You've Grown Up

In the days after the college entrance exam, Chen Rongrong messaged Zhou Yuwen online several times. Sometimes she shared things about her life; other times she asked how he thought he had done on the exam and whether he could make the cutoff for undergraduate admission.

Zhou Yuwen's replies were consistently bland, giving the impression that he had no desire to chat.

After a while, Chen Rongrong lost interest too.

After all, Chen Rongrong was something of a beauty. By taking the initiative to chat with Zhou Yuwen and be his friend, she was giving him a chance.

Yet Zhou Yuwen didn't appreciate it.

After graduating from high school, the one thing Chen Rongrong never lacked was simps.

In the three days after the entrance exam alone, four or five boys confessed to her.

After the class farewell dinner, even more boys, emboldened by alcohol, ran up to Chen Rongrong and shouted, "Chen Rongrong! I like you! Will you be my girlfriend?"

They called that youth.

Chen Rongrong always smiled and answered, "Thank you for liking me, but I'm not planning to date anyone right now!"

Those boys who confessed were far superior to Shen Ding in both looks and family wealth, leaving Shen Ding, who was always by Chen Rongrong's side, with no presence at all.

Adolescence was always a sensitive time.

For the past three years, Shen Ding had focused solely on simping for Chen Rongrong and didn't have a single friend.

Feeling miserable, Shen Ding went home and, as if possessed, messaged Zhou Yuwen.

"Want to play a game?"

Zhou Yuwen thought the sun must have risen in the west. Hadn't this little fatty always seen him as a rival in love? Yet here he was, inviting him to play games.

Still, Zhou Yuwen did play a couple of rounds of League of Legends when he had nothing to do.

The little fatty was pretty good, so Zhou Yuwen agreed.

Over the next few days, the two played together often and gradually became familiar with each other.

Shen Ding asked Zhou Yuwen what he was busy with every day.

"The college entrance exam is over. How come you only have time to play at night?"

"I'm getting my driver's license." They were on voice chat, talking as they played.

"You're getting your license already?" Shen Ding was surprised.

"What else would I do after the entrance exam?"

Around 2015 was one of the most expensive periods for getting a driver's license. Tuition could cost as much as 6,000 yuan; two years later, it would drop to 2,000.

But Zhou Yuwen didn't have that much time to save money.

"You're not buying a car now anyway. Getting a license is pointless."

"Who said I'm not buying a car?"

The two chatted on and off like that. Their fellow high schoolers got together every few days, either singing or playing pool, and there were always a boy or two buzzing around Chen Rongrong like flies.

Shen Ding was depressed and told Zhou Yuwen all about it.

Zhou Yuwen merely chuckled as he listened, finding nothing strange about it.

Then Shen Ding suddenly told Zhou Yuwen that he liked Chen Rongrong.

And that he had liked her for three years.

"Huh? Oh." Zhou Yuwen was playing with Shen Ding and didn't think much of what he had said.

Then Shen Ding asked whether Zhou Yuwen liked Chen Rongrong.

"If you like her, I can let you have her, because I see you as a brother."

"I don't like her," Zhou Yuwen refused firmly.

"Really?" Shen Ding was delighted, but then he said, "Can you help me, then?"

"Not interested."

Zhou Yuwen refused again, leaving Shen Ding loving and hating him at the same time. Shen Ding then said that whether Zhou Yuwen helped or not, they were still good brothers.

"Are you free tomorrow? I'll treat you to a meal."

"No."

"Why won't oil or salt get through to you?"

The entrance exam ended on June 9, and the results came out on June 25.

Zhou Yuwen's total for the three subjects was 355 points, two more than in his previous life and above the admission cutoff.

His mother breathed a sigh of relief when she heard his score. Smiling, she said, "Thank goodness. You'll have a university to attend."

His mother asked Zhou Yuwen where he planned to apply.

Zhou Yuwen chose Nanjing Forestry University, mainly because he didn't know much about the other schools. In his previous life, its admission cutoff had been 346 points, and his 353 had just gotten him in.

He had done better than in his previous life this time, but it was still a close thing.

Then again, when he browsed Douyin in his previous life, everyone seemed to attend a 985 or 211 university. Zhou Yuwen, who came from an ordinary family, felt that getting into an undergraduate program was hard enough. Where had all these dragons and phoenixes among men come from?

After the exam results came out, his father sent word through someone that he hoped to see Zhou Yuwen.

In his previous life, Zhou Yuwen hadn't gone.

This time, Zhou Yuwen said they might as well meet.

So his father arranged to meet Zhou Yuwen in a private room at a restaurant.

Father and son hadn't seen each other in more than ten years, and his father was startled when he saw Zhou Yuwen again.

Zhou Yuwen's father was only around fifty, but years of drinking and womanizing had long since hollowed him out, leaving him a shriveled old man.

Zhou Yuwen, on the other hand, had shed his old bones and remade himself after his rebirth. He stood a full head taller than the shriveled old man.

Father Zhou was taken aback at first, then smiled with relief. He patted Zhou Yuwen on the shoulder and said that he had grown taller and stronger.

Zhou Yuwen said nothing. After the two sat down, Father Zhou began talking about how hard the years had been.

He said, "Your mom hasn't had it easy either, raising you all by herself."

"My life is pretty much set. From now on, all you need to do is treat your mom well."

Zhou Yuwen just listened to his performance.

After a while, Zhou Yuwen said, "All right, stop going on about all this irrelevant stuff."

"Give me another 200,000 yuan, and I can still call you Dad. If you ever need anything, I'll definitely come if I have time."

"If you can't come up with 200,000, forget it. There's no need for us to talk."

The old father, who had been deeply gratified to see his son, froze when he heard this and stared at Zhou Yuwen in disbelief.

After a long pause, he finally asked, "Did your mom teach you to say that?"

"My mom doesn't know I came to see you."

"I'm not an idiot. I know perfectly well who raised me and who didn't."

"Think it over. I'm leaving."

With that, Zhou Yuwen left first.

The shriveled old man remained in the private room, unable to process what had happened for a long time.

In the end, he downed a glass of baijiu in silence.

A few days later, his mother excitedly told Zhou Yuwen that the old lecher had actually transferred 200,000 yuan!

Zhou Yuwen told his mother what had happened a few days earlier.

When she heard that Zhou Yuwen had met the man in private, his mother's first reaction was as if she were facing a formidable enemy. But after hearing him out, she was relieved of a heavy burden.

She looked at Zhou Yuwen with pride and said, "You've grown up."

Zhou Yuwen said, "Since I've grown up, why don't you let me keep the money?"

"Nonsense! What does a kid like you need so much money for? I'll save it for you to use when you get married!"

"That little bit of money is nothing. Let me show you-let me show you my current balance."

On June 9, Zhou Yuwen had a total of 300,000 yuan.

Then, over the next three days, he made some short-term trades. His current balance was 350,000 yuan.

Zhou Yuwen openly showed his savings to his mother.