Chapter 1 Small Rain

Small rain.

A drizzling rain.

Falling on the car's interior, covered by soft and soothing piano music, everything was quiet except for the slow sweeping of the windshield wipers.

Gu Shen sat in the passenger seat, breathing into his hands through his sleeves, wiping the side window. He watched the tall buildings flow backward and the increasingly empty medians as the car drove onto the highway, heading towards the remote and desolate suburbs.

"Mount Wu Lao... why go to such a remote place?"

Nan Jin's trench coat was folded on the back seat. She wasn't always wearing that tight combat suit under the trench coat. For informal, casual occasions like today, she wore a snow-white shirt with washed denim jeans. Perhaps it was due to her upright posture, but the shirt was stretched tight. Her red hair was in a bun, making her look nothing like a violent person, but more like an intellectual and gentle upperclassman.

"Didn't you read my file? You should know," Gu Shen said softly, holding a sleeping orange cat in his arms. "That's where I grew up."

Nan Jin was taken aback.

Of course, she knew that Gu Shen grew up in an orphanage… but the name of that orphanage was…

"Chen Guang Orphanage," Gu Shen scratched his head. "A very cliché name. It's normal if you don't remember. The gentleman who sponsored the orphanage was named Zhou Chenguang, so they named it after him."

Chen Guang Orphanage was in a very remote location. The icon marked on the map was near the valley of Mount Wu Lao. This distance... from Da Teng city, it was a three-and-a-half-hour drive.

"Didn't Senior Sister say that those guys from the review team are coming? I thought, if I'm going to hide... I might as well hide far away." Gu Shen smiled, stroking the golden fur on the orange cat's back. "There probably isn't a place more remote than Mount Wu Lao. Even if they've seen the file, they probably wouldn't bother coming all the way here."

"And also..." Gu Shen said softly, "The old lady at the orphanage was very good to me. I haven't made a name for myself in two years, so I've been too embarrassed to go back."

Nan Jin nodded, indicating her understanding.

The trunk was filled with packaged fresh fruits, organic vegetables, two boxes of milk, and a large basket of eggs.

"Later I thought about it, and realized that it shouldn't be like this. No matter how I'm doing, I should go back and see the old lady and the others," Gu Shen said softly. "But every time I think about the scene when I left, I feel ashamed... The old lady said with certainty that I was smart and clever, and that I would definitely do well in the future, that I would make something of myself."

"Haven't you already made something of yourself?" Nan Jin said seriously. "For those salaried workers in Da Teng city, earning ten thousand a month is already very impressive. You have five hundred thousand lying in your card now, which is the income they can save in ten years."

"...When you say that, I feel like I'm very powerful." Gu Shen adjusted his seat and leaned back. He murmured, "Actually, this money has nothing to do with me... It's like winning the lottery, it came inexplicably."

"Don't say that, this is your money from selling yourself, which is different from buying a lottery ticket," Nan Jin raised her eyebrows. "If you have to make a comparison, you can understand this money as the debut fee of a courtesan a long time ago. The guests who take a fancy to the courtesan spend a lot of money, they think you are worth this money, then you are worth this money."

"Five hundred thousand... I'm really worth a lot." Gu Shen counted his fingers and asked worriedly, "If I don't get an 's' grade, will Mr. Shu make me spit out this money?"

Hearing this, Nan Jin almost laughed out loud.

"Five hundred thousand... it's just a drop in the bucket." She waved her hand. "Work hard behind your senior brothers and sisters, this little money is nothing."

"That's good..."

Gu Shen paused and slowly said, "I plan to donate all this money, is that okay?"

When he said this, he kept looking at Nan Jin, his expression a little nervous.

The bad woman was concentrating on driving, seeming not to notice Gu Shen's observation at all. She said lightly, "Of course... This is already your money, and you are free to spend it as you like, without my consent. But if I remember correctly, you don't have any savings yourself, this money can allow you to buy a lot of things, are you going to donate it all?"

"Actually, I still have some money in my account, and I don't have anything to buy... Anyway, you pay the rent and cover the food and drink..."

Gu Shen didn't have much confidence when he said this.

He only had a pitiful few thousand yuan in his account.

"The old lady sent me a message a few days ago, saying that the walls of the orphanage are still leaking, and the roof has collapsed again. When I was six years old, the roof was still made of mud, and it often leaked. If you were unlucky, and the roof broke during the plum rain season, you wouldn't be able to read or sleep all day." Gu Shen sighed. "Senior Sister, you are a rich young lady born in the Da Du district, you wouldn't understand this feeling... In short, it's terrible. At that time, I often shoveled water while gritting my teeth, thinking that when I had money in the future, I would definitely build the biggest and most beautiful house for the old lady, and repair the best roof!"

"..."

Nan Jin was silent for a while.

She originally wanted to say something to refute Gu Shen's words... but later she found that she had nothing to say, because Gu Shen was right, she was born in the most prosperous and richest Da Du district of East Continent, where every inch of land was worth a lot of money, and there were skyscrapers that pierced the sky. In the cold steel jungle, it was impossible to find the kind of simple mud house that Gu Shen was talking about.

"Doesn't the council have annual appropriations?" Nan Jin asked in a low voice, "And some foundations..."

"That's why I said that you don't understand the matter of enduring hunger and suffering, Senior Sister..." Gu Shen laughed casually. "I believe that these appropriations are used where they are needed most. But in this world, there are always places that the light can't reach."

"The year I left, the old lady told me excitedly that someone had sent a large sum of money to the orphanage. Thanks to that money, the house was rebuilt, with white bricks and red tiles, looking so beautiful. But unfortunately, the quality was not as good as imagined. If the weather is too cold, the water pipes are prone to freezing and cracking, so water seepage often occurs." Gu Shen counted his fingers again. "I helped the old lady calculate that, it's better to ask a reliable engineering team to inspect inside and out, and repair it again, rather than adding more money... If you add more money, all the problems can be solved."

He babbled earnestly, and Nan Jin listened earnestly.

"It's good to have money... Adding money can solve everything." Gu Shen sighed contentedly. "The money in this card is almost enough to fulfill my original promise."

"If it's not enough, I can help, just consider it as doing my best." Nan Jin lowered her eyes and said softly, "Actually, I'm richer than you think."

Gu Shen was stunned.

Is this the legendary rich woman with beautiful looks, long legs, and the ability to use money as she pleases?

It's just that she's too fierce, and I can't afford to provoke her.

"No need, no need, my money from selling myself is completely enough. If I owe you another favor, I don't know what to use to repay it." Gu Shen declined with a smile. "Thank you for your kindness."

Nan Jin didn't say anything, just kept driving.

The orange cat, which was originally lazily lying on Gu Shen's lap, slowly opened its eyes at this moment, a faint glow flowing in its slender pupils.

It swept its tail and meowed softly.

Nan Jin glanced at the orange cat and smiled: "Awake?"

The orange cat, contrary to its usual behavior, ignored her and buried its head in Gu Shen's arms.

Gu Shen smiled awkwardly.

His body was a little stiff, because the meow just now, in his ears, was Chu Ling's slightly annoyed voice.

["Tch!"]

Due to the special training these days, Gu Shen went out during the day and returned at night every day. The cat at home waited bored every day. After finally waiting for Gu Shen to come back at night, after eating cat food and analyzing intelligence, it didn't take a few minutes before Gu Shen would fall asleep soundly.

Finally, the special training was over and he could go out. Chu Ling specially requested Gu Shen to bring it along... to be precise, bring this cat.

It wanted to go out with Gu Shen.

Although the apartment was theoretically safe, due to the precedent of being attacked by transcendents in the fire case, Gu Shen also decided to take it with him.

At this moment, at the position of Gu Shen's forearm inside his sleeve, the Ruler of Truth was firmly bound by two circles of tape... Now the ruler had become an indispensable personal item for Gu Shen.

Except for the inconvenience of carrying it in the training ground, where it was easy to be discovered, he would always carry it with him at other times.

With the "Ruler of Truth", he had the confidence to confront sudden transcendent events.

And the cat's meow language could be converted into human language.

Gu Shen was a little surprised when Chu Ling came online.

On second thought, his conversation with Nan Jin just now... was all heard. She wouldn't have misunderstood something with that "tch" just now, would she?

Gu Shen rubbed the orange cat's head.

["Hmph!"]

The latter ignored him, resolutely甩开 Gu Shen's palm, stepped on his shoulder and窜了起来, and窜到 the back seat like a wisp of smoke, occupying the second half of the seat and窝了起来 comfortably.