CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 33 EXTRA POINTS AND MORE EXTRA POINTS

The transfer student policy is a special talent development program in Magic Capital. It’s also known as the risk-free second college entrance exam. Any full-time first-year undergraduate student enrolled in an ordinary college in Magic Capital, upon completing the first academic year and achieving satisfactory grades, can apply to transfer to one of the twelve designated universities. Once admitted, they study at the respective university and receive its graduation and degree certificates upon completion. It’s essentially like transferring schools.

Those twelve universities are the most prestigious and capable institutions in Magic Capital: Fudan University, Jiaotong University, Tongji University, Shanghai Normal University, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University, Donghua University, East China University of Political Science and Law, Magic Capital University of Technology, Maritime University, Ocean University, and Magic Capital University of Political Science and Law.

If you could get into Fudan or Jiaotong, it would be like ascending to the heavens in one step. Jumping from a Tier 3 to a TOP 5 national university—"bringing glory to ancestors" wouldn’t even do it justice. However, one can imagine how difficult that would be. After all, for Fudan’s twenty-odd spots, at least 600 top students compete every year. Students from second-tier universities barely dare to apply, let alone compete with those from 985 and 211 universities. And that’s not even mentioning the underachievers from third-tier universities.

...

"Transfer student?" Han Lie shook his head noncommittally. "Isn’t it still too early for that?"

The more he refused to answer directly, the more curious everyone became. However, they hadn’t known each other for long, so it wasn’t appropriate to press further.

Yu Yun smiled sweetly. "The exam is in May next year, so it is indeed early. But I believe that with your hard work, as long as you prepare in advance, you definitely have a chance!"

She had a sexy look; her smile wasn’t genuinely sweet. She had delicate arched eyebrows, seductive peach-blossom eyes, full lips, and a flirtatious gaze. Her smile seemed to beckon, "Come and play, mister." Having spoken so many words at once, her mouth felt a bit dry, so she stuck out her tongue and licked her upper lip. Her tongue was thin and long, like a beautiful snake flicking its tongue.

HISSS... What a waste not to use it for sucking snails...

Han Lie crossed his legs nonchalantly and coughed lightly. "I’ll take that as an auspicious wish... but honestly, I haven’t decided yet."

Yu Yun clearly wanted to say more, but Duan Xiaoyi, in the front row, suddenly asked Lou Zhi with a cheerful smile, "Hey, do you want to try for the transfer program?"

"Why wouldn’t I want to?" Lou Zhi replied sarcastically. "But what’s the use of wanting? It’s not like I can actually get in!"

Duan Xiaoyi patted his shoulder. "Just give it a try! There’s still more than half a year left. Talking about it doesn’t cost anything!"

"No way!" Lou Zhi shook his head vigorously. "If I brag about it now and then fail, how damn embarrassing would that be?" He then glanced sideways at Duan Xiaoyi. "Why are you always egging me on? Why don’t you try?"

Duan Xiaoyi shrugged. "Ah La is already at a second-tier university, and besides, Ah La doesn’t need to work after graduating—so why bother putting in the effort?"

The two of them bantered back and forth, clearly targeting Han Lie. After the morning’s incident, they didn’t dare confront Han Lie directly, but as master instigators, they had a whole repertoire of ways to be annoying. I’m just making a comment. You wouldn’t dare hit me in the classroom, would you?

Fang Feifei, sensing things were getting awkward, quickly interjected, "I really envy Xiaoyi. Not having to work must be so comfortable!"

"That’s for sure!" Duan Xiaoyi laughed proudly. "So what if you graduate from Fudan or Jiaotong? After working for two years, you might barely afford to rent a single room in my family’s property!"

Zhang Tieshu, sitting a row ahead, immediately turned around to fawn over him. "Xiaoyi’s family got four compensatory apartment buildings, right? Wow, all within the inner ring. How much must they be worth?"

"Who told you four apartment buildings?" Duan Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow, looking at him with disdain. "It’s four *blocks* of units, okay?!"

"Ah?!" The nearby classmates were all startled, their faces filled with shock. Even the usually composed Xi Luting covered her mouth and gasped.

Housing prices in Magic Capital’s inner ring had been hovering between 35,000 and 50,000 yuan per square meter for the past two years. While not high compared to future prices, for a group of freshmen, it was already an unattainable figure. A 100-square-meter apartment could cost four to five million. Four blocks of units...

"Holy moly! Brother Duan, you’ve really kept this quiet! My own roommate is actually a multimillionaire?!" Zhang Tieshu exclaimed dramatically. Although exaggerated, his reaction certainly grabbed everyone’s attention.

The nearby students immediately began whispering among themselves, the chatter incessant. Although none of them came from poor families—most were comfortably middle-class—it wasn’t easy for their parents to help them buy an apartment in Magic Capital. Who would have thought that among them was such a wealthy second-generation nouveau riche from a demolition compensation?

Several girls couldn’t contain their curiosity, bombarding Duan Xiaoyi with questions: "Where are your family’s properties?" "What are the current prices?" And so on.

For a moment, the area was as noisy as a marketplace.

Only Han Lie chuckled inwardly. He knew all too well what this was about. Duan Xiaoyi was indeed a "demolition second generation"; developers had compensated his entire extended family with four blocks of units. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, distant cousins... it was compensation demanded collectively by all the relatives in their village. What truly belonged to Duan Xiaoyi’s immediate family were only eight small to medium-sized apartments and one ground-floor shop. Duan Xiaoyi’s parents used the shop to run a small supermarket, collecting rent in their spare time. Life was indeed good. At its peak, the family’s wealth might have approached fifty million, making the Han Lie of his previous life green with envy. But as for social status... well, it was just so-so. It was far from being as powerful, impressive, or glamorous as Duan Xiaoyi boasted. Duan Xiaoyi and Yu Yun’s 160-square-meter marital home had been purchased at the peak of housing prices, emptying the family coffers just for the down payment. This gave an idea of how little liquid cash Duan Xiaoyi’s family actually had. Later, when Yu Yun cuckolded Duan Xiaoyi, it was hard to say it was unrelated to his deception. The discrepancy between expectations and reality was severe, and Duan Xiaoyi wasn’t particularly capable. With Yu Yun’s wild spirit, it would have been strange if she had tolerated him. As for the outcome... the outcome, of course, was forgiveness! That loser was really incompetent in *that* regard. Yu Yun had him completely under her thumb; he didn’t even dare to lay a finger on her. Later, it seemed he awakened some strange proclivity... AHEM! Heard about it, just heard about it; Han Lie never personally verified it... Anyway, although the incident caused a huge stir, the couple still lived happily together. They hadn’t divorced even by the time Han Lie was reborn.

Interesting, right? Way too interesting.

So, watching Duan Xiaoyi show off, watching Zhang Tieshu sucking up eagerly, and then seeing Fang Feifei’s and Yu Yun’s shock and excitement... Han Lie wasn’t angry at all; instead, he felt like laughing.

With such a god-like perspective, it was impossible to retain the mentality of a participant. Everyone’s fate was within his grasp; the direction of the story was crystal clear. How could he be fully invested?

Hence, Han Lie’s focus always remained on Xi Luting. She was a brand-new challenge, an extraordinary target he didn’t understand. Only she could bring Han Lie enough surprises or shocks to make his rebirth worthwhile.

...

While the discussion up front was lively, Han Lie quietly worked on his problems. He was neither angered by the provocations of the two master instigators nor saddened by Yu Yun chatting enthusiastically with them. He exuded tranquility from the inside out. People with goals are always like this.

Xi Luting listened to the boasting up front for a while, shook her head, and withdrew her attention. She was a person with a resolute heart and strong convictions. She might value Duan Xiaoyi for those four blocks of units, but she still looked down on the man himself. Valuing and looking up to someone were two different things.

Using a six-point assessment—Duan Xiaoyi’s background could be rated a 6, his wealth a 9, but his character and abilities only merited two or three points. In sum, he was still trash. An especially useful piece of trash.

Conversely, Han Lie’s character, abilities, intelligence, and looks could all be rated a 7. Ignoring his background and wealth for now, after applying weighting factors, his total score already slightly exceeded Duan Xiaoyi’s.

Thinking of Han Lie, Xi Luting couldn’t help but glance over at him.

Eh? He was still working on advanced math problems?

Xi Luting closely observed Han Lie’s actions and soon confirmed that he wasn’t feigning focus; he was genuinely engrossed.

Hmm, add another 0.5 points for personality; that’s 7.5 now.

Xi Luting glanced once more at Han Lie’s profile. The young man’s skin was very smooth, his complexion not particularly fair but clean, with sharp contours and deep features. When he slightly furrowed his brow, staring at the problems in the book, his clear eyes seemed to hold a glimmer of light.

HISSS... A focused man really is handsome...

Xi Luting quietly added another 0.5 points to Han Lie’s looks.