The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 4

The man saw him too, immediately grinned, and waved vigorously.

“Taozi! Get down, get down!”

Han Xuetao stood there, stunned.

Ma Hui. Nicknamed “Monkey.” His only best friend throughout his three years of high school.

Ma Hou’s mom ran a wonton shop near the back gate of the school. Because Han Xuetao was a good student, she especially liked him playing with Ma Hou. Every time Han Xuetao went there, his mom would cook wontons for him and add a braised egg, never charging him.

Gazing at the emaciated figure in the distance, Han Xuetao felt a surge of distant familiarity—this was the first time he had seen a living monkey since his rebirth.

“Taozi!” someone shouted again, stamping their feet in panic. “Are you deaf? Come down! Something terrible has happened!”

Han Xuetao said goodbye to his parents and turned to go downstairs.

As soon as his foot touched the last step, a hand reached out from the side and gripped his arm tightly.

“Taozi!” Ma Hui’s monkey-like face loomed closer, glancing left and right. He lowered his voice, but his excitement was impossible to suppress. “I heard you beat up Zhang Lu from Class Two?”

Han Xuetao paused, tilting his head to look at him: “Who told you that?”

“Who told you that?” Ma Hou’s voice suddenly rose, then he quickly covered his mouth and pulled him out of the building. “Oh my goodness, it’s spread everywhere! Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, even Class 6 knows!”

As he walked, he gestured: “Basically, you got drunk at the karaoke bar, confessed your feelings to Zhang Lu from Class Two, but Zhang Lu disagreed, and things fell apart. You got angry and started a fight!”

Han Xuetao’s lips twitched: “Me? Confess to her?”

“Yeah, right!” Ma Hou gave a thumbs up, his face full of admiration. “Taozi, you’re something else! Zhang Lu’s grades are so-so, but she’s really pretty! The boys in Class Two treat her like a treasure, always speaking softly to her, afraid of scaring her—and you, you just went straight for it!”

He then sighed regretfully, slapping his thigh: “Sigh, it’s all my mom’s fault! She insisted on making me chop minced meat at home, and I chopped it all afternoon! Such a big show, and I didn’t even get to watch it! Don’t you think I lost out?”

Han Xuetao looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words.

The chill that had just begun to rise in my heart was completely dispelled by this guy’s rambling nonsense.

“By the way,” Ma Hou leaned closer and lowered his voice, “I heard that several boys from Class Two have said they’re going to cause you trouble. Be careful, those guys always act all high and mighty, but when it comes to violence…”

Han Xuetao ignored this and stared at him, asking, “That’s all? Nothing else?”

“Isn’t that enough?” Ma Hou’s eyes widened. “Taozi, your reputation is ruined now, especially among the girls!”

Han Xuetao pursed his lips.

He didn’t care about his reputation at all. He didn’t even consider those boys from Class Two a threat. What he cared about was whether any rumors would surface that were detrimental to him—although he had ruined the karaoke bar’s scheme, the other party would definitely not let it go.

Zhou Cheng.

The name resurfaced. She had a father who was a presiding judge in court and a mother who was a vice-principal in a middle school.

You want to steal my college spot?

Anger surged from his chest, and Han Xuetao felt a burning sensation in his throat.

“Hey, Taozi?”

The sound of the monkey pulled him back to reality.

When Han Xuetao looked up, he found that he had been dragged out of the alley and was being walked towards East Street.

“Where are you dragging me to?”

The monkey held onto him tightly, refusing to let go: “Someone over there wants to see you.”

“who?”

You’ll find out when you get there.

…

Han Xuetao was dragged by the monkey towards East Street.

Turning the corner, three girls were standing in front of the freezer at the supermarket entrance.

The monkey turned around and winked at him, then trotted over to the girl in the middle, bowing and smiling obsequiously: “Class monitor, I’ve brought the person for you!”

Han Xuetao paused, squinting as he looked over.

The afternoon sun shone obliquely, and he recognized the girl in the middle wearing a white dress at a glance.

Li Man.

His class monitor was the top student in the grade. Every year at the opening ceremony, when she gave a speech, the boys below would fall silent for three seconds.

Han Xuetao walked forward slowly, and the memory in his mind gradually became clearer—he seemed to have had a slight crush on her back in high school? But it only went as far as “a crush.” ​​Li Man was the type of girl that many people liked, but few dared to pursue.

He took a few steps closer, and the voices of several girls drifted over.

“Hey, I’m here!” Sun Ling, a round-faced girl, stared at him. “You know what, Han Xuetao is actually quite handsome! I didn’t even notice him for three years of high school!”

Luo Diandian, with her baby face, pouted and said, “I noticed it a long time ago! She looks a bit like that character in a Japanese drama…”

Sun Ling shoved her: “Are you a lovesick fool? Be careful, he might slap you after he hits Zhang Lu!”

Luo Diandian rolled her eyes: “What am I being infatuated with? If anyone’s interested, it’ll be Manman! Zhang Lu from Class 2 isn’t even as good as me academically. She’s a toad trying to eat swan meat!”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Li Man pulled her aside, somewhat annoyed.

These words reached Han Xuetao’s ears, and his lips twitched.

He walked to the freezer and stood there.

The three girls immediately fell silent, all six eyes fixed on him.

Han Xuetao remained silent.

Sun Ling couldn’t help but ask, “Han Xuetao, I heard you confessed your feelings to Zhang Lu?”

Han Xuetao uttered two words indifferently: “No time.”

“No time?” Sun Ling blinked and turned to look at Li Man. “He said he’s busy…”

Luo Diandian leaned forward: “Then…did you hit her?”

Han Xuetao said calmly, “Go ask Zhang Lu. She said if she hit her, she hit her.”

Sun Ling and Luo Diandian exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with excitement—it seemed like they were really fighting, how thrilling!

Li Man coughed lightly, looked at Han Xuetao, and her expression became serious: “Han Xuetao, although we won’t be in the same class after graduation, we were classmates for three years in high school. When we meet again after university, we’ll still be classmates. If you really hit someone, you’d better apologize. Of course…” She paused, then added, “I’m just suggesting it. It’s up to you if you don’t want to.”

Looking at her serious little face, Han Xuetao suddenly felt like laughing—at the age of seventeen or eighteen, she was speaking like an adult.

“No time,” he uttered those two words again.

Li Man was slightly taken aback, feeling somewhat annoyed.

“Too busy” again? What does that mean? Is it a sarcastic remark implying that I’m meddling in other people’s business?

At this moment, Luo Diandian’s eyes darted around, and she leaned over with a mischievous smile, asking, “Han Xuetao, let me ask you—if you were given another chance to confess your feelings, and had to choose between Zhang Lu from Class Two and our Manman, who would you confess to?”

“Luo Diandian, do you want to die?!”

Li Man exploded and lunged at her to strangle her.

Luo Diandian laughed and dodged, while Sun Ling joined in the teasing.

Han Xuetao was speechless as he looked at the three girls making a ruckus.

“Are you guys bored?”

He said those words and turned to leave.

“Han Xuetao!”

Li Man suddenly called out to him.

Han Xuetao stopped and turned around.

Li Man walked over quickly, her face still flushed from the earlier commotion, but her expression had returned to its usual serious demeanor. She took an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to her.

“Here. Teacher Wu asked me to give this to you. I’m not here to meddle in your business, I’m here to deliver a letter.”

A letter from the homeroom teacher to himself?

Han Xuetao glanced down at it and took it.

The envelope was sealed.

He didn’t open it; he just put it in his pocket.

Thanks.

Li Man stood still, glancing at him with a hesitant expression.

Han Xuetao remembered something and asked, “Who in our grade applied to Ninghai University?”

Li Man was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, she stammered, “It seems… you’re the only one here?”

Han Xuetao’s eyelids drooped.

Just by yourself?

If they want a spot at Ninghai University, they’ll have to start with me. Pretending to agree to my uncle’s request and keeping them calm is the right thing to do; I need to find a way to deal with Zhou Cheng as soon as possible!

He snorted inwardly, nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Luo Diandian’s voice came from behind: “Huh? He just left like that?”

Sun Ling chimed in, “I never realized Han Xuetao was so cool.”

Li Man stood there, watching that figure walk further and further away, and bit her lip.

There was actually another person who applied to Ninghai University—herself.

I was just too embarrassed to say it earlier.

But why did he suddenly ask this? Does he know that we applied to the same university?

Just then, the monkey appeared from the side, watching Han Xuetao’s departing figure, and suddenly chanted loudly: “Ah, mortal women, your effeminate infatuation will only tarnish his path to the Asura! In his eyes there are no beautiful skulls, only the lonely throne hanging in the endless night sky!”

Li Man, Luo Diandian, and Sun Ling all turned their heads at once, staring at him with disdain.

“ill!”