Stop Chasing the School Belle, My Shy Deskmate is Sweet and Soft - Chapter 80

After the evening self-study session, since Ye Ningyu wasn’t there, Xia Tian left the school with Fang Yu.

“Little Tian, why didn’t you walk Little Ye home today?”

“She went to buy medicine for her mom this afternoon, got on the wrong bus, and didn’t come to school tonight because she took a leave of absence.”

“That explains it. By the way, the second mock exam scores are out—how did you do this time?”

“596.”

Fang Yu’s eyes widened in shock. “How much?!”

“596, just 4 points shy of 600.”

Fang Yu looked as if he had just swallowed a fly. His mouth opened, as if to say something, but in the end, he just let out a heavy sigh.

“Sigh… It turns out that hard work really is meaningless in the face of talent. I’ve been working my ass off for three years in high school, and it’s still not as good as you actually studying seriously for a few months. Is the gap between people really this huge?”

“Don’t feel down—you’re doing well too. Didn’t you want to apply to the police academy? With your current grades, you’re already qualified.”

Xia Tian patted Fang Yu on the shoulder in reassurance.

In his previous life, this guy became a cop. Though the job was exhausting, Xia Tian had to admit Fang Yu looked pretty sharp in uniform.

It’s just that Fang Yu didn’t understand social dynamics very well, so he stayed stuck at the grassroots level without moving up.

Fang Yu waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on the topic of grades. He quickly changed the subject.

“Little Tian, it’s really hard to dig up anything about Little Ye’s situation. From what I’ve heard, the incident at her previous school, the High School Affiliated with the Normal University, caused such a huge uproar that anyone who hears about it avoids the topic entirely.

Over the past few days, I’ve asked a lot of people there, but no matter how much I tried to pry, they all refused to talk. They’re scared of getting into trouble with the school this close to the college entrance exams.”

“That just means you need to apply some incentives. No one wants to take risks without some kind of benefit.”

As he said this, Xia Tian pulled two 100-yuan notes out of his pocket. “Take this money and use it to buy some point cards. It’ll make people more willing to open up when you ask them next time.”

Fang Yu gave Xia Tian a strange look.

“Little Tian, when did you start playing by adult rules? Isn’t this… isn’t this just straight-up bribery?”

Xia Tian rolled his eyes. “You’re absolutely right—it is bribery! If even officials can’t resist temptation, how can a few high schoolers? Go bribe them hard!”

“Little Tian, you’ve changed. I hardly recognize you anymore!”

“If you manage to dig something up, I’ll get you a Fire Kirin.”

“Godfather, what are you saying? Actually… I’d prefer a Thunder God.”

—

When Xia Tian got home, he had just finished washing up when he received a call from Jiang Jianwei.

“Brother Xia, I’ve got the money ready. When would be a good time for us to meet and sign the contract?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Alright, let’s meet tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Jingsheng Restaurant. Lunch is on me, and we’ll sign the contract there.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow at noon. Goodnight, Brother Jiang.”

Xia Tian replied decisively.

He couldn’t hide his excitement.

Once the contract was signed tomorrow, Jiang Jianwei would transfer 200,000 yuan straight into his bank account.

Though in his previous life Xia Tian had amassed wealth thousands of times greater, 200,000 yuan was still a significant amount.

He vividly remembered how, in his past life, he had worked tirelessly for several months just to save up tens of thousands of yuan in startup capital. The price he paid was a detached retina…

Thinking about all this brought a mix of emotions to Xia Tian’s heart.

Of course, his success in that life had been built on Ye Ningyu’s cornea donation.

Without her, there wouldn’t have been the Xia Tian of later years.

After reflecting on this, Xia Tian pulled up Wang Qingshan’s phone number and sent him a text message.

“Mr. Wang, are you still awake?”

To Xia Tian’s surprise, Wang Qingshan immediately called him back.

“I’m awake. What are you texting me in the middle of the night for? Is it a study problem, or are you having a mental breakdown? Tell me—I’ll help you through it. At this stage, you can’t afford to have your mindset collapse!”

Hearing Wang Qingshan’s concern warmed Xia Tian’s heart.

The old man was just as caring as ever.

Worried that Xia Tian might be struggling, he ignored the late hour and called him right away.

Xia Tian could hear the faint sound of a door closing on Wang Qingshan’s end, indicating that he’d likely been lying in bed but had gotten up to take the call in the living room.

Feeling a bit guilty for bothering the ever-dedicated Mr. Wang, Xia Tian still mustered the shamelessness to speak.

“Ahem… Nothing’s wrong, really. It’s just… I’m going to have a fever tomorrow morning, so I’d like to take the morning off.”

Wang Qingshan: ???

There was a brief pause as Wang Qingshan processed what he’d just heard.

After a long moment, he finally said, “Are you some kind of psychic? You can predict that you’re going to have a fever tomorrow morning?”

“Hehe…”

“Alright, fine. Since you’ve been doing so well on the last two exams, I’ll approve your morning leave. But make sure you’re at school on time in the afternoon, or I’ll be calling your parents.”

“Thanks, Mr. Wang. Goodnight!”

After hanging up, Xia Tian muttered to himself.

“Damn, so this is what it’s like to be a top student. Feels amazing!”

—

The next day, the sun shone brightly.

Chen Meijuan and Xia Zhengguo had left for work early, so they had no idea Xia Tian wasn’t going to school that morning.

At 10 a.m., Xia Tian finished getting ready and rode his bike to Jingsheng Restaurant.

When he saw Jiang Jianwei, he immediately offered him a cigarette.

“Brother Xia, you’re so young and already smoking? That’s not a good habit!”

Xia Tian shrugged. “I don’t smoke. I just carry a couple of packs around to hand out when I meet people like you, the big bosses.”

Jiang Jianwei gave Xia Tian another approving look.

He couldn’t help but admire the young man even more.

Ambitious, capable, and socially adept—this kid had it all.

Are the younger generations really this competitive now? At this rate, Xia Tian was years ahead of his peers, skipping twenty years of mistakes in learning how to navigate social dynamics.

Though they referred to each other as brothers, Jiang Jianwei was old enough to be Xia Tian’s father…

After lunch, Xia Tian received a text message on his phone.

[Construction Bank]: Your account ending in 4942 received 200,000 yuan at 12:03 on May 4th. Current balance: 209,893 yuan. Reply “td” to unsubscribe from notifications.

After reading the message, Xia Tian quietly pulled a pen out of his backpack and signed his name on the contract.

From that moment on, the Heartbreak Museum no longer belonged to him.

However, from its opening day until now, the museum had generated a total revenue of 340,000 yuan. After deducting employee wages and maintenance costs, 260,000 yuan remained.

This amount was expected to hit Xia Tian’s account later that night.

The “launchpad” Xia Tian had envisioned was now fully in place. All he had to do was wait for the right moment in the coming days.

—

After lunch with Jiang Jianwei, Xia Tian rushed to school on his bike.

But when he arrived in the classroom, Ye Ningyu’s seat was still empty, and his brow immediately furrowed.

Xia Tian tapped the shoulder of the student sitting behind him.

“Bai Feng, where’s Ye Ningyu? Do you know where she is?”

Bai Feng looked up at him, his face blank.

“No idea. She didn’t come this morning either.”

“What? Ye Ningyu didn’t come to school again?!”