2: So what?

That evening, more than half of the girls in the liberal arts class received confession messages from Shen Qian.

Many of them rejected him outright.

Others said they needed to think about it.

Shen Qian really liked the girls who said they would "think about it"; after all, those who rejected him only earned him 20,000 yuan, but those who were considering it had infinite potential.

Who could have imagined that in just one night, his bank balance would go from zero to over 200,000 yuan.

That day, he withdrew all 200,000-plus yuan from the bank and spread it out on his bed. Looking at the bed full of red bills, his throat felt dry, and his heart was shaken beyond words.

People nowadays are very pragmatic and mature early; often, they don't even wait for university—social classes start being drawn as early as high school.

Usually, the parents of his classmates would encourage their children to associate with him because of his good grades, but they didn't realize that this only made his situation more difficult.

Trembling, he picked up a bill, then lay down in the pile of money as bitter tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

The confessions wouldn't stay a secret for long; girls have best friends, and his actions would soon be exposed.

But so what?

Poor people have no dignity; he had known this for a long time.

No matter how strong he pretended to be, poverty was poverty—unchangeable and inescapable. Now that he had such an opportunity, if all he had to do was give up a worthless reputation to provide a prosperous life for himself and his family, he was willing.

Shen Qian went to the supermarket to buy some ribs and a pig's trotter. After tinkering in the kitchen for a while, he rode his electric scooter out of the residential complex.

At the gate of a chemical plant, Shen Qian knocked on the security booth window. A man in his fifties or sixties smiled and opened the door for him.

"Little Shen is here? Delivering food to your dad again?"

"Uncle Li, where's my dad?"

"He's out on patrol; he'll be back in a bit."

Shen Qian waited for a while before seeing his father approaching from a distance, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Why are you here? Didn't I tell you the plant has a cafeteria? In such hot weather..."

"The food at the plant isn't good. I made something for you."

"Whoa, ribs and pig's trotter? Are we not saving anymore?"

"I got paid."

"Even if you got paid, you shouldn't spend it like this. Won't you need money for school later?"

As he spoke, Old Shen let out a heavy sigh.

"If it weren't for my health suddenly failing, you and your mother wouldn't have to work so hard."

"Alright, alright, just eat. Just this once, okay?"

Three years ago, Old Shen's heart suddenly failed. The surgery drained a lot of the family's money, and after it was over, he could no longer do heavy labor, causing the family's source of income to vanish overnight.

Life was already tight, but then last year, his mother accidentally hit someone while riding her electric scooter, resulting in another large compensation payment. The family was left with only one house, and they still had to pay the mortgage every month.

His mother was forced to go to Shanghai to work, and his father could only serve as a security guard at the chemical plant.

"Dad, talk to Mom later and tell her to come back. You should quit this job too. Your son has money now."

"You have money? Where did you get it?"

"The stock market. I've made twenty or thirty thousand."

"Twenty or thirty thousand?"

Under normal circumstances, Shen Qian wouldn't want to deceive his parents, but he knew their stubbornness all too well. He wouldn't tell anyone about the system. His parents only needed to enjoy the fruits of his labor. As for the process or whether his reputation would be ruined, he would bear that alone.

"You can't play the stock market! You'll lose everything. That's just gambling!"

"Don't worry, Dad. I have inside information, and I'm investing very little. At most, I make ten or twenty thousand each time. I'm not greedy, and I don't use leverage, so it'll be fine."

"Making ten or twenty thousand isn't enough. We still owe over 300,000 on the mortgage. If your mom comes back and I quit, our whole family will just be eating through our savings until nothing's left."

"That's just the ten or twenty thousand I've made so far. I expect to make at least 50,000 or 60,000 by the end of the break, which will cover my university tuition. Breathing in the fumes in this chemical plant isn't healthy. Just listen to me and quit."

"If all else fails, you and Mom can open a small shop when she gets back."

"Fifty or sixty thousand?"

Shen Qian wanted to report an even higher amount, but he was afraid his father wouldn't be able to accept it. Fifty or sixty thousand was just right; it sounded much more believable than one or two hundred thousand.

"Exactly. Your son met a benefactor. The big shots eat the meat, and I drink the soup. We're not dealing with millions or hundreds of millions like others. We just make two or three thousand, or four or five thousand at a time. Isn't that enough for you to live comfortably?"

"What kind of benefactor is this?"

"I met them online. They saw I was working while studying and thought I was a decent person, so they wanted to give me a hand. They give me some information—not enough to make me filthy rich, but definitely enough to live without worries."

Shen Qian's explanation was very thorough, and his father believed most of it, though he still had some doubts.

"How about this: Mom won't come back yet, but you leave the chemical plant first. I'll transfer 20,000 to you. You can find a security job anywhere anyway, so just consider this a break, okay?"

"Once I make a few more trades and we're sure it's reliable, then we'll have Mom come back."

Seeing his son say this, Old Shen fell silent. Shen Qian could see his father's eyes turning red. Ever since his accident, life at home had become increasingly difficult. As the pillar of the family, even if he didn't show it, he surely felt guilty.

Shen Qian hugged his father.

"Dad, things will get better slowly."

Shen Qian wanted to take his father home with him, but his father insisted on finishing the month before quitting. Though a bit helpless, Shen Qian knew things had to be done step by step. It was only natural for his father to have doubts about this "benefactor."

For most of the morning, Shen Qian didn't check his phone. But when he opened his messages, the long string of unread notifications already told the story.

"Shen Qian, I thought you were a good person. Ptu, scumbag!"

"Shen Qian, you're so shameless. Are you even human?"

"Scumbag Shen, disgusting! Confessing to so many girls at the same time—have you lost your mind?"

Of course, there were also many 60-second voice messages. Shen Qian randomly clicked on one, and the person on the other end cursed him and his entire family.

In all these years, he had never been humiliated by so many girls at once. All sorts of personal attacks flooded in, including the purest forms of belittlement.

"Even though I confessed to many people, you're the one I like the most."

After composing the message, Shen Qian immediately sent it as a mass text.

Yes, a mass text. However, many messages failed to send, showing red exclamation marks. Still, about half of them went through, which Shen Qian was satisfied with.

[Choosing to confess despite such a terrible reputation fits the criteria of a scumbag. Reward being distributed...]

This was followed by a series of reward distributions.

In less than a minute, over a hundred thousand yuan was credited to his account.

"Holy crap, Shen Qian, what on earth are you doing?"