“I’ll talk!”
Jiang Fuyue’s lips curved slightly as she assumed a “please, I’m all ears” posture.
Chu Qingheng cleared his throat. “I don’t get along with Li Chen.”
“Already guessed that.”
Chu Qingheng froze for a second. After a while, he muttered, “…you’re impressive, being able to make him eat dirt.”
“That counts as impressive?”
“…” You can make me eat dirt too, can’t you.
Jiang Fuyue cut straight to the point. “What’s your purpose? What do you want from me?”
“To talk cooperation.”
“Cooperate on what? Going against Li Chen?”
Chu Qingheng stayed silent, silence was as good as confirmation.
That reminded Jiang Fuyue of Yici back then, who had also approached her after she put Lin Xuan in his place, wanting to be friends.
She suddenly asked—
“You and Li Chen, some kind of blood feud?”
“…Not exactly.”
“He stole your girlfriend?”
“How could that be!” Chu Qingheng’s eyes widened in shock. “I don’t have a girlfriend!”
He didn’t even know why he had to add that last sentence.
Jiang Fuyue: “If there’s no deep hatred, then why are you targeting him? Is Ming University a harem now? Do you people have to scheme and backstab each other every day? Form cliques to gang up?”
Chu Qingheng went dumb.
Jiang Fuyue continued, “What was your entrance exam score? What awards have you won?”
“Huh?”
“‘Huh’ what? Answer the question.”
“…150.”
“I meant total score, not a single subject.”
“Th-that is the total.” Chu Qingheng’s face burned red.
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
“What about awards?”
“…Does being first place in poverty-relief donations count?”
Jiang Fuyue’s mouth twitched. “Non-money-based ones.”
“…Top five in Candy Crush for the whole region?”
Originally he wanted to say League of Legends, but since all his gear was pay-to-win, that didn’t seem to fit the brief.
Jiang Fuyue: “…”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. Why are you even asking me this?” He was totally thrown off rhythm now.
If he’d been alert enough, he would’ve realized this wasn’t just about rhythm, he was being led around by the nose.
“Classmate Chu,” she said, her tone suddenly heavy, expression turning solemn, “what’s your life goal? What kind of impact can you have on society? What contribution can you make to our country?”
Chu Qingheng: “?”
“Do you feel guilty for being idle? Is ‘coasting through life’ your label? Does that embarrass you?”
Chu Qingheng: “?”
“Why aren’t you talking? Does this line of questioning make you uncomfortable?”
“…”
“You think if you stay silent, I’ll stop asking?”
“…”
“When you’ve figured out how to answer, then come find me.”
With that, she left, leaving behind a dazed Chu Qingheng standing there in a fog.
No one knew how long it took before his eyes finally regained focus, as though his soul had returned to his body.
Who was he?
Where was he?
What was he even trying to do just now?
“Young Master Chu—” a lackey ran up and, seeing his expression, looked worried. “You okay? What happened?”
Chu Qingheng: “What time is it?”
“Huh? Uh—ten-thirty a.m.” The lackey glanced at the Green Submariner on his wrist, wasn’t there already a watch there?
“What was your college entrance exam score?”
The lackey: “Huh?”
“‘Huh’ what? Answer!”
“…300.”
Chu Qingheng: “?” Twice his own score?!
“Young Master Chu?”
“Don’t talk. I need peace and quiet.”
“?”
“And don’t ask who ‘Peace and Quiet’ is…”
He turned and walked away, his sorrowful back gradually fading into the distance.
The lackey stared, question marks all over his face. “Is he… possessed?”
No, he just ran into Jiang Fuyue.
…
A new week. A new beginning.
Li Chen stopped skipping classes. Consequently, Liang Jingzhou, Gu Huaiyu, and Cheng Lian also started behaving themselves.
“Sister Yue, I think Liang Jingzhou keeps looking at you,” Cen Qiaoqiao whispered tattletale-style. “Look, look, he’s doing it again!”
Jiang Fuyue turned her head, caught him red-handed.
Liang Jingzhou: “!” Cr*p—! His hair stood on end.
He instantly looked away, avoiding her gaze like the plague.
“Hey Old Liang, what are you doing? You look like a thief, your head’s practically buried in your desk.”
“Perfect. Block me a bit…” He yanked Gu Huaiyu’s sleeve, hiding behind him.
“Hey! Quit pulling on me!”
“Don’t move, Jiang Fuyue’s looking this way!”
Gu Huaiyu: “?”
He instinctively looked toward her and one second later, fell into the same awkward pit as Liang Jingzhou.
No escape.
Cen Qiaoqiao couldn’t hold back her laughter. “Hehe, two cowards.”
Jiang Fuyue withdrew her gaze and kept listening to the lecture.
She’d realized Ming University’s faculty really wasn’t great. Aside from Wang Kequan, who had some competence, the rest were… hard to describe politely.
She’d sat through so many lectures, and not one had impressed her.
When students slack off and teachers are mediocre, even the best school is doomed.
Xiao Shan had mentioned the faculty issue several times before, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.
Without good teachers, there’s no research output.
Without research, rankings tank.
With low rankings, reputation falls.
Once reputation’s gone, good students stop applying, and strong teachers stop coming.
A vicious cycle, worsening by the year.
The only solution was to wait for the new research building to finish construction. Once top experts moved in, things could finally improve.
But in the short term, there was nothing to be done.
Just… wait around? Do nothing in the meantime?
Jiang Fuyue fell deep into thought.
Ding—
The bell rang for the end of class.
The teacher grabbed their cup and left the classroom immediately.
Clean exit.
But the students had to stay, two more periods to go.
Huo Fanjin stretched. “Anyone going to the bathroom? Let’s go together.”
Cen Qiaoqiao shook her head. “I’m heading to the campus shop for water.”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t move.
Liu Sisi: “I’ll go with you.”
“You’re the best, hubby~”
Liu Sisi froze.
Cen Qiaoqiao shivered with goosebumps. “Can you not be weird for once?”
Huo Fanjin huffed lightly and looped her arm through Liu Sisi’s as they left.
Ahh, hubby’s arm has muscles! So much security!
Liu Sisi: “…” Can you—please—not grope me?
The cup Xie Dingyuan had given her had shattered; the “crime scene photo” was still saved in Cen Qiaoqiao’s phone. Jiang Fuyue had bought a new one, same yellow-and-blue color scheme, vivid and bright, but it lacked even half the elegance of the first one, barely managing to resemble it.
Still, since it was expensive, she had to make do.
She picked up the cup and stepped into the corridor.
At the end of each floor was a hot water station for students’ daily use.
After filling her cup and returning to class, Cen Qiaoqiao was already munching on chips.
A moment later, Huo Fanjin and Liu Sisi came back too.
The bell rang for the next class. Jiang Fuyue opened her drawer to get her book and suddenly touched something soft.
Her movements froze.
“She definitely felt it!” Liang Jingzhou’s eyes lit up.
Gu Huaiyu’s brows twitched. “What did you put in there?”
“Hehe… secret.”
Cen Qiaoqiao was the first to notice something off about Jiang Fuyue.
Her whole body had gone rigid, hand still inside the desk drawer, motionless for a long time.
“Sister Yue, what’s wrong?”
“Listen to me. You guys, stand up and step back.”
“R-right now?” Cen Qiaoqiao’s eyes widened in shock. “But class has already started…”
“Do as I say.”
Cen Qiaoqiao’s heart skipped a beat. “…Oh!”
She immediately jumped up, dragging along a completely bewildered Huo Fanjin and a confused Liu Sisi.
“Qiaoqiao, what are you doing?” Huo Fanjin exclaimed as she was pulled back.
Liu Sisi also shot her a questioning look.
“S-Sister Yue told me to do it! I don’t know why either!”
Both of them turned to look at Jiang Fuyue.
Around them, the spectators went instantly online.
“What’s happening?”
“Why are they all standing up?”
“What’s Sister Yue doing?”
“Holy—!”
Amidst that startled shout, Jiang Fuyue suddenly yanked her hand out from under the desk, sprang to her feet, and with that motion, something long, coiled, and soft appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“A snake—!”
The classroom erupted like an earthquake. Screams rang out one after another.
“How the h*ll is there a snake in the classroom?!”
“Did it crawl in?”
“That’s terrifying!”
“Was Sister Yue bitten?”
“I—I’ll call 120 right now…”
“Wait a sec!”
“Wait for what? Someone could die!”
“No, just—look!”
Those who dared to peek… good heavens, Jiang Fuyue was holding the snake up and waving it around.
She wasn’t even throwing it away, just gripping it casually in her hand.
“Is… is she playing with the snake?”
“Snake: I’m so miserable! Help me!”
“She’s not scared? Just watching is making my knees go weak.”
“Is there anything our Sister Yue can’t do? Answer correctly for a prize!”
“Uh… shaking little chick?”
“……”
Jiang Fuyue walked straight toward Liang Jingzhou with the “snake” dangling from her hand.
Wherever she went, the crowd parted.
“Having fun?” she asked, smiling slightly.
Liang Jingzhou looked utterly dazed.
Before he could react, Jiang Fuyue shoved the snake down the back of his collar.
“Hiss—” Liang Jingzhou shot upright, but surprisingly didn’t panic.
After all, the snake was fake, a five-yuan toy from a street stall.
So he didn’t rush to pull it out. Grinning, he said, “Not bad. Shame it didn’t scare you.”
“No worries,” Jiang Fuyue curved her lips, “if it can’t scare me, it can still scare you.”
“Ha—scare me?” Liang Jingzhou laughed. “With a fake snake?”
“You sure it’s fake?”
“If it’s not fake, what is it? Real? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Maybe it is.”
His first thought was what kind of international joke is this?
His second thought was wait, it’s Jiang Fuyue making the joke—
Then his heart dropped to his stomach.
Right at that moment, he felt something move against his back—
Cold. Damp. And a little itchy.
He froze like lightning had struck him.
Gu Huaiyu, who sat closest, instinctively stood up, took a few steps back, and moved out of range. The whole motion was smooth as water.
By the time his brain caught up, he’d already done it. He rubbed his nose, slightly embarrassed.
Li Chen moved almost simultaneously, then also froze awkwardly.
Even the ever-composed Cheng Lian quietly stood up and took a few steps back.
Liang Jingzhou: “?”
A moment ago there were four of them sitting in a row. Now he was all alone.
If there were background music, it would definitely be:
🎵 Little Cabbage, so yellow in the field, left without her mother… 🎵
The worst part—
The snake was still in his shirt!
That cold, squirming sensation made his scalp tingle and his neck prickle. He couldn’t move, couldn’t scream.
What if it bit him?
What if it tore through his skin and crawled inside?
The images from all those horror movies came rushing back. Liang Jingzhou’s pupils shook; he was close to tears.
“O-Old Gu?”
Gu Huaiyu immediately turned his head away. “Don’t call me. I’m scared too!”
“…Old Cheng?”
Cheng Lian said calmly, “I’ve called security. They’ll be here soon.”
Liang Jingzhou turned to his last hope—Li Chen.
Only to find the guy had run off.
All hope died.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted Jiang Fuyue and his gaze reignited with desperate hope.
“S-Sister Yue…” he whimpered pitifully.
“Do I look like the type who repays evil with kindness?” she asked with a smile.
Cold sweat poured down his face as he forced a terrible grin. “You’re a goddess, kind-hearted, caring, understanding—”
“You taking me for Virgin Mary?”
“No… just… a figure of speech. You’re not actually…” Wait, that sounded wrong too.
“Anyway—I’m begging you! Please get this thing out of my shirt! I’m gonna die!”
Jiang Fuyue clasped her hands behind her back. “Why should I?”
He was on the verge of crying. “Because… because… I’m handsome! Yeah, can you really stand to watch a good-looking guy get bitten?”
“Sure can.”
“……” D*mn!
“Ah! It bit me! It bit me!” Liang Jingzhou yelped, face turning white.
He stumbled up to Jiang Fuyue, half-reaching, half-recoiling, circling her like a desperate puppy. “Please! Get it off! I’ll die if it bites again!”
Jiang Fuyue looked down at him, unmoved. “Beg me.”
“I’m begging you! A million times begging you! Hurry—ah! It bit me again!”
“Still dare to mess with me next time?”
“No! Never again! You’re the boss, I’m your grandson, whatever you want, I’ll do it!”
“Lift your shirt.”
Without thinking, he obeyed.
The moment he did—something dropped out.
The snake.
Wait—
He blinked. “Isn’t that the one I bought?”
Jiang Fuyue smirked.
“F—You scammed me?!” Liang Jingzhou gaped, looking between the fake snake and Jiang Fuyue.
He looked like a maiden robbed of her purity. And she, the heartless rogue who did it.
“Scammed you? Did I ever say the snake was real?”
“You—” His eyes nearly popped out.
Jiang Fuyue’s red lips curved as she said, clearly and slowly, “Little. Dumb. Egg.”
Smoke practically came out of his ears, but there was nothing he could do.
Then he looked closer—“Wait. I did feel something bite me.”
Jiang Fuyue bent down, picked up the toy snake, held it by the head, and lifted it up—
A toothpick was stuck in it.
So that prick earlier… was this?
“You did that?”
“Exciting, wasn’t it?”
Liang Jingzhou fell silent, face dark.
Jiang Fuyue said mildly, “Don’t forget what you just promised.”
You’re the boss, I’m the grandson, whatever you want, I’ll do it…
“Can I take it back?”
“Of course…”
Before he could rejoice, she added, “Next time it’ll be a real one. Don’t worry, I’ll skip cobras or bamboo pit vipers. Maybe a harmless flower snake instead: nice pattern, big body, no venom. You can survive a few bites.”
Liang Jingzhou clenched his butt cheeks. “No, no, a real man never goes back on his word! I meant it, I swear!”
To prove it, he even nodded. “Yeah, I meant it!”
Jiang Fuyue smiled and patted his cheek like she was soothing a dog. “Good boy.”
Liang Jingzhou: “……” I’ll endure!
“Ahem.” Gu Huaiyu cleared his throat and sat back down. Deadpan: “Congrats, Old Liang. You’ve gained a grandpa.”
Jiang Fuyue: “You two are the same generation. Doesn’t that make you my grandson too?”
Gu Huaiyu: “……” You’ve got some nerve.
She turned her gaze to Cheng Lian, smiling sweetly. “And you.”
“……” Cheng Lian was rarely this speechless.
A little later, Li Chen who had fled earlier must’ve heard that the “danger” was gone and swaggered back into the room.
He’d made a military oath to Xiao Shan: skipping class was absolutely forbidden.
“You’ve got the nerve to come back?!” Liang Jingzhou lunged for his neck.
Li Chen dodged easily and tugged at his collar. “What’s wrong with you? You didn’t get actually bitten. Stop acting possessed.”
“You traitor! Coward! Deserter! You’re not my brother anymore!”
“Whoa, someone’s in a mood. You swallow a bullet or something?”
Gu Huaiyu said calmly, “No idea about bullets, but he did gain a new grandpa.”
“Who?”
“Jiang Fuyue.”
Li Chen’s mouth twitched.
And thus, among the Four Young Masters, another one fell.
Tragic.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
