Rebirth: Making money is a million times easier than falling in love

Chapter 3: Anxin's Pink Dumplings

"Brother Lin Qi, you're taking this train too?"

An Xin's voice was soft, like a sticky glutinous rice ball.

She pointed to the backpack next to Lynch: "Can I sit here?"

Lin Qi didn't answer, but simply took off his schoolbag and casually swept away a few locust blossoms that had fallen on the cushion.

An Xin smiled and sat down next to Lin Qi, holding her backpack, which was about the same size as her, in front of her.

The backpack was quite heavy, and An Xin's forehead was already slightly sweaty.

Looking at her profile, Lin Qi's eyes held a hint of tenderness.

An Xin was his junior high school classmate; they finished junior high school together at the town's middle school.

In junior high school, Lin Qi and An Xin were in the same class.

The two families lived in neighboring villages and usually rode their bicycles to and from school together, so they had a good relationship.

At that time, Lin Qi was the math class representative and often explained problems to An Xin.

An Xin started school early and is eight months younger than him, so she usually calls him Brother Lin Qi.

Later, they both got into the No. 1 Middle School in the city, but Lin Qi got into Class 1, the elite class, while An Xin got into Class 6, the top class.

Because they were no longer in the same class and high school studies were busy, they had less contact with each other.

They would chat for a few minutes if they ran into each other in the hallway or on campus.

Sometimes we would eat lunch together in the cafeteria.

But it's not like in junior high school, when we could talk to each other on the way to and from school every day.

After the college entrance examination, Lin Qi went to study in another city.

An Xin was admitted to the provincial normal school and went to Jinan, the provincial capital.

Because they attend schools in different places, the two have even less contact. They only meet and chat briefly when they go home to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year.

During his sophomore year of college, Lin Qi saw a fundraising message in his junior high school class group.

An Xin was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, the kind depicted in the movie "Dying to Survive".

Lin Qi searched through all his classmates and borrowed two thousand yuan, which he then transferred to her.

But this disease is a bottomless pit; just taking generic drugs can cost 60,000 to 70,000 yuan a year.

An Xin's family was better off than Lin Qi's, but not by much.

Her parents sold everything they could and borrowed money from all over the place to take her to big hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai for treatment.

When they went to Shanghai, Lin Qi even went to see her.

At that time, An Xin had shaved her head and was so thin that she looked unrecognizable, but her voice was still as soft and sweet as a glutinous rice ball, only her breath was much weaker.

"Brother Lin Qi..."

"Brother Lynch?"

The voices from his memory mingled with the voices coming from the front of him, bringing Lin Qi back to his senses.

An Xin, feeling a little shy under his gaze, lowered her eyes and asked softly, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Looking at her rosy, smooth cheeks, still with a touch of baby fat, Lin Qi suddenly smiled, then said seriously, "I will save you."

"Um?"

An Xin looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was talking about.

Lin Qi didn't explain, but looked at the backpack in her arms and asked, "Did you bring any food from home?"

Because of his mild Asperger's syndrome, Lynch has always been very straightforward and doesn't mince words.

His way of thinking is also different from others, so sometimes he will suddenly say things that don't make sense, which makes him seem strange to many classmates.

An Xin had attended junior high school with him for three years and was already used to his way of speaking.

So when he asked, she hummed in response and opened her backpack zipper a crack: "My mom made me some pancakes and also brought some pickles."

Through the gap in the zipper, a can of yellow peaches wrapped in a plastic bag was visible, containing dark-colored pickles.

The lid inside seemed to be loose, as a lot of dark soy sauce had seeped out.

Seeing this, An Xin quickly took out the pickle jar and tried to reseal it.

But as soon as the plastic bag was untied, the car swayed, and a stream of soy sauce spilled out, landing on her and Lin Qi's school uniform pants.

"oops!"

She exclaimed in surprise, quickly took out some toilet paper from her bag, and helped Lin Qi wipe his pants, apologizing repeatedly.

Lin Qi reached out and steadyed the pickle jar that was about to tip over, put the cap back on, and then took the tissue from her hand to wipe away the soy sauce stains on the jar.

Seeing An Xin's apologetic and self-reproachful expression, Lin Qi's eyes were filled with complex emotions.

If he hadn't learned it from An Xin's roommate who went abroad, he probably would never have known that this clumsy girl in front of him had silently done so much for him during high school.

In high school, most of my classmates who lived on campus spent around 400 yuan on food.

The food in the cafeteria is very cheap; a regular lunch costs only five or six yuan.

Four hundred yuan is enough to eat quite well.

But when he first entered high school, his monthly food allowance was only two hundred yuan.

High school is a crucial time for physical development, and two hundred yuan was no longer enough for him.

By the second half of last year, his food expenses had dropped to only one hundred yuan per month.

One hundred yuan a month isn't enough to feed even a junior high school student.

Therefore, he applied for a financial aid program for students from impoverished families when school started.

Unfortunately, there weren't enough spots available, and he wasn't selected.

It wasn't that there was any shady dealing involved; it's just that the families of the students who were selected were indeed in more difficult circumstances than his.

Some live with their disabled grandfathers, and some have mothers with mental illness; all of them lead difficult lives.

He didn't want to compete in misery, but without financial aid for impoverished students, his meals were indeed a problem.

During that time, he even considered dropping out of school.

On Friday, when he tried to spend the remaining four yuan and fifty cents on his meal card, he suddenly discovered that fifty yuan had appeared out of nowhere in his card.

He thought there was something wrong with the cafeteria's machine, but when he swiped his card, the money was deducted normally.

He was very excited, thinking he had encountered a bug, and ate a big meal.

But after he finished eating, he suddenly realized that it was also possible that someone else had mistakenly loaded the wrong meal card.

The meal cards at the No. 1 Middle School can be topped up by swiping the card or by providing the card number.

What if a student gave the wrong meal card number and it was credited to his account?

Even though he was poor, he couldn't cheat others.

So he went to the meal card recharge counter, explained the situation to the teacher, and left his name and class.

If a student accidentally tops up their meal card by mistake, they can come to the classroom to find him, and he will return the money to the student.

However, he waited for a week, but no one came to find him.

And the money in my meal card is about to run out again.

But when he returned to the cafeteria, he found that there was an extra fifty yuan in his meal card.

It was only then that he realized that someone must have deliberately topped up his meal card.

He thought it was his homeroom teacher, Liu Yan, and went to thank her.

However, Liu Yan stated that it wasn't her who paid the money, but it was possible that it was paid by school leaders.

Before retiring, the former principal often used his own money to help many impoverished students.

Several school leaders were students of the former principal and had followed his example by secretly providing financial assistance to impoverished students.

Upon learning this, Lin Qi inquired about the identities of those school leaders, wanting to express his gratitude in person.

But Liu Yan told him that such things couldn't be investigated, and that his best thanks were to focus on his studies.

Therefore, Lynch had no choice but to give up.

From then until I graduated from high school.

Every week, an extra fifty dollars would appear on Lynch's meal card.

With just two hundred yuan a month, Lin Qi persevered and finished high school, and was admitted to university.

Because of this incident, Lin Qi has always been grateful to his alma mater. When he earned his first 100 million yuan, he donated 50 million yuan to his alma mater.

However, by a twist of fate, he met an old classmate named Shao Yating abroad.

She was An Xin's classmate and roommate, and the two had a very good relationship.

It was from her that Lin Qi learned something.

"Do you remember back in high school, your meal card would occasionally have an extra fifty yuan on it?"

"Anxin topped up your account with that money!"

"She said your family was in debt and she noticed that you weren't eating in the cafeteria and were just eating pancakes in the classroom every day. She felt sorry for you, so she saved half of her food allowance and gave it to you."

"Didn't you notice that she started bringing food from home starting in the second semester of her junior year?"

"She only eats lunch at the cafeteria, and hides in her dorm eating pancakes and pickles in the morning and evening, just to save money for your meals."

"The other girls in the dorm all disliked her because she made the dorm smell like pickles, and they ganged up on her and ostracized her."

"Of course I know, I went with her to top up your account! She told me not to tell you..."

Shao Yating's words are still vivid in my mind. An Xin had already passed away five years ago when she said these words.

"I'm sorry, Brother Lin Qi."

An Xin looked apologetically at the stains on Lin Qi's pants: "It's all my fault for being careless and getting your pants dirty."

When you get to school, change into this one; I'll wash it for you.

"Need not."

Lin Qi raised his hand and licked the soy sauce off it.

It's so salty it's almost cloying, and it also has a slightly fermented smell.

"Is this all you eat at school?"

Lynch's tone was complex.

"Yes!"

An Xin quickly nodded and explained, "This pickled vegetable is delicious; I can eat it every day and never get tired of it."

As she spoke, as if afraid that the soy sauce would get on Lin Qi again, or as if afraid that Lin Qi would discover something, she quickly stuffed the pickle jar back into her schoolbag.

Watching her busy at work, Lin Qi felt a mix of emotions.

In the village, this kind of pickled vegetable is a side dish used to satisfy hunger during the busy farming season.

In his memory, the most difficult period of high school was when he ate nothing but pancakes for a week.

After that, he received an extra fifty yuan in aid on his meal card.

He always thought he was a lucky person favored by God, so he had always encountered helpful people along the way.

But he later realized that the starting point of his life was the silent care of this angelic girl in front of him.

He reached out and zipped up her backpack, then picked it up and placed it on his lap.

The pickle jars can't be tipped over; it's too tiring to carry them.

An Xin sat back down and, without pausing, used a tissue to wipe the soy sauce off Lin Qi's pants.

She only withdrew her hand when the soy sauce color could no longer be faded.

As soon as she looked up, she saw Lin Qi staring at her, and her heart skipped a beat.

She averted her gaze, crumpling the paper in her hand into a ball. "Brother Lin Qi, why are you staring at me?"

"I think you're prettier than many big stars."

Lynch spoke his mind.

An Xin instantly turned into a pink glutinous rice ball.

Lin Qi chuckled and leaned back in his seat: "I'll treat you to something delicious when we get off the bus."