Urban God-level Youth

"Exactly, once a word is out, it's hard to take it back," the other four girls echoed.

Qin Hao was somewhat speechless. Are the girls at school really that naive? Can't they see I'm just brushing them off?

But with so many people around, he was too embarrassed to say anything else, so he just smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, I, Qin Hao, always keep my word."

Upon hearing his promise, Liu Fang and the four girls left, giggling as they turned to head home.

Qin Hao turned to look at the school and noticed Xia Qing already standing beside him, a smile playing on her lips and two shallow dimples adorning her face as she watched him.

He was taken aback, "When did you come out?"

Xia Qing was very beautiful, flawless in both face and figure.

She pursed her lips and said, "Did I interrupt your conversation with the beauties?"

Qin Hao awkwardly explained, "I'm not familiar with them."

"You're not familiar with them, yet you're inviting them out?"

It was clear that Xia Qing had heard everything Qin Hao had just said.

Qin Hao had an expression of helpless resignation, "I was just brushing them off, who knew they'd actually take it seriously."

Seeing him like this, Xia Qing's smile blossomed, "I'm just teasing you. I could tell what you meant. You can only blame Liu Fang for being so shameless. Anyway, were you waiting for me?"

Qin Hao gave her a look, "Who else do you think it could be?"

Xia Qing's eyes lit up at his words, and she blurted out, "I thought you were waiting for Du Wanrou."

...

Upon hearing her words, Qin Hao's face froze for a moment, and he couldn't help but recall what Du Wanrou had asked him that afternoon.

Xia Qing had been watching his expressions closely, and feeling a bit downcast at his reaction, she managed to hide her disappointment.

Without mentioning Du Wanrou again, Xia Qing smiled and asked, "How's your review going? The unified exams are in just five days."

"Not bad, I should be able to make it into Jianghai University," he said.

Hearing Qin Hao's words, Xia Qing internally thought he was lying. She didn't call him out because she knew boys liked to save face.

She believed he was lying because she was familiar with Qin Hao's past, including his terrible grades.

In Xia Qing's view, Qin Hao's grades might allow him to get into a third-tier university.

If he didn't perform well, he might even end up at a vocational college.

As they walked and talked, both wearing smiles, they were unaware that Du Wanrou was watching them from inside a nearby BMW.

Her face was calm as she spoke indifferently, "Mr. Lin, let's go back."

The BMW started up and slowly left the area.

It didn't take long for Qin Hao and Xia Qing to reach the entrance of the residential area.

Gathering her courage, Xia Qing looked at Qin Hao and said, "Actually, whether your grades are good or bad, we're still friends. I won't look down on you or despise you because of them."

After speaking, Xia Qing's cheeks flushed red. In her view, what she had just said was hardly different from a confession, and then she quickly fled the scene, leaving a confused Qin Hao behind.

What does she mean by good or bad grades? Despise me?

Qin Hao was bewildered but soon pieced things together.

It was obvious that Xia Qing knew about his poor grades, and she must have thought he was lying about being able to get into Jianghai University.

Watching Xia Qing's disappearing figure, Qin Hao wore a bitter smile.

He had begun to sense Xia Qing's feelings for him these past few days. Initially, he thought it was just a friend's concern, but it was clearly more than that.

Every morning when Qin Hao went to school, he would almost always run into Xia Qing at the entrance of the residential area.

Was that a coincidence?

Once or twice might be, but nearly ten days in a row could not be a coincidence.

Xia Qing was deliberately waiting for him, arriving early at the entrance to the residential area each day and then pretending to bump into him by chance.

Over time, he convinced himself that things would fade, perhaps it was just a momentary impulse. Thinking this, Qin Hao headed home.

Back at home, with the unified exams approaching, Mr. Qin and Mrs. Qin had been showing more concern for him lately.

On the contrary, Qin Hao was quite composed, feeling no so-called pre-exam jitters. After dinner, he returned to his room.

He then picked up his phone to call Kang Youyi, and the call was quickly answered.

Laughing, Kang Youyi said, "Hao, everything you asked me to take care of is done, and I've bought several tricycles."

"Hmm, thanks a lot, Fatty. I'll come over and check it out tomorrow," he replied.

Kang Youyi had been busy with his own affairs these days and hadn't even had time to look after his new pool hall.

He said with a smile, "Hao, you're too polite. This is what I should do."

After exchanging a few words, Qin Hao hung up the phone. Hanging up, he felt somewhat excited because his roast duck was about to go on sale—a make or break moment.

This was crucial for him!

...

Last night, Xia Qing hadn't chatted with him, probably still feeling embarrassed about what she said at the entrance of the residential area.

He was still on Du Wanrou's blacklist, unable to add her even if he wanted to, and they hadn't chatted in a long time.

At the same time, these days the system hadn't issued any side tasks or random tasks, which made him somewhat depressed because without achievement points, he couldn't draw prizes, and his skills could not be upgraded.

He currently had 400 achievement points, which he had been saving and had not used.

In his backpack was a skill conversion card that Qin Hao couldn't use right now. He felt that he already had enough, and quite a mixture of, skills.

Just then, as if sensing his resentment, the system suddenly activated.

"Ding, side task initiated: Give Du Wanrou two items of clothing that are conducive to development."

"Task duration: Before the unified exam."

"Task reward: 600 achievement points. Failure will result in a deduction of 600 achievement points."

Hearing the task initiation made Qin Hao happy, but after hearing the task's content, his expression was very rich.

What kind of ridiculous task is this?

Qin Hao felt an urge to strangle the system which was clearly messing with him.

And I only have 400 achievement points in total, where are you going to deduct 600 from?

"Points can be negative, but negative points cannot exceed one month, or the system will perform a humane destruction on the host," Xiao Ying answered his doubts.

"Ding, random task initiated: Give Xia Qing two items of clothing that are conducive to development."

"Task duration: Before the unified exam."

"Task reward: 600 achievement points. Failure will result in a deduction of 600 achievement points."

Qin Hao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. One task involving Du Wanrou was enough, and now he had to give something to Xia Qing?

If it were an ordinary gift, then it wouldn't be a big deal, but this was the most private type of clothing for a girl. Could he just give them away randomly?

If one of them found out he had given the other the same type of gift, what would they think?

Xiao Ying: "Every task issued by the system has its significance."

Significance?

Was it to balance the two girls' emotional state or to make me juggle two relationships, or was it simply a matter of giving gifts?

With a headache from overthinking, Qin Hao stopped pondering and lay down in bed to sleep.

The next morning.

After breakfast, Qin Hao left home and went straight to Xinghui Pool Hall, or rather, what was now supposed to be called the roast duck shop.

When he arrived, he almost didn't recognize the place, as the pool hall had completely transformed.

The exterior walls had been painted, looking clean and tidy, and the entrance was free of any trash, very neatly maintained.

He stepped inside, where everything had already been set up. The first thing that caught his eye was the duck warming cabinet, freshness cabinet, and so on.

Kang Youyi, seeing Qin Hao come in, hurried over, "Hao, what do you think?"

Qin Hao nodded slightly, "Not bad. Where's the roast duck oven placed?"

"It's in the back on the second floor, Hao. I'll take you to see it," Kang Youyi led Qin Hao to the back of the second floor.

There was a bungalow at the back, covering more than a hundred square meters. Previously, it was used by the fatty to store clutter, but now it had been cleaned out, skimmed with plaster, very neat, with three duck ovens placed inside.

Qin Hao nodded slightly as the fatty had arranged everything very much to his liking.

Fatty: "The three-wheel carts for selling roast ducks are in the yard, Hao. I also had someone skim the second floor. It can be used for living or storage, and only a few more things are needed before we can open. By the way, Hao, what name are you thinking of for the shop?"

Name?

Qin Hao's face froze, as he hadn't thought about the name at all. Should it be called the Delicious Roast Duck Shop?

He remembered that the meiwei trademark had already been registered in Xuan Country, and they were also a big name in this industry.

The Meiwei Group was a commercial behemoth worth over a hundred billion.

It was believed that many people had tasted delicacies from the Meiwei Group, like the Delicious Duck Neck, which was a snack that sold well all across Xuan Country.