I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 367. The Billionaire's Identity is Exposed
"Mom, Mom, did you see the video? How was it?!" After returning to her dormitory, He Caiting couldn't wait to call her mother.

On the other end of the phone was a middle-aged woman in her forties, with neat short hair and a black business suit, sitting in a private office with the brightly lit Zhujiang New Town behind her.

Chen Yan gently swirled the black, ink-like iced Americano in her glass, then clicked play on the video again before smiling and saying, "So this is the party you were talking about this afternoon? This kid looks handsome just from his silhouette. Could it be that our Tingting fell in love at first sight?"

"Oh my god~ we're talking about music now. It's an original piece by one of our classmates. Isn't that amazing!" He Caiting pouted on the balcony outside the dormitory and said with a face full of admiration.

"Alright, alright, it really is an excellent piece of music. It's both regrettable and inspiring. I've played it on repeat so many times." Chen Yan looked at the boy in the video with a nostalgic expression.

She had a crush on a boy like that in high school, but unfortunately, everyone's life circumstances are different.

“Hehehe, Mom, you think he’s amazing too, right? He’s a boy in our class, and he’s kind of handsome,” He Caiting said with a bright smile, blushing as she added softly.

Chen Yan smiled and shook her head. At seventeen, she was just a nobody and didn't have the courage to confess to the campus heartthrob. But she could make up for that regret with her daughter.

"Mom knows what you mean. You want me to help him release his single, right? Actually, my company is planning to cultivate its own music producer. I'll send you the information on QQ later. You can ask that boy tomorrow."

Chen Yan stared intently at the boy playing the piano on the screen. Even though she was quite far away, she saw the shadow of her high school crush in him.

"Hehe rocking horse~ Thank you, Mommy, Mommy is the best!"

He Caiting happily hugged and kissed her phone. With this as an excuse, she could legitimately get close to Fan Ge.

"Alright, alright, don't tell your dad. Don't let dating affect your studies." Chen Yan's eyes curved into crescents. Thinking of her daughter's happy face at this moment, many of the regrets from her youth seemed to dissipate in an instant.

"I promise I won't tell Dad. And also, it's not about dating, it's just a classmate, a classmate!" He Caiting raised her right fist tightly.

[Don't think that just because you're living together you're something special. I have a mom too!]
"Mom knows, he's just a classmate~" Chen Yan deliberately dragged out her voice, and after her daughter's barrage of questions, she continued, "It's almost ten o'clock, get some rest. Also, send Mom a picture of that classmate. If he's good-looking, I can apply to have the company promote him."

"Okay, okay, I'll send it to Mom later. Mom should get some rest too, and stop working overtime all the time!" He Caiting nodded vigorously, thinking that with Fan Ge's looks, there was definitely no problem.

"If Mom doesn't work overtime, how can you date your classmates?"

"Waaaaah, Mommy!"

Chen Yan ended the call at the right time, not giving her daughter a chance to vent.

She clicked on the video that had finished playing again, and sipped her coffee while listening to the soft piano music.

"Yay!" He Caiting jumped up excitedly after getting help from her mother.

"Mom is the music director of Cool Cat Music, so there won't be any problems!" she murmured to herself, sending the photos she had secretly taken of Fan Ge that night to Chen Yan as she left the balcony.

"Caiting, why did you go back to the dorm so quickly? We were still waiting for you at the door like idiots!" Roommate A said, as her roommates returned at that moment.

"Yeah, we're already short one person in our dorm. Tingting, you're not going to follow the group? As punishment, you'll have to hand over the video you took tonight!"

"That's right!"

"That piano piece was so beautiful, and the male god is so handsome!"

"I feel like I'm about to get teary-eyed!"

"Shut up, you little pervert! Don't corrupt others!"

Her six roommates, one after another, quickly surrounded her.

"Okay, I'll play it for everyone now. I was in a hurry to get back to the dorm because my stomach hurt." He Caiting raised her hands in surrender, sat on the lower bunk, and turned on the video running in the background.

Once the piano music started, the previously noisy dormitory instantly fell silent.

After all, it was only 11 years ago, and the vast majority of people were still using cheap knock-off mobile phones costing a few hundred yuan, or even cheaper domestic PHS phones.

Very few families are willing to spend over four thousand yuan to buy a smartphone for their child, like He Caiting's parents.

Soon, girls from other dormitories heard the commotion and gathered around. The small dormitory was soon filled with more than a dozen female students, some standing and some sitting.

It had the atmosphere of watching a play at the village entrance when I was a child, with the whole village gathered around to look at the palm-sized Apple phone in He Caiting's hand.

While the girls in the dormitory were collectively enjoying Xu Qingfan's piano solo, Chen Yan was looking at pictures her daughter had just sent her in a brightly lit office building.

Soon, the curious, gossipy expression on her face disappeared, replaced by surprise, shock, and disbelief—it was like seeing a ghost!

Chen Yan looked at the two photos again and again, zooming in and zooming in repeatedly.

"Like, very similar."

It wasn't like the unrequited love of her youth, but rather...!

Chen Yan's heart was pounding. She frantically rummaged through the drawer, trying to find the business card she had somehow lost.

Fortunately, she didn't have the habit of throwing business cards in the trash. She quickly picked up the card; the black card with gold foil lettering simply read: "Haowei Group, Xu Qingfan".

A scene that happened half a month ago flashed through Chen Yan's mind.

"The mobile era is just around the corner. Is Ms. Chen content to be just a music director for the rest of her life?"

"CEO, annual salary of one million, and 5% stock options in the company's future. The Haoweiyun family looks forward to Ms. Chen joining us!"

Chen Yan naturally declined in the end. As an internal employee, she knew best the potential of Cool Cat Music. The venture capital firms she had contacted had already pushed the company's valuation to the billion-dollar level. In a few years, after the company completed its IPO, her stock options would at least make her a multi-millionaire.

"How could they look so alike? Could it really be the same person?" Chen Yan looked at the business card in her hand and recalled once again the young man who sat across from her that day.

Although she was amazed by Xu Qingfan's youth and good looks back then, he was wearing a suit and tie that day, and a very mature female secretary was following behind him.

Chen Yan only thought he was a recent college graduate who was starting to work in the family business. She never imagined that he would be a high school freshman the same age as her daughter!
She stared at the photo on the screen again and again, her heart itching with curiosity. Was it really the same person? She desperately wanted to know!
Chen Yan picked up her phone again and dialed her daughter's number.

"That's how it went. Later, he took Zhang Yiyi's hand and went to each class to apologize to the bad students. Then the bad students apologized to Zhang Yiyi, and that was the end of it."

After watching the video, the girls started urging He Caiting to tell them about Xu Qingfan's glorious deeds in elementary school.

"Wow~ I'm so envious! If I had met a boy like that when I was a kid, I would have given my life for him!"

"Is it really only first grade? How did they do that? The boys in my class in first grade only know how to eat boogers."

"Yeah, the boys in our class are the same. They bully girls, and there are even perverts who use small mirrors to peek at girls' underwear!"

"Haha~ Yours is so big, you must have been peeked at by many boys!"

"Hey, get out of here!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

He Caiting squinted her eyes happily. Although she and Xu Qingfan were not related, it was like being a fan. Sharing her idol with others and gaining their approval brought her happiness as well.

"I still have it on my phone." Just as she was about to continue sharing, her phone suddenly rang.

"Oh dear, it's my mom calling. I'll take this call first and then we'll talk!" He Caiting said, getting up and leaving the dormitory. She waited until she reached the corner of the stairs before answering the call.

"Hey Mom, what's wrong?"

"Tingting, don't speak yet. Mom has a question for you. Is that boy's last name Xu?" Chen Yan asked, staring at the business card in her hand. "Huh?" He Caiting was slightly taken aback, then nodded and said, "Hehe, yes, Mom, how did you know?"

Chen Yan's heart skipped a beat, then she continued, "His name is Xu Qingfan?"

"Oh! Mom, how did you know? It's that name!!"

Alright, Chen Yan's anxiety finally subsided.

[Sixteen years old, and already running a company? What kind of family does she come from?]
"Mom? Mom, why aren't you saying anything?" He Caiting asked when there was no sound from the other end of the phone for a long time.

"Yes, Mom is here." Chen Yan felt sorry for her daughter, but in order not to make her look foolish, she still answered truthfully, "Tingting."

"Hmm, Mom, what's wrong? You still haven't told me how you found out Fan Ge's name!" He Caiting felt both nervous and a little shy.

[Does the fact that Mom knows Fan Ge's name mean she and Fan Ge have known each other for a long time?]
"Tingting, Mom has something to tell you. I think you shouldn't tell your classmate about releasing the single."

"Why?" He Caiting suddenly became anxious and asked loudly.

Chen Yan sighed softly and recounted the scene of her meeting with Xu Qingfan that day: "Do you remember that day? Mom originally promised to take you to see a movie, but she said she had a meeting and couldn't go."

"Hmm, Mom, I remember, what does this have to do with Brother Fan?" He Caiting frowned deeply.

"That day, Mom actually had an interview with a headhunter, and the interviewee was someone you would never guess—the very person you showed Mom."

After understanding the power behind Xu Qingfan, she no longer dared to call him a child.

"Huh? Mom, what are you saying? I don't understand." He Caiting felt like she was about to grow a brain.

"That's right, this Xu student plans to start a music software company and then poach your mother to work for him, understand?"

"Ah~ So Mom, did you agree?" He Caiting's eyes lit up. If her mother went to work at Fan Ge's company, then they would have something to talk about in the future.

Out of blind worship of her idol, she never thought about why Xu Qingfan could start a company at such a young age or where the money came from. She just assumed that if it was Brother Fan, then he could do it!

"Pfft! Cough cough cough cough."

Chen Yan almost choked on her own saliva. After coughing for a while, she scolded in annoyance, "Do you think starting a business is child's play? Your dad is useless. It's a good thing I didn't agree back then. What does a sixteen-year-old high school student know about starting a company? He doesn't even know which way the tax bureau's door faces!"

"No way, it's definitely fine if it's Fan Ge. Mom, you'll definitely regret it later!" Fortunately, He Caiting wasn't obsessed with celebrities. After saying that, she added:

"But Mom's company is really amazing now. A lot of my classmates are using Cool Cat Music. Hehe, at most our family will go from being a billionaire to a multi-millionaire."

Chen Yan shook her head helplessly and smiled lightly, "Alright, alright, all this money you earn will eventually go to you anyway. That Xu classmate's family must be very influential, so don't humiliate yourself by helping him release any singles. Otherwise, you'll be secretly laughed at."

"Okay, Mom," He Caiting pouted dejectedly.

She returned to Licheng Shankala to attend high school specifically for Xu Qingfan, but she never expected that her plan to win over her crush would end prematurely.

Recalling Xu Qingfan's words and actions that day, Chen Yan said, "Well, this Xu student is quite outstanding. During his student years, he should focus more on his studies and make more friends."

She spoke rather vaguely, but I figured her daughter could understand her.

"Okay, Mom, that's fine. I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed now. Mom, get some rest too. Goodnight!" He Caiting naturally understood the underlying meaning in her mother's words and couldn't help but feel displeased.

After hanging up the phone, she stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, lost in thought.

[I'm not as pretty as them, and I don't have their family advantages, how can I get close to Brother Fan?]
"Da da da da~ Du du du du~"

On the way back, the five girls kept humming the melody of "Uchiage Hanabi".

"Brother Fan, Brother Fan, when are you going to write some lyrics?!" Xiao Ruanwen was unusually quiet today, clinging tightly to Xu Qingfan's hand and refusing to let go, her body sinking deep into his soft bosom.

"What kind of lyrics would match this melody? I can't wait!"

Xu Qingfan looked at the moon in the sky. After the heavy rain, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky tonight, and the moon was very bright.

"You love singing so much, have you thought about what you want to do in the future?" He didn't answer, but instead turned to look at the girl and asked her in return.

"Huh? I don't know." Xiao Ruanwen blinked, then shook her head blankly.

“My mom wants me to be a teacher, and my dad wants me to join the army. I’m definitely not going to listen to him!” she added.

"Singing? Don't you want to sing?" Xu Qingfan asked with a smile.

"Oh dear, Fan-ge, you're saying that again. You know my family would definitely object!" She scratched her head and patted the boy who was teasing her, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Why not? Wan Ning, what do you want to do in the future?" Xu Qingfan beckoned with his finger, and Lin Wan Ning obediently ran over and snuggled into his arms.

"Hehe~ I want to draw comics, but Brother Qingfan's serialized novel hasn't been updated for more than half a year!" Lin Wanning took his other arm and playfully poked at it with her finger.

[Of course I want to be Qingfan's wife!] she thought to herself.

Xu Qingfan choked on his words.

After the high school entrance exam, he wanted to continue writing, but by then he had no ideas and had to give up after writing more than 300,000 words.

[Can an author who has never abandoned a project be a good author?] Xu ​​Qingfan was both unreasonable and arrogant.

“Drawing that is boring. I’ve thought of a new script. This time, we can definitely continue the glory of our hilarious daily life!” The image of a certain rabbit inexplicably appeared in his mind, and he simply announced it directly.

Wow! Brother Qingfan is the best!

"Thank you brother!"

Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi were both delighted and said sweetly.

"Well, let's get back to Ruan Wen's matter. I'm planning to start a music company soon, and I'll definitely be training independent musicians, so Ruan Wen, you don't need to worry about anything."

Xu Qingfan's gaze swept over the five women, finally settling on Xiao Ruanwen.

"Huh? A music company? Really!" Xiao Ruanwen's eyes were wide open, almost frighteningly bright.

"What do you mean by real or fake? Of course it's real! Didn't I promise you before that I'd make you big stars? Now that we have a company, we don't have to worry about being sexually exploited!"

On the desolate, dark campus path, Xu Qingfan spoke loudly.

"And then you slept with me, right!" Xia Xiaoxiao still remembered that incident, how the shameless Xu Qingfan said, 'Since you're going to slept with me anyway, might as well let me have it.'

"Why do you always slander people? Do you think I'm that kind of person?!" Xu Qingfan roared.

"Yes!"

"Hahahaha!"

The five girls spoke in unison, their clear laughter carried far and wide by the wind.

[You're really good at judging people!] Xu Qingfan silently added in his mind.

(End of this chapter)