Taking First Place

"Um, we're all classmates from the same school. Come on, let's order." Tang Shizhe awkwardly tried to smooth things over.

"Mm, you pick. Don't hold back." Yan Yanran turned around and gave Tang Shizhe a faint smile.

Tang Shizhe pulled the menu in front of himself and quickly began ordering.

"That's enough. We'll have these." Tang Shizhe handed the menu to Yin Qi. He had no intention of asking Yan Yanran what she wanted to eat. If he let Yan Yanran order, who knew how long it would take? Better to separate the two women as soon as possible.

"Please wait a moment. Your dishes will be served shortly." Yin Qi smiled and nodded at Tang Shizhe, then took the menu and turned away without even glancing at Yan Yanran.

"What bad luck. My perfectly good mood is completely ruined." Yan Yanran brushed aside her bangs and sighed.

"You two have a grudge?" Tang Shizhe asked cautiously.

"It's not exactly a grudge. It's just that little brat always picks on me whenever she sees me. I don't know why—maybe she's jealous because I'm prettier than her." Yan Yanran rolled her eyes, clearly holding Yin Qi in great contempt.

Ding. Yan Yanran's WeChat suddenly chimed. Seeing that it was her advisor, she immediately unlocked her phone and opened WeChat.

"Yan Yanran, I told you not to slack off in class! This time, someone else took first place in the total scores for your required courses in the final exams!" Her advisor immediately tore into her.

"Huh? No way!" Yan Yanran's mouth fell open in shock. At the end of the second semester of freshman year, the person in second place had been ten points behind her. How could someone have suddenly surpassed her this time? Had one of the teachers deducted points from her usual performance grade?

"This student named Yin Qi scored five points more than you in total." Her advisor sent a frowning emoji.

Wait! Who? Yin Qi!

Yan Yanran suddenly froze in place!

What was going on? Yin Qi, who usually skipped class, had actually scored five points more than her!

Even if the teachers had not deducted points for her absences, Yin Qi's written exam scores could not possibly have been higher than hers!

Yan Yanran felt that she must be cursed with bad luck today. Running into Yin Qi while having a meal was one thing, but being overtaken by her in the exams too? Being surpassed by that gaudy underachiever was like getting slapped across the face over and over!

"Oh, and there's another student named Tang Shizhe. He got full marks on every written exam!"

"And according to the teachers, this student named Tang Shizhe not only answered every question perfectly, but had thoroughly mastered and integrated everything he had learned. Even substitute teachers could not write answers that polished. They were practically model answers! So the teachers directly gave him full marks for his regular performance grades!" Her advisor sighed. By now, all the teachers believed that Tang Shizhe's month-long disappearance had been spent studying on his own. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to have changed so drastically after coming back.

After carefully reading every word her advisor had sent, Yan Yanran slowly raised her head and stared searchingly at Tang Shizhe, who was sitting across from her and idly playing with his water glass.

"What are you looking at? Can't a poor guy play with a water glass because he hasn't seen much of the world?" Tang Shizhe rolled his eyes, assuming Yan Yanran was speechless over him playing with the glass.

"You know there's a student named Tang Shizhe who took first place in the year during this final exam? That Tang Shizhe couldn't be you, could he?" Yan Yanran said flatly.

Yet the way her delicate hands tightly gripped her phone showed that she was not nearly as calm inside as she appeared.

"Oh, you mean that genius named Tang Shizhe? As far as I know, that's far from all he can do. Gold will shine sooner or later, especially when it's handsome." Tang Shizhe narrowed his eyes and praised himself. His smug, roguish expression made people want to punch him.

"I don't feel like treating you to this meal anymore." Yan Yanran gritted her teeth.

"You can't do that, Boss Yan! My parents are both dead. I barely make enough to live and pay tuition by doing odd jobs. If I treat you to this meal, I'll be chewing dry buns for half a month!" Tang Shizhe let out a theatrical wail and pretended to be pitiful.

Unexpectedly, Yan Yanran actually believed him. Hearing that Tang Shizhe's parents were dead, she could not help feeling a little guilty. She should return that ten thousand yuan to him as soon as possible.

"I was joking. I'll treat you to this meal, and take back the ten thousand yuan you gave me. I can have a relative repair my car without spending a cent, and there's also the insurance payout." Yan Yanran hurriedly told a well-intentioned lie, wanting to return the money to Tang Shizhe. After all, it could not be easy for him to live alone.

If she knew that the card Tang Shizhe carried with him held five million yuan in cash, she would probably cough up blood from anger.

At this point, she no longer wanted to pursue the matter of Tang Shizhe taking her first place. After all, perhaps he needed the scholarship to support himself.

"No, this concerns a man's dignity!" Seeing that Yan Yanran seemed to have believed him, Tang Shizhe hurriedly waved his hands to stop her.

"Fine, then." Yan Yanran sighed helplessly, her eyes reddening slightly. Since Tang Shizhe had brought up a man's dignity, she could not very well force the money on him.

Yan Yanran remained somewhat depressed over her exam results, so the atmosphere at the table was not particularly lively.

The two finished their meal amid an awkward atmosphere, and Yan Yanran went to the counter to pay under the strange gazes of the waitstaff.

Tang Shizhe awkwardly walked to the hotel entrance. He could not stand the looks from the staff and Yin Qi, especially Yin Qi's.

Her gaze practically had the words "You're actually a kept man" carved onto her face!

"I'll treat you to a meal next time I get the chance. I'll head back first." Yan Yanran walked over to her Porsche, opened the door, and waved to Tang Shizhe.

"Drive safely!" Tang Shizhe waved back as he watched her car leave the hotel parking lot.

Escorted by Yin Qi's disdainful gaze, Tang Shizhe rode his electric scooter toward the southern outskirts of the city.

His destination was the Porsche 4S dealership in the suburbs.

Now that he had a massive sum of five million yuan in hand, the first thing a wealthy man had to do was buy the sports car every man needed in his life: a Porsche 911.

Of course, due to their prices, Tang Shizhe decided to slowly collect Aston Martins, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and the like later.

After riding for about ten minutes, Tang Shizhe arrived at the entrance of the Porsche 4S dealership.

Several enormous red Porsche letters hung on the silver exterior of the building. The moment he pushed open the glass door, a pretty saleswoman approached him with a smile.

Although Tang Shizhe had arrived on an electric scooter, the saleswoman still came over smiling out of basic professional courtesy, even though she knew this sale was unlikely to happen.

Seeing that the expected scene of being ignored by the sales staff had not occurred, Tang Shizhe helplessly pursed his lips.

"Hello, sir. Which model would you like to see?" The saleswoman gave a slight bow and gestured invitingly.

"If you haven't decided on a model yet, how about considering the Porsche 718? The Porsche 718 is relatively affordable." The beautiful saleswoman thoughtfully considered Tang Shizhe's budget. After all, he had arrived on an electric scooter. Even if he truly intended to buy a car, he would probably start with an entry-level model.

"No need. I want the 911." Tang Shizhe did not waste words and directly pointed at the black Porsche 911 parked in the showroom.