Top Student at Their Peak

"Oh..."

...

"This skincare set is really nice, I bought it for my mother-in-law. When you deliver it, make sure to praise me a lot, just say I scoured all of Beijing to carefully pick out the best goods. What? You think your mom doesn't deserve this kind of skincare?"

"No!"

"That's the spirit!"

"Miss, could you please wrap up two sets of this?"

"Why buy two sets?"

"Aren't you bringing one back for my mom?"

"Shouldn't I be the one buying it?"

"Nonsense, you're still in school, what money do you have? You have no idea how easy it is for me to make money now. When you get to college, you'll see, just casually writing an essay can earn you a bonus! You go to the lab, and they insist on stuffing money into your pocket, can you believe it?"

"Huh?!"

"This down jacket is nice, try it on..."

"I have enough clothes already."

"Just try it on, we can't buy gifts for your father-in-law and mother-in-law and not get you anything, what will they think? Besides, what's the point of making money if not to spend it? You have no idea how stifled I am at school! I earn money but have nowhere to spend it! It's just too painful! Oh, you and Qiao Xi have similar sizes, pick out a couple of pieces for her too."

"Oh, alright then!"

"Wow, there's a Hermes store over there."

"I don't like it, I don't want it! Have you ever seen a high schooler wearing Hermes?"

Keke Xia had an outburst and dragged the inflating Qiao Yu away.

...

After a trip to the mall, Qiao Yu's personal fortune took a hit of over three hundred thousand. It was exchanged for a bunch of shopping bags in their hands.

Keke Xia also spent about eighty percent of the ten thousand yuan Liu Lu gave her for Beijing, replacing it with the down jacket Qiao Yu was now wearing. Indeed, it did feel quite warm...

Qiao Yu found it quite satisfying...

Though he was never stingy, he used to be limited by the thickness of his wallet, only being particular about food.

Now, with more money, he dares to browse and buy the non-discounted items in big malls, just as his grandfather said, money is a man's courage.

He even dared to stroll around the famous luxury brands with Keke Xia.

He remembered seeing those luxury brand ads on TV as a kid and asking his grandfather.

Those expensive items, surely rich people know about them, why advertise?

His grandfather told him, those ads aren't for the rich, but for ordinary people. Otherwise, how would the common folk know the clothes the rich wear are so expensive?

Qiao Yu wholeheartedly agreed.

That's why he truly planned to outfit Keke Xia from head to toe.

Though he couldn't return home in glory, Keke Xia dressing up like this would naturally let everyone know he's doing well in Beijing.

Yes, deep down, Qiao Yu still had that small-town mentality. Of course, these weren't for Old Xia Family to see.

But to show the neighbors who secretly mocked Qiao Xi before.

Qiao Yu knew clearly that when those people said in admiring and congratulatory tones, "Oh my, Qiao Yu is doing well now, Qiao Xi has finally made it, she can finally enjoy life,"

Deep down, they'd surely be accumulating all sorts of discontent.

Those childhood buddies who once scolded and fought him might even go home and get nitpicked or even inexplicably scolded. The thought delighted him.

Too bad, Keke Xia stubbornly refused to cooperate. But no big deal, he bought plenty of nice things for Liu Lu and Old Xia.

With Old Xia and Liu Lu's temperament, rest assured, they wouldn't miss the chance to flaunt a bit to the neighbors during their break.

"Hey, this is the watch Qiao Yu bought me in Beijing, a Longines, not that expensive, just over eighty thousand!"

The effect should be about the same.

So the next day, when Qiao Yu and Qiao Xi saw Keke Xia off at the station, they had a bunch of extra stuff.

Naturally, Qiao Xi had no objections to this.

When it was just her and Qiao Yu depending on each other, Old Xia Family had actually helped a lot.

Even hinting several times that if she ever had financial difficulties, she could ask them for help.

The moral view of ordinary people is always so simple. The kindness people showed them, Qiao Xi never forgot in her heart.

This actually included Keke Xia too.

When Qiao Yu ended up in class thirteen, Keke Xia would come down whenever she had time, trying various ways to motivate him.

It's just that Qiao Yu acted too defeated then. Besides her, no one really thought he'd amount to much.

So, when capable, a little payback is a good thing. Both mother and son liked money, but they also didn't place too much importance on it.

This wasn't contradictory. They liked money because they didn't have it. Once they had money, spending it was okay too. They still had enough to live.

Of course, Qiao Xi knew nothing of Qiao Yu's little schemes, if she did, she'd probably twist his ear into a flower again...

After all these years with the neighbors, how could they avoid a bit of gossip behind their backs? Is it worth always remembering? Isn't that tiring?

...

Because they promised to send Keke Xia back early, after contacting through WeChat, Liu Lu took time to pick up Keke Xia from the station.

Although railway employees can't ride high-speed trains for free, there are benefits for on-duty staff to find a way to buy a ticket.

Not being able to rest during New Year and still having to work on the train, paying for her own daughter's ticket seemed particularly inhumane.

After a tearful goodbye with Keke Xia, on the way back to school, Qiao Yu couldn't shake the feeling that he forgot something important.