Getting Rich Legally 6

When Lin Qi died, Meng Hui's company had just recently gone public. At that time, Meng Hui was young, promising, and extremely arrogant. He also had disagreements with Lin Qi regarding the company's management, and gradually began to undermine Lin Qi's authority within the company. After a huge argument backstage at Meng Hui's engagement ceremony, Lin Qi stormed out, only to be hit by a car and killed right out the door.

The Alliance had set up this logging-off plotline to give the then-triumphant Meng Hui a sharp wake-up call, forcing him to settle down and build his career with his feet firmly on the ground. It was an important milestone for Meng Hui's character to complete a qualitative transformation.

System: "He transformed, and blackened."

Meng Hui's breathing was right by his ear. The youth's breath was fresh and clean, but Lin Qi was acutely aware that currently residing within this youth's body was the big boss Meng Hui with a maxed-out Blackening Value. No matter how much Meng Hui acted like a normal youth on a daily basis, his bones were already soaked in blood.

Only now did Lin Qi realize what the System meant by 'Meng Hui is much harder to deal with than Du Chengying'.

A society ruled by law couldn't tolerate this kind of male protagonist!

Meng Hui curled his lips into a smile and gently pinched Lin Qi's somewhat pale face. "Just joking."

Lin Qi shuddered and wiped the spot Meng Hui had pinched with the back of his hand. Meng Hui hadn't used much force, but his face still burned, unsure if it was out of fear or embarrassment.

"Stop eating wontons, we only get this one day off a month," Meng Hui glanced around. The living room had been rummaged through and was very messy. "Clean up a bit, I'll take you out for a good meal."

......

Lin Qi rested his face in his hands, watching Meng Hui's back as he lined up, and felt confused again. Did Meng Hui have a Schrödinger's mindset?

Fries, fried chicken, burgers, cola—the classic and familiar aromas. There were quite a few students in the shop, some even holding books. Boys and girls sat across from each other, their smiles shy and bright.

Meng Hui returned carrying the food tray, followed Lin Qi's gaze, and his eyes also softened.

He still remembered that the first meal he ever ate with Lin Qi was in a fast-food restaurant. Lin Qi, his face covered in scratches, had a cold expression on his thin little face, biting fiercely into a burger while tears welled up in his eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall.

At the time, Meng Hui had thought, how could there be such a pair of big, lake-like eyes, blinking and flickering, flashing right into his heart.

Setting the tray down, Meng Hui's tall figure blocked Lin Qi's view of the little couples. Lin Qi tilted his shoulder, still watching with great interest, and whispered excitedly, "Hey, those two look like they're from the class next to ours."

"Is that so?" Meng Hui distributed a burger and placed it in front of Lin Qi. "Don't know them."

"You hide in the classroom all day, of course you don't know them." Lin Qi lowered his head, picked up the burger, and gave it a sniff. A hint of spiciness, his favorite flavor.

Meng Hui smiled faintly without speaking. He had no interest in making friends with kids, except for this Lin Qi in front of him, who had a mouth full of salad dressing and had instantly thrown all his worries to the back of his mind.

Who had made such a cute and lively Lin Qi become cold and guarded? Damn them.

"Yours was twelve bucks," Meng Hui said unhurriedly.

"My treat," Lin Qi pointed at the tray in front of Meng Hui. "We agreed today, it's all my treat."

Meng Hui smiled and raised his hand.

Lin Qi immediately dodged backward, looked left and right, and whispered, "There are so many people here, don't pat my head."

"Who said I was going to pat your head?" Meng Hui said casually.

Lin Qi took a bite of his burger and said in an even smaller voice, "Not my face either."

He looked exactly like a guarded little hamster, his round eyes flashing with vigilance, yet not daring to truly run away, dodging the fingers reaching into his cage, and when he couldn't dodge them, he had no choice but to enjoy the petting. He was incredibly well-behaved. Meng Hui's gaze softened.

After finishing a large plate of junk food, Lin Qi was stuffed and satisfied, hugging his iced cola, sipping it while letting out little burps.

Meng Hui hadn't eaten much, just a burger and a few fries. He had little interest in this junk food; his appetite had already been maximally satisfied in his previous life. What he yearned for day and night was another kind of taste.

"Alright, finished eating." Lin Qi put down the cola and dug into his pocket, counting out the banknotes one by one. He hadn't touched the money in the shoe cabinet; this was all his usual saved-up pocket money. Once counted, he placed the banknotes along with the coins onto the table. "Here you go."

Meng Hui glanced at the neatly spread out money. He didn't refuse, simply grabbing it all and stuffing it into his pocket.

"Then... should we head back?" Lin Qi asked tentatively. "There's a monthly exam tomorrow, I want to go home and review."

Meng Hui said unexpectedly, "Today is my birthday."

Lin Qi froze.

He completely didn't remember Meng Hui's birthday.

Holding it in for a long time, he cautiously said, "Wishing Brother Hui a happy birthday?"

Meng Hui's hands were crossed and resting under the table. His short buzz-cut hair had grown out slightly over the past month, still stiffly standing up, messy and uneven, giving him an even wilder aura.

"No present?" Meng Hui had a smile on his lips; it was the teasing attitude Lin Qi was familiar with.

Lin Qi rubbed the cola cup with both hands, his eyes shifting around. "I treated you to the meal."

Meng Hui looked at the pile of food wrappers in front of Lin Qi with a half-smile.

Lin Qi's face instantly turned red. Though he said he was treating, he had eaten most of it. "What do you want? I don't have money for now, but I'll save up and buy it for you."

Meng Hui said, "You don't need to save money to give me the present I want."

Lin Qi swallowed nervously and didn't reply.

Meng Hui said, "Whatever I'm going to do next, you aren't allowed to refuse. That will be my birthday present."

Lin Qi lowered his head and whispered, "That still depends on what it is."

Meng Hui stood up straight away, grabbed Lin Qi by the collar of his school uniform, and pulled him up. Leaning down, a wicked light radiated from his eyes, reflecting Lin Qi's panic-stricken face, and he said with a threatening tone, "It's not up to you."

......

"Is it heavy?"

"It's alright..."

"Pull harder with your hands."

"Stop pulling so hard," Lin Qi tugged at Meng Hui's arm, dodging the salesperson's gaze together, and whispered, "What if it rips?"

Meng Hui hefted the schoolbag on his back with one hand. "If we don't buy a sturdy one, what if the strap breaks again like the last one? You hold it every day to school like you're holding a baby."

Lin Qi lightly glared at him, raised his hands to take off the backpack. "It's your birthday, why are you buying me a schoolbag?"

"None of your business," Meng Hui said lightly.

Lin Qi choked with anger and hung the schoolbag back on the shelf. "I don't want it."

"You'll take it whether you want it or not," Meng Hui took it down again. "This is the one, lightweight and sturdy."

Lin Qi had already checked when Meng Hui forcefully put the schoolbag on him. The price tag on this bag was 588. For President Meng, it was naturally a drop in the ocean, but for the current Meng Hui, it was a massive sum. Lin Yue'er's monthly salary was only one thousand five hundred; a 588 schoolbag definitely counted as a luxury item.

"I really don't want it," Lin Qi said anxiously.

Meng Hui lowered his eyes and glanced at him. "It's been a month, you keep carrying that torn schoolbag. Do you want to carry it until graduation?"

"My schoolbag is broken, I'll replace it myself," Lin Qi tugged on the bag's strap in Meng Hui's hand, his eyebrows practically knitted together in anxiety. "Put it back quickly."

"You really don't want it?" Meng Hui raised an eyebrow.

"No," Lin Qi said emphatically, directly hanging the schoolbag back up.

Meng Hui didn't push it any further, hanging back this currently trendiest schoolbag he held in his hand.

Lin Qi let out a breath of relief.

Instead, Meng Hui turned around and picked up another schoolbag. Compared to the previous canvas and leather patchwork bag, the one he now held was just a very simple canvas backpack. "Then try this one."

"I already said I don't want one," Lin Qi said evasively.

Meng Hui turned the price tag on the schoolbag. The black numbers on the white tag conspicuously read 188. "This one isn't expensive."

Compared to the outrageous 588 from just now, this 188 looked much better. It was actually still quite a bit of money, but in terms of people's perception of numbers, a hundred-something and five hundred-something felt vastly different. Having navigated the business world for so many years, Meng Hui had no trouble using such a small trick to coax a kid, half-forcing Lin Qi to put it on.

"Isn't this quite nice?"

In the mirror, the delicate and thin boy wore a light brown canvas backpack, his short hair soft and his eyes clear, looking like a total good boy. In contrast, the tall boy behind him, despite wearing a school uniform, looked like a street delinquent who could get involved in a brawl at any moment.

Standing one in front of the other, the two of them looked surprisingly harmonious together.

"Let's get this one." Meng Hui gently patted Lin Qi's shoulder.

Lin Qi said awkwardly, "Forget it, I..."

"Use your money to pay for half." Meng Hui directly waved his hand. The salesperson, who had been keeping an eye on them, immediately came over. "We'll take this one."

Right up until they were paying, Lin Qi was still muttering under his breath, "It's your birthday, why are you buying me a schoolbag? I only gave you fifty, and I ate the majority of that fifty myself."

"Then how do you plan to celebrate it for me?" Meng Hui took the packaged schoolbag from the salesperson and shoved it into Lin Qi's arms, his eyes glinting with that familiar teasing light. "Promise me one more thing?"

Lin Qi hastily said, "No way."

"Then that's that." Meng Hui rubbed Lin Qi's short hair, messing it up, and slung his arm around a bewildered Lin Qi as they walked out of the mall.

......

Arriving downstairs at Lin Qi's apartment block, Meng Hui waved his hand nonchalantly. "Go up and study, see you tomorrow."

Lin Qi stood in place, watching Meng Hui's tall figure slowly fade into the distance. Hugging the schoolbag that gave off a brand-new scent, he gritted his teeth and thought to himself that he wasn't shifting his affections, he just cared about Meng Hui a little, and quietly followed behind Meng Hui.

Meng Hui walked down the street and stopped in front of an arcade two streets east of Lin Qi's home, then walked inside.

Lin Qi hid at the street corner, thinking to himself, what the heck, he still has spare cash and time to play at the arcade. A hooligan boss is a hooligan boss after all. With everything the System had told him, he'd thought Meng Hui was living such a miserable life.

Actually, in the original worldline, after Lin Qi and Meng Hui first met, it took half a year before they encountered each other again. With Meng Hui's rebirth, this half-year blank space was suddenly filled.

Undeniably, the reborn Meng Hui was sometimes a bit annoying, randomly ruffling his hair, throwing an arm around his shoulder, or mocking him with his words, but on the whole, he was really quite good to him.

The fresh and warm schoolbag in his arms was the best proof.

It was his birthday, yet he bought Lin Qi a new schoolbag.

Lin Qi felt a bit annoyed. He patted his hot face, feeling that his life was simply too difficult. How could Meng Hui have a 100 favorability rating toward him? Furrowing his brows, he looked toward the arcade entrance again.

"Bang—" A chair flew out of the arcade, and tumbling out alongside it was a young man with highlighted hair.

Lin Qi jumped in fright and instinctively started to step out from the corner, but the tall figure following closely behind the young man made him pull his foot back.

Meng Hui had taken off his school uniform jacket. He wore a sweat-soaked tank top and loose black sweatpants. He was expressionless, his entire being exuding a kind of ruthlessness that Lin Qi had never seen before.

The young man who had fallen to the ground scrambled up, pulled out a knife tucked behind his jeans, and prepared to slash. Lin Qi, who had been staring at them the whole time, couldn't help but shout loudly, "Meng Hui, watch out!"

Meng Hui was distracted for a moment and glanced in Lin Qi's direction. The blade narrowly grazed past his cheek. He swiftly delivered a flying kick, sending the knife-wielding youth tumbling to the ground, unable to get back up, clutching his stomach as he rolled around and groaned.

Several other young men walked out from behind Meng Hui, all carrying a similar fierce and aggressive aura. Meng Hui said something to one of the men behind him, the man nodded, and Meng Hui then jogged over to Lin Qi in three steps for every two. He stopped in front of Lin Qi, his head and arms covered in sweat. "Why did you run over here, weren't you supposed to be studying?"

"You... why are you fighting with people?" Lin Qi said, trembling. He turned his head with lingering fear to glance at Meng Hui's profile. Thankfully, he wasn't injured. In the future, President Meng was destined to be the city's number one most eligible bachelor.

"They came to cause trouble," Meng Hui said indifferently. "I watch the place."

Lin Qi was stunned. He stared blankly at Meng Hui. Sweat trickled down his short hair toward the bridge of his tall nose, but his untamed and rebellious face was filled with a gentle expression.

Meng Hui raised his hand and habitually ruffled Lin Qi's hair. "Go back. And also, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Brother Hui."