Once upon a time, there were four blind men who desperately wished to know what an elephant looked like. Unable to see, they resorted to feeling it with their hands.

After touching it, the four began to argue, for the one who felt the ear declared the elephant to be like a large palm-leaf fan; the one who touched the tusk claimed it resembled a large, thick, smooth radish; the one who felt the leg insisted it was like a pillar; and the one who touched the tail said it was like a piece of straw rope.

In reality, none of the blind men were correct. They had only grasped a fragment of the whole and jumped to a sweeping conclusion. Thus, later generations used the tale of the "Blind Men Touching an Elephant" as a metaphor for generalizing about a matter based on incomplete knowledge.

In daily life, one is surrounded by such narrow-minded, extreme, and generalizing women. Some declare that no man is any good, when in fact they have simply encountered a bad one. Others insist that men only think with their lower halves, having only met a few lecherous individuals. Still others sigh that women are destined for suffering, forgetting that this statement condemns half the global population to a sea of misery.

Having been bombarded by the impassioned rants of these women for most of the night, Siyuan suddenly grasped a truth: every person’s thoughts are unique. The analyses they offered, much like the commentary from the blind men after touching the elephant, were partial and inaccurate. Therefore, one must ultimately make up their own mind.

"I'll walk my own path, and to hell with the rest."

She changed her QQ signature, exited the group chat where the bitter women lamented their fates, spread her arms wide, and lunged toward the large huggable bear, drifting off into a sweet dream. ... Before they knew it, finals week had arrived, and the atmosphere on campus felt distinctly different.

Each evening, some graduating students would return from off-campus, arm in arm, thoroughly intoxicated—some weeping hysterically, others laughing loudly or singing wildly; there was a full spectrum of behavior.

Next door to Wang Zhuo’s dorm lived an older student who was also graduating. This man had taken ten years to complete his undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies, having started university at twenty-two; this year, he was already thirty-two. The crow's feet at the corners of his eyes spoke of the worldly wisdom he had accumulated, while his tobacco-stained fingers betrayed a long smoking habit.

One morning, as Wang Zhuo returned from his run, he passed beneath the balcony of the "Uncle's" room and saw a bedsheet hanging there, inscribed with sweeping, calligraphic characters: Brothers, the Uncle departs; we’ll meet again in the rivers and lakes.

Unfortunately, it was now the lush, burgeoning early summer, and Wang Zhuo, having only enrolled the previous year, could not yet grasp the melancholy imbued in the Uncle’s brushwork. He simply smiled and headed upstairs.

Breakfast was steamed diced rabbit and preserved egg congee, prepared by Liu Yun early that morning.

Since their triple dorm room housed only two people, it conveniently bypassed the hassle of managing interpersonal dynamics. Wang Zhuo contributed more financially when necessary, while Li Guangran and his girlfriend Liu Yun contributed more in effort; their relationship was wonderfully harmonious.

"Old Tang is leaving. I saw him hang that sheet on the balcony just now; it said something about meeting again in the rivers and lakes," Wang Zhuo chuckled.

The Uncle’s name was Tang Taixi, a name that sounded like Tang Tai Xi (Too Rare Tang), leading classmates to tease him in the cafeteria when they first met. However, as the years passed, those who knew him now simply called him Old Tang, a habit even some advisors had picked up.

"Once he starts working, he’ll have to become Little Tang," Li Guangran said with a shake of his head and a smile. "He told me yesterday that after studying for over twenty years, leaving school feels like waking from a dream."

Isn't a person’s entire life much like a dream? Wang Zhuo smiled, deeply agreeing with the sentiment.

"Sister Liu Yun is heading back soon, right? You two are about to start living apart."

Liu Yun smiled gently. "Yes, probably apart for over a year."

Liu Yun would finish her bachelor’s degree in four years, while Li Guangran wouldn't start his seventh year of study until the next academic year, and wouldn't begin his internship until some time after the eighth year started. Calculating it out, they would indeed be separated for over a year—a real test for any couple.

Wang Zhuo asked himself, if he were in that situation, his feelings might not cool down due to distance, but infidelity would be almost a certainty...

This was the saying: dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes; planting melons yields melons, planting beans yields beans; the beam above dictates the structure below, and a general’s house produces no cowardly sons. This inherent nature could be summarized in a single, potent word: inheritance.

Wang Zhuo said with a slight smile, "Then we won't have anyone making breakfast for Guangran and me anymore. The cafeteria concessionaire will earn even more."

Li Guangran replied, "I heard the school is expanding enrollment again. The undergraduate dormitories might run short, so they’ll probably assign another person to our room next semester."

"Another person will make it livelier; at least we could play Dou Dizhu," Liu Yun remarked. "I just hope you three don't end up like monks with no water to fetch, turning the room into a pigsty." ... There was a prerequisite test that morning for a foundational course, and Wang Zhuo sat in the very front row of the classroom.

During the college entrance exams, he had used his X-ray vision to see through the walls in front of him and below his feet, copying the answers of several top students in the classrooms opposite and below, which is how he secured his place. If he had been assigned to this exact spot back then—with the exterior wall of the teaching building ahead and an empty laboratory beneath his feet—even his formidable X-ray vision would have forced him to turn in a blank paper.

However, after a year of practice, this X-ray vision was no longer the same. Now, he only needed to place a pair of anti-fatigue, non-prescription glasses on his desk, and by utilizing light refraction at various angles, he could see the answers of everyone in the room.

This was even more potent than an insect's 360-degree compound eye; his gaze was virtually omniscient, capable of discerning the color of the fabric inside the invigilator's skirt by observing the few square micrometers of surface area on a grain of sand on the floor.

In the large scale, he could use atmospheric refraction to gaze down upon the city from kilometers high in the sky; in the small scale, he could penetrate objects to analyze their composition and constituent elements. Beverages, ores, medicines—nothing was beyond his sight.

Among American comic book heroes, there are Superman, The Flash, Spider-Man, Batman, The Hulk, and so on. Wang Zhuo felt he could now qualify as X-Ray Man, though unfortunately, he hadn't yet encountered a robber using a time bomb to hold up a bank, or a villain hijacking a plane with a plastic pistol.

Having finished copying his exam with satisfying ease, his phone vibrated precisely then. Wang Zhuo picked it up; it was a text from Geng Bin, who had just handed in his paper.

"Boss, there’s a final year social gathering tonight. You absolutely have to come!"

A Lianyu Hui? What was that? Curious, Wang Zhuo placed his exam paper on the desk and walked out of the classroom.

"You finished already?" Geng Bin greeted him enthusiastically, clapping Wang Zhuo on the shoulder. "Come on, let’s talk outside."

When they reached the sports field, several classmates he usually played ball with had already turned in their papers and were waiting. Geng Bin explained the situation, and Wang Zhuo finally understood what was happening.

It turned out these guys had gotten along well with the beautiful nursing students who had cheered for Wang Zhuo on the field previously; one of them had even paired up, and they were planning to rent an apartment off-campus and live together next semester.

Today, they wanted to have a good gathering before the finals ended. They were pulling Wang Zhuo in partly to boost attendance and lure more girls, and partly because they were blunt: Coach Wang was rich, and they wanted to leech off the wealthy patron.

Because Wang Zhuo was often absent due to his busy schedule, even though he had smoothed things over with the school administration and faculty, he still relied on the help of these buddies in his daily life. Therefore, their relationship was excellent, and since this was a once-a-semester event, it was only right for Wang Zhuo to splurge a little.

For students surviving on a thousand yuan a month for living expenses, paying a few hundred for a treat was indeed costly, but for a tycoon like Wang Zhuo, whose average daily income was in the millions, this sum wasn't even the fluff off a hair.

"But I have to go to my girlfriend’s house tonight to eat zongzi," Wang Zhuo said, scratching his head with a wry smile. "Her mother personally invited me by phone, and arrangements were made." It wasn't that he valued pleasure over friendship, but he couldn't disrespect the future mother-in-law's invitation.

"What do we do?" The whole group looked stumped.

"How about this?" Wang Zhuo's eyes darted around. "You guys go ahead, have your fun. Just tell them I’m busy but I’ll show up late. When enough time has passed, I’ll call and say something came up and I can't make it. How about that?"

"That's a viable solution," nodded Lü Tiefeng, the point guard.

"How many of you will there be tonight?" Wang Zhuo asked after a moment of thought.

Geng Bin counted. "Excluding you, there should be seven guys. As for the girls, we don't know yet, but Xia Zhi said if you were coming, there would be over ten."

"And Little Glasses Zhou Huaian signed up too," Lü Tiefeng added.

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend? Can you bring family members tonight?" Wang Zhuo was puzzled. If he could bring a date, should he bring Gan Lin along after he finished eating the zongzi?

"He does have a girlfriend, seemingly quite a few, but he isn't in a serious relationship with any of them." Hearing this, everyone burst out laughing. Zhou Huaian was the epitome of the repressed flirt, a sharp contrast to the fatty nicknamed 'Fat Dragon' who occasionally came to visit Wang Zhuo—one was outwardly reserved, the other openly flirtatious; neither were good examples.

The reputation of men, Wang Zhuo mused, was being ruined by these two guys, representing two distinct archetypes.

"Do as you please," Wang Zhuo said, shaking his head with a smile. He turned to Geng Bin and said, "Come by my dorm later; I’ll give you a thousand yuan for activity funds."

"No way," Geng Bin quickly waved him off. "You’re not even going; how could we possibly accept your money? We’ll self-fund the expenses; we can manage if we're careful."

"It’s fine," Wang Zhuo shrugged. "Just remember to keep the receipts. Have them itemized as 'office supplies'; I’ll use them for tax write-offs when I get back." ... The mention of tax write-offs was merely to ease the psychological burden on the guys so they could relax and enjoy themselves. In truth, Shengshi Wangchao had a professional finance team, and the law intentionally left loopholes for the wealthy, allowing them to operate according to unwritten rules and pay very little tax.

China might not be a paradise for the rich, but tax evasion by the wealthy was an open secret. Ordinary folks and peasants earning three thousand yuan a month had to pay taxes, while the tycoons earning three thousand with extra zeros added might even receive export tax rebates and subsidies.

And what about those migrant writers earning royalties online? The tax threshold was eight hundred yuan, with a base rate of twenty percent plus some convoluted formula. These guys really couldn't afford it; earning little yet being squeezed by arbitrary levies, all while being hunted down by pirating websites. Wang Zhuo felt immense sympathy for them, which is why whenever he found a novel he liked, he would immediately support the author by becoming a major patron without hesitation.

In the evening, Wang Zhuo drove to Fudan University to pick up Gan Lin, stopping to buy groceries on the way home. Once outside the university grounds, he first called Geng Bin and the others, claiming he was tied up in a company meeting and would arrive later, before switching his phone to silent mode. [A sincere thank you to the enthusiastic readers who subscribe to the legitimate novel and give rewards to Hong Chang, the providers of our livelihood! Hong Chang bows in gratitude.]A