"You're going to be the study companion!"
"Then who brings home the bacon?"
"Are we supposed to live off my measly pension??"
Old Shen's lips twisted all the way to his ear, his face grumpy—a far cry from the guy who was just now ogling pretty ladies dancing.
"Yanran Xiaoxiao's grandpa gave us a hundred thousand yuan and told me to make sure they both get into college."
Shen Qiushan didn't really want to bring up the kids' grandpa, but if the money issue isn't solved, there's no way his old man would let him quit his job to be a study companion, so he could only drag the grandpa into this as a shield.
"He gave a hundred thousand?"
"Hmph! The sun must be rising from the west!"
Old Shen acted all shocked, but his expression said that it was only right the guy forked over the money.
"Bro, did he really give the money?"
Shen Dehua was surprised too, asking in disbelief.
"The money's all in my card. How could it be fake?"
Shen Qiushan said this while grabbing a slice of watermelon from the fruit plate, took a big bite, then looked at his old man and said, "Since he paid up, I've got to at least put on a show, right?"
"Anyway, it's just three months."
"Okay!"
"If we're spending his money, might as well treat it as a three-month break!"
Old Shen's attitude did a 180, clearly he had a bone to pick with his "in-law."
Even if the guy hands over money, he's still getting no credit with Old Shen!
Shen Qiushan wasn't surprised by his dad's reaction—after all, the kids' grandpa tried to get custody of them soon after they were born, and even wanted to change their surname.
No way Old Shen would let his grandkids take another family's surname—of course he refused.
Over the years, the two families have clashed a bunch over the kids.
The stories there are endless, since it's already been seventeen or eighteen years.
Long story short, now both sides pretty much look down on each other.
"Alrighty, then I'm heading upstairs to study."
Having convinced his old man, Shen Qiushan went upstairs in high spirits, rummaged through his son's room, and pulled out all the textbooks from his first year of high school—several of them still looked brand new.
This little rascal's textbooks are like ninety percent new. What the heck has he been studying all year!
Shen Qiushan grumbled in his head, then picked up the history book and started flipping through it.
Right now, the college entrance exam uses the "3+1+2" model.
The "3" means Chinese, math, and English—three subjects.
The "1" means you pick one from physics or history.
The "2" means you pick two out of politics, geography, chemistry, and biology.
So Shen Qiushan doesn't need to study all the subjects. Apart from the main three—Chinese, math, English—he chose history, geography, and politics.
These three subjects are all about rote memorization. Shen Qiushan figured that as long as he's willing to work hard, he can definitely score some points.
But stuff like physics and chemistry, that's a whole different ballgame. He's been out of school for too long, and with these two, the formulas might know him, but he sure as hell doesn't know the formulas! Way too hard—just can't get into them!
Ding!
Scholar Index +1!
Ding!
Scholar Index +2!
...
The more focused Shen Qiushan became, the faster his Scholar Index went up.
He'd tested this before: if you study for over an hour straight, the speed your Scholar Index increases will double, going from 1 point a minute to 2.
If you keep going past two hours, it doubles again to 4 points a minute.
He'd never tried longer than that, because before he never had time to study for three hours straight. But judging by the pattern so far, it's probably safe to guess that for every extra hour you study, the Scholar Index speed will double again!
Only, besides activating the system, what else can this Scholar Index do?
After an hour and a half of straight studying, Shen Qiushan began to drift off.
Beep!
Friendly reminder: Scholar Index can be exchanged for items in the System Mall, or used for the lottery.
Uh...
A robotic prompt suddenly jingled in Shen Qiushan's mind, answering his question.
There's a System Mall too?
And you can enter a lottery?
Beep!
Friendly reminder: This system's activation command is [Xiaohuang Xiaohuang]
Huh?
"Xiaohuang Xiaohuang."
Shen Qiushan tried it out right away.
A cute girl's voice instantly chimed in his mind.
[I'm here]
Along with the adorable voice, a virtual system page popped up in front of Shen Qiushan.
Yep, now this is the vibe!
Before, he and the system were just "soul chatting." Now it's finally got a physical form.
On the main page, smack in the center, was his profile info.
Host: Shen Qiushan
Age: 38
Height: 183cm
Weight: 78kg
Current Scholar Index: 1258 points
Below that were clickable subpages.
Skills mastered:
Cooking (Beginner)
Learning Ability (Beginner)
Pager Repair (Beginner)
Home Appliance Repair (Beginner)
...
After a messy row of beginner skills, the intermediate ones showed up. So far, Shen Qiushan had only four intermediate skills: dating ability, eloquence, e-bike driving, and car driving.
Below the intermediate skills were the advanced ones, but Shen Qiushan had only one:
XXOO Ability—Advanced!
This...
For a moment, Shen Qiushan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Turns out, after living 38 years, except for being good at playing poker, he's got no other special talents!
Intermediate dating, intermediate eloquence, advanced XXOO ability!
Damn, this is basically the God-given "kept man physique!"
If this was ancient times, at the very least he'd be good enough to be a princess's boy toy or something.
Thinking back over the years, it's true his luck with women has always been good. Even though he never remarried, he was never short on female company.
And if his wife hadn't died in childbirth, he probably really would've entered the "kept man" club.
Because his late wife, Lin Chuxue, was the classic "blonde rascal sweeps away rich pretty girl" story.
If his wife were still alive, his high-and-mighty father-in-law definitely wouldn't have let him live like this...
Guess Shen Qiushan was made to be kept, just with bad luck.
All that's past now!!
Shen Qiushan shook off thoughts of his late wife, found the System Mall on the main page, and discovered there were only two items for sale: one was "Memory Capsule," the other was "Replenishing Essence and Qi Pills."
Note 1: Memory Capsule can boost brain memory capacity, lasting two hours.
Note 2: Replenishing Essence and Qi Pills can quickly restore human energy and unlock physical potential, lasting two hours.
Damn, good stuff!
Systems really are something else!
Shen Qiushan marveled in his mind, then checked the prices on the two items.
Both cost 1,000 Scholar Value points for one.
Shen Qiushan checked his own Scholar Value: 1,258 points.
So, he could exchange for either a Memory Capsule or a Replenishing Essence and Qi Pill.
But he didn't redeem anything right away—for once he'd racked up over a thousand points, he had to spend them on what mattered most.
So, he clicked into the lottery page.
Rules: 1,000 Scholar Value points per draw, rewards given at random.
In the center were two options:
[Draw Once][Draw Ten Times]
At the bottom, an ad line: Take a shot, and your scooter turns into a motorbike; pull that lever, and your motorbike turns into a Range Rover!