After struggling for so many years, he was finally able to sleep in peace on a soft bed. He closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.

The next morning, waking up early out of habit, he washed up and started to get ready for classes. He had two classes in the morning, so he prepared his bag and walked out of the room.

As he was walking out of the building, the receptionist suddenly called him from behind. He walked over to her, and she handed him a plastic card. Yan Shou looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Actually, scholarship students are given these lunch cards so you can get food from the cafeteria for free. With this card, students can have proper meals three times a day. You were already issued one, but your brother took it. The system has been updated now, so here is your new one." She smiled warmly and passed the card over.

Yan Shou smiled back, thanked her, and exited the building. He looked at the card in his hand and smirked. So that was why Haotian always saved so much money—he had been eating for free using Yan Shou's card all this time. But now, that card won't work anymore.

Yan Shou smiled to himself and slipped the card into his bag. After experiencing another small but well-deserved victory, Yan Shou's mind became much more cheerful. First, he used his new card to buy himself a breakfast of milk, two sandwiches, and two eggs. He ate them on his way, walking straight toward the classroom while sipping his milk from the carton.

He entered the classroom and took a seat in the very front row. Most students avoided the front because they thought the professor would always target them with questions, but Yan Shou preferred it. Besides, no one actually wanted to sit next to him anyway because of all the rumors circulating around the university. He simply rolled his eyes at their pettiness and took his books out for class.

Slowly, the other students started to enter the classroom one after another, passing by his side. He knew no one was going to sit next to him, but he was getting a completely different vibe today. The professor was just about to enter the room when suddenly, like a gust of wind, someone darted inside ahead of him and quickly slumped down right in the seat beside Yan Shou.

Yan Shou looked at him, his face full of pure shock—not only because he never expected anyone to sit beside him, but also because of who the person sitting next to him actually was. The boy turned to look at Yan Shou and beamed a beautiful smile.

Yan Shou almost had a nosebleed just looking at that gorgeous face. Then, the boy suddenly whispered, "Do you have a tissue?"

Yan Shou almost had another nosebleed at the sweet voice and the charming smile that came with it. He quickly passed a tissue to the boy, who took it and hurriedly wiped his face. 

“Everyone, pay attention!” the teacher said as he started the class. The students took out their books and focused on the board. Yan Shou wanted to pay attention as well, but his mind kept drifting toward the boy beside him. He sneaked a glance at him out of the corner of his eye.

The boy—had a breathtaking contradiction of effortless charm and high-society elegance, carrying himself with a radiant, magnetic warmth that instantly filled any room he walked into. He had a strikingly handsome yet uniquely endearing face, defined by sharp, aristocratic bone structure that was perfectly softened by a youthful, captivating sweetness. 

His hair was a rich, messy cascade of soft chestnut brown that caught the golden that were falling perfectly over his forehead in a way that made him look approachable despite his immense wealth. That boy was giving off the energy of a golden retriever—Lin XiaoXi, one of the wealthiest heirs at the university. Everyone on campus knew him well, not only because he topped the list of the most handsome and cute students, but also because he was incredibly talented at singing and dancing. Yan Shou’s expression softened with a hint of sadness just thinking about it.  

“Yan Shou! What are you dazing about!” the teacher yelled. “Answer this question.”

"A tech firm plans to delay its dividend payments for the first 3 years to reinvest in AI infrastructure. Starting in Year 4, it will pay a dividend of 50,000 RMB. From Year 5 onward, this dividend will grow at a constant annual rate of 5% indefinitely. If the market's required rate of return is 12% for the first 5 years, but due to macroeconomic stabilization, drops to 10% from Year 6 onward, what is the intrinsic present value of this stock today? Give me the formulaic breakdown.”

Everyone instantly fell silent, the people who had been snickering in the back shut their mouths. Yan Shou calmly looked at the board once again. Lin XiaoXi started to write something in his notebook. 

“Yan Shou, I know you are the top student in this class, but you still need to pay attention, otherwise—” Before the teacher could finish his sentence, Yan Shou began to speak.

“To solve this problem, we must apply a multi-stage dividend discount model that accounts for both deferred growth and a shifting cost of capital. The calculation is split into two parts based on the macroeconomic shift occurring in Year 6. First, we determine the terminal value of the stock at Year 5 using the Gordon Growth Model, utilizing the stabilized 10% discount rate and the constant 5% growth rate applied to the Year 6 dividend. This aggregates all infinite future cash flows from Year 6 onward into a single lump sum of 1,102,500 RMB at Year 5.

Second, we must bring all tangible cash flows back to the present day, Year 0. During these first 5 years, the market demands a higher required rate of return of 12% due to the initial AI infrastructure risks. We discount the Year 4 dividend of 50,000 RMB back four years, and the combined Year 5 dividend and terminal value, totaling 1,155,000 RMB back five years. Summing these two present values yields a final intrinsic stock value of 687,169.84 RMB. This proves that despite the massive million-RMB valuation in the future, the combination of delayed payments and high early-stage discount rates heavily suppresses the stock's current worth.”

The silence settled over the room once more. Everyone was staring at Yan Shou with wide eyes.

“Genius!” the teacher exclaimed in excitement. “Truly a genius!! I knew that you were a top-tier student, but I never expected you to solve this complicated problem so easily and so fast. Genius!! You are truly a genius.”

Lin XiaoXi, who had been writing the answer down in his own notebook, stopped, looked over at Yan Shou, and smiled.

Yan Shou looked over at him and smiled back. Lin XiaoXi leaned closer and whispered, “That is what top students look like! That was a totally satisfying answer. That teacher always picks on students, but this time even he was shocked. Jinbao!!” Lin XiaoXi gave him a thumbs-up and went back to paying attention in class.

Yan Shou glanced at him one last time before turning his attention back to the teacher. An hour later, class ended. Suddenly, a notification popped up on Yan Shou's phone: the next morning class had been canceled. After seeing the message, Yan Shou decided to go to the library to study, but just as he was on his way, someone suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

“Hey! Do you want to go and have lunch with me?” Lin XiaoXi popped up from behind and asked.

Yan Shou wanted to decline, but he hesitated, thinking it over. He turned to Lin XiaoXi to refuse, but instantly choked on his words. Lin XiaoXi was making puppy eyes with an incredibly cute face. Yan Shou fought hard to prevent his nose from bleeding at the sheer cuteness. ‘No wonder this boy comes out on top for cuteness,’ he thought to himself.

“Please, let's go!! Please? My friend isn't here today and I have no one else to go with me~~”

‘Aha, that cuteness in his voice... Da ge! If you just asked once, the whole university would want to have lunch with you!’ Yan Shou complained internally. He looked at him once again and sighed.

“Okay, let's go,” he finally answered.

“Yes! Let's go!” Lin XiaoXi exclaimed. He grabbed Yan Shou's hand, dragging him toward the cafeteria.

Once they reached the cafeteria, every eye in the place turned to look at them. Everyone started to whisper and murmur. Yan Shou was used to these types of reactions from people. In his past life, people had always judged him without knowing him, whispering rumors about him that were never true. People used to give him side-eyes or dirty looks, like they were looking at some kind of parasite. But this time, he was worried about Lin XiaoXi, because a star like him shouldn't be seen with someone who had a bad reputation. Yan Shou turned to look at him anxiously.

However, the one he was so worried about was currently looking at the food options with intense interest, picking through them very cautiously. Yan Shou facepalmed at the sight and smiled helplessly.

Lin XiaoXi felt his gaze, looked up, and smiled. “What are you dazing about? The food here will finish quickly!” he said.

Yan Shou quickly walked over to him, and they both grabbed their food trays and headed toward an empty table. They were both just about to start eating when suddenly, someone poured a glass of water right over Yan Shou's head.