After watching the sunset, the three of them went to a nearby beef soup restaurant.
Wang Zihao insisted on treating. Chen Yansen and Meng Jie didn't bother arguing with him—ever since this guy started making money, his enthusiasm for paying skyrocketed. He practically wanted to cover all of Chen Yansen's meals for life.
After dinner, Wang Zihao headed alone toward the west side of the city.
Chen Yansen naturally walked Meng Jie home, the two strolling unhurriedly along the familiar streets.
"I prepared this for you," Chen Yansen said, pulling a red envelope from his pocket with a teasing smile. "I almost thought I wouldn't need it."
"For me?"
Meng Jie froze for a moment before immediately understanding—this was clearly the commission she earned helping him sell goods.
"You think I'd really exploit you for free?" Chen Yansen said, hands clasped behind his back, wearing an air of righteous disdain.
The red envelope had been prepared days ago, but since Meng Jie hadn't dared to go out, it had sat in his pocket for four or five days. It was probably soaked with sweat by now.
[Humanitarian Spirit +0.2]
A faint line of semi-transparent text floated past Chen Yansen's vision.
He clicked his tongue softly. "That's pitifully low."
"What day are you planning to register?" Meng Jie asked suddenly.
"The 31st. I'll go a day early, so I probably won't go with you," Chen Yansen replied without hesitation. He had clearly thought it through.
"Who wants to go with you?" Meng Jie said stubbornly. "I haven't even decided whether to repeat a year."
She contradicted him mostly because of the certainty in his gaze—it stirred her rebellious streak.
"Is that so?" Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said nothing more.
They continued walking.
Only when Meng Jie reached her house did she realize something she'd never noticed before—walking the same road with different people could feel completely different.
Inside a house a dozen meters away, Meng Zhenguo stood in the living room with his wife, pointing outside.
"That's the kid."
"So tall and handsome," Meng's mother said, squinting as she examined him carefully. "No wonder Xiaojie doesn't want to repeat a year because of him."
Her expression was almost identical to a mother-in-law inspecting a future son-in-law.
"This kid is dangerous," Meng Zhenguo snorted, slapping his thigh. "High EQ, sharp mind. He'll definitely be a womanizer in the future. Xiaojie will suffer."
He disliked Chen Yansen at first glance, and after briefly interacting with him, his worries only deepened. This boy's future achievements were bound to be remarkable—but the ideal son-in-law in his heart should be honest, grounded, and devoted.
"You're not a fortune teller," Meng's mother scoffed. "Since when does being good-looking mean unreliable? Do you want Xiaojie to marry an ugly duckling instead?"
The more she looked, the more satisfied she became.
"You mother and daughter have equally terrible taste," Meng Zhenguo concluded angrily, stomping his foot.
The distance between Chunshen and Xucheng was about 180 li—roughly 90 kilometers.
In his previous life, Chen Yansen had endured a bumpy four-hour bus ride to reach the West Campus of Xucheng Academy. After transferring to a school bus, it took another half hour, leaving him completely exhausted.
This time, he refused to repeat that ordeal.
He directly asked Huang Boxiang to introduce him to a reliable car rental company. Including insurance, renting a Mercedes-Benz E300 cost only 800 yuan per day.
Coincidentally, the company had a branch in Xucheng, saving him the trouble of returning the car.
August 31st, 8:00 AM.
After saying goodbye to Old Chen, Chen Yansen picked up Wang Zihao in a black Mercedes-Benz E300 in Xicheng. Once they hit the He–Xu Expressway, the heavy traffic finally eased.
"Brother Sen," Wang Zihao said smugly from the passenger seat, "we've got 1,154 registered SIM card applications now. I also followed your method and set up a group of second- and third-year students doing part-time work. When they heard we're paying a 50-yuan commission per card, they went crazy."
"We have to secure agency rights before the campus agents of the three major operators catch wind of this," Chen Yansen said seriously. "Otherwise, we'll have to erase everything and pretend this never happened."
"Haha, looks like we don't have a choice but to succeed," Wang Zihao laughed, eager rather than nervous.
Meanwhile, at the Xucheng Telecom Business Hall…
Zhao Maolin put down his phone with a bewildered expression.
Just five minutes earlier, Manager Zhang from China Unicom and Manager Zhou from China Mobile—both responsible for campus card operations—had called him, their words dripping with sarcasm as they accused him of underhanded tactics.
The standard commission for secondary campus agents had always been 30 yuan per card. This ensured balanced profits for secondary agents, campus general agents, and regional agents alike.
But now someone was offering 50 yuan.
That wasn't competition—it was open provocation.
"But it wasn't me…" Zhao Maolin muttered in confusion.
After a moment's thought, he called the regional campus manager for Xucheng Academy, intending to probe which greedy idiot was openly breaking the rules.
At the same time, Chen Yansen exited the expressway and drove straight down Shengli Road toward the telecom office in the city center.
He knew exactly what would happen the moment he contacted campus secondary agents.
Someone would notice.
And once that happened, every second would matter.
Twenty minutes later.
With a soft click, the car door opened. Chen Yansen stepped out, followed closely by Wang Zihao.
Both were dressed in crisp suits, their strides confident as they entered the sales hall.
"Hello," Chen Yansen said warmly to a young woman in uniform. "I'm the campus card general agent for Xucheng Academy. I have an appointment with Manager Zhao. Could you please let him know?"
"Campus agent?" The woman looked him over. "Wasn't that handled by the regional manager before?"
"Yes," Chen Yansen replied calmly. "There were some changes this year."
His tone was relaxed, his smile natural—not a trace of panic.
"Oh, please wait a moment."
The woman nodded and turned toward the office.
"Knock, knock."
"Manager Zhao, there's a campus agent from Xucheng Academy outside. He says he had an appointment with you."
"I didn't schedule any meeting," Zhao Maolin replied impatiently. "Send him away."
The woman froze.
She hadn't expected Chen Yansen to be lying so boldly.
Just as she turned around to confront him—
"Wait."
Zhao Maolin's expression suddenly changed.
"Let him in."
At a moment like this, anyone who dared to show up uninvited was almost certainly connected to the chaos.
And Zhao Maolin very much wanted to see who was stirring the waters.