063 Legends in the Group

In order to live a life as carefree as a silkworm, Gan Xingzhu went to see Gan Xingmei, hiding the fact that she had already met Li Jie. Perhaps she was so used to Su Mengyao's psychological manipulation that she didn't even mention she had changed her name to Gan Xingnu.

Unlike her eldest sister Gan Xingmei, who had been a wealthy lady for years, Gan Xingzhu had no particular ambitions. Her life plan was simply to live without worries until she grew old and died.

At home, she relied on her parents; outside, she relied on her parents' connections.

With nothing left to depend on, she didn't intend to rely on herself, either.

Besides, wealthy men like Li Jie were hard to come by.

So after Su Mengyao's manipulation, she started convincing herself as well.

Queen of the Silkworms—she was determined to be just that!

"Little sister, have you seen Yao Yao's husband?"

"No, I haven’t. He’s not at school anymore. Now that he’s a star and a businessman, he probably won’t show up in public easily."

Though young, Gan Xingzhu managed her expressions well. Gan Xingmei glanced at her a couple of times but didn’t suspect her little sister was lying.

"By the way, big sis, I found a sparring job at a chess academy in Jianye. It’s easy work, with room and board included. I want to give it a try."

"How much per month?"

"Forty-five hundred."

"That’s not bad."

"I don’t have anywhere else to go anyway. Forty-five hundred a month is enough for me."

After fooling Gan Xingmei, Gan Xingzhu packed her suitcase that night and headed straight for Su Mengyao’s "secret base."

Su Mengyao greeted her at the door herself, which left Gan Xingzhu utterly astonished.

She wasn’t delighted but truly shocked, simply because when Su Mengyao opened the door, she was still hanging on Li Jie’s waist.

Later, when the sound of Su Mengyao’s passionate cries echoed from the bedroom, and after about half an hour, Su Mengyao finally took a quick shower, reheated all the food in the fridge, and cooked a bowl of egg noodles.

"Yao Yao, you really go all out."

"What else can I do?" Su Mengyao opened a can of orange soda and said, "If being the second wife were so easy, why would I need you?"

"Thanks, Yao Yao."

"Do a good job, and I’ll give you a raise in your pocket money."

"Okay~"

With no stress and no discomfort, Gan Xingnu felt this job suited her perfectly.

To be a content, lazy silkworm, fed every day—wonderful!

"Having a late-night snack?" Li Jie also took a shower and walked into the living room in pajamas, towel-drying his still-damp hair.

"Brother Jie, want some tenderloin? The air fryer’s quick."

"I’ll have a plate, then."

The table was full of leftovers, but still quite a feast. Once this late-night meal was finished, all the food could be thrown out.

Su Mengyao took some frozen buns from the fridge and put them in the steamer—three minutes on high once the water boiled. The tenderloin was already prepped on skewers, and a few minutes in the air fryer would do.

"Yao Yao, you should check out houses tomorrow," said Li Jie.

Fresh buns would have been better, but he wasn’t picky. Leftovers mixed together with buns were just fine.

"Didn’t you want to film ‘Black Cat Avenger’? We should save the money for filming. Staying here for now is good enough."

"Mhm, it’s good enough. As long as we have a place to stay."

The new silkworm nodded repeatedly. She didn’t mind at all, "I’m not picky. As long as I have food and a place to stay, I’m happy."

"…"

Ah… Li Jie was stunned, nearly forgetting to swallow the bun in his mouth. After finishing it, he said, "I’ll have to share this good news with the ‘unfilial sons’ in the group chat later."

Especially the one who still hadn’t scraped together enough for the bridal gift—he’d have to tease them a bit. Take a look, see how much money their biological father is saving inside and out?

The next day, when Li’s contact note changed to "Progress 2/12," the group’s black fans were instantly thrown off. The one still short eighty thousand for the bridal gift directly closed group chat and played dead.

"Outrageous, how long has it been? Already 2/12?"

"Bro Crab, Bro Crab, all these years, I’ve never asked you for anything. This time, I beg you, just help me out—tell me these are all fake, just lie to me, please, wu wu wu wu wu…"

"What’s the point of living? I’m out. [Flying Frog.jpg]"

"Count me in. [Jumping off building.jpg]"

"Eat sh*t, Crab!"

While Li continued showing off, a long-time black fan with the ID "Sing ‘Vast Sky’ for Brother Guo" popped up with a rare private message: "Bro Crab, Bi-ge might really not make it this time."

"Didn’t you say last month he was still boosting people to top rank?"

"This time, it seems it’s really over. The chemo results are bad."

"I got it. I’ll book a high-speed train to Luzhou right away."

"Alright, I’ll let Bi-ge’s dad know."

"No need, I’ll go straight there."

"Just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Okay."

After closing the chat, Li Jie scrolled through the group and saw some old avatars that hadn’t lit up in years, feeling a sudden pang of sorrow.

This group was indeed the "Ten-Year Black Fans" group, and they’d jokingly called each other "sons" for years, but it had started out as a mutual support group.

Back then, the "calling someone son" was just a joke—"let’s be father and son in our next life."

From grief to joy, and from joy to normalcy, it’s all a process.

Usually, it didn’t feel like much, but suddenly seeing a familiar ID about to disappear, Li Jie couldn’t help but feel sad.

He had sent off countless friends; most of the time, it was just a final video, a few words of blessing and encouragement, and then they would never meet again.

"Did your mom force you to sing?"—an ID just for laughs, but "Bi-ge" was a legend in the group because he could rank top in five games at once.

A gaming prodigy, but he never streamed.

Because "Bi-ge" was afraid he’d drop dead during a stream.

So, "Bi-ge" became a legend—a top-tier booster.

But this time, as Brother Guo said, it really seemed to be the end.

If life were a game where you could be a top-tier booster, perhaps everyone would be much happier.

"Brother Chen, I’m going to Luzhou for a bit," Li Jie said to Chen Pi after dropping by "Creative Ability."

"When will you be back?" Chen Pi was taken aback, but years of understanding told him someone was likely being sent off again.

"We’ll see. Might be back tonight, at most three or four days."

"Then bring some snacks."

He took a backpack from the office, stuffed with biscuits and the like, and Chen Pi fished out a handful of coins from his wallet, mostly small change. "Let me put this in your bag."

On the way to the crematorium, there was always a need to toss a coin at the intersection or bridge.

If the remains were put in a small box and the priest asked to throw some coins, then throw in a few more.

This sudden turn of events didn’t interrupt the progress of "Creative Ability"—there was still plenty of early negotiation to handle.

Upon reaching a neighborhood near Kuanghe in Luzhou, Li Jie found his way with ease. After telling the security guard he was visiting Gu Bilin in Building 3, Unit 602, he was registered and let in.

"Bi-ge’s" real name was Gu Bilin—perhaps his parents wished for him to be as close as neighbors across the world.

He went up to the sixth floor, composed himself, took a deep breath, and entered the open door of 602.

At that moment, "Bi-ge's" parents were making a last effort, inviting monks to chant over him.

When Li Jie suddenly appeared, Gu’s father nodded to him, but the tears he had just managed to hold back immediately flowed.

Patting Gu’s father on the shoulder, Li Jie entered the room. Seeing the unrecognizable "Bi-ge," he took a finely crafted little red gourd from his pocket and placed it by "Bi-ge's" pillow. "Special price, eighty yuan."

There was no response, but a thin hand under the covers tried to reach for the phone in its usual place…