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

After the commendation ceremony ended, the students gathered around Wang Peng.

"Brother Peng, you're really smart."

"How exactly is your brain structured?"

"Wang Peng is a genius. He spends so much time doing business, and the key is that he can still achieve good results."

The students standing nearby showered him with compliments.

Wang Peng could only adopt a humble demeanor, smiling as he struck up a conversation with them, giving him the feeling that he could command a large following.

He needed to reply to Li Mingzhu later, so he took Du Lei out for a meal.

After finishing my meal, I returned to the classroom and wrote a letter to Li Mingzhu.

First, I comforted her in the letter, saying that victory and defeat are common in war, and that if she didn't do well this time, she should keep trying and she would do better next time.

Then I wrote another seven or eight hundred words.

The central idea can be summed up in one sentence: "You guessed it, I like you."

Wang Peng drew a heart at the end of the letter, put the letter in an envelope, affixed a stamp, and sealed it with glue.

I rode my bike to the post office.

The post office was already closed, so he put the letter in the oil drum.

When I arrived at the school gate, I saw a Santana parked there; it was Li Longfei's car.

The car door opened, and Li Longfei said with a smile, "Xiao Peng, come over and have a chat for a bit."

Wang Peng parked his bicycle on the side of the road, opened the door, and got into the passenger seat.

“Xiao Peng, that’s where my shrewdness lies – I begged you to partner with me to open a video arcade,” Li Longfei said with a smile.

He rolled down the car window and lit a cigarette with a click.

"Uncle, I didn't expect you to be such a flatterer," Wang Peng laughed. "The deal is done. There are thirty-five classes in the whole school, and each class will pay twenty-five yuan, for a total of eight hundred and seventy-five yuan."

"Mengjiao told me, haha." Li Longfei couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The video arcade hasn't even opened yet, and business is already knocking on our door—that's a good omen.

Most importantly, it saves on electricity and venue costs, although it wastes some manpower, but it basically nets 875 yuan.

"Xiao Peng, this is all thanks to you. Just tell me how to split the profits, and I'll listen to you," Li Longfei said.

According to the shareholding ratio, Wang Peng can only receive one-tenth.

"Let's divide it proportionally. I'll take one-tenth," Wang Peng said.

“That won’t do. I’ll give you 50%.” Li Longfei stretched out his hand and said, “Without your good performance, this deal wouldn’t have come our way.”

Wang Peng shook his head. "The equipment is all yours, and you paid for the videotapes too. I'll only get 40% at most."

"Uncle, let's not stand on ceremony. I'll only take 40%," Wang Peng emphasized again.

"Good! That's bold!" Li Longfei gave a thumbs up. "I'll take advantage of you this time, it's settled then."

At this point, Li Longfei took out his wallet, handed 350 yuan to Wang Peng, afraid that Wang Peng would change his mind.

Wang Peng put the money in his pocket. This money, plus his exam bonus, brought his income to 850 yuan today.

He wanted to buy something to celebrate.

He took out all his savings and handed two thousand yuan to Li Longfei.

“Uncle, this is my investment money. I still owe four thousand yuan in investment,” he said.

The total investment fee is 10,000 yuan, of which 4,000 yuan has already been paid.

Li Longfei took the money and said, "Give me the house key. The post office will come to your house to pick up the phone extension tomorrow at noon."

Wang Peng was taken aback.

To connect to the phone extension, a telephone line was run from Li Longfei's house to Wang Peng's house, along with another telephone.

If someone makes a phone call, both phones will ring and both will be able to be used.

"Xiao Peng, from now on you'll be able to receive order calls from home," Li Longfei said with a smile.

"Thank you, Uncle Li." Wang Peng was touched and took out his house key and handed it to him.

"Don't be so polite with me, we're partners from now on." Li Longfei patted him on the shoulder.

"Uncle Li, I have to go to my evening self-study session. You go ahead and do your work?" Wang Peng said.

Li Longfei nodded. "Mengjiao's bicycle is broken. Let her ride home in your car tonight."

"Okay." Wang Peng got off the car and rode his bicycle into the campus.

The first self-study period has ended.

Feeling thirsty, he went to the convenience store outside the school to buy four bottles of Coke, which he then gave to Du Lei, Li Mengjiao, and Chen Xiaojing.

"Your bicycle is broken? What happened?" Wang Peng asked.

"The bike chain broke, my dad will fix it tomorrow." Li Mengjiao opened her Coke and took a small sip.

"The end of the semester is in five days. According to the rules of No. 1 Middle School, the top ten students will receive a third prize, and the highest prize may be two hundred yuan."

"Wang Peng, are you confident you can win the prize money?" Li Mengjiao asked.

"It should be fine, right?" Wang Peng patted his chest, full of confidence.

At this moment, Chen Xiaojing whispered, "Wang Peng, I heard from Du Lei that you've recently made a pen pal?"

Wang Peng nodded, not understanding why she suddenly asked this question.

Chen Xiaojing pouted.

“Brother Peng, you’re doing three things at once now: doing business, studying, and making pen pals.”

Do you have that much energy?

"I suggest you cut off your pen pal; it will definitely affect your grades."

When asked about the best, Chen Xiaojing pouted again.

Wang Peng was a little confused and said in a low voice, "Writing letters can improve writing skills, it won't affect your studies."

"Hmph!" Chen Xiaojing snorted coldly, lowered his head and began to do math problems on the manuscript paper.

Wang Peng looked at him, then at Li Mengjiao, and felt that something was amiss.

Chen Xiaojing is usually very carefree; how could she possibly pay attention to someone else's pen pal?

Could it be?

Is she just Li Mengjiao's mouthpiece?

Thinking of this, Wang Peng wrote a note and passed it to Li Mengjiao, saying, "You don't want me to have a pen pal?"

Li Mengjiao immediately picked up her pen and wrote back, "What does this have to do with me?"

It's 9 PM, and evening self-study ends.

Wang Peng started packing his schoolbag. "Mengjiao, let's go. Xiaojing, are you coming too?"

"You guys go first, I haven't finished my homework yet." Chen Xiaojing continued writing furiously.

"Wait a minute, why did you leave your homework so late?" Wang Peng said. "It's already dark, can't you go back by yourself?"

"I'll have Du Lei take me later." Chen Xiaojing still didn't look up.

Du Lei was a little confused, pointed to his nose, and looked completely innocent.

Li Mengjiao had already packed her schoolbag and walked out of the classroom with small, quick steps.

Wang Peng had no time to think and picked up his schoolbag to chase after her.

The two walked down from the teaching building, and Wang Peng rode his bicycle to take her back to Xiaowangzhuang.

Leave the main road and enter the dark alley.

"Mengjiao, Chen Xiaojing is acting strangely. Is there something shady going on between her and Du Lei?" Wang Peng then asked.

"You're the one who has things you can't show to anyone, and you're already talking about dating?" Li Mengjiao sneered.

"We're not dating, Li Mingzhu and I are just pen pals," Wang Peng said, both amused and exasperated.

Of course, there is romance involved, but that's someone from a past life whom I must marry in this one.

"Wang Peng, I'll call you big brother. Don't always think about dating. The most important thing for us is to study."

"Alright, girl, I understand all these big principles," Wang Peng said, both amused and exasperated.

“My studies won’t be affected, but you’re always daydreaming. Be careful it doesn’t affect your studies,” Wang Peng said with a smile.

"Wang Peng, do you think boys are smarter than girls? I've been working really hard, so why are my grades still not as good as yours?"