Starting Off By Confessing To My Classmate's Mother

"Don't worry. I won't be working overtime anymore; I'll make more time for you," Zhou Rongrong reassured him, gently patting her son's head. Her heart was filled with complex emotions as she realized her child had truly grown up.

"Alright, Mom, pinky promise!"

Watching her son acting like a child, Zhou Rongrong linked pinkies with him, smiling fondly.

…

That night, after watching a bit of iPartment, Li Zhiyan fell into a deep sleep, cradling his thousand-yuan stack close. The hum of the small fan in the rented apartment added to his sense of security.

The next morning, his first thought was about completing the system task and seeing Auntie Gu's fair, slender legs.

I'll be giving Auntie Gu a leg massage today…

No—neck massage! What was he even thinking?

In the blur of his dreams last night, he recalled something about a "little horse pulling a big cart." With a small laugh, he shook his head and pushed open his door, where he was greeted by his mom's friend, Auntie Wu Qingxian.

"Good morning, Auntie Wu."

Wu Qingxian looked at him with newfound appreciation. She had come over to pick up Zhou Rongrong for work and had learned that Zhou was planning to deposit four thousand yuan that her son had earned himself through programming. This revelation had her instantly comparing him to her own son.

Why didn't I have a son as accomplished as this?

"You really are quite something, Mama's boy," she teased with a laugh, before launching into a string of compliments. Earning forty thousand at eighteen years old? That was no small feat.

After Zhou Rongrong and Auntie Wu left, Li Zhiyan finished breakfast, tidied up, and returned to his room. He took out two thousand yuan from his stash, leaving the remaining eight thousand hidden at the bottom of an old box filled with childhood treasures: marbles, a toy gun, a slingshot, and the like.

"Cash is still the way to go these days. Two thousand should be enough for a while," he murmured to himself. Pocketing the cash, he set off to begin his day.

…

Unsurprisingly, Li Siyu, his slacker friend, was already in the internet cafe, deeply engrossed in Crossfire. He was busy exploiting a glitch in the game when, suddenly, he got kicked out.

"Damn! Kicked again!"

Casually, Li Zhiyan placed a hundred-yuan bill in front of him.

"Go upgrade to a membership. This way, you can enjoy your glitches without getting booted."

Li Siyu blinked, bewildered. "Are you serious? Did you rob someone? Where'd you get all this money?"

Zhiyan smiled and revealed the stack of red bills in his pocket. "Relax, I came into some cash recently. Don't worry; I'll be rolling in it for a while. Just pay me back when you can."

Li Siyu was a friend who once sold his car to lend him two hundred thousand without a word. Knowing that, Zhiyan never expected repayment; he simply wanted his friend to feel at ease borrowing the money.

"Well… if you insist." In the end, Li Siyu couldn't resist the allure of a Crossfire membership and went to the counter to recharge thirty Q-coins. Meanwhile, Li Zhiyan logged into his QQ and messaged Gu Wanzhou.

"Auntie Gu, are you there?"

"Yes, Little Yan. Come over around noon," she replied. "Don't worry, Si Si is visiting Wang Xinyue today."

She was aware of the hostility between her daughter and Li Zhiyan, and with Si Si out, she hoped to spare them both from any awkwardness.

"Great, I'll be there, Auntie."

As they chatted about mundane topics, Zhiyan suddenly heard the system prompt.

"Massage skill acquired."

With his new skill, he couldn't help but think he was set for life. He could even make a living as a masseur for wealthy women if he wanted! For now, though, he chose to focus on completing the system tasks to keep leveling up and unlocking better rewards.

Li Siyu, noticing the conversation on his screen, couldn't help but chime in. "No way! You're really chatting it up with Si Si's mom? Look at this—smooth! What's it like dating an older woman? They say it's more thrilling than a high school fling. This is the ultimate comeback! 'You don't want me, Si Si? Well, I'll just date your mom!'"

Listening to Li Siyu's wild ideas, Zhiyan could only shake his head. Typical of Siyu and his endless imagination.

"Alright, that's enough nonsense. I need to head out soon. I'll take you to the spa later to unwind—on me."

He knew his friend's relentless pursuit of Wang Xinyue had turned him into an unwitting "simp," and this time, he was determined to help Li Siyu avoid that fate.

Li Siyu shrugged. "It's just a bath, man. What's so special? A bit of salt scrubbing, maybe a milk bath if you're lucky…"

"Just go along with it. Now, help me grind through some dungeons on Dungeon Fighter Online," Zhiyan replied with a smirk, logging into his character.

…

Around 11:30, Zhiyan took a cab to Si Si's apartment complex. It was a newly-built, upscale neighborhood with a 140-square-meter apartment, a testament to Gu Wanzhou's affluence. In 2010, anyone who could drive a Mercedes-Benz and own a place like this was indeed wealthy.

"Auntie Gu!"

When he knocked, it didn't take long for her to answer. Dressed in a black blouse and pleated skirt, her fair, toned legs were fully exposed, and he couldn't help but notice how captivating she looked.

Today, I'm really going to give Auntie Gu a massage, he thought, his heart racing.

"There you are, dear. Come in and sit. I'm just finishing up lunch," she said with a gentle smile, leading him inside.

For her part, Wanzhou had decided it was time to talk to him about his Oedipus complex and set boundaries. There was no future in this, no matter how much affection he had for her. At most, she could agree to be his godmother, but nothing more. The thought of a "little horse pulling a big cart" was absurd. She was too grounded to entertain such nonsense.

"Let me help you, Auntie," Zhiyan offered, following her into the kitchen. His willingness to lend a hand filled her with a mix of affection and sadness. Poor child, she thought. He's from a single-parent family and has had to mature quickly.

"Zhiyan, would you be open to…"

Just as she was about to ask if he'd consider her as a godmother, her phone rang. She answered, and after a brief conversation, hung up with a look of mild frustration.

"Is everything alright, Auntie?"

"It's fine. I was thinking about buying a new place, but even after paying the down payment, I'd only have a few hundred thousand left. I decided to put it on hold, but the salespeople won't stop calling."

Zhiyan considered her words carefully. "Auntie, I actually think you should buy the property. It's a great investment opportunity."

Wanzhou has been so kind to me, he thought. It wouldn't hurt to share some advice.

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Real estate prices are only going to keep going up. I'd guess they'll start climbing steadily in the coming months."

With that, he added, "It's just a hunch."

Her eyes widened in surprise. How does this kid know so much?

"Are you guessing?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes. Since the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis hit the U.S., global markets have been affected. Even major institutions like Lehman Brothers, one of the five biggest investment banks, were forced to declare bankruptcy. To stabilize the economy, our government had to inject massive amounts of currency into circulation, which mainly flowed into the real estate sector, causing rapid inflation. But this trend is far from over."

In his past life, he hadn't known much about these things, but with the knowledge he'd gained since his rebirth, he could predict some of the bigger trends with ease. Property, in particular, was a guaranteed win in the coming years.

Setting down her dish, Gu Wanzhou stared at him, astonished. How did this young man know all of this?

"Little Yan, what's an 'investment bank'? And what's the 'subprime mortgage crisis'?"

In this moment, she realized just how vast the world—and her ignorance—truly was.

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