"President Cheng's words really hurt me." Mo Zijing's handsome face suddenly moved closer to her, his smile wicked, and his beautiful eyes blinked seductively, giving Cheng Yongxin goosebumps.
"I attended the meeting in Youluo a couple of days ago, but now Chairman Cheng doesn't even remember me at all. It's really disheartening!"
Hmph! I just saw Jiang Haozhe and this girl getting quite close; they seemed to have a very good relationship.
Mo Zijin gave Jiang Haozhe a defiant smile: Although I can't beat you right now, I'll start with the person you love and see what you can do!
If this were an ordinary girl from Yuro, she might have already screamed and had hearts in her eyes upon seeing this handsome man. After all, Yuro is an all-girls school, and he is quite pleasing to the eye—but who is Cheng Yongxin? A tenacious woman who has relentlessly strived for her one and only crush since she was eight years old! How could she be easily tempted by someone like this?
Cheng Yongxin rudely pulled her hand back, glared at him, and gave the smiling boy in front of her a forced smile—since he was reasonably good-looking, she really, really didn't want to embarrass her.
"I'm sorry, I really don't remember you."
No matter if the other party is Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, or Wang, even if it's the Heavenly King himself, apart from Jiang Chenjun, Cheng Yongxin can't tolerate anyone else. Even if you are incredibly handsome, you are not even a fraction as good as Brother Jiang in her heart. Besides, this guy is completely unrelated to her, so why would she bother to remember such a nobody?
A muffled laugh came from beside him; it was Jiang Haozhe, who was watching the show from the sidelines.
Mo Zijing was somewhat embarrassed by Cheng Yongxin's blatant disrespect. He was, after all, a handsome man, yet he constantly suffered this kind of neglect—it was truly outrageous! He could tolerate Jiang Haozhe's behavior, that was just his nature, incorrigible, but to treat Cheng Yongxin the same way was infuriating.
"Then—please allow me to formally introduce myself." Mo Zijin's recovery ability was truly astonishing; in the blink of an eye, she had climbed out of the abyss of despair and returned to her usual radiant smile.
"My surname is Mo, the 'Mo' of 'Mo Fei'. My given name 'Zi Jin' is taken from the line 'Green are your collars, long is my longing' in Cao Cao's poem 'Short Song' from the Three Kingdoms period. Of course, if Chairman Cheng wants to call me by my given name, I don't mind."
After saying that, he imitated foreign etiquette and planted a heavy kiss on the back of Cheng Yongxin's hand.
"You, you, you—" Cheng Yongxin's face turned pale instantly.
How could this guy be so bold! Being frivolous is one thing, but now he's actually taking advantage of her!! She hasn't even held Brother Jiang's hand yet! This guy actually—
Wow—she's really sorry to Brother Jiang!
“You…” Cheng Yongxin’s face turned pale and then red. She was about to slap the lecherous man when someone preemptively struck.
"What are you doing!" Jiang Haozhe pulled Cheng Yongxin behind him and glared at Mo Zijin with burning eyes.
Cheng Yongxin looked at him in surprise—was this guy protecting her?
Mo Zijing raised the corners of her lips and smiled slightly, "I was merely expressing my admiration for Chairman Cheng, so why is Chairman Jiang making such a fuss?"
He chuckled again. "Or is it that Chairman Jiang is worried that I'll steal his fiancée away?"
"I'm not that guy's fiancée!"
Cheng Yongxin shoved Jiang Haozhe aside without hesitation and stormed up to Mo Zijing. "I'm not Jiang Haozhe's fiancée!!! Did you hear me?"
Unfortunately, Cheng Yongxin didn't understand a principle: the more someone says "yes," the more others will think "no." Cheng Yongxin's righteous and stern words not only failed to clarify the misunderstanding, but also made her seem more like she was trying to cover up her mistake and that she was trying to hide something.
Mo Zijing's eyes were full of ambiguity, clearly indicating that she did not believe her explanation.
He chuckled softly, blinked his narrow eyes, and gave a flirtatious look. "Whether it's true or not, I don't care, President Cheng. You just need to know that I admire you."
With a wave of her hand, Mo Zijin left gracefully, leaving Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe staring at each other in disbelief.
"...Is this person crazy?" She stared blankly at Mo Zijing's departing figure and murmured to herself.
“He’s always the same, incorrigible.” Jiang Haozhe frowned, his face expressionless.
"He...has always been like this?" Cheng Yongxin looked at him, her eyes full of doubt. How could someone's narcissism have reached such a pathological level and he still hasn't been admitted to a mental hospital?
"Who knows what he was like before? He's a returned student, and he was like this when he transferred here." Jiang Haozhe replied lazily. Mo Zijing's strange behavior wasn't something that had just started a day or two ago. He had been tormented by him like this every day, and he had actually gotten used to it and was no longer surprised. It seemed that his ability to adapt was indeed impressive.
It was extremely rare that their conversation had been so calm and peaceful for the first time since they had met.
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long.
After a moment of silence, the two glanced at each other simultaneously, then remained silent. As if suddenly realizing something, they both jumped back three steps at the same time, creating a safe distance.
"You, how come you're still here dead?! Trying to stay here and refuse to leave?" With a raised eyebrow, Cheng Yongxin immediately reverted to her usual feisty wildcat demeanor when facing him.
"And what about you? I have long legs and I can walk faster than you. If you don't run soon, you'll be late!" Jiang Haozhe was equally defiant. He had never lost a verbal battle with the two of them over the years, and this time was no exception.
"My legs are short? I was clearly walking faster than you just now, okay?!"
"That's because I, this young master, am magnanimous and kind enough to let you have your way."
Before they knew it, the two had returned to the same boring question they had been arguing about at the beginning.
"You? Generous? Pshaw! I'd be a fool to believe you!" Cheng Yongxin rolled her eyes, her tone full of sarcasm.
"My magnanimity may not be great, but it's more than enough compared to a lovesick woman like you." Jiang Haozhe sneered twice, his contempt evident in his words.
"You, you, you called me a fangirl again!!!"
"You've always been a fangirl, why won't you admit it?"
"You, you... Jiang Hao Zhe!!!"
"I'm here, what brings you here?"
"you……"
The morning sunlight was warm and gentle, and the morning breeze rustled the leaves of the roadside trees.
Today is another new day.
Scandal
"What on earth is this writing?!"
With a furious roar, a magazine was slammed to the ground with a loud "thud," raising a cloud of dust.
Su Ying adjusted her glasses, squatted down, and carefully picked up the magazine, her face full of helplessness. "Yongxin, this is, after all, the hard work of the students in the journalism club. Don't waste their efforts like this, okay?"
"Wasting? Am I wasting their money or are they wasting mine?!" Cheng Yongxin leaped up from her office chair with a "whoosh," her almond-shaped eyes widening to the size of a bull's. "The student union allocates so much funding to them every year! And all they get is this filthy stuff!!"
What's all messed up?
Fang Yu, who had just entered, overheard a question and asked it casually. She noticed Cheng Yongxin sitting at the table looking sullen and annoyed. She winked at Su Ying, puzzled, "...What's wrong with Yongxin now?"
"Take a look for yourself." Su Ying handed her the school magazine, smiling helplessly.
Fang Yu took the magazine with a puzzled look. On the cover of this issue of the school magazine, there was a huge headline written in extremely bold black font: "A Love Story That Transcends the Campus - The Romance of Two Influential Figures at Youluo South Exhibition Center Exposed!!"
Full of curiosity, she opened the book and, after only a cursory glance at its contents, she immediately understood. It turned out that the so-called "two prominent figures of Youluo South Exhibition" referred to Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe. No wonder she was so angry.
Although Youluo is one of the top high schools in the province, with a strict school spirit and first-class students, its school magazine is an extremely lacking publication in terms of both substance and quality. Not only has it been dominated by the most gossipy girls in the school for a long time, but they have also become so adept at spreading rumors and gossip that they can't stop. They follow the wind and change their tune whenever there is a problem, often fabricating the ending of events before they even happen.
Therefore, this issue of the school magazine devoted twelve pages, from the first to the twelfth, to introducing the seemingly ambiguous and mysterious relationship between the student council presidents of Youluo and Nanzhan High Schools. It not only provided a detailed comparison of Cheng Yongxin and Jiang Haozhe's height, temperament, and compatibility in terms of zodiac signs and blood types, but also went so far as to introduce their family backgrounds and the interactions between their families in detail, using a large number of facts and examples to prove that the relationship between the two was not shallow.
"...According to relevant sources, at a recent student affairs exchange meeting between the two schools, President Cheng Yongxin, who has always been indifferent to male students, surprisingly took the initiative to invite Jiang Haozhe, the president of the Nan Zhan Student Union, for a private conversation. Moreover, President Jiang from Nan Zhan even made a shocking statement about unrequited love. Given these overwhelming facts, it's not hard to guess that behind the seemingly peaceful relationship between the two lies a deeper, unknown secret. We believe that in the near future, everything will come to light. Please wait and see. We will live up to everyone's expectations and investigate this matter to the end!" Fang Yu slowly finished reading the last part of the article, looked up at Cheng Yongxin, who was so angry she was practically fainting, raised an eyebrow, and then whistled.
"Well written! Such talent is perfect for being a secretary in the student union." Not only was he able to unearth so much information in such a short time, but he was also able to list and compare it in detail. This is indeed a remarkable talent. It's a real pity to use it for writing gossip news; it's simply a waste of human resources.
"What's so good about it?!" Cheng Yongxin was furious, completely disregarding her image. "What's the point of a gang surviving with people like this? We might as well disband it!!"
"Yongxin, don't let your personal feelings influence your evaluation of people," Fang Yu frowned, somewhat exasperated. "In fact, there are quite a few talented people in the school newspaper's news club."
"I don't care how much it is! I'm going to see that club president later! If she doesn't take this messed-up article down, she can forget about the student council approving funding for them next year!!"
It wouldn't be so bad if it were anyone else, but it had to be that damn guy!! This is an absolute insult to her!
“Yongxin, I understand how you feel…” Su Ying smiled gently, her smile tender and graceful. She placed a hand on Yongxin’s shoulder, her eyes filled with sympathy and concern. “After all, it’s really hard to be wrongly accused…”
"Xiaoying... I knew you were the best." Cheng Yongxin leaned against her, touched, and sniffed hard. Xiaoying was indeed the most considerate; she truly deserved to be her best friend! She would definitely stand by her side in a crucial moment!
“But—” Su Ying smiled radiantly and continued slowly, “The school magazine’s funding has always come mainly from sponsorships, so… Yongxin, threatening them with funding won’t work, Yongxin—I think you should just accept your fate!”
A muffled laugh, far from ladylike, echoed in the quiet office. It was Fang Yu, who was watching the spectacle with glee.
Cheng Yongxin stood up angrily, "All you do is watch the show and kick me when I'm down! You don't even know how to help me! Are you even human?"
Honestly, besides gloating and kicking someone when they're down, what are these two people even doing here? How could she be so unlucky to have such terrible friends?
"Then, Miss Cheng, please tell us, if we are not human, what are we?" Fang Yu smiled cheekily, completely lacking the gentle and refined temperament that someone born into a family where both parents are professors should possess. Instead, he looked just like a street thug.
"Fang—Yu—"
It's said that a woman in a fit of rage can be as destructive as a hydrogen bomb. So when Miss Cheng's face was as gloomy as Sadako crawling out of a well, and she was yelling someone's full name, if anyone still dared to provoke this impending hydrogen bomb, they would be blasted into dust on the spot without a second thought. Therefore, in this situation, it's best to keep quiet and not provoke her.
To protect oneself, a wise person knows how to read the room.
So Fang Yu obediently shut her mouth and looked at her with a pair of very innocent eyes. After all, Yongxin could be quite terrifying when she got angry.
“…But, Yongxin, you can’t entirely blame our school’s news agency,” Su Ying said softly, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
Cheng Yongxin glared coldly, "If we don't blame them, who else can we blame? It can't be my fault, can it?"
There's no smoke without fire, so it couldn't have been her who went to tell those gossipy women at the news agency! There's no other explanation but for them to make it up on their own.
Su Ying smiled gently, leisurely picked up the school magazine she had just read, turned to a certain page, unfolded it, and handed it to Cheng Yongxin with a radiant smile.
"Because—this is something that Jiang Haozhe, the chairman of the South Exhibition Center, himself admitted in an interview."
Shrimp —
Settling accounts
Ding-dong—Ding-dong—
After the melodious doorbell rang, Uncle Wang, the Jiang family's butler, opened the door.
"Excuse me—is Brother Jiang there?" A sweet and gentle voice asked.
Uncle Wang squinted his eyes, which were covered in senile filaments, and looked at the pretty girl with a gentle smile in front of him. It took him a while to recognize her as the eldest daughter of the Cheng family, who had always been on good terms with the Jiang family. His old face immediately lit up with a smile.
"Oh, it's Miss Yongxin! Come in and sit down! I almost didn't recognize you after so long. You've really blossomed into a beautiful young woman..."
Cheng Yongxin smiled sweetly and asked softly, "Uncle Wang, is Brother Jiang here?"
"Young Master? He's not back yet. He's probably working overtime at the company again. You know how busy it is to be a CEO..."
"Oh, then—where are Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang?"
"Master and Madam, they went to see some lake. They said it was because of a driver from Madam Chai's family..."
"Then—what about Jiang Haozhe?"
"Young Master? The Young Master is upstairs, would you like me to take him..."