The True Meaning of Life

Chapter 108 The True Meaning of Life (Please subscribe, meow~)

To be honest, foxes don't have the milky scent that puppies often have, which doesn't quite suit human tastes.

It's like a beautiful little flower by the roadside; it smells sweet and looks pretty, but if you actually pick it and take a bite, the taste is often quite strange.

It's not considered delicious under normal circumstances—that's what Zhang Chen would say if he closed his eyes.

But humans are visual creatures. Just like the young lady selling second-hand stockings online, even if they smell sour, many people still flock to them.

Because it looks good.

Dopamine has a strong control over the human brain, transforming all negative reactions into excitement and pleasure.

Zhang Chen pondered this in the early morning, as if he had grasped the true meaning of life.

Moreover, foxes are more charming than cats.

It's not that the taste is bad, but rather that it's the difference between Sprite and Ice Dew.

As he calmed himself, he looked at the aloof girl on the bed. Miss Fox's sleeping face remained tense.

Zhang Chen thought that one day he could make her stop frowning when she fell asleep.

"Stop looking." Tu Shan Han Su rolled over, reached out and pulled him over. "It's too noisy outside, go and do something about it."

On the old street across the street, steam from the breakfast shop's steamer was already rising slowly. The aroma of the steamed buns and mantou wasn't as strong as that of bread; it was faint and refreshing.

Pedestrians coming and going on the street knocked the steam from the breakfast shop into dispersal, and they stuffed fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and tea eggs into their mouths.

Zhang Chen noticed that there were far more pedestrians on this small street than usual.

The narrow lanes, usually frequented only by electric bikes and bicycles, are now adorned with incongruous luxury cars honking their horns in the middle of the road.

It's not that Ning'an has become richer, it's just that rich people have come to Ning'an.

Zhang Chen knew their ego, but he disliked their unannounced intrusion into Ning'an, which showed a complete lack of understanding of local customs.

The mornings in a small county town should be quiet and peaceful, with everyone going about their own lives.

Zhang Chen helped Miss Fox close the window and went downstairs. Behind him, Tu Shan Han Su called out, "Bring me another breakfast."

He chuckled and kicked the eldest rat, who was sleeping with an iced tea cup in his arms. "Go and bite the tires of those cars at the intersection. Just bite the ones that are honking. After you're done, drag them to the grass."

"Squeak!" The eldest rat was very dissatisfied with Zhang Chen's disturbance of its peaceful sleep and expressed its strong protest.

Two bottles of iced tea.

"Squeak?" The eldest mouse was no longer satisfied with just two bottles of iced tea, because it discovered that it could now easily get iced tea by acting cute with any girl it went out to.

"Then there's no use keeping you. I'll let Sanhua eat you another day."

"Meow~" The calico cat on the wall meowed in agreement, meaning it had been eyeing this fat mouse for a long time.

Upon hearing this, the Rat Boss quickly saluted Zhang Chen and General Sanhua, then sang "tide You Goose" and ran off to carry out his mission.

Soon after, the loud, money-grubbing horn noises all disappeared.

"Why isn't it moving?" the young man in the luxury car shouted indignantly.

"Um, Mr. Chen, the car seems to be broken down," the driver said after getting out to check. "The cars in front and behind are also broken down."

"Tsk, what bad luck," Chen Jun said speechlessly. "I don't know why my family made me come to Ning'an. They insisted on making me take a trip to Nanjing University..."

"The food and accommodations are terrible in this awful place. If it weren't for all my friends being forced to come here, I really couldn't stand it."

"Young boss... watch your step. We can talk about these things privately. You're here in Ning'an for an award, so be mindful of your image. This time it's the Mao Dun Literature Prize..."

"Alright, alright, I know. I've been pretending for years. Do you think I don't understand?" Chen Jun interrupted. "Did my dad send me the new manuscript?"

"not yet."

"Not yet? What kind of award am I supposed to submit for then? Isn't this year supposed to be a year of generational gap? The older generation of writers have all received this award!"

"There are quite a lot of competitors this time, and a few newcomers have emerged."

"I know Li Yinuo, she has a good reputation, but I don't understand what's so good about her books."

The driver coughed and thought to himself, "If you could understand it, you wouldn't have asked someone to write it for you."

"It's not just her, but also your friend... Miss Xiao. Her new book has received a great response, which is giving Boss Chen a real headache. He's brought in many retired authors to write it, but none of them can say they're 100% better than her..."

"Xiao Shuyao?" Chen Jun was stunned, then smiled. "It's okay, have my dad and the others write it quickly. I understand Yao Yao."

"I came here to see her. We'll be family sooner or later, so it doesn't matter."

"Boss, if I may be so bold, she's not really suitable as a partner... The youngest daughter of the Jiang family isn't bad either..." the driver advised.

"What do you mean, unsuitable? A jinx? That's hilarious, you actually believe that kind of thing?"

"But you're right, they're all good."

Chen Jun smiled and recalled the girl in the cheongsam he had seen at a party in Beijing two years ago, and the girl with the light in her eyes...

He had already grown tired of women—minor celebrities, models, internet celebrities, flight attendants… He felt that women were nothing special.

But after truly seeing what a well-bred lady was like, he realized his perspective was too narrow. Besides being a woman for the night, a woman was also a symbol of honor; having that kind of woman by his side was proof that Chen Jun was awesome.

But when he went up to chat with them, the two women didn't even glance at him.

Chen Jun realized that it was his vulgarity that was the problem; his family background and money couldn't change his persona.

So he asked his father to let him enter the literary circle to gain prestige. Even if he couldn't write, someone would write for him. He only needed to hone his temperament.

Vulgarity must be eliminated.

For example, sometimes feigning kindness is very effective for someone like him who is naturally superior; ordinary people will subconsciously think he is a good person.

Chen Jun sometimes felt it was absurd; there were just too many fools. They took the kindness of the poor as a given and the kindness of the rich as a great blessing.

He was just doing the same things as ordinary people, but he was praised for being approachable.

"Let's get off the bus and go. Remember to take some pictures of me eating a simple breakfast later, I want to post them online."

Chen Jun was eager to see what the two girls who had rejected him would think when they saw him again.

Amazing? Or a subtle appreciation? In terms of experience, he is a rising literary star who is even more advanced than Li Yinuo.

"Auntie, two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk, please." After getting out of the car, Chen Jun put on a refined and cultured smile and greeted the breakfast stall owner.

"Please line up, Chen Jun," a girl in Hanfu, who was also in the breakfast line, suddenly said coldly.

"Su Qinghe? You were also sent here by your family?" Chen Jun scratched his head and laughed. "Sorry, I didn't see the queue."

""

"Boring." The girl called Su Qinghe snorted coldly. "I'm not like you. I came to Ning'an voluntarily."

"Why are you still wearing clothes like this? Don't you feel embarrassed?"

Why can't we wear traditional clothing?

"Fine, fine, I can't argue with you."

Chen Jun's eyelids twitched. Su Qinghe was the first well-bred young lady he tried to pursue in the Beijing area, but this woman seemed uninterested in men or women... only in metaphysics.

Although he felt a sense of accomplishment in winning over this type of woman, he still preferred Xiao Shuyao's type.

Chen Jun looked at the long line in front of him, which included elementary school students with tattered backpacks, real estate agents making phone calls while waiting in line, and workers in dirty factory clothes.

Although he didn't have to wait long for breakfast, every second he spent in this environment was torture.

He couldn't help but get a little impatient, so he ran to the front and, ignoring the several middle-aged men who looked unapproachable, said to a young man dressed as a student with a forced smile, "Excuse me, how about this, I'll pay for your breakfast, and we can switch seats."

Zhang Chen glanced at Chen Jun, "No way."

He also had to bring breakfast to Miss Fox, and this was the culprit who woke her up.

Chen Jun was slightly taken aback by Zhang Chen's gaze, and inexplicably felt a bit repulsed by Zhang Chen's eyes. He cursed his bad luck in his heart and sullenly shrank back into the group.

He was too lazy to waste any more words.

"Qinghe, can you buy it for me? You've already come this far in line anyway."

17

"Ning'an is not a simple place," Su Qinghe said to him with her eyes closed as she rested. "Even if you're going to be a hypocrite, you'd better at least pretend to be one."

"Me, a hypocrite?" Chen Jun laughed. "Aren't we all the same? Aren't you just deliberately creating this persona?"

"no."

"Okay, you're not, you're so noble, wrong thing. By the way, did your dad ask you to buy some fruit? He said it's good for your health, but I can't find any of those things anywhere."

"It's something you can only meet by chance," Su Qinghe said. "If you're sincere, you'll naturally meet someone."

"You're more of a riddle-maker than those old literary types," Chen Jun commented. "Fine, it's just pretentious acting; anyone can do that."

As the two were talking, the driver suddenly exclaimed from behind that the car had driven away on its own. Chen Jun turned around to see what was going on, even though it was his own car that was causing the commotion.

Su Qinghe, amidst the crowd turning to watch the spectacle, spotted a young man who had just bought breakfast and was meticulously peeling a tea egg... This person was the only one whose style differed from the others.

His clothes were very ordinary, even sloppy, but upon closer inspection, he was quite handsome, to the point of being stunning. Why couldn't I see him at first glance? It was as if he possessed the ability to become invisible...

As Zhang Chen passed by her, he paused slightly, looked at the girl's attire, and smiled, "You're dressed very beautifully, young lady."

"...Thank you," Su Qinghe nodded calmly.

The girl closed her eyes and opened them again. Now, looking at him again, she felt that he had become much more ordinary.

The only thing that struck her as special was that the other person addressed her as "girl" instead of "beauty."

'

Terms like "little sister" are used.

That suits her style.

But Zhang Chen really just thought the girl's clothes were very pretty. If he bought them for Tu Shan Han Su, he could play with them for several nights without sleeping.

"I didn't ask you to see it." Zhang Chen pressed the invisible mouse in his pocket. "Your supernatural abilities aren't quite there yet. You were almost discovered just now. You need to be more focused in the future."

The gray mouse in the pocket nodded blankly.

"However, I didn't expect her to still have some cultivation," Zhang Chen frowned. "Although that cultivation is nothing compared to your sister Xi's."

"Oh, I forgot, your sister tide doesn't have such a thing."

"That's not even as good as a single hair of yours, Sister tide."

When they reached the entrance of the matchmaking agency, the eldest mouse returned, panting heavily. The trailer was too tiring for a mouse, and the tires were hard to chew; its teeth were loose.

Old Rat confidently asked Zhang Chen for iced tea.

"I'll owe you for now. Two bottles are too expensive. I'll just buy you a one-liter bottle." Zhang Chen took the invisible little mouse out of his pocket and gave it to it. "Teach it how to practice its supernatural powers."

"Squeak squeak squeak!" The leader of the rats was furious. Those unscrupulous squeaky rats were withholding wages and even deducting them! Did they think it didn't know?!

A liter of iced tea is a cheap drink for the poor!

It's a full two yuan cheaper!

But Zhang Chen still ignored it mercilessly, so it could only endure it for the time being and lead the little mouse back to its hole to train.

"Squeak! Fortune changes every thirty years!"

The invisible little mouse repeated the words, seemingly enlightened, and its form became even more ghostly.

At the matchmaking agency, Zhang Chen peeled a tea egg for Miss Fox, waiting for her to open her mouth, but even with the egg right in front of her lips, she wouldn't eat it.

"What..." Tu Shan Han Su muttered impatiently.

"Didn't you want breakfast?"

"This isn't the breakfast I wanted, you idiot."

"..All right."

'

""

"hurry up."

Zhang Chen was helpless, knowing that he probably wouldn't make it by 8 a.m.

Two hours later, Tu Shan Han Su went to the bathroom and then lay back down on the bed for a long sleep.

Even Miss Fox gets tired.

Zhang Chen looked at a single white hair at her temple, which looked like a thin, sharp thorn in the sunlight.

His heart tightened, and he drew the curtains to block out the sunlight, then covered Tu Shan Han Su, who always kicked off her blankets, with a blanket.

Although Miss Fox didn't kick off the covers last night, she covered him tightly with the blankets, pressed his head down, and almost suffocated him.

As soon as I went downstairs, several people, some human and some demon, came to the matchmaking agency.

Zhang Chen stopped Xu Mianmian, who was on her way to school, and told her that it was time to do her part for her family. Rabbit Matchmaker was officially launched.

If she doesn't understand, Sanhua can teach her.

Unfortunately, Sanhua suffered heartbreak and never transformed into human form, otherwise she could have become a cat matchmaker.

Among the people who came was an old acquaintance, who was related to Sanhua, but not a man.

The man who murdered Sanhua has been exiled to the frontier to build up the motherland. The Celestial Empire has a special way of dealing with transgender crimes: instead of simply imprisoning them, it makes the most of them. That man was somewhat educated, so he was imprisoned in the Northwest to build wind turbines.

But the harsh conditions there made it even more painful than being in prison.

And now, it is that man's fiancée who has arrived. She probably never imagined that her man would disappear into thin air.

"Little Master?" The woman grabbed his hand, helplessly asking, "Could you help me divine where my deadbeat husband has gone?"

"I can't make the decision on this matter. If you want to know the truth, go ask that calico cat," Zhang Chen said.

"Okay, okay." The woman believed him completely, so she ran to Sanhua, who was squatting on the wall imitating a lucky cat, and repeated her words.

Zhang Chen waited in front of the mouse hole for the invisible little mouse to come home from school.

A moment later, the woman’s crying suddenly rang out, but it didn’t seem to be for her fiancé; rather, it seemed to be a mutual sympathy between women.

"Little Master...I...I didn't expect him to actually..."

"It's alright, the karmic retribution has passed."

The woman wiped away her tears, "Actually, I've had my suspicions about him for a while now. I discovered this when I went to see him recently; he was using my money to find other women..."

As she spoke, she took out a wad of banknotes from her wallet. "Little Master, consider this money as my offering to the Master. Thank you for helping me cut my losses in time."

"Hmm." Zhang Chen took the money; he wasn't going to accept it for nothing. "Go and pray under that tree; perhaps you'll meet a good person."

"it is good."

The woman knelt and prayed under the tree, tears streaming down her face, but unfortunately, she bumped into another man who was also kowtowing and had a gloomy expression.

The two looked at each other, both stunned for a moment.

Zhang Chen looked back and thought, "The Bitter Love Tree is really a bug."

This man and woman, to be precise, were a demon and a woman. One had just lost her fiancé who had plotted to harm the demon, and the other had just been deceived in love by a human. They just happened to hit it off.

"Squeak!" At this moment, the invisible little mouse returned after completing its training and followed the mouse boss out of the mouse hole.

Zhang Chen put it in his pocket and clearly felt that the little mouse was much more useful than usual.

Judging by his current abilities, even if he sneaks up behind the Little Dragon Girl, she won't be able to react until he's inside her.

This is cause and effect... He smiled and gave the wad of incense money the woman had given him to Boss Rat.

"You taught well. Here's the money; use it to buy food."

Afterwards, Zhang Chen headed towards the school.

He should also look for the causes and effects of his past.

"squeak?"

The eldest mouse was still bewildered, holding a wad of RMB, thinking that it hadn't taught him anything, but had just led the little mouse into the kitchen to eat a small bread.

Squeak, what a pity. I was originally planning to use the Buddha's Wrath Lotus to blow Zhang Chen away. Since that's the case, let's spare Zhang Chen's life!

"Jun-ge, and Qing-he-jie?" Gao Quan greeted the guests at the school cafeteria entrance. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming all of a sudden? Haha."

"I've come to Ning'an to cultivate," Su Qinghe said, then walked towards the dining hall on her own.

Behind Chen Jun was a small group of people, which made Gao Quan's expression quite interesting. These were all second-generation elites from the Beijing area, and not the kind of spoiled brats.

Why have they all come to Ning'an? Did his father leak the news?

"We were forced to come here. Isn't there an award ceremony coming up soon? Xiao Gao, I think you're more perceptive than before. You even know to come out and welcome us?" Chen Jun said.

"Hehe." Gao Quan scratched the back of his head. "Isn't this something I learned from you, Jun-ge? Stay humble."

"Let's go, let's try the cafeteria at Nanjing University." Chen Jun patted him on the shoulder.

"Then, as the host, I'll treat everyone to lunch!" Gao Quan said.

"There's no need for that," said a boy behind Chen Jun. "I don't like the food in the school cafeteria, so I came to check it out. I ordered food from the hotel."

"Yeah, just seeing that fried rice, braised chicken, or pork trotter rice makes me want to vomit..." another girl sighed, covering her mouth and nose.

Gao Quan just smiled and didn't say anything.

"What kind of talk is this? Look, Qinghe went straight to get food. Don't you know the saying 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'?"

Chen Jun spoke up, and the group reluctantly got some food, but when they sat down at the table, no one touched their chopsticks much.

"Xiao Gao, have you seen your cousin these past few days? And how is Xiao Rou?" Chen Jun didn't even touch his chopsticks, just drank plain water.

"I saw her, Xiaorou..."

"Haven't you been pursuing her? I'm thinking of doing the same thing, give me some advice."

"Well, Xiaorou already has someone she loves, so I'll pass," Gao Quan said.

"Oh?" Chen Jun raised an eyebrow. "What, is there a guy at Nanjing University that she likes?"

"Yes," Gao Quan said with a wry smile, "Even my cousin is quite interested in him."

"Hmm?" Chen Jun's expression froze for a moment, but he didn't ask any further questions. "By the way, I also heard that your cousin is going to compete with me for a literary prize recently?"

"I don't know," Gao Quan waved his hand and said, "Maybe."

"It's better written than yours." At this moment, Su Qinghe, who had finished eating and was reading a book, suddenly interjected.

The girl in Hanfu was holding "Yan Chen Zhuan" in her hands, and there were two copies of "Yi Chen Zhuan" next to her.

"Better than me?" Chen Jun's eyebrows furrowed, seeing Su Qinghe's engrossed expression. "Awards aren't based on sales figures. What literary merit does her martial arts novel have?"

Su Qinghe remained silent.

"Chen Jun's books are also certified by famous people. They may not be as famous as those popular books, but this is real literature, isn't it?" a boy chimed in.

"Although I haven't read them, I do read some online and write some short articles. As far as I know, the online reviews of Shuyao's books and Li Yinuo's books are that they both lack a female perspective," said a girl named Liu Zixi.

"Forgive my bluntness, but we have long since moved beyond the narrative logic of male dominance and female subservience, and we are no longer in the patriarchal society of the past. There are already many books that are primarily written from a male perspective. As the foundation of entertainment, modern literature should prioritize the portrayal of women. Even if it doesn't, it should at least not neglect one aspect for the other."

"To put it bluntly, these kinds of books tend to enslave women, and I don't like it when female authors do this."

"Chen Jun's book has been praised and certified by female experts, so it is definitely much better than their books."

Liu Zixi gave a lengthy critique, and then everyone began to discuss Chen Jun's book.

The students passing by were dumbfounded, wondering what these idiots were talking about without even eating.

Gao Quan looked completely bewildered.

Fortunately, Chen Jun seemed pleased with what he heard and changed the subject, asking, "Xiao Gao, you said your cousin and Xiao Rou like the same person? Who is it? Where is he?"

"I can't guarantee it," Gao Quan waved his hand again, already wanting to run away. "Just a guess."

"So who is it?" Chen Jun narrowed his eyes.

"They're probably eating in the cafeteria right now... I don't really know them." Gao Quan didn't intend to say it aloud.

"Teacher Xiao! I still remember you! Can I have your autograph?" Suddenly, a girl's scream came from a corner not far away.

The scream drew everyone's attention, and they saw Xiao Shuyao and Jiang Rou eating together in a secluded corner, the two girls tightly flanking a boy.

Jiang Rou's eyes lit up as she put food on his plate, while Xiao Shuyao silently gave all the meat on her plate to the boy.

The boy looked quite helpless, sighing as he ate.