110: domineering man

Shen Qian remained unperturbed, as witty and humorous as ever, chatting away with ease.

In the car, Song Shulu sent a message to Ma Wanwan, asking her what exactly she had said to Shen Qian.

"Sister, I told him about you changing into a full set of lingerie. If he's interested, you can take him down today. I've checked him out for you; he's not small."

Ma Wanwan often said scandalous things, and Song Shulu usually just ignored them. But this time, when she saw those last two words, her eyes couldn't help but glance toward the lower left.

Even during dinner, Song Shulu's mind was a bit of a mess; the words 'not small' kept drilling into her head.

She wasn't wearing a full set. If—she meant if—something really happened with Shen Qian, wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing?

"What's wrong, Shulu? You seem a bit distracted."

Shen Qian served her a piece of food and asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just thought of something."

Seeing Song Shulu like this, Shen Qian naturally knew what she was thinking. He could take action, but not now. The most important thing at the moment was the plan targeting Tao Yan and Guo Shuangcai.

"Shulu, do you still remember Ni Zixin, who performed with me at the freshman gala?"

"Of course I remember. She's my student too."

"During the time I rehearsed with her, I found that aside from lacking confidence, this girl is great in every other way."

She's very hardworking, sometimes practicing the piano until her hands cramp."

"She's changed quite a bit recently. It's like she's a completely different person."

Song Shulu picked up the conversation. What she wanted to express was that Ni Zixin's massive change was actually all thanks to Shen Qian.

"I like people who work hard for their dreams, and I consider myself her friend. As a friend, I always want to do something for her."

So, Shulu, I want to help this friend of mine secure more performance opportunities."

"I can do that. Leave it to me; I'll go and negotiate with the leadership."

Song Shulu agreed very decisively, but Shen Qian knew that relying solely on Song Shulu might not be enough.

"I'm planning to donate some things to your School of Arts. That way, when you discuss it with the leadership, it won't be too difficult for you."

"Donate things? What do you want to donate?"

"Since it's for piano performances, I plan to donate a piano, or perhaps a piano plus a practice room. The budget is around 2 million."

"2 million!"

Shen Qian drove a bmw, wore a rolex on his wrist, and dressed in high-end luxury brands. Song Shulu had noticed all of this, but she had only thought he was a Second-generation rich kid. To casually pull out 2 million—was 2 million some kind of small change?

She had seen plenty of Second-generation rich kids at school, including many of her own students, but those students had at most a hundred thousand or so in their hands. Taking out 2 million all at once was practically a joke.

"Yeah, here's what I'm thinking: I'll order a custom piano for over 1 million, and then the remaining money will be given to the school to build a practice room."

"This covers both the substance and the prestige. As for any extra money, that can be used as a school bonus."

Buying a piano for over 1 million but having a budget of over 2 million... how much could building a practice room cost? A hundred thousand at most. Then the remaining seven or eight hundred thousand... Song Shulu looked at the boy who was currently gasping from the spiciness. This kid's emotional intelligence was so high. What did he mean by 'school bonus'? This was clearly giving the leadership room to maneuver and legally pocket some benefits.

"This was a suggestion from my family. They said it would make things easier for you, Shulu. After all, while it's true I want to help her, I also don't want to make things difficult for you."

"So that's it. It was a suggestion from his family. I was wondering; he seems so silly, how could he have such deep schemes?"

"2 million is too much. 1.5 million is enough."

Shen Qian shook his head repeatedly. Are you kidding? With 2 million, he could use two cashback cards. If it was only 1.5 million, the remaining 500,000 would require three 200,000 cashback cards. If he didn't get a critical hit, he'd lose out big time.

Besides, when it comes to using connections and giving money, the more the better. If there's too little, the spoils are inevitably divided unevenly—this person helps you while that person doesn't. But with more, everyone gets a benefit, and there's less conflict.

"Are you and Zixin... in a relationship?"

"No, I just admire girls like her, but who can say what will happen in the future."

Shulu, do you remember the name of the song I performed with her on stage? It's called 'If It Can Radiate Brilliance.' I want to try and see what it looks like when this girl radiates brilliance."

Song Shulu absolutely did not believe this reason. However, she wasn't the one spending the money, and she couldn't care less about his real motives. Regardless, she had already agreed to help, and if the other party was dropping 2 million right out of the gate, she could also gain some favor with the leadership.

"Could it be... that he's doing this because of me?"

Some thoughts are fine if they never occur to you, but once they do, they can't be stopped.

Although Ni Zixin was younger than her, in terms of looks and figure, none of her students were necessarily her match, except for Tao Yan.

Yet he insisted on using Ni Zixin as an excuse to push her to the forefront. This was very telling.

"Does he know I'm married? Helping me openly wouldn't be good for my reputation, so he found such an excuse."

Thinking of this, Song Shulu's heart couldn't help but pound.

Her husband's career was quite successful, earning millions a year, but he had never thought of helping her. Now, he didn't even come home. The reason she, a married woman, lived in a dormitory with an unmarried woman was because her home was simply too desolate.

It was so desolate it didn't feel like a home.

Two million—her husband could afford it, and she had it in her bank account too.

But she had never felt 2 million feel so scorching hot.

Shen Qian naturally didn't know she was overthinking things to this extent, but even if he did, he wouldn't correct her. After all, the more she thought, the more effort she would put into the task.

"Do you have a contact for the piano procurement? If not, I can help out."

"I have someone for that. If she can't handle it later, I'll have her contact you. Also, Shulu, if Zixin moves up, someone else will naturally have to step down. Is that okay?"

"Don't worry about that. Performance opportunities are supposed to be distributed fairly. It's up to the school to decide who goes on; it's not set in stone. Plus, with your connection, the school will have its own way of handling things."

"That's good then."

Shen Qian didn't name names, but both parties knew he was talking about Tao Yan.

For a long time, Tao Yan had secured performance opportunities through her professional ability combined with her outstanding looks. But ability is something you can have, and others can have too. As for looks, with the internet so developed these days and her getting older, those restless old fogies have calmed down.

So the choice was in the hands of the leadership and Song Shulu, her teacher. Since Shen Qian had made his move, Tao Yan would just have to be slighted to make the selection 'fair' once again.