“From a distance, the back looked just like you. Then I saw the license plate—there’s no mistake!”

He walked over quickly, still looking overjoyed. “I was at work when I suddenly heard someone mention you. Gave me a shock! I immediately took leave and ran out. I was just about to go to your house! ...They said you beat up John Bolton from the finance bureau? Got arrested? When did you get out?”

While they patted each other in greeting, David Brooks briefly explained what had happened.

The cause was... a girl.

The girl’s name was Grace Clark, and she was the original host’s secret crush.

She graduated from Xizhou Normal College, and after graduation was assigned to the county government—an official civil servant, on the government payroll. When she first started, she worked as a secretary in the office, mainly handling meeting reception, organizing and distributing documents, and serving tea and water. It was actually quite similar to David Brooks and his car team—they were all under the leadership of Office Director Director Harris.

The girl was truly beautiful, bright and lively. Director Harris obviously liked her a lot too. Within two months, he transferred her to the computer room—a very important position!

Yes, the county government also had a computer room...

She came this summer, almost at the same time as David Brooks.

Maybe it was because he was at that age, or maybe because the girl was just so pretty, but the original host was smitten at first sight. He fell for her hard, but when it came to romance, he was nowhere near as bold as he was in a fight. After knowing her for several months, he still hadn’t dared to say more than a few words to her.

A pure, secret crush.

So why did the original host go crazy and start a fight?

Because when Director Director Bolton from the finance bureau came to the county government for a meeting, he apparently made a few suggestive remarks to the girl—maybe not outright harassment, but definitely not clean language.

And so...

That’s what they mean by “acting on impulse”!

For young males, the reasons for fighting are usually just two: survival and mating rights.

For humans, there’s one more: pride.

Chapter 5: Some People Just Like Bad Boys

David Brooks and Samuel Wright were both classic underachievers.

But they each had their strengths—they were handsome!

Samuel Wright was about 175 or 176 centimeters tall, a fair-skinned young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a bit of a southern face with northern features, quite striking and upright. Whether from the original host’s memories or David Brooks’s recent observations, it was clear that, at least for now, locals weren’t generally tall—175 cm definitely counted as tall and made him stand out in a crowd.

In short... to put it this way: if David Brooks’s “hormone value” was 100, then Samuel Wright’s was about 30. He was the kind of good-looking guy you’d notice at a glance in a crowd.

His dad was the head of the county Agricultural Bank, definitely a person of influence locally. His mom seemed to be from the north, a former “educated youth” who came to the countryside, married his dad, and never went back. Later, she worked at the credit union.

He had an older sister who attended a finance-related college in Shanghai, which was said to be hard to get into. After graduating, she smoothly got a job at a bank, working the counter at the Industrial and Commercial Bank.

Ah, come to think of it, if Samuel Wright’s family kept developing like this, maybe in thirty years they’d be considered the Brahmins of the county.

But Samuel Wright himself just didn’t seem up to it.

He was a bit of a goof.

Because he was so hopeless at his studies, his dad didn’t dare put him in the banking system, so for now he was sent to the county’s second cotton mill. He was pretty well-behaved, going to work diligently every day.

“Well done! I’ve heard for ages that old guy was no good!”

Hearing that his best buddy had beaten up a real department head and almost gone to jail, Samuel Wright didn’t try to talk him out of it at all. Instead, he looked full of admiration. “You’re awesome, Old Cao!”

David Brooks couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.

This was probably the first person since he’d crossed over who thought the original host had done the right thing.

“Cut the crap. I wouldn’t dare do it again, not after almost ending up in jail!”

Facing this silly guy, David Brooks still wanted to steer him onto the right path. After all, fighting really wasn’t something to be encouraged or learned. “If you run into something like this in the future, don’t go fighting like an idiot!”

He thought about it, then grinned. “Heh, I wouldn’t dare! That’s John Bolton we’re talking about!”

David Brooks burst out laughing.

At this moment, Samuel Wright glanced at his digital watch. “It’s eleven thirty! I’ve already taken leave anyway. Come on, let’s go drink! Help you calm your nerves!”

David Brooks thought for a moment, then nodded. “Let’s go!”

The ‘92 wealth certificate! Let’s do it!

But there’s still more than a month to go, and you need capital for that. Even if you put in a few thousand and make tens of thousands, what’s the point?

No need to rush!

First, let’s have a drink!

Although he wasn’t the original anymore, he had basically inherited all of the original host’s memories—and naturally, all his feelings too.

He knew just how close that guy was with Samuel Wright!

And in fact, probably because of those memories, even though it was their first meeting, David Brooks really liked this goofy guy!