Part One: In the Martial World, Not in Control of One's Own Fate, Chapter Sixty-Six: Eighteen Touches
The photo shows a pretty girl with a pure and innocent look, wearing a school uniform and long hair. She looks no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. It's a three-inch color ID photo.
From his eyebrows, I could vaguely see a bit of Huan Ge's shadow.
The matter that Jinhe entrusted to me was far beyond my expectations!
Huan Ge actually has a daughter!
And this daughter has been hidden from everyone's sight for so many years?!
In Jinhe's words, "Given Huan Ge's status, he has many things beyond his control, and he has to take these precautions."
Huan Ge's expectations for his daughter are also quite regrettable.
Because this is what Jinhe said to me before he left:
"Xiao Wu, just like you... Huan-ge's expectation for her is that she never has to touch this industry again and can live a clean and ordinary life!"
And the reason this secret has been kept for so long... is actually quite shocking!
Over the years, Huan Ge has only seen this girl three times! And each time he only caught a glimpse of her from afar! He has never actually interacted with her!
Even the girl herself didn't know she had such a complicated father! Moreover, Huan Ge entrusted all the care for the girl to Jin He personally! Jin He was extremely secretive and discreet in his actions, and over the past few years, he had been secretly helping the girl deal with some troubles.
And right now, in the whole world, including myself, only three people know about this girl's relationship with Huan Ge! Me, Huan Ge. Jin He!
Even the girl herself didn't know!
Ni Duoduo, female, eighteen years old, born on February 13, 1989, is an illegitimate child. She grew up with her mother, who passed away when she was fourteen. She then lived with her maternal grandmother, who passed away when she was sixteen. She has lived alone ever since. Her father is said to have immigrated to the United States. He has never met her. Since her mother's death, Ni Duoduo has received a monthly child support payment from the United States. The amount is not large, but it is enough to cover her living expenses and tuition fees.
Ni Duoduo, 18, is a student at a foreign language school in Nanjing. She will graduate from high school next year and then go abroad to study at a well-known university in the United States, arranged by her biological father in the United States.
The presentation of this information is not particularly eye-catching.
At least at the foreign language school Ni Duoduo attends, nearly 30% of the graduates go abroad to study every year. And the students at this school all come from well-off families… of course, the tuition is also very high.
What 18-year-old Ni Duoduo didn't know was that... her so-called biological father, who had settled in the United States and had never met her, didn't actually exist!
Jinhe handled everything, including matters related to studying abroad.
That's all the information I have.
Jinhe only asked me one thing: "Don't tell her the truth. Huan-ge will make arrangements after she goes to America next year."
It turns out that Jin He personally handled all of this. Although Jin He is highly skilled and reliable, there are still risks involved. And now he's going to be working alongside Brother Huan. My identity is relatively safer and cleaner; no one will notice a nobody like me.
I was just a low-level manager who resigned from a small nightclub under Brother Huan.
No one really knows about my private relationship with Huan Ge.
In short: I am an outsider!
Jinhe left a bank card with some money in it. He didn't say anything, just finished explaining, patted me on the shoulder, and left.
I went home, locked myself in my room, and carefully examined the contents of the envelope Jinhe had left behind.
"You and I are different... Before, neither Huan-ge nor I could get close to her in order to keep this secret. But you don't have these concerns. Huan-ge's idea is that he hopes you will take good care of her. She is still young, and Huan-ge is worried that it will be difficult for a girl so young to take care of herself living alone. As for me, because I couldn't get close to her before, I could only secretly help her deal with some minor troubles, but I couldn't do too much. Now it's all up to you."
Jinhe's words echoed in my mind.
I gave a wry smile.
What should I do? I can approach this girl, but how... should I just go to her house and say, "Hey, little sister, let me take care of you from now on..."
Damn! If I actually said that, they'd probably kick me out like a thug!
I thought about it all night, and the next morning I called the company, made up an excuse to tell Ning Yan that I had something to do and wouldn't be coming to the office that day. Being a manager has this advantage: you don't need to ask your superiors for leave; you just need to tell your subordinates.
Then I called Aze.
"Aze, are you up yet?"
Aze's voice on the other end of the phone was muffled and he sounded groggy: "No... do you know that interrupting someone's sleep is a very immoral thing to do..."
"Get up quickly, let's drive to Xianlin University Town!"
There was a pause of a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then Aze's sleepiness vanished! He let out a loud "Aww!" and said in a lovestruck tone, "Okay! I'll drive to your building within half an hour."
Before I could say anything, he hung up the phone.
Xianlin University Town is located in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing. It is a large academic district in Nanjing that integrates more than a dozen universities.
Even established universities like Nanjing University set up branch campuses in Xianlin, and later, some even moved several departments there entirely.
This place isn't too far from downtown Nanjing, only about ten kilometers away. The development along the way is quite good, surrounded by green spaces on both sides, making for an excellent environment. The most pleasant thing is the open terrain. In short: huge!
Even a third-rate university occupies dozens of acres! In recent years, this area has developed into a considerable size! The entire university town has more than a dozen universities and hundreds of thousands of students! Later, many middle schools and even primary schools opened branch campuses here! Some prestigious universities even simply set up their affiliated middle schools here!
Gradually, Xianlin has become a well-known school district in Nanjing, attracting hundreds of thousands of university, middle school, and primary school students, along with teachers, school staff, and so on. This influx of people has immediately revitalized the local economy!
The foreign language school that Ni Duoduo attends is also located in Xianlin.
There are several advantages to setting up a school here: First, land is cheap! Schools in the city are pitifully small; land in the city is incredibly valuable! But here, it's different. Land is freely allocated! Schools are built freely! Even the auditorium in a random middle school is built to look like an Olympic stadium! Then, money is poured in. Magnificent buildings are erected one after another; the school gate is built like a triumphal arch, the teaching buildings are built like the Pentagon, and the playground is built to international first-class sports stadium standards; every step you take is on a top-notch synthetic track…
First, they make the facade look nice, and then they dare to call themselves a prestigious school, charging at least seven or eight times more tuition!
As for teaching quality... these days, schools care about profits! It's an industrialization of education!
And those universities, they're expanding and expanding like crazy! Anyway, with the current national policy, universities are increasing enrollment, so there's no worry about a lack of students who will pour money into the schools.
The foreign language school Ni Duoduo attends is also known for its exorbitant tuition fees. The annual tuition and fees alone amount to tens of thousands of yuan! Ordinary families simply cannot afford such a school. Add to that other miscellaneous expenses, student accommodation fees… to graduate from middle school, you can't expect to spend less than ten or twenty thousand yuan!
Of course, the higher price has its advantages. At least the dormitories at the school aren't the traditional tenement buildings with seven or eight people crammed into one room. Instead, they're small apartments where each student has their own private room.
As for why I'm so familiar with the Xianlin campus...
That's a rather vulgar way to put it...
Back in the day, Aze, Qiaoqiao, and I, except for that guy Mutou who wasn't into that sort of thing, the three of us, male and female perverts, loved to drive Aze's cool, high-end car to Xianlin University Town to pick up girls.
In Aze's words:
Damn! Who still picks up girls in bars these days? That's so outdated! These days, the real high-class hooligans pick up girls on campus!
How to brew it? It's very simple!
If you drive a car with a license plate starting with B, it's either a BMW or a BMW. If you drive a Volkswagen Bora, you'd be embarrassed to even greet people!
Anyway, university gates don't stop cars. Once inside, just drive around the campus, circling all the main roads and side streets. If you're hunting for women, you have to be patient and wait for your prey!
I spotted a pretty girl from afar on the road, so I immediately drove up slowly, honked my horn to attract her attention, and then slowly rolled down my window, politely asking, "Excuse me, where is building XX?"
Don't ask me what that XX building is. I'm just making it up. I'll just say something like a foreign language building, a library, an astronomy building, etc. Anyway, most universities have places like that!
At a time like this, if you're a young, handsome guy, dressed in expensive clothes, polite, and driving a cool car with a "B" in the name... most girls would have no choice but to pay attention to you!
These days, even beautiful women are materialistic!
If the other person answers you and tells you how to get there, and where it is...
No matter how detailed or clear her explanation is... even if you could find it with your eyes closed after listening... you absolutely must pretend to be completely clueless and not understand!! Remember that!
Then, you can open the car door and politely invite them: "Excuse me, classmate, I really can't find the place. If it's convenient for you, could you please get in the car and tell me how to get there? I'll drive you back later. Is that alright?"
This is where the advantages of picking up girls on campus really come in!
On the street, girls are usually wary and hesitant to get into a stranger's car. But at school, they are less wary.
OK. Once she gets in the car, the cramped space is the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation! As long as your communication skills aren't too bad!
Then, once we arrive at the destination, we'll drive around to take the beautiful woman back to where she got in the car, or wherever she needs to go, we'll drive her there!
Before taking your leave, you could say, "Thank you so much for earlier... otherwise, I would have been delayed in my important business! May I treat you to a meal to express my gratitude?"
In general, the chances of a girl refusing in this situation are not very high; the success rate is already about 30%! As long as the girl has nothing holding her back, she wouldn't mind having a meal with a young, handsome guy driving a nice car... And to lower her guard, don't suggest going to a place too far. Just find a decent restaurant in the university area... In this situation, the girl shouldn't refuse!
Of course, some girls might have other commitments and can't agree to that. In that case, it's simple: just leave a phone number so we can stay in touch...
If a girl is willing to give you her phone number in this situation, it means she's interested in you too!
After all, a handsome guy with a luxury car, polite manners, and a witty personality—if he has all these qualities, few girls wouldn't be attracted to him!
If she doesn't refuse to leave her phone number, it means that even if she doesn't have time to go out with you today... she's already given you a signal... you can call her and ask her out!
At this point, you can ask her out for dinner that evening, or go to a bar or go shopping—it's all up to you!
There's another advantage to picking up girls in Xianlin University Town!
This place is about ten kilometers from the city center! Not a long distance, but not short either. Plus, the area around the university town was originally in the eastern suburbs, with little entertainment. These students only have time to go to the city center to relax and have fun once a week; they're all incredibly bored!
This mindset greatly increases the success rate of hunters in capturing their prey!
For a time, Aze and I drove to Xianlin University Town almost every other day! Relying on Aze's silver BMW and our good looks, we enjoyed a decadent yet wonderful period of life...
Of course, the prerequisite is that you have a car! And you also need to have a decent set of clothes!
If you're wearing a Baleno or Giordano jacket, riding a bicycle, and trying to pick up girls at school by asking for directions like that... ugh, your success rate is zero! Don't expect any pretty girls to even acknowledge you!
It's not that I look down on female college students these days... Just ask around, and I guarantee that if you choose "finding a rich man" over "finding a good job," the number of people who choose the latter is far lower than those who choose the former!
Upon hearing that they were going to Xianlin University Town, Aze's enthusiasm soared!
In less than twenty minutes, he called to say he had arrived and asked me to come downstairs.
This guy is a real scoundrel! As soon as he heard we were going to the university town, he not only arrived in twenty minutes, but he was also dressed so well!
Seeing me come out, Aze whistled from his car: "Chen Yang, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? You thought of asking me to go to the university town to pick up girls?"
I shook my head, got into the car, and sat down.
"What do you mean? Where are we going today? Teachers' College, or Southeast University and Nanjing University? I think the girls at Nanjing University of the Arts are the best, but it's a bit harder to win them over..." Aze said slowly, counting on his fingers.
“Go to a foreign language school.”
"...Aze paused for a moment: "What? Middle school?"
"Yes," I replied steadily.
"Damn it!" This guy gave me the middle finger. "You scoundrel! You don't even spare middle school students! You're going too far! At least leave some room for the future scoundrels of our country!" Then he shouted righteously, "Chen Yang, you're too wicked! You're killing the hope of our country's future, do you know that?!"
Just as I was about to retort, I heard a car horn sound from the roadside. I turned around and saw Qiaoqiao slowly pulling up in her red Ford.
"Hehe, I called her over." Aze laughed shamelessly.
I know he did it on purpose!