You Cannot Leave

The sun rose and set; winter gave way to summer.

The leaves on the parasol tree outside the window turned yellow and then green again, and the chirping of the cicadas grew from sparse to deafening.

Time was like sand slipping through one's fingers, draining away before anyone even noticed.

In the blink of an eye, six years of elementary school had come to an end.

That summer, the air was as stiflingly hot as a steamer, and the cicadas shrieked themselves hoarse in the trees.

Chen Zhi had just received his middle school admission letter. Before he could even begin to enjoy a summer vacation free of homework, the sky fell in on his family.

"Chen Jun! You good-for-nothing! Give me my money back!"

A shrill, agonizing wail instantly pierced the tranquility of the afternoon.

The living room was a complete mess.

The fruit bowl that usually sat on the coffee table had rolled onto the floor, scattering apples and pears everywhere.

Zhang Guifang's hair was a disheveled mess. Her usually neat bank uniform was now wrinkled. Clutching a feather duster, she pointed at Chen Jun, who was cowering in the corner of the sofa, her whole body trembling.

"That was all of our family's savings! A full one hundred and fifty thousand! That was the money for Chen Zhi's college tuition! And you just lent it to that bastard?"

Chen Jun held his head in his hands, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. The polo shirt he usually cherished so much had two buttons torn off.

"Guifang, listen to me... Lao Zhao said he just needed it for cash flow, and he'd pay it back next month..."

"Cash flow my ass! He's absconded with the money! The police have already opened a case! And you're still dreaming!"

Furious, Zhang Guifang viciously whipped the back of the sofa with the feather duster, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"How did I end up marrying such a useless coward! I told you from the start that Lao Zhao looked shifty and was up to no good, but you wouldn't listen! You just had to play the big shot! Now look, the money's gone, and the three of us are going to have to live on air!"

Chen Zhi leaned against the bedroom doorframe, twirling a ballpoint pen in his hand, quietly watching the scene unfold.

Was this the butterfly effect?

In his previous life, his old man had been scammed even worse by this "Lao Zhao". Not only had he lost all their savings, but he had also fallen deep into debt, almost having to mortgage the house.

In this life, because he had previously tricked his dad into buying a computer and had given him that hundred thousand yuan, the family's cash flow was a bit looser. The amount of money his dad had available to be scammed out of was almost half of what it was in his previous life—back then, his dad had even borrowed a huge sum.

But it was still enough to cripple them.

One hundred and fifty thousand, in Jiangcheng during this era, was enough for a down payment on a small apartment.

Chen Jun buried his head in his knees, letting out muffled sobs.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry to you and our son..."

"Cry! That's all you know how to do! Is crying going to bring the money back?"

Exhausted from yelling, Zhang Guifang slumped into a chair, covered her face, and began to weep bitterly.

The air pressure in the room was so low it was suffocating.

Chen Zhi sighed.

With the money he currently had in his pocket, let alone one hundred and fifty thousand, he could easily pull out 1.5 million.

Bitcoin was seeing a very pleasing upward trend lately.

But he couldn't give it to them.

At least, not right now.

His dad was too easily swayed and valued loyalty to a fault.

If he didn't let him suffer a truly painful loss this time, who knew if he might get scammed again by some "Lao Li" or "Lao Zhang" in the future.

This lesson needed to be etched into his bones.

As for the money...

Chen Zhi stroked his chin.

Taking it straight out was definitely a no-go. Comrade Zhang Guifang, being a veteran bank teller, was extremely sensitive to the sources of funds.

If he said he made it trading crypto, she'd probably drag him to the hospital to get his brain checked the very next day, or simply confiscate it for "safekeeping."

He needed to find a legal route.

The scalpers buying winning tickets outside the lottery center were a good option.

In a couple of days, he'd go stake out a second or third-prize ticket, buy it at a premium, and take it home claiming he got lucky.

A perfect script.

The crying in the room grew louder, giving him a headache.

Chen Zhi shoved the ballpoint pen into his pocket, pushed open the security door, and walked out.

The hallway wasn't much cooler than the apartment. The stuffy wind carried the smell of cooking fumes from next door.

He walked over to the window by the stairs and lit a...

Oh, wait, he was still an elementary school student right now; he couldn't smoke.

He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket, peeled off the wrapper, and popped it into his mouth.

The sweet, sticky flavor melted on his tongue, slightly diluting his irritation.

"Chen Zhi?"

A cautious call came from behind him.

Chen Zhi turned around.

The door to the neighboring apartment was cracked open, and Lin Wanwan poked half her head out, her big eyes blinking.

The girl had just finished taking a shower. Her wet hair draped over her shoulders, and wearing her Doraemon pajamas, she looked like a startled little rabbit.

"Why are you standing out here?"

Lin Wanwan pushed the door open and stepped out, shuffling in a pair of pink piggy slippers.

She peeked toward Chen Zhi's front door, where Zhang Guifang's roaring could still be faintly heard.

"I heard everything."

Lin Wanwan walked up to Chen Zhi and tilted her head up to look at him.

Over the past few years, the girl had shot up in height, almost surpassing Chen Zhi. Her baby-fat face had gradually matured, showing the makings of a true beauty.

"Heard what?"

Chen Zhi leaned against the windowsill and bit down on his lollipop with a crunch.

"I heard Auntie Zhang say... the money is all gone."

Lin Wanwan's voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something.

She reached out and gently tugged at the hem of Chen Zhi's shirt.

"Chen Zhi, don't be sad."

Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow.

Sad?

He was currently plotting how to launder the money he had on hand and teach his dad a lesson in the process. He didn't have time to be sad.

But in Lin Wanwan's eyes, Chen Zhi at this moment—leaning against the mottled wall with the leftover plastic stick hanging from his mouth—looked exceptionally lonely, his profile cast in the dim hallway light.

He looked exactly like one of those melancholic male leads from a TV drama whose family had fallen into ruin.

Lin Wanwan's heart ached.

She had never seen Chen Zhi like this before.

Usually, this bad boy was always acting high and mighty, or finding new ways to bully her, steal her snacks, and copy her homework.

Right now, he looked so pitiful.

"Really, don't be afraid."

Lin Wanwan took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision.

She grabbed Chen Zhi's hand with both of hers. Her palms were warm and slightly damp.

"We are good friends. No matter what happens, I will help you! Even... even if your family has no money, I won't look down on you!"

Her big, clear eyes were filled with earnestness.

Just like back in kindergarten, when she swore to share all her candy with Chen Zhi.

Seeing her righteous and heroic expression, Chen Zhi's wicked sense of humor began to bubble up again.

This girl was too easy to fool.

It would be a disservice to this touching atmosphere not to tease her a little.

Chen Zhi spat the plastic stick into the trash can, turned around, and faced Lin Wanwan.

He lowered his eyelids, his long eyelashes hiding the amusement in his eyes, and adjusted his expression to make his features look as tragic as possible.

"Wanwan."

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a hint of a tremble.

"What's wrong?" Lin Wanwan grew even more nervous, gripping his hand tighter.

"My family is bankrupt."

Chen Zhi sighed, staring up at the cobwebs on the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle.

"We might have to sell the house too. My dad said we can't stay in Jiangcheng anymore."

Lin Wanwan's face instantly turned pale.

"Then... then where are you going?"

"Back to our hometown."

Chen Zhi sniffled, channeling his inner movie star.

"Back to the countryside to farm and raise pigs. I won't be able to go to school anymore either. I'll have to help my family with the farm work, feeding the pigs, cutting grass, and carrying manure every day..."

As he spoke, he secretly observed Lin Wanwan's expression.

An image instantly popped into Lin Wanwan's mind: Chen Zhi, wearing a torn padded jacket, carrying two buckets of manure in the freezing wind.

It was too tragic!

Simply too tragic!

Chen Zhi was so smart, how could he go carry manure!

"No!"

Lin Wanwan suddenly cried out, her eyes instantly turning red.

"You can't leave! You can't go carry manure!"

"There's no other way," Chen Zhi spread his hands, looking helpless. "We don't have money for tuition, and we don't have money for food."

"I have money!"

Lin Wanwan let go of Chen Zhi's hand, turned around, and ran toward her own house.

"Wait here! Don't leave! Please don't leave!"

Her two pink piggy slippers stomped out a string of urgent pitter-patter sounds in the hallway.

Chen Zhi was stunned for a moment.

What was this girl trying to do?

Before he could react, the sound of rummaging came from the house next door.

Immediately after, there was a muffled thud of a heavy object hitting the floor.

Less than half a minute later.

Lin Wanwan rushed out holding a giant golden object.

It was a piggy bank.

Shaped like a golden pig and massive in size, it looked to be about as big as a watermelon.

That was Lin Wanwan's treasure, saved up since she was little. Normally, she wouldn't even let Chen Zhi touch it, claiming it was her dowry.

At this moment, she was holding this heavy golden pig, running out of breath, her forehead covered in beads of sweat.

"Here!"

Lin Wanwan rushed in front of Chen Zhi and shoved the golden pig into his arms.

Chen Zhi caught it instinctively.

Good heavens, it was dead heavy.

Just how many coins had this girl stuffed into it?

"This..."

Chen Zhi was just about to speak and tell her he was joking.

But Lin Wanwan mistakenly thought he was hesitating, thinking he was trying to protect his pitiful pride.

"Take it!"

Lin Wanwan grew anxious.

Seeing Chen Zhi not moving, she gritted her teeth and snatched the golden pig back from his arms.

"You're not going to take it, are you? Then I'll help you take it!"

With that, she raised the golden pig high in the air.

Chen Zhi's pupils shrank.

"Hey! Wait! Don't..."

Smash!

A loud crash echoed.

The golden pig smashed fiercely against the concrete floor.

Ceramic shards flew everywhere, exploding like a golden flower in the dim hallway.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of shattering, countless coins poured out like a fountain, clinking and clattering as they rolled all over the floor, dancing merrily down the stairs.

Mixed in with the coins was a large handful of crumpled, rolled-up paper bills.

Red hundred-yuan bills, green fifties, yellow twenties...

There were even a few old-version one-jiao and two-jiao notes.

The colorful banknotes covered the narrow hallway like fallen leaves.

Lin Wanwan was panting heavily, her chest heaving violently, her small face flushed red.

She squatted down, haphazardly grabbed a handful of bills, and without caring how much it was, shoved it all into Chen Zhi's hands.

"For you! It's all for you!"

She looked up, tears swirling in her eyes, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"This is all my money! I have a lot of money! It's enough for your tuition! And enough for you to eat!"

"Don't leave... don't go back to your hometown to feed pigs..."

At the very end, she finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out crying.

"Chen Zhi, don't leave, boohoo... I don't want you to leave..."

Clutching the handful of change that still carried her body heat, Chen Zhi looked at the mess on the floor and the little girl crying her eyes out in front of him.

His heart felt like it had been fiercely struck by something.

The slight thrill of his prank from just a moment ago vanished into thin air, replaced by an indescribable sourness and... warmth.

This silly girl.

This was her entire net worth.

And she smashed it without a second thought.

Just so he wouldn't have to go carry manure.

Chen Zhi opened his mouth, his throat feeling a bit choked up.

He looked at Lin Wanwan's tear-stained little face, and the words "I was just messing with you" that he had prepared simply couldn't leave his mouth.

The voice-activated light in the hallway went out.

Only the setting sun shining through the window illuminated the floor full of coins and banknotes, reflecting a fine, dazzling light.