After tiring themselves out, the two lay on the gold bars, gazing at each other for a long time.
"Li Zhengguo," asked the other, "Who are you, exactly?"
"I am you. Listen quietly as I speak..."
"...I know Lu Xinggang has helped you a lot, but remember, no matter how grateful you are to him, don't trust him too much. And be especially wary of his sister, Lu Xiaoyun."
'Li Zhengguo' was silent. He hadn't known Lu Xinggang had a sister.
"That..."
Li Zhengguo interrupted him, "Don't speak. Let me finish. I'm in a hurry."
"Go on."
"My wife, Tiantian, will approach your Jingjing under the guise of her twin sister and leave her fifty gold bars."
"The future direction of societal development is..."
"I'll leave you twenty gold bars as well. So, you'd best exchange it for money and buy a house. My wife will handle her affairs with her."
"After she buys a house, go and become her neighbor. Use your neighborly status to approach her slowly. What she lacks is family warmth."
"The remaining thirty gold bars, after I exchange them for cash, I will cooperate with that restaurant owner."
"After we cooperate, I'll teach you some investment techniques. With this money, invest it in batches. If you make money, don't have a change of heart."
'Li Zhengguo' concisely replied, "I won't."
Li Zhengguo believed this, but he was just mentioning it. "We'll be staying at your place temporarily. Don't bring anyone home, and don't let her come here."
"If you have trouble explaining the source of the money, you can bring me out to meet them."
"From now on, when you handle investment matters, you won't need too many lies. We won't let her know about these things."
"Okay."
Seeing this taciturn demeanor, Li Zhengguo worried if his first life self could actually win over Jingjing in his first life.
...
Tian Jing slept comfortably. Upon waking, she found two Li Zhengguos in the main hall.
The two Li Zhengguos smiled at her together and asked, "Guess which one is your husband."
"Boring. Don't you have anything better to do?"
The two said in unison, "Yes, lots! Guess first."
Tian Jing reached out and pinched her husband's face. "Keep pretending. The muscles on your face have already given you away."
Pleased to have his face pinched, Li Zhengguo asked, "How did you know?"
Tian Jing pointed at 'Li Zhengguo'.
"His smile is different. When he's not smiling, he looks more like himself."
Li Zhengguo turned and looked at the person beside him. "You lost."
'Li Zhengguo' nodded. "You're right. One must act with their heart."
Tian Jing turned and went to the kitchen. "Is there breakfast?"
Li Zhengguo shamelessly followed. "Of course, I'll serve you."
...
After breakfast, Li Zhengguo, carrying a travel bag, went with 'Li Zhengguo' to exchange money.
Meanwhile, Tian Jing went to the basement where 'Tian Jing' was renting to find her.
The restaurant didn't serve breakfast, so it didn't open until ten o'clock.
'Tian Jing' was caught red-handed by Tian Jing.
...
'Tian Jing' didn't believe her. "Chen Yaoming and Xiao Wei never said I was a twin."
Tian Jing rubbed her chin. "You're not stupid, are you? How did Chen Yaoming trick you out of the courtyard house then?"
"Are you deliberately trying to provoke me?"
"No!"
Tian Jing shook her head. "I'm here to tell you some good news."
"I don't want to hear it. In my more than twenty years of life, there has never been any good news."
"There is."
Tian Jing opened the bundle wrapped in a sheet in her hands. "Ta-da! Behold."
Facing dozens of shimmering rectangular metal bars on the bed, 'Tian Jing' rubbed her eyes and asked the woman who looked exactly like her, but was more stylish and confident.
"Props?"
Tian Jing was stunned, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha, you're actually quite interesting, truly. It's just that you're a bit too self-conscious and timid."
"Here, let's hide thirty of these. We'll take twenty to exchange for money, buy a house, buy furniture, buy clothes and shoes, get a new hairstyle, and then a new mood."
"I'll take you to fly and have fun. Don't live such a dull life. Who knows if misfortune is a blessing in disguise?"
'Tian Jing' shook her head. "No. Things that aren't mine, once they come into my hands, they disappear."
"Is that what the Chen family mocks you with? What if I told you these were dug out secretly from under the courtyard house? Would you believe me?"
'Tian Jing' still shook her head. "I don't believe it. The Chen family won't let me into the courtyard house, so they definitely won't let you in either."
"Are you stupid? I said they were dug out secretly. How could they have seen me enter? Take one and smell it. Does it have a musty odor?"
'Tian Jing' still shook her head. "I won't smell it. No matter where you got it from, it's not mine, and I don't want it."
Tian Jing, annoyed, slapped her on the back of the head. "What did your grandfather say before he died? Didn't he tell you to pass down the courtyard house to your descendants?"
"How do you know?"
Tian Jing glared at her fiercely. "How do I know? I can predict the future. Your grandfather was hinting that there was something buried underground."
"I've helped you dig it out. This is just a drop in the bucket."
"The rest, I've hidden deep underground in the Wangfu Museum, not far from the courtyard house, where no one can get to it."
"Just imagine, hundreds or thousands of these things, passing by Chen Yaoming. Doesn't that make your heart feel a little better?"
'Tian Jing' listened, stunned. "Really? So many, hundreds or thousands?"
"Yes. How much is a courtyard house worth? We'll exchange these for money and buy ten or eight of them. Rent them out first, and then sell them when they appreciate."
'Tian Jing' was surprised. "Courtyard houses appreciate?"
"Yes, they're worth more than apartment buildings because courtyard houses occupy both sky and land."
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu..."
'Tian Jing' cried. Her only kind grandfather had left her the best and most valuable things, and she hadn't protected them.
Tian Jing hugged this foolish version of herself from her first life, patting her back.
"Cry. After you've cried, don't easily trust any man other than Li Zhengguo again."
Hearing Li Zhengguo's name, 'Tian Jing' stopped crying. "Why did you mention him?"
"Didn't I say I can predict the future?"
After this all-purpose opening line to deceive, Tian Jing spoke a few truths.
"He's a practical person. You don't need to pay too much attention to his family members."
"Especially his sister, ignore her. If you're happy, give her a small gift. If you're unhappy, send her away. Why would you let outsiders live in your own courtyard?"
'Tian Jing' wiped her tears. "We'll talk about it later. I don't want to discuss these things now."
"Okay, then let's go shopping."
...
A few days later, 'Tian Jing' found herself the owner of three courtyard houses and eight ordinary houses.
Having spent over a hundred thousand yuan in a few days, 'Tian Jing' clutched her chest, unable to accept it.
Her twin sister wasn't done with her yet and dragged her to have one courtyard house renovated.
They bought a pile of old furniture to fill it.
Then they bought a new bed and new sofa.
New quilts and new bedsheets.
New basins, buckets, and towels.
New clothes, new shoes, a new hairstyle, and a new mood.
Sitting in the brand-new courtyard house, 'Tian Jing's heart also felt brand new.
These days, her twin sister had taught her a lot.
She had taught her earnestly using various social case studies, and she had learned a great deal.
Then she realized she wasn't doing too badly.
Because her twin sister had secretly helped her dig up the biggest treasure her grandfather had left her.
Because her twin sister had secretly stolen Chen Yaoming's property deed.
She had arranged for it to be transferred to her name.
She said that after 'Li Zhengguo' was done with his business, he would take her to court to get the courtyard house back.
'Li Zhengguo' hadn't visited her in a long time. It was rumored that his family also had overseas relatives who returned and gave him property and taught him investment.