Chapter 13

At that thought, Chen Mo smiled and curled his lips. "It's a deal."

Because of the bet with Pei Qingjue, Chen Mo took the placement exam even more seriously. Every day, apart from burying himself in textbooks and practice problems, he went into the system to memorize texts and complete papers. His intense, painstaking diligence quickly infected the students around him. The studying atmosphere in the class grew even tenser.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and all the seniors in the school began their placement exams. Since Chen Mo had prepared thoroughly, he answered the questions with ease. When the results were posted after the exams, he naturally took first place in the entire grade.

Even after taking a semester off, he had still maintained such excellent grades upon returning to school. Once the rankings were posted, Chen Mo immediately became a study god in the eyes of all his classmates.

But Chen Mo had no interest in any of that. Carrying his report card, he went to find Pei Qingjue and hoped the other man would honor their bet by teaching him how to trade stocks.

Pei Qingjue had not expected Chen Mo's grades to be this good, and he was delighted. But when Chen Mo asked him to fulfill the wager, Pei Qingjue said solemnly, "A bet is a bet. I can teach you stock trading. But I want to ask you something first: do you want to sincerely take me as your master, or do you only want to learn stock trading methods from me?"

Hearing Pei Qingjue's tongue-twister-like question, Chen Mo raised a brow. "What's the difference?"

Pei Qingjue said, "If you want to take me as your master, then while learning stock trading, you must obey every word I say. Whatever I tell you to do, you do. No questioning, and absolutely no pretending to obey while doing something else behind my back. I'll teach you everything I know, but I won't explain why I'm telling you to do it. If you only want to learn how to make money from stocks quickly, I can teach you a few tricks. They'll be enough for you to earn living expenses."

Chen Mo thought it over, then said with a smile, "Although I don't know exactly what you intend to do with me, I'm the kind of person who either does nothing or does it to the best of my ability. I choose to take you as my master."

Pei Qingjue smiled. "I hope you won't regret it."

Chen Mo smiled as well and asked, "I never regret what I do. But I am curious—why give me those two choices?"

At that, Pei Qingjue's expression turned distant for a moment before he smiled. "Perhaps because I think you're a lot like me when I was young."

So he wanted to give himself another chance, to see what choice Chen Mo would make.

Since he had accepted Chen Mo as his disciple, Pei Qingjue assessed Chen Mo's learning level and began his own method of teaching. Somehow, he had gotten hold of a huge pile of stock transaction records from the past decade and tossed them to Chen Mo, demanding that he memorize every last one.

Chen Mo was utterly baffled by Pei Qingjue's behavior. Yet Pei Qingjue truly did as he had said before and offered not a single explanation. He only told Chen Mo, "Memorize them or get lost."

If anyone else had been given such a demand, they might have simply walked away. But first, Chen Mo was stubborn by nature—the kind who refused to move when led and only dug in harder when pushed. Second, with the system backing him up, he had no fear of rote memorization. So he carried the entire stack of materials home. It took him a full month just to read through them word by word and sentence by sentence, and after spending who knew how much time grinding away in the system, he finally memorized them all.

When he went to find Pei Qingjue again, Pei Qingjue only tested him briefly before tossing him another huge pile of materials. This time, they covered the backgrounds and scales of every listed company in the country, their business models, corporate cultures, shareholders, and the educational backgrounds and major achievements of their senior executives, along with relevant domestic laws and regulations, major news topics from the past ten years, and even all kinds of psychology books...

Looking at those ancient, dusty materials and those study resources that seemed completely unrelated to one another, Chen Mo's head practically swelled with frustration. Still, he remembered the agreement he had made with Pei Qingjue. He gritted his teeth and did not ask a single question. Instead, he carried the materials home bit by bit and began stubbornly working through them, reading and memorizing them over and over.

During that time, Chen Mo went through another monthly exam and a midterm exam. Naturally, he remained firmly in the eye-catching position of first in the entire grade. His score improved every time. Not only were the teachers and students at school stunned, even Father Chen, Mother Chen, and the people at his agency were shocked.

Yang Qindong, who had disappeared for more than a month, contacted Chen Mo again. He first congratulated him on his study-god-worthy exam results, then got straight to the point. "Do you remember the bet you made with A-Bin in the recording studio over a month ago? A-Bin asked me yesterday when you'd be free to come over and rehearse with him."

Chen Mo was stunned. Raising a brow, he asked, "Rehearse what? Didn't I say I'm applying to college and don't want any work arranged for me this year?"

"Damn, don't tell me you forgot?" Yang Qindong cursed over the phone, then emphasized loudly, "The concert! A-Bin invited you to be a guest performer at his concert! We agreed on this ages ago."

"I don't remember agreeing to anything at all," Chen Mo said, raising a brow.

Yang Qindong felt utterly helpless. Too lazy to argue with Chen Mo over the phone, he said, "You're still at school, right? I'll pick you up after school tonight."

Chapter 13

After school that evening, Yang Qindong really did come to pick Chen Mo up in his globally limited black BC. The luxury car, worth more than three million, sat quietly at the school gates. Dressed in a dark blue pinstriped suit and wearing sunglasses, Yang Qindong leaned casually against the car door with his arms folded across his chest. He drew curious stares from every parent who had come to pick up their child, as well as the elderly gatekeeper.

When Chen Mo emerged from the crowded stream of people leaving the school, the first thing he saw was the conspicuous Yang Qindong.

His face darkened as he frowned. Walking up to Yang Qindong, he lowered his voice and said, "Are you sick? Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?"

Wasn't it nighttime? Seniors got out of school at nine in the evening. Even if the streetlights outside the school were bright, what normal person wore sunglasses at nine at night?

Yang Qindong curled his lips and lifted his chin at Chen Mo, signaling for him to get in. Only after the black BC had slowly driven out of sight of the school did he say, "Having you appear as a guest at A-Bin's concert is also the company's idea. First, we can use the bet between you two to stir up some publicity. It'll promote A-Bin's positive image as someone who supports newcomers, while using his concert to launch your debut. Third, we can also promote Emperor Wu of Han: The Young Emperor. One move, three gains."

Yang Qindong paused, then added, "It was also Director Zhang's idea. The production has reached its final filming stage and will wrap soon. Afterward, the crew will be working on post-production while trying to sell the drama to major television stations. If we can create a wave of publicity at this point, it'll benefit both the production and actors like you."

Chen Mo nodded. He had not expected a guest spot at a concert to involve so many things. But since it concerned Director Zhang—and Director Zhang had specifically called him that afternoon to ask him to help promote the production, while even his uncle Jiang Jie had called to ask for his help—Chen Mo agreed.

Anyway, aside from learning stock trading from Pei Qingjue, he had nothing else to do at school.

Yang Qindong smiled. "Have you asked the school for leave? Have you told your family? Since A-Bin's concert is set for November 11, you'll need to stay at the company for rehearsals for the next half month or so. If you haven't told your family, you should let them know."

Resting his cheek in one hand, Chen Mo watched the rapidly receding scenery outside the window and casually replied, "Mm."

Yang Qindong glanced at Chen Mo through the rearview mirror. The dim yellow streetlights fell across Chen Mo's face, flickering in and out, hiding his increasingly delicate features in the darkness.

After considering it, Yang Qindong spoke again. "There are chips, sausages, and bottled water in the back. I bought them at your school before you got out. If you're hungry, have something first."

At that, Chen Mo turned around and pulled a large bag of snacks from the backseat. Picking through it, he took out a sandwich, a ham sausage, and a bottle of water, then quietly began eating.

They returned to the company without a word. Yang Qindong drove into a gated residential complex close to the company. As he parked, he smiled at Chen Mo. "This is the employee housing area. You'll stay here while you're back at the company rehearsing. It's close to the office—only a twenty-minute walk."

With that, he led Chen Mo out of the car. They took the elevator directly from the underground parking garage to the nineteenth floor, where there were four apartments on the floor. Yang Qindong led Chen Mo into unit 1901, switched on the lights in the entryway, tossed him the keys, and said with a smile, "Go ahead."

Chen Mo caught the keys and walked past Yang Qindong into the living room. The apartment had three bedrooms and two living rooms, decorated in a modern style. There was even a huge floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. Standing before it, he could see the strange, dazzling nightscape of Huajing City.

Yang Qindong followed behind Chen Mo, folding his arms and leaning against the wall as he said with a smile, "The refrigerator is already stocked with food, and I left several takeout menus on the coffee table. There are also a few changes of clothes in the wardrobe. Do you want to shower and sleep now, or come out for a late-night snack with me?"

Chen Mo thanked Yang Qindong, then said, "I want to take a shower, and I still have homework to do, so I won't go out with you."

Yang Qindong laughed and raised a brow. "Only at times like this do I remember you're still a senior."

"What?" Chen Mo had not heard him clearly. When Yang Qindong repeated himself with a smile, Chen Mo suddenly seemed to think of something and asked, "By the way, can I have someone else come stay in this apartment?"

"What are you planning?" Thinking of the bad habit some of the company's artists had of going clubbing and throwing parties, Yang Qindong frowned. "You'd better not bring any shady people home. It'll be a huge hassle if the tabloids or paparazzi catch you."

Chen Mo gave a snort of laughter and raised a brow. "What are you talking about? I mean, can my family move in and stay here?"

Yang Qindong had not expected Chen Mo to have that kind of temperament. He could not help teasing, "I really didn't expect you to be such a mommy's boy."

Chen Mo rolled his eyes at Yang Qindong and defended himself. "I just don't like takeout."

Yang Qindong smiled at Chen Mo but did not expose his insincere excuse.

By the time Yang Qindong left the apartment, it was nearly midnight. Chen Mo had originally planned to take a few photos of the apartment and send them to Father Chen and Mother Chen, but he did not know whether they were asleep.

After thinking it over, Chen Mo still uploaded several photos to WeChat. Then he sat on the sofa and turned on the television. After idly picking up one of the takeout menus from the coffee table and looking it over, he finally called a twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurant and ordered a family bucket. Only then did he get up to shower.

By the time Chen Mo came out of the bathroom, his delivery had arrived. He paid with one hand and accepted the family bucket with the other. Carrying a fried chicken leg into the living room, he discovered that someone had replied on WeChat.

Chen Mo glanced at the reply and immediately called. "You're not asleep yet?"

Father Chen gripped the phone nervously and said, "I was about to sleep, but then I saw the photos you sent."

After thinking it over, he felt that was not right and changed the subject. "How are things over there?"

"Pretty good." Chen Mo casually replied while gnawing on his chicken leg.

Father Chen noticed the sounds from Chen Mo's end and asked, "You haven't had dinner yet?"

"Mm. The drive took several hours. By the time I got into the city, it was nearly midnight. There wasn't much to eat, so I ordered a bucket of fried chicken." Chen Mo thought for a moment, then added, "But I ate a sandwich in the car."

Father Chen's heart ached at once. He immediately said, "How can that do? You're still growing. It's bad for your health if you can't eat meals on time. And you'll have to eat takeout every day over there, right? Food from outside isn't clean, it won't suit your taste, and the oil they use isn't good either. How about your mother and I come over to stay with you..."