Chapter Fifteen: The First Banquet

The louder Yu Zhe pounded his chest in assurance, the more worried Zhao Zejun seemed. When all was said and done, the core of his meaning could be summed up in one sentence: You’re just a high school student—do you really think your father will take you seriously?

“Yu Zhe, stop joking around. It sounds nice now, but if you can’t get it done in the end, how am I supposed to face my friends?” Zhao Zejun sighed softly. “I’d better handle the government offices myself…”

“Boss, why do you have so little faith in me!” Yu Zhe was both anxious and frustrated. Finally, left with no other option, he volunteered, “How about this—you give me the IDs, I’ll take care of it. When the permits are in hand, we’ll make the exchange: IDs for the outline. How’s that? Surely you can trust me now!”

At this point, if Zhao Zejun refused, it would be an outright insult to Yu Zhe. In the end, he reluctantly agreed, “Alright then, it’s yours to handle. But you have to keep pushing for me—the sooner, the better.”

“Don’t worry, boss. If you’re not anxious, I am.”

That afternoon, as soon as they arrived at school, Zhao Zejun handed Yu Zhe three IDs: his own, Jiang Xuan’s, and one borrowed from a friend of Jiang Xuan’s. Along with the IDs, he also gave Yu Zhe a portion of the next installment of the “Hoodlum” outline.

“Boss, what’s this for?” Yu Zhe asked curiously. “Didn’t we agree on payment for delivery?”

Zhao Zejun was amused by his seriousness. “No need for that. We’re men, aren’t we? A man’s word is his bond. I promised you, even if you can’t get the internet café permit, I’ll still help you with the outline.”

What young people crave most is respect and recognition, and these were precisely the things Yu Zhe had always lacked. Even his doting parents only ever saw him as the family’s “precious one,” never as an equal adult, let alone as a man among men.

Zhao Zejun’s words stirred Yu Zhe’s pride. He glared and said, “Boss, I’m a man too. Your word is your bond, but do you think mine is just empty talk? Take your outline back—I’ve still got twenty thousand words on hand. I’ll upload them slowly, which should last you a few days!”

This outburst genuinely made Zhao Zejun see him in a new light. This kid had a lot of flaws—sly, sensitive, arrogant, often not thinking straight—but for all his faults, he possessed one redeeming quality: honor.

Reason and loyalty—these were the foundations of friendship for Zhao Zejun.

Taking Zhao Zejun’s ID cards, Yu Zhe felt a weight settle in his heart.

He knew perfectly well that if he failed to deliver, Zhao Zejun might not say anything and would still help with the outline, but his standing in Zhao’s eyes would plummet. In the future, he wouldn’t have the face to ask for help with online novels.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Yu Zhe began to seriously consider how to use every advantage he had to accomplish a task and achieve his goal.

It so happened that Yu Jin came home early from work that day and was reading the newspaper in the living room. Yu Zhe walked in, set down his bag, grabbed a bottle of hot water from the kitchen, and thoughtfully refilled his father’s teacup.

“Hey, careful, son, don’t burn yourself.” Having raised his son all these years without ever being waited on, Yu Jin put down the paper and looked at Yu Zhe’s earnest face. “Is something the matter?”

“Dad, there’s something I need your help with…” On the way home, Yu Zhe had already rehearsed his lines several times and now clearly explained the situation regarding the internet café permit.

After finishing, afraid his father would refuse, he added in a low voice, “He’s my only friend. I’ve already promised him. If you don’t help, Dad, I’ll run away from home!”

Yu Jin sipped his tea as he listened, and nearly choked at the last sentence. “What nonsense! Running away? You’ll scare your mother and me to death! Alright, it’s not a big deal. I’ll have someone take care of it. And since you finally have a good friend, when the permit is ready, invite him over for dinner. I want to meet him.”

Yu Jin had his own ideas. For someone of his rank, arranging a few internet café permits was simple. But his son’s friend had piqued his interest.

Just a few days prior, he’d had dinner with an old Party leader, who mentioned that the new mayor was planning a series of sweeping changes—one of which concerned internet cafés. After New Year’s, the city would likely stop approving new café licenses.

…

In just one week, Zhao Zejun received good news.

All three permits had been issued. Each set was neatly packaged in a large manila envelope, three sets in all, light to the touch but worth their weight in gold.

In a short time, these permits would be as valuable as their literal weight in gold.

After over two months of effort, the reward was finally in hand. Yet Zhao Zejun felt calm rather than ecstatic. Having lived a second lifetime, his mentality had subtly shifted, leaving him more composed than in his previous life.

He saw this as a positive change. In the long run, a good mindset was more valuable than three internet café permits. After all, licenses could only be used for a time, while a good mindset would benefit him for life.

Now, all that remained was to wait for the city to abruptly halt café licensing after New Year’s, then sell the three permits at the opportune moment and turn them into cash.

Storm Internet Café was one of his main targets. In his previous life, that café was unlucky—caught in a crackdown for incomplete papers, it became a public example, and the owner was forced to sell. Zhao Zejun figured that, if timed right, the permit for Storm alone could be sold for more than his family’s entire savings. With the market soon drying up, the other two licenses would also sell easily.

“Oh, I almost forgot—my parents want to invite you over for dinner,” Yu Zhe said.

Zhao Zejun looked at him deeply. “Of course. After all the help your parents gave me, even if they hadn’t invited me, I would have found a way to treat them to a meal to express my gratitude.”

“Heh, boss, how about thanking me first?” Yu Zhe winked.

“I’m already prepared.” Zhao Zejun handed him a stack of printed A4 pages.

This time, Zhao Zejun didn’t hold anything back—it was the complete outline for the second part of “Hoodlum: The Rise Again.” With this outline, he was sure Yu Zhe would shine in the world of online novels. When the time was right, he’d share parts three and four as well. The four-part “Hoodlum” series would be enough to establish Yu Zhe as an online literary star.

In the future, this star writer he’d personally cultivated would bring the first wave of traffic to his own web venture.

“Oh, by the way, do your parents have any hobbies—smoking, drinking, anything? I should bring a gift when I visit.” Zhao Zejun asked.

“My family has everything, there’s no need,” Yu Zhe replied, shaking his head vigorously as he read the outline.

Zhao Zejun simply smiled. He guessed this wouldn’t be an ordinary home-cooked meal.

Soon, he would face the first real “banquet” since his rebirth. The right gift would help him make a good first impression on Mr. and Mrs. Yu.

Even if Yu Jin hadn’t invited him, Zhao Zejun would have found an opportunity to pay his respects to the deputy bureau chief.