Chen Zihan's inner world was as simple, clear, and beautiful as her outward appearance.
No sooner had Chen Zihan left, Jiang Xiaoliang and a few classmates who had just been feasting came along. Suddenly, seeing Xiao Han shining shoes by the roadside, Jiang Xiaoliang at first couldn't believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, and once he made sure he was not mistaken, he immediately went over, "My God, isn't this Xiao Han, the bottom ranker of our class?"
"It really is him!"
"Damn, it's actually Xiao Han?!"
A bunch of people immediately surrounded him, encircling Xiao Han as if watching a spectacle.
Xiao Han glanced at them indifferently, his reply neither warm nor cool, "Never seen shoe shining?"
"A poor student and still so cocky!" Jiang Xiaoliang looked at Xiao Han with disdain, then sat down across from him, resting his right foot on the footrest with a face full of arrogance, "Come on, shine my shoes."
"Afraid you can't afford it," Xiao Han said with a faint smile.
"Isn't it just four yuan?" Jiang Xiaoliang frowned.
"For people like you, the charge is one hundred," Xiao Han raised a finger.
"You're crazy!" Jiang Xiaoliang's face turned pale with anger.
"Per shoe!" After Xiao Han added this, Jiang Xiaoliang was dumbstruck.
"What for!" Jiang Xiaoliang roared, "You're robbing me!"
"Heh, my shoe polish is genuine imported from Germany, the same manufacturer that produces for Porsche," Xiao Han said unhurriedly. "Besides, my shoe brush is different too, made from the mane of Mongolia's national treasure, the Ferghana horse. Additionally, the chair you're sitting on was once sat upon by none other than the President of the United States, Obama himself."
"Who are you trying to fool?" Jiang Xiaoliang said angrily.
"If you don't believe it, you don't have to get your shoes shined!" Xiao Han sneered coldly, looking at Jiang Xiaoliang with a mocking face, "If you're broke, don't come to me for a shine, the auntie over there is waiting for you!"
"Young man, come here, I only charge four yuan!" The nearby aunt chuckled with a mouthful of chives stuck in her teeth from the chive pockets she had just eaten.
Jiang Xiaoliang had a very strong sense of pride; he hated being looked down upon by others. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Son of a bitch, do it, polish them!"
"One hundred per shoe, that's two hundred in total. Pay first, then I'll shine," Xiao Han held out his hand for the money.
Jiang Xiaoliang, grinding his teeth, tossed two bright red notes onto Xiao Han, and insisted angrily, "Make them spotless for me."
Xiao Han naturally wouldn't have issues with money; shining a pair of leather shoes had a cost of barely twenty cents, and someone was offering two hundred. How could he not do it? Xiao Han quickly shined Jiang Xiaoliang's shoes, while Jiang Xiaoliang was sulking with anger. Even after the shine was finished, he was still fuming and ended up being dragged away by a few male students.
Shining shoes for one evening, he actually made more than two hundred yuan, quite the windfall for today. He could wrap up early.
The several aunts nearby looked on with envy.
......
On the way back, Jiang Xiaoliang was almost bursting with rage.
"Damn it, I can't let this go," he muttered the whole way.
"Xiaoliang, when we get back, let's broadcast this incident at school," one of the boys snickered, "A poor braggart like him, let Chen Zihan see what kind of character this pauper really is."
"Right, right!" Jiang Xiaoliang, upon hearing this, quickly agreed, "On Monday, I must tell Chen Zihan; this son of a bitch dares to defy me, I must tarnish his reputation. Let everyone in the class, no, the whole school know Xiao Han is a shoeshiner."
"Haha..." The group burst into riotous laughter.
Little did they know, Xiao Han simply didn't care about such slander. Being poor was nothing remarkable; it was being poor in ambition that was truly frightening. One couldn't choose where they were born, but one's destiny could be changed with hard work.
On Saturday morning, news from Li Dapang came as a pleasant surprise. The guy had actually pre-purchased fifty sets of desks and chairs from a furniture factory on West Street. According to Li Dapang's thinking, in the worst case, if they couldn't attract students, they would only lose fifty sets of desks and chairs. But if business took off, they could always buy more desks and chairs.
Therefore, Xiao Han had no choice but to make a trip to Li Hengzhong's house.
At ten in the morning, Xiao Han put on a suit that made him look more mature, one that had belonged to his deceased father—a white shirt with black trousers. Once he put it on, he instantly looked ten years older. With Xiao Han's height, face, and somewhat mature gaze, it was impossible to tell that he was a student. Li Hengzhong probably wouldn't expect that such a person could be a student from his own school.
The principal of Linjiang No.1 Middle School, Li Hengzhong, was well-known to everyone.
Li Hengzhong lived in a high-end residential complex in the city center. Pretending to be a parent, Xiao Han easily tricked the security guard at the entrance and then headed straight for Li Hengzhong's home.
The door was opened by a woman in her forties.
"May I ask who you're looking for?" the woman asked Xiao Han with a puzzled look.
"Auntie, hello, I am here to see Principal Li," Xiao Han said, nodding slightly, his demeanor very polite.
The woman smiled faintly and said, "Oh, you're looking for Old Li. Well then... please come in."
"Thank you, Auntie," Xiao Han nodded.
After entering, the woman said with a smile, "Old Li is in his study. I'll call him out for you."
"No need for that, I'll go visit Principal Li myself," Xiao Han said with a slight smile.
"Well... okay then!" The woman, seeing that Xiao Han was not a bad sort, allowed him into the study.
Inside the study, the room was filled with books, with the scent of books wafting throughout. Various works of history and literature, and an array of historical documents, nearly covered the three walls of the room. Li Hengzhong, in his fifties with temples frosted with white, was sitting at his desk reading a Song Dynasty document.
"Principal Li, hello," Xiao Han greeted with a polite bow.
"You are...?" Li Hengzhong looked up, slightly startled, at the somewhat mature man before him.
"Who I am isn't important, Principal Li," Xiao Han hurried forward to shake hands with Li Hengzhong before saying, "I've come to ask for your help with something important today!"
"Ask me?" Li Hengzhong immediately sneered through his breath. Every year, there were no fewer than hundreds of people asking him for favors, all hoping he would pull strings to get their children into Linjiang No.1 Middle School. However, the man before him seemed fairly young. Could it be... he had come on behalf of someone else?
"Yes!" Xiao Han nodded and said, "I plan to start a college exam crash course. However, I am struggling with the lack of popularity, so I'd like to have Principal Li become our spokesperson."
Bang!
Li Hengzhong was a scholar and always considered himself one. He detested the exploitation of literature by some businessmen. This made him particularly angry. He threw the book he was holding onto the table and said angrily, "I'm sorry, but I have no such intentions."
"Principal Li, please don't rush," Xiao Han quickly said, "My intention for starting this prep course is to help more children who are struggling academically. Of course, it could significantly raise Linjiang No.1 Middle School's college admission rate, wouldn't you agree?"
"Of course, I would!" Li Hengzhong retorted with a sneer, "But I detest those who swindle under the pretense of improving admission rates."
"No, no." Xiao Han looked embarrassed and said, "You got me wrong."
"Leave now, or I will call the police," Li Hengzhong said, his face flushed with anger, phone already in hand.
"Wait a minute," Xiao Han hurriedly said, "Let me say one last thing, and then I'll leave."
"Speak!" Li Hengzhong commanded.
"In the research paper you published in 'Nature,' you mentioned the 'unchanging law of the quotient.' Actually, there are some flaws," Xiao Han began immediately. He had researched Li Hengzhong's work online prior to visiting and had specifically studied his recent academic paper, where he had indeed discovered some flaws. This was why he dared to visit Li Hengzhong's home.
"What do you mean?" For the first time, Li Hengzhong found someone who dared to challenge his academic research in mathematics.
"I speak with the greatest respect, Principal Li," Xiao Han said, looking at him deferentially and smiling, "You claimed in your paper that if both the dividend and divisor are multiplied or divided by the same number (excluding zero), the quotient remains the same... But have you considered that if the quotient..."
Xiao Han quickly shared his thoughts.
Li Hengzhong was immediately intrigued by the outlandish ideas full of imagination that Xiao Han presented.
"Are you saying that the law that the quotient is unchanged is wrong?" Li Hengzhong challenged.
"Not exactly," Xiao Han laughed, "Generally speaking, Special Theory of Relativity is indeed not absolute; conversely, from a narrower viewpoint, General Theory of Relativity is also not comprehensive. Einstein himself found contradictions in his own Theory of Relativity when applied to quantum mechanics in the later stage, leading him to propose the two theories: Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity. Mathematics, after all, is a discipline full of contention. We should adopt an open attitude while being conservative. Right?"
"You have a point!" Li Hengzhong nodded and said, "I wouldn't have expected you to have such profound understanding of mathematics. Very good."
"Heh heh..." Xiao Han chuckled and said, "That's why I want to run a college entrance exam prep class. I hope it can help improve the college admission rates of Linjiang No.1 Middle School. What do you think of my idea, Principal Li?"
"You want me to advertise for you?" Li Hengzhong scoffed.
"Yes, yes, yes," Xiao Han said, nodding eagerly.
"It's possible!" Li Hengzhong picked up the tea cup on the desk, smiled and said, "I have an exam here. If you can complete this paper within half an hour and score ninety, I'll agree to endorse you. How about that?"
"Deal!" Xiao Han replied eagerly, without hesitation.
Sitting at ease, Li Hengzhong pulled out an exam paper from the drawer. It was this year's Cambridge University entrance exam paper, completely in English, and with exceptionally difficult questions. The general scores for the Cambridge exams had been low this year. Scoring ninety was no easy feat.