Getting Rich Legally 7

Arcades could be said to be one of the most profitable businesses of this era, and vicious competition among peers was also extremely fierce. Without a few people watching the venue, a shop would get smashed up as soon as it opened.

Meng Hui watched the venue here. It included room and board, one hundred a day, and he was responsible for his own injuries. In fact, he wasn't purely doing hard labor in the arcade; he had his own ideas, but it was just inconvenient to tell the puzzled Lin Qi in front of him.

"Go back," Meng Hui directly held his shoulders, turned him around in a circle, and gently pushed him forward. "Review well, top ten in the class."

Lin Qi was pushed into the alleyway. Turning his head, Meng Hui was already striding away. The bulging muscle lines of his back, as he ran, darted into the group of youths like a leopard. It seemed someone wanted to look in Lin Qi's direction, but Meng Hui pulled them back, and the group entered the arcade talking and laughing.

Lin Qi hugged his schoolbag; the arcade across the street seemed to be another world.

The blackened Meng Hui had become a thug for an arcade.

Lin Qi felt a wave of dizziness in his mind. He stood at the corner of the street in a dilemma, thinking, 'How is a lovelorn me supposed to save a blackened Meng Hui?'

If things developed like this, happily earning a trip to the juvenile detention center wouldn't be just a dream.

Wait, today was Meng Hui's birthday. He was already eighteen; he wouldn't go to juvenile detention, he could go straight to prison.

Lin Qi crouched down hugging his schoolbag, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the arcade. He didn't dare to look away for a moment, deeply afraid that Meng Hui would be the one flying out in the next second.

About half an hour later, Meng Hui came out again. His school uniform was draped over his arm, and his sharp eyes shot accurately toward Lin Qi, who was hiding at the street corner with only two eyes exposed.

......

"Alright, go upstairs." Meng Hui escorted him to the bottom of the stairs, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and stuffed him into the stairwell. For the first time since his rebirth, he put on a stern face toward Lin Qi. "Go home and review. If I see you come over again, believe it or not, I'll smash your house's windows."

"Ah—" A woman's scream came from behind. As Meng Hui turned his head, his face was hit squarely by a flying lady's purse. "Little hooligan! Bullying my Qiqi!"

The metal clasp hit his nose bridge exactly. Meng Hui let out a muffled groan, and a stream of warm liquid flowed from his nose. The smell of blood immediately permeated his nasal cavity.

"Mom! Mom! Stop hitting—" Lin Qi quickly went up to hug Lin Yue'er. "That's my classmate!"

After a flurry of chaos and commotion, Lin Yue'er calmed her breathing. She coldly glanced at Meng Hui, who was wiping his nosebleed, and pulled Lin Qi behind her, asking warily, "Qiqi, is this the new classmate you mentioned?" Sure enough, it was just like Aunt Wang upstairs had said. He looked like a hooligan and didn't look like a good student at all. He even threatened to smash their windows; it was simply outrageous!

From the bottom of his heart, Lin Qi admired Ms. Lin's aura just now. The future President Meng covering his nose to prevent the nosebleed from flowing into his mouth looked so wretched it was comical. Lin Qi couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. "Yeah, Mom, he's not a bad person. He was just joking with me just now, telling me to go home and review."

"Right," Lin Yue'er turned her face, "You weren't reviewing at home. What did you come out for?"

Lin Qi's smile froze on his face.

"Auntie, it's like this," Meng Hui said calmly, covering his bleeding nose. "Today is my birthday, and I'm only somewhat familiar with Lin Qi in class. So I came to find him to celebrate my birthday and hang out, and conveniently ask for advice on some knowledge points I don't understand yet."

When he opened his mouth, he sounded quite like an adult. Lin Yue'er glanced at the two of them again, suddenly noticing the shopping bag in Lin Qi's arms. "What's this?"

"Auntie, this is the prize we won from playing ring toss." Meng Hui directly answered for Lin Qi. The two of them's gazes briefly met in the not-so-bright stairwell. It was as if they had exchanged some tacit secret. Meng Hui's eyes revealed a message of certainty and calmness, strangely taking the dominant position in the conversation among the three of them.

"Studies are so tense right now, so don't go out to play with classmates anymore," Lin Yue'er grabbed Lin Qi's arm. "Let's go upstairs."

Meng Hui consciously took a step back to the side.

Lin Qi, however, didn't move. He said softly, "Mom, my classmate's nose is bleeding."

"It's fine, it will stop in a bit." Meng Hui was still covering his nose, his fingers stained with a lot of blood. Lin Yue'er's expression hesitated for a moment. She touched the hard metal lock on her bag. "Come up and take care of it first."

......

Meng Hui sat on the sofa, holding the hot towel Lin Qi gave him to wipe his face. His nosebleed hadn't stopped yet, so he took some toilet paper to plug his nose.

"Could the bone inside be broken?" Lin Qi asked worriedly.

Meng Hui glanced at Mother Lin in the kitchen not far away and lowered his voice, "It's not that fragile."

Lin Qi also lowered his voice, bowing his head to lean closer. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"No." Meng Hui put down the towel and stood up. "I'm leaving. You go inside the room to review."

With Mother Lin home, Meng Hui naturally didn't have to worry about Lin Qi running out again.

Lin Yue'er brought out some fruits. Seeing that Meng Hui had already stood up, she was slightly taken aback. "You're leaving?"

"Yes," Meng Hui said respectfully. "Auntie, I'll take my leave first. I won't delay Lin Qi's review anymore."

Lin Yue'er put the fruits down and rubbed her hands together. "Then Auntie will see you out." Turning back to Lin Qi, she said, "Qiqi, you go into the room and review."

The two of them said the exact same words. Lin Qi had the illusion of being subjected to a mixed doubles match by his 'parents'. He didn't find it annoying; his heart even felt warm. He obediently entered the room, leaning against the doorway and quietly waving at Meng Hui with a small motion before closing the door.

Meng Hui's eyes curved slightly.

President Meng with his nostrils stuffed with toilet paper still looked very handsome. Lin Qi closed the door and snickered softly.

Lin Yue'er and Meng Hui retracted their gazes together. She took the keys hanging behind the door and said to Meng Hui, "Come out."

After closing the door, there were no windows in the stairwell, and no light came in. The flickering light above had completely broken. The two stood in the shadows of the stairwell, and Lin Yue'er said coldly, "I hope you won't associate with our Qiqi in the future. He is a simple and good child; he listens to whatever the teacher says and doesn't know how to distinguish good friends from bad. The two of you are not on the same path. In the future, you should associate with classmates who are more suitable to play with you. Our Qiqi won't do."

Meng Hui listened quietly until she finished. His facial expression didn't change at all. "Auntie, I know you are saying these words to me out of concern for Lin Qi, but I must turn around and ask you a question. Do you know how to distinguish between a good and bad person?"

The teenager's cold eyes were sharp and mature, as if they had been through the ups and downs of the world. They almost instantly pierced into Lin Yue'er's heart.

Lin Yue'er tightly gripped the keys in her hand. She suddenly felt as if her throat had been choked, unable to utter a single syllable.

"Your husband returned home today." Meng Hui stopped right there, gently bowed his waist, and said, "There's no need to see me out." He turned around and walked down the stairs step by step.

Lin Yue'er watched Meng Hui's figure disappear around the corner. She suddenly leaned against the door as if collapsing. When Meng Hui asked her back just now, it was as if someone had seen through her weakest spot, leaving her nowhere to hide in front of a child.

Yes, she had no right to point fingers at Lin Qi's friendships, because she herself had met the wrong men, and each time was worse than the last.

The first man she had taken a fancy to was a coward who abandoned his wife and child. Although he died in a foreign land, at least he left the mother and son a house.

The second man she hurriedly married for the sake of making a living showed his true colors before two good years had passed, addicted to gambling and not coming home at night.

Lin Yue'er closed her eyes, her eyes somewhat moist.

The more difficult life was, the more she hoped her Lin Qi would be well, at least... living better than her.

Going to school the next day, Lin Qi carried his new schoolbag. It was 188 in total. He had twenty yuan of pocket money a week; if he saved up for a period of time, he would be able to pay Meng Hui back.

Working as a thug to make money in an arcade really couldn't be considered a decent job. He had to think of a way to at least let Meng Hui find some legal means to maintain his livelihood.

Downstairs, Meng Hui was already waiting. He stood there clean and neat by himself. Upon seeing Lin Qi, he reached out his hand first, taking off Lin Qi's schoolbag and carrying it with one hand.

Lin Qi muttered softly, "Why won't you let me carry my own schoolbag?"

Meng Hui heard him. With his empty hand, he rubbed Lin Qi's head. "You're already not tall; such a heavy schoolbag will press you down so you won't grow any taller."

"Why grow so tall, to hold up the sky?" Lin Qi glanced at Meng Hui's nose. "Is your nose better?"

"Mhm." Meng Hui turned his face, looking at Lin Qi with a half-smile. "If you're too short, we won't match when standing together."

Lin Qi blushed. "Don't always make these kinds of jokes with me."

Meng Hui bent one arm and directly rested his elbow on top of Lin Qi's head, the corners of his mouth curling up in a wicked smile. Lin Qi dodged left and right but couldn't avoid it. He raised his hands to grab Meng Hui's arm, saying angrily, "Stop it, I really won't grow taller."

Meng Hui's arm dropped and hooked around his neck. With a slight exertion of force, half of Lin Qi's body bumped into his embrace. Meng Hui's wicked smiling face was right above his forehead. "Why grow so tall, to hold up the sky?"

Lin Qi: "......"

For the first monthly exam after the start of school, all the students were very nervous. Lin Qi was also quite nervous. Firstly, of course, in this world, he was a good student and had an idol burden. Secondly, in reality, he also valued exams and studying quite a bit.

After a whole morning of back-to-back exams, his nerves were highly tense. Even going to the restroom was Meng Hui dragging him along; only then did he realize he hadn't been to the restroom all morning.

Meng Hui stood outside the restroom stall door waiting for Lin Qi. He leaned against the window, stretching out his long legs. The students outside saw him and directly bypassed the restroom, taking a detour.

After a short while, the sound of flushing came. Lin Qi pushed the door open and came out, his mind still pondering whether he had gotten the very last sub-question of the last major question in the morning's math exam wrong. He absentmindedly reached his hands under the faucet to wash them.

"Let me ask you something," Meng Hui leaned to the side and said abruptly.

Lin Qi casually said as if sleepwalking, "Ask."

"Why is it that every time I go to the restroom with you, you always hide inside the stall to go?"

Lin Qi's hand-washing motion paused. A scalding heat spread from the roots of his ears to his cheeks. The math problem instantly vanished from his mind. He lowered his head, rubbing his hands vigorously, and said softly, "I... I have diarrhea..."

Meng Hui glanced at him. "That fast?"

"O-Of course diarrhea is fast..." Lin Qi stammered, continuing to rub his hands in a fluster.

Meng Hui suddenly leaned over and gently sniffed near his neck. Lin Qi felt all the hairs on his body stand up at that moment. He nimbly dodged to the side, and his hands subconsciously flung out, splashing a handful of water onto Meng Hui's body.

The faucet was still splashing, running water. Lin Qi stared blankly at Meng Hui, whose chin was stained with water.

Meng Hui's eyes shone as he stared at Lin Qi. He raised his hand and methodically wiped the water off his chin. Walking past Lin Qi, he lightly patted his shoulder. "Having diarrhea but still smelling so fragrant, you're naturally gifted."

Lin Qi's face flushed completely red. He stood sluggishly for a long time before going over to turn off the faucet. He walked out with small, rapid steps. Meng Hui was still waiting for him at the restroom entrance and only stood up straight when he saw him come out.

The two walked side by side. Other students consciously detoured and walked away when they saw Meng Hui. As student after student brushed past Lin Qi, he was so embarrassed that he could hardly lift his head. When the two reached the classroom door and sat down in their respective seats, Meng Hui didn't say another word, allowing Lin Qi to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Meng Hui sat in his own seat, watching from afar as Lin Qi buried his face in his arms, looking completely restless. The corners of his lips curved slightly.

A short while later, Lin Qi stood up and took the rare initiative to walk over to Meng Hui's seat.

Meng Hui sat up straight, his heart unexpectedly feeling somewhat flattered. "What's wrong?"

Lin Qi pulled out his fist from behind his back and brought it right in front of Meng Hui's face. "Smell this."

Meng Hui lowered his head, feeling somewhat baffled, and gave a light sniff. Not knowing what Lin Qi meant, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Qi questioningly.

"Is-Is it fragrant?" Lin Qi asked awkwardly.

Meng Hui laughed inwardly. "It's fragrant."

Lin Qi spread his hands. In his palm was a piece of the currently popular Weird-Smelling Plasticine. The red one had a faint smell of stinky fish. Lin Qi grinned. "Brother Hui, is your nose still not better?"

Meng Hui: "......"

Lin Qi finally won a round in front of Meng Hui. Feeling somewhat proud, he stuck the Weird-Smelling Plasticine onto Meng Hui's desk. "I'll leave it here. When you can smell it, it means you're better." After saying that, without giving Meng Hui a chance to retort, he quickly slipped back to his seat.

"—Everyone tidy up, the last exam, English, is about to start."

The English teacher's voice rang out, and the quiet classroom fell into a commotion again as everyone began tidying up the English materials on their desks.

Meng Hui stared at the red plasticine kneaded into a ball at the corner of his desk and couldn't help but part his lips in a smile. His heart also felt as if it had been gently kneaded by that hand—both tart and sweet.