Chapter Fifty-Three: Such Childish Thinking!

The next exams were undoubtedly much easier for Chen Feng. For him, tests were never a problem. His mind now worked at lightning speed, and he possessed knowledge rivaling that of a university professor. The exams felt like a breeze; the only regret was that his handwriting was rather unsightly.

But there was nothing to be done about that. Since entering high school, Chen Feng rarely practiced his handwriting, so the results were predictable. Despite his efforts to write neatly during the exam, he still found his script somewhat unattractive.

"Chen Feng, how do you think you did? I thought this exam was way too hard!" After handing in his paper, Chen Feng stretched, and a classmate sidled up to him.

Although Chen Feng hadn’t been particularly attentive in class lately, he maintained good relationships with his classmates. His personality had grown more cheerful, and they enjoyed talking with him.

"It was fine!" Chen Feng grinned, "I didn’t find it difficult at all!"

The boy sighed, scratching his head. "I think I’m doomed! I must have messed up this exam. It's over, I’m finished!"

Chen Feng couldn’t help but smile at him. His name was Liu Xiaoqiang, the archetypal “study drama queen” of the class. After every exam, he would collapse in tears, and everyone would comfort him and crack jokes to cheer him up. Yet when the results came out, he’d top the grade.

This kind of person was infuriating—always making a show of humility and despair, only to emerge as an academic paragon. Thus, he earned the nickname “study drama queen.”

Liu Xiaoqiang, while not always the top in the grade, consistently ranked in the top fifty. His claims of failure were pure dramatic flair—never to be believed.

"Stop pretending!" Chen Feng shook his head, laughing. "We’re still friends, as long as you don’t put on airs!"

Liu Xiaoqiang looked at Chen Feng earnestly. "I’m serious. You don’t understand—the difficulty of this exam was way higher than we expected!"

"Hard? I didn’t think so. It was easy!" Chen Feng shrugged, speaking leisurely. "I’m confident I’ll be first in the grade!"

"First in the grade? Forget it, that’s An Ran’s spot. Tsk, I really wonder if there’s any problem in this world she can’t solve!" Liu Xiaoqiang sighed, glancing at Chen Feng. "If you match your last score, that’s already impressive!"

Seeing Liu Xiaoqiang’s obvious skepticism, Chen Feng merely smiled, offering no explanation. An Ran—did she have a grand extraction system?

*****

When the exam ended, Chen Feng quickly pulled out his phone and called his parents to let them know he was safe.

His parents breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, they hadn’t slept a wink the previous night, for one simple reason—they’d made an astonishing amount of money. At a hundred yuan a bowl, they’d sold over two hundred bowls, making more than twenty thousand in a single night.

Twenty thousand yuan—when Chen Feng’s father, Chen Ze, calculated it, he was stunned for a long while, unable to process it. The couple would normally save barely that much in a year of hard work, yet now they’d earned it all in one night. It was simply unbelievable.

And this was just one day. If they managed the same every day for a whole year—three hundred sixty-five days—their annual income would exceed eight million!

Early in the morning, Chen Feng’s parents went to the bank to deposit the money, then began preparing for the next day’s business. Chen Feng had worked hard over the past period, and his specialty dish, Steaming Beef Balls, had been selling steadily. Today, his parents made extra preparations.

While Chen Feng was still in school taking exams, his parents spent the morning getting everything ready. After a simple lunch, they waited for the evening crowd, as that was when customers were most numerous.

But in the afternoon, two men in suits walked into their shop.

"Is the owner here?" One of them greeted Chen Feng’s parents with a smile.

"Hello, what would you like?" Chen Ze responded politely. The man smiled and said, "Hello, we came by yesterday. My name is Dong Wenrui; you may not remember me. I’m a friend of President Lin."

Chen Ze was a bit confused. Truthfully, there had been so many customers the previous night that it was impossible to remember each one. Still, he smiled and said, "Hello, would you like an order of Steaming Beef Balls?"

"Not exactly," Dong Wenrui replied with a smile. "We’d like to take an order to go, if that’s possible?"

"No problem, I’ll prepare it right away!" Chen Ze responded quickly, selected a portion, and handed it to Dong Wenrui with a smile. "One hundred yuan, thank you!"

Dong Wenrui smiled, took the dish, and handed over a bill without hesitation.

As Dong Wenrui and the other man left, the latter looked at Dong Wenrui with concern. "Brother Dong, do you really think this stuff works?"

Dong Wenrui furrowed his brow. "It should work, right? You tasted it yesterday—you know better than anyone how it tastes."

"Brother Dong, it was delicious, I agree. But you know, Director Lu’s only son has anorexia—he can’t eat anything and now survives on glucose. There’s no guarantee he’ll eat this," the other man said, frowning. "Don’t let movies fool you into thinking this will work. What if it fails?"

"Fails? If it fails, so be it," Dong Wenrui said, unconcerned. "At worst, I won’t get a promotion or a raise."

The man frowned. "Director Lu has only one son, who will someday inherit Shengshi Group. If this fails and Director Lu blames you, what will you do? He might throw you out of Shengshi Group. I advise you to be cautious—don’t assume Steaming Beef Balls are like in the movies. Movies are movies, reality is reality. You’re being reckless!"

Dong Wenrui shook his head. "Are you finished?"

The man frowned. "Brother Dong, you’re really not giving up?"

"Of course not," Dong Wenrui said calmly. "I won’t give up. Anything else?"

"Forget it, go yourself then," the man said, shaking his head. "I won’t go with you. Your idea is pure fantasy!"

Dong Wenrui nodded. "Alright, I’ll go myself."

He didn’t bother responding further, got into his car, and drove away. As he sat behind the wheel, he couldn’t help but shake his head. Most people in this world are too bound by convention, always seeing the pessimistic side of things. They don’t realize that what one needs is to try—perhaps after trying, a beautiful new world awaits.

Watching Dong Wenrui drive off, the other man spat on the ground and sneered coldly. "Dong Wenrui, you really are naive. You think something like this can cure anorexia? Hmph, your thinking is childish and foolish. When Director Lu comes after you, I’ll make sure to steer clear so I won’t get caught in the crossfire!"

Dong Wenrui drove for about an hour before arriving at a manor.

It was a vast estate, designed in the pure style of a Jiangnan garden: red walls, green tiles, artificial hills, clear springs, stone bridges, and flowing water. The interior was meticulously arranged. Rumor had it a feng shui master was commissioned to ensure the prosperity of the family’s descendants. Whether it truly guaranteed prosperity was uncertain, but entering the manor did invigorate the spirit and delight the mind.

Inside the estate, teams of bodyguards patrolled. Muscular and imposing, they radiated a fierce aura—they were seasoned men, each with battle experience, elite in their field. Hiring them was costly, and now they guarded the Lu family estate in pairs.

The owner of the estate was a figure of great renown: Lu Rui, the richest man in Jiang Province. The Lu family was among the top households in the province. Lu Rui had inherited his father’s assets and, though born into wealth, displayed exceptional business acumen. In just twenty years, he had elevated his family to the position of provincial wealth leader.

Dong Wenrui arrived at the gates, where two security guards stopped him. It wasn’t his first visit, but they always followed protocol.

Dong Wenrui politely identified himself.

The guards then notified Lu Rui, and a few minutes later, opened the gates and allowed Dong Wenrui to drive into the luxurious manor.

Driving inside, Dong Wenrui felt a surge of emotion. Though he’d visited before, each time he was deeply impressed. After parking, a servant led him into the grand hall of the estate.