Chapter 27

"Dad, this is A University. Everyone's here to study—who has time for something that childish?" Gu Chen took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Just having a little trouble adjusting to the climate. It's gotten much better over the past two weeks."

"That's good." Father Gu reminded him, "Don't focus only on studying. You need to exercise too. Only when you're healthy will you have the energy to study."

Then he asked Gu Chen, "Where's your brother? Isn't he with you? He's timid. You're the older brother, so take better care of him."

Gu Chen didn't want to tell his parents about the mess between him and Gu Xiu. Hearing that, he merely gave a perfunctory response before adding, "Don't send Gu Xiu any more money either. He's tutoring now and can make seven or eight thousand a month. That's enough for him."

Father Gu chuckled foolishly. "College students really are something. You can make money as soon as you start school. Unlike your dad—I'm no good at anything, so I can only earn a little hard-earned money."

"Who says my dad isn't capable? My dad's amazing!" Hearing Father Gu's words, Gu Chen remembered how foolish he had been in his previous life, actually looking down on his biological parents because of the Ling family's prestige.

Thinking about it now, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself twice.

While fiercely cursing himself inwardly, Gu Chen coaxed Father Gu happily. "My parents raised two A University students who can earn so much money as soon as they start school. How is that not impressive?"

"That's true." Raising two outstanding A University students was probably the proudest achievement of Father Gu's life. Whenever he told others about it, he felt as though the Gu family's ancestral graves were billowing with smoke, and he wanted to drink an extra couple of ounces of liquor just mentioning it.

"I won't keep chatting with you. Phone bills are pretty expensive too, right?" Having heard from his son and learned that the two brats were doing well at university, Father Gu was relieved. He didn't ramble on to Gu Chen. "That's it for now. Next time you call home, remember to call at night. Your mom doesn't get off work until then. She misses you two so much she can't sleep all night. She started writing you letters on the very first day after you left."

Then he asked Gu Chen, "You got the letter, right?"

Gu Chen nodded. Realizing Father Gu couldn't see him, he hurriedly said, "I got it."

"Call home more often from now on. Talk to your mom more." Father Gu said, "We don't call you because we're afraid of interrupting your classes if we call too much, and we're afraid you'll find us annoying. You need to be more proactive, understand?"

Gu Chen smiled and nodded. "I understand. From now on, I'll call home every day to let you know I'm safe."

"That's more like it." Father Gu checked the time. "Aren't you about to have class? Have you eaten breakfast?"

Gu Chen shook his head. "Not yet."

Father Gu immediately said, "Then what are we still talking for? We're done. Go eat, quickly. Skipping breakfast won't do. Remember to eat two more eggs and get some nutrition."

Without waiting for Gu Chen to react, he hung up.

Gu Chen squatted in the corner, dazed for a while before getting to his feet. The huge stone that had weighed on his chest ever since his rebirth seemed to have shifted away. Gu Chen suddenly felt that even breathing had become much easier.

He rubbed his numb calves and limped toward the classroom.

The moment he entered, Shang Rui called out to him. "I don't know what happened to you just now. No matter how I called you, you wouldn't respond. You haven't had breakfast, have you? I bought you a jianbing and a cup of soy milk. Hurry and eat while class hasn't started."

As she spoke, Shang Rui pulled the soy milk and jianbing from beneath the desk and stuffed them into Gu Chen's hands. Without giving him a chance to argue, she said, "You're not allowed to refuse. I'm not giving them to you for free. Add me on WeChat and transfer me the money."

Before she could finish, someone teased with a laugh, "Do all you girls like tricking people into adding you on WeChat like this?"

"What's it got to do with you?"

Having her scheme exposed in a single sentence, Shang Rui's face reddened slightly. She instinctively pulled back her phone, but after thinking for a moment, she held it out to Gu Chen again, her face flushed. "You don't believe Cheng Yi's nonsense too, do you?"

After all the trouble that morning, Gu Chen really was hungry. He set the jianbing and soy milk on the desk, took out his phone, added Shang Rui on WeChat, and transferred the breakfast money. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Shang Rui put away her phone with a hint of delight. "We're classmates. It's only right that we help each other. You helped me choose my electives before too."

Cheng Yi grinned mischievously. "Then we're classmates too. I didn't have breakfast either. Shang Rui, why didn't you think to buy me breakfast as well? I can add you on WeChat and transfer you the money too."

In front of Gu Chen, Shang Rui didn't want to seem too sharp-tongued. She could only keep signaling to her roommates, hoping her good friends would stand up for her.

Shang Rui's roommates did not disappoint. "Why is your skin so thick? Gu Chen helped Shang Rui choose her electives, so she bought him breakfast. What have you done for Shang Rui? What gives you the right to demand that a girl bring you breakfast?"

"Exactly! Were you reincarnated as a contrarian, or are you from Shanxi Province? If you've had too much aged vinegar, go get your stomach pumped. Stop making those snide remarks."

"If you want breakfast, can't you buy it yourself? You don't even know to give first, yet you expect someone else to spend money and bring you food. You look ordinary, but you sure dream big."

Cheng Yi had not expected one sentence to provoke the girls' collective fury. He repeatedly clasped his hands and begged for mercy. The other boys watched gleefully from the side. Daring to provoke A University girls—was this guy trying to break A University's record for male singleness?

Since the jianbing smelled strongly, Gu Chen didn't want to disturb the other students in the classroom. He went out into the hallway and finished his breakfast as quickly as he could. Just then, the class bell rang.

Gu Chen slipped into the classroom through the back door.

The first class was Western Civilization. As usual, Gu Chen sat in the last row reading Tax Law. Since he was doing extracurricular reading during class, it wasn't convenient to draw a mind map. So as he read, he made symbols in his notebook that only he could understand, recording the changes to the relevant regulations and laws over the next ten years. He also let his thoughts branch out, marking down every business opportunity and social event he could think of, one by one.

Gu Chen's deskmate secretly watched him for quite some time before finally asking, "We've only just started our freshman year, and we can't even take the CPA exam yet. Why are you in such a hurry to read Tax Law and Economic Law?"

In fact, it wasn't just Tax Law and Economic Law. Gu Chen was also reading all sorts of related legal provisions and administrative regulations, cross-referencing them to avoid any gaps in his explanations when speaking with others.