Chapter 8 - 8 8 Deep Talk on a Rainy Night

Words : 1463 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

8: Chapter 8: Deep Talk on a Rainy Night 8: Chapter 8: Deep Talk on a Rainy Night When Qiao Yu sent Lan Jie out the door, it was only seven thirty in the evening. The two sides hadn’t reached an agreement yet, but Lan Jie could see that the person who could make decisions in this family didn’t seem to be that mother. Although the two of them later conversed in Korean, he really couldn’t understand it, but he could observe who was more dominant. So he might as well chat with Qiao Yu alone, to avoid them showing off their foreign language skills in front of him. What bothered him was that the rain got heavier in the evening, and Qiao Yu didn’t take an umbrella, clearly showing no intention of escorting him back to school. So when they reached the hallway, Lan Jie stopped walking. “Chat?” Qiao Yu silently stopped, and stared blankly at the raindrops constantly falling under the streetlight outside. “I’m pretty curious, are you and your mother’s foreign language skills really that good? How did you do it?” Lan Jie asked. Bridging the gap first, and of course, to satisfy his curiosity. “A few years ago, when we couldn’t go out, we were bored anyway. I heard that being part of a subtitle group could earn money from home, so my mom and I started learning foreign languages. Who knew, by the time we were almost done learning, we didn’t get a chance to work in the field because all the subtitle groups were busted. What a world, even translating a movie is a crime.” Qiao Yu sighed with a tone that was completely inappropriate for his age. “During that time, you guys learned both English and Korean?” Lan Jie asked incredulously. “And Japanese. I did some market research and found that the most in-demand languages for subtitle groups are these three. But my everyday Japanese isn’t quite fluent yet, although I can understand most Japanese dramas pretty well.” Qiao Yu humbly replied. “Market research?” Lan Jie silently repeated the familiar term in his heart, feeling a bit sentimental. This cutthroat world has forced a child to become like this. After not being able to go out, it must have been three or four years ago—elementary school age—and they already understood the need to do market research? “What about your math? Mastering Vieta’s formula isn’t something a middle school student needs to learn.” Lan Jie steered the topic toward what he was most curious about. “Math…,” upon hearing this topic, Qiao Yu also felt a sense of lamentation and then joked, “This stuff is really hard to learn! And it’s not very useful.” Hearing these words, Lan Jie really had to resist the urge to clench his fists and give this young man a knock on the head. Complaining that math is useless in front of a math teacher? And hard to learn? Fortunately, Qiao Yu probably realized this complaint was inappropriate, he looked up and gave Lan Jie an embarrassed smile, and immediately explained. “When I was learning English, I downloaded a movie called ‘Jerry and Maggie Live Large,’ have you seen it?” Lan Jie shook his head blankly, unable to understand how math could be connected to a movie. “It’s alright if you haven’t seen it. The story is basically about an old man who retired after working his whole life, who was good at math, and calculated that there’s a loophole in the lottery. As long as certain conditions are met, you can buy a ticket and only win without losing. The key is that this movie is said to be based on real events. I found it quite interesting, so I borrowed some math books to start self-learning. I thought maybe I could find some loophole in the actuary system that I could exploit later. But then I found out that exploiting such loopholes is a wild imagination, and if I were to buy, I’d only lose without gaining, and as math got harder, I gave up.” Qiao Yu calmly explained the reasons behind his seemingly considerable insight into math. Sёarch* The nôvel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Seeing Lan Jie’s complex expression, he added, “Helping people solve math problems in internet cafes is just to think that after studying for so long, it would be too much of a loss not to earn a penny. I definitely won’t do it next time.” Lan Jie understood, this kid was fixated on making money. So whether it’s learning languages or learning math, the initial motivation for him was to earn money. Never mind if he succeeded or not, his goal was particularly clear—to apply what he learned practically. To find out he couldn’t earn money, he immediately gave up. Lan Jie felt he couldn’t even blame the kid for being shortsighted. After all, he’s only in the ninth grade, and hasn’t yet formed a complete outlook on life and the world, but he is only doing it for a better life for his family. He even achieved it in a sense. At Qiao Yu’s age, Lan Jie himself couldn’t even feed his family. If he wanted to sing a couple of songs in the KTV with friends, he’d have to ask his dad for money… What was most frightening was that Lan Jie always felt this kid was skirting the edge of crime. As everyone knows, the quick ways for ordinary people to make money are all written in the criminal code. If Qiao Yu didn’t go to high school and directly entered society, Lan Jie couldn’t imagine what outrageous money-making strategies this little brain could come up with. The sense of responsibility for a teacher’s profession burst forth powerfully in him at this moment “Do you think there’s a possibility? Math can indeed make money, and quite a lot at that?” Qiao Yu glanced up at Lan Jie and nodded decisively, answering, “I believe it, but the cost-to-benefit ratio isn’t high. The further you go in math, the harder it gets. With the time spent learning, I could do something else and probably earn more.” This answer was rational to the point of being frightening, but Lan Jie was now becoming more determined, thinking with unprecedented agility, also feeling he was exceptionally strong at this moment. “Ha, what if I told you that with your current math skills, you could earn a ten-thousand bonus, or even more, in a year? And without any risks. Also, do you really think your current ways of making money have no risks?” “What risks could playing games have?” Qiao Yu slightly furrowed his brow and asked. “I don’t know much about the law, and I haven’t consulted a lawyer yet, but think carefully, are those wealthy people you speak of really so easy to deal with? If they really decided to get serious, I think a fraud charge wouldn’t be avoidable. Even if you’re still a minor, and even if you really were involved in a crime, it’s no big deal—what about the future? Become a so-called professional esport player? Leaving aside how intense the competition for professional e-sports players is, the career span for esports players is something you must know. Whether you can successfully transition after retirement is still questionable, isn’t the risk high? And if you go to be a professional player, wouldn’t your mom still be left alone at home without anyone to take care of her? But continuing to study is different. The scholarships earned from grades have no risks. If you really excel in learning, the resources you can control are absolutely incomparable to those from playing games! Do you know how many resources a math professor at a university can control? You don’t know! Because with your smarts, if you knew even a bit, you wouldn’t be saying things like studying has a low cost-benefit ratio! Let me put it this way, you really want your mom to live a good life in the future, right?” Lan Jie asked sternly. Qiao Yu glanced at his suddenly agitated math teacher and instinctively nodded. “Well, have you ever thought about the future when your mom gets old, her body can’t take it anymore, and she needs to go to the hospital for care? Who do you think would enjoy better medical resources—a professor who has made great contributions to the country or an ordinary person who relies on playing games to support their family? Do I need to tell you that people who drink excessively, when older, are prone to various diseases?”

Chapter 8 - 8 8 Deep Talk on a Rainy Night

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