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The bathroom was pretty small, without a toilet, and there was no heat lamp or heater. "Looks like it's time for us to buy a house," Wang Qi muttered to himself. He decided to check out the housing market the next day. Back then, without smartphones, the only way to get a sense of property prices was to visit in person. Early the next morning, Wang Qi got up, grabbed a quick breakfast at a local bakery, and then headed to the bank to check his savings: over $48,600. In 2003, that was a decent amount, but Wang Qi was not sure about the exact property prices. After visiting three real estate offices, he was surprised to find that the starting prices were over $700 per square foot. This meant his savings could only buy about 700 square feet, and the nicer places were even more expensive. The suburbs were cheaper, but Wang Qi was not interested. He was quite dissatisfied; it was only 2003, and prices were already so high. If people from the future knew his thoughts, they might shed tears. In the future, the Imperial Capital would become so expensive that many people could not afford even three square feet with a year’s salary. "Looks like the idea of buying a house will have to wait. I need money to open a restaurant too," Wang Qi thought, frowning and looking rather glum. During the afternoon break, Wang Qi returned to the classroom and took a written apology from Qu Menghan. Her neat handwriting made Wang Qi feel a bit embarrassed. "School's out. Let's go shopping for clothes," Wang Qi said. He chuckled and playfully ruffled Qu Menghan's hair. Menghan, sporting dark circles under her eyes, was clearly tired from staying up late the night before, and she grumbled in discontent. Senior year was tough, and everyone was exhausted, except for Wang Qi, who already knew the college entrance exam questions thanks to a memory trick. Naturally, he felt confident. In senior year, most of the time was spent on self-study and review. New material was not taught anymore; it was all about revising and taking practice exams. During class, Wang Qi read an apology letter in front of everyone. Qu Menghan had written it beautifully, and Wang Qi delivered it with emotion. However, Lee Yan was not pleased. She knew Wang Qi's writing style and suspected he had someone else write it for him, but without proof, she could only keep a stern face.
"Get back to your seat and behave from now on," Lee Yan said.
After finishing the letter, Lee Yan reluctantly let Wang Qi return to his seat to study. It was another self-study period, with everyone working on their weaknesses. Some focused on political science, others on history. Wang Qi was in the humanities track, which required a lot of memorization. Unlike the clear-cut answers in science, humanities had more open-ended questions, making it harder to score high. With just a month left until the college entrance exams, Wang Qi decided to keep things low-key and focus on getting through this period. Making money could wait until after the exams were over. After all, his venture, "Brother Legend," was quite profitable, bringing in money every day. Too bad there weren't any text alerts back then. Seeing those deposits daily would have been a real joy.
Two days later, the seniors got a day off. Even though senior year was intense, they couldn't be cooped up for months on end without a break. After school, Wang Qi made a point to invite Qu Menghan out. He planned to buy her some clothes because, honestly, her current wardrobe left much to be desired. She was always in cheap flea-market finds that didn't do her any justice.
"Tomorrow, let's hit the mall. I'll buy you some clothes," Wang Qi said, not waiting for Qu Menghan's agreement.
"I'm not going. I need to study," Qu Menghan protested. She was a straight-A student.
"Study, my foot. Your grades are already stellar. As long as you keep a cool head, getting into the top university is a given," Wang Qi scoffed. He knew her capabilities well. It was a shame that in another life, Qu Menghan did not even take the college entrance exams. Her malicious uncle married her off to an older man, and she ended up with only a high school diploma. What a waste. In this lifetime, Wang Qi was determined to prevent everything from happening again. A confrontation with Qu Menghan's uncle was inevitable and approaching fast.
"Why did you buy her clothes and not me?" Zhang Wantine asked. With her sharp ears, she had overheard Wang Qi and could not help but interject.
"What do you need clothes for, you little vixen? Go find some older guy to buy them for you. With your looks, snagging a sugar daddy should be a piece of cake. These days, those flashy rich guys love to keep a mistress," Wang Qi retorted with annoyance.
Two days later, the senior students finally got a day off. Senior year was stressful, but they could not keep everyone locked up for months at a time. There were breaks, just not many. After school, Wang Qi specifically asked Qu Menghan to meet up. He planned to buy her some clothes. The girl’s outfit was honestly hard to look at, a set of cheap street-stall clothes that did nothing for her. "Tomorrow, we’re going to the mall. I’m buying you clothes." Wang Qi was forceful. He did not wait for Qu Menghan to agree and simply decided for her. "I’m not going. I need to study." Qu Menghan was a model student. "Study my ass. Your grades are already good enough. As long as you don’t do something stupid and you perform normally, getting into Imperial Capital University is completely doable." Wang Qi curled his lip. He knew exactly how capable Qu Menghan was. It was just that in his previous life, she had not even taken the college entrance exam. Her vicious second uncle had married her off to an older man. All she ended up with was a high school graduation certificate, which was a terrible waste. In this life, Wang Qi was going to stop it. A confrontation with Qu Menghan’s second uncle was unavoidable, and it was not far off. "If you’re buying her clothes, why aren’t you buying me clothes?" Zhang Wantine had sharp ears. The moment she heard Wang Qi, she moved in. "Why would a fox like you need clothes? Go find an older man to buy them for you. With your looks, landing an older guy is easy. Those rich bumpkins love keeping a mistress." Having learned the hard way about being a doormat, Wang Qi was not about to play the fool. He aimed to be a high-level player in the game of emotions. "You..." Zhang Wantine was fuming. "Tell me, how am I any less than her? She’s all skin and bones, like a scrawny monkey. Wang Qi, you must be blind," Zhang Wantine complained, clearly dissatisfied. "Do you even know what a diamond in the rough is? Come on, Zhang Wantine, you’re just upset because no one’s fawning over you anymore. It’s normal to feel that way, especially since I was the only one who ever did," Wang Qi replied dismissively. If Zhang Wantine had another admirer, she would not even give him the time of day. With her only admirer gone, she just could not handle it. "Bye," Wang Qi said, taking Qu Menghan’s hand and walking away. As they left the school building, Menghan pulled her hand away from Wang Qi. "I’m not going," she muttered, wanting to spend more time studying instead of going out. "Seriously? You’re turning me down? Watch out, or I’ll catch you on your way home. If you don’t show up tomorrow, I’ll bring a megaphone and shout your name outside the girls’ dorm so everyone knows," Wang Qi teased, knowing Menghan was shy and playing on her weakness. "You’re terrible," Menghan huffed, wondering how he could be so shameless. He never used to pay her any attention. "It’s settled then. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m., in front of the school. Be there," Wang Qi said as he walked away. Menghan grumbled a bit more before heading back to her dorm. When Wang Qi got home, he had not even stepped inside before hearing his dad complaining. "It’s just too expensive. $4,000 a month for rent? They might as well be robbing us. And they want a year’s lease upfront. It’s not worth it. I could just put that money in the bank and earn some interest," Wang Zhong grumbled about the high rent. "Money in the bank loses value over time. We need to open the restaurant. If it costs a bit, so be it," his dad replied. Wang Qi walked in. "I just did the math. To open a restaurant, we’ll need about $30,000."
Zhang Wantine was furious. "Tell me, how am I worse than her? She looks malnourished, like a skinny monkey. Wang Qi, I think you're blind." Zhang Wantine was deeply dissatisfied. "Do you even know what a potential stock is? Enough, Zhang Wantine. It's just your own insecurity. No one is fawning over you anymore, so you can't adapt. That's normal. After all, before this, I was the only one fawning over you." Lee Fengxia looked pained. She only earned around $150 a month, so $30,000 was a huge amount for her. "$30,000 it is. I've got the money. In business, you have to invest to make a profit. That's settled." Wang Qi was unfazed; $30,000 was well within his comfort zone. "Tomorrow, I'll head to the bank to transfer the funds."
