As the car headed toward the A City development District, they encountered an accident in the sparsely populated suburban area.
A box truck carrying durians had been rear-ended, causing the rear door to fall open. Bright yellow, ripe durians spilled all over the road.
Many of the durians were already split open, emitting a rich, sweet aroma.
The truck driver had sustained minor injuries, with the skin on his arm scraped raw. Luckily, nothing serious had happened. He disinfected the wound with iodine and wrapped it in a towel.
However, the scattered durians presented a major headache.
The driver was clearly overwhelmed—he’d need ages to gather all the durians back into the truck on his own. Some of them had even rolled far into the greenbelt and surrounding fields.
Meanwhile, villagers from nearby had gathered in curiosity, standing at a distance, neither stepping forward nor retreating.
They simply stared, their gazes filled with curiosity—at the driver, the road, and the fragrant, ripe durians.
The driver, drenched in sweat, was on edge, his navy shirt soaked through. Holding his phone to his ear with his injured arm, he shouted anxiously: “Get someone here, quick! I’ve had an accident!”
“Yes, I’ve already called the police!”
“Stop asking nonsense—the durians are fine!”
….
His loud voice seemed directed not only at the person on the other end of the line but also at the onlooking villagers.
A durian blocked Cen Xiao’s path.
Li Rong set down his coffee cup and patted Cen Xiao’s arm. “Stop the car. I want to go check it out.”
Though puzzled, Cen Xiao complied, pulling the car over to the side of the road.
Li Rong stepped out, momentarily dazzled by the midday sun. Shielding his eyes with his hand, he walked toward the durian in the middle of the road.
The truck driver, noticing someone approaching his durians, immediately became wary. He jogged a couple of steps closer, stopping just a few meters from Li Rong, his lips pressed tightly together and his fists clenched in tension.
Catching sight of the driver’s vigilance out of the corner of his eye, Li Rong remained calm.
Reaching the durian, he squatted down, picked it up, and carried it to the truck, gently placing it inside the cargo bay.
“Do you need help putting them back?”
The driver was stunned, evidently not expecting someone to stop and help.
If this stranger had walked off with the durian, he wouldn’t have been able to stop him anyway.
The driver, a middle-aged man with a weathered, sun-darkened complexion and flecks of white in his hair, seemed taken aback. He’d been working back-to-back night shifts on the highway and was exhausted, which had led to the accident.
If the durians were lost too, all his hard work would have been in vain.
He hesitated for a moment before hoarsely responding with a faint northern accent, “Ah… thank you.”
Li Rong smiled. “No problem.”
Since Li Rong had taken the initiative, Cen Xiao couldn’t very well stay in the car. He locked it and joined in, picking up a durian near him.
He wasn’t naturally so kindhearted, and he knew that Li Rong’s own kindness had long been worn down by absurd hardships.
But Li Rong always had his reasons for acting as he did.
With Li Rong and Cen Xiao helping, the villagers who had been watching from the sidelines felt embarrassed just standing there. Slowly, they began to step forward, mimicking Li Rong by picking up durians scattered in their own fields and bringing them back to the driver’s truck.
With so many people helping, it took just over ten minutes to gather all the durians.
The truck driver finally breathed a sigh of relief and profusely thanked everyone who had pitched in.
The villagers, somewhat bashful under his effusive gratitude, even warmly invited him to their homes for a cool drink.
By this point, Li Rong had already pulled Cen Xiao aside, and they quietly got back into their car while no one was paying attention.
Cen Xiao handed Li Rong a wet wipe to clean his hands and casually asked, “What made you decide to meddle in this?”
Li Rong carefully wiped his fingers, removing the dirt, and replied lightly, “I was testing a theory.”
Cen Xiao raised an eyebrow. “What theory?”
Li Rong explained, “The villagers were standing there, gathering more and more in number, but no one moved. They were waiting for someone to act first. If the first person had snatched a durian and run off, the crowd would’ve followed suit, descending into chaos. But if the first person stepped in to help, we’d get what we just saw.”
Cen Xiao chuckled and, taking a sip from Li Rong’s half-finished coffee, mused, “Someday, you’ll also meet someone who will be the first to help you.”
Li Rong found this notion strangely profound and smiled, his eyes curving into crescents. “True. Just like the truck driver, who never expected to run into us at this exact moment. Surprises always come unexpectedly.”
Cen Xiao glanced at his watch. “It’s already half past twelve. Is it okay to keep your grandmother waiting this long?”
Li Rong’s tone was indifferent. “It’s fine.”
By the time they arrived at the upscale Fulihuangjia residential area in the development District, it was already 1 PM.
Cen Xiao parked the car outside the complex, and Li Rong smoothed out the wrinkles in his jacket before getting out.
“If you’re unhappy, just come back out. I’ll take you for afternoon tea,” Cen Xiao reminded him.
Just as Li Rong closed the car door, he leaned in with a mischievous grin, bracing himself on the seat with both hands, and kissed Cen Xiao lightly on the lips. “They don’t deserve to upset me.”
In his past life, when the old lady learned that he had become the city’s top scorer, she had insisted that he meet with relatives to maintain good relations and avoid being too eccentric.
It’s easy to celebrate others’ successes, but rare to offer support in times of need. Back then, he had refused to meet those people again.
But now, he felt differently.
It was they who should feel uncomfortable facing him. Once he stopped expecting anything from them, disappointment ceased to matter.
Moreover, since he had been admitted to A University on scholarship, those relatives would give him red envelopes—both out of custom and in the hopes of sharing some of his good fortune.
Many of their children were still in school with varying academic performances, and they all wanted to see them succeed like Li Rong.
He wasn’t about to refuse free money.
Li Rong rang the doorbell to his grandmother’s home once more. Inside, he was greeted by the familiar faces of distant relatives. This time, however, their expressions were warmer and more polite, free from the previous sneers and disdain.
Only Gu Tian remained hostile, rolling his eyes before plugging in his headphones to play on his phone.
Gu Zhaonian frowned as he checked his watch. “Why are you late again? It’s been ages since the college entrance exams ended, and you couldn’t make time to visit—”
The old lady promptly interrupted him, “Enough! Li Rong earned a place at a great university. It’s normal for him to relax during the break. The ones who should reflect are those who didn’t do well. Throwing money at the problem won’t guarantee graduation.”
Gu Zhaonian took a deep breath, casting a sidelong glance at the old lady as he bit back the curse on the tip of his tongue.
Her words were a direct jab.
Gu Tian had performed abysmally on the college entrance exams. Unable to bear the glaring gap between Gu Tian and Li Rong, Gu Zhaonian had sold off an old investment property in a school district to donate fifty small mobile libraries to A University, effectively buying Gu Tian’s admission.
Ironically, this course of action had been inspired by Li Rong.
Last year, after waking up in the hospital, Li Rong had bluntly told him that Gu Tian wouldn’t make it into A University and suggested he start preparing to donate money.
In the end, that’s exactly what happened.
The old lady didn’t think much of Gu Tian. With only two grandsons in the family, one had secured a scholarship months in advance, while the other had required a hefty donation to gain admission.
Though they understood the circumstances, Gu Zhaonian couldn’t help but feel aggrieved.
The old lady pulled out a red envelope and beckoned to Li Rong. “Come here. Getting into A University is a big deal—it brings honor to your late parents and to our whole family. Take this.”
Before she even finished speaking, Li Rong had already pocketed the envelope. “Thanks.”
The old lady: “…”
Other relatives followed suit, presenting him with red envelopes and offering him perfunctory words of advice, none of which Li Rong bothered to listen to.
Between rounds of his game, Gu Tian cast Li Rong a sideways glance, envious of the treatment he was receiving.
Whenever Gu Tian saw these people, all he got was criticism and scorn. He had never seen them smile at him the way they smiled at Li Rong.
Not that it mattered; Li Rong clearly didn’t care about any of them.
“Everyone, let’s sit down and talk,” Gu Zhaonian said, his voice heavy with forced calm. “Li Rong, when you have time, you should visit your parents. They worked hard to raise you.”
Sitting on the sofa, Li Rong calmly plucked a cherry from the fruit platter and took his time savoring it, ignoring Gu Zhaonian completely.
A vein on Gu Zhaonian’s forehead twitched as he seethed silently.
The old lady shot him a reproachful look, signaling him to stop. She believed that on a joyful day, it was inappropriate to bring up painful memories for Li Rong, conveniently forgetting that she had mentioned his parents moments earlier.
The old lady then asked gently, “Your uncle arranged for Gu Tian to study economics. What’s your major, since you were admitted on scholarship?”
Li Rong spat out the cherry pit and said lightly, “My parents majored in biochemistry.”
Hearing this, the grandmother frowned. “Why did you choose that? Ask the school if you can change majors. Study economics or computer science with Gu Tian instead. These two majors are currently very popular and offer good job prospects.”
Li Rong tugged at the corner of his lips, not even lifting his eyelids. His voice remained calm as he said, “No.”
His grandmother pressed on. “Do you want to repeat your parents’ mistakes? This field has high barriers and poor job prospects. Plus, your parents offended people in this industry—do you even have any room to survive here?”
Li Rong countered in a cold tone, “Besides hiding my parents’ ashes in a corner of the cemetery and keeping silent about them to the neighbors, what else have you done for my mother as her own mother? What makes you so entitled to advise me?”
The grandmother’s breathing quickened, and her tone grew heavier. “And what can you do? You’re too extreme right now, seeing everyone as your enemy! Do you know that your uncle heard from A University’s president that your father’s paper was published by the Hongsuo Research Institute?”
Gu Zhaonian, as the university president’s driver, often picked up tidbits of information from him.
Since the president knew of Gu Nong and Gu Zhaonian’s connection, he casually mentioned it during a ride, intending it as some kind of consolation for the family.
Li Rong, however, chuckled, his tone indifferent. “Published by the Hongsuo Research Institute? My uncle is quite well-informed.”
His grandmother urged, “So adjust yourself! The past is the past. The living must go on. Quickly change your major and stay away from this field. I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve by following in your parents’ footsteps, but at least the Hongsuo Research Institute gave your parents some final dignity.”
Li Rong’s eyes narrowed, his fingers lightly rubbing together as his smile gradually faded. “What are you afraid of? That the enemy is too powerful, so you shrink in fear? And what are you trying to comfort yourself with? That a single paper can erase all the harm and justify their deaths in your mind? Do you think they deserved what happened? You lack courage and want me to cower too—do you think my giving up would make you any less contemptible?”
His grandmother was so enraged by this string of accusations that she nearly gasped for air.
She shot up from her chair, pointing a trembling finger at Li Rong’s face. “You’re too naive! You’re just an ordinary student. What can you possibly achieve? You’re not listening to the wisdom of those who have lived longer than you. Do you want to destroy yourself trying to take others down with you?”
Li Rong stood up as well, his gaze sharp as it met hers directly. “If one day I lie buried in the ground and meet my parents again, I want to be able to say proudly that I never stopped fighting—not for a single second—and never bowed to fear or public scorn.”
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get up to 5 more chapters of The Sickly Beauty Gives Up Struggling [Rebirth] right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)