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

The girls' dormitory in the Department of Foreign Languages.

In the dormitory after the lights were turned off, only a few mobile phone screens were faintly lit.

Four girls, having just removed their makeup and with face masks on, began their first late-night chat of their university life.

The conversation naturally turned to the social gathering that took place a few hours earlier.

Wang Yao turned over, and the bed made a slight creaking sound.

What did you guys think of those guys today?

Li Meng was looking at herself in a small mirror when she casually chimed in.

"That big guy from Northeast China, Sun Haoyu, is pretty funny. He talks like he's doing a stand-up comedy routine, but he's a bit too muscular."

Xu Jiao sat on the upper bunk with her legs crossed, applying body lotion to her arms while forcefully steer the conversation toward her own focus.

"Sun Haoyu is just good at livening up the atmosphere, but if we're talking about something really interesting, it has to be Ye Chen."

Li Meng put down the mirror and asked curiously.

"Isn't he supposed to be pretty quiet? He barely said a word all night, just drank water and ate barbecue."

Xu Jiao stopped applying body lotion, her tone revealing a shrewdness.

"What do you know? This is called 'a true master doesn't reveal their abilities.'"

"Think about it carefully. A $15,000 iPhone 4, and the person doesn't even put a case on it, just throws it on the table. What do you call that? That's called not taking this money seriously at all."

"And then there was the bill. It was a few hundred yuan, and he just went to the restroom and paid for it."

"He didn't mention it at all when he came back, and when Lu Wenbo asked him, he just brushed it off lightly."

"This composure cannot be faked."

"You think you can buy a 15,000 yuan phone just by doing a part-time job? You're kidding me! I bet he's a low-key, hidden rich kid, and his family probably runs some big business."

Xu Jiao tightened the cap of the body lotion and threw it on the bedside table, making no attempt to hide her ambition.

"I think Ye Chen is pretty good. I'm planning to give him a try. Don't try to steal him from me!"

Li Meng burst out laughing from the lower bunk.

"You have a sharp eye; you've already spotted your target on the very first day?"

"That's right. You have to act fast when it comes to good resources. By the time all the girls in the school realize what's happening, it'll be too late."

Gu Yuxuan lay quietly on the upper bunk of another bed.

She didn't participate in the discussion; she simply turned over and faced the wall.

He pulled open his sleeve and gently rubbed the still-present red mark on his wrist.

When your fingertips touch your skin, you can feel a slight stinging sensation.

Listening to Xu Jiao's well-reasoned asset assessment from the upper bunk, Gu Yuxuan found it utterly laughable.

Mobile phone, payment, clothing pattern.

Xu Jiao could only see these superficial things.

She had no idea that what was truly attractive about Ye Chen was his composure and imposing presence in the face of unexpected situations, far exceeding that of his peers.

In the corridor, facing two drunk thugs, Ye Chen stood in front of her without backing down or panicking, and with a few words, he tricked them into retreating.

That kind of powerful core and sense of security cannot be bought with money.

In this dormitory, she was the only one who had ever seen Ye Chen.

This information gap gave Gu Yuxuan a secret sense of superiority. She loosened her wrist and closed her eyes.

Does Xu Jiao want to pursue Ye Chen?

Gu Yuxuan felt that Xu Jiao's superficial tricks were no match for Ye Chen.

The next morning, at the South Playground of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Freshmen assembled in class formations and lined up to receive their military training uniforms.

In early September, the lingering summer heat was still raging in Shanghai.

The scorching sun beat down on the rubber track, and there wasn't a breath of wind in the air; the stifling heat made it hard to breathe.

The freshmen stood under the sun, their lines loose and disorganized, with complaints rising and falling.

In the line of Class 1, Computer Science Department, Zhao Qiang stood on the outside of the line, holding a hard copybook in his hand, pretending to count the number of people.

Yesterday's election for class monitor was a crushing defeat, and he only managed to get the position of life committee member, which made Zhao Qiang, a local native who always thought highly of himself, very angry.

Today, as he receives his military training uniform, he desperately needs an opportunity to rebuild his authority.

A tricycle was parked by the runway, with more than a dozen cases of bottled water piled up in its cargo bed.

These are the heatstroke prevention supplies distributed by the college's logistics department to each class.

Zhao Qiang walked to the shade of a tree, put his hands on his hips, and shouted at the boys in the group.

"Boys, don't just stand there! A few of you come over and bring over our class's water supply!"

There was a three-second silence in the queue.

Everyone was feeling dizzy and lightheaded under the sun, and no one wanted to move.

Moreover, Zhao Qiangqiang's behavior in collecting class fees yesterday had already offended everyone in the class.

Even Sun Haoyu ignored him, as he was looking down at the Penguin Space app he had just downloaded on his phone.

The scene was very embarrassing.

Feeling embarrassed, Zhao Qiang scanned the group and finally fixed his gaze on Ye Chen, who was standing at the end of the line.

Ye Chen was wearing a black baseball cap with the brim pulled low, looking down at the iPhone 4 in his hand.

On the screen, Su Ya had just sent a work report.

"Mr. Ye, the one million US dollars has been settled in installments and has not triggered the State Administration of Foreign Exchange's regulatory red line."

Ye Chen typed with one hand and replied, "Received."

After sending the message, he exited the current interface, opened Han Yue's chat window separately, and sent a new command:

"You should register two new investment companies. One in China, named 'Star Capital'; the other, register an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands, named 'Star Holdings'."

"Next, we are ready to start our overseas investment business."

Zhao Qiang was furious at Ye Chen's detached attitude.

Yesterday, it was Ye Chen who led the way in finding fault, which caused him to lose face as the class monitor.

Zhao Qiang strode up to Ye Chen, put on a stern face, and adopted the demeanor of a class leader.

"Ye Chen, everyone's in line, and you're just playing on your phone."

"Go and move those two cases of water over there."

Ye Chen sent the text he had just typed and turned off the screen.

He looked up at Zhao Qiang.

"I'm busy."

Two words, crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

Zhao Qiang was humiliated in public, and his voice suddenly rose several octaves as he tried to use moral blackmail to intimidate others.

"What? You're not free? You think you're free just because you're on your phone? This is a class activity; don't you have any sense of team spirit?"

People from several surrounding classes turned to look.

Sun Haoyu and Lu Wenbo also stopped what they were doing and frowned as they looked at Zhao Qiang.

Ye Chen put his phone in his pocket, crossed his arms, and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.

"If you want to be an official, go and move it yourself. Don't make a big deal out of nothing."

A suppressed burst of laughter immediately erupted from the group.

Zhao Qiang's face instantly turned bright red, and the veins on his neck bulged. He pointed at Ye Chen, gritting his teeth.

"What kind of attitude is that? I'm just assigning tasks to the class!"

"You're making my ass."

Sun Haoyu stepped out from the group and slapped Zhao Qiang on the shoulder with a palm as big as a fan, the force of which made Zhao Qiang stagger.

"Wasn't Old Ye clear enough yesterday? You're just a student life committee member; your job is to manage the accounts. Do you really think you're a contractor?"

Zhao Qiang was enraged and was about to lash out.

"What's all the noise about?"

Counselor Xu Man walked over from the side with the attendance list in hand.

She was dressed in business attire, her brows slightly furrowed, as she glanced at the chaotic queue.

Seeing this, Zhao Qiang immediately grasped at a straw and pointed at Ye Chen to complain.

"Teacher Xu, I arranged for the boys to fetch water, but Ye Chen not only refused to cooperate, but also led the way in causing trouble and disrupting class discipline!"

Xu Man glanced in the direction Zhao Qiang pointed.

Ye Chen stood there calmly, without even bothering to explain.

Xu Man turned her head to look at the tricycle parked a dozen meters away, which only had three or four boxes of water left on it.

She turned her head and looked at Zhao Qiang.

"These are just a few boxes of water. Can't you, as the class's life committee member, carry them all by yourself? Why do you have to disrupt the team at this crucial moment?"

Zhao Qiang was stunned. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a sound for a long time.

Xu Man ignored him and turned to look at the group.

"Sun Haoyu, Chen Zhiqiang, you two are tall, go and bring the water over and distribute it."

"Okay!"

Sun Haoyu readily agreed and pulled Chen Zhiqiang toward the tricycle.

As he passed by Zhao Qiang, he deliberately bumped into his shoulder.

Xu Man took the roster and walked to the front, completely ignoring Zhao Qiang, this clown.

Zhao Qiang stood there, unsure whether to advance or retreat, his expression incredibly complex.

Ye Chen took out his phone again and continued dealing with company matters, as if a fly had just buzzed past his ear.

Just then, the foreign language department team finished collecting their uniforms and were walking back along the rubber track.

The all-female formation immediately attracted the attention of most of the boys on the playground.

As the group approached the Computer Science Department, a figure suddenly broke away from the formation.

The tight-fitting white T-shirt had its hem tied at the waist, revealing a slender waistline.

She rolled up the cuffs of her oversized camouflage military training pants and wore a pair of white canvas shoes.

Holding a bottle of chilled Gatorade with water droplets in her hand, Xu Jiao ignored the burning gazes of the boys around her and walked straight toward the computer science department's group.

Lu Wenbo stabbed Ye Chen repeatedly with his elbow.

"Old Ye, Old Ye! Look over there!"

Ye Chen raised his head.

Xu Jiao had already stopped in front of him.

She flicked her short hair behind her ear, smiled brightly and boldly, and handed over the bottle of chilled Gatorade in her hand.

"Ye Chen, it's quite hot today, here you go."

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Dozens of eyes fell on the two of them simultaneously.