Chapter 5: The First Small Goal—An Ant Trying to Shake a Tree

Page 1/3

The little feet curled on the floor were as tender and pink as the hand being offered—when a girl is beautiful to a certain degree, she is beautiful everywhere. Xia An looked at Tang Wan’s small hand; even on such a languorous afternoon, his heart remained largely unmoved.

He clearly understood that this top mathematics student simply lacked expressive skills. What sounded flirtatious was more like the mindset of a socially awkward child.

—You helped me, so I’ll give you a candy; if you hold my hand, we’re friends.

She had said it herself: no friends.

Xia An understood that a woman too beautiful, no matter how adept socially, would find it hard to make friends.

But Xia An was half right, half wrong.

Even with his second chance at life, he could hardly keep pace with a woman’s mental circuitry.

He had no idea what terrifying dream Tang Wan had just experienced, and thus didn’t realize that she had already come to see him as the pivotal man of fate.

So, were those words and the hand extended a form of teasing?

Tang Wan herself wasn’t sure.

Like a drowning person instinctively grasping at something.

Xia An was young and strong, appearing sharp and especially his eyes—deep and calm—offered a strong sense of security that was quite deceptive.

—Hold me.

—Let me lean on you.

—Even if just to have a friend to confide in during hard times.

That was probably it.

Perhaps, deeper down, there was an extra layer of meaning Tang Wan hadn’t yet realized, and Xia An couldn’t grasp at all:

—Don’t leave me all alone anymore.

Xia An propped himself up.

From top to bottom, he could glimpse a lot through Tang Wan’s collar.

But that wasn’t proper; it was indecent.

He glanced a few times, then looked away.

He looked at the note...

Tang Wan instinctively shrank back, as if not wanting him to choose that.

He looked at her hand...

Tang Wan reached forward, signaling him to choose that.

Examining this devastatingly beautiful face up close, Xia An realized she was without makeup.

There were three tiny moles: one beside the bridge of her nose, one above her eyebrow arch, and one below the corner of her eye—like three stars surrounding the moon, framing her eyes.

This added a charming, unique allure, like a special mark declaring to Xia An:

Look, I’m special, one of a kind.

Xia An rubbed his face, gently held her hand, and meaningfully said, “We’re comrades now,” before immediately letting go.

Tang Wan smiled adorably, revealing a few pearly white teeth.

Their body heat mingled, as if completing a secret ritual.

Xia An said, “And then?”

Tang Wan blinked: “Want a hug? That’s rare.”

Xia An chuckled, waved his hand, stretched, and went to the fridge to grab two bottles of milk.

Tang Wan said she was lactose intolerant, so Xia An drank one himself.

“With your language skills, you probably haven’t heard this phrase,” Xia An said suddenly.

Tang Wan looked at him puzzled.

Opening the other bottle, Xia An said, “Shakespeare said, if we are shackled by others, the fault lies not with fate but with ourselves.

“What you should think about now isn’t making friends for warmth, but breaking free from your predicament and turning the tables.

“Of course, that’s just my opinion.”

Tang Wan didn’t understand the first half but grasped the second.

Her eyes darted around as if truly pondering.

Xia An burped softly and sat patiently.

Her long hair shimmered golden in the sunset, beneath that chestnut hue—Tang Wan was undeniably beautiful.

Xia An was confident he had an eighty percent chance to seize the moment and steal a kiss.

Yet, as a skilled marksman, his attack should not be limited to a single front.

At this stage, Tang Wan’s role wasn’t just to satisfy a young man’s childish vanity of having a beauty by his side.

The Tang Corporation was the premier industrial conglomerate in Donghai Province.

Its business spanned intercity transport, real estate, garment trade, fresh retail, and advertising media.

Especially in retail, it was fully self-produced.

In Xia An’s memory, it was set to go public in the Olympic year, becoming the first main board listed company in the province.

By 2010, its market value broke 10 billion.

Subsequent political upheavals had little effect until after the 2015 Lunar New Year, when an international investment fund targeted it.

They then teamed up with several smaller capitals, including Xia An, to besiege it.

It was then Xia An discovered that, like many older local private enterprises, Tang Corporation was riddled with internal parasites and scars.

They did everything the law forbade.

What backed them was obvious.

When Xia An sensed danger, there were still several million not yet withdrawn.

In the end, the hundred-billion battleship sank in 2017 with him.

Tang Corporation’s fate was like many private listed companies—it was reorganized, renamed, and given new owners.

A single phrase, “financial fraud,” concealed endless rot.

But Xia An knew every detail.

He also knew that Tang Tianxing’s behind-the-scenes patron was currently training in the mountains, not yet in power.

This enterprise now was merely a local bandit gang, plundering at will, lacking systemic order.

Human resources, management, business philosophy...

Apart from connections and resources, it was completely unregulated.

Devouring it now was the best timing.

Page 2/3

Of course, this was just the fantasy of a few minutes before sleep and upon waking.

Even without counting bank loans and other debts, to the current Xia An, it was still a colossal beast.

Devouring it required rhythm and skill.

Before sleeping, Xia An roughly planned: the cycle would take about one and a half to two years.

It also required a startup fund of at least seven or eight figures.

If he could swallow it internally before the IPO, Xia An could break through the drainage ditch, achieving the fastest, most splendid rebirth and counterattack.

Naturally, opportunity and danger coexist.

Therefore, he needed a comrade—a comrade.

Not because he was greedy or unwilling to work steadily over eighteen years with foresight.

But because he was a professional; such a large cake was practically handed to him—why not eat it?

To reject a gift from heaven would only bring disaster.

Perhaps, Xia An thought, this was the karmic consequence behind Tang Wan.

He then smiled wryly, thinking compared to his father, he was the real radical player.

He poured Tang Wan a glass of warm water, placed it before her: “Can’t figure out what to do?”

Tang Wan took a small sip, then shook her head and nodded.

She said, “Before you woke up, I booked a flight to Shanghai tonight.”

Hearing this, Xia An crossed his legs on the sofa and smiled at her: “Given your condition, you must get confirmation just in case. Don’t cancel the ticket. Go to Yanjing and find an ordinary hospital for a checkup. Take a slow train and buy a new SIM card.”

Tang Wan paused a few seconds and understood.

Xia An meant that things aren’t always as they seem.

Tang Tianxing would surely send people to Yanjing, but Yanjing was vast.

She waited quietly for more, but Xia An suddenly shifted topics.

“If they wanted you dead, they wouldn’t wait until now or use such methods.”

Seeing Tang Wan’s frown, Xia An explained, “Calling it a brain tumor is to open your skull and make you stupid, and this idea probably only came about a year ago.

“Otherwise, they could have quietly fed you psychiatric drugs from childhood, which would have driven you mad over time.”

Tang Wan pressed her lips tightly, her face pale.

After a long moment, she looked at Xia An, “But why? I never wanted to fight for anything.”

Xia An rubbed his nose: “Most likely, Tang Tianxing is preparing to go public.”

Even though Tang Wan could guess that Xia An knew her identity, hearing this name still made her admire his sharpness.

He was so clever.

On the other hand, though not very interested in business, she had been subtly exposed to it from a young age and thus knew more than ordinary people.

Once public, things could no longer be as before.

You must cut the grass and also remove the roots.

“Tang Tianxing has two sons and two daughters...”

Xia An paused, recalling the second daughter wasn’t yet born and immediately corrected himself.

“Two sons and a daughter. Cough. As the eldest niece and the orphan of your older brother, this family business should have been yours...”

Tang Wan, knowing what Xia An was about to say, shook her head grimly.

“Forget it. I’ll find a chance to tell him I want nothing, so he won’t harm my parents or leave me no way out...”

Right now wasn’t the time for such frank talks.

Besides, that’s how wealthy families are—unpersuadable.

But if they are ruthless and you aren’t, you have to fight when the time comes. Brother Xia will help you.

Xia An pondered silently.

Yet aloud said, “Yes, staying alive is the most important; wealth is just external.”

Tang Wan smiled faintly.

“For someone so young, you think quite openly. You’re in the art class, right? Strange—I never noticed such a unique boy in No. 6 High School before.”

Xia An smiled.

“Maybe I wasn’t special enough before.”

...

Tang Wan decided to leave tonight.

The year of torment was enough; she didn’t want to wait a single day.

First, she must confirm she was not ill; life and death aside, everything else could wait.

Xia An joked about “dumplings when getting on, noodles when getting off,” promising to treat Tang Wan to dumplings.

After booking the ticket via 12580, Tang Wan switched off her phone, ignoring her uncle’s messages.

Just as they were about to leave, Xia An’s phone suddenly rang.

Upon answering, even Tang Wan was startled by Lin Jiajia’s loud voice.

“Xia An!!! Where are you?”

While marveling at Nokia’s speaker quality, Xia An replied.

“At home? Okay, wait for me—I’ll be there in ten minutes.

“Tell me honestly, who exactly is that Tang woman? Married?

“This afternoon someone came here to check on her. Also, the Central Hospital has no record of her treatment. Where do you know such a shady woman from? Beep beep.”

Xia An heard Lin Jiajia honking irritably on the other end.

Not giving her a chance to continue yelling, he hung up and shrugged at the grimacing Tang Wan.

“Clear as day. Still going to Yanjing for the checkup?”

Tang Wan didn’t answer.

Whether due to Lin Jiajia’s harsh words or fear of Tang Tianxing’s quick reaction, she just stood dazed for two seconds, then took her small handbag from Xia An and smiled faintly as she slung it over her shoulder.

Finally, she tiptoed, hugged Xia An’s neck, and softly whispered in his ear with a gentle smile:

“You owe me a dumpling meal—remember that.”

With that, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Xia An didn’t move or follow; standing still, five seconds later he heard the click of high heels descending the stairs.

Page 3/3

Hmm, hesitating?

Little Comrade Tang indeed needed time to digest and confront her bleak life.

A good comrade must not grow up in a greenhouse.

Xia An took off his shoes, sat back on the sofa, and picked up the folded white paper.

The handwriting matched the person.

[Just dreamed of you. Do you dream of me?]

A quietly passionate beauty?

Not necessarily.

Too lonely.

-----------------

Lin Jiajia was punctual; ten minutes exactly.

The banging on the door sounded like a debt collector’s.

Unlike Tang Wan, Lin Jiajia had not a trace of gentleness.

In Journey to the West she’d be a demon, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms a female general, in Water Margin a fierce warrior—Red Chamber had none.

Collectively: a shrew.

As soon as she entered, she slammed her bag on the floor, kicked off her shoes, didn’t even wear slippers, and stalked around in stockinged feet, frowning as she sniffed the air, leaving a trail of footprints.

“There, there’s her perfume! I smell it!”

Lin Jiajia stopped, hands on hips, eyes meaningfully fixed on Xia An.

A dog’s nose? Xia An rolled his eyes from the sofa.

“All I smell is the disinfectant on you.”

The topic was derailed; Lin Jiajia began smelling herself.

“No way! I sprayed perfume in the car, you know.”

“See, dog owners never smell their own home’s scent, but outsiders do.”

“You calling me a dog?”

“What else would a dog be called?”

Lin Jiajia, just over thirty, had been out for two months.

From a poor mountain village, after passing the regional exam, she worked several years as a surgical nurse.

One night on duty, she received the terrible news of her parents being swept away by a flash flood.

Returning home to arrange funerals, she met Old Zhou, preparing a large poverty alleviation project with greenhouses. He was a classmate of Xia An’s father.

Widowed, Old Zhou was struck by Lin Jiajia’s full mourning attire.

Lin Jiajia didn’t fancy Old Zhou, but couldn’t support her only remaining kin—her bedridden grandmother.

Old Zhou took the old lady to the city nursing home; after recovery, she returned to manage the large peach orchard.

Now Lin Jiajia was the head of surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital, with her own car.

Xia An liked teasing Lin Jiajia, in both lifetimes.

Because she was kind, simple, and somewhat naive.

After the accident in his sophomore year, Xia An didn’t eat, drink, or speak for three days and nights.

Lin Jiajia seemed to empathize, hugging him and crying for three days and nights, then taking on his financial responsibilities.

After Old Zhou’s death in 2013, she carefully cared for the Zhou elders until their end.

Before Xia An’s death, she was still like family.

Now, pinned on the sofa by this relative’s fierce scolding, Xia An laughed.

Only with her could he relax and joke, momentarily shedding his greasy thirty-something soul.

“You’re exposed.”

Xia An kindly warned; Lin Jiajia glared, clutching her chest as she sat up.

“So what’s the deal with that woman? How did you bring her here?”

She adjusted her T-shirt collar, her almond eyes darting, then leaned in and whispered:

“Judging by her family’s style, that woman’s wealth... wow, seems richer than Old Zhou.

“Tell me quietly—did you get her pregnant? Did her family find out?”

Xia An rubbed his temples: “No.”

Lin Jiajia jabbed him with her elbow: “Listen, you can’t mess with a married woman—trouble will come.”

“She’s really my senior, my mentor, six years older...”

Before Xia An could finish, Lin Jiajia went on:

“So what? I work in a hospital; I’ve seen everything. Little Xia An, do you like mature women?”

Xia An: (￢_￢)

Lin Jiajia: “What’s that look? Can’t I ask? I’m your auntie!”

Xia An said, “I’m hungry. As your nephew, you’re responsible for feeding me.”

Lin Jiajia’s cooking was exquisite; Xia An craved her food.

Snorting, Lin Jiajia got up and headed to the kitchen.

Soon she poked her head out holding two cucumbers.

“You’re a college student—help me figure out a good side hustle to make money?”

“Old Zhou not supporting you anymore?”

“I feel bad always spending his money.”

“Then come work with me, I’ll take you flying.”

Xia An fiddled with his phone and unwittingly said this.

Immediately feeling uneasy, a chill ran down his back.

He turned in surprise to see Lin Jiajia glaring furiously, then she smashed a cucumber on his head, green and wet.

“Are you crazy?! What nonsense are you saying?!”