Chapter 230 Weighing the Pros and Cons
An ordinary day just passed by.
Early the next morning, in Yue Guodong's office, Zhu Hanwen and Yue Guodong sat face to face across a tea table.
Zhu Hanwen said with emotion: "The learning atmosphere in Huangren School is really good. I saw many students stopping in the teaching building and library to check materials even during get out of class time. I was moved by their spirit of studying day and night and forgetting to eat and sleep."
“No, no.”
Yue Guodong was very humble in words, but he was actually very proud in his heart. After all, Baiyun No. 1 Middle School was one of the better middle schools in the mainland. The fact that the teacher representatives sent by Baiyun No. 1 Middle School admired him so much showed that the academic atmosphere of Huangren College was indeed very good.
Suddenly, in the quiet campus, the sound of engines roared, startling countless birds. Then, there were exclamations one after another, directly interrupting the conversation between the two people.
Yue Guodong's face changed slightly. He stood up and walked to the window to look down. He saw a red Mercedes-Benz sports car whizzing past the campus's boulevard.
The person driving was naturally Xiao Hanlin. He said yesterday that he would take Wu Qiuya and the others for a ride, so he drove his sports car to school today.
Sports cars are very rare in mainland China, let alone convertibles. In mainland China, the probability of seeing a convertible passing by on the street is probably lower than the probability of seeing a giant panda.
In fact, even in Hong Kong, such a cool convertible sports car is not easily seen.
Therefore, wherever Xiao Hanlin drove his sports car, people couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, with greedy expressions on their faces.
It turns out that the life of rich people is so simple and unpretentious, which makes people envy it.
Wu Qiuya, Lu Jiajia and Lin Yuzhen were waiting for Xiao Hanlin's arrival downstairs of the teaching building.
Originally, Lin Yuzhen didn't want to come, but Wu Qiuya was afraid that Xiao Hanlin would be unhappy, so she tried her best to persuade Lin Yuzhen to come.
Lu Jiajia was simply curious and had no idea what Wu Qiuya and Lin Yuzhen were thinking.
Soon, Xiao Hanlin arrived in his beloved car.
Mercedes-Benz is indeed a well-known luxury car brand in Europe. Its bright red body is bold and domineering, like a dancing wildfire, seeming to possess a magical power that fascinates people.
Wu Qiuya, in particular, stared with her eyes wide open and her heart pounding. A sports car that didn't look cheap once again deepened her desire for money.
Although everyone had known for a long time that Xiao Hanlin was the son of a wealthy family and had an extraordinary background, those hearsays were far less shocking than seeing a sports car in front of them.
The supercar in front of him was bought by Xiao Hanlin's father after he begged for a long time, as a reward for his excellent academic performance.
So as soon as I got it, I couldn't wait to drive it out and show it off.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he couldn't help but feel excited. This feeling of being the center of attention was really great. He was indeed born to be different.
Xiao Hanlin was very proud, but he didn't notice that in front of the window sill on the second floor of the teaching building, Yue Guodong's face had become as black as a casserole, and his eyebrows were shaking constantly.
Zhu Hanwen stared blankly below, also dumbfounded: "Your school still allows students to drive to school?"
Xiao Hanlin was wearing the school uniform of Huangren College, so his identity could be recognized from a distance. It was known that he was a student, not a teacher in the school.
It's no wonder Zhu Hanwen was so surprised. Most of the students at Baiyun No. 1 Middle School took the bus to school. Those with better financial conditions rode bicycles. The only two people in the school who had cars were the principal and the dean. Even the teachers didn't have their own private cars, let alone sports cars.
Besides, even if it is a bicycle, it is not allowed to be ridden inside the school. You have to get off the bicycle at the school gate and put it in the bicycle shed set up at the school gate. It is impossible to drive it directly into the teaching area like Xiao Hanlin did.
Yue Guodong looked very embarrassed.
What can he say?
Is it someone like him who can talk about students whose families can afford a convertible sports car?
I'm afraid even the school directors wouldn't want to offend this kind of second-generation rich kid. I'm just an employee, and I'm afraid I might lose my job if I say something harsh to him, let alone scold or teach him a lesson.
What can he do?
Just pretend nothing happened.
"Well, in principle, we don't recommend driving in school. After all, there are so many students, and it would be a bad influence if they were seen. But the atmosphere in Hong Kong has always been free and open, and we can't explicitly forbid students from doing certain things. There's nothing wrong with young people being more energetic, and there's no need to restrict their nature."
Zhu Hanwen was speechless. Is this a question of vitality? Just the cool shape of this sports car looks so domineering!
But as an outsider, he couldn't say much, so he could only echo Yue Guodong's words: "It seems that we still need to learn from you in terms of openness."
In the teaching building, many students who were studying hard were also attracted by the surging engine sound. After all, they were boys, and machinery had a natural appeal to boys.
"Look, this sports car is really cool."
"Oh my god, it's a Mercedes. I didn't expect the real thing to be even more stylish than the photo!"
"I wish I had a supercar like this."
"If I use this to pick up girls, no girl would refuse it, right?"
"Xiao Hanlin's life is worth it. He owns his own sports car at such a young age!"
"Nothing can be done about it. He was born into a good family."
Downstairs, Xiao Hanlin parked the car next to the flower bed, locked it, and the convertible roof automatically extended from the trunk and closed with the front windshield. The whole process was so handsome that the boys in the school wished they could take his place.
Many people unconsciously gathered around the Mercedes-Benz, pointing and talking about the car, not hiding their envy of Xiao Hanlin at all.
Xiao Hanlin naturally also enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention, which made him feel like he was in spring breeze.
Someone nearby couldn't help but mutter, "This sports car is so cool. How much does it cost to buy it?"
Some students who like to read car magazines recognized the model of the red Mercedes supercar in front of them. They pushed up their glasses and began to list the model like the back of their hand: "Mercedes-Benz SLK is a convertible two-door two-seater sports car launched in 1996. The chassis code is R170. It is developed based on the W202 Mercedes-Benz C-Class chassis, and the wheelbase is shortened to 2400mm. The letters SL come from the legendary Mercedes-Benz model 300SL, which is the abbreviation of the German word Sportlich, Leicht, meaning sporty and light; K stands for Kurz, which means compact and short. The electric foldable hardtop used in the first generation SLK is also one of the highlights of the model. It can be opened and closed within 25 seconds."
He rattled out such a large amount of data without taking a breath, as if he were chanting a sutra. He must be a car enthusiast without a doubt.
"Shit, I was asking how much the car cost, who asked you to explain it?"
"How would I know? I can't afford it."
"Hey, why are you talking nonsense here for so long?"
However, a classmate knew Xiao Hanlin and came up to him and asked quietly, "This car must be very expensive, right?"
Xiao Hanlin raised his lips and pretended to be indifferent: "It doesn't matter whether it's expensive or not. For luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, what matters is the tone. Do you understand the style? Mercedes-Benz, the inventor of the car, only Mercedes-Benz is a real driver's car. Forget it, what's the point of telling you all this? You don't understand it."
Then, he put on a lonely expression of a master, played with the car keys in his hand, and walked towards Lin Yuzhen and others.
Zhao Guoxiang, the lackey who followed Xiao Hanlin, stepped forward at the right time and boasted vigorously, "Don't guess the price. This car is the top model and it costs less than one million."
"One...one million!?"
Many students were so shocked that they were completely speechless. Most people in Hong Kong will never earn a million in their entire life.
The purchasing power represented by this money is obviously beyond the cognition of these students who have not yet stepped out of the ivory tower.
All people are born equal, but money divides people into different classes.
Xiao Hanlin, who claimed to be a superior person, walked briskly to the three beauties and said , "There is a luxury car party on the top of Victoria Peak tonight. Are you interested in going with me? There are a lot of luxury cars there."
Lin Yuzhen said expressionlessly: "Didn't we say we were going to Victoria Bay to see the night view? Why are we going to Pingdingshan now?"
Xiao Hanlin spread his hands and said, "I just got the news too. What's so good about the night view of Victoria Harbour? I can take you there anytime, but this party doesn't happen often."
This kind of gathering is usually initiated by the second generation of rich people who own luxury cars.
They were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, and their monthly pocket money is more than the annual income of many working-class people.
The lessons of history tell us that when people are full and idle, they like to stir up trouble and seek so-called excitement. Because ordinary people have everything they desire, their threshold of happiness is infinitely raised, so that they can only feel pleasure and happiness through some sports that make their adrenaline soar.
For example, drag racing.
Supercars, beauties, noisy screams, everything is just for the pursuit of sensory pleasure.
Wu Qiuya was obviously very much looking forward to this kind of scene, but she held back when she thought of Lu Yiming.
After all, as a senior green tea girl, she would never do anything rash. Xiao Hanlin's family might be richer than Lu Yiming, but that money did not belong to Xiao Hanlin.
Every penny of Lu Yiming's money belongs to him and he can spend it as he pleases.
Wu Qiuya is not stupid, she still knows how to do the math, not to mention that compared to Lu Yiming who once truly liked her, Xiao Hanlin, the young master of a wealthy family, obviously just wanted to "play around" with her.
What she wants is to marry into a wealthy family, not to become a canary in someone else's cage.
However, Wu Qiuya did not refuse, but said tactfully: "Of course I personally want to participate, but the teacher said that we come to Hong Kong for exchange and study, and we cannot act alone without the group, so whether to go or not, I have to ask other people's opinions first. If everyone agrees to go to Pingdingshan, then I will go."
Wu Qiuya's reasons were legitimate and reasonable, and Xiao Hanlin had no way to refute them. After all, if he refuted them, he would probably be considered to have impure motives, which would leave a bad impression on the beauties, and his efforts tonight would be in vain.
Xiao Hanlin agreed generously: "Of course."
Wu Qiuya secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, "Lu Yiming and Li Zhengkai are still in the classroom, let's go up first."
At this moment, Lu Yiming was still happily discussing matrices with Zhou Zhiming in the classroom, and Li Zhengkai was also eagerly studying a pile of teaching materials that were rarely seen in the mainland.
No matter what, Li Zhengkai still maintains his academic excellence and he is serious about studying.
Seeing Wu Qiuya and the others walk into the classroom, Lu Yiming smiled and teased, "Why are you here? Didn't that handsome guy take you on a night tour of Victoria Harbour?"
Lin Yuzhen curled her lips, then glared at Lu Yiming fiercely and gritted her teeth: "Are you happy?"
Wu Qiuya explained her purpose: "It's like this, classmate Xiao Hanlin said that he just got the news that there is a luxury car party in Pingdingshan, and he wants to take us to see the world, maybe we can meet a lot of new friends. I thought we came from school together, so I suggested coming up to discuss it with you, do you think we should go?"
Before Lu Yiming could say anything, Li Zhengkai became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He was already feeling very uneasy about Wu Qiuya going to visit Victoria Harbour with Xiao Hanlin tonight, and now she wants to go to the mountains to play. How could this be tolerated?
"No, you can't go! What if you go to the mountains to play in the middle of the night? What if you get lost? Besides, it's too dangerous to watch people racing. The teacher will definitely not agree to it."
Wu Qiuya didn't want to give up this opportunity: "Xiao Hanlin comes from a wealthy family. We might be able to get in touch with the rich second generation in this circle through him. If we can come to Hong Kong to develop in the future, these people may become our connections. It's a rare trip, so it's great to make a few more friends. Classmate Lu Yiming, what do you think?"
Lu Yiming yawned and immediately said, "You can go if you want. I never look at how much money a friend has when I make friends. They won't be as rich as me anyway."
Lin Yuzhen snorted after hearing this: "Will you die if you stop bragging?"
Wu Qiuya didn't expect that Lu Yiming would refuse so straightforwardly.
She felt a little disappointed in her heart. She was thinking of using Xiao Hanlin as a tool to stir up Lu Yiming's competitive spirit and possessiveness.
After all, men are combative by nature, and the harder they work to get the "trophies", the more they will know how to cherish them.
After weighing the pros and cons, Wu Qiuya felt sorry for it, but she made a decision immediately: "Since Lu Yiming said so, I will reject the invitation now ."
