Qin Shi felt his life had improved tremendously, and he'd finally shaken off the "broke loser" label. For once, he decided to splurge and take a car to the villa in Nanjiang District where Lin Yunqing lived.
"Driver, the last four digits are 3706."
Qin Shi got into the rideshare, leaned back in the seat, and opened the window.
A faint breeze poured in, stirring the loose hair on his forehead.
"Those villas in Nanjiang District aren't cheap."
The driver's small-talk instinct kicked in, and he started chatting.
"Yeah? I live on Old Factory Street, so I'm not sure."
Qin Shi scratched his head.
Ask him the price of vegetables at the Old Factory Street market, or how much the various kinds of Nutritional Paste cost, and he might know.
But villa prices and the full price of a luxury car were completely outside his field of knowledge.
"Old Factory Street, huh? You look like a student. Where do you go to school? My kid goes to Hengda Affiliated High School. The tuition's ridiculously expensive."
The driver asked, his eyes flicking over Qin Shi's clothes in the rearview mirror.
Overall, Qin Shi looked rather plain. He certainly didn't seem like he came from a wealthy family living in a villa district.
"New No. 1 Middle School."
Qin Shi replied.
"Impressive! I hear the odds of getting into Hengzhou University or the University of Science and Technology from New No. 1 Middle School are pretty high..."
The driver praised him, never letting the conversation go quiet or a remark fall flat.
Thirty minutes later, Qin Shi finally got out of the car and escaped the ordeal. He thought to himself:
Next time, I'll just ask Teacher Lin to pick me up.
He stood outside the villa district and called Lin Yunqing