Looking down at the slip of paper with a phone number in his hand, Su Ke realized that Hong Chen had already disappeared. He hadn't expected that catching a thief would introduce him to two beautiful women.
One was a mature, alluring woman; the other, a pretty young girl. They were like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each beautiful in her own way. Su Ke tucked away the phone number Hong Chen had written down and hurried home.
First, he'd gone to apply for a job at Fangfei Yiren. Then he'd caught a thief, chatted with Sun Yao, and given Hong Chen a brief interview. Now it was getting dark, and he didn't want his parents to worry, so he pedaled as fast as he could. Ten minutes later, he reached his family's little supermarket.
"Mom, Dad, I'm heading home!" Su Ke called from outside.
"Go on!" Seeing that Su Ke had made it home safe and sound, Su Youfu finally relaxed and waved him off.
Su Ke had hurried home mainly because he wanted to test the reward he'd just received. So as soon as he got inside, he went straight into the Flower Picking System's space without doing anything else.
Two task notifications appeared on the electronic screen:
"Task: Catch a thief and return the stolen property (Complete); Reward: 400 yuan."
"Claim reward!"
"Task: Accept an interview with Hong Chen (Complete); Reward: High School Mathematics Mastery (Advanced)."
"Claim reward!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Su Ke claimed both rewards. Four 100-yuan bills suddenly appeared in his hand, but that wasn't all. A warm current began to drift through his mind, carrying a vast amount of mathematical knowledge with it.
After lingering for a while, the warm current slowly faded, but the mathematical formulas, theorems, and problem-solving methods had taken root in his mind.
Only then did Su Ke pull a math workbook from his schoolbag. He flipped to the test section, bent over his desk, and began writing furiously. His pen flew across the page so fast he barely had time to think.
"No way! This is too ridiculous!" A short while later, Su Ke checked his work against the answer key and found that he'd gotten every question right. He stared in disbelief, then went back and checked everything again. Not a single answer was wrong.
"No, I need to try another set!" Su Ke shook his head and buried himself in the workbook again.
An hour later, Su Ke looked at the workbook in his hands, barely able to contain his delight. He'd completed three tests without getting a single question wrong, and had done them all in about the time it usually took him to finish just one.
What did it feel like for a student who usually scraped by with a passing grade in math to suddenly realize he'd mastered all of high school mathematics?
Su Ke was grinning so hard the corners of his mouth twitched. He hugged the workbook and kept chuckling to himself.
"What? You want to work in the evenings?" Su Youfu's cheerful expression turned serious at the dinner table. Zhang Xue set down her bowl and frowned, too.
"Yes! I've already found a part-time job. I'll be a pianist at a beauty salon, from around seven to nine in the evening. It's on Beichen Road, really close to home!" Su Ke had practiced what to say many times before his parents got home, so he answered smoothly.
"Why?" Su Youfu sounded a little tired, as if he was disappointed by Su Ke's idea.
"Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore. After I graduate from high school, I'll be leaving home for college. I want to get some early experience in the real world. It'll help me when I start college, too!" Su Ke would never tell them that he was laundering money, but when he gave this reason, Su Youfu's expression softened a little.
"Su Ke, it's good that you want to get some early experience, but I don't want you doing this just to ease the financial burden on your parents!" Su Youfu seemed to have lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks and turned to look at Su Ke.
"Exactly. Even if we had to sell everything we own, we could still put you through college. Besides, we're nowhere near that desperate. You can't let a passing whim get in the way of your studies, or you might not even get into a vocational college!" Zhang Xue doted on Su Ke. Seeing that Su Youfu still looked stern, she worried that her son might provoke his father into a fit of anger.
"Mom!" Su Ke only ever got a little playful around Zhang Xue. He drew out the word as he said, "You think so little of your son?" Then he got up and pulled the math workbook out of his schoolbag.
He flipped to the three tests he'd just completed and said, "Mom, look. I got every answer right!"
"Son, you didn't copy the answers, did you?" Zhang Xue asked doubtfully after looking them over. Then she handed the workbook to Su Youfu.
Seeing the doubt in his parents' eyes, Su Ke let out a helpless sigh. He took the workbook back and leaned over the dinner table to do another test.
As if he wanted to prove himself, Su Ke worked even faster than before, but Su Youfu and Zhang Xue had lost their appetite. They simply watched him from the side.
When Su Ke finished and handed the workbook over again, he flipped to the answer key. "Mom, Dad, the correct answers are right here. Check them."
Su Ke's parents didn't know much about high school math, but fortunately, he'd already turned to the answer key. The more they checked, the more astonished they became. Every single answer was correct.
They knew what Su Ke's grades were really like. After all, they had to sign and return his report card every time it came home. In their experience, getting a passing grade in math was already a blessing.
Watching his parents' astonished expressions, Su Ke finally understood the benefits of good grades. Sure, the Flower Picking System was responsible for this, but these math skills were truly his.
"Well? Even if I'd memorized the answers, I couldn't have done this, could I?" A hint of pride slipped onto Su Ke's face. Looking at his wide-eyed parents, he continued, "I'm confident I can get into a regular university now. If things go well, even a top university isn't out of reach!"
Su Ke had thought it through. His English and Chinese grades were already a little above average, and his science subjects had reached the beginner level of mastery. Add in a perfect score in math, and getting into a regular university wouldn't be a problem. If he earned more rewards like this, a top university was within reach, too.
Su Youfu and Zhang Xue had been genuinely stunned by what they'd seen. Only then did they seriously consider Su Ke's request to take a part-time job.
"Besides, we have monthly exams in a week. If my grades aren't good enough, I'll quit the job right away. You won't even have to ask me!" Su Ke quickly added, pressing his advantage.
"All right! You said it, son. We'll see how you do on the monthly exams." Su Youfu glanced at his wife and nodded. At last, he agreed.
It was bound to be a restless night. Su Ke's parents were still discussing his perfect math score in bed, while Su Ke was on edge. Back in his room, in a cheerful mood, he turned on his computer.
A new pinned post had appeared on the No. 17 High School Tieba:
"You pervert who grabbed a girl's butt, listen up! Apologize now while you still can, or you'll face the consequences!"
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