Guan Baiyu always felt that most clothes were pretty much the same, especially men's clothing.

The only difference is the color.

So when he picked out clothes for Shi Zhen, he only looked at whether the colors were suitable.

However, Liang Qinxuan was clearly different. Even though they were the same style of white T-shirts with letter patterns, Liang Qinxuan felt that they were different.

In his interactions with Liang Qinxuan, Guan Baiyu clearly realized that Liang Qinxuan and he were completely different in many ways.

People who used to go hungry and cold would find it hard to understand Liang Qinxuan's pickiness.

Liang Qinxuan wanted to continue trying on clothes, so Guan Baiyu waited outside the fitting room, while looking at Sun Qiqi's grandmother with confusion—this person hadn't left.

Moreover, he could sense that this person didn't seem to like him.

"Hello, I'm Sun Qiqi's grandmother." Fei Ping looked Guan Baiyu up and down.

"Hello," Guan Baiyu smiled, "We've met before."

Fei Ping had to admit that the boy in front of her was quite likable.

But the thought that this was a member of the Guan family made her displeased, and the fact that the other party was entangled with her granddaughter made her even angrier.

"Are you friends with my Qiqi?" Fei Ping asked.

"No." Guan Baiyu said without hesitation. He and Sun Qiqi had barely spoken a few words to each other, so they couldn't really be considered friends.

Fei Ping hadn't expected Guan Baiyu to answer like that, and the words she had planned to say were stuck in her throat. She scrutinized Guan Baiyu: "I heard your family doesn't have much money? Why do you buy so many clothes?"

Before Fei Ping retired, her position was not low. Although she had opinions about Guan Baiyu, she couldn't bring herself to confront him aggressively. She always tried to bring up a topic first.

Guan Baiyu replied, "My family is not short of money." He was indeed very poor before, but now... it's really not fair to say that his family is poor.

Fei Ping was speechless again, her heart full of advice stuck in her throat.

At this moment, Liang Qinxuan came out of the fitting room again and asked Guan Baiyu, "What about this one? Baiyu, what do you think?"

Guan Baiyu said, "I think it's the same as the previous one."

“How are they the same? The patterns are completely different!” Liang Qinxuan said.

As the two were talking, they heard Liang's father's voice: "Xiao Xuan?"

The joy on Liang Qinxuan's face vanished, replaced by a troubled expression.

He and his father never reconciled.

Guan Baiyu greeted him, "Uncle Liang." Guan Baiyu didn't like the fact that Liang's father had an affair, but he couldn't deny that Liang's father had helped them a lot.

Liang Qinxuan is someone else's own son, so they can treat him however they want, but he definitely can't.

"Xiaoyu, it's been a long time." After getting no response from his son, Liang's father greeted Guan Baiyu warmly.

Guan Baiyu smiled obediently.

At this moment, Liang's father also saw Fei Ping: "Director Fei, I didn't expect to see you here."

Before retiring, Fei Ping was the director of the municipal tax bureau and had dealt with Liang's father before. She smiled and nodded, "General Manager Liang."

"Xiaoyu, put the clothes you and Xiaoxuan bought on my tab," Liang's father said to Guan Baiyu, then casually added, "Director Fei, what do you want to buy? Put that on my tab too."

Fei Ping and Guan Baiyu spoke almost simultaneously: "President Liang, no need." "Uncle Liang, no need."

Although Fei Ping has retired, her son, two daughters, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law all hold good positions in various departments.

So there are quite a few people who want to befriend her.

Because of this, she is very cautious and will not try to take advantage of such small things.

However, Guan Baiyu's refusal surprised her a little, and she subconsciously glanced at Guan Baiyu.

Mr. Liang didn't actually expect Fei Ping to let him pay the bill, and he wasn't angry when they refused: "No need to be so formal."

“I’m not buying anything,” Fei Ping smiled. “But Mr. Liang’s son is at the age where he’s growing, so he should definitely buy more.”

"Yes, the child has grown taller recently," Mr. Liang said proudly.

With Mr. Liang present, Fei Ping didn't feel comfortable saying anything more to Guan Baiyu, so she simply started chatting with Mr. Liang: "Mr. Liang, I heard your son started a company? Is it called Huaguang Stationery? My granddaughter uses it too."

When Liang's father heard others talking about this, he got excited.

The year before, he divorced and remarried, and had a daughter. However, his daughter was almost murdered, and he was ridiculed in the industry. It wasn't until the last six months, when his son started a company, that he felt he could face people again.

Liang's father immediately began to speak.

He noticed that Fei Ping seemed very interested in Guan Baiyu, and even emphasized Guan Baiyu: "This company was actually Xiaoyu's idea, and it was Xiaoyu who started it with him. Although they are both still young, they are very reliable."

Fei Ping almost lost her composure.

Liang Qinxuan's company was actually co-owned with Guan Baiyu? How is that possible?

“I heard from someone that…his family doesn’t seem to have much money?” Fei Ping said.

"He's doing alright. His cousin is quite successful. He's started a construction team and is building factories for people. He has a lot of people working for him, and they're doing a good job," said Mr. Liang.

Mr. Liang had a good impression of Shi Zhen, so he took the opportunity to praise him. As is the habit of businessmen, he even made Shi Zhen sound even more impressive.

After saying that, Liang's father said to Guan Baiyu, "Xiaoyu, if you and Xiaoxuan want to open a factory next time, you can ask your brother to build the factory for you."

Guan Baiyu nodded generously: "Okay, Uncle Liang, if you want to build a factory, you can also ask my brother."

"Definitely, definitely," said Mr. Liang.

Fei Ping was now extremely grateful that she hadn't pressed Guan Baiyu for answers the moment she saw him.

If she really did that, she would lose all face.

She knew a bit about Liang's father; he was a cunning old fox.

If Guan Baiyu were truly someone who sponged off Liang Qinxuan, he certainly wouldn't have treated Guan Baiyu this way. Judging from his attitude towards Guan Baiyu... Guan Baiyu must be a decent person, and it's even quite possible that he can profit from Guan Baiyu.

The information she received regarding Guan Baiyu is definitely wrong!

Fei Ping felt embarrassed and became a little uncomfortable in front of Guan Baiyu. She said a few words casually and then left.

Guan Baiyu vaguely sensed that Fei Ping didn't like him, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

There are plenty of people who don't like him.

At that time, some people in the city or town naturally disliked and looked down on people from the countryside, and he felt that Fei Ping was the same way.

Meanwhile, Fei Ping returned home and saw her granddaughter watching TV while eating watermelon with three fingers raised.

Fei Ping walked over and asked, "I heard that your friend, Qiu Yunxin, is dating someone?"

Sun Qiqi felt a little guilty, but quickly said, "No! That's not true!"

Although Qiu Yunxin likes Guan Baiyu, she is not in love with him at all.

"Really?" Fei Ping asked.

Sun Qiqi said, "Of course it's true... She just has a slight crush on Guan Baiyu, but that's all."

"She likes Guan Baiyu?" Fei Ping was a little surprised, and at the same time realized that she had been tricked.

"Mmm." Sun Qiqi smiled shyly at her grandmother, "Grandma, please don't tell anyone."

“I won’t tell,” Fei Ping said. “So, it was Guan Baiyu’s idea for you to go to Anshan Town and her house last winter vacation?”

Sun Qiqi nodded.

"What exactly happened? Tell me in detail," Fei Ping asked.

After Sun Qiqi returned home that time, she talked about some things in Anshan Town, but she was vague and didn't go into details at all.

Only when Fei Ping asked did she explain the whole story.

After listening, Fei Ping asked, "That Guan Baiyu, when he first enrolled, didn't seem poor?"

“Yes,” Sun Qiqi said.

“He’s probably not poor; he was probably just pretending that time,” Fei Ping said.

The Guan family was indeed not wealthy, but Guan Baiyu had a rich cousin, so they certainly weren't poor.

According to Liang's father, Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan started the factory together, and Guan Baiyu provided the money.

How poor can a family be if they're willing to spend money to set up a factory for a high school student?

And today, the clothes Guan Baiyu took cost over a thousand yuan, but he didn't even blink, and he didn't ask the Liang family for any money. You can tell at a glance that he's not poor.

"Pretending? No way?" Sun Qiqi was shocked.

Fei Ping was certain that her granddaughter wasn't interested in Guan Baiyu, but she didn't intend to say anything more: "Why are you asking this? Stop watching TV and go study your English."

Now, after thinking about it carefully, Fei Ping felt even more embarrassed.

People took her granddaughter to the hospital, paid the medical expenses in advance, and even lent her their notebooks... but she misunderstood them.

As for the Guan surname, she still didn't like the old woman in the Guan family, but she wouldn't hold a grudge against everyone.

During dinner, Fei Ping asked her daughter-in-law what kinds of demolition and construction projects were taking place in the city recently.

Fei Ping's daughter-in-law mentioned a few people; she works in the related field and has been really busy lately with various bidding processes and dinner parties.

Fei Ping said, "The cousin of the child who took Qiqi to the hospital before seems to be an engineer."

Fei Ping's daughter-in-law asked a few more questions.

They didn't know Guan Baiyu's cousin's name, and Sun Qiqi couldn't say either, but their family members all remembered the name Guan Baiyu.

Fei Ping had a lot of grievances against the Guan family, but the rest of the family didn't seem to care. For example, Fei Ping's son didn't spend much time with his older brother, who had died young... Death is a serious matter, and he actually missed him quite a bit now.

Although his older brother was like a firecracker at first, he got older and occasionally came home from the construction team, so his relationship with them was actually quite good.

Fei Ping mentioned Guan Baiyu so that her family could have a chance to look after him.

Sun Qiqi heard it too, but didn't realize anything, only saying, "I wonder where Guan Baiyu will rank in the grade this time."

Guan Baiyu was lucky this time, ranking second in the grade.

The top student in the grade is still that same academically gifted girl, while the second-ranked boy didn't do well because the math exam was a bit easy this time, but the English exam was a bit difficult.

He enjoys studying challenging mathematical problems and had already planned to participate in math competitions in his junior and senior years of high school, so he kept working on difficult problems.

If the math exam is difficult, he will definitely outshine everyone else.

Unfortunately, the math exam was easy this time, so he couldn't pull ahead in the score, and he also made a mistake by getting a math question wrong that he shouldn't have, resulting in a poor math score.

Guan Baiyu was extremely satisfied with his grades. The next day, when he walked out of the school gate and saw Shi Zhen waiting not far away, he felt even better: "Brother!"

Shi Zhen looked at the two large bags Guan Baiyu was carrying and was a little confused: "You have so much stuff?"

After the weather got hot a while ago, Guan Baiyu had already taken his bedding and other things home. Why is there still so much stuff?

"Brother, I bought you some clothes." Guan Baiyu smiled. He had spent over a thousand yuan on clothes yesterday, including a complete suit.

Those clothes weren't cheap, and his brother would definitely not lose face if he wore them out.

“I have enough clothes,” Shi Zhen said.

Guan Baiyu didn't say anything, picked up his clothes, and went with Shi Zhen to squeeze onto the bus.

The bus was packed with students like him who were going home for the holidays, carrying large bags and small packages. Luckily, they had arrived early and there were seats available.

The two were squeezed at the back of the car, and Guan Baiyu started to feel carsick again after sitting for a while.

Upon seeing this, Shi Zhen sighed inwardly.

He's increasingly eager to buy a car.

Tractors are always inconvenient; a car would be so much better...

However, even the cheapest cars these days cost fifty or sixty thousand yuan, which he really can't afford.

It only takes half an hour to drive from Changxi City to Anshan Town, but Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu didn't arrive at the Anshan Town bus station until an hour and a half later.

Shi Zhen's tricycle was parked here, so the two of them rode the tricycle to Shi Dalin's place first.

Shi Dalin invited them to come over for dinner today.

When Shi Zhen arrived at Shi Dalin's place on his tricycle, he was surprised to see Zhao Meiyun riding Zhao Qiujuan's bicycle.

She asked Zhao Qiujuan to help her, wanting to ride forward but hesitant and afraid.

Shi Zhen said, "Aunt Zhao, if you want to learn to ride a bicycle, don't let me hold you. Try it yourself and you'll get it."

His particularly tall men's bicycles are quite difficult to learn, as shorter people can't touch the ground with their feet.

But Zhao Qiujuan's bicycle is very small. When Zhao Meiyun sits on it, both her feet can touch the ground. What is there to be afraid of?

"I'm just learning casually... I'm so old, how can I still ride this..." Zhao Meiyun said, her face full of embarrassment.

Shi Zhen said, "Aunt Zhao, don't all people your age in town ride bicycles? You should learn too, and once you've learned, you can buy one."

Zhao Meiyun instinctively refused: "Why would I buy a bicycle? Qiu Juan's is fine."

Shi Zhen didn't say much, and then he saw Zhao Meiyun, full of energy, go to learn how to ride a bicycle.

Shi Ting, who had already learned to ride a bicycle, was still talking about her random, unrelated learning experiences.

Shi Ting was overjoyed to have ranked 30th in her class on the final exam. Shi Dalin promised to take her to buy a bicycle the next day.

Shi Dalin's small shop made a lot of money in the past few months.

These two months of summer vacation will definitely not be as profitable as before, but we should still be able to earn money—people from the neighborhood will still come to buy things, and the kids going from fifth to sixth grade will have to attend summer classes.

In addition, the school also offers math olympiad classes and writing classes, and some children attend these classes.

Most importantly, Shi Zhen's freezer is now here with them. These days, you can make a lot of money just selling popsicles in the summer.

To make it easier for Zhao Meiyun to sell instant noodles and fried rice, Shi Dalin bought two square folding tables and some plastic stools to put in the shop.

At this moment, Zhao Meiyun moved them to the shop entrance, let Shi Zhen and the others sit and chat, and even opened some chilled soda for them.

Shi Zhen and Shi Dalin set up a shed in front of the shop so that they wouldn't get any sun.

"Brother Baiyu, I ranked 30th in my class!" Shi Ting said proudly to Guan Baiyu.

After not seeing her for a while, Shi Ting seemed to have grown a lot taller... Guan Baiyu smiled and said, "I got second place in the grade."

Shi Ting said, "Brother Bai Yu, you're amazing!"

Guan Baiyu laughed and then looked at Shi Zhen.

“Knowing how capable your brother Bai Yu is, we should learn from him,” Shi Zhen said.

Shi Ting nodded obediently.

Guan Baiyu didn't take out all the clothes she had bought for Shi Zhen until she got home with him.

Shi Zhen knew that Guan Baiyu had bought him clothes, but he didn't expect so many, and he was stunned for a moment.

He has never been particularly concerned about food, clothing, or daily necessities.

In his past life, when he first met Guan Baiyu, his fashion sense wasn't very good.

People like them are content with what they have to wear; they have no idea about fashion sense.

Later, Guan Baiyu also bought him clothes.

After his rebirth, he came to find Guan Baiyu.

For a long time at the beginning, he felt that Guan Baiyu in this life was different from Guan Baiyu in the previous life.

He also felt that the differences between the two would only grow larger.

As a result... the current Guan Baiyu is becoming more and more similar to the Guan Baiyu of his previous life.

Especially when... when you're with him.

Sometimes he even feels disoriented, as if he has returned to his past life.

"Why did you buy me so many clothes? What about yourself? Did you buy any?" Shi Zhen asked.

“I don’t lack clothes, but brother, when you go out to talk business with people, you can’t just wear the same two outfits every time you go out!” Guan Baiyu said.

There's no need for so many clothes, and these clothes look expensive.

Guan Baiyu didn't have much money, and buying these clothes would probably have cost him all of it.

In his past life, Shi Zhen would always give Guan Baiyu money whenever he encountered this situation, and now he subconsciously reached into his pocket.