Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

The school teacher came for a home visit.

This calls for proper hospitality. Chen Pingsheng took the opportunity to ask about the spoiled brat's performance in middle school.

Overall, it's decent. Occasionally, she acts up a bit, likes to play the righteous little heroine, which really suits her personality.

She's about to start eighth grade soon. In the blink of an eye, high school will be next.

Will she have a high-school romance, or get bullied by her classmates?

As her father, of course he's a bit worried.

After seeing the teacher off, Chen Pingsheng accidentally gave them a little gift.

It was worth about tens of thousands, nothing particularly fancy.

It goes to show, this societal trend of gift-giving is entirely the fault of people like them. If you don't give gifts, and I don't give gifts, how else would the teacher progress?

Chen Pingsheng called the spoiled brat over and seriously gave her some advice: "An'an, you're about to start eighth grade, your grades this year really need to improve, you know?"

"Dad, relax. Even if I don't improve, I'm definitely not going to get worse."

"Hmm… Aim for holding steady in the top ten and pushing into the top eight. Studying is like making money; you have to keep moving forward."

"Ugh… I envy my sister for one thing—she still has room to improve. I don't even have any room left to get better."

Er Piya started talking nonsense again, hands clasped behind her back, just asking to be scolded.

Chen An'an walked over and tugged her ear, "Can you learn to talk properly?"

"Sister, sister… Be gentle! I'm seven now, you can't just pull my ear like this."

"Even if you grow older, you're still my sister. I'll pull whenever I want."

Alright… you win. Er Piya shut up.

The family headed back to the Jinshan Super Villa because it was almost back-to-school season, and preparations at home needed to get started.

Er Piya wasn't bad off; after switching teachers, she didn't have any summer homework assignments.

The spoiled brat, on the other hand, bought an entire pile of study materials and even set up a little study room at home.

It was truly bibliophilic, with a classic and elegant ambiance.

Given this kind of setup, if she doesn't score as top scholar one day, she won't live up to all the money the family spent.

Chang Fu also came along with his six-year-old son, Chang Dalin.

Chang Dalin somewhat inherited his father's academic "talent"—consistently ranked third from the bottom in his class. His mother, Yang Qian, still wanted to have another child.

But Chang Fu was unhelpful, and she hadn't gotten pregnant yet. According to Yang Qian, there's little hope that Chang Dalin could get into Qingbei.

Even 211 or 985-ranked universities seem unlikely.

For now, he's just a first-grader, two grades below Er Piya.

Er Piya is so insanely gifted that even Chen Pingsheng doesn't understand how he could have fathered such a clever daughter.

The Little Third, Chen Lu, is pretty average, likes playing the sycophant, and his academic performance can only be described as unremarkable.

When he grows up, there's a high chance he'll go study abroad.

Unlike his sister, Er Piya—whatever exams she takes, she'll probably ace them.

Every school-term season, the house gets filled with kids. His sister's child, Hu Qilin, isn't even five yet.

On the other hand, his elder sister's two daughters—Xiao Ya is already a junior in college and will come to Jinshan for an internship after finishing three years of school.

She'll surely take the proper route of a commercial-political marriage alliance. Her younger sister, Xiao Le, is also starting her first year of college.

College girls—this is the prime stage for developing romantic relationships.

But at this stage, romance is totally normal. However, Chen Pingsheng remains strict, insisting that they absolutely cannot date during college.

The kids in the household are all growing up, while he himself is slowly aging.

Chen Pingsheng held Song Yanxi's hand and felt quite content.

In the evening, they even had a family gathering at home. There was no need to call anyone; all the relatives of the Old Chen Family lived together anyway.

The only difference was they lived upstairs or downstairs. This time, the kids stole the spotlight at the party.

Everyone encouraged them to study hard and aim high.

Work hard in school to become successful in life.

Such talk can only come from the older generation. The younger ones don't say things like that anymore.

Just look at the income of internet celebrities nowadays. As the saying goes, rely on grades in school, and rely on parents after graduation.

No matter how good your grades are, they're nothing compared to your parents' connections and resources.

This truth remains unspoken but crystal clear to anyone who's experienced the real world for a few years.

Chen An'an and her siblings study hard not to make money but to better understand the world through books and learn life lessons.

For regular families, college major choices are often geared toward practical employment opportunities.

For them, it's more about passion and interest.

Watching the kids grow up a little each day is quite gratifying.

Chen Pingsheng thought that Golden Finger Grandpa's luck value was truly remarkable. His family hadn't suffered even the slightest illness or misfortune.

Sickness doesn't tend to spike during summer; it becomes more prevalent in winter.

Song Yanxi sat with him in the Sky Garden, enjoying the magic city nightscape under moonlight, soaking in the serenity.

"Should you take An'an for her first day tomorrow?"

"Of course. You'd better take Er Piya though. That girl never thinks about keeping a low profile and wouldn't bother pretending to be normal in front of others. If you don't take her, she'll probably call all three top company heads over."

"Hmm… I don't mind those two. But about the Little Third—I brought this up before, though you didn't agree. Should we separate Little Third and Su Xiaoxi into different classes?"

Chen Pingsheng thought for a moment and said, "No need. Little Third is barely four years old. There's no point in micromanaging him. If he likes playing with someone, let him play."

Song Yanxi shook her head, disagreeing. "The Su Family probably hasn't approached you yet. Su Xiaoxi's mother has directly asked me several times. She wants to borrow a billion from me or have me guarantee it."

"Just turn her down directly. No need to drag the kids into it."

"I just find her mindset completely unreasonable. My son likes playing with her daughter—that's it—but why should she ask me for money? Besides, Su Xiaoxi's mother is just someone's second wife. Her husband has mistresses all over the place and a formidable ex-wife too."

"No reason to care about that. Let the kids handle their matters themselves."

Chen Pingsheng naturally understood what the Su Family's situation was like. This year, Su Xiaoxi's mother had turned twenty-five.

Her husband was in his early fifties. When she was nineteen, the Old Master Su had taken a sudden interest in her.

And then came the divorce, followed by their marriage.

If she had given birth to a son, that would've been fine since the Old Master Su had no biological sons. But having a daughter lowered her position in the household significantly.

Many wealthy men divorce precisely to have sons.

The Su Family situation is undeniably complicated.

With their current state—billions in debt and the housing market being stagnant—it's a huge question mark how long they can last.