Chapter 237: No Longer A Young Lad
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the 23rd of July, after a long and anxious wait, the scores for the College Entry Examination were released. The candidates were eagerly picking up their mobile phones or turning on their computers to check their own scores and rankings by keying in their student id at the score query website.
…
In the Suns.h.i.+ne Garden district, inside a newly purchased and furnished 160 square meter house, Chen Jin walked up to Su Zipeng, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room. “How was it, Little Peng? Have you seen your score?”
At that moment, Su Zipeng was holding two mobile phones in his hands. In his left, was a navy blue “Red Pepper Z1”. In his right, was a Hua Yao Mate 30. The Red Pepper Z1 in his left hand was his own phone, the Hua Yao Mate 30 in his right hand was his second elder sister, Su Tiantian’s phone. He intended to use both phones to check his score at the same time.
He looked at the time and said, “Wait a while longer, it’s almost 10; hopefully, it won’t be too laggy.” They waited for another 10 seconds or so.
It was 10 o’clock sharp! Su Zipeng’s index fingers tapped at almost the same time. Two green circles appeared at the screens of both mobile phones. It was rotating ever so slowly, indicating network congestion.
Sorry, this site can’t be reached – The Hua Yao phone linked him to an error page.
The Red Pepper Z1 he was holding in his left hand, however, miraculously displayed a form, which was a detailed list of Su Zipeng’s College Entry examination scores.
Language: 145
Mathematics: 150
Comprehensive Science: 297
English: 140
Total Score: 732
Ranking in Province: 312
Special Score: 78
“Yep, what I expected was also 732 marks, no more, no less. But isn’t this ranking a little too far behind?” Su Zipeng was a little too heartbroken for tears. He did outperform his usual self in the College Entry Examination, and the marks for all his subjects were around the same range. Originally, he thought he could attain the top three in school and some top 50 in the province. But he ended up outside 300. It seemed that he had no fate with Jing Hua University and National University.
“This score is not bad at all, a proper high achiever indeed!” Chen Jin raised his thumb. “If it were ancient times, you might very well be the Zhuang Yuan.”
“I blame this on you, brother-in-law.” Su Zipeng looked at him with resentment. “If it wasn’t for you, there would never be so many scholars in this exam.” In other words, if he were to be the only one using the Little Star learning machine, the ‘Zhuang Yuan’ t.i.tle would definitely be his.
“Where’re your manners? What do your results have to do with your brother-in-law?” Mother Su came out from the kitchen. Upon hearing what Su Zipeng said, she rebuked him. Immediately after that, she asked out of concern, “Tell me, what is your score? Is it not satisfactory?”
“Yes, mum.” Su Zipeng nodded. “It was not good. 732, rank 300 over in the province.”
Mother Su’s expression was somber at first. She thought that things weren’t going well. But upon hearing the number 732, her eyes widened. “How much? Say it again?”
“732,” Su Zipeng repeated.
Around half a minute later, Mother Su, who was holding a feather duster in her hands, pressed Su Zipeng against the sofa and whipped his rear. “You stinky little brat, you dare play pretend in front of your mum eh?”
“I was wrong mum! I was wrong!” Su Zipeng begged for mercy.
“You are still my son no matter how good you did. I will whip Zhuang Yuan’s as well.”
…
In the evening, Su Yun and her sister Su Tiantian came home from work. This house in the Suns.h.i.+ne Garden district with four rooms and two compartments was purchased by Chen Jin. Every square meter was 45 thousand dollars, totaling at 7.2 million dollars.
His motive for buying this house was very simple. Firstly, this small district was only some 500 meters away from Su Yun’s office unit. It was very convenient for her to go to and from work, thus providing her a better living environment. Secondly, after Su Tiantian obtained her postgraduate diploma, she rejected her universities invitation for her to stay in school and the olive branches held out by various units. She came directly to Shang Hai and intended to find her desired job over there.
Her profession was Biological Engineering. Coincidently, there were a number of Biological research inst.i.tutions in the High-tech Zone. She swiftly found a job with an absolute wage of 15 thousand… the biggest problem was that her working place was a little far from the Suns.h.i.+ne Garden district. However, it so happened that there was a subway station right at the gates of the Suns.h.i.+ne Garden district. She could take the subway directly to a place near the company. The time she would spend on the road would not be over half an hour every day. Therefore, Su Tiantian moved into the house, saving her trouble to rent a place. Another consideration was that Su Zipeng might come over to Shang Hai to further his studies.
With all three children working or studying in Shang Hai, Father Su and Mother Su carried their luggage over and stayed for a while, doing their dishes, cooking for them, living with their children every day; it was as if their whole family had moved to Shang Hai.
Even so, Father Su and Mother Su only intended to live there for a short while and return after summer holiday. This house was the wedding house of their eldest daughter and son-in-law, why would they stay there for the long-term? Besides, they enjoined Su Tiantian and Su Zipeng in private that it was okay to stay here momentarily, but after their elder sister Su Yun got married, they had to move out asap to avoid interfering with the couple’s private life.
“Got it,” Su Tiantian and Su Zipeng answered at the same time.
However, Father Su and Mother Su were completely unaware that the reason Chen Jin bought this house was to let them settle down here. It was not the so-called wedding house they thought it was. A house that was so simply furnished, small, and cheap. How could this be his wedding house? It could only be said that the two elders were too guileless. They rejected Chen Jin’s invitation for them to settle down in Shang Hai, saying that they had work to do, and would at most visit occasionally.
Chen Jin was unable to convince them and yet, he did not want to reveal his ident.i.ty as a mogul. Therefore, he could only obey their wishes.
…
After learning about Su Zipeng’s College Entry Examination score, Su Yun excitedly said, “You scored 100 points more than your sister. Little Peng, you are better than your sister.” She thought for a moment. “How about this Little Peng, as your sister, my salary this month is all for you. Buy whatever you want, I won’t be picking a present for you.”
“Elder sister gave you one month’s salary… it seems that I could only give you my first month’s pay,” Su Tiantian followed. But after she turned around and saw her dad and mum, she shook her head and said, “No! Little Peng, I can’t give you all my pay. 10 thousand will be enough, the remaining five thousand is for dad and mum’s supplements, you have no opinions about this, right?”
“No need, my sisters!” Su Zipeng crossed his arms. “I’m an adult now, how could I still use your money? Besides, I have found a job at the nearby market. I’m working the night s.h.i.+ft today. Enough said, I’m going to work.” Upon finis.h.i.+ng, he changed into his work clothes and went out… although the transporting job at the market was harsh and he would often get slammed by his supervisor; although both of his sisters doted him since he was young and would give him all the good stuff; although he knew that his brother-in-law was a super tyc.o.o.n… but all of these were not related to him. His future still depended upon himself. Who would not admire such a young lad?
Chen Jin had this thought in his mind. But immediately, he felt that something was not right. “Little Peng is a young lad, what about me? I’m just 26, oh… no. I turned 27 just a few days ago. It seems that… I’m not that young anymore.”
He was no longer a young lad at 27 years old.
“Sigh, youth… time really does fly.”