We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

I haven't slept much for several days in a row, and my body does feel a bit heavy.

But when he thought of the three traders staring at the account numbers with such excitement that they were almost crying, Ye Chen felt that the trip hadn't been in vain.

Anyone would be excited to have a billion yuan in their pocket.

But when the money actually arrived in his account, he didn't really feel anything.

I was probably too tired.

It's also possible that the numbers in your bank account are too long; after looking at them for a while, they'll seem like a bunch of random coins.

Around 5 p.m., Ye Chen parked his car in the underground parking garage of an office building outside the school, changed into his usual backpack, and went into the school.

Downstairs in the dormitory building, many freshmen were carrying books as they walked out.

Ye Chen had just entered the building when his phone rang.

Sun Haoyu: "Where are we?"

Ye Chen: "We've already entered the dormitory building."

A series of hurried footsteps came from upstairs.

Sun Haoyu, wearing slippers, rushed to the corner on the third floor, grabbed the railing, and looked down.

"The one surnamed Ye!"

That shout woke up everyone on half the floor.

Ye Chen looked up at him.

"What are you doing? Do you think you can just run away from the kidneys I owe you?"

"Put the kidneys aside for now, you come up here!"

Sun Haoyu turned around and ran back to the dormitory.

Ye Chen entered the dormitory, and before he could even stand firmly in front of the door, Sun Haoyu pounced on him from the side and locked his arm around his shoulder.

"You heartless bastard, you're finally back!"

"Be gentle."

Ye Chen patted his arm.

"I just got back, are you planning to take me straight to the school clinic?"

"I've covered for you several times these past few days!"

Sun Haoyu became more and more excited as he spoke.

"At first it didn't attract attention, but later several teachers noticed something was wrong. The worst part was that it happened during Professor Zhou's class! After I shouted it out while holding my nose, he stared at me for a full ten seconds!"

Lu Wenbo was sitting in a chair, laughing so hard he was practically slumped over the table.

"The noise Old Sun made back then was absolutely amazing."

Professor Zhou also told him not to use a fake voice to answer for others.

The whole class laughed.

Sun Haoyu released Ye Chen and turned to point at the two of them.

"You still have the nerve to laugh? Back then, nobody dared to say a word; I was the only one risking my life!"

Ye Chen stretched his shoulders.

"Thank you for your hard work, Grandpa Sun."

The dormitory fell silent for a moment.

Lu Wenbo slammed his hand on the table.

Chen Zhiqiang held back for two seconds, but finally turned around and laughed out loud.

Sun Haoyu's face darkened.

"I'd be doing all the work of saving you!"

"Six kidneys."

Ye Chen extended his hand.

"Would adding another plate of grilled oysters calm Grandpa Sun down?"

Sun Haoyu grabbed it.

"Minister Ye, please rise."

"Get lost."

After a few playful exchanges, the atmosphere in the dormitory quickly warmed up.

Lu Wenbo stood up and looked Ye Chen up and down.

"Where have you been these past few days? You haven't answered the phone, haven't replied to text messages, and haven't been attending classes."

Chen Zhiqiang then spoke up.

"Your counselor came to your dorm yesterday, but we just told you that something came up at home."

Ye Chen pushed his suitcase to the table.

Thanks.

"Don't change the subject."

Sun Haoyu sat down on the edge of his bed.

"What could possibly keep you busy for a week? Judging from your complexion, you look like you've been spending a whole week straight at an internet cafe."

"I went to another city to take care of some personal matters."

Ye Chen took out several boxes of local specialty snacks he had brought back from the box and put them on the table.

"These are for you, divide them among yourselves."

Sun Haoyu picked up a box and looked at it with a suspicious expression.

"Personal matters?"

"You're a freshman, not even attending classes during the first week of school, what personal matters could you possibly have?"

Ye Chen didn't intend to go into details. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and took a few sips of mineral water.

Lu Wenbo leaned closer, winking and making faces.

"Tell us honestly, did you secretly go to see your long-distance girlfriend behind our backs? You look so weak."

Ye Chen considered it for a moment, then casually made up some nonsense.

"Actually, he went to save the world; he just finished a battle with aliens."

"roll!"

Sun Haoyu grabbed a cushion and threw it at them.

"If you go and save the world, I'll treat you to grilled kidneys tonight to help you recover!"

Ye Chen caught the pillow and tossed it back onto the bed with a smile.

"Okay, add extra cumin. It's on you tonight."

The three roommates assumed he was joking and started sharing their snacks, laughing and joking, without asking any further questions.

At 6:30 p.m., the four students from dormitory 417 appeared on the back street of the school on time.

Sun Haoyu walked in front, and as soon as he arrived at the barbecue stall, he grabbed the menu and shouted to the owner.

"Boss, bring out a plate of 'flower and edamame' first, then a case of ice-cold beer! We'll also have six kidneys, forty skewers of lamb, ten skewers of beef, two plates of oysters, and finally, a side of stir-fried instant noodles to tide us over!"

Lu Wenbo added from the side.

"Boss, grill the kidneys a little longer, so this student can have some nourishment. He's been taking exams for others lately, and his voice is hoarse from shouting."

"Get out of here."

Sun Haoyu slammed the menu on the table.

"I've been living in fear these past few days. What's wrong with eating six? If Lao Ye had come back two days later, I would have had to turn myself in to the registrar's office."

Ye Chen pulled out a plastic stool and sat down.

"When you turn yourself in, remember to implicate Lu Wenbo; he's the mastermind."

Lu Wenbo immediately objected.

"At most, I'm guilty of failing to report something I knew about; you're the mastermind."

Chen Zhiqiang sat to the side, listening to the three of them shifting blame to each other, and couldn't help but laugh.

The owner quickly brought over the beer.

Sun Haoyu filled everyone's glasses and raised them.

"Celebrating the safe return of 417 missing persons."

"Let's celebrate again that Grandpa Sun managed to keep his student status."

Ye Chen clinked glasses with his.

"You surnamed Ye, don't even think about getting back to the dorm intact tonight."

Sun Haoyu drank half a cup in one gulp and then grabbed a skewer of grilled meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere became very lively.

Sun Haoyu channeled his grief and anger into his appetite, devouring three kidneys while denouncing the "mental trauma" Ye Chen had inflicted on him over the past few days.

Ye Chen listened to their complaints with a smile, occasionally raising a glass to join in, his attitude very proper.

Chen Zhiqiang didn't join in the commotion. He lowered his head, ate a few bites, and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Ye Chen, how are you going to explain this to the counselor?"

"I'll go see her tomorrow."

"Just finding a counselor might not be enough."

Chen Zhiqiang reminded him, "Professor Zhou has taken attendance three times in the past few days. He didn't talk much the first two times, but after class the day before yesterday, he kept the list separately."

Sun Haoyu immediately put down the skewers.

"Yes, I almost forgot about that."

"Yesterday, after I finished shouting 'Here!', Old Zhou asked me, 'Has Ye Chen's vocal cords developed recently?'"

Lu Wenbo burst out laughing.

"Everyone in the class could tell, but you're still pretending."

"I call that loyalty!"

Sun Haoyu slammed his hand on the table.

"Anyway, Lao Ye, be careful tomorrow. Professor Zhou still thinks highly of you, but you really went too far this time."

Ye Chen picked up an oyster and put it on his plate.

"Here's another reward for you; we'll deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

"You still have the appetite?"

"Even if you get scolded, you have to eat your fill first."

That makes sense.

Sun Haoyu picked up the skewers again.

The four of them didn't return to their dorm until almost nine o'clock.

The bill came to a total of over four hundred yuan. Sun Haoyu wanted to rush over and look at the bill, but Ye Chen had already handed the money to the shopkeeper.

"I'll treat you next time."

Lu Wenbo patted Ye Chen on the shoulder.

"We can't always let you spend money."

"Okay, next time we go to the cafeteria, you have to treat me to an extra chicken leg."

"Who do you think you are? Add two more!"

The group chatted and laughed all the way back to their school dormitory.