123: Three principles

"Hahaha, Little Shen, why are you calling Uncle Guo again? Did you run into some more trouble at school?"

"Uncle Guo, I recently met a senior sister who seems quite mysterious. I want to learn more about her. Is there any way to do that?"

"Oh, I see. That's easy. Just discuss it with your school's leadership and have them look up her files for you."

The person on the other end immediately understood what Shen Qian wanted to do.

"However, in principle, this sort of thing isn't allowed."

"Uncle Guo, I understand. If there's any need for 'arrangements,' just let me know."

"What are you saying? Would your Uncle Guo really ask you for money? It's just that, as you know, some people at the school can be very difficult. As soon as you call them, they start crying poverty. It's truly annoying."

"Uncle Guo, you're helping me out; how could I let things be difficult for you? Don't worry, if they cry poverty, I'll handle it."

Shen Qian understood that the person on the phone wanted to use his money to build their own social capital. As for how much of that money would actually end up back with him, who knew?

But for now, Bai Xiu and her group had already targeted him, and he wasn't someone who gave up halfway. Since he had decided to be a scumbag, he would be one to the end. He had to win over Feng Qinmian, and as for this Bai Xiu, if she got in the way, he would simply move her aside.

"Good, good. I'm very pleased that you know how to share your Uncle Guo's burdens."

Soon, the other party sent over a phone number.

"This is your principal's number. If anything happens at school later, just call him directly. I'm usually quite busy. For minor things like last time, just call him; he'll give me a bit of face."

"Alright, thank you, Uncle Guo."

"We're family, no need to be so polite. I should be the one thanking you."

After hanging up, Shen Qian looked at the number, feeling a bit dazed. The principal's number.

He searched online to see what rank a university principal held.

The search results came up quickly.

"Vice-Ministerial level."

Shen Qian felt his throat go dry. Was this a joke? He had already reached this level? Then what rank was Uncle Guo? Full Ministerial level?

He looked up the official ranks and finally understood why, after his system reached Level 2 so long ago, there had been no progress toward Level 3. The connection card provided at Level 2 was already this terrifying; wouldn't a Level 3 connection card turn the world upside down?

This made him even more determined to achieve that goal: to level up the system as much as possible.

That month during summer vacation had taught him a truth.

An ordinary man has no value in front of a beautiful woman—in fact, he doesn't even have value in front of an ordinary woman.

And during that month spent in various foot massage parlors, he had also learned another truth.

Ordinary women and beauties alike are mostly cheap in the eyes of the wealthy.

But getting through to Uncle Guo for the first time and making Du Xixi and Xie Wan apologize to him in person had taught him yet another truth.

The wealthy are fragile in the face of power.

And power is equally fragile in the face of absolute strength.

The system possessed power beyond this world—the appearance of the enhancement card was proof of that. Therefore, if he wanted to achieve true freedom one day, he had to ensure the power the system gave him exceeded the power currently in this world.

Only then could he truly reach the point of saying, "I don't eat beef."

This was why, even though he was already a god-tier tycoon with so many cashback cards, he still lived at school, ate in the cafeteria, acted stingy toward those women, and used every trick in the book to pursue one.

Besides the fact that he looked down on the method of just throwing money at women, there was another reason.

His strength wasn't enough yet; he had to wait.

"Level 3! Once I reach Level 3, it should be soon!"

Shen Qian thought to himself, feeling his blood begin to boil.

He dialed the number, his voice calm.

"Hello, Principal Fu. I'm Shen Qian. Uncle Guo asked me to contact you."

Ten minutes later, in the principal's office, Principal Fu looked at Shen Qian and nodded repeatedly.

"Good, good. A young hero, quite talented. As expected of a child from Old Guo's family."

"I'm from the damn Shen family," Shen Qian grumbled internally, but he responded calmly, "You're too kind, Principal. I came today because I wanted to learn about a senior sister. I'm not sure if it's convenient."

"Old Guo already mentioned it. There's no 'convenient' or 'inconvenient' about it. And don't call me Principal anymore; just call me Uncle Fu."

"Alright, Uncle Fu. Also, I heard from Uncle Guo that the school might need some funding. I'm not sure how much is needed."

"Sigh, your uncle is actually having a headache over this. Look at this school; everything costs money. The funding allocated from above is only so much. We're budgeting carefully, but no matter how we calculate it, it's never enough."

Watching the man in front of him talk nonsense with a straight face, Shen Qian's disdain reached its peak. It all boiled down to crying poverty, and after crying poverty, it would be time to open his mouth wide like a lion.

"After we tallied it up, there's a gap of about 9 million."

9 million. This number was actually much lower than Shen Qian had imagined. But looking at the guy across from him, he understood. Although this guy wanted to ask for a lot, Shen Qian had Uncle Guo backing him. Being willing to give money was already giving face. It was just a small matter to begin with; if he asked for too much, it would look bad for both sides.

Furthermore, his position was very specific—he was a principal. If a large sum of wealth appeared out of nowhere, many eyes would be watching him.

"That's fine, Principal. However, I don't think 9 million is enough. How about 10 million?"

"What?"

"I still have to study at this school for the next four years and will need the care of the principal and the teachers. Why don't we round it up to 10 million? What do you think?"

"This... child, I don't even know what to say! From now on, if you have any trouble at school, just come to me. As long as it's not illegal, the principal will settle it for you."

"Then I'll thank Uncle Fu in advance."

"Don't mention it. Whose files do you want to look up?"

"Bai Xiu."

As soon as the name was mentioned, Principal Fu froze for a moment.

"What's wrong, Uncle Fu? Is there something inappropriate?"

"Little Shen, tell your uncle, do you have some kind of conflict with Bai Xiu?"

Hearing this, Shen Qian was one hundred percent certain that this Bai Xiu was the person behind Feng Qinmian. To make a principal say such a thing and to make someone worth over a hundred million swallow their pride, this person was not simple.

Shen Qian scratched his head.

"I... I just joined the Mahjong Club, and well, I really like this senior sister. I wanted to learn more about her."

"Really?"

"Really. I feel like she has a good personality and she's quite pretty, so..."

At this moment, Shen Qian looked exactly like a boy who had just encountered love during puberty, even becoming a bit shy.

"Hahahahaha! Then you don't need to look at her files; your uncle knows all about her."

"Oh? Really? That's great."