Chapter Nine: Ma Yue

After finishing his morning routine, Du Yu went to bed early. Tonight, there were no live crabs that needed their water changed, so he lay leisurely on his bed, mischievously planning that next time when he had sea creatures like crabs, he would definitely keep them at Xiao Wei’s house. That way, nothing would disturb his peaceful dreams of the Red Hair Salon.

That night, Du Yu slept soundly.

The next day, before the rooster even crowed, Du Yu was already dressed and ready to go, carrying Li Chunhong’s bank card as he headed straight to Wang Xiaowei’s home.

After asking Wang Xiaowei’s mother about breakfast, he tugged the drooling boy by the ear to wake him up. Upon hearing they were going to the city, Wang Xiaowei immediately perked up, quickly getting ready in just a few minutes before following Du Yu out the door. The kid hadn’t given up hope yet.

Retracing their familiar route, the two friends soon arrived in the city and headed straight to the bank. They withdrew 800 yuan—having left 300 yuan for Li Chunhong yesterday—so now Du Yu was carrying a hefty sum of 1,800 yuan, a considerable amount in 2002, which made his heart race with excitement.

Usually lively Wang Xiaowei was now so nervous he barely dared to breathe, worried someone might notice the large sum. After all, he had never seen so much money in his life.

Leaving the bank, Du Yu planned to visit the seafood market. He was curious about the bait sold at the Lucky Value store, which seemed almost like cheating. What was the market like now?

After wandering the seafood market with Wang Xiaowei, Du Yu realized that this small inland town was quite expensive when it came to seafood. Peeler shrimp sold for 15 yuan a pound! Other items were also pricey. With such cheating bait, success was almost guaranteed.

With nearly an hour before their appointment, Du Yu decided to head toward the coffee shop early, hoping to show sincerity and make a good impression by arriving ahead of time.

No doubt, Du Yu paid great attention to detail.

Just as they left the market, they saw a crowd gathered around, seemingly in the middle of some commotion. Curious, Wang Xiaowei pushed through to get a closer look.

Du Yu could only smile wryly. Xiaowei had that kind of nature, so he let him be. After all, the place wasn’t far; they might as well see what was going on.

Amid the chatter, the scene became clear: an elderly man with a face full of grievance stood opposite a flushed young woman. The old man accused the girl of stealing his wallet, but she claimed she had found it and was trying to return it.

“I saw the old man walking when the wallet fell out. I was just trying to give it back when he suddenly grabbed my hand, accusing me of stealing!” the girl said softly, cheeks burning red.

“You’re clearly trying to take advantage of my age and distract me to steal my wallet. Do you think I wouldn’t notice my wallet falling out?” the old man shouted, his voice much louder.

“She looks so quiet and gentle, yet she’s like this!” someone murmured.

“Ah, you really can’t judge a book by its cover…” others agreed.

The crowd buzzed with speculation.

“Hey, Yu, did you see if this old man even had a wallet on him?” Wang Xiaowei whispered sharply. The man wore only a sweat-soaked shirt and seemed to have no pocket or place to keep a wallet.

Du Yu had already noticed this odd detail.

Something was off.

People these days tended to avoid trouble, so even though they sensed something was wrong, no one stepped forward to intervene.

“Sir, you said your wallet fell out. May I ask where you were keeping it at the time?” Du Yu stepped forward with a friendly smile.

“Who are you? Of course, I was holding it in my hand!” the old man snapped, clearly irritated by the interference.

“But sir, wouldn’t you notice if your wallet fell out?” Du Yu pressed, moving closer, earning a stir from the crowd.

“This young man makes a good point!” someone said.

“What business is it of yours where I keep my wallet?” the old man retorted, growing more agitated.

“Calm down, sir. I’m just asking. Now, does your wallet have any valuables? Could you show it to everyone?” Du Yu asked calmly.

“None of your business! Who are you to meddle?” the old man shouted, clearly hiding something.

“Sir, showing us won’t hurt you, right?” Du Yu said smoothly, signaling the girl to stand behind him.

“Yeah, just have a look.”

As the old man opened his mouth to protest, Du Yu gave Wang Xiaowei a nod. Seizing the moment, Wang Xiaowei grabbed the item that looked nothing like a real wallet.

“Everyone, look! It’s empty!” Wang Xiaowei held it up for all to see, while Du Yu suppressed a cold smile.

“You! You all!…” the old man fumed, helpless.

“Since you didn’t lose anything, why don’t we just forget about it?” Du Yu suggested.

“Hmph! I’ll settle this with you later!” the old man spat, storming off in a hurry.

The onlookers couldn’t help but praise Du Yu.

“This young man is reasonable and poised—impressive!”

The young woman, still blushing, whispered to Du Yu, “Thank you. If not for you, I’d have been late!”

Du Yu waved his hand dismissively. “People like that have no respect for their elders. I just did what came naturally. By the way, where are you headed? Don’t be late!”

In his previous life, this was called being a Sigma.

“I’m going to the café. I’ll go ahead then. Thanks again!” she said warmly.

Du Yu was taken aback. “Are you Ma Yue?”

“How do you know my name? Are you Du Yu?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes, Miss Ma, I am Du Yu,” he said with a wry smile. What an incredible coincidence.

“So it’s you! Thank you so much. Shall we walk and talk?” Ma Yue’s impression of Du Yu grew considerably.

As they walked, chatting about business, Du Yu was amazed to see the shy girl transform completely—she became calm and confident, a completely different person.

No wonder Old Shi recommended her. Ma Yue definitely had real talent.

At the same time, Ma Yue was surprised by Du Yu’s unique insights into many areas. How could a rural boy know so much about business?

This filled both of them with great anticipation for their upcoming collaboration.