Trillionaire's Slice of Life

(To Her Letter)

This is the opening content of Chu Mo's collection of short stories.

It was this confession letter that started Chu Mo's literary journey.

I remember back in my junior year of high school, after gym class, the girl with the ponytail sitting next to me suddenly said she was going to the kiosk to buy a bottle of water, and I jokingly said you might as well get me one too.

At that time, I really spoke in a joking manner because I hadn't given her any money.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Unexpectedly, after a while, she actually handed me an ice-cold Coca-Cola from outside the window.

At that moment, I happened to be sitting by the window, and after seeing the cold Coke she handed over, I realized she had bought two bottles, holding one in her hand and extending the other to me through the window.

If I had simply accepted the Coke, I guess I wouldn't now have such a vivid memory.

I distinctly remember that I incredulously declined the girl's offer; I didn't take the ponytailed classmate's Coke, even though she insisted several times, but I still didn't accept it.

Looking back now, I understand why she had made a detour to the back window of the classroom: she was afraid of being noticed by other students. Unfortunately, my repeated refusals still attracted the attention of other classmates.

In the end, the cold bottle of Coca-Cola was given to a boy sitting behind me, and I never accepted it. Continue your adventure at empire

I didn't know why the girl with the ponytail wanted to buy that bottle of Coke for me, but looking back now, I really was a classic example of a clueless straight guy.

"No wonder I'm still single now."

Holding a copy of "Youthful Chronicle," I browsed through it casually, and the author's reminiscences of youth in the book unconsciously made me think of my own bygone days, and unavoidably, I thought of the ponytailed girl and those deeply etched memories in my mind.

After a while, Chu Mo, who sighed sentimentally, closed the book and casually held it in his hand.

This was the eleventh book he had picked out in the fourth bookstore.

"Mr. Chu, let me hold that for you."

She was a woman of breathtaking beauty, taller and better-proportioned than a girl named Ruyu standing beside me.

Wearing high heels, she nearly reached my brow. She was dressed in a black pleated skirt that just covered her knees, occasionally revealing her legs with perfect golden proportions as she walked.

She had a large pair of coffee-colored sunglasses on her nose that covered half of her petite face. Yet even so, the glimpse of her delicate red lips and smooth chin was enough to see she was strikingly attractive.

Chu Mo handed over the "Youthful Chronicle" I had selected to her, and instantly the woman in the pleated skirt received it with both hands, a look of respect clear on her face.

Naturally, she was Liang Bing, who had called me half an hour earlier.

She was the most beautiful among the nine maidservants on the ninety-fifth floor of Tianxiang Garden.

With those large sunglasses obscuring her face, Chu Mo couldn't see her features. Turning around, he refocused his attention on the bookshelf in front of him, speaking casually:

"The moment you stood here, your test had already begun. You are already two points behind Ruyu. Your good looks were supposed to give you a bonus, but you kept your sunglasses on and hid your advantage, making me consider whether to give Ruyu an extra point."

Upon hearing this, the woman named Liang Bing immediately bent down. With a voice tinged with apology, she reached out with her fair, delicate hand to remove the sunglasses from her nose and said with a voice as gentle as an orchid:

"I'm truly sorry, I just didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for Mr. Chu by taking off my sunglasses. My apologies."

Chu Mo, whose gaze had remained fixed on the bookshelf before him, suddenly lit up.

Finally, in the fourth bookstore, he found another copy of his "Chu Mo Short Story Collection."

This bookstore, named Snow Domain, had placed his book on the top shelf of the essay section. Although it was not the best middle position, it was much better than the previous three bookstores, which had tucked his work away in the farthest corners.

He pulled the freshly printed collection of essays, still smelling of ink, from the shelf, his lips curled in a smile as he caressed the title page of the book. Turning around, intending to leave, his gaze caught the sight of the woman in the pleated skirt who had removed her sunglasses.

Without the sunglasses, her stunning beauty could compete with the clear moonlight.

Chu Mo looked at her gem-like eyes, the smile at the corner of his mouth fading slightly. After a moment, he nodded lightly and then sighed softly:

"Indeed, even if you do nothing, that beautiful face of yours can earn you an extra point."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Chu."

The twenty-four-year-old enchanting woman could play both innocent and sweet, conveying pure charm and then instantly becoming seductively appealing.

Chu Mo, about to leave with the book in hand, suddenly reminisced about his high school self again.

Back then, the ponytailed classmate took the initiative to offer me a Coke, and I chose to refuse because of a misguided sense of pride, now looking back, I still feel how utterly clueless I was.

Now, with two stunningly beautiful women willingly standing in front of me, ready to give their all with just a nod from me, how different is my behavior now from when I was a teenager?

Should I wait another decade or so until my future self looks back again to silently remark, "Still the same clueless straight guy"?