Chapter Eighty-Five: The Terrified Zhao Xiaoqian

Jiang Yu walked up to He Bing, bent down, and picked up the Peking University admission letter from the ground. In front of everyone, he opened it and glanced through it.

“Teacher He, as you can see, even if I don’t attend Peking University, my future will be anything but ordinary. Tell me, do I still need to go there just to add some shine to my resume?”

He Bing kept her head lowered; at this moment, she was so flustered she didn’t even dare to meet Jiang Yu’s eyes.

Three months ago, he was nothing more than an abandoned outcast of the Jiang family, mocked and ridiculed on the very podium by Sun Wanyue with that love letter. Three months later, he reappeared as someone standing at the very peak of Yun City, someone even local tycoons like Huang Shiyi and Zhang Yuanshan respected.

Now, even Elder Yin had been drawn into the matter.

On one side stood an utterly unremarkable student; on the other, the illustrious Jiang Yu, to whom even the wealthiest bowed their heads. The subtle conjunction of these two identities was as shocking as it was poignant.

In the end, He Bing could only let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. “I suppose I was being sentimental. Jiang Yu, do as you wish—I won’t pressure you anymore.”

Before such achievements, a mere diploma from Peking University had become insignificant.

She turned away, her back a picture of defeat and desolation.

Jiang Yu’s tone was calm as he asked, “Principal, if I were to donate thirty million without conditions, to build more classrooms and dormitories for the students—including multimedia facilities—could Teacher He be given the title of Vice Principal?”

The principal’s face blossomed into a broad grin, and he nodded eagerly. “Of course, that can be arranged.”

Jiang Yu stood where he was, watching He Bing vanish from sight before he spoke again. “Within three days, the funds will be fully in place. Consider it my contribution to my alma mater.”

After seven or eight of Yun City’s wealthiest had invested in his company, Jiang Yu no longer bothered to count the company’s liquid assets. Besides, that number was still rising as more of the affluent joined in.

This was true power—the kind that compelled respect from all.

With just a word, countless magnates would vie for his favor. Of course, the returns they received were just as considerable.

“Truly, a hero in his youth. We old men will soon have to step off the stage and make room for you.” Elder Yin, in high spirits, sighed with a smile.

The principal gently supported him and said quietly, “It’s too noisy here, Elder. If you have something to discuss, let’s go to my office. I’m truly honored by your presence today.”

Elder Yin laughed and scolded him, “No need for flattery—I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

The group followed the principal to his office. No sooner had they sat down than Elder Yin spoke eagerly. “Young Jiang, I wonder if your company would allow me to invest privately? I don’t have much put aside—at most ten or twenty million.”

He glanced at Wang Yuanshan and Huang Shiyi, laughing. “Compared to these gentlemen, who each have assets in the hundreds of millions, what I can offer hardly counts.”

Wang Yuanshan was startled and shook his head quickly. “Elder, you overestimate us.”

Jiang Yu smiled faintly. “Since you’ve asked, Elder, how could I refuse? Even if you didn’t contribute a penny, I’d reserve a spot for you among the shareholders.”

Elder Yin’s influence in Jiangbei was immense, far beyond what the Xia family or Ma Tianzong and his like could match. More importantly, the network Elder Yin had built up over the years was enough to sway the whole Southwest. With him on board, many things would be easier in future.

To see the renowned Elder Yin chatting so amiably with Jiang Yu—and addressing him as ‘young friend’—left everyone else utterly stunned.

“And who might these be?” Elder Yin turned to look at Kong Xi and the others.

Jiang Yu introduced them with a smile. “These are my friends.”

Elder Yin nodded, his expression warm with approval. “Not bad—you have the spirit of youth.”

The group was so frightened they didn’t know what to do, standing stiffly to either side. In such company, even if invited to sit, they wouldn’t dare. Even their parents would only stand respectfully before Elder Yin.

Zhao Xiaoqian nervously picked at her nails, stealing glances at Jiang Yu, her heart a maelstrom of complicated emotions. She’d always thought Jiang Yu was just some ordinary boy, never imagining he was in fact a true dragon soaring above the heavens. No matter how hard they tried, they could never reach the heights he now occupied.

What if Jiang Yu decided to hold them accountable for what happened?

Zhao Xiaoqian bit her lip, fear rising inside her. She’d been the one to mock him most these past two days. Outwardly he’d responded with nothing more than a faint smile, but who could say if he’d really forgotten?

If only she hadn’t followed along—yet her overwhelming curiosity had driven her to see what would happen.

Here, every casual word was measured in tens or hundreds of millions. For Tan Li and Kong Xi, who’d grown up in wealthy families, such sums weren’t entirely foreign. But for Zhou Die and Yang Duoduo, whose backgrounds were modest, hearing talk of investments of hundreds of millions or tens of millions was simply overwhelming.

The two of them, in their minds, counted again and again—ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions—using finger after finger. By the end, they looked utterly lost.

These numbers were beyond their comprehension.

A monthly salary of thirty thousand? They’d thought Jiang Yu didn’t know what was good for him. But if you divided a hundred million into thirty thousand, who could imagine how many times that went?

“Young Jiang, I wonder if you have any more of those pills?” Elder Yin, after a bit of small talk, couldn’t help but get straight to the point.

Last night, a thumb-sized pill had come into his hands—said to be a true elixir, capable of prolonging life and warding off disease.

Elder Yin had lived seventy or eighty years and seen all manner of things. Having been raised with strict materialist views, he’d always been skeptical of such mystical claims—like those so-called health supplements that a few years back were advertised as cures for every ailment of middle age and old age.

In the end, they were revealed to be nothing more than common nutrients—not harmful, but hardly miraculous.

Initially disbelieving, Elder Yin had swallowed the pill on the spot, only to feel at once a dramatic transformation in his body. As he’d grown older, illnesses had accumulated, and in recent years, he’d spent every night wracked with bone-deep aches and pains.

But last night had been the best sleep he’d had in years.

Though not a miraculous cure, it had greatly lessened his aches. After countless visits to hospitals at home and abroad, and consultations with renowned doctors, nothing had helped—until that one mysterious pill.

Early this morning, Elder Yin had set about tracing its origins, and finally his investigation led him to Jiang Yu. What he discovered shocked him even further: Jiang Yu was the famed young master of Liusha Town, who’d single-handedly wiped out the Shadow Killers.

Feeling Elder Yin’s expectant gaze, Jiang Yu found it secretly amusing. The pills he had made were the most common “Returning Spirit Pills” of ancient times—useless to those cultivating immortality, but priceless to ordinary people today.

For someone of Elder Yin’s advanced age, these pills were especially valuable. As people aged, their immunity weakened and all sorts of ailments appeared. The Returning Spirit Pill not only prevented such problems, but with long-term use, could strengthen the body and prolong life.

A year’s course of these pills could extend one’s life by ten years.

Jiang Yu smiled. “Those pills are just samples. If you need more, Elder, I can gift you a few. But if you want a lasting supply, you’ll have to follow company rules and exchange rare herbs for them—no exceptions.”

Respect was one thing; rules were another.

He couldn’t just make these pills for Elder Yin for nothing simply because of his status.

No one in this world could dictate Jiang Yu’s will.

Elder Yin’s face lit up with excitement. “Very well, I thank you in advance.”

Jiang Yu nodded with a smile. “In a few days, I’ll have someone deliver the pills to your home.”

If Elder Yin knew that Jiang Yu could refine hundreds of these pills in a single batch, at a cost of only about ten thousand yuan, he might have coughed up blood in frustration at Jiang Yu’s stinginess.

Why not give a few more if it was so easy?

But unaware of this, Elder Yin was deeply grateful, thinking he owed a great debt.

Over twenty minutes later, the gathering dispersed.

In the principal’s office, Kong Xi and the others looked at Jiang Yu with complicated expressions.

Sensing his gaze, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly burst into tears. “Kong Xi, help me!”