I Can Earn Money to Support the Family Too

Fang Bai had been in his fifties in his past life, spending years running sales—he'd seen all kinds of shady characters and big scenes, and had the nerve to match. So introducing himself was a piece of cake.

Still, he'd hyped himself up like a pumped-up warrior, and seeing how excited they got, he realized he'd rambled a bit. That was the bad habit of a salesman—getting carried away when pitching something.

But he had to be that confident. He absolutely had to.

If he wasn't confident, he'd feel awkward, and so would everyone else.

Fang Bai smiled, strolling casually down the aisle. His classmates gave him a few extra looks, focusing more on the three middle fingers of his right hand, checking if they were really that mangled.

When they got a clear glimpse of the scars on his fingers, they were a bit shaken. Just like he'd said, if it had been them, they wouldn't have known what to do. The more they thought about it, the more they admired Fang Bai.

Still, there was a hint of pity in their eyes.

A few students in the class had been his old classmates, and they suddenly felt like they didn't recognize Fang Bai. How had he changed so much? Had a tragedy really flipped his mindset that hard?

Most of these students were socially anxious. They couldn't even haggle when buying groceries for their parents—whatever the boss said was the price, and they'd feel embarrassed to bargain, like they owed the boss money.

If you put them on the podium to introduce themselves, getting out more than ten words was a win. Usually it was just, "Hello everyone, my name is XXX."

Fang Bai took an empty seat in the back corner and smiled at his deskmate. The guy grinned back like they were old friends and stuck out his hand. "Hello, classmate Fang Bai. I'm Wang Dakai."

"Hello, look forward to working with you." Fang Bai shook his hand and sat down.

Teacher Li walked back to the podium and returned to lecture mode. "Next, we'll continue with the periodicity of functions..."

Fang Bai pulled a pen from his backpack. He'd lost much interest in the outside world by now and quickly settled in to listen.

He hadn't brought a textbook yet. Wang Dakai noticed and slid his book to the middle of the desk to share. Fang Bai gave a small smile and murmured, "Thanks."

This rough-looking, acne-faced short-haired guy was surprisingly thoughtful and considerate. Even if he never went to school, he'd make it in the world.

After the third period ended, Wang Dakai turned to Fang Bai and asked:

"Fang Bai, you seem pretty familiar with college. What do you think college life is like?"

"College life is great. Everyone looks forward to it. Of course, it's also a path where people fight tooth and nail."

"I've never been either, so I look forward to it too." Fang Bai gave a meaningful smile.

The guy was deliberately making conversation, trying to get closer to him. Fang Bai played along, chatting casually. Soon, other students gathered around to talk.

"Fang Bai, how exactly did your fingers get cut off?"

Suddenly, a sharp-faced, scrawny guy asked.

Wang Dakai slammed the table, stood up, and got in his face, cursing directly. "Li Hui, get lost. Why bring up what's better left alone? Love digging up old wounds."

"I was just showing concern for a classmate." Li Hui, intimidated by the tall Wang Dakai yelling at him, actually looked a bit scared.

"It's been that long. Fang Bai doesn't need your concern. How about you show some real care and donate half your living expenses to him?" Wang Dakai sneered, leaving Li Hui too embarrassed to say anything more.

If it came to donating money, Li Hui definitely wouldn't be willing. They were just ordinary classmates.

Fang Bai smiled, too lazy to argue with Li Hui. "Everyone, take your seats. Class is about to start. There's plenty of time to talk later."

After the others dispersed, Fang Bai thanked Wang Dakai.

Wang Dakai lowered his voice. "You're too polite. What you said on the podium last class was great. I really respect someone like you who isn't afraid to admit they're from the countryside and can tough it out. Not like some students who are terrified of anyone finding out they're from a rural area, like it's shameful. What a load of bullshit."

"There's no real difference between country folk and city folk. No one's born noble or lowly."

Fang Bai said. Back then, plenty of city people looked down on rural folks, acting like they were superior.

"Exactly. It's not like city kids get extra points on the college entrance exam. Dream on."

They'd barely chatted a few lines when the bell rang again.

Fang Bai quieted down and kept listening. He had to admit, with his Golden Finger, his learning efficiency was incredible. The teacher only had to explain something once, and he could remember a lot of it and even apply it fluidly.

The teacher knew he was new and didn't put him on the spot with questions, but when covering tough problems, he'd ask if Fang Bai could follow.

Shencheng University of Finance and Economics, Dormitory 303, Building 3, Female Dormitory Area.

Gentle sunlight spilled across the campus, streaming through the glass window and falling onto a flowing skirt. A breeze drifted in through the window, lifting the skirt slightly, revealing a smooth, delicate ankle.

The young girl twisted her long, ink-black hair that draped over her shoulders, a hint of hesitation in her eyes, as if she were wrestling with some troubling thought.

On the desk lay over a dozen pages of letter paper, densely covered in writing. The characters were neat, the strokes smooth and full, with even spacing between them, exuding a refined elegance. The whole thing had a harmonious beauty.

"He's studying for exams, so he definitely won't have time to read this many pages. I need to keep it to three pages max. That means I still have to cut."

Qin Shuyu stared at the dozen pages. They were filled with everything she wanted to tell Fang Bai.

She rarely talked much with her roommates, and when she did, it was usually reactive. Suddenly being in college, missing someone who used to chatter with her all the time, felt like something was missing. So she wrote it all down, adding a little each day until it piled up to over a dozen pages. If she had to cut it, she had no idea what to remove.

But she knew Fang Bai was still retaking his exams and couldn't let herself distract him too much. So she gritted her teeth and bent her head back down to revise.

She lived in a six-person dorm. Two other girls were in the room.

The door lock clicked, and with a creak, the door opened. A short-haired girl walked in, heading straight for Qin Shuyu by the window. She placed an envelope on her desk.

"Qin Shuyu, a Second-Year Senior asked me to give you this love letter."

Qin Shuyu gave a wry smile, took the envelope, and without even glancing at it, tossed it straight into the trash can beside her.

Since the semester started, she'd already received several. She hadn't opened a single one. Luckily, their school had more girls than boys—otherwise, she'd be getting even more.

She had experience dealing with love letters like this. Back in high school, Fang Bai had taught her: "Don't open them, don't reply. The more polite you are, the more they think they have a chance, and they'll keep sending you letters. The best way is to just throw it straight in the trash and let them see your resolve."

"Qin Shuyu, this senior Chen Jian is really something special. He's handsome—I asked around for you. He's the student council president of our department, his family is well-off, and plenty of girls are chasing him."

Her roommate Zhang Li couldn't understand why she didn't even glance at it before tossing it in the trash. The previous suitors were at least somewhat understandable.

She herself couldn't quite figure out what was so great about Qin Shuyu. Wasn't she just a little prettier than most? And she barely talked.

At first, Zhang Li thought she was cold and aloof, but after getting to know her, she realized Qin Shuyu was actually quite warm—it wasn't coldness, just a bit of social anxiety.

Qin Shuyu smiled and simply shook her head.

"Since you're not reading it, I'll open it and take a look."

"Mm."

Zhang Li picked up the envelope, tore it open, and pulled out an elegant sheet of paper. There were only three lines written on it, the handwriting quite beautiful. She couldn't help reading aloud:

"Your name, is the most beautiful love poem, I have ever seen."

"Three short lines—pretty interesting. Not like some guys who write a thousand words and say nothing at all." Zhang Li commented.

Qin Shuyu heard her. She'd received plenty of love poems like this back in high school. Fang Bai had torn some of them open, and she suddenly remembered his words: "Guys who write poems like this are usually seasoned players. You don't even know each other, and they know if they write too much, you probably won't read it anyway—just find it annoying. Better to keep it simple, give a compliment, look generous, and try to win you over first."

Seeing Qin Shuyu fall silent, Zhang Li played the role of relationship expert, trying to talk some sense into her.

But Qin Shuyu was completely unmoved, so she had to give up.

Another roommate, Liao Xiaoyan, saw Zhang Li leave and said to Qin Shuyu, "Shuyu, don't mind Zhang Li. She's never even been in a relationship herself—what does she know about love?

I think we should just focus on studying in our first year. We'll definitely meet someone better down the road. Besides, you're so pretty, you'll never lack guys chasing you."

"Mm, thank you."

Qin Shuyu smiled and nodded, then went back to writing her letter, hoping to mail it in the next couple of days.

Fang Bai had given her his address. She'd send it to his home for now.

Meanwhile, Zhang Li had left the dorm. She stood at the main entrance, looked around, and spotted Chen Jian, who was about 175 cm tall, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the female students' bulletin board, seemingly reading the posters.

But when he saw Zhang Li approaching, he quickly walked over. "How did it go?"

"President Chen, Qin Shuyu didn't accept your letter." Zhang Li faced him, frowning with a wry smile. "I tried my best to persuade her, even read the contents of your letter out loud to her."

"Mm, it's normal that she didn't accept it. After all, we don't know each other. You did well, classmate Zhang." Chen Jian stroked his chin, hiding his disappointment behind a smile as he maintained his composure. "Does Qin Shuyu have a boyfriend?"

"I haven't seen one. Probably not. I feel like Qin Shuyu is a blank slate when it comes to romance—should be easy to win over."

"Classmate Zhang Li, I hope you can help me look into it seriously.

Whether it works out or not, getting you into the department student council definitely won't be a problem. We'll be stepping down from the council in the second half of our junior year. By then, I'll recommend you to the teacher to become the head of some department. My recommendation carries weight—the teachers usually don't meddle in student council affairs. If you perform well, becoming president isn't out of the question either."

"Thank you, President Chen. I'll do my best." Zhang Li's face lit up with joy at the promise.

After watching Chen Jian leave, she hurried back to the dorm. Seeing Qin Shuyu still reading, she asked seriously, "Shuyu, do you have a boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I already have someone I like." Qin Shuyu looked up and answered without hesitation.

"So it's unrequited love? Does he like you back?"

"He does. We've already pledged ourselves to each other."

"Then why did you say you don't have a boyfriend!"

Zhang Li felt like Qin Shuyu had tricked her. She'd told Chen Jian she didn't have one.

"That seems different, doesn't it? A boyfriend doesn't necessarily end up marrying you, but we're different."

Qin Shuyu replied with a straight face. Fang Bai had said something like that to her, and she thought it made sense.

Qin Shuyu's answer surprised the other roommates.

But when they thought about it carefully, it wasn't exactly wrong.

Still, Zhang Li felt like she could choke on her frustration after hearing that. She let out a sigh and said, "Fine, let's not dwell on it. But when I gave you the letter, you didn't say you had a boyfriend, did you?"

"It seems like... you didn't ask?"

Qin Shuyu puffed out her cheeks, looking like an innocent chubby-faced little hamster.

"..."

Zhang Li felt there was nothing wrong with that, but she just found Qin Shuyu incredibly hard to talk to. Was this how quiet people always were?

"Zhang Li, Shuyu didn't say anything wrong. Besides, she already has someone she likes, so stop meddling." Liao Xiaoyan couldn't help laughing at Zhang Li's frustration.

"I'm just looking out for my roommate. It's for her own good.

Still, I'm curious which talented guy at our school managed to win Qin Shuyu's heart." Zhang Li retorted.

"Shuyu, I'm curious too—who is it that you like?"

"He's not from our school. He's still repeating his senior year."

"What? Repeating? Then his grades must not be great. Even if he gets into a bachelor's program, it'll be way worse than our school." Zhang Li's sense of superiority immediately surfaced. She felt she could still make things work between Chen Jian and Qin Shuyu.

"Whether he passes the exam or not, it doesn't matter." Qin Shuyu brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, unconcerned.

Zhang Li was utterly speechless. "How can it not matter? It's extremely important! If he doesn't get into college, he won't find a good job—how can he marry you?"

Qin Shuyu's eyes widened. In her view, marriage had nothing to do with education or a job. Her heart was firm. "Why not? Even if he can't find a job, I can work and earn money to support the family. Why does he have to be the one making money?"

"..."

Zhang Li was exasperated and gave up trying to persuade her. She felt like she and Qin Shuyu weren't on the same wavelength.

Besides, Qin Shuyu was toxic!

She might end up getting brainwashed by her instead.

At the same time, her roommates were very curious about what kind of man had cast a love spell on Qin Shuyu.

What they didn't know was that in his past life, Fang Bai hadn't even gone to college, and Qin Shuyu had still married him.

When a woman has set her heart on a man, what do education and a job matter?