24 The Birth of a Fake Spiritual Leader

ow the top wealth.The breakfast his mother had prepared from half past six in the morning consisted of milk and eggs. After washing up, Su Cen peeled the egg on the table, dipped the yolk with vinegar...Chapter 24 The Birth of a Fake Religious Figure

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The man leaning against the wall was disheveled but still managed to take out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his inner pocket. The brand was Soft Cloud, which was quite rare among students in those days. Su Can couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the trembling fingers lighting up the cigarette.

It seemed that this young man came from a decent family background. However, it was highly likely that these cigarettes were stolen and leftover from his father's stash. Such children usually had more pocket money than average students, yet they couldn't afford such good quality cigarettes and would dare not smoke them openly. Even Liu Rui and Xue Yiyang would sneak a few sticks when their nicotine craving hit.

The man tossed him a cigarette but it fell on the ground due to his trembling hands. Su Can smiled, picked up the cigarette, brushed off some dust, took a whiff, and stood there.

Thinking that Su Can wouldn't smoke the cigarette, the man became even more smug: "This is good tobacco... Go ahead, you won't be able to get such good stuff!" Considering how Su Can was dressed, he clearly looked unassuming in this era.

"Can you walk You should go to a hospital and check yourself up. Don’t leave any lasting effects."

The man hadn't expected that after enduring such a beating, which would make most people weak-kneed, Su Can could still speak so coldly.

He moved slightly; although his body was in great pain, he had been through countless fights since childhood and was quite resistant to injury. Moreover, the attacker hadn’t targeted any vital areas during the beating, despite swinging wildly. With his tough skin, he didn't feel it would cause serious harm. Nevertheless, he still trembled as he held onto things: "Damn it! Yang Mu and those two bastards dared to ambush me; I’ll teach them a lesson sooner or later! Thanks for your help. What grade are you in Which class Why haven’t I seen you around before You look like not much of a person, but speaking so forcefully just now, you actually have some guts!"

Su Can remained indifferent and couldn't stand the bravado of high school students.

"You’d best go see a doctor and get some medicine. In future try to avoid such conflicts; after all, we are still students. Why must our disputes end up in such a life-and-death struggle Don’t cause your parents more trouble."

Unexpectedly, when this topic was brought up, the man suddenly widened his eyes and became hostile: "Don't you think just because I owe you one favor that you can speak to me as if lecturing me! Who are you to teach me My dad or my mom They probably wish I were dead already!"

Looks like another rebellious teenager in his teenage years, Su Can smiled faintly and threw the cigarette back into the man’s hand with a parabolic arc. "Do as you please."

Before the man could retort with something along the lines of "You look down on me!" Su Can had already turned around and left.

Everyone has a compassionate heart, but if placed in the context of a big city in later times, upon encountering similar events, Su Cen would merely act like all indifferent passersby, hurrying past as though they saw nothing.

In the vast sea of people within a big city, one is inherently extremely insignificant. Due to recognizing the pressure of survival and their own insignificance, they dare not take on responsibilities. In this environment, it's rare for someone to possess the clear courage to face injustice and still have the willingness to resist, standing at the forefront.

Before his rebirth, Su Cen was just one of those countless ordinary people. However, after his rebirth, this familiar city and this exhilarating new beginning made him involuntarily let that cold, indifferent heart gradually fill with熱血 (blood passion) and enthusiasm.

Perhaps what people truly need is not a rebirth nor a pill of regret. It's something like now, a sense of熱血 (passion) and enthusiasm that has long disappeared from the masses in later times.

Rarely due to physical education class ending early, Su Cen thought about how he had been busy reviewing various subjects recently and felt a bit tired, so he decided to head straight to his family's shop.

After getting off at the platform, he saw from afar the signboard and banners of their shop. The name of being a designated procurement unit for the city was indeed eye-catching; it first gave the public a sense of reassurance psychologically. Most of the market in this district was occupied by his family's business, and because of this auspiciousness, the market seemed to be activated with its potential fully tapped. Furthermore, due to his mother having more diversified procurement channels, there were various goods displayed attractively, luring many nearby students to come and choose.

Mom saw him from afar and hurriedly greeted him to enter; dad didn't often come because the shop had hired people, after all, he couldn't completely abandon his work either.

Su Cen noticed a new auntie that his mother had recruited, Li Yulian. Seeing Su Cen, she seemed somewhat reserved at first but disappeared entirely after Su Cen waved and smiled brightly to her. Inside the shop was also a newly hired girl wearing a fitted sweater and jeans; she looked almost like a student and towered over Su Cen by half a head. She had a neat appearance and was a beauty too. She appeared to be arranging the shelves, turning towards them upon hearing the commotion at the door.

Su Cen and the girl spoke simultaneously: "It's you!"

Now it was Zeng Ke's turn to be surprised: "How... Su Cen, do you know Sister Wang Yue"

Wang Yue nodded nervously with an 'uh' sound: "We've met."

Seeing his mom looking at him curiously and inquiringly, Su Cen smiled slightly: "Met her back when I was studying at City No. 3 High School, right"

Zeng Ke suddenly understood: "Hi, turns out she's an alumna of yours. Oh wait, Su Cen, you should call her senior now; make sure to talk with your senior more often, she graduated high school and doesn’t want to continue studying anymore; otherwise, you will always end up working for others...

Avoiding his mom's nagging, he used buying drinks as an excuse and went out with Wang Yue. The courtyard of the government compound was filled with blooming flowers under the sunlight that hadn't yet set, everything flourishing.

Su Can could never forget this girl. On the very first day he mysteriously reincarnated at the gate of City No. 3 High School, when he inquired about his time of transition from a sundry goods shop, the one facing him was Wang Yue, who was leaning on her palm and looking thoughtful.

"Which year and month are you asking" Wang Yue stepped onto the small road in astonishment, finding it hard to react, "Is Xia Hai Cultural Supplies Store run by your family"

"Er... To be precise, I am Su Can." Su Can coughed dryly.

"Oh, sorry..." Wang Yue blushed and saw Su Can's stern face, her mood sank, "Just now... Thank you."

"Oh." Su Can nodded, then his clear eyes stared straight into Wang Yue's, "You didn't tell the truth to my family, right"

Su Can’s tone was not severe, but with his gaze, that invisible pressure actually made Wang Yue, who was several years older than him, at a loss. She already had guilt in her heart and was suddenly flustered by Su Can's mature questioning contrary to his youthful appearance, "I..."

"Your family originally ran the stationery sundry goods shop at City No. 3 High School entrance. With your stepmother’s business background, you should have been able to become a small boss... But you chose to lower yourself and apply for our store's sales position. What do you want Our supply channels Our unit customer resources Or are you planning to spy as a commercial spy"

Su Can's questions became increasingly serious, pushing forward relentlessly with mature words that didn't match his character or age, provoking Wang Yue and trying to peel away the layers of this onion.

"No... I'm not..." Under immense pressure, Wang Yue rebutted back, her eyes reddening, "It's completely different from what you imagine! The supply channels Who doesn’t know it’s the stationery wholesale market. Your orders are all designated by the municipal government and have quotas! How could our tiny family business possibly compete You say I’m a spy... What did I steal What of your family’s did I hide"

Seeing Wang Yue's expression on the verge of tears and her explosive anger, Su Can found it amusing. It seemed that she didn't even know what being a commercial spy entailed. Seeing her desperate attempt to defend herself at this moment, Su Can softened his tone, "Everyone has motives for their actions. Even if someone wants to kill but fails, the motive itself can lead to crime. Although your current behavior doesn’t reach the point of breaking the law, it still indicates impure intentions that violate our trust. Since you're so angry about it, there must be a reason behind it. I want to know what this reason is"

Wang Yue was several years older than Su Can, but in front of his combined soft and hard methods, she couldn't help but admit defeat, "Isn’t it because... Your family’s store started later but performs much better, developing at a fast pace recently... especially getting the municipal designated procurement unit status... I just don’t want to be like my mother, staying in that shop for life. I just wanted to learn these experiences... I don't want to stay in this city all my life; I only wish to go further..."

Perhaps touching on her sensitive spot, Wang Yue's crystal tears welled up unconsciously.

Sitting beside her on the flower stand, Su Can looked at this girl for a long time before speaking, "Why don’t you study harder If you graduate high school and get into a good university, wouldn't that allow you to leave this city"

Massaging her red and pointed nose, Wang Yue shook her head, "My grades are not good. When I graduated from City No. 3 High School, I could only get into the worst school... Instead of being looked down upon when leaving like this, I want to start a business. What my mother said wasn’t entirely false; at least, I want to prove that there’s another way out besides studying hard for degrees!"

This is a clear and great dream.

Su Cen nodded, "Let's go back."

Wang Yue wiped away her tears and勉強地對蘇燦笑了笑，“這些事情我都冇有告訴我媽，哭出來好多...謝謝你，我會回去給曾阿姨說明情況的，不用你們趕我走，我自己會離開的...”

"Who said we're going to chase you out"

Wang Yue was momentarily stunned, "But...you just..."

"Have you considered joining forces with our family's business Your store could become a branch of ours. If our business is to grow, it can't stay confined to one place; we need to expand through chain operations. If you're willing, let’s discuss the specifics of a potential partnership. Don’t you want to prove to everyone that there are other ways to succeed without going to school If you need a stage, I'll give you ours!"

"Of course," Su Cen added, "I can convince my mom; at home, I have quite a bit of influence..."

Wang Yue was momentarily enveloped in an overwhelming sense of surprise. She had long known from Zeng Ke’s boasting that Su Cen was capable, from his innovative ideas about the store to his insistence on participating in bidding sessions, and even his sudden surge in scores during the middle school entrance exam, not to mention his advice to his uncle regarding stock trading which saved him a significant loss.

In Wang Yue's eyes, Su Cen was an incredibly intelligent young person.

Thus, when Su Cen questioned her earlier, there were also innate elements of awe at play. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been pushed to this extreme by someone younger than herself.

"Do you trust me" Su Cen suddenly asked.

Wang Yue nodded, then hesitantly shook her head when she saw the boy who was half a head shorter than her.

Su Cen lifted his gaze toward the sunset filtering through the gaps in the camphor tree leaves. His face was bathed in golden light, "If you trust me, I can promise to work hard for your future, making sure that you leave this city and venture into a bigger world. The outside world may not be as wonderful as you imagine it is right now, but if you keep holding onto your current dream, you will definitely create a brilliance beyond what you could ever imagine!"

Wang Yue was left speechless by Su Cen's words.noise diminished, allowing their murmurs to be heard clearly: "Look, that's Su Can from the high school department..."This was how quickly bad news travels; it didn't take a day for this to happen. In...