back, we’ll take the plane together. Your little brother is about to make some money—you’ll have a good life soon.”

She dried her face and came out of the bathroom, her eyes full of concern and confusion.

“Are you really going to make money? Last time you said you were starting a company, had me fax you an authorization letter—I thought you were making things up because you’d run out of options.”

“Would I lie to you? I’ve landed a big client. In about a week, the money will come in.”

Pan Jieying stared into his eyes, searching for a hint of deceit. “How much are you going to make, roughly?”

“Two million.”

“Two million?!” Pan Jieying nearly jumped up.

Gu Cheng quickly pressed her shoulders, soothing her, “Don’t get worked up. That’s the gross revenue. The actual net profit is only about seven hundred thousand.”

“Seven hundred thousand… That’s a lot! Thirty-five percent profit margin—what kind of business are you in?”

She was trembling all over, and before Gu Cheng could answer, she imagined all sorts of possibilities, muttering like someone with a persecution complex, “Cheng! You mustn’t do anything illegal!”