Chapter 10

If those two words hadn’t trembled, I wouldn’t have realized how upset I was.

"Hello, who is it?" Lin Xiao answered the phone.

"Damn, how long has it been that you don’t recognize my number? Have you fed your conscience to the dogs, you brat?" A roar came from the other end of the line.

"Oh, oh, it’s you, Boss. Is there something wrong? Why are you calling so early? I was just sleeping." Lin Xiao immediately tried to please him when he realized something was off.

"I heard that you, the third one, have grown some wings and are flying solo, right? Are you interested in coming to help me?" The voice on the other end of the phone slowly continued.

Lin Xiao was touched. He knew that Boss had found out about his resignation and was worried that he wouldn’t find a job, so he called to check on him. Suppressing his emotions, he said calmly, "I’ve been a bit tired lately and plan to rest for a while. Don’t worry, if no one wants me, I’ll come and eat you out of house and home."

"Get lost, go play in the mud. Since there’s nothing wrong, I’ll hang up."

Boss was actually the dorm leader during college, named Chen Dong. Like most people, the four of them were ranked by age and birthday. The second one was Zhao Xing, Lin Xiao was the third, and the fourth was Li Shu.

Chen Dong was very low-key in college. He was a second-generation rich kid, with a family fortune of over a billion, and had a significant influence in Z Province.

Originally, the other three didn’t know. During their senior year, the four of them got drunk, and in their drunken state, the usually refined and steady Boss went on a drunken rant, revealing his true identity as a second-generation rich kid.

Actually, none of the four had ordinary backgrounds. Zhao Xing, the second one, came from a traditional scholarly family, and his father was the president of Z University. Li Shu, the fourth one, was the son of the mayor.

Among them, Lin Xiao was the most ordinary, an orphan with no parents.

However, Lin Xiao was the only one in the dorm who was a rising star. He worked hard and earned scholarships, ranking in the top five of the entire school every year. He ignored the advances of girls and did things his own way.

In fact, Lin Xiao just wanted to survive. Poor children grow up fast. Although he received scholarships every year, it wasn’t enough to cover his tuition.

He worked as a bartender, a waiter in a teahouse, a server in a restaurant, and any other temporary job he could find.

Seeing Lin Xiao’s early mornings and late nights, Chen Dong wanted to help him but was stopped by Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing saw the deep-seated pride in Lin Xiao. Such a person would never like this kind of help.

So, Boss and the others would find various excuses to take Lin Xiao out for meals, celebrating one thing after another. Lin Xiao saw this in his heart and remembered it.

College days were a beautiful memory. Lost in his thoughts, Lin Xiao couldn’t help but smile silently.

After graduation, everyone went their separate ways. Zhao Xing was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Paris. Boss returned to take over the company. The third one, Lin Xiao, passed the civil service exam and was sent to a remote mountain village by his father to toughen up.

They say that when people leave, the tea cools. But the four brothers still kept in touch frequently through QQ, even after a few years apart.

Lin Xiao had also asked why they accepted him, a commoner, as a friend and brother. Didn’t the internet say that second-generation rich kids and officials looked down on common people?

Boss Chen Dong’s answer was: That’s actually a bad trend started by a bunch of spoiled kids. They were born into wealthy families without goals or ideals, living numbly, either racing cars or taking drugs, trying anything that was exciting, not caring about their lives.

But the real second-generation rich kids and officials were generally low-key. They were told by their families not to look down on anyone, that there was always something to learn from everyone, and to always maintain basic manners.

Every child born into such a family would be subject to natural selection. Only the most outstanding would inherit the family fortune. Those who were eliminated would become what the internet described, because they had no goals and lived a life of ease.

So, none of the real heirs were fools.

"Ring, ring, ring"

The alarm clock woke Lin Xiao from his memories.

It was already 9 o'clock. He must have slept in, so he canceled his morning exercise.

He turned on his computer and logged into QQ. With nothing to do, Lin Xiao aimlessly browsed the forum.

Something about the Chinese national football team being thrashed by Thailand. Lin Xiao didn’t even read the content. He could guess. They were so weak that they were being humiliated. Did the national football team even need to exist? They might as well all buy a toilet and crawl into it.

The scandalous male idol competition appeared again, truly leaving him speechless.

Suddenly, a post caught Lin Xiao’s attention. It was a single sentence: "Looking for someone who can save the plant in the photo," followed by a phone number.

The plant in the photo was a orchid. If it were just a regular orchid, it wouldn’t have caught Lin Xiao’s attention.

But this orchid was entirely blood red, red to the point of being seductive, yet the flowers it produced were pure white, as clear as jade, a pure white. The stark contrast of the two colors made it both strange and eye-catching.

It’s it, it must be it, Lin Xiao exclaimed in his heart.

The system’s data included information about this orchid. It was called the Blood Jade Orchid, also known as the Snow Jade Flower. It grew in the crevices of cliffs and was named for its leaves and flowers. It belonged to a special category of rare flowers and herbs, with the leaves and flowers having different effects.

The leaves could instantly stop bleeding in someone who had lost a lot of blood, enhance the body’s ability to produce blood, and strengthen the body if eaten by someone healthy.

The flowers, on the other hand, had a completely opposite effect. They were a hallucinogenic substance, and anyone who ate them would be in a hallucinogenic state for three days and three nights, unable to get up.

Excited, Lin Xiao’s calm heart was thrown into disarray by this sudden post. He read it over and over, comparing it with the information in his mind, and confirmed that it was indeed the real Blood Jade Orchid.

He dialed the number given.

"Beep"

"Beep"

After two beeps, the other end picked up. "Hello, may I ask what you need?" A man’s voice came through.

Lin Xiao composed himself and said, "I saw the photo of your Blood Jade Orchid online. Have you found a way to save it?"

"Oh, oh, so my orchid is called a Blood Jade Orchid? I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing your surname," the voice on the other end hesitated before responding.

"My surname is Lin," Lin Xiao said calmly.

"Mr. Lin, the orchid’s condition is getting worse. Since you know the name of this orchid, you should be able to save it, right?"

"Yes, I can save it, but I have a condition."

"What condition, as long as I can do it."

"It won’t be difficult for you. I just want to ask if you would consider transferring this orchid to me?"

"Sorry, I love this orchid too much to transfer it. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint Mr. Lin, but I did see two more orchids like this where I picked it, but the place was too steep to reach them."

"Really! That’s great. I can help you save this Blood Jade Orchid, but the condition is that you tell me where you found it." Lin Xiao said with pleasant surprise.

It’s truly a case of searching high and low without finding it, and then it comes easily.