Chapter 31: Lost in a Sea of Flattery

They say a thousand people have a thousand Hamlets, but some folks are dead-set that their taste is the gold standard.

Could Song Qingqing really outshine Jiang Tian?

Pfft!

Cao Guangyu's mouth stretched wide like the waistband of cotton pants. The more he thought about it, the more indignant he got. He turned to Jiang Qin for backup, figuring Jiang Qin's approval would seal the deal.

But Jiang Qin hadn't even glanced over, so he had no opinion. He just nodded along half-heartedly to Cao Guangyu's rant.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, you're right."

Cao Guangyu beamed instantly. "See? Even Old Jiang says Jiang Tian's number one. Are your eyes just for breathing or what?"

"Old Jiang, what's wrong with your vision? Song Qingqing's clearly the best-looking," Ren Ziqiang shot back, unimpressed.

Zhou Chao couldn't help muttering, "Old Jiang, do you even like girls? You don't seem interested at all."

Jiang Qin stretched lazily and leaned back in his chair. "Women? They'd only slow down my money-making."

"Money-making? Don't tell me you're gonna waste your youth on part-time jobs?"

"Part-time jobs, my ass. You sparrows wouldn't get my grand ambitions."

Ren Ziqiang mulled it over, then smirked. "I get it, Old Jiang. You're just not confident, huh?"

Zhou Chao caught on too. "No wonder you never dated in high school—scared of rejection? You don't need to aim for someone like Song Qingqing; she's out of your league. But with your looks, you could totally snag an average girl."

"?????"

What is this? Reading comprehension without even looking at the text—just barking random guesses? Did I say that?

Still, with the convo heading that way, Jiang Qin got curious about this Song Qingqing. He turned his head for a quick look.

Her makeup was solid—technical skill on point. Not like those girls just starting out, failing to cover blemishes and caking it on. But even with the makeup, she was maybe a 6 out of 10—about Wang Huiru's level.

Feng Nanshu's face? No contest—she was a perfect-score freak of nature.

Chu Siqi would crush Song Qingqing too. Even Hong Yan, whom he'd just met yesterday, was miles ahead.

"Old Jiang, Old Jiang?"

"Huh?"

Ren Ziqiang pursed his lips. "Saying you're not interested, but you're totally staring. Can't you just be honest?"

Jiang Qin chuckled. "Sure, I'm freaking mesmerized."

"Forget it. Girls like that never lack boyfriends. No way she'd go for us. Be realistic—find someone gentle and quiet," Ren Ziqiang advised.

Jiang Qin gave him a newfound respect. "Old Ren, that's some high-level thinking. I'm with you on that."

A while later, the freshman meet-and-greet wrapped up.

The students of Finance Class 4 streamed out of the classroom, following their counselor to the admin office to pick up military training uniforms.

Cao Guangyu was barely 5'7", so a 175 cm uniform would've fit him fine—Ms. Lü had planned it that way.

But with girls watching nearby, he couldn't handle the hit to his pride. Ignoring the counselor's protests, he insisted on a 180 cm uniform, brushing off all objections.

"Old Cao, can't you be honest for once?"

"Honest? The 180 fits me perfectly!"

Cao Guangyu glared at Ren Ziqiang, fuming that he'd called out his little scheme at a time like this.

The girls nearby laughed so hard they could barely breathe, sizing Cao Guangyu up with their eyes. To make it worse, self-proclaimed 180 cm Cao stood next to Liu Xiaojuan and was the exact same height. Shamelessly, he even said, "Oh, you're 180 too?"—leaving Liu Xiaojuan mortified.

Once they had their uniforms, the four headed back to the dorm to plan. They decided to grab a meal out.

Jiang Qin had been out walking Feng Nanshu last night, leaving the dorm short-handed. Now that everyone was together, they were itching for a good meal off-campus.

"Old Cao, you're the rich kid—first meal's on you, right?" Ren Ziqiang clapped his shoulder.

"Get lost! Why me?"

"You're always bragging about your family's company, millions in daily cash flow. Show a little of that wealth!"

Cao Guangyu could afford a meal, no problem, but after Ren Ziqiang's height jab, he wasn't in the mood to shell out.

Seeing this, Jiang Qin subtly waved Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao over for a quiet huddle.

"Want Old Cao to treat us?"

"Hell yeah! Eating on his dime would make my day!"

Jiang Qin wiggled his fingers. "Ten bucks each—I'll make him pay."

Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao exchanged a glance, quickly fished out ten yuan each, and handed it over.

"Follow my lead."

Jiang Qin pocketed the cash, pulled a crisp twenty from his wallet, and strolled ahead casually, like nothing was up.

Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao had no clue what he was planning but tagged along, intrigued.

Sure enough, as the four stepped out of the school gate, Cao Guangyu stopped dead, eyes gleaming. He let out a screech: "Holy crap, I found twenty bucks! Bros, I picked up twenty bucks!"

"Damn, Old Cao, you're so lucky! Finding money right at the start of school—your next four years are gonna be smooth sailing!" Jiang Qin jumped in, nailing the mix of envy and awe.

"Really? It's just twenty bucks—nothing crazy, right?"

Zhou Chao caught on. "Man, why don't I have that luck? Is this the glow of a tall, rich, handsome guy?"

Cao Guangyu's ego swelled at "tall, rich, handsome." "Guess I really am a cut above!"

"No doubt! Forget studies—I bet your love life's about to take off too."

Ren Ziqiang got the hint and piled on. "Old Cao, we all came out together, but only you got this kind of luck. You've gotta treat us!"

Jiang Qin slapped Cao Guangyu's shoulder hard. "Old Ren's right. No treating us after this? That's indefensible."

"No problem—I'll treat, I'll treat!"

"Brother Cao's got that big energy!"

"Brother Cao's the real tall, rich, handsome king!"

The three led the way to Nanshan Restaurant on Walking Street, ordered 120 yuan worth of food, and dug in. Cao Guangyu kept feeling something was off but couldn't pin it down.

I found twenty bucks, spent 120 on the meal… so I'm out a hundred net?

He shook his head, brushing it off. Money didn't work like that—the twenty he'd found had a luck halo, after all.

Just then, Jiang Qin's phone buzzed. It was a QQ message from Hong Yan.

"We're done registering—where should we eat?"

Jiang Qin blinked at the message, realizing he'd mixed something up. Years of work had wired him to assume "dinner" meant after 9 p.m., but checking the chat history, Hong Yan had meant post-registration.

Problem was, he was already out with his dorm mates. What now?

Ditching them for someone else on their first college meal would get him roasted for four years straight.

"How about Nanshan Restaurant on Walking Street? Heard the food's good."

"Sounds great! I'm heading out—wait for me."

"Hold up—one more thing!"

"What?"

"My roommates are here too. Mind?"

"Then… can I bring some roommates too?"

"Of course."