Forced Me to Regress, Huh?

“Pfft—!” Cheng Zhu’s three roommates couldn’t hold it in. Dong Dong and Liu Feng burst out laughing while the corners of Zheng Qingfeng’s mouth curled up!

He tried his best to suppress his laughter, clenching his expression until it looked like he was about to cry.

“Get lost and go die!”

“Watch your mouth!”

“Go die peacefully.”

Dong Dong felt that Old Cheng was so damn talented. He was dying of laughter!

From what Old Cheng said, no matter what that guy said, he has to die, huh? He silently memorized these words, thinking he might have the chance to say them one day.

The entire class erupted in laughter.

Although Cheng Zhu was clearly scolding someone, and his words were quite harsh, the atmosphere didn’t turn tense, nor did it spoil the relaxed mode of the class during the break.

However, the laughter was ear-piercing to Li Xianqiang’s ears.

No matter how he listened, he kept feeling that everyone was laughing at him.

His entire face flushed red, and veins began to bulge on his neck.

At this moment, the drill instructor of Computer Science Class 2 jogged back.

The instructors had just wrapped a brief meeting, discussing plans for later. They planned to gather students from different classes on the sports field for an evening event, complete with performances and entertainment.

Their consensus was that it would be better not to limit the event to just the School of Information Science and Technology.

Although they were proper instructors, not some untrained freelancers, they were still young men after all. Seeing the tragic gender ratio in the School of Information filled them with pity for the male students.

But after watching these computer science guys flounder for hours, they began to feel equally sorry for the handful of female students.

This instructor surnamed Feng jogged over, wanting to announce the event as a bit of good news before resuming the training.

But as soon as he returned, he noticed the class’s unusual atmosphere.

He couldn’t put it into words. The air seemed to be brimming with cheerfulness and lively energy.

Wow, these kids are already having so much fun. Maybe there’s no need to hold the cross-school event? Instructor Feng thought.

He called for everyone to assemble and ordered them back into formation to stand at attention.

Li Xianqiang didn’t dare to say a word in front of the instructor, afraid of being punished. Even though he was seething with anger, he had to keep his mouth shut.

As for Cheng Zhu, he didn’t care much. After joking around with Dong Dong and the others, he returned to the formation.

Cheng Zhu had two reasons for insulting Li Xianqiang. First, he was already low on patience with him. Initially, he had spoken with some restraint, but when Li Xianqian kept pushing and even blamed him for not giving him face in public, Cheng Zhu knew exactly how to handle him.

Second, this guy was the temporary leader for the military training and would most likely become a class committee member later. So Cheng Zhu figured it was best to nip things in the bud, making it clear not to throw his cadre ‘authority’ around or come bother him in the future.

Of course, the same applied to any other future class committee members. They had better not bother him either. His main principle was to treat everyone equally.

But he suspected that this stubborn blockhead might still try something later.

Meanwhile, Instructor Feng leisurely informed everyone about the upcoming evening event, and other classes from different faculties would attend too.

As soon as he finished speaking, the students of Computer Science Class 2 were all excited, as if they had been injected with pure adrenaline.

Even Cheng Zhu felt a little anticipation.

What was the saying?

—Campus entertainment still hinges on female students.

Ever since short video platforms became popular, this phrase had been widely circulated, and for good reason.

In the entertainment industry, female celebrities’ singing and dancing abilities were often the subject of ridicule, but here, female college students were all outstanding in both.

Each one of them could perform these tasks with skill!

—College life was indeed wonderful.

For some reason, Cheng Zhu suddenly thought of Lin Lu. If this silly girl got called up to perform, would she mimic an anime character?

As for him, he would definitely not go on stage to perform.

Sure, at times like this, anyone who could perform well would be able to secure priority in choosing a partner in their college life.

But for Cheng Zhu, this privilege was utterly useless.

More than an hour later, the class counselor, Chen Jieyu, reappeared.

She had been here a few hours ago, but now, she had come back in a completely different outfit.

Good grief, she could change her looks better than an English teacher.

With a parasol in hand, she walked over to Instructor Feng and spoke a few words with him.

Hearing what she said, the instructor quickly called for everyone to rest.

Chen Jieyu looked at temporary military training leader Li Xianqiang and said, “Li Xianqiang, I bought a few cases of water for our class. Could you please get a few of the boys to get them?”

If this were during training, it would be a good opportunity to slack off.

But now that they were resting on the spot, these exhausted scrawny or chubby guys didn’t want to move a muscle.

They were sitting down with their legs stretched out in front of them. If someone told them to go work, they’d lie down and make an excuse to avoid it.

Chen Jieyu observed Li Xianqiang from the side. She was full of the deplorable behavior of someone in a higher position overseeing others.

Li Xianqiang first called the roommate he had the best relationship with and then turned his gaze to Cheng Zhu.

“Cheng Zhu,” he called out.

Here it comes! It was the classic situation of using a small amount of authority to give orders!

In high school, it wasn’t so bad. But in college, people like this started to appear. Once they entered society, such people became abundant.

After all, their authority was small, so when they got the chance, they had to use it, right?

Just now, Li Xianqiang had felt he had lost face. Now, in front of the whole class, with Teacher Chen also present, he wanted to force Cheng Zhu into doing manual labor.

Cheng Zhu remained seated on the ground, unmoving. His right hand casually tossed the nearly empty bottle of mineral water, letting it rise and fall repeatedly.

This man with upturned eyebrows wasn’t pretending not to hear because his eyes were locked squarely on Li Xianqiang.

Yeah, I heard you, but I’m not getting up.

“Hurry up,” Li Xianqiang urged.

Cheng Zhu kept looking at him, continuing to toss the nearly empty bottle, still seated, still silent.

“Hey! Hurry up. Lou Dong and I are waiting for you!” Li Xianqiang raised his voice.

But the person sitting opposite him still didn’t budge. He just kept staring at him.

—Talking to idiots is exhausting. Might as well use the silent treatment.

If he kept up the silent treatment long enough, it would inevitably reach the classic stage of ‘He’s getting anxious, he’s getting anxious’.

Chen Jieyu looked at the situation here and walked over gracefully, holding her parasol and dressed in a stylish office lady outfit.

Seeing this, Liu Feng quickly stood up and said, “I’ll go! I’ll go! I was thinking of buying some wet wipes anyway.”

Cheng Zhu glanced at Liu Feng in surprise. Chuan’er is kind of interesting.

Li Xianqiang indeed had ‘authority’, but he didn’t have the courage to unleash it fully. Even when it came to singling someone out, he hesitated. Seeing Liu Feng smoothing things over, he could only nod with a sour expression.

This guy was the type who was bad but not bad enough, good but not good enough either—a combination that made it easy to look down on him.

Counselor Chen Jieyu glanced at the retreating figures of Li Xianqiang and the others, then turned to Cheng Zhu, who was still sitting leisurely. This only reinforced her earlier thoughts. The others in the class really can’t keep him in check. I hope he doesn’t cause me any trouble in the coming days.

After making her presence known by generously buying a few cases of water for the class, the counselor left.

The sun was blazing, and she wasn’t keen on standing under it.

College counselors were different from high school homeroom teachers, and the difference was significant.

After Chen Jieyu left, Dong Dong and Zheng Qingfeng immediately came over and huddled around Cheng Zhu. “Brother Zhu, you’re awesome. You gave that idiot the cold shoulder right in front of the counselor.”

“Aren’t you afraid of annoying Teacher Chen?” Dong Dong asked.

“Why would that upset her? She told Li Xianqiang to get people to carry the water. To her, his job is to get the task done.

“If I don’t want to go, then just ask someone else. It’s not a big deal. Standing there awkwardly like that only wastes time and makes it seem like he’s inefficient and unable to adapt.

“When someone assigns a task, what they care about is the result, the efficiency. Does she have time to care about your petty squabbles?” Cheng Zhu explained.

In high school, the homeroom teachers had to worry about the class’s graduation rates. As long as they felt something could be vaguely connected to academics, they would intervene—right down to your haircut.

But counselors? They were salaried employees and the most basic staff in a college. There were many who just did the bare minimum, and some barely showed up all semester.

“Huh? That actually makes some sense. How do you know this stuff?” Dong Dong asked again. “My father runs a company. Old Cheng, don’t tell me your family has a big company too?”

You never miss an opportunity to show off, Young Master Dong.

Because I was that kind of insufferable boss in my past life, Cheng Zhu thought.

But since the conversation had come to this point, well, sorry, everyone, I’m laying my cards on the table! I’m a big boss!

Cheng Zhu looked at Dong Dong and said seriously, “Actually, I occasionally run small businesses myself.”

“Huh?” Dong Dong was stunned. “What do you sell?”

In his mind, his greatest sense of superiority over Cheng Zhu was his superior family background.

But now? He had just started school and was already running his own businesses?

Was it just messing around at the campus gate and setting up a stall to sell phone cases?

Or did he resell equipment in online games?

“What I used to do isn’t worth mentioning. I will rent two shops outside campus in a few days to open a shop.” Cheng Zhu hid his identity as an adult product tycoon and selectively revealed some of his background.

Heh, the lingerie I’ve sold is enough for every girl in our college to own a few pieces! I’m afraid I’ll shock you to death if I say it!

He chose to reveal this now because he had plans to get his roommates to help him when the time came.

In an instant, Dong Dong felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The stores near the campus were in a prime location, and rent there wasn’t cheap.

Renting two shops and investing in opening a store right after starting college? This wasn’t something an ordinary family could manage.

Young Master Cheng, were you playing undercover agent in the dorm room with us? Doing some private inspection in civilian clothes?

If word of this got out to the rest of the class, wouldn’t he just steal the spotlight again?

Men still needed careers!

Have you forgotten one of the desirable traits for women?

—Men who work hard are the most attractive!

A voice screamed in Dong Dong’s mind. Dad! I want to open a shop too!

Zheng Qingfeng, sitting nearby, looked slightly calmer.

In fact, his family background was much better than Dong Dong’s. He wore a Cartier watch that cost tens of thousands of yuan. It was only 2014, and he received a monthly allowance of ten thousand yuan, which was enough for a lavish college lifestyle.

Unlike Dong Dong, who received five thousand a month but claimed it was six thousand to others.

This cold-faced, old-looking, chubby guy wasn’t so easily shaken. After all, he was a low-profile rich second-generation heir himself, and his family was in real estate.

Moreover, he had already noticed Old Cheng frequently stepping out to take phone calls and working on his computer, looking pretty busy, so he had already made some guesses.

However, what Cheng Zhu said next made him feel a chill in his heart.

“I’m planning to open a shop dedicated entirely to claw machines,” Cheng Zhu continued, revealing more.

Dong Dong frowned slightly. “Aren’t those things everywhere in arcades? Can you earn money with that? I feel like it’s not a good idea. What are you thinking?”

Heh! This is why your perception is lacking!

Zheng Qingfeng had a completely different reaction. His first thought was: This shop will be filled with rows and rows of girls!

Of course, there would be plenty of couples coming in together, but wouldn’t there also be single ladies?

Were they coming just to catch plushies?

No! They were coming to catch my heart!

Therefore, Cheng Zhu heard the longest sentence he’d gotten from the tight-lipped Zheng Qingfeng.

“Brother Zhu, can I invest a little bit of money into your claw machine shop?”

Well, well, this aloof guy has finally learned to address me as brother.

But as for the investment? Nah, that’s a headache. Partnering up with friends leads to too many complications.

Cheng Zhu chatted with his two roommates for a bit more before remembering that he hadn’t spoken with Shen Qingning about renting her shops.

So he pulled out his phone and sent a message to rich Lady Shen.

It was worth mentioning that he hadn’t added her on WeChat until recently, and even after he did, he wasn’t active in chatting with her.

This time, however, it was his first time taking the initiative to message Shen Qingning.

Meanwhile, Liu Feng and the others, who were on their way to the supermarket to carry water, ran into Lin Lu, who was shopping for a laptop.