Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student Chapter 1

"Niuniu, look at that uncle over there, how hard he’s working! You should learn from him!" The red light still had 118 seconds before turning green. Shen Qiushan, draped in his "golden delivery suit," was determined to make the most of every second. He pulled a Chinese textbook from the delivery box and began reading it intently. His actions drew praise from a classy lady sitting in a private car nearby, and she even set him up as a role model for her child. Shen Qiushan, whose hearing was sharp, picked up on this, subconsciously raised his reading volume: The Ninth Year of Yonghe, the year of Guichou, in late spring, we gathered at the Orchid Pavilion in Huiji Mountain in Shanyin for the purification ritual. "But Mom, even though he’s studying so hard, he’s still delivering food." Shen Qiushan was reading with gusto when the little girl’s voice drifted into his ears. Uh..... The beautiful lady and Shen Qiushan fell into silence at the same time. Ding! Effective reading time increased by one minute. Scholar Index +1! Ding! Host’s Scholar Index detected at 1,000 points. The "There is gold in books" system has officially activated! This... The mechanical notification sounded in his mind, and Shen Qiushan, who had been a bit down, suddenly saw light in front of his eyes. Finally... This damn system finally responded!! About half a month ago, 38-year-old Shen Qiushan was suddenly hit with a top student system called "There is gold in books." He thought he’d be like the protagonist in those webnovels, making a comeback and reaching the pinnacle of life. But when the system arrived, it didn’t do anything at all. It was like getting one good piece of news and one bad piece of news. The good news: he had a system. The bad news: It was a totally useless trash system! Still, Shen Qiushan didn’t give up on his system—after all, it’s a rare opportunity to turn fate upside down. So he started poking around based on its name, and found out that as long as he studied, his Scholar Index would go up! He still didn’t know what that Scholar Index was actually good for, but he spent all his spare time on studying anyway! At last! The heavens don’t let down those who work hard! The system activated! Ding! Congratulations, host has gained a Newbie Blind Box! [Yes][No] Open? With the mechanical chime, a virtual selection pop-up appeared before Shen Qiushan. [Yes]! Shen Qiushan made his choice without hesitation. Ding! Host has successfully opened the Newbie Blind Box! Congratulations, host has received: 660,000 yuan education fund! How...how much?? Shen Qiushan shouted out in shock, but luckily he was still in the noisy downtown street, so no one thought twice about this delivery guy acting weird. Instead, because the red light turned green, people behind him were honking like crazy. Shen Qiushan hurried his electric scooter over to the side of the street so he wouldn’t block the way. He grabbed his phone, wanting to check if the bank card balance had really changed. And saw a text from "Hua Country Bank" received a minute ago: "Your Hua Country Bank card ending in 0311 received 660,000.00 yuan at 12:43 on March 3. Current balance: 671,265.00 yuan..." It’s real! He really got 660,000 as a reward!! Shen Qiushan pumped his fist in triumph. Bitterness finally pays off! See, with a system, the comeback is just around the corner... Just as Shen Qiushan was getting excited, his phone suddenly rang. Instinctively, he pressed the answer key. "Where’s my food? Why isn’t it here yet?" "If it’s not here in three minutes, consider it a bad review!" The moment the call connected, a fierce woman’s voice came rushing through. As a veteran delivery rider, Shen Qiushan was long used to this kind of threat. Most customers were reasonable, but there was no shortage of snarky jerks. Big city, all sorts of crazy people! If this was before, Shen Qiushan would’ve definitely soothed the customer politely. A single bad review means money gone—a whole day’s work wasted. But now it’s different! I have a system now. No way I’m putting up with your crap?? "And don’t forget to take out the trash at the door!" Just as Shen Qiushan was about to fire back, the fierce lady’s voice sounded again. This time, Shen Qiushan outright burst out laughing. This kind of thing had happened so many times before—if the customer was polite and he wasn’t slammed with urgent orders, he’d usually help out. But this "Little Fairy" on the phone was just way too much. "Okay, ma’am." Shen Qiushan replied without missing a beat. Just now he changed his mind. After all, a real man shouldn’t argue with a woman. It’s embarrassing for a dude to bicker with a lady. You’re hungry and can’t wait for food, right? Well, just wait a little longer... Shen Qiushan simply turned off his work phone. Then pulled the "Little Fairy’s" delivery out of the box—a Korean bibimbap and some fried chicken. Mm, that’ll do for lunch. From early morning till now, Shen Qiushan hadn’t eaten a thing. He was planning to finish this order before grabbing a bite! Now he could log off early! Shen Qiushan rode his scooter over to a nearby small park, plopped himself down on a bench, and slowly ate his lunch. Ever since donning the golden vest and becoming a delivery rider, Shen Qiushan rarely had the leisure to eat lunch like this. Most days were spent battling the elements, grabbing orders, and delivering nonstop! No choice—he had two kids in high school! Anyone who’s ever raised kids knows the "gold content" of two high schoolers. Shen Qiushan dared not rest for even a second—he wished every 24 hours were 48. This year, both kids hit the most critical point—senior year! Only three months to go—they’ll be taking the college entrance exam... Ding! Host has a Newbie Mission available. Shen Qiushan, strolling around the park to digest, heard the mechanical chime sound in his mind again. Collect! Shen Qiushan responded immediately. Ding! Newbie Mission: As a top student, your academic qualifications are far too low. Please take this year’s college entrance exam and get into a 985 university! Mission Reward: Skill Card *1. Advanced Blind Box *1. Education fund: 10 million yuan! Holy shit!! Shen Qiushan, who was just stretching his legs, leapt up. He wasn’t sure about this "Skill Card" or "Advanced Blind Box," but he damn well knew what "10 million" meant! Ten million! The top prize of 5 million from the lottery, you gotta win it 20 times! You could get foot massages for life at the spa! No! You could buy the whole spa yourself! And even easily find yourself a "second wife." Tsk tsk... Just thinking about becoming a multi-millionaire! Shen Qiushan was so psyched he started dancing in place—he nearly let his snot bubble out. This really is "There is gold in books!" Wait a second... Looks like there’s a precondition? Shen Qiushan hurriedly checked the mission requirement again, and the latter half was key: Please take this year’s college entrance exam and get into a 985 university! This... This has gotta be a joke, right? Me, Shen Qiushan! I’m 38 years old! You want me to take the college entrance exam—and get into a 985 university? This joke is a bit too much!