PTCQT Chapter 20

Without Wang Pengcheng in the picture, Xu Ze’s life noticeably became much smoother. On top of that, since he had been a victim himself and had the courage to speak out about the truth, he earned a great deal of praise from others.

Making friends can be both difficult and easy, once words are exchanged and there’s real communication, those with shared values naturally gravitate toward each other.

Not all students came from wealthy backgrounds like Shen Chun. Many came from ordinary families and had worked hard to earn their place through sheer determination.

Xu Ze had a gentle disposition and wasn’t the type to bully others on purpose. He was always willing to lend a hand when he could, and after making some friends, his personality clearly became much more cheerful than before.

“Honestly, comparing yourself to others can really drive you mad sometimes. That’s why you really can’t get too caught up in comparisons at University A. If I tried to measure up to someone like Shen Chun, I’d have to delete my account and start over,” one guy joked with a laugh.

“Hahaha, that’s so true. Someone like Shen Chun, even a lot of the upperclassmen feel they can’t measure up to him, so there’s really no comparison for the rest of us,” another guy laughed.

“But still, there’s no need to get discouraged over stuff like that. Just getting into University A means we’re already standing on a great platform. Being able to learn here and build connections, that’s way better than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves,” said one guy as he wiped his glasses.

“You mean we’re just trying to comfort ourselves,” another nearby student teased.

“That’s called knowing how to adapt, alright? How is that self-comforting? If I don’t keep giving myself regular pep talks like this, I swear I’ll go insane one day and show you just how crazy I can get,” the guy laughed.

“Come on then, let’s see it. If you don’t act crazy today, you don’t deserve the last name Li.”

“Oh yeah? Then what should my last name be, yours? Fine, I’ll marry into your family today. You better take responsibility for me!”

“Screw you!”

Xu Ze stood to the side, smiling as he watched them. Maybe it was because someone had finally said what he’d always wanted to say, or maybe it was because he had found a way to ease the knot in his heart, but it felt like the endless rainy days of the past were slowly giving way to bright, sunny skies.

“If you ask me, Xie Baiyuan is still the most impressive. He came from a humble background too, and look at how amazing he turned out. That’s the kind of person we should be aiming to become,” one of the guys said, giving a thumbs-up.

“Exactly,” another agreed.

When this group brought up Xie Baiyuan, it seemed like not a single one of them had anything but admiration for him. Xu Ze, however, was a bit surprised. “You’re saying President Xie came from a humble background?”

How could that be possible? That person seemed just like Shen Chun, distant, untouchable, like someone from a completely different world.

“You didn’t know? Xie Baiyuan grew up in a village too. I heard he was raised by his grandparents, something like that. Apparently his parents divorced,” the guy said, letting out a sigh before adding with admiration, “But ever since he started university, he really came into money. They say he invested the award money he got from the city back then, and the returns were pretty good. Anyway, I definitely wouldn’t dare to try something like that right now.”

“Yeah, that’s honestly pretty impressive,” another guy chimed in. “Plenty of people in our major try their hand at investing, but even at a university like ours, there are way more failures than successes. Xie Baiyuan is one of the rare few who actually made it.”

“Exactly, he’s just badass, no two ways about it.”

“If he’s so badass, why are you still telling us to use him as our role model?”

“People need dreams, don’t they? Maybe we’re not there yet, but once we’ve got the skills down, we might be able to catch just a sliver of what he has.”

“Exactly!”

As the group laughed and joked around, Xu Ze found himself seeing a different side of Xie Baiyuan through their words. That person had a past so similar to his own, and yet he had never wallowed in self-pity. Instead, he had grown into someone Xu Ze couldn’t help but admire. Could he become like that too?

He really wanted to try.

On campus, students still devoted most of their energy to studying. Day by day, week by week, the classes went on. A semester lasted three to four months, and though it still felt like the heat from the spinning fans in September lingered in their memories, time had quietly shifted into the season of howling cold winds.

The final exams were meant to test everything learned over those three to four months. During that final exam month, the spots in the library suddenly became incredibly hard to secure.

“The frenzy to grab seats in the library somehow reminds me of rushing to get food after class back in high school,” Du Xin said, sitting in Xie Baiyuan’s chair with a sigh.

“Yeah, if you can’t get a seat, you can always go back to your own dorm and study,” Xie Baiyuan said without mercy.

Both he and Shen Chun were able to focus quietly, so even when the study rooms and library were completely packed, they didn’t have to stress over fighting for seats. Besides, they usually studied hard enough that now they only needed to do some simple review.

But that was only true for the two of them.

“No way, no way, I just want to study here with the president,” Du Xin declared, firmly planting himself and wrapping around Xie Baiyuan’s chair like an octopus. “President, you know I have no self-control. Someone has to watch over me, or I’m definitely failing. This is how I’ve gotten by all these years. President, you can’t just abandon an old flame for a new one. Are you really willing to let me lose my dignity at the end like this?”

Xie Baiyuan’s expression shifted from calm to deadpan. “I’m willing.”

“Old flame?” Shen Chun’s words made Xie Baiyuan want nothing more than to pick Du Xin up and toss him out.

“He’s not,” Xie Baiyuan explained, clearly regretting having let Du Xin study in the dorm all these years.

“I am. I really am,” Du Xin said with a mischievous grin.

“A new love and an old flame, having the best of both worlds, keeping Senior Du around means the President can enjoy all the benefits,” Shen Chun teased with a smile. “Isn’t that great?”

“Exactly! Look how well the junior said it,” Du Xin chimed in happily.

Xie Baiyuan: “…”

A poor choice in friends.

In the end, Du Xin did stay, happily dragging his own chair over.

Xie Baiyuan and Shen Chun sat on one side, while Du Xin took the other. The room was warm and quiet, filled only with the soft rustling sound of pens scratching paper.

But this peaceful scene only lasted about an hour. Xie Baiyuan and Shen Chun could still sit still, but Du Xin was like he had needles in his seat, shifting around, glancing at the two who were studying seriously, then getting up to grab a drink. Less than half a minute later, he was off to the bathroom. When he finally pulled out his phone, Xie Baiyuan glanced up and gave him a look.

Du Xin gave an awkward smile and whispered, “I think someone just messaged me.”

Xie Baiyuan reached out his hand, and Du Xin silently turned off his screen and handed over his phone, looking as if he’d lost all his spirit. He rested his chin on the table and stared hopelessly at Shen Chun. “Junior, you really have the patience of a saint.”

Xie Baiyuan shot Du Xin a sharp look. “Don’t bother him!”

Without even looking up, Shen Chun replied, “With such a fierce president sitting right here, I wouldn’t dare not be patient.”

“Pfft!” Du Xin couldn’t hold back his laughter. Under Xie Baiyuan’s sharp glare, he shook with amusement. “Junior, what you just said sounds like you’re under your wife’s thumb.”

Xie Baiyuan’s expression froze for a moment, just as Shen Chun chimed in, “Exactly.”

When it came to dealing with Du Xin, Xie Baiyuan could still keep things strict. But with Shen Chun, all he felt was helpless resignation.

It was all Du Xin’s fault for leading Shen Chun astray!

At this point, Du Xin expected that given Xie Baiyuan’s personality, he’d at least give them a good scolding, lay down some strict rules to make them buckle down and study. But after waiting for a long time… nothing happened.

Du Xin glanced at Xie Baiyuan, only to find the usually serious president staring off into space. “President, Shen Chun’s daydreaming too. Why do you only call me out and not him?”

“Focus more,” Xie Baiyuan shot him a glance, then turned to Shen Chun. “If you’re tired from studying, you can take a break, balance work and rest.”

Du Xin: “…”

Could his double standards be any more obvious?

Though he grumbled silently, the “old flame” didn’t dare act out, after all, he’d brought this on himself. The new love was so charming, and his beloved president wasn’t someone to mess with, especially when words failed and fists spoke. He definitely didn’t want to end up as the discarded one!

Under the threat of force, Du Xin obediently stayed put until noon. When lunchtime came, the atmosphere outside suddenly burst into lively chatter, like a natural alarm clock that was impossible to ignore.

“Finally, time to eat. I’m exhausted,” Du Xin stretched lazily, half-collapsing onto the table.

“President, let’s go eat together,” Shen Chun said, putting down his pen and gently grabbing Xie Baiyuan’s hand, which was just hanging off the edge of the table.

“Alright.” Xie Baiyuan straightened up, feeling a surprising thrill with others around.

“I’m coming too! I’m coming! We’ll keep studying in the afternoon,” Du Xin said eagerly.

“We’re going out in the afternoon, no studying,” Xie Baiyuan replied.

“Going out? The Student Council hasn’t had any tasks lately, right?” Du Xin asked, puzzled. “Besides, President, Shen Chun’s first exam is just three days away. If he doesn’t study properly, he might fail, and then we’ll have to call his parents.”

“He’s not you,” Xie Baiyuan said coldly.

Shen Chun looked over at Du Xin, who suddenly leapt up, full of indignation. Xie Baiyuan instinctively pulled his hand back from Shen Chun’s palm and, under Du Xin’s confused gaze, straightened his collar.

As expected, Du Xin kept protesting, “What’s wrong with me? I didn’t fail! I just didn’t do so well on one exam. President, why are you digging up my old dirt?”

“Didn’t do well?” Shen Chun withdrew his hand, glancing sideways at Xie Baiyuan’s awkward movements. Following Du Xin’s words, he asked again.

“Well, you know how it is, university isn’t like high school where someone’s always watching you; it all depends on self-discipline,” Du Xin said, shifting his gaze from Shen Chun to Xie Baiyuan. “I was usually pretty diligent, but before the first exam, I didn’t really review much and almost failed. Sigh, getting into University A isn’t the end of the road. Every year, quite a few students get expelled for failing because they slacked off…”

Damn, why did it feel like those two were holding hands under the table just now?

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