Chapter 94 - 75: Elegance Never Goes Out of Style

After cracking a couple of jokes, Wang Wei even barked "WOOF WOOF" playfully, which made the young receptionist at the Jingtang Club burst out laughing.

Wang Wei was the resident clown of dorm room 404. He was the fifth oldest, a great gamer, and the biggest trash-talker of the bunch.

Back in college, he had already hit the Challenger tier on the Ionia server in League of Legends and even broke into the top 100 on the Dota ladder. Being skilled in both games, he joined a professional team right after graduation.

While he never achieved any major victories, he still managed to make a name for himself in the esports scene.

However, as he got older in recent years, Wang Wei’s competitive performance declined significantly. He retired and started a game-boosting studio, taking on odd jobs like grinding in Genshin Impact or boosting ranks in LoL and Dota, and he made a good amount of money from it.

He had come to Hang City this time because he happened to get an order from a rich client there. The job was to provide in-person coaching to help a girl rank up, so he used his free evening to meet up with Jiang Zhe and Chen Jue and catch up.

However, after getting roped in with Wang Wei’s "you little punk," Jiang Zhe feigned annoyance. He flicked the three cash coupons in his hand, wielding them with the authority of a king issuing a decree. "Old Five, who are you calling a little punk?"

"Me! I’m the little punk! Papa Jiang! You promised this one was on you!" Upon seeing the coupons, Wang Wei immediately latched onto Jiang Zhe’s leg, his shameless nature on full display.

...

Chatting and joking, the three of them entered the Jingtang Club’s buffet area. They ate their fill, then headed to a private room where they used a tablet to "select their concubines," each ordering a technician for their service.

"Damn! Are these the prices for the basic package? The cost of living in Hang City is no joke!" Wang Wei exclaimed, stunned as he looked at the price list on the tablet.

Back when he was a pro, Wang Wei had partied at high-end nightclubs with his team’s owner before.

But after retiring, with no rich boss to foot the bill, he was usually so tired from grinding boosting orders that the most he’d do was spend a few dozen yuan for a massage at a roadside Zheng Yuanyuan pedicure shop.

After all, he had to pay his studio employees’ wages. As a small business owner, he pinched pennies wherever he could.

So now, stepping into a high-end spa like the Jingtang Club again, Wang Wei couldn’t help but sigh. "Jiang the Second, Chen the Fourth, you two have really made it big in Hang City! You guys come to places like this often?"

"If you guys get rich, don’t forget about your poor little bro here."

Just then, Jiang Zhe, who was lying on the massage table getting his back worked on, spoke up. "Rich? What rich? We’re still just miserable corporate drones! You’re the one, Old Five—if you keep that rich client happy, don’t forget us when you’re rolling in it!"

"Rich my ass! Every penny I make is blood, sweat, and tears—earned by sucking up to clients bit by bit," Wang Wei grumbled. The game-boosting and coaching business wasn’t necessarily any easier than a regular nine-to-five.

Besides being on call to coach for long hours every day, you also had to be a smooth talker and keep the clients happy.

Meanwhile, Chen Jue was listening to Wang Wei’s stories from the past few years, all while enjoying the nimble hands of Technician No. 36. At some point, he casually mentioned that he had quit his job.

That left both Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei completely stunned.

"Huh???"

"Old Si, didn’t you just manage to get into Hengtong? Are you quitting just because of what happened last time?" Jiang Zhe lifted his head, a look of concern on his face.

After all, Jiang Zhe had pulled some strings to help Chen Jue get that new job. He hadn’t expected Chen Jue to quit after just a few days.

"Quitting is great. It’s not like I could save any real money working a nine-to-five, and I’d never be able to afford a house anyway."

"Might as well just check out of the rat race early. That way, the powers that be can’t keep harvesting us like leeks," Chen Jue added, then went on to describe to Wang Wei how he’d personally witnessed a colleague drop dead from overwork.

Wang Wei’s face went pale with shock the moment he heard that.

He also spent his years sitting in front of a computer with little exercise. Sometimes, after pulling all-nighters to grind orders, he’d feel his heart start beating irregularly and a tightness in his chest.

He hadn’t paid it much mind when he was younger, but now, hearing about a real-life case of sudden death in someone under 30 happening to a person Chen Jue knew, Wang Wei was suddenly on high alert.

During the break between the massage and the hot spring hydrotherapy, Wang Wei glanced at Chen Jue’s increasingly solid muscles, then patted his own flabby potbelly. "Old Si," he asked curiously, "do you think it’s too late for me to start working out?"

"Of course not!"

"And you too, Jiang the Second. You should join a gym. You’re skinny as a rail."

Chen Jue sized up his two roommates. Wang Wei was on the pudgy side, much like Chen Jue himself had been before getting the panel. Jiang Zhe, on the other hand, was too thin. Despite being nearly 190 cm tall, he was rail-thin, looking as if he’d been completely drained.

Among the three of them, Chen Jue was in the best shape by far.

The muscles on his powerful arms were clearly defined, and he even had visible lines on his abs.

While he wasn’t on the level of a professional fitness coach or athlete, he was already considered well-built for a regular person.

...

The three of them reminisced while getting massages at the Jingtang Club. Afterward, still not ready for the night to end, they squatted on the curb outside, shooting the breeze and reminiscing about their more innocent school days.

Wang Wei seized the moment to pull a green pack of cigarettes from his pocket, saying he’d snagged it from his rich client during a coaching session.

"Damn! Green Pandas!"

"You little shit, why didn’t you bring these out sooner!" Jiang Zhe worked on construction sites and was around cigarettes all day, so he knew exactly how rare Green Pandas were. Some of the special-edition versions weren’t even available for purchase, no matter how much money you had.

He hastily pulled out two cigarettes, passing one to Chen Jue.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse. He was about to ask for Jiang Zhe’s lighter when Wang Wei, with an air of pretension, produced an exquisitely packaged box of matches. He claimed it was a "retro" way to light a cigarette he’d learned from his wealthy client.

He struck a match on the side of the box, then used the orange-red flame to light the cigarettes dangling from his friends’ lips. That small gesture instantly maxed out the cool-factor of the unhealthy habit of smoking.

"Leave it to the rich to know how to fucking live!" Jiang Zhe said, taking a couple of drags. He felt that a good cigarette lit with a match wasn’t just more elegant—it even tasted more satisfying than usual.

Chen Jue, however, just stared at the matchbox, a strange idea suddenly sparking in his mind.

’Friction generates heat! A match head has a pretty low ignition point, only around 200 degrees Celsius...’ As soon as the thought occurred to him, Chen Jue stopped squatting on the curb and smoking his post-massage cigarette.

He first went to his car to grab a deck of playing cards he used for practice, then asked Wang Wei to hold a single matchstick up high.

"Old Si, what the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to pull a stunt?"

Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei were both baffled, just as they had been when they couldn’t understand his decision to quit his job and "lie flat" before he even turned 30.

Then Chen Jue stood three or four meters away, drew a card, and flung it. The spinning card cut through the darkness, flying past with a WHOOSH, almost grazing the tip of the matchstick Wang Wei was holding.

The next second, the dark tip of the match, where the card had grazed it, began to smolder. The glow bloomed outward, and a tiny flame suddenly shot up from the head.

The sight left Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei utterly dumbfounded. "Holy shit!" they both yelled in unison.

Even Chen Jue himself couldn’t help but grin as he stared at the small flame flickering in the darkness. He now knew exactly what to film for his next trick-shot video.