Between girls, a certain sense of comparison always exists. Sun Qianyao felt it even more strongly. Ever since she was little, she had constantly received compliments on her looks. Even when taking the art exams at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, among her peers, she stood out as exceptional.
Yet whenever she faced Zhang Jingyi, that gentle and graceful temperament of Zhang's always left her without any desire to compete. She finally understood why so many people liked her, and why hardly anyone in school ever spoke ill of her.
Except for Liu Chuanfeng. He ranked first among the campus heartthrobs and also excelled academically, though he usually kept a low profile. At first, Sun Qianyao had thought about getting to know him, but he constantly spent time with Zhang Jingyi, and later she realized he didn't seem to be her type after all, so as time went on, she simply gave up on the idea.
What made her take notice of him again for the first time was the fact that he could have attended a very respectable undergraduate university, yet chose the Shanghai Theatre Academy instead. It wasn't that the school was bad, but the choice genuinely baffled people.
Before that piece of gossip had even faded, another sensation shook the entire campus: Zhang Jingyi had confessed her feelings to him—and was rejected.
Putting her hand over her heart, Sun Qianyao felt that if she were a guy, she wouldn't have turned her down, yet he had done precisely that.
And he had even dropped a line that left everyone completely clueless: "Good girls are too much trouble."
No one could figure out what that remark actually meant, though some said he was just afraid of letting Zhang Jingyi down.
"Bulls***!"
Sun Qianyao had originally thought so too, but the last time she ran into him outside the bathhouse, she felt something was off. In her impression, apart from having a bit of a campus bully's face, Liu Chuanfeng otherwise fit the image of a model student—brilliant grades and a clean social circle.
Yet the way he talked to her felt much more like a seasoned player among women.
He clearly acted as if he had no interest in her, yet used a clever little trick to get her to light his cigarette.
While his words clearly hinted at wanting to get closer, when she proactively offered to add his contact information, he brushed her off with "maybe next time."
Furthermore, the compliment he paid her was something she still couldn't wrap her head around to this day. Despite just a few minutes of conversation, this guy had been popping up in her mind repeatedly over recent days, almost to the point of lingering there persistently.
As a master angler (in her own estimation), she knew she had already entered the stage of taking an interest in him and feeling curious. For an expert fish-farmer like her, that was a remarkably dangerous signal.
She had originally thought that if she went a long time without seeing him, she might just forget him. But now look at that—just a few days later, news of him cropped up again. He had actually gone out to run a street stall.
Ha, what a joke. How much money could you possibly make buying boxed lunches for migrant workers?
"A lot!"
Others might not know, but Sun Qianyao was well aware that many seemingly insignificant businesses didn't look like they made much, but as long as the volume was high enough, the profits were bound to be substantial. Anyone whose family ran a business understood that.
You could tell from the photos people posted: the queues during a single time slot stretched to dozens of people, easily amounting to hundreds a day.
Sun Qianyao felt a twinge of envy. Even at five hundred a day, that was fifteen thousand a month—how much does a regular office worker make in a month anyway? Besides, how many high school graduates had that kind of business sense? But she knew Liu Chuanfeng was making far more than that.
No matter how other people viewed the matter, she could confirm that this campus heartthrob was an exceptional, high-potential stock. Up until now, not a single guy she knew was as impressive as him. Yet to be out here doing this at his age—his family background was probably just average.
"Sigh, if only his family background were a bit better."
Sun Qianyao let out a silent sigh in her heart, feeling a faint sense of regret. A person's original family background was sometimes crucial; having learned that the hard way, she naturally understood the logic.
"Even if Zhang Jingyi is with him now, it doesn't necessarily mean the two of them are actually a couple."
"After all, they used to hang out together all the time anyway. If they were truly dating, there wouldn't have been any need to wait until now, let alone put on such a grand production at school."
Combining some information she had recently dug up, Sun Qianyao silently analyzed the situation and quickly reached a conclusion: "At most, they're just childhood sweethearts."
"Besides, this guy isn't nearly as simple as he looks on the surface."
Sun Qianyao pulled a disposable lighter out of her bedside drawer, stamped with the logo of a certain bathhouse: "You claim you didn't go inside, but I certainly don't believe that."
With a sharp click, a flicker of warmth instantly bloomed in the room.
At that moment, Wu You's words suddenly flashed through Sun Qianyao's mind: "You're so pretty, when aren't you setting people on fire?"
Fire.
"Burning?"
"So that's how it is."
Sun Qianyao experienced a sudden flash of insight, as if she had been enlightened: "That joke is actually pretty interesting."
"I'll just generously take that as a compliment on my great figure."
Interest was one thing, but she was in no rush right now. Since Liu Chuanfeng hadn't entered a relationship by now, he certainly wouldn't start one anytime soon. When a person was busy starting a business and making money, their energy was ultimately limited. Therefore, Sun Qianyao wasn't worried at all, nor was she in any hurry. After all, they would still be on the same campus later—there would be plenty of opportunities to see each other. Even though the Theatre Academy was crowded with beauties, Sun Qianyao didn't think she would lose. Moreover, her intuition told her that Liu Chuanfeng was no pushover.
Gao Shuai, however, was in a rush. He wanted to nail down their relationship before college started, and taking her out to a bar together was the absolute perfect opportunity.
He would borrow a car, pick up his goddess, and book a VIP booth—that alone would secure plenty of face. According to the script, after getting drunk at night, he would take his goddess...
"Hehehe."
Gao Shuai wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and hurriedly sent Sun Qianyao a message: [Next Friday at nine, let's go to Highhouse.]
Though Sun Qianyao wanted to go, she didn't agree immediately. Instead, she first sent a [Huh? Nine?] to indicate it was too late, followed by:
[Let me check with my family first to see if they're okay with it.]
This conveyed that she had strict family rules.
Seeing this, Gao Shuai felt a complex mix of emotions. He felt a trace of disappointment that his goddess hadn't agreed right away, but also a surge of happiness: "Those girls were just jealous of my goddess, claiming she dresses too revealingly and whatnot. Clearly she's a good girl with strict family rules. My goddess is nothing like what you guys imagine!"
[Alright, let me know when you have word.]
The other party quickly replied with a [Okay].
This left Gao Shuai so excited that he tossed and turned in bed. His mind could no longer process anything else; right now, he just wanted to guard his phone, eagerly awaiting his goddess's reply while looking forward to next Friday with even greater anticipation.
Sun Qianyao swiped right past his name, opened the photos of the lunch boxes again, and quietly began admiring Liu Chuanfeng's looks: "He really is quite handsome."
Whether it was due to Zhang Jingyi holding down the fort or not, today's boxed lunches sold extremely well. In less than twenty minutes, they were completely sold out. Standing by the tricycle were two young fellows with slightly tanned skin.
They looked to be about the same age as Liu Chuanfeng, wearing standard construction site uniforms with yellow safety helmets in their hands. The slightly taller one pulled a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his shirt pocket, handed one each to Liu Chuanfeng and Wang Yaofa, gave one to his companion, and finally stuck one between his own lips.
The two of them were young workers who had recently arrived at the construction site. Not long after graduating middle school, they had gone off to do military service. Having just returned, they followed their fathers to work as laborers on this site. The taller one was the older brother, Zhao Shi, while the other was his younger brother, Zhao Lei.
The construction site was mostly populated by middle-aged and older men; even the youngest site supervisor already had children of his own. When the two brothers first arrived, they didn't even have anyone their own age to hang out with, until Liu Chuanfeng and his friend came over to set up their stall. Through casual interaction, they quickly became acquainted.
At first, the two brothers had assumed Liu Chuanfeng and Wang Yaofa had low educational backgrounds just like them. But upon chatting in detail, they discovered that these two were university students about to start college.
A sudden sense of inferiority washed over them. They had originally thought everyone was lingering around the bronze tier, but who would have expected these Grandmasters to come down and play on smurf accounts? No wonder they even had such a pretty girlfriend.
Coupled with Wang Yaofa talking to them about college and the wonders of the big city, longing and regret flickered in the eyes of the two brothers. Everyone wanted to get ahead in life. When they were young, they had heard countless stories about heroes emerging from all walks of life, and many articles claimed that a diploma was merely a stepping stone. Yet after returning from the military, they discovered that this "mere stepping stone" required at least a junior college degree to begin with.
Unfortunately, there was no regret medicine in this world, nor any way to start over from scratch (unless you were like Liu Chuanfeng).
"This project won't wrap up until the end of the year. Whenever we have free time, we'll still come back."
Liu Chuanfeng offered some perfunctory words of comfort. He fully understood their mindset. They were both young guys—who would willingly spend their whole life doing odd jobs on a construction site? Given even the slightest chance, anyone would want to go out and make their mark in a major city.
"Still, if I spot a job in Shanghai that suits you guys, I can always call you over."
Liu Chuanfeng wasn't just talking nonsense. He hadn't yet finalized his subsequent business plans; everything depended on how thick his bankroll would be down the line. Starting from scratch and investing capital were two completely different matters, and the level of hardship varied accordingly.
"Really?"
Hearing this, the two brothers nodded eagerly and quickly replied that as long as there was an opening, they weren't picky.