Chapter 42

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Xu Yan politely extended his hand: "Hello, Senior Brother Zhao, do MBA students also need to take Western Economics?"

Zhao Tianyu chuckled lightly. He looked at Xu Yan's outstretched hand with a playful expression, taking his time before finally reaching out to give Xu Yan a light handshake: "Hello, Junior Brother Xu, nice to meet you. Western Economics is the origin of modern economics and the foundation of all economic management. I believe it's very important to deepen my understanding of it, so I chose to take this course."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gong Xueting, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Xu Yan firmly believed that some people were born to be disliked, like Senior Brother Zhao Tianyu in front of him. This Senior Brother Zhao was handsome, well-dressed, and mature, but Xu Yan found him extremely unpleasant. Whether it was his tone of voice or his gaze, every cell in his body seemed to silently declare: "I am a successful person, everyone come and envy me!" Especially when he looked at Gong Xueting, his eyes revealed a condescending and confident look that made Xu Yan's teeth grind in frustration.

Zhao Tianyu smiled at Gong Xueting and said, "Xueting, I heard there was a lunatic causing trouble at the Wanhe Mall yesterday? I have a relative in the police force who said that 27 people died, 22 of them were civilians, and 5 were police officers. Several civilians died from being trampled in the panic. Were you there yesterday? That was really dangerous. In such large malls with dense crowds, once panic sets in, it's very easy for accidents to happen. You must be careful."

Gong Xueting nodded slightly and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother. I'm fine, don't worry."

Zhao Tianyu seemed to want to say more, but at that moment, the class bell rang. An elderly lady in a dark Zhongshan suit walked in from the door and stepped up to the podium. She had a stern face and scanned the room with authority. Immediately, all the whispers stopped, and the students who had been chatting and laughing sat up straight, their expressions serious. Xu Yan always thought that with the elderly lady's presence, it was a great loss to our national defense that she didn't join the military. Her silent and commanding authority was on par with that of ancient famous generals.

After the usual roll call, the elderly lady began her lecture: "Classmates, today we will discuss the LM curve system of Keynesian economics in Western Economics. Please turn to page 245 of your textbooks... Before Keynes, the mainstream school of Western Economics believed..."

As the elderly lady's monotonous voice continued, Xu Yan, and indeed the entire class, entered a hypnotic state. The students were drowsy, their heads drooping.

Xu Yan thought that this elderly lady had a real talent for hypnosis, especially for treating insomnia. After listening for just a few minutes, Xu Yan fell asleep. Names like Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Nassau Senior, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Malthus, and Jean-Baptiste Say, along with their theories and countless distorted marginal cost, revenue, profit, and labor curves, all tangled together in his mind. In the end, he gave up and took out the book "A Century of Bai Lu" from his bag to read—since he couldn't understand the lecture anyway, it was better to save time and read a book.

When Xu Yan took out the book, Gong Xueting and a few other girls noticed. Chu Yan even leaned over to take a look, flipping through a few pages. Seeing that it was a vertical, traditional Chinese book, she exclaimed, "Ah, what is this? Can you understand such a book?"

Xu Yan boasted, "This is the greatest martial arts secret manual in the world. Once mastered, you become invincible! You should be more polite to me, Xu Dada, or when I become the greatest master, hmm~"

Chu Yan giggled, "I understand, Great Hero Xu. Is this the 'Evil-Exorcising Sword Technique' or the 'Manual of the Sunflower'? I wish you success in mastering the divine skill and unifying the martial world, shaking the world with your power!"

The girls exchanged glances and smiled demurely, their laughter restrained. Xu Yan, however, blushed deeply—Chu Yan was too bold! How did they know such classic lines? It was all because Jin Daxia's works were so popular and well-known, even adapted into TV series several times. Even young children shouted, "To master the divine skill, first cut off the little~"

Xu Yan read for about ten pages before the class bell finally rang, and the elderly lady announced a ten-minute break. Xu Yan stood up, intending to stretch, but then he heard a phone ring from Gong Xueting's desk.

Gong Xueting fumbled in her drawer for her phone and apologized, "I forgot to switch it to vibrate today. Luckily, it didn't ring during class, or it would have been a problem—Hello, Dad?"

Gong Xueting listened to the call, and her expression suddenly changed, her voice rising: "Hello, who is this? Where's my dad? Why do you have his phone... Ah, Uncle Wang, why does my dad's phone end up with you... Ah, what? My dad suddenly fainted at the construction site... Ah, he's already been taken to the hospital? The First City Hospital... Ah, okay, okay, I'll come right away~"

After hanging up, Gong Xueting looked flustered, and everyone noticed. Chu Yan asked, "Xueting, what's wrong? Is your dad in trouble?"

Gong Xueting nodded, very anxious: "A coworker called and said my dad suddenly fainted at the construction site. They've taken him to the First City Hospital—Excuse me, classmate Xu Yan, could you move? I need to go ask the teacher for leave and rush to the hospital."

Xu Yan stood up to let her pass, and seeing her worried expression, he had an idea: "Xueting, I'll go with you. Having an extra person might help with ideas and maybe even be useful."

Gong Xueting looked at Xu Yan in surprise and hesitated—she didn't want this boy, whom she had just met and had a good impression of, to see her in distress. But she also had her own thoughts: everyone knew that once a patient was in the hospital, expenses would be high. Her family didn't have much savings, but Xu Yan had been very generous at the boutique yesterday, buying his girlfriend clothes worth tens of thousands of yuan, indicating he was financially well-off. Having him around might help if there were any emergencies.

Although Gong Xueting was reluctant, for her father's safety, she couldn't afford to be picky: "Uh... Xu Yan, missing class like this, you'll miss the whole morning. Is that okay?"

Xu Yan immediately said it was no problem, and he would have a classmate take leave for him. Gong Xueting apologized, "Then... thank you, Xu Yan."

"No problem," Xu Yan said with a smile.

Just as they were about to go ask the elderly lady for leave, the voice Xu Yan hated the most sounded again. Zhao Tianyu stood up and said seriously, "Junior Sister Gong, your father is in the hospital, this is important. I'll take you there. I have a car parked in the playground downstairs."

"Ah, Senior Brother Zhao, you... " Gong Xueting hesitated, bit her lip, and finally nodded, "Okay, thank you, Senior Brother. I'm really sorry to trouble everyone."

"This is nothing, family is important, health is important," Zhao Tianyu turned to Xu Yan and smiled charmingly, "Xu Yan, I'm sorry, but my car doesn't have enough seats—so, you don't need to trouble yourself. Stay here and attend class. You're a sophomore, right? Missing too many classes might affect your studies."

Xu Yan froze, cursing inwardly: Bullshit about not having enough seats! A car can seat five people, a driver and a girl, that's more than enough. This guy is just trying to keep me out of his car!

So what if he has a car, is that so impressive?

Xu Yan forced a laugh, "Not enough seats? No problem, Senior Brother Zhao, you go ahead, I'll take a taxi and follow. It won't take much time."

Zhao Tianyu raised an eyebrow, about to say more, when a cold female voice suddenly interrupted, "No problem. I also have a car, Xu Yan, you can ride with me."

Xu Yan looked over and saw Gong Xueting's quiet roommate, Chen Yaoyu, who had been silent until now. Meeting Xu Yan's gaze, she nodded and repeated clearly, "I also have a car, Xu Yan, you can ride with me."

Chen Yaoyu's sudden intervention changed Zhao Tianyu's expression, but Xu Yan was delighted and found her truly lovely and beautiful—she was just cold on the surface, but a good person at heart!

He said happily, "Okay, thank you, Chen."

Chen Yaoyu shook her head, "No need to thank me—Xueting, you should go ask for leave now."

"Ah, right, I'll go right away, thank you, Yaoyu!"

Gong Xueting, after a moment of surprise, turned and ran to the podium.

Xu Yan and Zhao Tianyu's small conflict had not escaped her notice, and she understood the reason. Xu Yan was a boy she had a good impression of, while Zhao Tianyu was someone who had always been very concerned about her. They were all friends, and she didn't know how to mediate. Fortunately, Chen Yaoyu stepped in to help, and she was truly grateful.

Asking for leave was not difficult. Although the elderly lady was strict, she was not unreasonable. Upon learning that a student's family member was hospitalized, she quickly agreed, "Go, but when you return, study hard and make up for the missed classes."

After thanking her, they hurried downstairs. Even Chu Yan, Gong Xueting's roommate, came along—she said she was concerned about her friend's father, but Xu Yan suspected she just found a good excuse to skip class.

They rushed to the school parking lot. Zhao Tianyu had a Japanese Nissan Sylphy, while Chen Yaoyu had a Volkswagen Opel. Xu Yan didn't hesitate and climbed into Chen Yaoyu's car, followed by Gong Xueting and Chu Yan, leaving Zhao Tianyu to drive alone behind them. Xu Yan couldn't see Zhao Tianyu, but he could imagine his frustrated expression, which made him feel very satisfied, a smug smile on his face.

Sitting in the front, Xu Yan's smile was visible to Chen Yaoyu, who was driving. Perhaps because his smile was too smug, Chen Yaoyu suddenly said, "Xu Yan, don't be too pleased, I'm not helping you."

Although she didn't finish her sentence, Xu Yan understood the subtext—she wasn't helping him, just that Zhao Tianyu was too annoying, and she found him unpleasant, so she was deliberately causing trouble for him.

He reined in his smile and said solemnly, "I understand, Chen, you're not helping me, just helping Xueting."

Chen Yaoyu glanced at him, huffed slightly, and fell silent.

Although their conversation was cryptic, Gong Xueting and Chu Yan in the back seat were not fools. Gong Xueting was at a loss: she was already in a panic, and these two were still thinking about such trivial matters?

But she couldn't say it outright in front of Xu Yan, so she said tactfully, "Yaoyu, focus on driving, don't talk."

Chen Yaoyu kept her eyes on the road, "I know, don't worry."

Chu Yan looked at Xu Yan, then at Gong Xueting and Chen Yaoyu, and sighed, "I don't understand, but it sounds very profound—You guys are all experts, talking so deeply!"

"Yanzi, be quiet!"

"Yanzi, don't talk!"

Hearing Gong Xueting and Chen Yaoyu's simultaneous reprimands, Chu Yan obediently huddled up, raising her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I won't talk anymore."

Xu Yan pretended not to understand, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

The First City Hospital was in the city center. After parking, they rushed in and found Uncle Wang, who had contacted Gong Xueting, in the lobby.