Forced Me to Regress, Huh?

Chen Jieyu’s Moments truly embodied the word elegance.

Some people posted whatever they felt like on Moments, while others carefully crafted a consistent persona.

Chen Jieyu was undoubtedly the latter.

Cheng Zhu had never interacted with her before and had only heard some rumors, so he refrained from making any judgments.

He rarely let other people’s opinions sway his own.

Speaking of personas, it was worth mentioning the Moments of their cold-faced, old-looking, chubby roommate, Zheng Qingfeng.

His Moments was entirely empty. He had never posted anything, but he loved lurking and almost never gave anyone a like.

After the three of them finished scrolling through Chen Jieyu’s Moments, they exited it.

As soon as they did, they noticed a red notification dot on Cheng Zhu’s WeChat interface. He had nine new friend requests.

The three of them narrowed their eyes. Dong Dong said, “Old Cheng, check if they’re guys or girls.”

Cheng Zhu clicked on the requests and glanced through them: five guys and four girls had added him through the group chat.

“Damn, four girls added you on WeChat?” Dong Dong gritted his teeth.

There were only 11 girls in all of Computer Science Class 2…

Next, the three of them moved in perfect sync, taking out their phones with beautiful fantasies in their minds.

There were indeed some friend requests, but only one was from a girl: Chen Tingting.

At first, they were ecstatic. This natural beauty added me too!

But on second thought, they realized she was one of the temporary leaders during military training, so she must have added everyone in the class.

Dong Dong looked at Cheng Zhu and said in a negotiating tone, “Brother Zhu, have you considered switching majors?”

On the way back to their dorm, the boys’ conversation revolved entirely around the girls in their class.

Although there were only 11 girls in total, these three horndogs still managed to keep the topic going the entire way.

“I think Chen Tingting is the prettiest. She’s not even wearing makeup. Imagine if she did. She’d definitely look better than Zhao Qianrou.”

“Fine, but Zhao Qianrou is definitely a D!”

“Chen Tingting is really fair. Her skin looks amazing.”

“True, but Zhao Qianrou is a D!”

“Liu Yi’s pretty.”

“Old Zheng, you’re usually so quiet, but it turns out you’re into the heavy makeup type?”

In the end, the three of them unanimously agreed: the most stunning one was still their counselor!

The three chatterboxes turned to look at Cheng Zhu, who was trailing behind. Dong Dong asked curiously, “Old Cheng, who are you chatting with? You’re walking so slow. Tell them quickly. Isn’t Chen Tingting the best in our class?!”

Cheng Zhu hadn’t joined their lively conversation. He calmly followed behind, typing away on his phone.

He ignored Dong Dong’s second question and replied, “I’m chatting with the counselor.”

In an instant, the three horndogs froze in their tracks. Dong Dong gave him another air slap.

Damn it! Why does my mouth always betray me at critical moments?!

We haven’t even dared to add her as a friend, and you’re already chatting with her?

“Brother Zhu, what excuse did you use to strike up a conversation with the counselor?” Liu Feng asked sincerely, as though he were seeking advice from a master.

Start the lecture. I’ll kneel and listen!

He had a gut feeling he could learn a lot from Cheng Zhu over the next four years. He was suddenly brimming with a thirst for knowledge, eager and full of motivation!

“I didn’t. She reached out to me and asked me why I didn’t run for temporary leader during military training.”

“Huh? Seriously?!” Dong Dong was dumbfounded.

Unbelievable. From the looks of it, the counselor must see you as leadership material and regret you didn’t step up!

“What’s so strange about it? Isn’t it normal?” Cheng Zhu said calmly.

“Self-motivated competition is one thing, but the counselor having her own preferred candidate is another. Maybe she’s hinting that I should run for a class committee position later,” Cheng Zhu said earnestly.

“But why?” Dong Dong still couldn’t make sense of it.

It was only the official registration day for first-years, and everyone had barely interacted—just a single session where they gave a brief self-introduction.

There wasn’t anything special about Cheng Zhu’s introduction either. It couldn’t possibly be because he was the first to grab a piece of chalk and write his name on the blackboard, could it?

Why did the beautiful counselor seem to favor him so much?

“Maybe she thinks I’m the face of Computer Science Class 2, our class’s gilded business card, and the most eye-catching poster boy of the School of Information?” Cheng Zhu said.

The three of them: “…”

Every person carried an indescribable quality. It was what people commonly referred to as a ‘vibe’.

Perhaps the vibe he gave the counselor was simply different from that of the other male students.

To be fair, it made sense. After all, he was a regressor.

The air of immaturity and naivety typical of college students was barely noticeable in him.

Look at his three roommates. Dong Dong suddenly jumped up and made an imaginary basketball shot at a tree.

Liu Feng, not to be outdone, took two steps back and mimicked a long-range shot. “I made a three-pointer!”

Roles like class monitors were basically the counselors’ right-hand assistants. These positions directly impacted how the counselors would carry out their responsibilities later.

Of course, Cheng Zhu wasn’t a roundworm in Chen Jieyu’s stomach. Only she knew what she was thinking.

Still, Cheng Zhu thought, Perhaps this counselor really has an eye for talent.

At this moment, Liu Feng asked curiously, “Brother Zhu, how did you reply to Teacher Chen?”

“Next time for sure,” Cheng Zhu said with a laugh.

“Awesome!” The three of them actually bought it.

Once back in the dorm room, Cheng Zhu received a message from Wang Anquan.

“Brother Zhu, a ton of stores are jumping on the bandwagon with comic-style product photos! These copycats deserve to die!”

“It doesn’t matter. This can’t be stopped. As long as we keep our momentum, it’s fine. Anyway, my new designs are launching soon.”

Due to the Nofap Bar, comics of this style had stirred up quite a buzz across the internet.

With the store already experiencing a surge in orders, the combination of the two factors had resulted in a windfall. In just a few days, the profits had already matched the total from the previous month.

If the momentum continued, it would be easy to break into the top ten in the category.

In the following days, Cheng Zhu planned to launch a batch of trendy new products. He was confident he could set a trend.

You thought the stepmother dress was my trump card?

That was just an appetizer!

In his past life, he had used plenty of sexy lingerie, so how could he not know which designs were both stylish and functional?

—Experience leads to true knowledge! It still had to be hands-on practice!

I have to make as much money as I can in the next few years. E-commerce platforms will only get more competitive, and in a few years, this kind of store won’t work anymore. By then, it’ll be outdated, and new strategies will be needed, Cheng Zhu thought.

Not focusing on domestic sales and exporting is another option.

After chatting with Wang Anquan about work, he started to take an interest in his brother’s college life.

“Brother Zhu, I’m doing great. My roommates already call me Brother Anquan.”

“Brother Anquan, what kind of silly name is that?”

“Not bad, right? Isn’t it cool?”

Wang Anquan was also studying in Hangzhou, but his school was quite far from Sci-Tech University and a bit less prestigious.

However, Cheng Zhu thought about how he had just paid him a decent salary, and since Wang Anquan had grown a lot recently, there was no reason he should struggle in college.

What he didn’t know was that Wang Anquan had memorized a lot of his ‘wise sayings’ and saved them in his phone’s notes.

Unexpectedly, he had actually used one of them on the first day of school.

His school started three days earlier than Sci-Tech University. On the first day of school, his roommates talked about everyone’s relationships.

One of Wang Anquan’s roommates had a situation similar to his past. The woman’s attitude towards him was hot and cold, and it didn’t turn out well in the end. He had been emotionally hurt and felt like a spare tire.

Hearing this, Wang Anquan immediately gazed out of the window with a deep expression and said in a low voice, “When you’re showering and the water temperature suddenly changes between hot and cold, you know that means someone is sharing the water with you.”

One word: legendary!

He had memorized all of Cheng Zhu’s sayings and finally got the chance to use one!

His roommates instantly burst into dramatic howls.

You get it! You really get it!

From then on, he became Brother Anquan in the dorm room. Everyone began asking him how to protect their love lives in the future!

* * *

At night, the room leader of Room 309, Dong Dong, organized their first team-building activity—gaming at an internet cafe!

But Cheng Zhu declined again.

“Huh? Old Cheng, you’re not joining again?” Dong Dong was taken aback.

“I have something to do tonight,” Cheng Zhu replied.

“Okay, sure.” They didn’t press him.

In fact, the three of them vaguely felt that Cheng Zhu’s relationship with them was sometimes distant, sometimes close.

Although they were close in their day-to-day interactions, there was an underlying sense that they were from different worlds.

As they left the dorm and headed towards the internet cafe, they discussed this topic more deeply.

“I keep feeling that when Old Cheng hangs out with us, it’s like… there’s a term for it. What is it again? Up, down…?” Dong Dong couldn’t think of the exact term.

The cold-faced, chubby Zheng Qingfeng said calmly, “It’s downward compatible.”

“Yeah, that’s right! It always feels like he’s downward compatible!”

Liu Feng walked beside them in silence. He had already been calling him Brother Zhu for a reason.

As he looked at the tree-lined avenues on campus, he thought to himself, I must pave a wider path for myself.

* * *

Meanwhile, after his roommates left, Cheng Zhu closed his eyes and rested for ten minutes.

Now, Keep Coming’s business was thriving, with the situation looking very promising.

The store still needed continuous investment, and he couldn’t skimp on the operational costs.

But he could already start withdrawing some profits.

How should I spend it? How can I make this money work for me? Cheng Zhu started planning in his mind.

With this thought, he suddenly remembered that he still owed Little Youzi a bubble tea shop and a claw machine shop.

He got up from his bed, planning to check out the streets outside the school.

He personally leaned towards opening a small claw machine shop first.

As mentioned earlier, it was a short-term venture for quick cash. No one had done anything like this these days, and with a bit of effort, it could easily become an internet-famous shop.

Some things were just that strange.

Which arcade didn’t have claw machines?

But if a shop only had claw machines and was full of them, it would inexplicably attract a female crowd, making it internet famous—a must-visit hotspot for check-ins and selfies.

It was similar to popular instant noodle shops and had a similar vibe.

Cheng Zhu knew there was no future in opening a claw machine shop. It wouldn’t make much money and wouldn’t last long.

But he didn’t want it to stay open for long.

In his plan, this shop wasn’t meant to make big money. It was more about getting a feel for things.

He wanted to experience the process of earning money from young people and learn more about them in 2014.

Some things might not succeed if you approached them with a mindset from the future.

It wasn’t good to be too ahead of the times. Failing to consider the context of the era was just nonsense.

Moreover, in his past life, his main focus had been online business, and he had done very little with offline investments.

Hmm, it’s definitely not because once this shop becomes an internet-famous shop, it’ll sweep across the entire college town, attracting countless young women to check in and take selfies, with an endless stream of girls every day.

Definitely not!

I’m just a good brother fulfilling my little sister’s wish for a claw machine shop. What bad intentions could I possibly have?

On this slightly warm evening, Cheng Zhu leisurely strolled outside the campus.

Along the way, a girl added him as a friend, but it was actually on behalf of her best friend, who was too shy to approach herself.

This was one of the common patterns on college campuses: girls adding boys as friends. Generally speaking, they weren’t using the ‘my friend’ routine. Handsome guys should have experienced this before.

Sometimes, when this happened, you might get caught up in fantasizing, wondering what her friend, whom you haven’t met, looked like.

As Cheng Zhu walked along the street outside the campus, he glanced around, surveying the situation.

While doing so, he spotted a familiar figure in a fruit shop.

Shen Qingning was alone, picking fruits with her head lowered.

Important note: Lin Lu wasn’t with her, so she was alone for the time being.

The lights shone on her, and the naturally fair-skinned girl stood out even more under the glow.

She bent down slightly, and her long hair fell to block her vision, so she raised a hand to sweep it behind her ear.

A few unruly strands of hair still scattered around her delicate face. The breeze from the air conditioner blew them gently, causing them to sway, adding a touch of messy yet breathtaking beauty.

See, for beautiful people, even the wind and light seemed to know how to behave.

Cheng Zhu walked into the shop with a smile, his mind recalling the rumors and gossip about him and her on the forum.

Shen Qingning, who had picked out a yellow dragon fruit, slowly raised her head. She was slightly nearsighted and usually wore contact lenses, though she occasionally opted for glasses. Today, she had brought her glasses to school, but she had left them in her car.

So when she looked at the person beside her, she squinted slightly, her eyes appearing a bit confused, which softened the coldness and aloofness in her expression.

Cheng Zhu grinned at the sight. He simply greeted her, and her slightly confused, beautiful eyes widened. Under the bright lights of the fruit shop, they sparkled.

“Hello, rumored girlfriend.”