System Task: Have many children

Chapter 4

After hearing what Zhang Lin said, Cai Kun, who had been acting arrogant just a moment ago, was stunned, and his face showed signs of embarrassment. He then began to scrutinize Zhang Lin’s attire—a plain white T-shirt without a logo and a pair of common shorts. It was obvious that Zhang Lin's entire outfit probably didn’t cost more than 200 yuan, which was less than the price of Cai Kun's socks. Clearly, Zhang Lin was just a struggling university student.

"Seriously? With how poor you look, have you ever even seen a Cullinan? I show off because I actually own a Ferrari. You don't even have a car, what are you showing off?"

At the same time, Zhang Lin’s words silenced the few girls who had been defending Cai Kun earlier, and they turned to look at Zhang Lin. Meanwhile, Li Qing, who was sitting next to Zhang Lin, shook her head in disappointment.

At this moment, Li Qing saw Zhang Lin not only as someone with a senseless grudge against the wealthy but also as an arrogant fool pretending to be superior. Did he really think that by bragging casually, he could overshadow Cai Kun? Cai Kun actually owned a car—did Zhang Lin? And did he even know how much a Cullinan cost? With such low emotional and intellectual intelligence, how did he manage to top the provincial exams?

Everyone was watching Zhang Lin. Huang Ren, who had failed in showing off earlier, let out a sarcastic laugh and said, "Classmate, I don't mind if you want to show off, but you need to have the capability to do so."

"Classmate, you might not know this, but our classmates have pretty high standards. One of the girls didn’t even fancy my Porsche! Cai Kun is showing off because he actually owns a Ferrari. Even if you don’t like it, you have to bear with it. That’s what real strength is!"

Huang Ren’s words annoyed Lu Jie and the others.

"Damn, this guy really makes you want to punch him!"

"Exactly! Is Tsinghua University a place for you to show off? We can’t even speak up if we don’t like it?"

"Damn, if worst comes to worst, let’s all pitch in and rent a car to help Zhang Lin vent this frustration!"

After saying this, Bi Tao immediately pulled out his phone to check the rental price for a Cullinan, and then fell silent. Lu Jie, noticing his reaction, grabbed the phone and checked, "A 2019 Cullinan, daily rental is 15,000 yuan… Damn, that's enough to cover my living expenses for an entire semester!"

The high rental price left Lu Jie and the others, who were supporting Zhang Lin, speechless.

At this point, a confident Cai Kun smirked dismissively at Zhang Lin and said, "Classmate, you heard it too—if you want to show off, you need the strength to back it up; otherwise, you're just an idiot."

"If you can drive a Cullinan to school tomorrow, I’ll donate 50,000 yuan as our class fund for the year! How about it, classmate, want to take a bet?"

Cai Kun’s provocation once again made Zhang Lin the center of attention. Although Lu Jie and his friends were upset, they could only quietly advise, "Forget it, Zhang Lin, it's not worth it."

"Yeah, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth; we can't compete with that."

Beside them, Li Qing had initially decided to give up on Zhang Lin. However, after glancing at Zhang Lin’s handsome profile, she couldn’t bear it and softly urged, "Alright, Zhang Lin, just apologize to Cai Kun and let this go. Sooner or later, you’ll need his help anyway..."

As everyone was advising Zhang Lin to back down, Huang Ren suddenly chimed in, "I'll add to that!"

"Classmate, if you can drive a Cullinan to school tomorrow, I’ll also donate 20,000 yuan as our class fund. How about it?"

"Deal."

Under everyone’s gaze, Zhang Lin decisively nodded in agreement.

Cai Kun and Huang Ren both shook their heads with disdain and laughed. A thoroughly disappointed Li Qing immediately stood up, changed seats, and then offered to Cai Kun, "Cai Kun, why don’t we sit here? It’s cooler here."

The other girls and boys had expressions of amusement, while only Lu Jie and his two friends were genuinely concerned for Zhang Lin.

"Zhang Lin, maybe you should just drop it. Renting the car would cost at least 15,000 yuan a day—it’s too expensive."

"Yeah, Zhang Lin, it's not worth it. We don’t have that much money for living expenses..."

"How about this, Zhang Lin? Let’s add each other on WeChat later, and I’ll personally sponsor you with 1,000 yuan. Is that okay?"

"No need."

Zhang Lin smiled and politely declined the kindness of Lu Jie, Yang Nan, and the others. He then asked his teacher again, "Teacher Pan Yu, can I drive to school tomorrow?"

"Sure."

A slightly exasperated Pan Yu nodded helplessly. "Tomorrow we need to pick up books and military training uniforms. If you want, you can all drive over to help out."

After that, Pan Yu explained a few more things and then took the students back to the dormitory. Since Zhang Lin didn’t stay on campus, he left first.

Lu Jie and the others followed the girls at a leisurely pace, occasionally stealing glances at Li Qing’s legs, and overheard her conversation with Cai Kun.

"Cai Kun, you really shouldn’t have made that bet with Zhang Lin today. What if he actually rents a Cullinan tomorrow…"

"Impossible."

Cai Kun sneered dismissively, "Renting such a top-tier luxury car requires proof of assets and income. He's just a poor student—no one would rent it to him…"

"That’s good."

Li Qing laughed softly at this. "Heh, the way poor students think is really beyond comprehension. Luckily, you won’t lose any money..."

...

After another half-hour bus ride, Zhang Lin was drenched in sweat. Although there were fewer elderly passengers on the bus this time, there were more tourists. Despite being squeezed for just half an hour, Zhang Lin had already learned several phrases in Minnan dialect.

When he got home, Zhang Lin took off his clothes and went straight to take a shower. After showering, he lay on the sofa and finally picked up his phone to decide what to order for dinner.

Just as he was wavering between spicy crayfish and ground pot chicken, a WeChat notification suddenly popped up.

When he opened it, he found that it was a message from Bai Jie: "Zhang Lin, are you back? Come over to my place, I have something to discuss with you."

What is Bai Jie up to?

After reading the message, Zhang Lin was a bit puzzled. Bai Jie’s tone was somewhat distant, possibly indicating that she wanted to keep some distance from him. But at the same time, she was asking him to come over to her place to discuss something, which was a bit confusing.

Whatever, I'll just go and find out!

So, Zhang Lin put on a T-shirt, went downstairs, and took the elevator up to the third floor. Then, he rang Bai Jie’s doorbell!