Chapter 13: The Femme Fatale
"Fuqingxiang? The name is not bad, this is the one." Li Yang looked up and saw a luxuriously decorated restaurant, and stepped inside.
But as soon as he stepped inside, he regretted it. Damn it, what a coincidence! Why did I run into them? Li Yang sat down with his head down, ordered a bowl of noodles, and then idly thought about a book of couplets he had found the night before.
He bought it while browsing a bookstore to impress others when writing essays, but after reading a few pages, he put it down. Last night, he found it again and found it increasingly fascinating. The countless couplets and explanations filled the book, making him beam with delight and feel exhilarated. He couldn't help but admire the wisdom and talent of the ancients!
A large table in one corner of the hall was filled with people, all seventeen or eighteen-year-olds, full of youthful energy, celebrating someone's birthday as if no one else was around.
Judging from the appearance, the birthday girl sitting in the middle should be Zhao Lihua, the most eye-catching girl in the entire restaurant. Next to her sits Li Yang's classmate, Gao Yan, whose father is Gao Bucheng, a well-known wealthy real estate businessman in Jiangdong City. He has great influence, skillful tactics, and connections in both the legal and illegal worlds.
As a result, Gao Yan also became a prominent figure at the No. 1 Middle School in the city. Because his family was rich and he was extravagant, and he also knew some big shots outside the school, he was unparalleled in the school and was the de facto boss of the No. 1 Middle School.
Li Yang was never one of those wealthy and powerful people; they rarely interacted and almost never spoke. So, he lowered his head, intending to quickly eat a bowl of noodles and leave.
But just as he sat down and finished ordering, a boy next to Gao Yan saw Li Yang. The boy's name was Zhou Zheng, and he was also Li Yang's classmate. He came from an average family and was Gao Yan's lackey, extremely good at flattering others!
Gao Yan's attention was completely focused on the stunningly beautiful Zhao Lihua beside him, oblivious to everything happening in the living room. Especially today, with this rare opportunity, he finally had a chance to get close to Zhao Lihua, sitting next to her, inhaling her alluring scent, and even getting a close-up look at her breasts. Gao Yan was so overjoyed that he was practically flying away, completely oblivious to Li Yang, who was trying to avoid them.
But Zhou Zheng didn't think so. He rolled his eyes, leaned closer to Gao Yan and whispered, "Boss, look who's over there?"
"Who is it?" Gao Yan looked up and glanced at Li Yang, then just curled his lip in disdain and said, "He's an idiot, why do you care what he does?"
"Brother, weren't you eager to show off in front of Xiaohua? The reason you were able to invite her to dinner today to celebrate her birthday is because you promised to sponsor her literary club, isn't it? That's enough to show that the school beauty likes literature and talented men. Why don't you take this opportunity to make a good impression?" Zhou Zheng suggested to Gao Yan with a sly look on his face.
Zhao Lihua remained indifferent, her eyes cold and aloof, ignoring the fawning of Gao Yan and the group of boys at the table, and continued to drink tea or eat something on her own.
Gao Yan was troubled by his inability to make a move, but after hearing Zhou Zheng's words, he felt they made sense. Zhao Lihua's father was also the director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a man of the world who didn't care about money; otherwise, he would have already bribed her into obediently taking off her clothes and begging to have sex with him.
Therefore, he found Zhou Zheng's words to be reasonable. Only things that she cares about can move her.
"How should I perform?" Gao Yan was definitely a spoiled brat with a belly full of bad ideas but no real skills. He usually spent his time eating, drinking, and having fun, bullying men and women. He was at a loss when it came to such a difficult task!
Zhou Zheng's grades were average, but he was quick-witted and had a particular fondness for historical allusions and other such things. He always had some ingenious ideas in his mind, which is why he was able to follow Gao Yan and become Gao Yan's chief strategist for doing bad things.
Zhou Zheng's eyes lit up and he said, "Since the school beauty likes literature, let's do literature. I just memorized a wonderful couplet in a book a few days ago, it's extremely difficult. I'll write the second line on a piece of paper for you, go to the bathroom later and memorize it, then I'll give that kid the first line, he definitely won't be able to come up with a matching line, then you can come out and show off, win the beauty's favor, hehe."
Gao Yan's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, and he patted Zhou Zheng on the shoulder, saying, "Zheng, you truly deserve to be my chief strategist, you've done a great job. As long as I manage to win over Zhao Lihua, I'll give you a BYD to drive, how about that?"
Zhou Zheng trembled instantly, his face contorted with excitement, and he nodded hastily, saying, "Big brother, don't worry, I, Zhou Zheng, will follow you from now on!"
"Okay. Keep up the good work." Gao Yan praised Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng was extremely excited. He took a pen and paper from the waiter and secretly wrote a couplet on it. Although Gao Yan was a simpleton, he couldn't help but feel excited after seeing the couplet. He glanced at the aloof beauty of the school belle beside him and a smug smile crept onto his lips.
Zhao Lihua wasn't just all looks and no brains; on the contrary, she was incredibly intelligent, consistently ranking among the top students in her grade and first in her class. She naturally noticed Li Yang as well, though she had a vague recollection of him.
It was only after seeing Li Yang begging on the street that I developed a deep impression of him, though it was a despicable and unpleasant one.
She glanced at Gao Yan and Zhou Zheng again and frowned. However, she couldn't be bothered with the boys' affairs. A bunch of perverts and a scoundrel, let them do whatever they want. She was too lazy to care. She would just leave when it was time. If it weren't for the funding issue of the literary society, she wouldn't be sitting here and letting Gao Yan and his group of spoiled brats disgust her.
"Isn't that Li Yang? You're here to eat too? You saw Brother Yan but didn't even come over to say hello. Are you brainless, or do you not want to stay at No. 1 High School anymore?" Zhou Zheng suddenly stood up and confronted Li Yang.
Li Yang frowned. Damn it, I was just trying to avoid you guys and keep to myself. I never thought people born in the Year of the Dog would be so annoying!
In the past, Li Yang might have been a little afraid of them, but now that he has gained superpowers, his brain and eyes are amazing, and his mentality is always superior.
They weren't afraid of those few at all.
"When people open their doors to do business, they welcome customers from all directions. As long as I can afford it, I can come. It's better than some people who are happy to accept handouts!" Li Yang didn't want to provoke Gao Yan. After all, Gao Yan's background was complicated. Although Li Yang wasn't afraid, he still didn't want to cause himself too much trouble.
However, he was extremely disgusted with a despicable person like Zhou Zheng and showed him no respect whatsoever.
Zhou Zheng's face was very ugly. He glared at Li Yang with resentment in his eyes, then sneered, "What? You look down on me? How about I give you a couplet? If you can match it, then I'll admit I'm a lackey. If you can't, then whoever does, you'll have to kowtow and apologize to them, how about that?"
Matching couplets? Li Yang was stunned for a moment. Wow, you guys really know how to pick them.
Chapter 14: The Femme Fatale (Part 2)
His momentary hesitation was interpreted by Gao Yan and Zhou Zheng as fear and a lack of substance. This emboldened the group. Meanwhile, Zhao Lihua, who had maintained a cold expression, had assumed that Zhou Zheng and Gao Yan were up to some nasty stunt, but instead, she was surprised to find it was a refined activity like composing couplets. She couldn't help but look at Li Yang with interest.
Seeing Li Yang's hesitant and dazed expression, Zhao Lihua couldn't help but shake her head and laugh self-deprecatingly. She had really overestimated them. What kind of refined things could a lowly boy and two good-for-nothing lechers possibly do?
Li Yang was stunned for a moment. Although he couldn't see their expressions, he could tell from their smug and arrogant faces that they completely ignored him and used him as a stepping stone.
He snorted coldly and said, "You want to compose couplets, huh? I didn't expect a dog to be able to engage in such a refined human activity. Well then, I'll lower myself and play with you!"
Zhou Zheng was furious, but in order to give Gao Yan a good performance and for the sake of that BYD sedan, he gritted his teeth and endured it.
"Hmph! Prove it out first," Zhou Zheng said in a cold voice.
"The moon reflected in the water is the same moon in the sky."
After Zhou Zheng finished speaking, he looked around triumphantly. Since it was almost lunchtime, and they wouldn't have waited until now if it weren't for Zhao Lihua's birthday, there weren't many people in the restaurant.
Zhou Zheng was mainly focused on Gao Yan and Zhao Lihua. His gaze towards Gao Yan was an attempt to curry favor. His gaze towards Zhao Lihua stemmed from a secret crush on her; after all, what boy wouldn't be attracted to such a beautiful girl? Unless he was a eunuch or something!
Gao Yan gave him a praising look. Zhao Lihua also glanced at him, seemingly somewhat surprised, but only for a moment.
"Li Yang, with your brain full of idiots, how could you possibly keep up? In our class, your grades are embarrassing to even mention! You'd better just admit defeat now, so you don't continue to embarrass yourself!" Gao Yan started to attack, pointing his finger at Li Yang's nose and cursing him with great smugness and arrogance.
"If you scoundrels can show off your literary talent, why can't I? It's just a broken couplet, I've never taken it seriously. But since you're all so eager to hear it, I'll just give you a random one." Li Yang glanced at them disdainfully, his gaze finally settling on Zhao Lihua.
He had initially harbored a secret crush on this beautiful school beauty who was from a wealthy family and had outstanding academic performance. However, seeing her hanging out with Zhou Zheng and Gao Yan, these scumbags, and even celebrating her birthday, her image instantly collapsed, and her standing in Li Yang's heart plummeted!
Li Yang glanced at Zhao Lihua with a hint of disdain and said, "Listen carefully. The person in your eyes is the person in front of you."
The second line of the couplet is perfectly matched, with a leisurely and elegant artistic conception, and also contains some ambiguous feelings between men and women. Especially when Li Yang recited the second line while looking at Zhao Lihua, Zhao Lihua's heart was stirred and she had a strange feeling.