Back to 1993: The family splits up at the start, and the ingrates regret it so much they cry.

Principal's office.

Xu Wei sat behind his desk, speechless and helpless as he looked at Wang Peng.

Because Wang Peng had no parents to support him and needed to earn his own tuition, she allowed him to do business at school.

This is inherently a very humane thing to do.

She never expected that rumors would circulate at school, claiming that she and Wang Peng had an improper relationship.

Wang Peng also looked helpless and said, "Principal Xu, I'm sorry, I didn't know things would turn out this way."

"Forget it, people can say whatever they want." Xu Wei rubbed his temples, feeling another headache coming on.

Wang Peng said, "Principal, in order to protect our reputation, I will no longer sell stationery on campus."

“No!” Xu Wei immediately shook his head. “If you do that, you’ll only confirm the rumors.”

Wang Peng was a little confused. How did this confirm the rumor?

However, the principal had his own way of thinking, and he didn't want to ask any more questions.

If the school doesn't allow doing business on campus, then don't do it.

He no longer makes a profit from retail; instead, he delivers goods to bookstores, stationery stores, convenience stores, and government agencies.

Song Wei fell into deep thought and began to weigh the pros and cons.

A few minutes later, she asked, "How are you doing now? Are you short of money?"

“No.” Wang Peng nodded immediately.

The video arcade is still 6,000 yuan short of its investment funds. Final exams are coming up soon, and tuition fees are due again. Food, drink, and even basic necessities all cost money.

Xu Wei nodded and picked up the telephone on the table to make a call.

The call connected, and she talked on the phone for a few minutes before finally hanging up.

"President Xu of the First People's Hospital is my elder brother."

"I just called him. Try to talk to him when you have some free time. If you can secure the hospital's order..."

Hospitals are major customers of pens; with so many departments, each one relies on writing.

Wang Peng hurriedly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Principal, you are so kind to me."

Xu Wei waved his hand, "You're a good student, I just don't want business to interfere with your studies."

“Principal, my business hasn’t interfered with my studies; I’m still number one in the whole grade,” Wang Peng said.

"I know," Xu Wei scoffed. "You'd better stay in the top ten of your grade forever, otherwise..."

This is a naked threat.

"You can go back now. Don't worry about the rumors; I'll handle it myself," Xu Wei said.

"Thank you, Principal." Wang Peng thanked him again and turned to leave the principal's office.

Arriving at the fifth floor of the teaching building, I met Wang Cheng face to face at the stairwell.

Wang Cheng was taken aback, then turned around and tried to slip away.

"Stop!" Wang Peng grabbed his shoulder and turned to look at the rooftop. "Want to talk on the rooftop?"

Wang Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly smiled apologetically, "Big brother, the rumor was spread by Zhou Xiayu, it really wasn't me."

"Shut up." Wang Peng pulled him onto the rooftop.

There were only the two of them on the rooftop.

Wang Peng looked up into the distance without saying a word.

A few minutes later, Wang Cheng felt a chill run down his spine and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Brother, I'm sorry."

"On the day the sports meet ended, I spoke ill of you in front of Zhou Xiayu, slandering you for having an improper relationship with Principal Xu."

“But I only told Zhou Xiaoyu that I hadn’t told anyone else. It must have been him spreading rumors.”

By the end, Wang Cheng's face had turned pale, and he knew he was definitely going to get beaten up.

“Wang Xia and Wang Zhen came to see me yesterday. They have earned enough tuition fees and have gone back to school.”

"They told me to tell you that they don't hate you, they only hate that our parents are incompetent."

"They also said... um!"

Wang Cheng took a heavy kick to the chest and sat down hard on his backside.

He clutched his chest with both hands, his stomach churning, coughing incessantly, saliva dribbling down the corners of his mouth.

"Wang Cheng, you can't stand seeing others do well. Seeing others make money is more painful than losing money yourself."

"The worst aspects of human nature are fully embodied in you."

Wang Peng kicked him in the stomach again.

"Ugh!" Wang Cheng groaned, curling up into a ball.

"Brother, I was wrong. I just said something mean. Zhou Xiaoyu was trying to hurt you." He quickly admitted his mistake.

Wang Peng sneered, "Don't provoke me anymore, it won't do you any good."

"I know, I don't dare to provoke you, I won't provoke you again." Wang Cheng kept trying to appease him.

"Hehe." Wang Peng was too lazy to pay him any more attention and strode off the rooftop.

Arriving at Class 6 of Senior Three on the second floor, I went straight to the podium.

"Is student council president Zhou Xiayu here?" he called out loudly.

All the students looked up at the podium.

"Xiao Peng, what do you want?" Zhou Xiayu left her seat and slowly walked to the front of the podium.

"Shall we go out for a chat?" Wang Peng smiled slightly.

Zhou Xiayu nodded and followed Wang Peng out of the classroom, going upstairs to the rooftop.

There was no one on the rooftop; Wang Cheng had already left.

"President Zhou, there have been some lewd rumors circulating at school recently about me and Principal Xu. Are you aware of this?" Wang Peng went straight to the point.

"I know." Zhou Xiaoyu stared directly at him. "Do you think I'm a rumor-monger?"

Wang Peng met his gaze. "The source of the rumor is Wang Cheng, he admitted it himself. He said he only spread the rumor in front of you."

Zhou Xiayu smiled, walked over to Wang Peng, and stood next to him.

“My dad is the vice principal, and everyone knows he and the principal don’t get along.”

"As the president of the student council, I have some prestige at school. If I spread rumors, they will spread even faster."

"So, I myself suspect that I am spreading rumors."

Zhou Xiayu said.

"Speak like a human being," Wang Peng scoffed. "Does this have anything to do with you?"

Zhou Xiaoyu shook her head. "Wang Peng, I can tell you with absolute certainty that this matter has nothing to do with me."

“I know about your relationship with Wang Cheng, and I also know the purpose of Wang Cheng spreading rumors in front of me.”

"He wants to use me to ruin your business and trick me into suggesting to the school leaders that you be banned from doing business on campus."

“I won’t fall for his tricks. Wang Peng, because I admire you and genuinely want to be your friend.”

Zhou Xiayu remained calm, showing no signs of lying.

The two continued to stare at each other, neither of them speaking.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Peng turned around, leaned on the railing, and gazed at the shops on the street.

Thinking about it carefully, I don't believe Zhou Xiayu would spread rumors.

The two not only had no conflict, but also had business dealings; Zhou Xiaoyu had purchased stationery from him.

"Wang Cheng?" Wang Peng chuckled coldly.

Zhou Xiaoyu patted him on the shoulder and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter who the rumor-monger is; what matters is Principal Xu's attitude."

“Principal Xu has already spoken with me, not only letting me continue doing business, but also introducing me to the president of the People’s Hospital,” Wang Peng said.

"Impressive, the principal really does favor students who excel academically." Zhou Xiaoyu gave a thumbs up.

“Xiaopeng, I swear on my life, the one spreading rumors is Wang Cheng,” he added.

"Oh? Why are you so sure?" Wang Peng stared at him.

“Because this is my dad’s analysis, and he knows about this too.” Zhou Xiaoyu patted his shoulder again. “Xiaopeng, Wang Cheng’s scheming is beyond your imagination. Be careful.”