The Luckiest Man

Chapter 22: Buy Two Pieces of Chocolate, One for You, One for Me!

Translator: Larbre Studio

Editor: Larbre Studio

Had he applied for the student grant?

Upon hearing the news, Hong Xiaofu immediately froze. He suddenly felt that the days were getting increasingly better. Thinking back, when he had left the orphanage, the manager had patted his shoulders while asking him to bring Shen Xiaoling along with him. At that time, he had been unsure of what was happening. Later on, he had realized that places like the orphanage were not as uncomplicated as they seemed.

Where there was brightness, there was also darkness. It would have been fine if Shen Xiaoling had been average… but in fact, Shen Xiaoling was a beauty. At that time, the orphanage manager had not elaborated further, but it had been clear that the environment was unsafe for Shen Xiaoling to continue staying there: someone had already been planning on taking advantage of her.

As the orphanage manager knew that Hong Xiaofu had a mild temper and stable mental health, he tried his best to get Hong Xiaofu to bring Shen Xiaoling with him.

Hong Xiaofu knew to repay his gratitude. During his stay in the orphanage, the manager had treated him with nothing but kindness. When entrusted with his sister, he had accepted it—Hong Xiaofu had taken his sister along with him. In the first few years, life was extremely difficult for them. He picked trash and washed dishes to support them. With the donations from the neighbors and the welfare from the country, they managed to survive with 300 yuan a month and grew up healthy.

Although people believed that orphans were prone to being more extreme, Hong Xiaofu was not such a person. He still kept a grateful heart. In fact, he was brilliant.

Incredibly, he could live in that society. If he had not reincarnated well, he could have been one of those children living in slums…

As he knew how to be content and grateful, his life was filled with happiness.

Now that he had successfully applied for the student grant—which was 3000 yuan per month!—Hong Xiaofu was exhilarated.

“Teacher, thank you!” Hong Xiaofu instantly expressed his gratitude. He did not know whether the process had been easy or difficult, but he knew that Li Hong must have played an essential role in it. His words were sincere, “I will not let you down!”

“Silly boy,” he laughed. The two of them chatted as they walked out. Li Hong sighed, “In fact, it has not been a comfortable journey for you. Growing up without parents, and you had to care for your sister. It is inconvenient for me to ask, but I know you had a difficult time. Initially, I wanted to help you, but as you know, I only became a teacher three years ago. I had a meager salary, and I had to support my wife and myself with it.”

Li Hong’s words were honest. It was unrealistic for him to financially provide for Hong Xiaofu with the limited financial resources he had. What he could do realistically was what ordinary people could do—to look at others without bias and extend a helping hand when possible. That was it.

In fact, that was already a noble act.

Hong Xiaofu laughed as he wiped his nose, he said, “I am very grateful for that. If you had treated me any differently, I would not have been able to repay your kindness in the future.”

Li Hong laughed as he patted Hong Xiaofu’s shoulder firmly. “You little rascal, you really have a way with your words!”

They quickly passed by the breakfast pancake store. Li Hong asked, “Do you have food at home for tonight?”

Hong Xiaofu immediately replied, “No, teacher. Tonight I have made plans with Su Ying. She said that she would treat me to a meal, and Zhao Ming will be paying for it.”

For a while, Li Hong did not respond. Su Ying was treating him, but Zhao Ming was settling the bill? Who exactly was treating whom?

“Well, if that is the case, I will not buy it,” Li Hong said with a smile. “Have lots of fun, but remember not to drink!”

Hong Xiaofu nodded his head, “I know.”

Soon, he arrived at his door. Hong Xiaofu opened the gate and saw his sister, Shen Xiaoling, rushing out of the room. She jumped directly into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck as she said cheerily, “Brother, you are back! Is there any good news today?”

“Yes, there is,” Hong Xiaofu patted Shen Xiaoling’s back. “There are two good things today, which one do you want to hear first?”

Shen Xiaoling touched her lips with her pale fingers. She thought for a moment before replying, “How about you tell me the less important news first?”

Hong Xiaofu smiled, “My deskmate invited us to Shencheng Hotel for dinner tonight. How is this piece of news?”

“Your deskmate?” It was evident that Shen Xiaoling’s main concern was not the dinner. She looked at Hong Xiaofu with suspicion, “Su Ying? I heard she is pretty. Is she as pretty as me?!”

Hong Xiaofu broke out in cold sweat.

Why that question?

He had to remain calm and choose the right words. The answer to that question was a death sentence.

Hong Xiaofu coughed twice to clear his throat. His face was solemn as he replied, “Firstly, it is indeed Su Ying. Secondly, she is gorgeous. Lastly, she is not as pretty as you. You are definitely prettier!”

Shen Xiaoling was extremely satisfied with the answer, and she finally smiled.

When she had left the orphanage with Hong Xiaofu, her biggest worry was that her brother would not want her. To her, the most plausible possibility of her brother abandoning her was that he would leave her for a beautiful girl.

Now that Xiaofu had said that, she was satisfied. She spoke excitedly, “Really? Huh, I know that I am the prettiest! Hehe! Shencheng Hotel, I heard from my classmates about it. Isn’t that one of the most luxurious hotels in our area? How much is the meal? 200 yuan?”

To Shen Xiaoling, 200 yuan was undoubtedly a considerable sum of money—it would take her at least four months to save up that amount.

“You do not have to worry about this.” Hong Xiaofu took her hand and led her to the room. He put his bag down before saying, “The hotel was opened by the parents of my classmate, Zhao Ming. He is also my game training partner. You know Zhao Ming, right? His family owns the hotel, so this meal is basically his treat. As for how much it would cost, I am also not sure.”

“Oh…” It was clear that Shen Xiaoling had not understood that. It was fine as long as they did not have to pay for it.

She immediately asked, “Then…what is the second news? It is better than the first one, right?”

Hong Xiaofu immediately smiled and nodded his head. He looked at Shen Xiaoling before coughing gently, “The second piece of news is that I have received the Awakening student grant! It is 3000 yuan per month!”

He had received the Awakening student grant! 3000 yuan per month!

As soon as she heard the news, Shen Xiaoling froze momentarily before she exploded in excitement: “Woohoo! I knew it! My brother is the best! Oh yeah!”

She started jumping around excitedly, making a mess in the house. Although she was only twelve, Shen Xiaoling knew that life was filled with difficulties. Her brother practiced online games for his friend daily for 1500 yuan a month, which was barely sufficient for two people.

Now, their money had doubled. Doubled! How many breakfast pancakes was that worth? They would be able to eat pancakes for breakfast every day!

Shen Xiaoling was full of excitement—she ran to the garage, happy. After much effort, she took out a container filled with 50 cent coins and poured the contents on the table. She said, ” I want chocolates! Dove chocolates!”

After meticulously taking out eight of the coins, she carefully put the remaining six coins back into the container. She said excitedly, “Brother, I will buy two pieces, one for you and one for me!”