Chapter 037: The Famous Watch

If you don't like someone, don't go out of your way to bother them; you might end up hurting them for a lifetime.

After graduating from college, Zhang Tan went through a period of intense guilt. The year after graduation, he and a few friends from high school had gotten together to play soccer and, by chance, started talking about what had become of the girls in their class. Someone specifically mentioned Yang Yuejiao, recalling how her grades had been decent in their first year, but after a poor result in the placement exam, they’d dropped sharply in the second year, and in the end, she hadn’t even gone to college, but instead started working.

Apparently, she was working in Shenzhen, and when she came back once, someone saw her both smoking and drinking.

“Hey, Detective, didn’t you chase after Yang Yuejiao in our first year? Maybe you broke her heart and that’s why she gave up on herself?” an old classmate had joked.

But though it was said lightly, Zhang Tan couldn’t shake it off. Instantly, all the past memories flooded back. Maybe it was because, in the second half of that first year, he’d gone after Yang Yuejiao, and after the initial excitement faded, ignored her, causing her to lose heart and let her grades slip, end up in the slow class, and finally go off to work.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Even though her decline in grades might have had nothing to do with him, in his heart, he was convinced it did—his fickleness had made her lose hope in life.

He wondered if this was just a twisted way of making himself feel important.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What?”

“What have you been doing these days?”

“Nothing. You’re reading too much into it.”

“Zhang Tan!”

“What now?”

“I hate you!”

Yang Yuejiao’s angry voice still echoed in his ears.

Carrying a bowl of soup back, Zhang Tan suddenly felt glad to have been given a second chance at life. This time, he could make fewer mistakes. He’d let Yang Yuejiao down in his previous life; this time, he was determined not to hurt her. Perhaps, keeping their relationship as purely classmates was best.

He placed the soup in front of the two girls. “Here’s your soup.”

Yang Yuejiao was still shy and timid, whispering, “Thank you.”

Ruan Xiaoting, however, looked at Zhang Tan with a bright smile. “Detective, you really have the makings of a gentleman.”

Zhang Tan just smiled and shook his head humbly.

Then he turned and patted Cao Yuchuan on the head. “What are you sitting there for? Go get some soup.”

Cao Yuchuan gaped at him for a long moment before finally speaking. “You really play favorites, don’t you? You get soup for the girls, but I have to get my own?”

“Any problem with that?” Zhang Tan replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Cao Yuchuan was instantly defeated by Zhang Tan’s logic, so he stood up obediently. “Fine, you’re all young masters and mistresses, and I’m the servant.”

Zhang Tan encouraged him, laughing, “Keep up the good work, I’ll give you a raise later.”

Of course, he didn’t really see Cao Yuchuan as a servant—it was just a joke. Cao Yuchuan was a big guy with prominent cheeks; if you didn’t know him, you might think he was tough, but in truth, he was a gentle soul, mild-tempered to the point of being a pushover. No matter how you joked with him, he never got angry, and he was always willing to help out.

Even when playing soccer, he was too soft to fight for the ball, so he always ended up as a substitute.

...

They ate, chatted, and drank their soup. The late-night meal ended quickly. After saying their goodbyes, everyone went their separate ways.

When Zhang Tan reached the main gate, the old gatekeeper was already closing up. “Come on, hurry up,” the old man called.

Zhang Tan asked curiously, “Isn’t it supposed to close at eleven? It’s only ten thirty.”

“My clock says it’s eleven,” the old man replied.

Zhang Tan glanced at his wrist, where his digital watch displayed “22:26,” but he couldn’t be bothered to argue.

In his previous life, he’d often suffered thanks to this old man. The pool hall was diagonally across the street, and sometimes after evening study, they’d head there for a few games, returning before eleven. But when the old man closed the gate early, they’d have to climb over the wall. At least, back then, they’d all got pretty good at it.

“But come to think of it, isn’t it embarrassing to wear a digital watch all the time?”

The watch on his wrist was one he’d bought back in junior high, for three or four yuan.

“Now I’m a man of means—five hundred yuan in my pocket, and more than six thousand coming in next month. How can a wealthy man wear a digital watch? I need a new one!”

“A Rolex? Patek Philippe? Too expensive.”

“Casio? Citizen? Japanese brands.”

“Rossini? Joint venture, Swiss technology, seems decent.”

“Or maybe a Shanghai Watch? That used to be one of the four must-have items. My dad still wears the one he bought when he married my mom, twenty years ago.”

“But it seems Shanghai Watch is almost obsolete now. The factory isn’t what it used to be.”

He’d never really looked into the Shanghai Watch Factory, but from what the older generation said, the watches made before 1985 were heirloom quality. After ’85 the quality declined, and by the 90s, the factory had apparently closed down.

All along the way, Zhang Tan pondered what kind of watch he should buy.

A watch is the mark of a successful man—just look at the government officials in later years; who didn’t wear a good watch? A watch was also a symbol of wealth. Whether an official was corrupt or not, you could tell by how many watches he owned.

He couldn’t afford high-end brands like Patek Philippe or Rolex, and he looked down on Japanese brands like Casio and Citizen. Domestic brands like Rossini weren’t impressive enough, and Shanghai Watch was already outdated. After much thought, he figured he’d just buy a knock-off for twenty yuan or so, and wear it for fun.

Once he made it big, then he could buy a luxury watch and show off.

“I really am a clever boy!”

...

While Zhang Tan was moved by his own cleverness, far away in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, Duan Yin was fuming.

Duan Yin had a proper job; he worked during the day, and in the evenings, he wrote martial arts novels. He’d used many pen names on sites like Under the Banyan Tree and Tianya, and had written many well-received short stories. Not long ago, the editorial office of "Legends of the Present and Past: Wuxia Edition" had asked him for a contribution, so he’d submitted his carefully polished "Chronicles of Heroes in Troubled Times."

The editor, after reviewing his work, had praised it highly, saying it was likely to be selected for the trial issue and promoted to readers.

Duan Yin was proud. He was already thirty, not much of a success in life, but he loved writing novels. If he could make a name for himself through his writing, that would be ideal.

But just as he was full of hope, planning to make a splash with his story, he suddenly received a call from the editorial office: his "Chronicles of Heroes in Troubled Times" would not appear in the trial issue—it had been moved to the inaugural issue, the second one.

“Why? Wasn’t my writing good enough?” he demanded.

The answer wasn’t that his work wasn’t good, but that someone else’s was better. Another serialized story had clashed with his, and his was bumped. From the editor, he learned the other author used the pen name Tan Zhang, and the story was called "The Four Great Constables Shaking the Northeast."

"The Four Great Constables? Shaking the Northeast? What a corny name. Is there even a hint of martial arts spirit in that? Is it as grand as my 'Chronicles of Heroes in Troubled Times'? This is outrageous!"

Duan Yin was deeply dissatisfied. He wanted to ask the editor for Tan Zhang’s manuscript, to see just how it surpassed his own painstaking work.

The editor wouldn’t give it to him, which was understandable, but he did tell Duan Yin that Tan Zhang’s novel would be published first—about ten thousand words—in the "Legends of the Present and Past: Story Edition."

“Tomorrow the magazine hits the shelves. I’ll buy a copy and see just what talent this Tan Zhang has, stealing my thunder!”