I am a Big Player
Chapter 82 - 81, Best Straight Man_1

Chapter 82: 81, Best Straight Man_1

The new assignment definitely had to be completed, but how it was done was key. Ren He, after traveling back in time, didn’t have many friends besides Xu Nuo and Duan Xiaolou, so no one would ask him out, meaning no other social engagements. By this time, Xu Nuo was probably suffocating at home. It was said his dad watched him like a hawk, insisting on study reviews to the extent that he had even put his business aside.

Pity for the hearts of parents the world over, although Xu Nuo’s dad was ruthless, he still loved his son... although in a somewhat unique way...

In the past couple of days, Xu Nuo had been frequently calling Ren He at night: "The New Year is coming up, and my dad is going to call the homeroom teacher. What if something goes wrong, what if Li Luobo suddenly stops being crazy?"

"I’ll tell you what to do," Ren He said, chuckling: "When your dad picks up the phone, you just quietly edge toward the front door. Keep an eye on his face, and if he looks at you with ill intent, you’d better run..."

After a pause, Xu Nuo on the other end was almost in tears: "Can you say something nice? Don’t scare me, okay?"

"Ah... there’s nothing I can do to help," Ren He couldn’t help laughing over the phone. If he hadn’t been reborn through time travel, he’d probably be just as troubled about his grades, but now, he really couldn’t empathize with Little Fatty anymore. Ren He had played plenty of tricks to fool his parents during his school days. Once, right before Teacher’s Day, he skipped class to play Dream of the West at an internet café. When he came home at noon, he saw Mrs. Ren sitting calmly on the sofa, watching TV. When she saw Ren He return, she asked which classes he had that morning.

Ren He said with a straight face: Chemistry, Physics, Chinese, Mathematics.

That’s when Mrs. Ren came at him with a stick: "I went to give your homeroom teacher a Teacher’s Day gift this morning and found out you didn’t go to class at all. Chemistry, Physics, Chinese, Mathematics? I think you need a good straightening out!"

It truly was an ignominious memory that one would rather forget. Why is it that during school days, one meets with such unfortunate incidents...

Like Xu Nuo, who can control a father disciplining his son? Ren He could only act as the best bad influence, taking pleasure in his friend’s misfortune...

He had planned to eat a lamb hot pot alone for lunch at a place near his house before going for a winter swim in Luo River, hopefully warming up a bit in the process. But just as he entered the restaurant, he saw Xia Yuting, Duan Xiaolou, and Huangfu Zhuri already sitting there.

Huangfu Zhuri caught sight of Ren He and clearly remembered to at least greet him, calling out, "Hey!"

Ren He raised his eyebrows. This guy didn’t even remember his name? All he heard was Huangfu Zhuri greeting him: "Here for a meal, too? Are you alone?"

"Yeah, I’m alone," Ren He answered with a smile.

This time it was Huangfu Zhuri’s turn to be surprised: "Eating hot pot alone, that’s distinctive! Come join us, there are only three of us! Sit next to your Yuting."

Ren He thought it over and didn’t find a reason to refuse, so he smiled and agreed: "Sure!"

As soon as he sat down, he smelled a faint fragrance drifting from Xia Yuting’s direction, which felt like the subtle scent of plum blossoms in the snow assailing the senses. Glancing over, Xia Yuting indeed looked very beautiful, almost celebrity-like, but Ren He did not pay much attention to it.

Duan Xiaolou asked curiously, "Where have you been these past few days?"

"I went to Capital," Ren He explained, "I just got back the other day and haven’t gone out since."

As soon as Capital was mentioned, Huangfu Zhuri perked up, "Did you guys hear? Two middle school students in Capital kicked Wang Quan’s butt and released five new songs in one go, and that’s not all. The craziest part is, after singing, the two middle schoolers just disappeared completely! Do you realize what that means? Now, over a dozen media companies are looking for them, and nobody can find them! The forums at Capital High School are going insane; entire pages are filled with discussions about those two middle school students. It’s so thrilling; they sang their songs and then vanished. Go find them if you can!"

Ren He just listened with a laugh, thinking he really needed to befriend this Little Fatty; he was the perfect sidekick, every time they talked Ren He would find himself invisibly complimented... so sensible!

"I’ve heard about it," Xia Yuting said indifferently as she picked up a chopstick of lamb and placed it in her bowl, "Now all the kids in our school are crazy about those few songs, dying to be famous in their infatuation, something you can’t envy your way into. If you want to get famous, you have to laboriously run around on set every day, and when you finally land a role, you have to thank a whole bunch of people. Sometimes you wait for the big shots for an entire day, but those two middle schoolers seemed destined to be famous, effortlessly drawing attention. I can guarantee, those two kids are not so simple, their grasp on the public mind is spot on, all this ’you should study hard’ is just an excuse, they just knew, as soon as they disappeared from your sight, you’d all be frantically searching for them! What’s that if not a tactic! At least that boy is definitely not that simple. Haven’t you noticed? He handles everything. When I saw this, I wondered, how come all the middle schoolers these days are such prodigies. And the girl is lucky to have a boyfriend like him; it’s quite possible that he wrote all the songs, too."

Huh, this is pretty interesting, Ren He mused to himself. Xia Yuting, despite being a freshman, had quite a clear understanding of things; she probably wasn’t someone simple.

Huangfu Zhuri laughed, "What, are you jealous of them?"

Xia Yuting didn’t shy away, "I wouldn’t call it jealousy. Their five songs, each more stunning than the last, otherwise we wouldn’t be discussing them now. That kind of talent isn’t something ordinary people can compare to, but of course, there’s envy. I heard that the tycoon has already bought the rights to Kunlun, the contract is not signed yet but it’s nearly a sure thing. I heard Capital Journalism Group even partnered directly with this person to start a subsidiary, planning to film Kunlun together, and casting is about to begin. A whole new round of scheming is on the horizon in school, just thinking about it annoys me."

"And yet you still want to be an actor?" teased Huangfu Zhuri. "Your family isn’t short of money; why go to such lengths?"

"This is exactly why I say you lack ambition. Do you think you can live off your parents forever?" Xia Yuting retorted with a disapproving look, "I was ready for this the moment I chose this path. I’ll fight my way through the masses and emerge victorious. In a few years, I too will be a big shot!"

Ren He had to admit, he found people like Xia Yuting quite interesting. They weren’t pretentious or sleazy, knew what they wanted, and were willing to work hard for it. This is just how normal people are, you can’t expect everyone to regard money like dirt. Adam Smith’s ’The Wealth of Nations’, that thick book, the most important point it makes is that everyone is self-interested; if everyone takes care of themselves, society can progress.

To say everyone should be entirely selfless is to dismantle the very foundation of economics.

To live a life is to make your own existence better and more meaningful. Those who preach the virtue of an ordinary life, please spare me the bullcrap.

...

Thank you to Yi Shao Xie, Mo Bin Yu, Tai Xu Loyal fans, Super Delicious, Seventh Gold Coin, Silent Dolphin, Dreams End After Thousands, Mi and Li, Ji Cheng Faraway, Book Friends 150616..., Feng Yuan Lin, Hatsune LongYu, Time Butterfly Dance, Have 10086, Night Long Song, Eat Bullfrog, Naming is Really Annoying for their support.