Chapter 41: Why Did She Send Me Rice? (Please bookmark, please vote with monthly tickets)

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“For me? You don’t need to go to all this trouble. What would I want your things for?”

Looking at the rice in Chen Yuan’s hands, Wang Shoucheng refused with great solemnity.

The two of them had never arranged to meet here. Chen Yuan had only come over at this hour because something had suddenly come up, so there was no way Wang Shoucheng had been waiting for him.

Old Wang had to be commended for his carefulness. He was clearly afraid of creating an awkward situation.

“It really is for you. I even have the chat history to prove it.”

Chen Yuan found his conversation with his mother and held it out to Wang Shoucheng.

“I don’t need to see it.”

Although he said he did not, his body was perfectly honest. He glanced at the messages and confirmed that the rice had indeed been prepared for him.

That settled the awkwardness.

“Studying hard is more important than anything else. You don’t need to bother with this.”

“I’ve already brought it here, and we’re not allowed to use rice cookers in the dormitory. I don’t have anywhere to put it, anyway.”

After hearing this, Wang Shoucheng glanced at the rice in Chen Yuan’s hands.

“Put it in my car.”

“Sure.”

Wang Shoucheng’s gaze fell on Song Jianian. He looked her over a few times.

“Come over to my place tomorrow evening and have dinner with me.”

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go, would it?” Chen Yuan had not expected Wang Shoucheng to invite them.

“You’re university students now. You need to change that high-school way of thinking. It’s just a casual meal,” Wang Shoucheng said.

“Understood, Professor Wang.”

“I still have something to take care of, so I’ll be going. Wait for my call tomorrow, and the two of you come together. There’s no need to be secretive.”

“Understood.”

Wang Shoucheng got into his car and rolled down the driver’s-side window.

“You’ll be able to register for the CET-4 in the second semester of your freshman year. Spend more time memorizing vocabulary in the dormitory when you have nothing else to do. It’s one of the criteria for the D-level assessment.”

“Understood.”

Wang Shoucheng drove away. Song Jianian walked over, rose onto her toes, and gazed in the direction Old Wang had gone.

“He seems to have misunderstood our relationship. Still, he’s quite nice. He even invited us over for dinner.”

“He’s ruining my reputation. I never had thoughts like that during university, and now he’s making me waver in my resolve to take the postgraduate entrance exam.”

“Heh…”

Chen Yuan: ???

Who had she picked up that awful habit from?

“There are only two portions left now. I already called ahead. Uncle Zhang’s portion can go to my counselor.”

“That’s the only thing we can do for now. I’ll bring something to Uncle Zhang next time.”

Chen Yuan did not feel bad about giving Old Wang two bags of rice, since they had originally been meant for him anyway.

Not long afterward, Song Jianian’s counselor arrived.

His name was Wu Shangjun. He wore metal-framed glasses and looked refined and scholarly. Dressed in a white shirt, he was rather handsome, with a faint air of a polished rogue.

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There was definitely something to him.

“Professor Wu.” Song Jianian went over to greet him.

Seeing what Chen Yuan was holding, Wu Shangjun immediately knew it was meant for him.

He simply had not expected it to be delivered by a male student.

At university, although all the various schools belonged to the same institution, they had little to do with one another in practice. Let alone Chen Yuan—even if Old Wang had been standing here, Wu Shangjun might not have known who he was.

“This is a one-time exception. Don’t let it happen again.”

The proper procedure still had to be observed, and the proper words still had to be said.

“It’s only a small token of appreciation,” Chen Yuan said with a smile.

Wu Shangjun opened the trunk. Chen Yuan placed the rice inside and asked, “You’ve all received the notice about the financial-aid subsidy, right?”

“We have,” Song Jianian said.

It was not only Song Jianian who had received the notice. Chen Yuan had received it as well. Any student in need could submit an application.

Under normal circumstances, no one wanted to take advantage of such benefits. They would leave them for those who genuinely needed them.

“Write the application carefully. Explain your family situation clearly. Don’t exaggerate anything—just stick to the facts.”

Chen Yuan listened in confusion.

Song Jianian.

A monthly minimum expenditure of ten thousand!

And she was supposed to write an application for financial aid?

Every word sounded perfectly normal on its own. How had they become so absurd when put together?

“Understood.”

Song Jianian, realizing what was going on only a moment too late, agreed obediently.

“Your family is from out of town, and your parents aren’t here with you. If you encounter any difficulties in your studies or daily life, come and talk to me. I’ll do my best to help you resolve them.”

The moment Wu Shangjun said that, his objective had been achieved.

“Understood. Thank you, Professor Wu.”

“All right. Go on and attend to your affairs.”

Chen Yuan and Song Jianian left. It was almost time for their exam, and they needed to go take the written driving test.

They exited through the east gate. Uncle Zhang’s Maybach happened to be parked outside. When he saw Song Jianian come out, he got out, opened the door, and ushered Chen Yuan and Song Jianian inside before driving away.

“A Maybach?”

Wu Shangjun stood where he was, then turned to look at his own car.

She probably had no need to apply for financial aid, did she?

Then why had she brought him rice?

…

The school was not far from the driving school. They arrived within a few minutes.

“Miss, don’t be nervous, either of you. Just stay calm and treat it like any ordinary day. It’s only a formality. A driver’s license isn’t particularly important to someone like you.”

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The methods wealthy families used to encourage their children to study were extravagant indeed.

“Understood, Uncle Zhang.”

“There’s nothing to worry about with the written test. I passed on my third attempt back then. You two will certainly do better than I did.”

“Mm-hmm.”

They arrived at the driving school and waited in line outside for a while. After a dozen or so minutes, the two of them went in together to take the test.

The exam lasted forty-five minutes, but they came out after about half an hour.

Song Jianian scored ninety-eight, while Chen Yuan scored ninety-two. Both of them passed without a problem.

Now that the written test was out of the way, they could go practice driving whenever they had time.

Chen Yuan checked the time. Jiang Wanyi had arranged to take her child to an early-education class at three o’clock. It was not yet two, so he still had time.

“Do we really need to come here to practice? Why don’t we have Uncle Zhang teach us? We could practice whenever we wanted, and it would be more convenient.”

“You mean practice in your family’s Maybach?”

“Why not? It’s a car either way. Once we’ve learned how to drive, we can just come straight here for the exam.”

“The Maybach has an automatic transmission, while the exam car has a manual one. I don’t think you can practice the same way.”

Chen Yuan did not know much about driver’s licenses. He had only occasionally heard Old Chen mention that all the exam cars had manual transmissions, and that people could not simply use other kinds of cars for practice.

“Then we’ll just buy a manual car.”

Chen Yuan scratched his head.

With Song Jianian’s life experience and store of knowledge, she was practically made to be a Wallfacer.

Since he himself would never be able to break through the barriers between social classes, perhaps he should let the Trisolarans give it a try.

“Forget it. Let’s just practice properly here.”

“Okay, then.”

The two of them walked out of the driving school. Uncle Zhang was waiting in the car.

Only when he saw Song Jianian come out did he put down his phone and get out.

“Miss, how did you do?”

“Ninety-eight. Six points more than him.” Song Jianian looked rather pleased with herself.

“You should be able to schedule the second test now. Study properly with the instructor when the time comes, and there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“That’s right. We’ve already scheduled it. We’ll come practice next Wednesday.”

“Then let’s head back for now.”

“I still have something to take care of. You and Uncle Zhang go on ahead.”

“Let Uncle Zhang take you.”

“No need. I can manage on my own.”

“Okay, then.”

Song Jianian got into the Maybach. Chen Yuan waved goodbye and took a taxi away.

He wondered what an early-education class was like. The System had not yet rewarded him with any skills in that area, so he might as well learn a little in advance.

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