CSGM - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Peking University Cousin

"What did you say? Who do you think you are?"

The shop owner looked over, his expression impatient.

Chu Xi: "A wine seller, an actress."

Hearing she was an actress, the shop owner became even more displeased. "I'm educating my son. When did it become your turn to speak? Are you more educated than my son? My son is going to university in the future!"

He looked Chu Xi up and down. Her face was indeed striking. He admitted there was a gap in appearance between celebrities and ordinary people, but-

He never admired people who made a living off their looks!

He looked up to intellectuals!

Knowledge is power! Making his son study hard was the right path!

"Oh." Chu Xi beckoned with her finger to the high school boy. "Come here. Let me see the problem."

The reason the shop owner's son liked celebrities was that he was a sucker for good looks—he just loved good-looking actors and idols with a certain aura.

This was the first time he had seen Chu Xi. Her cool, defined features, her aloof aura, and that inexplicable swaggering vibe fiercely struck a chord in his looks-obsessed heart!

He felt that Chu Xi was better-looking than many of the popular girl group idols on TV!

He had no resistance whatsoever to Chu Xi beckoning him over!

The high school student swiftly presented his math test paper to Chu Xi.

This paper… was a real mess.

Chu Xi skipped past the messy corrections at the beginning and looked directly at the last, blank major question.

It was the final, most challenging question on solid geometry. The diagram on the right showed a solid polyhedron that looked very difficult.

But it only looked that way.

Chu Xi magnanimously thought to herself that even if this little brother wasn't an entertainer, she could still spend five minutes guiding him.

Seeing her return the paper to his son after just a glance, the shop owner scoffed, "What's the use of you looking at it? Don't tell me you can solve it?"

"All you do is scold, not teach. If I can't solve it, am I supposed to rely on you?"

Chu Xi said this faintly, a corner of her lips curling up. She turned and tore three sticky notes from the message board behind her.

Just then, Luo Yangtian, curious why she hadn't come out yet, walked back into the shop to check. Chu Xi twirled a pen she had picked up from the table and said, "Give me five minutes."

The shop owner watched her scribble on the sticky notes, not knowing what she was writing, and replied disdainfully:

"I'm not a scholar, so of course I can't do it. But my son's cousin-my nephew! He got into Peking University the year before last. He's a top student in the math department there now. He can tutor my son anytime!"

As he spoke, the shop owner started calling his nephew. It just so happened that his nephew was home for the weekend. He cordially invited him to the shop for a bite to eat and to tutor his son in math.

The person on the other end agreed readily. After ending the call, the shop owner said to his son with satisfaction:

"Your cousin will be here in a bit. Ask him about any problems you don't understand. You need to learn from your cousin. He got into Peking University by studying hard. I'm so envious of your aunt and uncle…"

It was as if "other people's children" were the ideal he always talked about.

The high schooler turned away, muttering with a frustrated expression for the wall to see, "Uncle is a postdoc, too. They just have good genes…"

Chu Xi chuckled when she heard that.

She put the pen down, stood up, and said to the high schooler, "Alright, I'm leaving. Study hard."

"Sister, can you give me an autograph… Hey, sister…!"

Too late. When Chu Xi left, she never looked back.

The shop owner's voice continued to scold from behind, "What are you still looking at? Your eyes are about to pop out of your head! What's so good to look at? Hurry up and sort out the problems you don't understand. Your cousin is a top student from Peking University. Isn't that better than these celebrities? You little brat, you don't know what's good for you…"

The last camera followed Chu Xi out of the snack shop.

But on the bullet comments, the audience was still howling for more-

【Can you leave a camera rolling in this shop? I want to see what the Peking University genius looks like!】

【I agree with both hands up! Cameraman, don't go! I also want to see the Peking University genius solve the final high school math problem!!!】

【I want to see the solution, +1!】

【I think you guys just want to see if the Peking University student will mess up a high school problem. After all, high school test makers are really trying to kill you~ lololololol】

【No joke, my cousin went to Tsinghua for four years, and when he came back and tried a final-year high school math practice test, he said he couldn't figure out the test maker's logic anymore.】

【Only high school dogs understand the pain of major math problems :)】

【How come no one is paying attention to what Chu Xi just wrote on the sticky notes?】

【Why should we pay attention to her? She should be completely ignored, hahahahaha.】

【Can't see clearly. She probably left some words cursing out the owner. (smirk.JPG)】

---

At this moment, Ren Zhi and Xiao Han's team had already sold two bottles of Hanmoni red wine, earning 3,376 yuan.

Xiao Han was full of confidence, a smile on his face, very satisfied with their sales efficiency.

But Ren Zhi's face showed no joy of success.

On this Tea Horse Road, a few more groups of pedestrians approached.

Xiao Han spotted a group of young women in their early twenties and walked up to them with the wine.

"Hello, beautiful ladies. Would you like to buy a bottle of the red wine we have on sale right now? This is the classic Hanmoni dry red. It has a rich aroma and a mellow taste. If you buy a bottle to try, it will definitely give you an unexpected experience…"

"You're Xiao Han?" The girls recognized him at a glance, then looked behind him and screamed at the top of their lungs, "Ahhhhhhh-, Ren Zhi!!! It's Ren Zhi!!!"

Seeing Xiao Han, they were just surprised. But seeing Ren Zhi, they were so surprised they felt like they were ascending to heaven!

Who wasn't a casual fan of Ren Zhi these days?

A beautiful sister with both looks and acting skills-anyone who saw her would fall in love!

Ren Zhi's skin condition was just too good! As expected of a celebrity, she looked just as good as she did in her retouched photos!

-When Ren Zhi walked over, this was the thought running through the minds of the fans, who were enveloped in happiness right where they stood.

The peak beauty of domestic entertainment lived up to her name! A feast for the eyes!

"Do you girls drink?" Ren Zhi's voice was both charming and clear, like bubbles rising from a cocktail. Even other girls could get lost in it.

"We don't usually… oh! But we could give it a try!"

Xiao Han smiled. "Indeed, you should give this red wine a try. It'll open the door to a new world for you… Whether you buy it for a small gathering with your sisters or to drink with your boyfriend, it's an excellent choice…"

But Ren Zhi said, "This bottle of red wine costs 1,688 yuan. It's not cheap. If you don't have a need for red wine, I suggest you reconsider."

Xiao Han turned back, gave Ren Zhi a strange look, and chimed in with a smile, "Zhizhi, don't ruin the sale. The customers already said they want to buy it and try it. How about this: we'll each sign the bottle to show that we're the ones who sold it."

The girls, whose eyes had wavered after hearing the price, now had conflicted expressions after hearing what Xiao Han said.

An "autograph" was incredibly tempting to them.

The young women looked at each other, seemingly struggling to make a decision, but it was clear they were becoming more and more swayed standing in front of Ren Zhi and Xiao Han.

"Hanmoni's wine, you won't regret buying it…" Xiao Han wanted to say more, but Ren Zhi interrupted and pulled him away.

"You're students, right? Alcoholic beverages aren't really suitable for you. You can drink them later in life. Brother Han, let's find other customers. Come on, let's go over there…"

"Hey, Zhizhi! Hey, hey-"

Just when the deal was about to close, Ren Zhi pulled him away.

Xiao Han watched the girls walk away into the distance and asked Ren Zhi with a frustrated laugh, "What are you doing? Aren't we selling wine anymore?"

With no one else around, Ren Zhi spoke frankly. "I just feel we shouldn't chase people down asking if they want to buy wine. Brother Han, when you just grab someone and walk up to them like that, a lot of people feel too embarrassed to refuse…"

She sighed. "What I mean is, we could give the customers a little space to choose freely."

Xiao Han was speechless. "I didn't force them to buy it."

"Brother Han, but the way you…"

Ren Zhi looked at Xiao Han, maintaining a smile, but she paused, hesitating for a moment before voicing her thoughts.

"This wine isn't cheap. We should find people who truly feel it's worth the price to buy it-people who are buying it for the wine itself, not because we're the ones selling it…"

Right. Because they were celebrities, they inherently had a celebrity effect.

Ren Zhi realized that for the two bottles they had just sold, the customers hadn't really had time to think and had paid half-heartedly under Xiao Han's aggressive sales pitch.

And what Xiao Han had just said wasn't even about selling wine anymore; it was blatantly about selling autographs, selling their celebrity status.

Xiao Han clearly disagreed.

"Zhizhi, I don't think you get it. This is our advantage."

Xiao Han brushed the dust off his suit and emphasized, "This is also a sales skill, okay?"

It's a reality show, after all. If there weren't some unpleasant sparks, it wouldn't be a reality show.

The live stream moderator, enjoying the drama, even added a "PK" special effect in the air between the two celebrities.

The audience's emotions were ignited.

【Ren Zhi is right. Xiao Han's approach is too aggressive and makes people uncomfortable.】

【Does Xiao Han not realize it's just the celebrity effect? He actually thinks his sales skills are great… ummm…】

【Exactly! If it weren't for the fact that they're celebrities, who would buy such expensive wine!】

【I like Ren Zhi. Her values are upright.】

【Please, before you flame Xiao Han, look at the situation. Without the two bottles he sold, the restaurant's starting capital would still be 0.】

【How is the wine Brother Han sells not worth 1688? I'd buy mineral water from him! Besides, he's just trying to complete the mission. A serious man is very handsome!】

【Can the brain-dead fans please stop showing off their IQ…】

A small war inexplicably broke out in the bullet comments.

The discussion between the two main parties also ended without resolution due to their disagreement.

In the end, it was Ren Zhi who broke the ice, changing the subject. "There's a square nearby. Let's go sell where there are more people."

"Mm, fine." Xiao Han didn't say anything more, following Ren Zhi with a sour look on his face.

The two arrived at the south side of the square, while the three-person team had already gone to the north side.

Ren Zhi looked around and suggested, "Brother Han, why don't we find a shop and borrow a table to set up a stall here? It would feel a bit more official."

Xiao Han put on his sunglasses, his face sullen, and said tersely, "Okay."

Seeing he was still in a mood, Ren Zhi ignored him. With a proper celebrity smile on her face, she scanned the area for a suitable shop to borrow a table from.

-There was a snack shop over there.

The small tables in the snack shop should be quite suitable.

As she pushed open the door to the snack shop and walked in, some people in the bullet comments laughed wildly, while others grew anxious.

【Dying of laughter. As expected of people from the same restaurant, they even managed to find the same shop.】

【Hahahahahaha, is the owner going to be stunned? Another celebrity coming to sell him wine! Twice in one day!】

【Ahhhhh, Zhizhi, don't go in there! The owner of this shop will curse you out!!!】

【I'm fine with him yelling at Chu Xi, but if he yells at Zhizhi, I'll seriously be heartbroken!】

The cameraman followed Ren Zhi into the shop, and the sound of someone explaining a problem carried into the live stream.

"The length of MN is equal to the length of AM times the sine of angle MAN… this angle is 30 degrees plus X, so this angle…"

Next to the shop owner's son's previously empty seat, there was now a handsome male university student, holding a pen and pointing at a draft paper as he taught the boy.

That was undoubtedly the nephew from Peking University the shop owner had mentioned.

Although the camera only casually swept over the draft paper on the table, the engrossed audience all saw the densely packed solution process written on it.

Help… just looking at it makes me feel like I'm suffocating!

【Looks like the top student solved the problem.】

【For those of you who wanted him to fail, you're dreaming, aren't you? Didn't you hear the owner say he's also in the math department at university?】

【Awesome. The answer takes up a whole page. I'm not sure I could even copy it correctly.】

【Is anyone concerned about whether the owner's son is dead or alive? Hahahaha, he looks just like me in math class, with no will to live!】

【I can only say, the little brother's expression is very realistic.】

At this moment, the shop owner saw the familiar bottle of red wine in Ren Zhi's hand, and his face was full of astonishment-again?

Before Ren Zhi could speak, he quickly glanced at her and preemptively interrupted, "Wait a minute! Wait until my son is done listening!"

Ren Zhi nodded in understanding.

The Peking University cousin capped his pen. "And that's how it's done. Understand?"

The owner's son said drowsily, "Uh-huh…"

The owner snapped in their direction, "Your cousin asked if you understood! Speak properly!"

The owner's son still replied, "Uh-huh…"

He heard it, but he didn't understand.

The Peking University cousin glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "Don't force him. This problem is a bit difficult. It even took me ten minutes to solve… The difficulty is probably beyond the curriculum. Even the college entrance exam questions aren't this hard."

He let out a breath and picked up his cousin's test paper. "Let me explain some other problems to you… Huh? What's this?"

The sticky notes Chu Xi had left under the test paper were finally revealed.

The younger cousin blinked, slapped his forehead, and said that the female celebrity from before had clearly written something for him on sticky notes. How had he lost them in the blink of an eye? So they were here!

"Oh! This is what a celebrity who was here just now left for me! Let me see…"

The younger cousin excitedly reached for them, only to grab at empty air.

The Peking University cousin held the sticky notes, dodging his hand. His eyes were fixed on them, unable to look away. The more he read, the more engrossed he became, and the more astonished his expression grew!

At first, he frowned, then his pupils dilated…

By the time the cousin had finished flipping through all three notes, he was so stunned he had almost forgotten to breathe!

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

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