Chapter 58 Bonus Increased by 10,000

Chapter 58: A Ten-Thousand Raise

Cheng Feng looked at the lavish spread on the table, and his stomach let out an embarrassing "gurgle."

The sound was faint, but Butler Liu still noticed.

He glanced sideways at Cheng Feng and asked in a low voice, "Hungry?"

Cheng Feng shook his head, managing a weak smile:

"It's fine, I'm okay."

Butler Liu didn't press further. He simply stood up and took Cheng Feng to the kitchen. Inside, several freshly cooked dishes were still sitting out, steaming hot and fragrant.

Butler Liu got him a bowl and told him to help himself to some rice and eat right then and there in the kitchen.

Butler Liu himself hadn't had dinner yet, so he stood eating with him.

The cook for the eldest young master was definitely more skilled.

It wasn't that the cook for the youngest young master was bad, but the food there was blander. The dishes here were more robust, with a bit of spice, which suited Cheng Feng's taste perfectly.

After they finished eating, they cleared away their dishes before returning to the main hall together.

Those at the main table were still eating, the atmosphere quiet and proper.

Master Shang was casually grilling Shang Shaohao. Shang Shaohao was clearly cowed in front of him, stammering, with none of the arrogance he showed in front of the other servants.

About half an hour later, Master Shang finished his meal, said a few more words to his children, then stood up and left.

Cheng Feng remained quietly standing to the side, waiting for what came next.

Once Shang Shaohao sat down at the desk, Cheng Feng immediately sat in the chair beside him.

This time, it was Shang Nanzhou who was handing out the tests.

When the new papers were handed out, Cheng Feng took one look and immediately frowned.

This test was clearly a lot harder than the one from the afternoon. There were many kinds of problems he'd never seen before.

Although he had been paying close attention in class since entering the school, he'd missed a lot of classes and relied on self-study, so he still couldn't quite keep up with the teacher's pace.

The teacher went really fast. If he hadn't frequently gone to the office after class to ask questions, he probably wouldn't have understood many of the concepts.

After finishing three test papers, they were led to a different room.

The next test was piano.

The piece they had to play was the one they'd just learned.

Cheng Feng was already very familiar with this piece. His fingering was fluid, his rhythm steady, and he played it effortlessly.

The black and white keys danced under his fingertips, the melody flowing out like running water.

When it was Shang Shaohao's turn, things weren't so smooth.

He played somewhat hastily, his rhythm was all over the place, even almost messing up the melody in a few places. By the end of the piece, he was sweating. He shot an awkward, furtive glance at Shang Xu.

Shang Xu's face didn't change expression. All he said was calmly, "Next round."

The next round was dance.

This was where Cheng Feng really struggled.

He tried hard to follow the rhythm, but his movements always seemed half a beat behind the music. He looked somewhat clumsy, even a bit of a mess.

But he danced with total seriousness, doing his absolute best with every move.

Shang Shaohao was the complete opposite.

He performed a street dance. His movements were clean and sharp, his sense of rhythm strong. Every turn, every freeze-frame was seriously cool, making everyone watching want to cheer.

Cheng Feng was jealous of Shang Shaohao's skill. Young Master Shang Shaohao was a genius when it came to dance.

After dance came singing.

Recently, school had canceled music class. The music teacher was out on maternity leave, so they hadn't had a proper singing lesson in a long time.

However, the song they had to sing this time wasn't unfamiliar to Cheng Feng. It was the very piece that Shang Xu often played in the piano room.

He had hummed it before and, over time, had learned to sing it.

As the music started, Cheng Feng took a deep breath and began to sing.

His voice was clear and bright, carrying a hint of the unique youthful naivety, yet surprisingly steady. Every note landed on the beat, and the emotion was conveyed just right.

The living room instantly fell silent.

Everyone's gaze involuntarily fell upon Cheng Feng.

Cheng Feng could feel their eyes on him, could feel that moment of surprise. They clearly hadn't expected him to sing so well.

When the song ended, after a few seconds of silence, Shang Xu was the first to applaud.

The applause wasn't loud, but it was distinct.

"You have a real talent for music," Shang Xu said, looking at him earnestly.

Cheng Feng's heart warmed.

Being praised was always a happy thing, especially when it came from such an outstanding group of young masters and ladies.

And Shang Xu, who was known as the "Piano Genius Prince" at school.

Receiving his praise was, without a doubt, a tremendous affirmation for Cheng Feng.

He tried hard to suppress the smile at the corner of his mouth, but inside, he was already overjoyed.

The exams continued until 9:30 PM.

The living room was bathed in soft light, but the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

Shang Nanzhou was responsible for announcing the results.

They hadn't been tested on all subjects, only a few key ones.

"Shang Shaohao—"

Shang Nanzhou deliberately drew out his voice,

"Chinese, 90 points; Math, 57 points; English, 102 points; History, 20 points; Geography, 10 points; Piano, 0 points; Dance, 89 points; Singing, 65 points."

When he heard the young master's scores, Cheng Feng's heart jumped into his throat and pounded wildly.

He had no confidence in his own performance at all. The exams were truly difficult; he couldn't answer many questions and had to guess on several of the big questions.

"Cheng Feng—"

Shang Zixuan continued,

"Chinese, 113 points; Math, 92 points; English, 90 points; History, full score 80, scored 63; Geography, full score 60, scored 36; Piano, 96 points; Dance, full score 100, scored 0; Singing, full score 100, scored 95."

When he heard his own scores, Cheng Feng immediately looked down.

He thought he'd done especially badly this time. He almost failed English, his History score was only in the sixties, and Geography was even worse. Although Chinese seemed decent, compared to his previous level, it was still a drop, just barely passing.

He unconsciously clenched the fabric of his shirt, his palms sweating slightly.

Shang Shaohao also hung his head, not daring to utter a word.

At that moment, Shang Xu, who had stayed quiet until now, finally spoke.

"Shang Shaohao, you improved in math since last time. Keep it up. English dropped by 5 points. Piano didn't just not improve, it got worse. It was a mess."

He went on, critiquing everything from his study habits to his daily behavior. However, in the end, he didn't come down hard on Shang Shaohao. Instead, he changed tack:

"Your grades aren't everything, but you need to have the right attitude. Just staying out of trouble is a big step forward for you. I'm increasing your allowance by five hundred thousand yuan this month."

"Five hundred thousand?!" Shang Shaohao jerked his head up, eyes wide, his gloom instantly turning to excitement. "Thank you, brother!"

Actually, five hundred thousand yuan wasn't much at all for a family like theirs. Many other rich kids had allowances in the tens of millions. But Shang Shaohao was a child, and his previous allowance had always been one million, so an extra five hundred thousand was a huge increase.

The corner of Shang Xu's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

"Keep it up. No more sleeping in from now on, and pay attention in class. I'm not expecting miracles, but you can't go out messing around anymore. If I catch you gambling even one more time, you're cut off completely."

"No, no, I won't!" Shang Shaohao nodded vigorously, like he was afraid his brother would take it back. He even ran over and pestered his brother to transfer the money right then and there. "I definitely won't mess around anymore! I'll be good and listen."

After saying that, he stood properly, putting on an 'I've turned over a new leaf' expression.

Shang Xu gave a helpless smile and ruffled his hair.

"You, really."

Shang Shaohao shook his brother's arm, putting in extra effort to act cute. "Brother, hurry up and transfer the money!"

Shang Nanzhou and Shang Zixuan both rolled their eyes. This guy really knew how to change his tune.

Shang Xu transferred the money to Shang Shaohao, who let out an excited "whoop," overjoyed.

Meanwhile, Shang Nanzhou pouted. "Brother, I want a raise too. I only get five million, it's not enough at all. Others get ten million in allowance, only I get so little. I'm practically starving."

Shang Xu looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "It would be plenty if you didn't blow it all on games."

Shang Nanzhou: "..."

Shang Zixuan also wanted money. "Brother, I want a raise too. You know, girls need a lot of money. Without money, I can't even buy clothes."

"The Shang family has clothing stores. You can shop there freely."

"I don't want clothes from our own family's stores. I want to buy brands from other places. Brother, I really don't have enough money to spend."

Shang Xu's expression remained unchanged. "You'd have more than enough if you didn't treat them to meals all the time. Some friends shouldn't be kept. Their family conditions aren't as good as yours; they approach you with ulterior motives."

Shang Zixuan pouted. "Brother, you always suspect my friends like this. My friends are very good."

Shang Xu didn't respond and turned his gaze to Cheng Feng.

Meeting his gaze, Cheng Feng's heart tightened, and he instinctively lowered his head again.

Unexpectedly, Shang Xu didn't criticize him.

"Your grades aren't as good as last time," he said calmly. "But I heard from the teachers that you've been working very hard. Often, you can't keep up with the pace. Given that you're struggling to keep up, achieving these scores is already very good. Keep up the effort."

He paused, then added, "This month, your salary will be increased by ten thousand."

After saying that, he looked at Butler Liu.

"Make a note. His bonus this month is increased by ten thousand."

"Yes, Young Master," Butler Liu immediately nodded in acknowledgment.

Cheng Feng was stunned for a moment, then abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with surprise.

"Thank you, Young Master!"

In that instant, he felt all the previous tension and unease transform into a sense of solid reassurance from being recognized.

Shang Xu gave a few more brief instructions, telling them to go back and rest early, and said nothing more.

On the way back, Shang Shaohao was in an excellent mood.

Probably because his allowance increased by five hundred thousand, he felt light as air. His gaze towards Cheng Feng was also much friendlier than usual, not a trace of impatience, instead showing a bit of genuine closeness.

"Cheng Feng," he glanced sideways at him, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "In the future... teach me more math. I'm really bad at it."

Cheng Feng smiled. He would be more than happy if the young master took a liking to studying.

"Okay."