Chapter 13: Number One in the World

“Lan Xu, did your friend help you snag the class?” After wailing for three or five minutes, Yan Yuanyuan scooted over and asked.

Lan Xu smiled and directly opened the class schedule screenshot that Lu Wuqi had sent her, reaping a wave of envious stares.

“Whoa, you actually got Teacher Liu’s and Professor Wang’s classes! Lan Xu, your friend is amazing! Next time you snag classes, can you bring me along?” After seeing the near-perfect schedule, Yan Yuanyuan couldn’t help drooling with envy.

“You got them all—how did you pull that off?” Ai Jiaxin and the other roommate, Zhang Huai, also crowded over to take a look.

“Maybe their dorm has faster internet?” Lan Xu vaguely explained the reason. Lu Wuqi could even make money writing code, so she probably had some tricks for snagging classes too.

“Does she do proxy snatching? I want to ask her to help me grab next semester’s classes!” Yan Yuanyuan asked with a hint of expectation.

This semester’s schedule was set, but there was still next semester and many more after that. She had to plan ahead!

“Lan Xu, by the way, ask your classmate if she takes concert ticket proxy snatches too?” Ai Jiaxin added from the side. “I can pay! As long as it’s no more than half the ticket price!”

Lan Xu hesitated for a moment. Thinking of how Lu Wuqi needed to make money, she decided to give it a try. “Hang on, let me ask her first.”

Lu Wuqi: Sure. If your roommates need class snatches, I won’t charge—just send me the accounts and schedules ahead of time. For concert tickets, I can do up to four at a time, five yuan per ticket.

Snagging classes on campus was all about skill, and computer science students took plenty of shortcuts. But concert tickets were a different story. Helping with personal or friends’ tickets was fine, but mass scalping was absolutely out.

After hearing Lan Xu relay the words, the other three couldn’t help cheering. Their goodwill toward Lan Xu and her friend Lu skyrocketed, and they immediately offered to treat them to dinner.

Lan Xu couldn’t refuse, so she set the group meal for tomorrow afternoon. The others had also snagged the same time slot for University English, so they could go right after class.

As for tonight’s dinner, it would be their own special time together.

–

Lu Wuqi and Lan Xu both had excellent self-control and learning ability. In just one day, they adapted to the Capital University teachers’ lecturing styles and became rare freshmen who could keep up with the professors’ trains of thought from the very first class.

The Wednesday afternoon English class allowed Lu Wuqi to fully meet Lan Xu’s three roommates. She even exchanged contact info with them right under Lan Xu’s nose.

The evening group meal went smoothly too. Since none of them had joined clubs or student organizations yet, it was just simple eating and chatting—pure and sincere.

As a local, Ai Jiaxin got bold after downing half a bottle of beer and promised to be their free tour guide. She patted her chest, vowing to take them around the Capital over the weekend to see free attractions outside the Imperial City, plus the delicious eateries tucked away in neighborhood basements.

Considering it was Thursday tomorrow and Ai Jiaxin and Zhang Huai had morning classes, the meal ran from five to seven. They headed back home not long after dark.

“Lu Wuqi, should we head out a bit earlier tomorrow?” Lan Xu slowed her pace, falling back to walk with Lu Wuqi behind the other three.

“The doctor scheduled it for ten. How about we leave at seven?” Lu Wuqi suggested. A direct cab from Capital University to the hospital took about forty minutes.

“Sure. Let’s hit the supermarket later and grab some bread—we can make do with that for breakfast tomorrow,” Lan Xu said as she discussed the next morning’s plans with Lu Wuqi.

Lu Wuqi listened attentively, humming now and then to show she was still paying attention.

“Lu Wuqi, Auntie’s surgery will go smoothly, right?” Lan Xu asked, unconsciously tightening her grip on Lu Wuqi’s hand.

Lu Wuqi was Mother Lu’s daughter, but Lan Xu seemed even more nervous than she was. Just thinking about Mother Lu’s surgery made her take deep breaths to steady her emotions.

“It definitely will. The lead surgeon is a renowned expert who’s done thousands of operations without a single failure,” Lu Wuqi said softly. “Mom’s surgery starts at ten and might run a bit late. We’ll grab lunch together tomorrow, then you head back to school for class.”

“That’s an elective—I can skip it,” Lan Xu countered. “I want to stay with you. Besides, you have class tomorrow afternoon too.”

“My counselor knows about my situation and already got me excused,” Lu Wuqi said. She stopped walking and bent down to give Lan Xu a light hug.

“Xuxu, just wait for my update. Even if it’s an elective, tomorrow’s the first class—skipping would leave a bad impression on the teacher.”

“But…” Lan Xu started to say something more, but Lu Wuqi cut her off first.

“It’s just a minor surgery. I’ll message you as soon as it’s done. Worst case, we can spend more time with Mom over the weekend.”

“Fine, but you can’t hide anything from me,” Lan Xu relented, not pushing further.

Lu Wuqi probably didn’t want her seeing any moments of embarrassment.

“Okay, I’ll report the surgery details right away,” Lu Wuqi promised.

As for the other matters, she’d come clean in a few months!

–

The next day.

Aside from an extra ten minutes stuck in traffic, everything went exactly as Lu Wuqi had planned—they arrived at the hospital smoothly.

Mother Lu hadn’t said it outright, but seeing the two of them there for her final pre-op check eased her worries considerably.

A little after nine, Mother Lu changed into surgical scrubs with the nurse’s help. She lay down on the gurney and was wheeled into the operating room for anesthesia.

Buzz buzz—buzz buzz—

The surgery status light had been on for less than half an hour when a phone vibration reached Lu Wuqi and Lan Xu’s ears.

“It’s not mine.” Lan Xu pulled out her phone and checked.

“Not mine either,” Lu Wuqi said.

Tracing the sound, Lu Wuqi quickly found the vibrating phone in Mother Lu’s bag.

Seeing it was the landlord calling, Lu Wuqi’s expression shifted slightly. She stood up at once. “Xuxu, wait here for me. I need to take this call.”

Lan Xu had glimpsed the caller ID on the screen. She seemed to think of something but just nodded without saying more.

“Hello, this is Lu Wuqi.” Lu Wuqi walked to the stairwell around the corner before answering.

Realizing it wasn’t Mother Lu, the landlord paused for a second before speaking. “Oh, Little Lu. Where’s your mom?”

“She’s tied up right now. What can I do for you?” Lu Wuqi’s tone was calm, her face showing little expression.

Doing the math, yesterday must have been rent day.

The landlord calling at this hour meant there was definitely an issue with this quarter’s rent.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the money Mother Lu had given Lu Fu had gone straight into one of his gambling traps—the kind where he got set up and lost everything.