Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 53: 53. Top Student and Study God

Hu Xiaoniu watched as Qing Chen left, sensing a familiar flavor.

It’s not that he had met Qing Chen before, or that Qing Chen resembled someone, but rather it was the other’s attitude of rejecting people from a thousand miles away.

It was just like how they themselves would exclude some classmates from their circle: superficially polite and courteous on the surface, yet proud deep down.

This actually took Hu Xiaoniu by surprise. He glanced at the building where Qing Chen lived, then asked, “Have you guys noticed anything strange about him?”

The bespectacled Zhang Tianzhen by his side said, “Wang Yun and Bai Waner are both quite pretty, and they’re both his new classmates and neighbors, but he doesn’t even give them a glance and seems to have no interest in talking.”

“Yes,” Wang Yun nodded, “It doesn’t seem like the usual shyness of an ordinary boy, more like he wants to avoid us.”

“I asked Nan Gengchen next door today; he said this classmate’s grades have always been stably in the top three of the grade. It’s pretty normal for him to be a bit proud. Aren’t all top students like that?” Bai Waner smiled, “The ‘gods of study’ at our ‘Haizhong’ are also like this.”

Hu Xiaoniu laughed and shook his head, “A top student from a small city has too low of a ceiling.”

In fact, Hu Xiaoniu wasn’t deliberately mocking, but they were all very aware of just how much more advanced the education was in the super first-tier cities as compared to smaller cities.

A top student from a small city might be okay at reading English, but their spoken English and listening would be far behind, even in a school like the Los Angeles Foreign Language School that carried the name of a language institute.

But in some top schools in the big cities, practically anyone you pulled aside at the school gates could communicate in English with ease.

They’ve won countless competition awards and spend every winter and summer vacation experiencing life in the Arctic.

It was as if they were living in completely different worlds.

“Let’s forget it, we don’t need to worry about top students or ‘gods of study’ anymore. We’re not going to have that much to do with him anyway; he just happens to be a neighbor living close by,” Wang Yun said, “Let’s go inside and talk.”

As they spoke, they had already opened the door to room 102.

The workers had already left, and the room had undergone a transformation in just one day.

There was no new renovation inside, since there wasn’t enough time, so they had rushed to lay fixed carpets on the floors and conducted anti-damp spray treatment on the walls, followed by a fresh layer of wallpaper.

For the four of them, it was barely livable.

“Actually, we could just stay in a hotel. It’s not like we absolutely have to live here. Our target is Liu Dezhu, and so far, Jiang Xue seems to not have anything special,” Bai Waner said.

Hu Xiaoniu replied, “Don’t be so shortsighted. Since we decided to move from City 7 to City 18, we should try to make as many friends as possible in City 18. Didn’t you see He Xiaoxiao’s strategy? Try to form a team.”

Wang Yun still seemed a bit melancholy, “You guys insist on slowly building a good relationship with Liu Dezhu, but in my view, it’s also possible to just buy information and resources with money.”

Zhang Tianzhen shook his head, “Since we chose to come to Los Angeles, we should be prepared for hardship. This was agreed upon by Xiao Niu and me from the start. We have no foundation in City 7, so what we can do is to use the energy of the Outer World to influence the Inner World.”

Hu Xiaoniu was the backbone of the group. He nodded and said, “Now we need to figure out how to get on good terms with Liu Dezhu, so let’s put away everyone’s usual behavior. Although money is essential, it isn’t omnicompetent. You must understand that there are many people in the world who are richer than we are. When others decide to spend money to buy resources from Liu Dezhu, our cordial relations will become our greatest advantage.”

“By the way, how are things on your end? We originally said that the four of us would be in the same class, but then they insisted that Class 4 of the second year was full,” Wang Yun asked.

Hu Xiaoniu answered, “Liu Dezhu is pretty easy to get along with, but when probing him with many questions, he’s unwilling to say much.”

Zhang Tianzhen commented, “You see, he seems easy to get along with, but the problem is he doesn’t want to reveal anything to you. He appears to be simple and naive but is actually very shrewd. He’s someone who is wise but appears foolish.”

“Hmm, ‘wise but appears foolish,’ that’s a good assessment,” Hu Xiaoniu summarized.

“Oh yeah,” Wang Yun suddenly said, “have you heard? Yan Yan is also planning to transfer schools.”

“Yan Yan?” Bai Waner and the others were startled.

Yan Yan, as in rice seedling.

A very simple name, yet by the reactions of Bai Waner and the others, it seemed like this name held a unique place in the top middle school of Haicheng by the sea, which was why it was so surprising to everyone.

Zhang Tianzhen suddenly said, “Wait, I remember someone saying that Yanyan’s grandparents are in Los Angeles? She wouldn’t have also transferred here, would she?”

“Let’s not think about this for now, and we haven’t heard about Yanyan becoming a Time Traveler,” Hu Xiaoniu said. “Let’s go and visit our new neighbor.”

With that, he dug out an exquisitely crafted box as a housewarming gift and led the others upstairs.

Knock knock knock, Hu Xiaoniu knocked on the door.

A voice came from inside: “Xiao Yun, go open the door, it might be your brother Qing Chen.”

Then, Xiao Yun’s sweet voice could be heard: “Brother Qing Chen, please wait a moment, I’m coming to open the door for you.”

Click, the door opened.

Wang Yun said with a smiling face, “Hello there, little friend.”

Bang, the door was closed again, and Li Tongyun said from inside, “Mom, it’s not Brother Qing Chen.”

Jiang Xue asked, puzzled, “Then who is it?”

Li Tongyun replied, “Not important.”

The soundproofing of the room wasn’t very effective, and Hu Xiaoniu heard the sound of the PAW Patrol cartoon from inside, and then the door truly did not open for them again.

Wang Yun and Bai Waner looked at each other: “Brother Qing Chen… Why does this name sound somewhat familiar?”

At this time, they still hadn’t realized that one of their neighbors in this building was the direct descendant of Li’s Financial Group, while the other was the sole apprentice of Uncle Li Dong. They had traveled all the way to Los Angeles, yet they didn’t find the right person.

…

At this moment, the Qing Chen whom Li Tongyun had been talking about was standing in an alley on the south side of Los Angeles Cross Street.

The small alley had been around for some years, with the architecture being traditional Chinese and the streets laid with bluestone tiles, flanked by gray walls and black roof tiles.

When it rained, the water would gather on the roof tiles and then fall down along the edges.

The entrance to the Old Gold Shop was decorated with two red lanterns, and a blackboard was placed at the door, reading: “We buy gifts, gold, caterpillar fungus, ginseng at high prices.”

Qing Chen, with his hoodie hood up, asked, “How do you buy gold?”

The old man who was weaving a bamboo basket inside glanced at him and said, “Do you have a receipt?”

“No,” Qing Chen shook his head.

A receipt referred to the purchase receipt for gold, which could prove the origin of the gold.

Normally, gold buyers require this to prevent trading problematic gold. Regular pawn shops wouldn’t accept gold without a receipt.

The old man looked at him and put down the bamboo basket, saying, “Without a receipt, it’s tough. If you truly want to sell, I’ll give you 220 per gram, and I won’t ask where you got it from.”

The current gold price was 380 per gram.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and replied, “Deal, 39 grams.”

8580 yuan was already a substantial amount of money for him, at least enough to alleviate his pressing needs.