Novels online

Chapter 2: Love Saint Guan Hai

The man was not surprised by Yang Haoran's sudden enthusiasm; instead, he casually plopped himself down on the chair.

No sooner had his rear touched the seat than the man leaped up, grumbling discontentedly to Yang Haoran, "It's scorching hot! You're truly depraved. Do you have hemorrhoids? Is it contagious?"

Normally, if the man had uttered such words, Yang Haoran would have certainly ridiculed him. But now, Yang Haoran not only didn't mock the man but his enthusiasm remained undimmed as he quickly produced a cushion and placed it on the chair, saying, "Heh heh, look at me, always so careless. It's a problem I should have thought of, but I was so excited by your arrival that I completely overlooked it."

The man chuckled without exposing his pretense; then, quite satisfied, he casually sat down again, crossing his legs and leisurely smoking his cigarette.

The man's name was Guan Hai. He called himself a 'Love Saint' and was one of Yang Haoran's best friends in this city. He was twenty-five this year, five years younger than Yang Haoran. Who knew what good deeds this guy had accumulated in his past life, but he was born with a handsome face and a cheerful, articulate personality. Especially in front of women, his mouth was like a machine gun; instead of bullets, he fired Cupid's arrows, for god's sake, making those girls squeal with delight. Combined with his already handsome face, he was extremely popular with girls.

However, this guy Guan Hai was extremely flirtatious. Since Yang Haoran had known Guan Hai, he couldn't even remember how many girlfriends Guan Hai had changed. What was infuriating was that these girls still rushed into Guan Hai's embrace like moths to a flame.

Almost every girl who dated Guan Hai knew about his glorious conquests in the dating world. When Guan Hai wasn't around, they would all happily curse him out loud, wishing they could kill this scumbag and eradicate this social menace. They would even swear that they would never associate with such a scumbag in their entire lives.

Yet the reality was, once these girls came into contact with Guan Hai, every single one of them would fall madly in love, desperate to rip out their hearts and offer them to him. Some girls, in their desire to be with Guan Hai forever, even went so far as to threaten Guan Hai with their own lives—things like jumping off buildings, slitting wrists, and drinking pesticide. All of this, in Yang Haoran's eyes, was incredibly melodramatic, yet it filled him with both envy and jealousy.

Compared to Guan Hai, Yang Haoran's looks were ordinary, and his physique was also ordinary. How could he compare to Guan Hai? This was a fundamental flaw. Of the three characters "tall, rich, handsome," Guan Hai possessed two, lacking only the "rich" in the middle. As for Yang Haoran, he happily had none of them.

Yang Haoran wasn't rich, and neither was Guan Hai. Every penny Yang Haoran spent was hard-earned by himself, the fruit of his energy and sweat. Every penny Guan Hai spent was also hard-earned, the fruit of his energy and sweat. However, the source of their wealth differed fundamentally. Yang Haoran's wealth came from outsiders, both men and women. Guan Hai's wealth came from his own people—all the women around him.

The women around Guan Hai were all willing to spend money on him and willing to support him. In Yang Haoran's eyes, this was utterly shameful, yet he had to admit it was Guan Hai's unique skill. Not just any man could achieve this.

Besides, what good was he, a charlatan who swindled and cheated? They were both, for crying out loud, cut from the same cloth. What right did either of them have to criticize the other?

Birds of a feather flock together, people group by kind. The fact that they could become good friends naturally wasn't simply due to fate. The key was that their personalities meshed well, and also, they were both poor.

At this moment, Guan Hai lay smugly on the chair, legs crossed, leisurely smoking. Yang Haoran, meanwhile, took a bottle of Mighty Man Functional Drink from the shelf, then cheerfully handed it to Guan Hai and chuckled, "Mighty Man brand, the more you drink, the mightier you get. Your favorite."

Guan Hai shook his head, not taking the drink Yang Haoran offered. He said earnestly, "I hear drinking too much of this kind of drink can cause functional issues, so I quit."

Hearing this, Yang Haoran was amused and chuckled, "Everyone says cell phones have a lot of radiation, so why don't you put your phone in your shirt pocket and insist on putting it in your pants pocket? What if you get radiated and mutate? It's hard to say whether that would be good or bad."

Though he teased him verbally, Yang Haoran still took back the Mighty Man Functional Drink and handed Guan Hai a bottle of mineral water instead.

Guan Hai took the mineral water. Not only wasn't he angry at Yang Haoran's words, but instead, he gave Yang Haoran a knowing, expressive smile, as if to say "I understand you. " He said, "Your driving is getting faster and faster. Slow down, I can barely keep up."

Hearing this, the two men exchanged a smile, everything understood without words.

After Guan Hai twisted open the cap and took a sip of water, Yang Haoran rubbed his hands together and, with a fawning smile, asked, "Want another cigarette?"

Guan Hai rolled his eyes at Yang Haoran and said, "You're only offering a treat, not slaughtering a chicken. You haven't even taken out a single cigarette, clearly you don't intend to offer me another. In this situation, tell me, should I say yes, or no?"

"Ah! " Yang Haoran slapped his thigh with a start, as if just realizing something, and quickly said with a look of apology, "Look at me, I really pay too little attention to details. I actually missed it again."

Saying this, Yang Haoran immediately took out another cigarette from the pack and theatrically offered it to Guan Hai with both hands.

"Beat it! We just met, didn't we? Don't put on an act in front of me anymore. Let's talk about the real business. " Guan Hai said with a laugh and a curse, not taking the cigarette Yang Haoran offered.

Yang Haoran chuckled and quite naturally put the cigarette into his own mouth, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, Guan Hai meticulously explained the details of this new business opportunity to Yang Haoran.

It turned out that a friend of Guan Hai's had recently bought an apartment in Lecheng, spending hundreds of thousands of New Beginning Coins on it. Now that the apartment was renovated, he could have moved in directly, but Guan Hai's friend was quite superstitious about ghosts and spirits. He had forgotten to find a master to inspect it before buying and wanted to make up for it afterward, so he could live there with peace of mind.

After Guan Hai learned of this, he immediately took on the job for Yang Haoran and praised Yang Haoran profusely in front of his friend. He praised Yang Haoran as a rare master in the world who could tell fortunes, read feng shui, exorcise demons and banish evil, understand Yin and Yang, know life and death, and was utterly formidable. He spoke with such compelling detail and divine mystique that his friend was utterly thrilled and sincerely implored Guan Hai on the spot to definitely invite this master to his home for a visit.

Regarding his friend's request, Guan Hai naturally had no reason to refuse and patted his chest, guaranteeing there would be no problem. And so, Guan Hai immediately rushed to see Yang Haoran.

Originally, this matter could have been clarified with a simple phone call, but Guan Hai still decided to make the trip himself. There was no other reason; it was mainly because he was too idle. He didn't have a job to begin with and usually just spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun. Today, he hadn't managed to find any card buddies, so, with nothing else to do, he simply came himself.

After understanding the details of the matter, Yang Haoran, without a word, quickly ran behind the green curtain. A moment later, he emerged with a yellow cloth shoulder bag slung over his shoulder. The front of the bag was sewn with a Taiji symbol, and the back with a Bagua, making it quite conspicuous.

This shoulder bag was Yang Haoran's tool for the job—oh no, it was his Ghost-Hunting Bag. The bag was bulging, clearly filled with many items.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go! Since it's your friend, even if I'm busy, I have to make time to go. I can't let you lose face. Quickly, call him and tell him that Master Yang will be there shortly. Tell him not to panic; I've got everything covered. " Yang Haoran rushed out with his shoulder bag and said to Guan Hai in a flurry.

Watching the theatrically earnest Yang Haoran, Guan Hai burst into laughter, saying, "I truly thank you, Master Yang, for giving your brother such great face. But I really can't see where you're so busy. And also. . ."

Saying this, Guan Hai pointed to the vibrant green curtain and said with a smile, "Also, can you change the color of this 'cloth of shame' of yours? It's completely green now. Doesn't it make you uneasy looking at it?"

Yang Haoran didn't directly answer Guan Hai's question. Instead, while pulling down the roller shutter, he casually said, "It's not just a cloth of shame; it's also a beautiful highlight in my life."

The roller shutter closed with a rattling sound. Guan Hai chuckled, teasing, "Your mouth is getting sharper and sharper, you rascal. You even spare no one, not even yourself. You're truly a ruthless one."

Yang Haoran smiled but didn't answer Guan Hai's question. After locking the roller shutter, he stepped into Guan Hai's sedan.

Guan Hai's sedan was quite nice. It seemed to have cost over three hundred thousand New Beginning Coins. Of course, Guan Hai, this penniless fellow, couldn't have afforded so much money; this sedan was a birthday gift from his ex-ex-ex-ex-girlfriend.

Who knew what Enchantment Art Guan Hai had used on that girl? Even after they broke up, this beautiful and wealthy girl still couldn't forget Guan Hai. Not only did she not ask for the car back, but she also bought Guan Hai many branded clothes afterward. She even didn't think Guan Hai was a scumbag after the breakup; instead, she took all the blame upon herself, saying it was all her fault, that she had wronged Guan Hai. If Guan Hai could change his mind, she was willing to exchange everything she had to win him back.

Not long ago, when Yang Haoran happened to meet this woman and heard her say such things to him, he nearly fainted from anger. Ah, women! Once they become foolish, they truly are foolish.

Sitting in Guan Hai's car, Yang Haoran couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. "Oh, people! " he thought. "Why is the disparity so immense? They were both, for god's sake, penniless, so why did Guan Hai live such a glorious life, even if that glory was only superficial? But that feeling, sometimes, didn't seem bad, did it?"

Actually, Yang Haoran knew the answer to this question without even thinking about it. Guan Hai lived more comfortably than he did, flitting through a "flower patch" every day, moving with ease and grace. This was completely, for crying out loud, a matter of "configuration. " From birth, in terms of looks, his "configuration" was inferior to Guan Hai's. The other guy was a "high configuration," he was a "low configuration. " It was hurtful, yet it was reality.

However, when it came to verbal skill, Yang Haoran was still quite confident in himself. Whether it was speed or technique, he believed that in this regard, he would absolutely not lose to Guan Hai. If he had the chance, he even wanted to have a showdown with Guan Hai.

Of course, this so-called "verbal skill" referred to speaking: how to speak, what kind of words to say to what kind of person, how to control one's speaking speed, how to master techniques, and so on. As Yang Haoran mused on this, he almost got sidetracked with inappropriate thoughts.