Once in university, can one not let loose and fly free?
All this time, staying up late to grind through questions, wading through seas of problems and scaling mountains of books, the drive behind it all was not just to fly free in university…
For a moment, Wang Shuang did not know how to answer Xie Qian’s question and subconsciously denied it.
“Of course not!”
Peng Guoqing said wistfully, “Ah, we have already entered university. Letting loose a bit is perfectly normal, is it not? Just tell Xie Qian what you are thinking. We are all friends; why hold back the truth?”
Wang Shuang inwardly cursed Peng Guoqing as a scheming dog.
Wang Shuang worried that after going to Modu for university first, in a year’s time he would be completely squeezed out of the friend circle by this scheming dog Peng Guoqing. At once, he solemnly assured Xie Qian with righteous fervour, “I am quite happy, really. Getting into a 211 university was thanks to my own efforts, but it would not have happened without your help, Xie Qian. Half of my admission notice is your credit! My dad wanted to buy me a car, but I said I appreciated the thought and to hold off on the car for now. I am going to Modu to study, not to show off wealth; buying me a car would mean nothing!”
Not at all.
Wang Shuang had not refused at all.
He had even selected the brand and model!
The reason it had not been bought yet was that he did not want to awkwardly drive the car to Modu. His original plan was to have his dad Wang Jun accompany him for registration and buy it directly in Modu.
Now, of course, Wang Shuang would deny it to the death.
Peng Guoqing rolled his eyes, and Wang Shuang returned the eye-roll. He turned to fawn over Xie Qian by pulling open the car door for him, “I will go to Modu first for a year and try to get familiar with the turf. Wait until you and Wen Ying come next year!”
Waiting for Xie Qian, waiting for Wen Ying, and even Li Mengjiao, but not counting Peng Guoqing, because Peng Guoqing absolutely could not pass!
Wang Shuang deliberately circled in front of Peng Guoqing and said through gritted teeth in a low voice, “If you have the skill, pass the exam on your own like I did. Do not embarrass yourself by throwing a heap of money just to have a university to attend!”
This time, it was Peng Guoqing’s turn to glare.
Spending his own family’s money, how was that lacking skill?
The money his dad earned, if he did not spend it, was he supposed to encourage his dad to spend it on others?!
Peng Guoqing originally wanted to retort and educate Wang Shuang on how to be a proper rich second-generation heir, but the doubt and disdain on Wang Shuang’s face disrupted his train of thought. A rush of hot blood surged straight to Peng Guoqing’s head.
“Then just wait and see. Wait for this young master to get in on merit… and attend the same school as you!”
He had originally wanted to boast, saying he would get into a better university than Wang Shuang’s on merit, but the words at his lips were pulled back by his last shred of reason.
Wang Shuang had gotten into that 211 solely thanks to Xie Qian’s guidance on filling out the application form. Modu and the capital had always been hotspots for candidates nationwide. With Peng Guoqing’s current grades, he was still far from the admission line for that Modu 211, so he truly dared not boast about getting into a better university.
Wang Shuang bent at the waist in a mocking “after you” gesture. “Fine by me. I will wait for you to be my underclassman~”
An underachiever who had already climbed ashore from the Gaokao watched another underachiever flounder and struggle in the water. This feeling was truly too delightful!
Xie Qian lightly tapped the car window. “Are you getting in or not?”
The two dull chickens pecking at each other left Xie Qian feeling utterly speechless.
“Coming, right away.”
Perhaps out of caution as a new driver, or maybe because Xie Qian was in the car overseeing things, Wang Shuang drove with particular steadiness.
First dropping off Xie Qian, then Peng Guoqing. When only Peng Guoqing remained in the car, Wang Shuang bickered with him the entire way. One fumed that his soon-to-be new car had flown away, the other felt his scalp tighten at the thought of getting into a Modu 211 on his own. The two grew ever more displeased with each other.
Upon returning home, Wang Shuang announced he did not want the car anymore.
Wang Jun was baffled. “Did you not even select the car already?”
Wang Shuang looked utterly vigilant. “I already said no car. Are you trying to persuade me to buy one? I tell you, that trick will not work. Do not try to corrupt me. I am going to Modu to study and improve, not to enjoy myself!”
“…”
In this world, it was always fathers educating sons, not sons turning around to educate their own dads?
In another family, this might have played out as a scene of “paternal kindness and filial piety”, but Wang Jun simply chuckled. It was really because Wang Shuang’s reversal in getting into a Modu 211 university had given Wang Jun such face that he felt exceptionally tolerant towards his son.
“Alright then, if you do not like cars, no car it is. So what do you want? Papa still needs to make good on the promised gift!”
Wang Jun was easygoing, but Wang Shuang was stumped.
Without a car, what was the point of buying anything else? Any gift could lead to “toying away one’s ambition”. Wang Shuang waved it off. “Buy whatever. Just do not let it interfere with my studies.”
His son was so sensible that Wang Jun was overjoyed.
After his wife got off work, he hurried to brag, saying a tiger father has no dog son.
Mrs Wang simply laughed. “You believe whatever he says? Think carefully about what he did today. I heard Xie Qian returned from Modu. He must have said something to make him claim he does not want the new car. Only a fool like you would believe his nonsense about studying seriously!”
Wang Jun was displeased. “What nonsense? Why can my son not improve? Hurry and think, if no car, then swap it for something else.”
Wang Jun did not care whether Wang Shuang had changed his mind because of Xie Qian’s words. Wang Jun only looked at the result.
Listening to Xie Qian was not a bad thing at all. Wang Shuang had already finished the Gaokao, yet Xie Qian was still willing to keep an eye on him, which showed that Wang Jun’s initial “binding plan” had succeeded!
Mrs Wang thought seriously for a bit. “If he does not want a car, then no car. He is just a student; he does not need to drive. Others can take the bus, and so can he. Driving a fancy car would only draw unwanted attention at school. As the old saying goes, do not flaunt your wealth. Modu is not Rong City; we have no connections there. It is better if he keeps a low profile!”
Mrs Wang had never approved of Wang Jun buying a car for Wang Shuang in the first place. It was just that the father and son had been too excited; she had doused them with cold water once and not bothered a second time.
Now that Wang Shuang himself said no car, it suited Mrs Wang perfectly.
“If no car, then buy him a flat in Modu.”
Wang Jun had thought his wife would have some brilliant insight, but in the end, it was still buying property.
Wang Jun had once said he wanted to buy his son a villa, which Mrs Wang had vetoed outright from the start.
Having been henpecked for so long, President Wang dared not openly question his wife’s decision and could only remind her softly, “I mentioned buying a villa before…”
“What villa? Do we not have a house for him to live in? Buying in Rong City is meaningless now. We will buy in Modu, and do not pay in full. Just cover the down payment for him; he can pay off the loan himself after university!”
A high school diploma was indeed more useful than a junior high one. Wang Jun had to admit his wife was wise.
Poor Wang Shuang not only painfully lost his new car but, unbeknownst to him, was about to become a mortgage slave.
On the other side, Teacher Liang received President Peng’s new secretary with a wary heart.
President Peng’s new secretary arrived bearing gifts, visiting Teacher Liang on behalf of President Peng.
The new secretary was extremely eloquent, but Teacher Liang was not taken in. He treated President Peng’s new secretary with great perfunctoriness.
Earlier, Mrs Peng, in order to enlist Teacher Liang to tutor her son Peng Guoqing wholeheartedly, had warmly visited a circle of teachers and even badmouthed her husband’s irresponsibility along the way, saying every family had its own hard-to-recited scriptures. Teacher Liang had only half-believed it before, but now he believed it entirely!
A responsible father would come himself to understand his son’s studies, not send a secretary!
No matter how big a boss or leader, too busy to even spare time to care for his son?
If no time for that, why have a child at all? Once you have a child, you must take responsibility for educating them!
Teacher Liang was just about to say something when the phone rang.
It happened to be Peng Guoqing calling.
Peng Guoqing asked Teacher Liang whether he could get into a Modu 211 university.
Under normal circumstances, Teacher Liang would tell Peng Guoqing to stop dreaming and set a lower target to make it achievable.
But right now, in front of President Peng’s secretary, Teacher Liang’s voice was particularly resonant as he passionately encouraged Peng Guoqing, “As long as you keep up your current momentum, your chances of getting into a 211 university are very high!”
Peng Guoqing was overjoyed.
“I think so too!”
You think what now.
Teacher Liang hung up the phone with a composed expression and said to the new secretary, who had listened in stunned silence, “You heard that. His goal is a 211 university. I never saw what this child was like before, but since transferring to Rong City Provincial Key School, he has always been extremely diligent. I suggest the family give him more care and encouragement so he can strive even harder for his future!”
Peng Sha’s goal was actually a 211 university?
To be President Peng’s secretary, one had to be at least a 985 university graduate.
The new secretary, a graduate of a top domestic university, looked utterly earnest. “I will certainly relay your advice to President Peng exactly as you said.”
