Chapter 20: Jealousy — Wifey is so obedient and soft; if a man sets his sights on you, you won’t be able to run…
Fortunately, there were no classes in the morning, so Jiang Yunian rested at home for a while before dragging his feet to school in the afternoon.
The two major lectures were long and torturous; his butt hurt terribly, causing him to shift uneasily in his chair, occasionally making small rustling noises. It wasn’t until Hao Meng turned her head to give him a strange look that he settled down, forcing himself to endure until the bell rang.
After class, the students surged out like a receding tide. Jiang Yunian fished out his phone, and a group notification from the Volunteer Association popped up out of nowhere.
[Group Leader Zhang Hao: @All Members Assemble in Room 305 in fifteen minutes. Points will be deducted for absence.]
Scrolling up, he saw the notice had actually been sent three days ago; he hadn’t paid attention at all. As other members successfully replied “Received,” Jiang Yunian found himself in a bind. He had joined the “Volunteer Association” in his freshman year, but for various reasons, his attendance had dwindled. He had only shown his face once at the beginning of this semester.
Hao Meng leaned over and glimpsed the group name. “Is that for next week’s HIV prevention lecture? Our department was rushing out posters for that just a few days ago.”
She was in the Student Union’s Propaganda Department and often dealt with the Volunteer Association, so her news was usually accurate. Since she said so, she was probably right. Jiang Yunian didn’t really want to go, but for the sake of his scholarship, he had to earn some extra credits.
Besides… the Senior would probably be there too, right?
It had been a long time since they last met.
He couldn’t help but recall the days he spent helping Lu Yuanbai last semester. The Senior had always taken care of him, offering plenty of guidance on his coursework. He was even one of the few people who remembered Jiang Yunian’s birthday.
In Meeting Room 305, Group Leader Zhang Hao sat at the head of the table. A dozen people sat sparsely around the long table, all looking listless, the air thick with the resentment of having a meeting during dinner time.
“Is everyone here?” Zhang Hao took a sip of water and slammed his thermos onto the table, making a harsh sound. He stood up to roll up his sleeves, inadvertently revealing the “high-end imitation” Casio on his wrist.
Jiang Yunian quietly slipped in through the back door, crashing right into Zhang Hao’s sharp gaze.
Zhang Hao flipped through the attendance book, his gel pen stabbing a hole through Jiang Yunian’s name. “Some people… don’t think that just because you got a scholarship, you can coast and freeload.”
Low murmurs filled the conference room, with several gazes drifting intentionally or unintentionally toward the “certain person” in the corner.
Jiang Yunian lowered his eyes, staring at his blurry reflection on the tabletop, remaining silent. He was used to these veiled attacks.
Zhang Hao’s dislike for him wasn’t a recent development.
During this week’s scholarship evaluation, Jiang Yunian ranked first in the major, making the First Class Scholarship a sure thing. Zhang Hao ranked second and could only get the Second Class. While they seemed close, the difference in prize money was significant. Zhang Hao ran around diligently for club activities and got plenty of extra points, but his academic performance was indeed lacking. In his eyes, however, Jiang Yunian had only surpassed him by being a bookworm and sucking up to professors. He wasn’t convinced, so naturally, Jiang Yunian was an eyesore to him.
“If you’re just occupying a spot without doing any work, you might as well quit and leave the opportunity to someone who actually wants to do something.” Zhang Hao pointed his spear directly at the corner. “Don’t you agree, Student Jiang?”
Jiang Yunian looked up blankly: “…Huh?”
“…”
Playing dumb, are we?
Zhang Hao’s face darkened. Just as he was about to explode, the meeting room door was pushed open.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Lu Yuanbai walked in briskly hugging a file folder, the collar of his white shirt casually unbuttoned, a modest yet luxurious brooch pinned to his chest. As he passed Jiang Yunian, he brought with him a gust of warm air from outside, his fingertips lightly brushing against Jiang Yunian’s shoulder.
“Hosting a struggle session?”
Lu Yuanbai smiled and set the folder on the table, casually nudging Zhang Hao’s thermos aside to make space. Jiang Yunian noticed a faint scar on the web of his left thumb—it was from a machete accident when he took them to visit left-behind children in the mountains last year.
Zhang Hao’s expression stiffened; he wasn’t dense enough to miss the underlying meaning. He didn’t dare make a sound, clutching his thermos as he moved aside to yield the head seat.
“There isn’t much going on at the start of the term; it’s good for everyone to relax,” Lu Yuanbai said, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally resting on Jiang Yunian. A gentle smile played on his lips. “But we can’t be careless about next week’s HIV prevention lecture. We need a few boys to distribute pamphlets. Little Junior Brother, that’s no problem, right?”
Jiang Yunian nodded immediately, his movements carrying an unconscious submissiveness.
The meeting continued amidst the subtle silence between Zhang Hao and Jiang Yunian. As Lu Yuanbai discussed the event details, Jiang Yunian noticed the faint dark circles under his eyes and his crooked tie—he must have stayed up late again.
After the meeting adjourned and members began to leave, Lu Yuanbai strolled over to Jiang Yunian. The setting sun filtered through the gap in the curtains, outlining his profile in gold. “That’s just how he is. Don’t take it to heart.”
Jiang Yunian hadn’t taken it to heart. “I heard Senior is preparing for the National Scholarship defense?”
If it was him, there would certainly be no issues.
“Just busy work.” Lu Yuanbai shrugged casually, stuffing his phone into his trousers pocket. He raised a hand, naturally tidying a few stray tufts of hair on Jiang Yunian’s forehead. “What about you? Haven’t seen a shadow of you this semester.”
Jiang Yunian scratched his face, feeling a slight itch where he had been touched. “Part-time jobs have been keeping me busy.”
Lu Yuanbai knew his situation and didn’t pry, simply frowning as he looked him over. “Why do I feel like you’ve lost weight again?”
“I haven’t.” Jiang Yunian replied with a touch of seriousness. “I’m eating properly. I had a huge bowl of wonton noodles this morning.”
He had been forced to eat it; he was so full it was actually uncomfortable.
For some reason, Lu Yuanbai wanted to laugh upon hearing this. Just as he was about to speak, his phone rang. He had to walk to the window to answer it. Jiang Yunian looked at his cuffs—they were spotless, unlike the time they made dumplings at the nursing home when they were stained with flour.
Back then, he had just joined the association and often trailed behind the Senior. Once, when they went to the nursing home to make dumplings for the elderly, Lu Yuanbai taught him hand-in-hand how to pleat the dough. He didn’t mind the flour staining his cuffs. “Dumpling wrappers need to be thick in the middle and thin at the edges. It’s like being a person; you always have to leave some leeway.”
Jiang Yunian didn’t like listening to people preach big principles, but the Senior’s voice sounded exceptionally pleasant.
“The counselor needs me for something, I have to go first.” Lu Yuanbai walked a few steps then doubled back, pulling a poster from his folder and stuffing it into Jiang Yunian’s hands. “Don’t forget next week.”
“Understood. Goodbye, Senior.”
The meeting room suddenly fell quiet, completely empty. Jiang Yunian watched Lu Yuanbai’s figure disappear at the door before slowly standing up, holding onto the table edge. After sitting for so long, the soreness in his tailbone flared up again.
He slowly straightened up, holding the table, tucked the rolled poster under his arm, and walked into the corridor just as the door to the men’s restroom clicked open.
Zhang Hao came out wiping his hands. Seeing Jiang Yunian, his eyes instantly went cold. “Yo, still haven’t left? Waiting for the President to give you special treatment?”
Jiang Yunian didn’t speak, just tightened his grip on the poster tube. The smooth tiled floor reflected their shadows; Zhang Hao’s was taller, exuding a sharp hostility.
“Stop pretending to be so high and mighty.” Zhang Hao suddenly leaned in close, his lowered voice dripping with malice. “Do you really think playing the victim is enough to get a scholarship? I’m telling you…”
“You’d better not tell me…” Jiang Yunian interrupted him, his voice calm. “If you want to get it, you could read more books.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying I’m stupid?” Zhang Hao looked triggered. Just as he was about to get agitated, he noticed Jiang Yunian’s hand supporting himself against the wall and his awkward walking posture. He suddenly pulled a mocking smile. “What, open for business? Found a sugar daddy?”
He deliberately stroked his chin, his eyes lewd. “Let me guess… it’s not the President, is it?”
“W-what are you talking about?” Jiang Yunian clenched his fingers. “The Senior isn’t as dirty as you think!”
“Who the fuck are you calling dirty?!” Zhang Hao pointed angrily at his nose.
At that moment, footsteps echoed in the corridor. Zhang Hao glanced over and viciously dropped a parting threat. “Don’t think you’re so great just because the President protects you. I’m telling you, I’m taking next month’s financial aid grant for sure!”
Jiang Yunian bent down to pick up the dropped poster; the edges were already crinkled. Watching Zhang Hao’s angry, retreating back, he remembered last winter in the library when Zhang Hao “accidentally” knocked over a thermos. Hot water had soaked a page full of his notes, yet the guy hadn’t offered a single word of apology.
Jiang Yan unlocked his phone and found that his Ge had posted a Weibo status out of nowhere.
Just one word without context: [Annoying.]
Jiang Yan’s brow furrowed slightly. [Yan: What’s wrong?]
No reply.
He boredly refreshed the comments section, and a foul comment popped up glaringly. It was a gay man.
[Gay Night Sleepless: What’s wrong, little beauty? Did some stinky man bully you?]
Jiang Yan’s eyes turned instantly cold, his hostility almost solidifying into substance. His fingertip hovered over the disgusting ID, ready to block, when a reply suddenly appeared underneath.
His Ge actually replied to that trash.
[Nian Nian You Yu: En]
It was followed by an aggrieved, floppy-eared bunny emoji. The seemingly normal reply looked like some kind of hint in the eyes of the gay man.
[Gay Night Sleepless: I’ve DM’d you, baby. Tell big brother, let big brother comfort you~]
A violent impulse rushed straight to the top of his head. Jiang Yan backhandedly reported the account, then switched to the private message box, typing words that were cold and hard:
[LG: You reply to him but not to me?]
A few minutes later, Jiang Yunian’s reply popped up slowly:
[Nian Nian You Yu: Just saw it… nothing, just ran into an annoying classmate.]
Jiang Yan remained expressionless as he continued typing: [LG: Did you reply to the DM from the comments section?]
Again, no reply.
Jiang Yan’s knuckles turned white from gripping the phone. He mustered his patience and typed deliberately: [LG: Don’t pay attention to him, Wifey, I’ll get jealous.]
This time the reply was faster: [Nian Nian You Yu: I didn’t.]
He had realized “Gay Night Sleepless’s” intentions the moment the second sentence was posted. He wasn’t homosexual, so why would he provoke that?
Jiang Yan’s expression cleared slightly, but the words he typed were filled with warning.
[LG: Stay away from him. Men are not good things.]
[LG: They will take off your clothes, suck your tongue, eat your saliva, and pinch Wifey’s waist to do bad things.]
[LG: Wifey is so obedient, so soft. If a man sets his sights on you, you’ll definitely be made to cry hard. You won’t be able to run away; you can only be locked up.]
On the other side of the screen, Jiang Yunian stared at this long string of explicit and aggressive words, completely stunned. A blush uncontrollably crept up his ears, burning all the way to the base of his neck.
This little girl… her speech was getting more and more out of line.
His finger hovered over the screen, his face hot. He was so clumsy he didn’t know how to refute such twisted logic. It took him a long time to squeeze out a sentence:
[Nian Nian You Yu: But… I’m a guy too, and my younger brother is very good.]
LG’s reply carried an unquestionable paranoia:
[LG: Except for your brother, don’t interact with anyone else. Listen to me, they are all bad people, they will dirty you.]
Jiang Yunian looked at the words “dirty you,” his heart beating a bit fast. [Nian Nian You Yu: It’s not that exaggerated…]
Jiang Yan stared at this sentence, a thick, dark desire surging in the depths of his eyes.
I am that bad person.
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