The Road to a Divine Harem Starting with a Stepmom Companion

Chapter 10: Choosing a University

“Thank you, Stepmom, for working so hard to personally cook me breakfast every morning,” Cao Shaoyang said sincerely.

“If you know how hard I work, then stop getting in my way! It’s your fault—keeping me up until almost dawn! With such little sleep, where are you finding the energy to study?” Liu Xiaofei retorted, exasperation and a hint of embarrassment in her voice.

She turned her head toward Cao Shaoyang, who still had his arms wrapped around her. “Why don’t we just skip today? I can call in for you and let you rest at home. You can go back to school tomorrow,” she suggested.

Cao Shaoyang leaned in and kissed her cheek, laughing. “It’s fine! I’m young—just a little rest, and I’m good to go.”

Liu Xiaofei rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say! Did you forget the amount of physical activity last night?!” As she spoke, her face flushed, and she looked down shyly.

“It’s your fault for not holding back yesterday!”

“Relax,” Cao Shaoyang said with a chuckle, patting her gently on the stomach. “You know how strong I am. One sleepless night is nothing. Honestly, I could go another—”

“Stop saying nonsense!” she interrupted quickly, her voice flustered.

“Alright, it’s up to you. But remember, we agreed: no distractions for the next few days. Focus on your studies and prepare for the college entrance exams.”

“Yes, ma’am! Your wish is my command, my dearest Stepmom!” Cao Shaoyang replied playfully, feigning an exaggerated bow.

After finishing breakfast at a leisurely pace, he arrived at school just as morning self-study was already in session.

Walking into the classroom, his tardiness didn’t attract much attention. Most of his classmates were engrossed in their review materials or furiously solving practice questions. Immersed in their studies, they didn’t even notice another student entering.

Cao Shaoyang sat at his desk and placed his backpack down. Leaning slightly toward his deskmate, Xu Shaohua, he whispered, “Shaohua, has the homeroom teacher come by yet?”

[A homeroom teacher is a teacher who is responsible for a specific group of students, usually for administrative and organizational purposes, rather than for teaching a specific subject.]

Only then did Xu Shaohua look up from the practice paper he was working on. After a moment of thought, he replied, “I don’t think so. At least, I haven’t seen him come in.”

“Good,” Cao Shaoyang said, relieved.

Not every high schooler has the fortune of having a beautiful homeroom teacher. In his case, their teacher was a middle-aged man in his forties. Though Cao Shaoyang’s grades had never been stellar, he was consistently above average, so the homeroom teacher paid close attention to students like him who showed potential. Unlike students at the bottom of the class, who were mostly ignored as long as they didn’t disturb others, Cao Shaoyang was under constant scrutiny.

“Another monotonous day of boring revision,” he thought with a sigh, even as his hand reached for an English textbook.

In this role, he had to blend in.

Although he had already purchased the actual exam papers for this year’s college entrance exams through the system and obtained the correct answers, practically guaranteeing his success, appearances still mattered.

He flipped open the English book, but his gaze was unfocused.

At that moment, Cao Shaoyang was reviewing the results of his efforts from the system’s interface.

System Log:

Reward Calculation: Total spending yesterday: ¥62,053.

Received random 8x cashback bonus.

Total cashback earned: ¥796,424, credited to system balance.

Isn’t this reward interface beautifully simple? Cao Shaoyang thought smugly.

When Cao Shaoyang first bonded with the system, it used to calculate cashback rewards in real-time. Every time he spent money on a woman, a reward notification would pop up—even something as trivial as buying a drink for a female classmate would trigger a cashback alert. It quickly became irritating.

After some experimentation, Cao Shaoyang discovered that the system had a setting to disable real-time notifications and instead accumulate cashback rewards daily. This change made things much more convenient for him.

Although this method slightly reduced his overall earnings, he didn’t mind. He wasn’t in desperate need of cash flow—after all, he had over a hundred million yuan in his account.

Having such wealth gave him unparalleled freedom. He no longer had the patience to calculate daily income meticulously, nor did he need to. What had been exciting at first quickly became routine and dull.

Hiding behind an English textbook, Cao Shaoyang discreetly pulled out his Huawei phone, unlocked it, opened the UC Browser, and began searching Baidu for reviews of various universities.

[Baidu Browser is a free web browser developed by Baidu for Windows and mobile devices.]

Despite having the system’s guarantees for his upcoming college entrance exams, he had no intention of applying to prestigious institutions like Tsinghua University, Peking University, or any 985 or 211 universities. He knew his own limitations—academic rigor wasn’t his strength.

With the God-Level System securing his financial future, he didn’t need to put unnecessary pressure on himself. Attending an arts university and coasting through three years of college seemed like a much better idea.

After several days of research and comparison, he had narrowed down his options.

Of all the universities, Shanghai’s top-ranked arts school stood out as the most promising. While Cao Shaoyang wanted a laid-back experience, he couldn’t ignore the demographic factor—if the campus lacked beautiful women, those three years would feel wasted.

Shanghai Arts University, one of the top two arts institutions in the country alongside Beijing Film Academy, offered a promising balance. He was confident it would have no shortage of attractive students.

His decision was made: he would apply for the photography program, a field perfectly suited to his interests and future plans.

If not for his indifference toward drinking, he might have even considered the wine-tasting major, often dubbed the ultimate “slacker’s program,” where attending class meant indulging in small amounts of alcohol.