For the first ti, Tao Tian was eagerly waiting for a guy to reply to her ssages.
This was also her first ti taking the initiative.
Finally, Zhou Yuwen sent two consecutive ssages, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She replied, “So, tell —who looks better,
in person or the photos?”
“It’s definitely you in person!”
“Really? Well, how do I compare to your girlfriend?”
Zhou Yuwen didn’t answer this and instead switched the topic, asking, “How’s the part-ti job going today? Any surprises?”
Disappointed, Tao Tian replied, “Nope.”
“With the reputation of Boss Zhou, how could there be any surprises?” she replied with a pout.
Zhou Yuwen finished breakfast with Zheng Yanyan, and they lazed around on the sofa for a bit. Honestly, there wasn’t much to do as a couple beyond lying together and playing on their phones. Yanyan’s head was resting on Zhou Yuwen’s lap, her legs stretched out on the sofa cushion. Occasionally, she’d share sothing interesting with him, and sotis they’d cuddle and kiss.
After last night, Yanyan was still a bit sore, so a second round was out of the question for now. Zhou Yuwen told her to rest at ho, ntioning that he’d have class in the afternoon.
This didn’t sit well with Yanyan, who pouted and asked since when he beca so committed to studying.
Zhou Yuwen explained that he had things to take care of besides class.
“I need to settle up so paynts from yesterday’s part-ti job with Liu Shuo.”
“Oh.”
Since it was work-related, Yanyan couldn’t really say no. But thinking of Tao Tian made her feel a bit jealous, so she asked, “Are you going to see Tao Tian?”
Zhou Yuwen replied, “This is between
and Liu Shuo; it has nothing to do with her. We won’t et.”
“Really?”
She turned over, kneeling on the sofa, and looked at him questioningly.
“Why would I lie to you? And even if we did et, what would it matter? She’s an upperclassman ‘goddess.’ Do you really think she’d be interested in ?” Zhou Yuwen said.
Yanyan muttered, “I don’t know about that, but I feel like she looks at you strangely.”
Zhou Yuwen sighed, cupping her cheeks. “Baby, I’m completely yours now. What is there to worry about? Don’t you trust ?”
“I’m not worried!” she protested.
“Alright, fine. How about this: I’ll promise not to see Tao Tian at all,” he said, lifting her head and giving her a quick kiss.
“I'm not that petty,” Yanyan replied, happy inside but feigning generosity. “Of course, you’ll et her soti.”
“There’s the Freshman Welco Party tonight, and she’ll definitely be there. I just want you to keep your distance. After all, you’re my man now.”
She said this while climbing onto his lap again.
“I know. I’ve always been your man,” Zhou Yuwen said.
“Hehe, such a good hubby. Here’s a reward!”
Yanyan leaned in and kissed him.
The two whispered sweet nothings for a while. When it was ti for Zhou Yuwen to leave, Yanyan said she’d co along.
“Not going to rest here a bit longer?”
“No, there’s nothing here for . I’ll go back to the dorm to change. Plus, it doesn’t feel right staying here too long. I don’t want Su Qing and Shen Yu gossiping about .”
Won are complicated that way—on the one hand, reluctant to leave their boyfriends, but on the other, conscious of others’ opinions if they spend too much ti there.
Zhou Yuwen didn’t mind. Once Yanyan was ready, he drove her back to her dorm. She ntioned that the couple’s shirts she ordered had arrived and that she’d bring them down for him to wear.
“Do we really need to be so obvious?” he asked.
“Of course! I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“Alright, alright.”
At the dorm, Yanyan retrieved the shirts. It was already the afternoon, and her roommates had gone to class, leaving her alone in the dorm.
Zhou Yuwen told her to get so rest there.
She nodded.
It was pretty warm for October, so there weren’t many people around the dorm. Zhou Yuwen’s convertible stood out. After handing him the shirt, Yanyan chatted with him by the car before leaning in for a goodbye kiss.
Then Zhou Yuwen drove off.
Thanks to spending extra ti with Yanyan, he was a couple of minutes late to class, but fortunately, the teacher was lenient.
Upon entering, Li Qiang greeted him excitedly. “Hey, Brother Zhou, I heard Zheng Yanyan stayed at your place last night?”
“Your sources are impressive,” Zhou Yuwen replied.
“Heh, Chang Hao told
he gad with you guys last night, so I had a hunch. So? Did you get anywhere with her?” Li Qiang probed.
Zhou Yuwen didn’t want to discuss it, so he asked, “Where’s Chang Hao?”
“Oh, didn’t get much sleep, so he’s napping now.”
“Got it.”
With that, Zhou Yuwen started checking his phone. Tao Tian had been ssaging him since noon, but he’d only been half-engaging with her.
She’d been sending him so pictures of herself.
Today, there were barely any visitors at the event, so everyone was essentially just clocking hours.
Tao Tian even sent him a photo in a qipao decorated with blue and white porcelain patterns, showing off her legs.
“Looks good. Easy paycheck,” he replied.
“Does it look good?” she asked.
“What?”
“My legs.”
“They’re alright. I wonder what they feel like.”
“Want to find out?”
Zhou Yuwen bantered back a bit, though he replied slowly. He was also chatting with Liu Shuo about the transfer of the express station.
Li Qiang stayed near Zhou Yuwen, probing him about his night with Yanyan.
“Brother Zhou, you’re the first one in our dorm to seal the deal. Don’t forget about us!”
Zhou Yuwen asked, “So, how would I not be forgetting you guys?”
“Well, now that you and Yanyan are a thing, could you ask her to put in a good word for
with Linlin? She’s practically my sister-in-law now, right?” Li Qiang grinned.
“Dream on, getting Yanyan to speak up for you,” Zhou Yuwen said.
“Aw, co on, Brother Zhou, help
out!”
Afternoon classes were a bit looser with Chang Hao missing. Li Qiang ended up sitting with Jiang Chao and so others.
By now, a month into the sester, the pretty freshn were already well-known, whether it was Lu Lin or Zheng Yanyan, and they’d been spotted during rehearsals in the auditorium.
Jiang Chao had been listening to Li Qiang talk and finally asked, “Hey, Qiangzi, is that ‘Linlin’ you keep ntioning the dancer Lu Lin?”
“Yep. How about it? Pretty good taste, huh?” Li Qiang grinned.
“No way! You want to pursue Lu Lin?” Jiang Chao laughed.
Li Qiang’s face soured. “What’s that supposed to an?”
Jiang Chao and his dorm mates burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. “Qiangzi, know your limits, man!”
“Screw you! Don’t you know how to talk?”
Li Qiang tried to retort, but their laughter only got louder.
Jiang Chao then turned to Zhou Yuwen, saying, “Brother Zhou, if you really know her, mind introducing ?”
Zhou Yuwen glanced at Jiang Chao and said bluntly, “Do you think you match?”
This made everyone in Jiang Chao’s dorm laugh even harder, but Li Qiang looked genuinely serious.
Zhou Yuwen only stayed for the first period. Just as the second period was starting, he got a call from Liu Shuo, who said he was waiting outside the school.
“The security guard won’t let
in,” Liu Shuo sounded indignant.
Zhou Yuwen replied, “Wait there. I’ll be right over.”
When he reached the gate, he found Liu Shuo in a minor standoff with the guard. The security guard, an older guy from Jinling, was saying, “You can enter, but the car has to stay out!”
Liu Shuo argued, “I just need to pick soone up!”
“It doesn’t matter! The car can’t go in!”
Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen arrived. Since he’d previously coordinated with the guards for school cards, the guards knew him and found him capable.
He handed over a few cigarettes, saying his friend didn’t know the rules.
The guards waved it off, and one even recognized Liu Shuo, saying, “Didn’t we issue a school card for you too? We’re just following protocol.”
“Got it, got it,” Zhou Yuwen replied.
After a brief chat, Zhou Yuwen pulled Liu Shuo aside, mildly scolding him for stirring up trouble with the guards.
Liu Shuo was still fuming, “Those jerks are so biased! They let rcedes and BMWs in just fine!”
“Cut it out. Those are the teachers’ cars. Get a hold of yourself,” Zhou Yuwen muttered, giving him a symbolic kick.
Liu Shuo only chuckled. “One day
, when I’ve got the money, I’ll buy out this whole school!”
Buying the school was out of reach, but the school’s property managent was contracted out to a third-party company called Dongwu Property. Buying out the property company might actually be feasible.
Liu Shuo’s van was parked outside, with a big, burly guy at the driver’s seat whom Liu Shuo introduced as Gao Yang.
Gao Yang was a sophomore in civil engineering, also from Xu Zhou, with a rural background and a tan, honest face.
Most of Liu Shuo’s connections were down-to-earth people without any sches, though they often got the short end of the stick in part-ti work.
Liu Shuo introduced Gao Yang, saying he used to work at the express station.
“Brother Zhou, since you’re taking over the express station, I thought Gao Yang could help out.”
Zhou Yuwen, respecting Gao Yang as an upperclassman, greeted him politely.
Gao Yang replied with a grin, “Brother Zhou, don’t be so formal. I’m with Brother Shuo.”
“Brother Shuo’s been good to , and driving for you would be my pleasure.”
Zhou Yuwen felt a bit awkward, but Liu Shuo seed to enjoy the setup, as if having a younger student to drive for him was a big deal.
Liu Shuo ushered Zhou Yuwen into the van’s back seat, while he and Gao Yang took the front.
They were about to sign contracts for ten express stations, totaling about eighty thousand yuan. Zhou Yuwen didn’t have much left, especially after buying computers and lending money to Su Qing. To fund the express station venture, he’d even taken out a loan.
He’d discussed this with Liu Shuo, who, unaware of Zhou Yuwen’s exact situation, assud he was willing to go into debt to develop the Xu Zhou Association. Liu Shuo was touched and even offered to borrow from his dad.
Zhou Yuwen declined, emphasizing the value of independence in entrepreneurship.
He was simply short on cash temporarily, and he knew the ins and outs of those lending companies. Realistically, he could delay paying interest for months if needed.
With that confidence, Zhou Yuwen went ahead with the loan.
The money was approved within ten minutes, and with a hundred thousand yuan in hand, Zhou Yuwen secured the contracts for all ten express stations. He had two thousand yuan left, which he gave to Liu Shuo to buy a couple of carts. The business model was straightforward—earn a modest inco by offering pickup and delivery, with the Xu Zhou Association managing the operations.
This move showed Liu Shuo that Zhou Yuwen trusted him completely.
Liu Shuo patted his chest, promising, “Don’t worry, Brother Zhou! This express station is the foundation of our Xu Zhou Association. I know what to do.”
After taking over the express stations, they began their rounds. Most of the stations were already set up, and they didn’t even need to replace student staff.
School express stations generally coordinated with delivery companies, secured a room on campus, and were often run by students.
Liu Shuo had built a decent network in the past month and introduced Zhou Yuwen to a few reliable students who would be managing each station.
Each of them greeted Zhou Yuwen politely, and so even promised to do whatever he asked.
Zhou Yuwen reassured them, “No need for that; just keep up the good work.”
Managing ten express stations would require a skilled accountant, but Zhou Yuwen planned to keep it simple. His goal was to earn transfer fees in three years, so he’d keep managent loose.
He’d take twenty percent, leaving eighty percent to the team. After all, these student-run stations just made hard-earned money, so there was no need to push too hard.
Finally, they arrived at Zhou Yuwen’s school’s express station.
The station was still in operation, but with the contract signed, Liu Shuo could arrange a takeover at any ti.
According to Liu Shuo, Gao Yang would manage the station. Gao Yang had a straightforward plan and intended to involve his dorm mates since their sophomore-year classes weren’t too demanding.
An express station could bring in around seven to eight thousand yuan a month, mainly from fees on incoming and outgoing packages. They’d each earn about fifteen hundred a month, and Zhou Yuwen could pocket two thousand in profit.
The station at Zhou Yuwen’s school was quite spacious, housed in two abandoned red-brick rooms behind the teaching building.
One room served as the main pickup area, while the other had been turned into a tea room by the previous owner, complete with a secondhand tea table.
When they’d signed the contract, the previous owner ntioned he’d leave the tea table behind but would take the computer.
Zhou Yuwen didn’t mind.
Since the school specialized in agriculture, the surrounding areas were lush, with a small garden in front of the red-brick rooms.
The surroundings were pleasant.
Though it was class ti, a few students were still coming to pick up their packages.
As Zhou Yuwen and Liu Shuo discussed adding a couple of carts, soone called his na.
“Zhou Yuwen?”
He turned to find Shen Yu there and greeted her with a smile, “Here to pick up a package?”
“Yes. You too?” Shen Yu, a Southern girl, smiled brightly.
Before Zhou Yuwen could reply, Liu Shuo interjected, grinning, “What package? My Brother Zhou is the station owner now!”
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