Same person, different fate

After learning that Lin Yuan was living in a shared rental house in the suburbs, Senior Brother Liu quickly arranged a double room in the graduate dormitory for him.

Since it wasn't time for new students to register yet, Lin Yuan was the only one living in this dormitory.

Because graduate dormitories are subsidized by the government, the annual cost is as low as it can get—only 2000 yuan.

Lin Yuan's half-month rental subsidy from Good Group was 3000 yuan, and in fact, 150 yuan a day in today's Zijin City can only get you a relatively remote budget hotel. So, school is still better.

After a year of brutal societal impact, Lin Yuan, returning to campus, was like a tired bird returning to the forest or a pond fish entering the sea.

Beautiful senior and junior female students, clean and cheap dormitories, and inexpensive, delicious school cafeterias—these were all things not found outside.

Lin Yuan finally removed the delivery box from the back seat of his electric scooter. He didn't throw the box away; instead, he spent a lot of effort cleaning it thoroughly and then used it as a storage box.

This was not only out of frugality but also to keep himself from getting too carried away.

After a strong comparison, Lin Yuan always had a voice in his heart warning him—don't forget the despair from before. That despair of waking up every day and seeing no hope.

It's easy to go from frugality to luxury. Lin Yuan subconsciously felt that his experiences from the past year would be his valuable wealth; the sweat he shed and the exhaust fumes he inhaled on the main roads reshaped him.

And that delivery box, with its yellow koala logo, whenever Lin Yuan saw it, he seemed to smell the dust of the main road at the tip of his nose and hear the continuous clamor of motor vehicles.

He used this delivery box as a book box, to store his most important reference books.

—

Because the internship work was too monotonous, Lin Yuan would occasionally complain a bit to Senior Brother Liu during meals. He wouldn't be so foolish as to bother Professor Zhang over such a small matter.

And Senior Brother Liu's answer was: monotony and boredom are the norm. In the future, during your graduate studies, there will be plenty of such times; just consider it early training. Relatively speaking, being able to follow Professor Zhang is already a great fortune. At least it won't truly be a boss-employee relationship.

Lin Yuan gradually became relieved.

As for why the relationship between a supervisor and their graduate students is described as a “boss-employee relationship,” Lin Yuan gradually understood the general idea from the internet and from Senior Brother Liu's accounts. Because a lot of the time during graduate studies, it really is like an employee working for a boss, who is the supervisor.

But fortunately, Lin Yuan's supervisor is Professor Zhang. What luck! What luck!

In the days that followed, besides interning at Good Group, Lin Yuan would ride his electric scooter and wander around the campus.

Since he quit tutoring, those parents found new teachers, but even after changing two, they were still not satisfied. So much so that they doubled the salary, hoping to get Lin Yuan to return.

400 yuan an hour!!!

Lin Yuan himself didn't know he was so valuable. His teaching style was actually just interspersing math, physics, and chemistry lessons with jokes and banter.

He felt that his current way of making money was completely different from what his parents taught him since childhood.

What about being honest, diligent, and down-to-earth? Lin Yuan was at his most honest, diligent, and down-to-earth when he was delivering food.

Forget it, Lin Yuan would just consider it: the hardships of delivering food honed him. If one day someone asks about this turning point in his life, he will definitely say so.

But in fact, only he knew that all the turning points stemmed from: he was a cheater.

Effort is just the leading '1', while cheating is writing '0's after it.

At this moment, Lin Yuan seemed to grasp the true meaning of life.

'Ah, Professor Zhang is truly my reborn parent! My esteemed teacher, your disciple will remember you for life!'

Lin Yuan quickly accepted the changes in his life. He adapted to this shift, but he would never let himself drift aimlessly. He still wanted to do something, otherwise, what would be the meaning of having the computing system?

For this reason, he often thought, and he had a habit when thinking—sitting down anywhere. This was a habit he developed while delivering food, and Lin Yuan deliberately kept it. The hard ground gave him a sense of stability.

—

"Xia Ye, look."

On a weekend, a pair of girls who had just finished eating walked out of a student cafeteria at Zijin Aviation School.

"Look at what?" The girl named Xia Ye replied distractedly.

"That delivery guy, we ran into him again."

Xia Ye followed her best friend Song Xiaoxiao's gaze, "Oh, he must be here to deliver food, right?"

Song Xiaoxiao had a look of disdain, "Why doesn't he even wear a uniform? Anyone who doesn't know would think he's a student here. New students will be arriving soon for the start of school; I feel like he has bad intentions."

"Oh, Xiao Xiao. Why are you still thinking about these things? The dorm supervisor is urging me to vacate the dorm again..."

Song Xiaoxiao also sighed upon hearing this, losing interest in looking at Lin Yuan. "Who told us to study in the Art Department of an aviation school."

Zijin Aviation School is an old-brand polytechnic university, and its Art Department has never been a strong major; in fact, many people don't even know that Zijin Aviation School has an Art Department.

Xia Ye had a worried expression, "How about we go teach dance at a training institution?"

"You've already tried that before. Teaching those kids to dance, and having to deal with annoying parents, the institution even wants you to develop clients. If you're willing, you go; I'm not going anyway."

"But I need a job now; I need to survive first. I've decided, I'll go to a training institution to be a teacher as a transition. At least survive here first."

"Did your parents spend so much money just for you to be a 'king of kids' at a training institution?"

Xia Ye's eyes dimmed upon hearing this, "That's why I've never dared to tell them," her voice became even softer, "I'm just afraid of disappointing them. After spending so much money, I can't even find a job after graduation..."

Xia Ye and Song Xiaoxiao had graceful figures, and since they studied dance, their whole demeanor, at first glance, exuded a pure aura. But delicate flowers always need nourishment. Although the tuition fees for the Art Department were not much more expensive, the money spent on makeup and aesthetic treatments was not a small sum.

"I wish I hadn't studied dance back then," Xia Ye said, on the verge of tears, "Why would someone from an ordinary family like mine study art... and burden my parents."

"Xia Ye, don't cry. You can stay with me for now."

"You also live in a single room." Song Xiaoxiao was not well-off either.

"As long as you don't mind squeezing into a small bed with me."

"How could I mind? Xiao Xiao, thank you."

"Thank me for what? Oh, by the way, I have a quick way to make money; do you want to hear about it?"

Xia Ye immediately looked scared.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not a madam. It's just going to board game and script-killing cafes to be a 'partner'. It's short hours, decent pay, and most importantly, no risk."

Xia Ye was very resistant, "I don't want to, it's selling my looks."

"Sister. Then why did you choose to study art? Look at ourselves," Song Xiaoxiao pointed to her and Xia Ye's chests, "Why doesn't the Art Department recruit fat people or short-legged ones? When you chose this path, you were already involved with looks.

Sigh, do you think those celebrities and actors aren't selling their looks? It's just a matter of how far they go.

The customers in those shops are mostly otaku. They just spend money to buy that moment of fantasy, isn't it just like ordinary people chasing stars? We just treat ourselves as a celebrity and fan offline meeting.

Don't worry, there are cameras in the shop. If they dare to lay a hand on us, we'll call the police and sue them until they're bankrupt."

Xia Ye was somewhat swayed.

Song Xiaoxiao continued, "Think about how tiring it is to work a full day at a training institution, and you don't even make much money."

"Will I really not be taken advantage of?" Xia Ye asked tentatively.

"Would I lie to you?"