This is the second friend who is very close to Ethan Bolton. After learning about Ethan Bolton's divorce, he even called specifically to comfort him, patting his chest and saying that if Ethan Bolton ever needed help, he would absolutely go through fire and water for him!

This person was also Ethan Bolton's classmate from junior high to high school, from the same town but a different village.

"Uh, sorry, my uncle said he wanted to do business, and just borrowed twenty thousand yuan from me today..."

"Forget it, just pretend I never asked." Ethan Bolton sighed slightly, feeling instantly disappointed in this friend. You know, this person still owed him three thousand yuan! And most importantly, Ethan Bolton knew very well that the other party didn't even have an uncle! His mother only had two younger sisters, and the husbands of his mother's sisters he called "big brother-in-law" and "little brother-in-law." So this lie was honestly pretty ridiculous.

At this point, Ethan Bolton actually no longer planned to collect the debt. With 281 yuan, even if things got worse, he could still get by. Even without money, it wouldn't necessarily defeat him!

However, this incident made Ethan Bolton see a lot more clearly. Although he had always understood this principle, experiencing it firsthand at this moment was indeed a bit hard to accept.

Relatives and family are actually all about the same—snobbish and realistic! Before, even though Ethan Bolton didn't have much money, he was always comfortable and had enough, so he never wanted to think too deeply about this matter.

Sharing weal and woe, kicking someone when they're down, offering help in times of need, adding icing on the cake.

There are few who offer help in times of need, but many who kick you when you're down. Few share weal and woe, but many add icing on the cake!

This is reality!

This incident made Ethan Bolton's expression turn a bit cold. He glanced over his QQ friends list, then chose the third friend who was online.

This was no longer about collecting debts or borrowing money for the sake of borrowing, but rather borrowing money as a test.

Over the past ten days, Ethan Bolton had a feeling that as long as he could unlock the special ability of the third eye and the secret of that space, he would definitely become an absolute success! There was no doubt about it! By then, with superpowers, dabbling in antiques, gambling on jade, or treasure hunting—any one of these would be enough to make a fortune! Even if he didn't do any of that, even without superpowers, with over a year of saved-up manuscripts and the carefully planned 800,000-word draft of "Sky City," he could easily earn about 50,000 yuan a month! If he kept it up for a year, that would be half a million! Half a million isn't much, but in the countryside, there are plenty of things you can do with that!

Thinking of this, Ethan Bolton smiled.

Immediately, all the frustration and anger disappeared, and he calmly and steadily sent a third message. The recipient was a very honest and simple man named Tony Hill.

Back in school, this guy, a bit short and chubby but quite mature for his age, was quite lecherous, but also very honest and straightforward—a friend worth making.

Now, he worked at Tencent in Shenzhen, earning over 5,000 yuan a month. With benefits included, that's already pretty good for someone from the countryside.

"Tony, lend me 500 yuan. I'll pay you back on the 15th of this month. I'm having a bit of a hard time lately." As soon as Ethan Bolton sent the message, the other party immediately replied.

"Who is this?" These two bold, bright red Songti characters were actually a bit glaring.

"This is Ethan Bolton."

"You're not a virus, are you?"

"You used to like that baby-faced, big-breasted Amy Hill, and would often snore and, uh, pleasure yourself in the middle of the night." Ethan Bolton smiled slightly, revealing a little secret to prove that this wasn't a scam.

"Yeah, it's really you. But I don't have any money right now either. I'm living paycheck to paycheck. Last week I just spent 170,000 yuan to open an electronics store! Now I'm broke." The always honest Tony replied as such.

"Tony, five years ago, when you were still in college and your mom got sick, I didn't have much money either. My wife was still in school, but I sent you 2,000 yuan—my girlfriend's and my own living expenses—together, didn't I?" Ethan Bolton's emotions were a bit stirred, and he quickly typed and sent the message.

"Yeah, of course I remember. If it weren't for that 2,000, my mom wouldn't have been able to be hospitalized, and her illness would have gotten worse! I really owe you, thank you, brother! If I had money, I'd definitely pay you back, but right now I really don't have any!"

"No money, forget it. We're not fools, we all understand, OK? No need to say more. Goodbye."

After closing the chat window, honestly, Ethan Bolton himself felt there was no point in borrowing any further. His closest buddy back then had hooked up with Linda Howard. Although they hadn't slept together yet, it was probably because Linda Howard was pregnant and couldn't have sex.

The friend who supported him in his darkest times now showed no loyalty at all.

The one who always said caring, considerate things, who patted his chest and made loud promises, was scared into lying the first time he was asked for help—just 500 yuan.

And even the most honest and simple one had become slick and insincere.

Is this just a few individuals, or is it everyone?