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When the classmates saw Xu Ye’s college entrance exam results, the group chat instantly fell into a stunned, deathly silence.
If Qin Zhiwei hadn’t posted a screenshot, no one would have believed that Xu Ye had scored 558 points.
That’s right—Xu Ye’s grades in other subjects had always been decent, but his English had consistently been at the bottom of the class.
So how did he score over 120 this time?
Though many suspected Xu Ye might have cheated by copying someone else’s answers, so what? After the exam is over, all anyone cares about is your score—no one asks how you got it.
Among all the classmates, the most shocked wasn’t Qin Zhiwei, nor Li Nan, not even Xie Hong or Jiang Lei—it was Gu Mengyao.
Even in her wildest dreams, Gu Mengyao never imagined that Xu Ye would actually surpass the tier-one university cutoff.
The college entrance exam was a dividing line.
985, 211, tier-one, tier-two, vocational college—like a pyramid: the better you score, the higher your position, the greater your opportunities in the future.
Gu Mengyao hadn’t contacted Xu Ye during this time because she believed what Liu Qian said made sense. Once she got into university, she’d meet more outstanding guys, so cutting ties with Xu Ye didn’t seem like a big deal. At most, she was losing someone who offered emotional support and occasionally picked up the tab.
But now—
After seeing Xu Ye’s total score on the college entrance exam, Gu Mengyao suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
She had originally thought that once the results came out, the gap between her and Xu Ye would only widen—after all, her grades had consistently been among the top in the class.
But what she never expected was that Xu Ye had actually scored better than she did—and not just by a little.
With her score, even in the best-case scenario, she could only get into an average public university.
And Xu Ye?
He now qualified for a tier-one university.
This shift in their positions was something Gu Mengyao found hard to accept. To put it plainly, what she couldn’t accept was the idea that after leaving her, Xu Ye would end up doing even better than she did.
…
From 10:30 in the morning, Xu Ye’s Father and Zhang Hong had been on the phone nonstop, calling relatives, colleagues, and friends—anyone they usually kept in touch with. They didn’t stop until lunchtime.
Xu Ye, on the other hand, was the calmest one in the family. It wasn’t until they sat down to eat that he casually said, “Mom, isn’t it about time you made good on your promise?”
“What promise?”
“The money. You said if I got into a tier-one university, you’d give me money.”
Zhang Hong glanced at Xu Ye, then said to Xu Xiangdong, “Look at your son—just like you, already obsessed with money.”
Xu Xiangdong was in an exceptionally good mood today. Xu Ye had done so well on the exam, bringing him a great deal of pride. He laughed heartily and said, “Well, a promise is a promise. I’ll speak on your mother’s behalf—we’ll give you five thousand yuan to buy a new computer and a new phone. You’ll need them for university anyway. And if your grandparents or your aunts want to give you money too, you can keep all of it.”
Xu Ye said, “Dad, about the graduation banquet—can we not hold one?”
“Why not?”
“It’s too flashy. I’d rather you give me the money instead. If we really have to do something, just let it be a small dinner with our own family.”
Xu Xiangdong and Zhang Hong exchanged a look, found the idea reasonable, and readily agreed.
Xu Ye was thrilled.
He was one step closer to becoming a millionaire.
Of course, he was still in the stage of accumulating initial capital. With two months left before university, if he could get his hands on fifty thousand yuan, he’d have a lot more room to maneuver.
But money from his parents was still their money, and working a summer job would only bring in small change. Naturally, at a time like this, Xu Ye thought of the little heiress—Chen Qingqing.
After wolfing down his lunch, Xu Ye returned to his room and sent a message to Chen Qingqing.
Xu Ye: “You’ve seen your score, right?”
Chen Qingqing: “Mm.”
Xu Ye: “Does ‘mm’ mean you made it?”
Chen Qingqing: “Yeah.”
Xu Ye: “Congrats.”
Chen Qingqing: “It was expected. What about you?”
Xu Ye: “Not bad, I passed the tier-one cutoff.”
Chen Qingqing: “Why are you messaging me?”
Xu Ye: “It’s nothing, really.”
Chen Qingqing: “Don’t you have any friends?”
Xu Ye: “Not many.”
Chen Qingqing: “I’m going to the recording studio this afternoon to record a song. Want to come?”
Xu Ye: “Sure.”
Chen Qingqing: “Didn’t you say you were working on your driver’s license?”
Xu Ye: “Going there is just working for the Driving School anyway. What time are we heading out this afternoon?”
Chen Qingqing: “Send me your location. I’ll have Aunt Wang come pick you up.”
Xu Ye: “OJBK.”
Chen Qingqing: “What does that mean?”
Xu Ye: “It means OK. I slipped and typed it wrong.”
Chen Qingqing: “Oh.”
…
“Hey, Wei-ge.”
“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”
“I’m skipping driving practice this afternoon.”
“Why?”
“My girlfriend suddenly asked me out.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said my girlfriend asked me out. I’ve got a date this afternoon.”
“You’re such a beast.”
“You’ve got issues. So what if I’m a little better-looking than you, a bit taller, scored a bit higher on the college entrance exam, and got a girlfriend a little faster—why have you been cursing me out all day?”
Beep—beep—beep.
Xu Ye let out a sigh. “Why are young people these days so emotionally fragile?”
…
Around three in the afternoon.
Wang Ruxue drove over with Chen Qingqing and stopped at the entrance of the residential complex. Xu Ye was already waiting and got in as soon as the car pulled up.
It was a business van with three rows of seats.
Wang Ruxue sat in the front, driving. Chen Qingqing sat in the second row, and after Xu Ye got in, he took the seat right beside her.
“You’re not seriously heading to the studio to record that song I gave you, are you?”
Chen Qingqing replied coolly, “Why else would I have bought it?”
Xu Ye asked, “Planning to upload it online after recording?”
Chen Qingqing said, “I haven’t decided yet.”
Xu Ye chuckled. “Then what’s the point of all this effort?”
Chen Qingqing responded, “Because I feel like it.”
Xu Ye narrowed his eyes. “Hold on—if that song goes viral after you post it online, are you going to share the profits with me?”
Chen Qingqing replied bluntly, “No.”
Xu Ye protested, “Why not? I wrote that song!”
Chen Qingqing said flatly, “I bought the rights outright.”
Xu Ye sighed. “Ruthless!”
Their back-and-forth banter sounded a lot like playful flirting to Wang Ruxue up front. She wasn’t sure what had happened in the past few days, but she had a strong feeling that the relationship between Xu Ye and Chen Qingqing was no longer just a simple friendship.
Eventually, the car pulled up in front of a professional recording studio.
It clearly wasn’t Chen Qingqing’s first time here—she walked in with practiced ease, and Xu Ye followed closely behind her.
Once inside the recording studio, Chen Qingqing began singing If One Day I Become Rich without a care for anyone else’s presence.
The lyrics of the song were quirky and whimsical.
And the usually cold and aloof Chen Qingqing appeared unexpectedly adorable as she sang it.
Xu Ye, wearing headphones, sat outside the booth, one hand propping up his chin, the other tapping along to the beat. As he listened, a faint, involuntary “auntie smile” crept onto his face.
Chen Qingqing was a perfectionist. Even if she messed up just a single line in a song, she insisted on redoing the whole take.
And so, she sang it over and over again inside the recording booth.
Xu Ye sat comfortably in the air-conditioned room, listening to the music, not feeling bored at all.
Time drifted by, quietly and gently.
…
Evening fell.
After copying the recorded audio file onto a USB drive, Chen Qingqing and Xu Ye finally stepped out of the recording studio.
Xu Ye glanced at the time and said, “No time to go home—looks like we’ll have to grab a bite out somewhere.”
Chen Qingqing hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Want to go for barbecue?”
“Too much heat.”
“Haidilao then?”
“Honestly, eating too much Haidilao isn’t great either. It’s too heavy, not good for your skin—causes breakouts, and…”
Before he could finish, Chen Qingqing seemed to guess what he was getting at and cut him off sharply, “My treat!”
Xu Ye immediately switched tones: “But then again, one meal once in a while isn’t a big deal. Qingqing, don’t get me wrong—I’m really not the kind of guy who lives off women. You treat me this time, and next time, I’ll definitely treat you.”
“What did you just call me?”
“Qing… Qing?”
Chen Qingqing lifted her foot and stomped directly on Xu Ye’s instep. Xu Ye immediately yelped in pain.
Chen Qingqing wore a look of schadenfreude. “Serves you right for calling me that!”