and put on slippers before swiftly removing his jacket and trousers to be thrown upstairs into the bedroom. Then, he put on a dark-patterned pajama and slowly opened the door.The door was met by Wang...Chapter 38: Unpopular Newcomer

The scene of the summer when Qiong was born passed like this.

Su Cen received a call from Wang Weiwei at night. The three of them in Xiahai heard about Zhao Chengyan's personal apology and were so excited that they could hardly sit still. Probably if not for Wang Bo watching over them, the trio would have run over to see this good show.

Wang Weiwei also had an enjoyable chat with Su Cen regarding this. Compared to No. 27 High School's environment, Xiahai No. 1 was actually much simpler. Wang Weiwei talked about Zhang Xian, Zhu Zhiyu, and others' past, history, what they did, and their relationship with him.

These young masters generally met through family contacts and later studied together at the best schools, forming a circle over time. Later on, those who left left, while those who stayed remained; it wasn't a sad scene.

"Forget it, if you don't like them, then there's no need to socialize with them!" Wang Weiwei’s words made Su Cen hesitate for a moment.

The conversation then moved on to other topics.

Wang Weiwei finally addressed the matter concerning Zhao Chengyan. "Although this incident basically won't have much of an impact and will make many people hesitant about doing anything to you, I'm still worried that Liu Cheng's forces might not be completely clean yet. In short, you still need to be careful."

Su Cen said he understood and hung up the phone.

In a bar on the weekend, Zhang Xian, Zhu Zhiyu, along with Zhang Feifei and her stylishly dressed sisters, were gathering. Zhang Xian poured ice draft beer into his glass, blew off the foam, took a sip, then lit a cigarette, leaning against a red sand-colored backrest as he watched the band perform on stage; there were people around.

"I propose we toast to thoroughly wiping out Zhao Chengyan, this big scoundrel!" Zhang Feifei raised her glass; everyone responded enthusiastically.

"You don't know, when I saw Zhao Chengyan crying at the time, I couldn't believe it. With his appearance then, it's hard to associate him with his usual arrogant self! The expressions of his two close friends were completely different from their normal selves too! It was even more satisfying than beating them up! What do you think about Su Cen Doesn't he seem to have some ability Now thinking back on the words he broadcasted for a week in the school, they did make sense.

"Indeed, I often hear my dad say that one should dare to question and criticize." Zhang Xian nodded, "Because my dad is involved in this field, I don't want to get into politics. Why can the existing policies not be questioned Who dares to guarantee that constantly changing policies are absolutely correct The state leader finally said during the reform and opening-up period that 'reform and opening up is about feeling one's way across the river.' This shows how precarious this area has always been!"

Zhuang Zhiyu weighed the wine glass in his hand, pondered for a moment before saying, "Overall, he does have thoughts of his own and is someone who understands things clearly. Wang Weiwei's praise for him indicates that he indeed stands out in some way. But I don't agree with the view that Zhao Chengyan was brought to tears by him."

Today Su Can indicated everyone should follow his approach, which inadvertently broke a major taboo: among them, no one belongs to another person. Since childhood, each of them has grown up in an environment where they are pampered and surrounded by others, so everyone believes they are the focus and who would willingly submit to someone else

Su Can, with his two lifetimes' soul, didn't think deeply enough to impose strict rules on them. Banning fighting at school, although many agreed, also made people feel restricted and dissatisfied.

Zhuang Zhiyu believed that many in the venue thought similarly but just did not voice it out: "What right does Su Can have to direct them"

He continued, "I heard that Zhao Chengyan's grandfather died from an argument with him and for three months after his death, his parents didn't speak to him. At the memorial service, I saw Zhao Chengyan's mother slap him and make him kneel before his grandfather, but he never did and never said sorry; when I recall Chengyan saying 'sorry', only then did he cry, which must be related to his deceased grandfather..."

At this point, everyone opened their mouths in surprise. After a long while someone said, "How heartless!"

Cold-blooded Not necessarily. Zhang Feifei curled her lips; she couldn't quite fathom Zhao Chengyan's stubbornness.

"No wonder then it would be better to just beat him up! But Su Can said not to fight..." Someone lamented, downing two gulps of beer. "Why should we listen to him anyway It’s you who shouldn’t have!"

"It's none of my business, I was only helping Wang Weiwei out. Originally I wanted to help vent his anger for him; who knew he would instead restrict us from fighting! Ah, Xiao Dao, Guo Zi, when did we start having to listen to others"

"Just talking about it makes me want to fight. How long has it been since the last time Let's find a time and ambush him on the road for some underground boxing!"

Zhang Feifei glared at the male student speaking, "You’re out of line! Even in No.27 High School there should be some decorum; otherwise, what’s the difference from those students from other mediocre schools After all, we sought him out for Su Can and Chen Zhi's sake. How you deal with Zhao Chengyan is your business, but he apologized so this matter can be put behind us—no need to intercept someone on the road and beat them up! When did you guys become so contemptible to me"

Zhuang Zhiyu quickly tried to placate her: "Alright! Feifei, please don’t get upset. They were just joking around, we can't be so lacking in class. To speak of it, Su Can is the one; he said not to fight and now everyone’s feeling unsatisfied...

Rarely talkative, Zhang Ji finally tapped the wine glass in his hand on the table! Everyone knew he had something to say and thus quieted down. He looked around at everyone. It seemed that Su Can's actions today to limit them made him feel a bit of an urge to use Wang Weiwei's influence to snatch their leadership status, but now he still had to speak frankly, "Regarding this matter, there’s no need to talk about it further. Su Can has his reasons. If we were to deal with Zhao Chengyan and the others by putting them on hold at the school stadium today, what would be our next move

"

"At most a few people would drop out of school; so what" someone said in a slightly calmer tone.

"Dropping out isn’t necessary, but it’s possible that we might get warned. The principal of No. 27 High School is notoriously strict. Fighting on campus results in immediate expulsion. It wouldn't be easy to deal with the situation. Anyway, I’m probably going to face a beating from my dad!"

Zhang Xian nodded and said, "Let’s go. If such a big incident were exposed, we might lose some members of our group! Would it be like Wang Weiwei and the others moving to other schools We don’t have much time left together anyway; after high school graduation, everyone will go their separate ways. It would be better to cherish this year and a half of time.

"

Everyone nodded in agreement, realizing that there was some logic to it. Su Can's restrictions on them inadvertently protected the group as a whole.

"However, I don’t like this Su Can. He doesn't seem to belong with us, and he also isn’t very popular among girls; oh Miss Fei"

“He’s not someone you can criticize about whether he's popular with girls or not!” Zhang Feifei suddenly said. She had just been thinking about Su Can's appearance when she heard these comments, becoming somewhat flustered. However, she felt that Su Can hadn't left much of an impression on her; she didn’t judge people solely based on their looks but also valued their inner qualities. So far, she hadn’t seen any significant depth to Su Can.

“I don’t like him either. He seems too weak and incapable with such talk.”

"That's true. If someone like this were to enter our circle, it would definitely be less lively; he’s too steady and lacks a stubborn streak!"

The group expressed their views on Su Can one after another, mostly showing rejection.

From the tone in which Wang Weiwei called him, analyzing Zhang Xian's character and the way they interacted with each other, Su Can immediately realized that he wasn’t very popular within this circle.

After Zhao Chengyan’s incident, Wang Weiwei had contacted people like Zhang Xian for feedback about him. These pieces of information wouldn’t be favorable to him in this circle, so Wang Weiwei decided to call him first and probe his attitude toward the matter by mentioning Zhang Xian's opinions before finally concluding that if he didn't like them, there was no need for any interaction!

Although Su Cen knew what kind of resources these people represented, he still agreed with Zhao Chengyan's final statement that this was just the interaction among high school students. Besides, Su Cen wasn't at a point where he needed to rely on these children from official and wealthy families; he never would be, even though he had experienced rebirth. Therefore, he adhered more firmly to his principle of relying on himself.

A person who always thinks about depending on others will eventually make others look down on them.

May was a celebratory month for Xia Hai's Shushan chain store, with its turnover reaching one million yuan and profits close to 30%.

The Dunhuang mall was still in an adjustment period. Operations were just starting up; after all, many issues needed addressing, so it would take some time before profitability could be achieved. However, Xia Hai's Star Sea Square was gradually gaining popularity, with the market nearing maturity.

In Rongcheng, Shushan Stationery Factory started operations and began overtime production for batch release. The first batch of stationery bearing the Shushan brand had come out, and staff from the sales department began contacting major city stores in Rongcheng to get the products onto shelves and promote them.

Su Cen's mother Zeng He had already opened her third shop in Chengdu and was showing signs of preparing to move into several universities. There were a few universities in Chengdu that were located beyond the Second and Half Ring Road, making them relatively remote areas with very low rental prices. With some capital brought from Xia Hai, Zeng He had a mature plan to establish chain stores across every university in Chengdu.

With a well-established management system, Zeng A didn't have to micromanage and could spend time with her husband and son for meals. During their meal, she opened up the conversation and took out several pens to show Su Cen: "What do you think Would your school's students like these types of pens"

"Not sure, but they might like them. We could order more when we stock up; perhaps it will sell well!" Su Cen looked at the Shushan Stationery Factory's pen and felt that there was still room for improvement. At least from his current perspective, it wasn't exquisite enough, although its style was friendlier compared to many high-end pen brands.

"Of course, these pens are good quality. I'll contact them; they're being snatched up by stores everywhere. Their first batch of products sold out quickly, and if you want more, you have to wait for the next production run. Use this pen and see how it works. Don't just focus on its looks; it has to be practical."

Looking at the avant-garde design of these pens, Su Cen felt a sense of modernity reminiscent of his time. Once these pens reached households across the country, such popular designs would inevitably be imitated by many people.

Soon, many directions were about to open up new chapters, fortunately, he was always the best prepared.

The next three days will see additional updates of over ten thousand words each day.

Thanks to everyone!tling scene. Though this establishment would later become a well-known restaurant in Chengdu, it was still considered a new place at present and attracted many influential figures from society. Today...