From Slacking Off To Becoming A Top Student - Chapter 8 - Chapter 8 – I Saw the Light in Him!

In the afternoon, the first two periods were the homeroom teacher’s English class.

Chen Xiaoxin still appeared as usual, sitting upright and pretending to listen attentively to the class. In reality, he was secretly playing King of Glory. Despite his account being banned for trash-talking, accounts like these can easily be bought online.

One shot, one newb!

Top damage every match!

As Chen Xiaoxin enjoyed bullying noobs, his academic deskmate, Yan Xiaoxi, noticed that he was once again playing games. She suddenly realized she had gotten used to it.

Yan Xiaoxi watched him for the entire class. He played three games in total, and in each one, he was the carry, easily pushing through. His reactions were incredibly fast, almost as if he could predict danger before it happened. His nimble dodging, his pinpoint skill timing… watching it all made Yan Xiaoxi’s fingers itch.

So cool.

I wish he would play a couple of games for me. If I win the last two games in this trial phase, I could reach the Gold rank.

But as soon as the thought appeared, Yan Xiaoxi quickly dismissed it. Although the Gold rank was tempting, her pride made it difficult for her to ask him.

Crunch—

At that moment, Chen Xiaoxin opened a bag of crispy noodles and broke off a piece to eat, then sat back and stared through the window at the students playing basketball on the field.

Yan Xiaoxi glanced at him, thinking to herself, He really likes eating these crispy noodles. Is it really that good?

“Chen Xiaoxin.”

“Charge this up for me tonight.”

A guy suddenly approached, glancing around like he was doing something shady. He pulled a power bank from his jacket and handed it over, slipping a twenty-yuan bill into Chen Xiaoxin’s hand.

“Also…Help me bring breakfast tomorrow. Wrap two pork tenderloins in the sticky rice, and add some shredded pork.” As he spoke, he fished out another ten yuan and shoved it into Chen Xiàoxīn’s hand.

“No problem.”

After receiving the money, Chen Xiaoxin pulled out a small notebook from his desk and quickly wrote down the details of the order.

Yan Xiaoxi saw all of this and was shocked. This guy wasn’t just a parasite in society; he was a capitalist vampire, doing business within the class. Just as her thoughts were spiraling, Chen Xiaoxīn unzipped his backpack—and Yan Xiaoxi’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

The entire bag was packed with power banks of all shapes and sizes.

She did a rough mental count—at least twenty of them in there. At twenty yuan per charge, that meant…Four hundred yuan a day—just from charging power banks!

And that didn’t even include his side hustle bringing breakfast orders!

“Chen Xiaoxin.”

“Charge these for me too?”

Another guy came over, handing him two more power banks.

“The slots are full. I recommend you come back tomorrow. If you’re in a rush, each power bank will need an extra ten yuan.” Chen Xiaoxin said with a troubled expression. “You don’t know, but last month, my family’s electricity meter blew up. I had no choice but to introduce this new policy. I can’t be running at a loss, can I?”

The guy hesitated for a long time, then reluctantly handed him sixty yuan. After receiving the money, Chen Xiaoxin stuffed the two power banks into his backpack and secretly counted the cash.

Since he was the only student in the class who commuted from home—everyone else stayed in the dorms—his side gigs flourished. At first, he charged phones for free. But as more people came to him, word-of-mouth spread—even students from other classes started coming over.

Eventually… he found himself on the golden path to entrepreneurial greatness.

While counting his money, Chen Xiaoxin suddenly had a thought and looked up to ask his deskmate, Yan Xiaoxi: “Are you a day student or a boarding student?”

“Day student,” Yan Xiaoxi replied indifferently.

“Oh.”

“Then, I’ll give you twenty yuan. Can you help me charge two power banks?” Chen Xiaoxin lowered his voice and said carefully.

Upon hearing the price, Yan Xiaoxi almost laughed in anger. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes and said, “Do you think I didn’t hear the price? It’s thirty yuan per power bank, but you only give me ten yuan. Are you planning to keep the twenty yuan for yourself?”

“The middleman has to make a profit,” Chen Xiaoxin smiled and replied with a serious tone, “How about I give you an extra ten, making it thirty?”

“You keep the profit. I’m not interested,” Yan Xiaoxi replied coldly.

Too much!

This is really too much!

He’s just the middleman, yet he takes half the money.

In contrast to Yan Xiaoxi’s indignation, Chen Xiaoxin secretly felt relieved. His biggest fear was that another day student would appear in the class and start doing the same business. If there were two of them, they would have to compete on prices. When it was just him, he could monopolize the market.

“Chen Xiaoxin.”

“Has anyone turned in their math homework? Quickly bring me a copy to copy.”

A boy who sat in the corner with Chen Xiaoxin asked him for a finished homework copy. Chen Xiaoxin smiled slightly and casually handed him a notebook.

“Don’t copy everything,” Chen Xiaoxin reminded him.

“Don’t worry! I’ve got this!” The boy patted his chest and quickly returned to his seat.

At this point, Yan Xiaoxi couldn’t watch anymore. Not only did he not study himself, he even encouraged others to slack off. Just as she was about to speak up, a boy wearing glasses came over, crouched beside Chen Xiaoxin, and whispered something.

“No.”

Chen Xiaoxin shook his head and casually said, “Go write it yourself.”

The rejected boy walked away dejectedly. Yan Xiaoxi frowned as she watched him leave, then turned to her deskmate, “Why didn’t you give it to him?”

“Because his family is poor,” Chen Xiaoxin answered casually while munching on crispy noodles.

“What about the previous boy? Why did you give it to him?” Yan Xiaoxi asked seriously.

“Because his family is rich,” Chen Xiaoxin replied.

For a moment, Yan Xiaoxi’s face darkened. She hadn’t expected her deskmate to treat his classmates differently based on their family background.

“Li Shengfeng’s family owns a company; he’s a rich second generation, so he doesn’t need to worry about his future. His family is very wealthy,” Chen Xiaoxin said, gazing out the window at the students playing basketball. “But Xu Bin isn’t a rich second generation. On the contrary, his family is very poor. His father has some leg problems, and his mother seems weak and often needs to take various medications.”

At this point, Chen Xiaoxin finished the crumbs from the crispy noodles and said softly, “For Xu Bin, the college entrance exam is his only way to break through the class barrier.”

After hearing Chen Xiaoxin’s explanation, Yan Xiaoxi suddenly realized. Actually, her deskmate didn’t look down on others; on the contrary, he was trying to help that student from a poor family.

As Chen Xiaoxin said, the college entrance exam was Xu Bin’s only chance at success. Only by studying hard and getting into a good university could he repay his hard-working parents and honor their sacrifices.

Understanding Chen Xiaoxin’s actions, Yan Xiaoxi stole another glance at him.

And in that moment—she saw the light in him.