Chapter 5

Some people like to view the early 1990s as the last few years of a once-innocent era. As material life became increasingly abundant, people's thoughts gradually became less pure, placing more emphasis on personal gain and what they could obtain rather than what they needed to give.

In the changing tides of time, Zhao Fusheng, who had long lost his innocence, returned against the current. What he yearned for was to reclaim the youth he had missed.

But before that, he had many problems to solve.

For example, an incident that occurred after his father bought out his seniority, and the fact that Fan Baobao, sitting across from him, was staring at him while eating.

It had to be said that at this time, Fan Baobao was much prettier than she was after becoming a celebrity. Although she was known as "Fan Lady" due to her strong presence, Zhao Fusheng felt that the current Fan Baobao was more pleasant to look at.

"Stop staring and eat your food!" Fan Baobao said irritably, seeing Zhao Fusheng's hateful gaze fixed on her.

In truth, Fan Baobao's impression of Zhao Fusheng was not bad. They had grown up together, and their families had a good relationship. When they were young, Fan Baobao even called Zhao's mother her godmother.

But as Zhao Fusheng went through junior high and high school, he became increasingly ordinary, far from the grand image of a boyfriend that Fan Baobao had always dreamed of. Gradually, she gave up on that idea.

Every girl dreams of her ideal man being a hero, at the very least, someone with outstanding qualities.

But unfortunately, Zhao Fusheng was an ordinary boy, plain and unremarkable.

So, in Fan Baobao's eyes, Zhao Fusheng was just a childhood friend.

But now, due to his father's gambling, he had become her fiancé, a situation she could not refuse. This made her entire worldview and values collapse in an instant. If it weren't for the kindness of Zhao's parents and her reluctance to leave her sick mother and young sister, she would have really wanted to run away.

"Ah, eat, eat." Zhao Fusheng smiled helplessly and lowered his head to eat.

Seeing the two of them, Zhao's parents and Li Yuan exchanged glances and smiled silently.

In their eyes, this was the shy behavior of young lovers, unaware that one was harboring resentment and the other was distracted.

Zhao Fusheng was undoubtedly the latter, as he was trying hard to recall what had happened after his father bought out his seniority.

Since confirming that he had been reborn into this familiar yet strange world, Zhao Fusheng had been thinking about what he could do and what he should do.

While his parents were cooking, he found his address book and his junior high and high school yearbooks. He was shocked to find that some names he had known so well in his previous life had become mere symbols in his memory. This made him realize that although he seemed to hold a winning hand, he had to be cautious.

They say that a golden scale is not a mere fish, and when it meets the wind and clouds, it transforms into a dragon. For Zhao Fusheng, what he needed to do now was to quietly accumulate his strength, waiting for the right opportunity to soar to great heights.

"Fusheng, Fusheng..." His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What is it, Mom?"

"Go for a walk with Baobao." Zhao's mother said with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng was about to refuse, but Fan Baobao smiled sweetly and nodded to Zhao's mother, "Thank you, Godmother."

"This child, why are you talking like we're two different families?" Zhao's mother winked at Li Yuan.

Reluctantly, Zhao Fusheng was pulled out the door by Fan Baobao.

Since it was summer, there were many people in the neighborhood. The two of them awkwardly greeted their neighbors and made their way to a pavilion in the complex.

Once they were alone, Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng, "Thank you for today..."

Before she could finish, Zhao Fusheng interrupted, "No need to thank me, and I won't marry you."

What kind of international joke was this? Why would a reborn person like him marry a female demon?

Indeed, in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, Fan Baobao was a female demon. If they were friends, it was fine, but as a girlfriend, Zhao Fusheng could already imagine being tortured to death by her.

Fan Baobao's eyes widened in shock. She had thought of countless excuses, but she never expected that before she could express her thoughts, Zhao Fusheng would reject her as if she were a plague.

Yes, at that moment, Zhao Fusheng's expression made it seem like marrying her was like marrying a ferocious beast.

Fan Baobao felt like she was about to explode. If this were a manga, there would be three black lines on her forehead, and smoke would be coming out of her head.

"Are you serious?" Fan Baobao pointed at Zhao Fusheng.

"Of course. We'll consider the money a loan. You can pay it back when you start earning after graduation." Zhao Fusheng shrugged, indifferent.

In his mind, by the time Fan Baobao graduated and achieved success, he would have already accumulated more wealth using his rebirth advantage.

Fan Baobao frowned. Although Zhao Fusheng's plan was very different from what she had originally thought, it was somewhat satisfactory.

Of course, the fact that he saw her as a demon still made her a bit annoyed. Why should a beautiful girl like her be rejected?

Women can be strange sometimes. They can look down on others, thinking they are toads lusting after swans. But if someone ignores them, they feel unhappy, thinking their beauty is being ignored.

"What about in front of the elders?" Fan Baobao asked, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

She was also considering what to do if Zhao Fusheng was serious.

"It's simple, we'll pretend." Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, impatient.

"Pretend?" Fan Baobao was surprised.

"Of course. If you say we have no relationship, not only will my parents be upset, but do you think Aunt Li won't cry?" Zhao Fusheng glanced at Fan Baobao, letting her feel his disdain.

Fan Baobao took a deep breath, controlling herself from hitting the annoying guy in front of her, but she had to admit that Zhao Fusheng was right.

At the moment, Li Yuan's mental and physical state were not good. If she stubbornly said she had no relationship with Zhao Fusheng, not only might Zhao's parents not help, but her own mother would also be devastated.

Thinking about this, Fan Baobao gritted her teeth, "Alright, I'll be your girlfriend until I graduate and earn money."

She paused and quickly added, "But it's fake, only real in front of the elders."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, "Deal."

Then he looked at Fan Baobao, "Also, you can't come to my school or tell others you're my girlfriend. And you can't bully me or touch me inappropriately."

This was a psychological scar from his childhood. Sometimes, Fan Baobao acted like a madwoman, always hitting and kicking him, lacking the restraint and dignity of a girl.

Fan Baobao huffed, "Don't worry, that's what I wanted to say too. Besides, do you really think I enjoy being rough? At school, everyone sees me as a goddess."

She wasn't exaggerating. Except for Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao was always a model of tranquility and gentleness. But for some reason, every time she saw him, she just couldn't help feeling angry.

After agreeing on the terms, they were about to return when Zhao Fusheng stopped, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Fan Baobao, following behind him, almost bumped into him.

"A fraudster." Zhao Fusheng's expression turned grim, his eyes fixed on the person who had just entered their building.

At that moment, he finally remembered what had happened after his father bought out his seniority.

In his previous life, his father had received 50,000 yuan for buying out his seniority. He was persuaded to invest in stocks, losing not only the 50,000 yuan but also the family's savings of over 80,000 yuan.

The person who had persuaded his father was the one who had just walked by, his father's old colleague, Jiang He.

From Zhao Fusheng's later perspective, Jiang He's behavior was really childish. He first claimed to have insider information about a stock that would soar, persuading his father to hand over the family's savings for him to invest. But once the money was given, he used it for his own investments.

Of course, the stocks Jiang He bought were already in a loss, and there was no possibility of a significant rise.

Legally, this money was not borrowed from the Zhao family but was a joint investment with Zhao Aiguo. Therefore, when the scam was exposed, Jiang He faced no legal consequences and escaped unscathed.

Over a dozen old colleagues were similarly deceived by him.

Zhao Fusheng remembered clearly that his father had aged significantly because of this incident and even fell seriously ill.

Looking at Jiang He's back, a cold light flashed in Zhao Fusheng's eyes. Some mistakes only needed to be made once. In his previous life, he was powerless, but now, he would make sure to bring down this Uncle Jiang.