Chapter 46

"Alright, if you think I'm just blowing smoke, we'll see in a year."

Su Xiaofan didn't argue with his sister. With the repair system in his mind, making money didn't seem to be a difficult task.

If Su Xiaofan hadn't bought those meteoric iron pieces, the money he made today would have been enough to buy a decent house in Yanjing.

Of course, the repair system was the foundation. It was like an investment; the more complete the repair system, the easier it would be to make money in the future.

Glancing at the progress bar in his mind, Su Xiaofan felt a bit depressed. It was still at three percent, and after such a long time, not even one percent of the progress had been updated.

"Alright, I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going to take a shower after a busy day."

Su Xiaofan originally wanted to ask his sister for 200,000 yuan to tide him over, but with the repair system now updated, he decided to wait and see. Perhaps it would be easier to find bargains in the future.

"Bro, I'll miss you." Su Xiaoxiao stuffed a duck neck into her mouth and mumbled.

"Study hard and be careful."

Su Xiaofan didn't want to talk much to his food-loving sister. It was only the first day of school, and she had probably already locked down the locations of all the convenience stores in Yanjing.

After hanging up the video call, Su Xiaofan took a shower and lay on the bed, feeling a bit idle.

He chatted a few sentences with Zheng Dagang on WeChat and glanced at the class group.

There were two class groups, one from junior high and the other from high school.

Su Xiaofan attended junior high in the town, with students from various villages in the area, mostly from the countryside. They were all quite wild and often got into fights.

However, teenagers didn't hold grudges after fights, and Su Xiaofan had a better relationship with his junior high classmates.

In high school, Su Xiaofan was in the elite class, where most of his classmates were from Luochuan City and were excellent students.

As a rural boy who excelled in his studies, Su Xiaofan was naturally somewhat ostracized by some of the male classmates.

Of course, no one picked fights or got into physical altercations, but over the three years, Su Xiaofan didn't make any close friends in his class.

Su Xiaofan was handsome and academically excellent, making him very popular among the girls.

However, he had promised his father not to date in high school, so he pretended not to notice the interest from several girls, including the class president.

Later, when Su Xiaofan was hospitalized due to a car accident, several girls took turns to look after him in the hospital.

However, Su Xiaofan decided to drop out and not retake the college entrance exam, so he never participated in the class group chats, gradually becoming distant from his classmates.

The few girls who had a crush on Su Xiaofan felt his coldness after a period of contact and, with the start of their college lives, gave up on the high school heartthrob.

"Seems a bit distant from my life now."

Seeing the lively chat in the class group, with many people planning class reunions during the holiday, Su Xiaofan smiled and prepared to browse the news. He never participated in such gatherings, and the organizers rarely thought of him.

"Hmm? The class president is looking for me?"

Just as Su Xiaofan was about to close the chat, an unread message popped up. It was from his high school class president, Qi Rouyun.

"Are you in Yanjing?"

"Yes, what can I do for you, President?"

Seeing the message, Su Xiaofan was initially stunned, then remembered that he had taken a photo at the entrance of Yanjing University when he dropped off his sister and posted it on his Moments.

"I've been working these past few days and didn't check Moments. Since you're in Yanjing, how about we gather some old classmates?"

"Isn't it the holiday? Haven't you all returned to Luochuan?"

Su Xiaofan was surprised. In his class, which was an elite class, quite a few students had been admitted to Yanjing, about a dozen in total. Of course, only the class president had been admitted to Yanjing University, while the others were at other universities in Yanjing.

"Only Liu Xia and Zhao Dazhong have returned. The rest haven't."

Qi Rouyun typed quickly, "We're all busy with internships and training for our future careers this year, as we'll be graduating next year."

"You, the top student from Yanjing, must be in high demand, right?" Su Xiaofan smiled.

"Not really, some people don't even want me even if I offer myself."

"Cough, cough, those people must be blind, yes, blind!"

Su Xiaofan almost choked on his own saliva, surprised that after so many years, the class president still had such a straightforward personality.

Back in school, Qi Rouyun had pursued Su Xiaofan the most. After he was hospitalized, she visited him every day.

Later, Qi Rouyun's mother couldn't bear to see it, fearing it would affect her studies, so she hired a nurse for Su Xiaofan, persuading her daughter to return to school.

Qi Rouyun's parents were teachers, not snobbish, but they felt their daughter was too young and that dating after college would be more appropriate. They found an opportunity to talk to Su Xiaofan gently.

Su Xiaofan had no interest in dating and got along with the straightforward Qi Rouyun like brothers. Later, he directly told her that he wasn't interested in her.

After entering college, although Qi Rouyun occasionally chatted with him, she clearly no longer had romantic feelings, which relieved Su Xiaofan.

"Where are you staying in Yanjing? I'll come find you tomorrow." Qi Rouyun spoke as straightforwardly as ever.

"Staying... at the guesthouse of Yanjing University." Su Xiaofan told the truth.

"Really? You came to Yanjing University and didn't come find me? Do you still consider me an old classmate?" The other end of the phone exploded, sending several knife emojis.

"Afraid you might have designs on my body." Su Xiaofan, who had been in society for several years, had a thick skin.

"Get lost! I have a boyfriend now, and he's much handsomer than you!"

"Then I'm relieved."

"Tomorrow evening, there's a Sichuan restaurant near Yanjing University. I'll start inviting people. See you there, no excuses."

After sending a message, Qi Rouyun went silent. Yanjing was a big city, and the classmates here were either working or interning, so it wasn't easy to gather everyone.

Su Xiaofan replied with an OK gesture and put down his phone.

To be honest, if it weren't for Qi Rouyun's insistence, Su Xiaofan wouldn't have been interested in gathering with these classmates.

College and society were two completely different worlds. One was carefree in the ivory tower, while the other required facing the harsh realities of life.

Now, Su Xiaofan's way of thinking and behavior were entirely different from those of his classmates.

"When will this repair update end?"

Glancing at the motionless progress bar in his mind, Su Xiaofan felt helpless and decided not to look at it anymore. He browsed his phone and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Su Xiaofan got up, sent Zhao Zhengshan downstairs, where a car was already waiting.

After having breakfast, he had nothing to do. Excluding the time he spent in the hospital, Su Xiaofan hadn't been so idle for years.

After a whole night, the repair system in his mind had only been repaired by one percent, now at four percent, and seemed to have stalled again.

With nothing else to do, Su Xiaofan used his phone's navigation to take the subway to Pan Garden Antique Market.

When in the capital, one must visit this holy land of antiques; otherwise, it would be a laughing matter back in Luochuan.

Unlike the antique market he visited yesterday, Pan Garden had fewer old goods and more cultural artifacts, with various types of beads displayed in dozens of stalls.

After browsing the old goods area for a while, Su Xiaofan didn't dare to make a move.

Without the repair system in his mind to identify items, Su Xiaofan, who had been in the antique market for several years, was at best a half-baked expert. Trying to find a bargain in Pan Garden would likely result in a loss.

However, when it came to bronze artifacts, Su Xiaofan could be considered an expert, familiar with both the production techniques and aging methods.

After circling the market, Su Xiaofan found that, apart from some coins, only two bronze mirrors were genuine. The rest were modern reproductions, not worth buying.

Reflecting on this, Su Xiaofan realized that since the 1980s, Chinese antiques and cultural relics had gained international recognition, fetching high prices at auctions.

This led to the formation of a systematic antique collection in China, with many early collectors emerging, and various appraisal activities becoming popular, especially on television.

By the 21st century, even farmers in remote villages suspected that their ceramic pig feeders might be antiques, making it extremely difficult to find bargains.

Su Xiaofan finally understood that without the repair system in his mind, he was just an ordinary person.

Of course, the repair system was a result of his being struck by lightning.

Su Xiaofan used it with a clear conscience. If anyone disagreed, they could try holding a lightning rod during a thunderstorm; if they survived, they might also have a similar encounter.

Spending most of the morning at Pan Garden, Su Xiaofan didn't return to the guesthouse at Yanjing University for lunch. He ate nearby and planned to continue exploring in the afternoon, as the place was vast, and he had only skimmed the surface in the morning.

During lunch, Su Xiaofan received a message from Qi Rouyun, confirming the time and place for the evening gathering, along with five classmates who hadn't returned to Luochuan for the summer.

Seeing the names of the classmates, two boys and three girls, the boys were just ordinary classmates from high school, with no particular relationship but no conflicts either.

The three girls, however, had shown interest in Su Xiaofan in the past, which made him a bit uneasy.

Fortunately, Qi Rouyun's message reassured him. Including Qi Rouyun, the four girls were all in relationships and might bring their boyfriends who hadn't left Yanjing.