Chapter 117: The Fall【Second Update, Please Subscribe!】

“Xiaoxiao, I think I might be falling a little.”

After being seen off reluctantly by Li Mu downstairs at the dormitory building, Zhao Ziqiu went upstairs and, upon entering the room, said this to Han Xiaoxiao, who was busy texting on her phone.

Han Xiaoxiao blinked in surprise. “What’s wrong? How come you’re falling already? Did you see some handsome guy at the swimming pool?”

Zhao Ziqiu shook her head and said seriously, “I’m talking about Li Mu.”

“Li Mu?” Not only Han Xiaoxiao was stunned, but the other girls in the dorm also froze.

Han Xiaoxiao asked, “When did you two meet again?”

“Tonight.”

The moment they heard Zhao Ziqiu had actually met Li Mu tonight, all five girls became suddenly interested and eagerly asked for details.

Zhao Ziqiu didn’t hold back and explained, “Xiaoxiao told me Li Mu goes to the gym and swims every day. Since I also go daily, I just grabbed my swimsuit on a whim and went to Renmin University.”

“Ah?” Han Xiaoxiao said, “Did you go there to seduce Li Mu?”

“What nonsense!” Zhao Ziqiu retorted.

Han Xiaoxiao laughed, “Even if you didn’t mean to, once you put on that swimsuit, it’s basically seduction!”

The other four girls chimed in, “Exactly! Ziqiu, with those legs and that chest, you’d make any guy’s nose bleed!”

Zhao Ziqiu pouted, “I haven’t seen a single guy with a nosebleed, though.”

Han Xiaoxiao hurriedly waved her hand. “Hey, stop messing around. Ziqiu, you just said you’re falling. Did you fall for Li Mu just because you swam with him?”

Zhao Ziqiu shook her head. “I’m not that fickle. But two things happened tonight.”

“What two things?”

All the girls leaned in, ears perked—gossip was their natural weakness.

Zhao Ziqiu sat down and took a sip of water before calmly recounting the evening’s events.

When she finished, each of the five girls was dumbfounded, all wearing lovestruck expressions. Han Xiaoxiao even said in a dreamy tone, “Li Mu is such a manly guy. Way better than that chatterbox Li Yawei!”

The short-haired girl whom Sun Jian liked sighed dreamily, “So handsome, so cool, and gives such a sense of security. This kind of guy is truly a rare gem!”

Wang Yanan, who had just patched things up with Hu Zhengdao, nodded repeatedly. “If only Hu Zhengdao could be like that, I’d give myself to him…”

At this point, Han Xiaoxiao said seriously, “Ziqiu, I’m afraid Li Mu won’t want you!”

Zhao Ziqiu immediately raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why not?”

Han Xiaoxiao replied solemnly, “Because you’re such a troublemaker. So much happened in just one night. What kind of strong-hearted man would dare be with you?”

Zhao Ziqiu stomped her foot anxiously. “This never happened before. Who knows why today was so unlucky—ran into two groups of jerks in a row. You don’t think Li Mu really thinks that way, do you?”

Han Xiaoxiao laughed, “I’m joking! Don’t take it seriously.”

Seeing Zhao Ziqiu seemed about to believe her, she quickly changed the subject. “Ziqiu, you better work harder. I heard from Li Yawei that Li Mu has a high school classmate also at Renmin University. She’s supposed to be a total stunner, and they’re pretty close.”

Zhao Ziqiu was unfazed. “The moment he dragged me away tonight, I made up my mind: with a man like him, it’s bound to be a long battle. A swift victory won’t last, so I’m in no rush.”

Han Xiaoxiao praised her, “Good! As long as you have that spirit, the five of us will support you all the way!”

So the next evening, Zhao Ziqiu slung her backpack and headed once more to the Renmin University swimming pool.

She even regretted getting a swimming card for Yanda University. Every time she swam at Renmin, she had to pay ten yuan for a ticket. Ten yuan might be enough for two meals for an ordinary person. Though she wasn’t short of money, it still felt wasteful.

When she bought her ticket and entered, Li Mu was just coming out of the locker room, having changed into his swim trunks, walking alone toward the pool. Along the way, Li Mu felt a pair of burning eyes fixed on him.

It was Zhang Qing from the school swim team.

He hadn’t expected Li Mu to be so bold as to show up again today.

Moreover, considering what Li Mu said yesterday, Zhang Qing felt like he’d been slapped hard across the face.

After all, it was Zhang Qing who had shot some harsh words at Li Mu yesterday, saying, “I remember you.” But Li Mu’s cool reply—“Even if you don’t remember, I’ll come again tomorrow”—had completely deflated his swagger.

Li Mu’s appearance today was like coming to finish off a drowning dog.

Several teammates from the swim team teased Zhang Qing: “Hey, that guy really came back. I wonder if that busty beauty from yesterday will come too.”

Zhang Qing gritted his teeth. “Damn it, I’ll settle this with him sooner or later! Guys, should we teach him a lesson some day?”

The others exchanged glances.

One of them chuckled, “Zhang Qing, if it’s just words, you can’t win, so just drop it. If you really want to fight, you’ll have to go alone. The school will only see it as a verbal spat and a moment of impulse, maybe give you a warning. But if all of us gang up on one guy, and it reaches the academic affairs office, none of us will get away.”

Zhang Qing was frustrated.

These so-called good friends trained and played together, but when it came to the crucial moment, they all chickened out. Not a single one was reliable.

While cursing inwardly, Li Mu finished his warm-up and dove into the water. The more Zhang Qing looked at him, the more irritated he became. This guy was too disrespectful; he had to find a chance to restore his dignity.

Just then, a teammate patted him on the shoulder. “Look, that busty beauty is here again!”

It was Zhao Ziqiu.

Having changed, she searched the pool for Li Mu and easily spotted him in the rightmost lane.

As yesterday, Zhao Ziqiu sat by the poolside and stopped Li Mu with her foot.

Li Mu was surprised and blurted out, “Why are you here again?”

Zhao Ziqiu asked softly, “Don’t you want me to come?”

“No, I just think it’s a hassle for you to come all this way.”

Zhao Ziqiu said, “Then why don’t you come swim at Yanda tomorrow?”

Li Mu laughed awkwardly, “Why bother?”

Zhao Ziqiu smiled, “See? If you don’t want to go, then I’ll come over.”

…

In the following days, Zhao Ziqiu went to the Renmin University swimming pool every day, continuing through until the end of military training.

At the closing ceremony, a group of students clustered around their instructor, crying together. Li Mu, however, was less emotionally involved, thinking to himself that today was Wednesday the 19th, with a day off after military training, textbooks to be distributed on Friday, then two more days off, and classes officially starting the following Monday.

Moreover, the hot-blooded legend game he had been looking forward to all summer was scheduled for open beta on the 28th. He needed to earn some cash from it—his minimum target was two million yuan.

As for the issues with Yiting.com and the forums, Li Mu wasn’t in a hurry. Capital operations weren’t as simple as imagined. If he wanted to cash out from these two products, the most reliable way was to sell them as a package. Otherwise, if he sought financing, the money received in exchange for shares would have to be reinvested into operations, not freely disposable. To truly cash out shares, it would at least require a Series C round of financing.

Thinking about the release of the legend game, and the coding he still had to do, Li Mu planned to rent an apartment off campus and buy a high-performance desktop computer. Writing code on a laptop was still a bit of a hassle.

So the day after military training ended, Li Mu got up early and left the school.

He called Zhao Kang, who said their school wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Li Mu told him about his plan to rent a place. Zhao Kang laughed, “Then you better rent a big one. Some things on Douban aren’t convenient to do in the dorm — I’m the only one with a computer, and the others always borrow it to watch videos.”

Li Mu agreed.

Renmin University was located just outside Beijing’s North Third Ring Road. After some research, Li Mu found a nearby residential community called Yucheng Garden, which looked pretty good and close to school — out the east gate, across a footbridge, then a two- or three-minute walk.

Li Mu went through an agent and found a large three-bedroom apartment there, about 130 square meters, reportedly well renovated with complete appliances and furniture. The price was a bit steep, as properties near the university were always expensive. The market price was around two thousand yuan per month, but this landlord wanted two thousand five hundred and insisted on annual payment. The agent said this was to screen tenants.

Li Mu viewed the apartment. The decoration was indeed excellent, seemingly only about a year old, hardly lived in, very fresh and comfortable. It was on the sixteenth floor, with a bedroom overlooking the entire Renmin University campus.

Almost without hesitation, Li Mu rented it.

The agent said the landlord was overseas and had fully entrusted them to manage the property. Li Mu checked the relevant property certificates and the landlord’s power of attorney. The landlord had already signed the lease, waiting only for a tenant to finalize it.

The landlord being abroad suited Li Mu perfectly—no chance of them barging in and disturbing him. So he signed the contract, paid by card, and after everything was settled, got the keys from the agent. To be safe, Li Mu called the property management and had the lock cylinder on the security door changed.

The apartment’s internet contract still had six months left, which saved him a lot of trouble. Li Mu took a taxi to Zhongguancun and, aiming for a high-end setup, spent nearly twenty thousand yuan on two computers, had them assembled, and shipped to Yucheng Garden.

With the apartment arranged, Li Mu felt more secure. After all, at over thirty years old, living in the dorm with five younger people wasn’t impossible, but he needed his own space to be alone and focus.

On his way back to school, Li Mu passed the East District sports field and decided to cut across diagonally to take a shortcut back to the dorm.

Several students were playing soccer on the field, including Zhang Qing from the swim team.

Zhang Qing was playing a small-sided game with some teammates when one noticed Li Mu walking nearby and said, “Hey, isn’t that the guy from the pool?”

Zhang Qing glanced over and his face darkened. “Damn, it’s him again!”

Seeing Li Mu made Zhang Qing’s teeth itch with hatred. He’d never had the chance to reclaim his dignity from Li Mu, and now unexpectedly ran into him here. He stared at Li Mu’s profile and signaled to a player controlling the ball next to him: “Stone, pass me the ball!”

Stone raised his eyebrows and smiled, kicking the ball to Zhang Qing’s feet. Then he clapped his hands and said to the others, “Let’s pause for a bit and watch Zhang Qing do his thing!”

Li Mu was only about ten meters away from Zhang Qing. The field was crowded, but Li Mu was focused on walking and paid no attention to the players.

As he walked, Li Mu’s peripheral vision caught a black shadow swiftly coming from his right rear. Instinctively, he dodged. A powerful soccer ball skimmed past his face. Though it didn’t hit him, the air stirred by the ball brushed across half his face…

(To be continued.)

P.S. Here’s the second update. Please continue to subscribe and support the official release! Also, it’s already the 18th today. Although there’s no hope of topping the monthly ticket rankings, I sincerely ask everyone with monthly tickets to cast one. After all, we can’t afford to lose momentum, right?