"Morning already?" Fang Jueyu woke up groggily from his sleep and glanced at the time—it was already past 10 a.m.
After a quick wash, he started pondering a very serious question: What should he eat for lunch today?
Based on his experience from last night's late-night snack, Fang Jueyu knew the chefs' style by now. Whatever he requested would inevitably turn into something completely mind-blowing.
"Uncle Wu, I'll handle lunch on my own today. No need to go to the trouble!" Fang Jueyu instructed the head chef, Uncle Wu. "From now on, if I want something, I'll let you know in advance."
"Alright, whenever you want something, just let me know."
"Oh no! I overslept and forgot about the important stuff!" Fang Jueyu suddenly remembered that he had added Xinyu on WeChat last night. He wasn't sure if his friend request had been accepted yet.
Hurriedly grabbing his phone, he saw that his friend request had indeed been accepted, though their chat window was empty—Xinyu hadn't messaged him either.
"Sorry about that, I moved yesterday and fell asleep listening to your singing without saying goodbye," Fang Jueyu quickly messaged her.
"Hahaha, no worries. I know big shots like you are always busy," Xinyu replied within seconds, followed by a cute emoji.
"By the way, Mr. Big Spender, where did you move to?"
"I moved to Jiangnan City. My university is here, so I'm planning to settle down."
"University? Are you still a student?" Xinyu sent a confused emoji. "I thought you were a middle-aged man, at least in your forties!"
"Hahaha, I'm only 20! I'll be starting my final year of undergrad at Jiangnan University after this summer."
"What a coincidence! I'm also studying in Jiangnan City, but I'm at the Jiangnan Academy of Music. My grades are nowhere near as good as yours though!"
In reality, Guo Xinyu was being modest. While Jiangnan University ranked third among comprehensive universities nationwide, her Jiangnan Academy of Music was also one of the top music schools in the country, only behind the Central Conservatory of Music and Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
"People have been guessing about your identity. Some think you're an aimless rich kid, while others think you're a business mogul. Who would've guessed you're just a student?"
"They're just speculating!" Fang Jueyu rolled his eyes. Why do people always assume that rich kids are aimless slackers? He was, after all, an excellent student with well-rounded development.
"But, Mr. Big Spender, your family must be in business, right?" Guo Xinyu guessed. Otherwise, how could he afford to spend millions on a livestream platform, which was essentially a form of entertainment?
"You could say that. Oh, by the way, Xinyu, stop calling me Mr. Big Spender. My name is Fang Jueyu. Just call me by my name from now on."
"Alright then, you can call me Guo Xinyu instead of Xinyu. Thank you for your help, by the way. To be honest, my family really needed that money. You've saved us from a big crisis," Guo Xinyu said sincerely. "If I ever get the chance, I'll definitely treat you to a meal—just don't mind if the place isn't too fancy."
"Hahaha, I wouldn't mind at all. If you took me somewhere too fancy, I might even feel a bit uncomfortable," Fang Jueyu replied. "Believe it or not, I only found out how rich I was a couple of days ago."
Guo Xinyu sent a playful emoji, clearly not believing him. "What? Did your parents suddenly tell you they're billionaires, like one of those internet stories?"
Little did Guo Xinyu know, what she jokingly said had actually happened to Fang Jueyu, and his parents weren't just ordinary billionaires. In fact, they were currently somewhere off in the vastness of space, and who knows where they might be now.
The two had only just formally met, so there wasn't much more to say. After a bit of small talk, they said their goodbyes.
Fang Jueyu had an important task to take care of today. Earlier, Zhuang Ying had sent him a message saying that he needed to be outfitted with some proper clothing. After all, the total value of his current outfit barely added up to a thousand yuan.
At first, Fang Jueyu thought he could just buy something decent at a mall, but Zhuang Ying informed him that there was a private factory specifically dedicated to making custom clothing for him and those who served him. Someone would be coming to take his measurements that afternoon.
"Let's grab something to eat first!" Fang Jueyu casually threw on a simple pair of shorts and a T-shirt, grabbed his keys, and headed out. There were plenty of great restaurants near his school, and some of them were quite pricey—places he wouldn't normally have dared to splurge on. But now, those financial concerns were a thing of the past.
Driving out of the neighborhood and down a main road, he soon arrived at the university's entrance. Since summer vacation had started a few days ago, there were fewer people around, with only the hard-pressed graduate students remaining. The usually bustling entrance now seemed a little quiet.
Fortunately, the lack of people made it easy for Fang Jueyu to find a parking spot. As soon as he stepped out of the car, a familiar voice called out to him.
"Hey, Fang!" A slightly chubby guy came running over. It was his roommate, Cheng Kai. "Damn, it really is you! Have you grown taller? You look kind of different—did you get plastic surgery or something? I almost didn't recognize you!"
"Get lost! I'm still growing, didn't you know?" Fang Jueyu bantered, aware that his appearance had changed somewhat. "Why haven't you gone home yet?"
"Ah, my parents want me to take the grad school entrance exam. If I go home, there's no way I'll be able to focus, so I decided to stay here and study. At least I can get some work done at the library," Cheng Kai explained. "Wait, didn't you go home? Why are you back?"
"Uh... I recently moved. Moved to Jiangnan City," Fang Jueyu said vaguely, unsure how to explain.
"Wow! You've been holding out on us! The housing prices in Jiangnan City have tripled in the past few years, and your family managed to buy a place here? Impressive!" Cheng Kai said enviously. Housing prices around Jiangnan University had skyrocketed to over 60,000 yuan per square meter, and any apartment there would cost someone most of their life's savings.
"Hahaha, to be honest, my dad just told me a couple of days ago that I'm actually a rich kid!" Fang Jueyu joked.
"Alright, I believe you. I've been studying so hard I'm burned out. You're buying lunch today!"
"No problem. How about we go to Bartolo?"
"What the heck! I was joking, are you serious?" Bartolo, full name Bartolo's Spanish Art Restaurant, wasn't a high-end place, but the average price per person was over 300 yuan. If you wanted to leave full, it'd cost at least 500 each, which was a luxury for students.
"Less talk, more action! We've been roommates for three years, so even if I have to sell my blood or something else, I'll treat you to a nice meal!" Fang Jueyu joked.
"What the heck? Did this guy's family actually strike it rich?" Cheng Kai followed along, confused. Knowing Fang Jueyu, he wasn't one to flaunt wealth for appearances. Jueyu had dabbled in stocks with his saved-up living expenses before, so maybe he really had made some money recently.
As fate would have it, when they arrived at the restaurant's entrance, they ran into two people, one of whom was none other than Fang Jueyu's ex-girlfriend, Jiang Yuan. The man she was holding onto was, of course, her new boyfriend, Wang Xuan.
"Hahaha," Cheng Kai sneered before Fang Jueyu could react. "Talk about a small world!"