The younger generation, starting from where the wind blows...

Chapter 83: He was mistaken for a pyramid scheme operator!

Just as I was hesitating, my phone in my bag started buzzing.

Xia Fenghua glanced at the unfamiliar caller ID on the screen; it was an unfamiliar number from Yanjing.

Just as she was about to look up and explain to Yang Muye, Liu Qing, and Shi Xiaomeng, Yang Muye waved his hand, telling Xia Fenghua to answer the phone quickly.

Xia Fenghua got up, took her phone, walked to the side, and answered the call.

A boy's angry voice came through the receiver: "Xia Fenghua, you think you've got guts now? You came to Yanjing all by yourself without even telling us!"

"I—" Xia Fenghua's words caught in her throat, and her eyes reddened.

She was initially quite happy to hear Xie Wanghe's voice.

As a result, the other party started cursing at her right away. Why should she?

She came to Beijing alone, and while others might not know why, Xie Wanghe certainly did.

Xie Wanghe on the other end of the phone realized that his tone had been a bit harsh, and his attitude softened accordingly.

"Where are you now?"

Yenching University of Economics and Business.

What are you doing there?

"I—" Xia Fenghua's words caught in her throat once again.

When they first entered high school, she, Ma Siyi, Xie Wanghe, Zhou Haikuo, Shao Xingchi, Chen Rui and a group of their peers from Huajie gathered together to dream about the future and talk about their ideal universities.

Everyone else had clear goals. For example, Xie Wanghe wanted to go to a university in Yenching University, with Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Renmin University as his top choices.

Zhou Haikuo wants to attend a science and engineering university and study computer science.

Ma Siyi needs to take care of her grandmother, so she decided to apply to Honghuai Normal University, a local university.

Xia Fenghua was the only one without a clear goal.

Influenced by the Super Girl competition, she was obsessed with following in the footsteps of her idol, "Li Yuchun," and becoming a singer.

Naturally, his grades were also terrible.

However, in order to show that he was very ambitious, he said that he would also take the entrance exam for Yenching University like Xie Wanghe, and that he would study finance and economics, and become a big boss and make a lot of money after graduation.

Everyone else laughed at Xia Fenghua for daydreaming, but Ma Siyi took it seriously and even earnestly recommended Yenching University of Economics and Business to Xia Fenghua.

Later, Xia Fenghua asked Ma Siyi privately and learned that if it weren't for her worry about her elderly grandmother, Ma Siyi's most desired university would have been Yanjingmao.

On the other end of the phone, Xie Wanghe was getting impatient.

"Speak, are you mute?"

Xia Fenghua was furious after hearing this.

Okay, you made me say it!

So he revealed that Yanjingmao was the university Ma Siyi most wanted to attend.

Sure enough, as soon as Xie Wang heard Ma Siyi's name, even his tone of voice changed.

They were very anxious, with deep concern in their hearts.

"Did Siyi really say that to you?"

Xia Fenghua pouted in dissatisfaction.

Xie Wanghe's attitude alone made her incredibly jealous.

"Nonsense, otherwise why would I travel all the way to Yanjing?"

Despite her stubbornness, Xia Fenghua was actually quite sad inside.

In Xie Wanghe's words, Xia Fenghua's college entrance examination score was barely enough to get into even the worst junior college in Beijing.

However, during her senior year of high school, Xia Fenghua really did her best to get into Yanjing University of Economics and Business. Besides fulfilling Ma Siyi's dream, the main reason was that she wanted to go to university in the same city as Xie Wanghe.

Unfortunately, Xie Wanghe was completely unaware of Xia Fenghua's feelings, especially since his mind was entirely occupied by Ma Siyi at that moment.

"You should have said so earlier! Hai Kuo and I are at Renmin University and Yanhang University, respectively. It's very convenient for either of us to go to Yanhang University of Economics and Business. Why did you have to come all the way here?"

Xia Fenghua got angry as soon as she heard this:

"You can go to Siyi, but I can't go to her? Yes, you got into university, that's great, and I didn't get into university, so I deserve to be looked down upon, but can't I work while looking for someone?"

Xie Wanghe sneered on the other end of the phone: "You're still working? You should be grateful if you don't get sold out and still be helping the seller count the money."

These words completely enraged Xia Fenghua.

"Xie Wanghe, who do you think you are!"

"It's not that I look down on you, it's just that I'm afraid you'll forget the pain once the wound heals. Will you forget about being scammed when you were a model so quickly?"

"Thank you for reminding me, I had almost forgotten about that, but I will remember for the rest of my life how you guys impersonated Chun Chun and conspired to deceive me!"

Xie Wanghe was embarrassed by the crickets' chirping and was about to lash out when his phone was snatched away by the person next to him.

“Dahua, it’s me, Zhou Haikuo. I’m with Wanghe right now. Don’t listen to him cursing you on the phone. Actually, he was more worried than anyone else when he got your parents’ call. That’s why he called you right away.”

When someone else spoke, Xia Fenghua's tone immediately softened.

"I just arrived during the day. I took the subway and then a bus to finally find this place. Don't worry, I'm doing great now. I just found a job with a probationary salary plus bonus of 3500 yuan, and accommodation is provided. How about that? Not bad, right?"

Zhou Haikuo put the call on speakerphone, and Xie Wanghe, upon hearing this, immediately snatched the phone back.

"Xia Fenghua, let me tell you, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Where did you find this job?"

I saw it on the bulletin board at Yanjingmao University.

"And you believed it?"

"Why wouldn't I believe you? I've already passed the interview, and I'm just waiting to start work in a few days."

“I’m sure you’ve been scammed. These pyramid schemes are rampant on campus right now. They use sweet talk to lure you in, and then they brainwash you. Remember, if you don’t go with them, just wait. Hai Kuo and I will take a taxi to find you right away.”

Without giving Xia Fenghua any chance to explain, he hung up the phone.

Something is wrong!

Xia Fenghua muttered to herself, put away her phone, and returned to sit down at Yang Muye's table.

"I'm sorry, the call was from a friend I grew up with. He happens to be studying at a university in Beijing and was worried about me coming to Beijing alone, so he insisted on coming over right away."

Liu Qing asked curiously:

"which school?"

"The National People's Congress."

Xia Fenghua had a proud look on her face, but Liu Qing's expression didn't change much after hearing it.

After all, sitting next to him was Shi Xiaomeng, who was only 7 points away from Tsinghua University. If he hadn't been aiming for Tsinghua, he would have been a sure bet for Renmin University.

There are quite a few examples of students from Yanjingmao who, like Shi Xiaomeng, have scores high enough to get into Renmin University, so Liu Qing has long since become desensitized to this.

"You talked on the phone for so long, could it be your boyfriend?" Yang Muye suddenly asked.

"No, they are my best friends who grew up together. They live next to each other and are neighbors. Their families are also very close."

Xia Fenghua blushed and tried her best to explain.

Seeing her expression, Yang Muye and Liu Qing both had a knowing look on their faces.

Childhood sweethearts. Unrequited love.

Liu Qing's voice followed.

"I might be offended by what I'm saying, but your good friend came to Beijing to study at a prestigious university like Renmin University, while you came to Beijing to work. Don't you feel that the gap between you two is widening?"

Xia Fenghua's expression darkened.

Actually, her mother had asked her this question before she came to Yanjing, but she chose to avoid it at the time.

Ultimately, it's because they're unwilling to give up.

Being in the same city, at least there's still a sliver of hope.

If we are separated by distance, then there is no hope left.

Yang Muye and Liu Qing were, after all, outsiders, so Xia Fenghua had to make up an excuse on the spot:

“I grew up by the canal, and my family made a living from it. When we were kids, we made a promise that when we grew up, we would go to the end of the canal, which is Yanjing (Beijing). My college entrance exam results weren’t good, so I could only realize this childhood dream by working.”

Yang Muye and Liu Qing exchanged a glance.

Yang Muye's voice then rang out.

"You still have to have dreams, what if you see a ghost one day?"

what?
Xia Fenghua was completely stunned.

Is this meant to encourage her or discourage her?

Shi Xiaomeng, who was sitting next to him, chimed in at the opportune moment: "What is your friend's major at Renmin University?"

"economics."

Shi Xiaomeng nodded and said:
"The future is bright."

Worried about being misunderstood again, Xia Fenghua quickly added, "There's another one studying computer science at Yanhang University."

"Hmm, this one is impressive too." Shi Xiaomeng said, glancing at Yang Muye.

Yang Muye understood what Shi Xiaomeng meant.

My junior from Maqiu Mountain.

Although I'm only a freshman, it's good to get to know these kinds of technical talents in advance.

Once she started talking, Xia Fenghua began to speak at length.

“Several of my friends are quite capable. One of them stayed in the local area to study archaeology at Honghuai Normal University. Although it’s only a second-tier university, he scored over 600 points on the college entrance exam this year. He deliberately chose that school to specialize in studying shipwrecks in our canal.”

"I also have one of my best friends. She's mixed race, very beautiful, and her grades are excellent. Unfortunately, her grandmother and younger brother had accidents before the college entrance exam. She didn't want to be exploited by her mother, so she deliberately submitted a blank exam paper, left a letter, and disappeared without saying goodbye. Another reason I came to Yanjing to work was to find her."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing's eyes flickered with interest, and she interrupted, asking, "Are you sure she'll come to Yanjing?"

Xia Fenghua nodded with great certainty: "Yanjing is the starting point of the Grand Canal. As long as she remembers the promise she made as a child, she will definitely come here to see it."

Just as Liu Qing was about to say that Yanjing was so big that finding someone would probably not be easy, Xia Fenghua's phone rang again.

Seeing that it was Xie Wanghe calling again, Xia Fenghua quickly answered the call.

"We're already in the car. The driver said it'll only take a few minutes. You can wait at the school gate."

Xia Fenghua took her phone and walked to the side.

"You've come to Maple Tree Restaurant, and I'm having a late-night snack and chatting with the owner. It would be impolite to leave now."

"Xia Fenghua, have you really been brainwashed? Going out for late-night snacks and chatting with people, what were you doing that night—"

"Xie Wanghe, show me some respect! They're hiring me out of kindness, what do you think they are? Let me tell you the truth, there's a woman sitting right next to them who's ten times prettier than me. Why would they need to set their sights on me?"

"So you mean I'm worrying for no reason?"

No sooner had Xie Wanghe finished speaking than Zhou Haikuo snatched the phone away.

"Dahua, have you found out who the person who hired you is?"

"The three of them are all students from Yanjingmao. They said they were starting a business on campus. By the way, the really pretty senior among them is the president of the student union of their business school. In short, they are definitely not the kind of scammers who run pyramid schemes that you think they are."

Just as Zhou Haikuo was about to speak, Xie Wanghe snatched the phone back.

"You don't naively think that people have the word 'scammer' written all over their faces, do you? If they were that easy to spot, would so many college students still fall for their scams?"

"But I'm not a college student either. Why would they choose to scam a high school graduate like me instead of college students who are easier to fool?"

"Are you deliberately going against me?"

"You can't stand to see me doing well, so you accuse me of being scammed without even asking what happened. Anyway, I'm not going anywhere. I'll just wait in the restaurant. Come or don't come, it's up to you!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

After returning and sitting down, Liu Qing noticed that Xia Fenghua's expression was a bit off, and asked her what was wrong.

Xia Fenghua bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth.

Upon learning that the three of them had been mistaken for members of a pyramid scheme, Liu Qing chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.

After laughing until she was tired, Liu Qing put one hand on Yang Muye's shoulder and teased him, "You know what, people who don't know your background are actually quite likely to think you're a liar."

Honest as Shi Xiaomeng was, he nodded in agreement.

Who would have thought that a freshman would already be a multi-millionaire?
Even a magazine like "Story Club" wouldn't dare write something like this, so it's no wonder people suspect it's a pyramid scheme.

"Have you laughed enough?"

Yang Muye looked at Liu Qing's hand on his shoulder with a playful expression.

Are you trying to take advantage of me?
Liu Qing immediately apologized and removed her hand.

"I'm actually quite curious, when Fenghua's friends arrive later, how are you going to prove to them that you're not a fraud?"

Cainiao Post Stations and milk tea shops are not open yet, unless you take your bank card to an ATM for "verification".

However, Liu Qing felt that Yang Muye would definitely disdain using this method.

What kind of friends does Xia Fenghua have? Are they even worthy of her?

Xia Fenghua took the initiative to take the blame: "No need to explain, I'll talk to them later. Um... Sister Liu Qing, could you lend me your student card to swipe again? I want to treat two of my friends to something to eat here."

Without saying a word, Liu Qing handed over the student card: "Take it. I'm not like some people who know how to save costs. There's still more than a hundred yuan on the card, so you don't need to pay me back. Consider it my treat to a big meal."

Xia Fenghua, of course, was unwilling to take advantage of Liu Qing. While accepting the card, she said she would return all the money on the card, including the money for the plate of Yangzhou fried rice that Yang Muyi had previously swiped.

While the two were exchanging pleasantries, Yang Muye took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Brother Ma, are you familiar with the professors in the Computer Science Department at Yanhang University? I know them all. Okay, could you help me find out who's called—"

Just as he was about to utter the name Zhou Haikuo, he suddenly remembered that Xia Fenghua hadn't mentioned the other person's name yet, and he didn't know him at this moment.

Yang Muyi covered the microphone of his phone and looked up at Xia Fenghua, who looked completely bewildered.

What's the name of your friend who studies computer science at Yanhang University?

"Zhou Haikuo".

Yang Muye picked up his phone again.

"That person's name is Zhou Haikuo, a freshman in the Computer Science Department. Ask who their class advisor is. If you know him, ask him to pass on a message to Zhou Haikuo: if there's nothing else, just tell him that I'm not a scammer involved in pyramid schemes."

(End of this chapter)