Chapter 50: Come Say It to My Face
[I opened the window. Come say it to my face.]
Zzzzt—
Wen Rong quickly looked in the direction of Room 101.
Although he still couldn’t see anything, the sound of the window opening gave him the illusion that he was making eye contact with Senior Leon. Panic seized his heart, and he quickly retreated into Room 100, sitting down at his own desk.
Zhang Lin and Lin Qizheng stared at him curiously, which made him feel even more embarrassed. He buried his head, hiding his face in his arms.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Qizheng asked.
Wen Rong shook his head inside his arms.
“You’re not crying, are you?” Zhang Lin asked.
Wen Rong shook his head again.
He stayed in that position for a full two or three minutes before he recovered slightly. Wen Rong patted his own cheeks.
Calm down, calm down.
First, reply to the Senior: [I’m sorry, Senior. I think the young people’s way of communication is still too difficult. Please forget what I just said.]
Senior Leon replied quickly: [Actually, the way many people communicate online is different from reality. You don’t have to go out of your way to learn from them.]
[If you really want to practice, you can try calling me ‘Wife’ on Black Pigeon first.]
How could he dare to do that!
Wen Rong replied, feeling terribly shy: [No need, Senior. I won’t learn from them.]
[Alright. Although it’s a bit difficult, Senior will try hard to forget that you wanted to call me ‘Wife’.]
!!!
Wen Rong slammed his phone screen-down onto the table, folded his hands, and sat up straight like a kindergarten child in class. Only then did he realize Lin Qizheng and Zhang Lin were staring at him.
“…”
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere gradually became subtle in the silence as three pairs of eyes looked back and forth at each other.
Lin Qizheng couldn’t help but ask, “Youngest, what’s wrong with you?”
Wen Rong pursed his lips and shook his head. His porcelain-white face was completely flushed, and even his neck looked like it had been slathered in blush, forming a sharp contrast with his white shirt.
“But your face is so red.”
Wen Rong hurriedly covered his face. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. It should be fine in a while.”
The two seniors looked at each other in silence. After exchanging glances and reaching a consensus, they decided to ignore this little interlude and discuss serious business.
Zhang Lin: “Youngest, I have something else I need your help with.”
“Mhm, mhm.” Wen Rong was still in the embarrassment of calling the Senior ‘Wife,’ nodding incoherently with a muddled mind.
“Here’s the thing. For my birthday, I want you to help plan the itinerary.”
Wen Rong froze, forgetting his chaotic thoughts. “Senior, isn’t your birthday in March?”
“How did you know?” Zhang Lin was shocked.
“It’s on your account information on Black Pigeon.”
Zhang Lin rubbed his forehead. Miscalculation. He hadn’t expected the Youngest to actually read his personal profile.
Lin Qizheng hurriedly engaged in damage control. “Ah, ah, ah, actually it’s not a birthday. He’s too embarrassed to say it, so I’ll say it.”
Wen Rong felt the two seniors were acting a bit strange, but he couldn’t figure out the situation, so he could only nod and listen obediently.
“Our school has social practice requirements for clubs. Usually, the Youngest member is responsible for it, but we were afraid you’d be under too much pressure, so we said it was a birthday.”
“Why would there be pressure?”
“This… well, this…”
Zhang Lin cut in, “Anyway, that’s just what we guessed, since you’ve never organized anything before.”
“Oh, oh. Thank you for your concern, Seniors.” Wen Rong asked, “Are there any requirements for this arrangement? What exactly are we going to do?”
Lin Qizheng: “We can do anything. It’s just purely to check off a task. Later, we’ll just have the President write up a random practice report and hand it in.”
Zhang Lin: “Right. In previous years, we just went out to have fun. Just treat it as a group outing.”
Lin Qizheng: “If you don’t know what to do, you can search on Blue Book. There are tons of guides on Blue Book. Share whichever one you’re interested in with us, and we can discuss it together.”
Wen Rong made a note of this. That night, after completing his study plan, he sat on his bed and searched Blue Book. Sure enough, he saw many travel guides.
They were all compiled by bloggers themselves, complete with pictures and text, even budgets and maps. They were detailed enough to be used immediately.
“Brother! This seems more useful than a browser.”
【Mhm.】
“How about climbing a mountain? We can watch the sunrise together.”
【The mountain is far away. You’d need to buy plane tickets.】
Wen Rong gave up.
【Host can search for ‘budget travel.’ There will be some guides that don’t cost money.】
Wen Rong was preparing to search again when, due to his phone lagging, his finger accidentally tapped somewhere, popping up a video:
《The Way to a Millionaire’s Success: You Must Do These Things Every Day》
His beautiful eyes suddenly widened, as if he had discovered a new continent.
…
Black Pigeon – News Club Group Chat
Wen Rong: Shared 《College Students Must Be Aware of These Traps, Or Regret It for Life》
Wen Rong: Shared 《Starting from October, You Must Do These Few Things》
Zhang Jincheng: [?]
Lin Qizheng: [?]
Zhang Jincheng: [What kind of nonsense did you two teach the Youngest while I was gone these past few days?]
Zhang Lin: [It’s all Lin Qizheng’s fault. He told the Youngest to scroll through Blue Book.]
Lin Qizheng: [I didn’t expect the Youngest to be tricked by clickbait for the middle-aged and elderly either!]
At the same time, Shi Ye, who had just clarified the scandal on Blue Book and planned to stay away from Wen Rong temporarily to adjust his mindset, also received a message.
Wen Rong: Shared 《Loving to Throw Tantrums Is Because of Physical Issues. Suggest Practicing With Me for Ten Minutes Every Day》
Leon, who had just come out of the Administration Building with blurred vision and brief tinnitus, received a message.
Wen Rong: Shared 《You Must Forward This Video to Your Friends. You Will Regret It for Life If You Don’t》
That night, everyone resignedly clicked on the videos meant for the elderly, featuring loud audio and exaggerated expressions. After watching them seriously, they wrote a simple reflection and sent it back to Wen Rong, tactfully expressing that the video was very good, but please don’t send one next time.
“Where is Zhou Xie?”
On an ordinary weekday afternoon, a furious person stormed into the Student Council building, grabbing the first person he saw to ask.
The student who was asked paused. “What?”
Qi Yuan, following behind Shi Jing, smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Brother Shi is in a bit of a bad mood and is speaking a little loudly. We heard President Zhou went out a few days ago; we wanted to ask if he’s back?”
“He’s back, in the office. However—”
Before the student could finish, Shi Jing dashed upstairs.
Qi Yuan hurriedly chased after him. “Hey, Brother Shi, wait.”
The confused student scratched his head, walking out of the Student Council while wondering curiously, “Who was that? So aggressive?”
Upstairs, the office door was shoved open. The people in the middle of a meeting turned their heads in unison.
“Why did you come back so late!” Shi Jing’s eyes reddened, and his mouth opened wide, bursting into loud crying. “Leon bullied me!”
Zhou Xie was silent for half a second before telling everyone, “Ten-minute break.” The crowd understood and hurriedly left the office.
Shi Jing’s crying grew louder. Just as the sound threatened to shatter the century-old Student Council building, Qi Yuan quickly closed the office door. Shocked and afraid, he kept his head down, stealing glances at Zhou Xie’s face.
This man, the one person in Floriman Academy who absolutely should not be provoked, didn’t lose his temper at Shi Jing’s childish tantrum. His expression remained unchanged as he took a cigarette from a drawer and lit it.
Three minutes later, Shi Jing couldn’t cry anymore and shouted angrily, “I said Leon bullied me, did you hear that?”
Zhou Xie exhaled a puff of smoke. “As far as I know, that was a few days ago.”
Shi Jing stomped his foot. “Isn’t it because you weren’t here a few days ago? He threw something into my mouth to electrocute me! I heard he specializes in researching military weapons, so that must be a military item. Him using that kind of thing on me is a violation!”
“Just say directly what you want me to do.” Zhou Xie turned his back after speaking, shielding any emotion on his face from view, and took a harder drag on his cigarette.
“Punish him. Make him get expelled.”
“Expulsion isn’t that easy.”
“It’s obviously easy. Zhao Zeyang got expelled.”
“Everyone in Floriman Academy knows Zhao Zeyang was expelled by the Special Recruit; it had nothing to do with me. If you want Leon expelled, you can learn from the Special Recruit.”
Qi Yuan thought to himself, Who knows how much perfect timing, favorable location, and human harmony were involved in Wen Rong getting Zhao Zeyang expelled? How could it be easily replicated? Besides, Leon isn’t an expendable minor character like Zhao Zeyang. He’s the only genius in the school conducting military research while still enrolled. He’s only a third-year but has already completed the seven-year curriculum. He might even graduate with honors alongside Zhou Xie next year. Even with the Shi family backing Shi Jing, trying to touch Leon is like throwing an egg against a rock.
Thinking about it carefully, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.
—Zhou Xie telling Shi Jing to learn from Wen Rong… isn’t that telling Shi Jing to go seek death?
“The opening ceremony isn’t until next year. I don’t want to wait. I want Leon expelled now.”
Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Young Master Shi’s temper was worse than his intellect; seeing a trap, he would just stand there and curse, rather than learning how others crossed it.
Zhou Xie, seeing his plan fail, didn’t turn around. He lowered his head, smoking fiercely puff after puff.
“Did you hear me? I told you to—”
Zhou Xie calmly called out, “Li’ao.”
Li’ao stopped looking at his tablet and looked up at Shi Jing. “Young Master Shi, Floriman Academy is not a film set where you can do whatever you want, and my cousin is not a manager you can boss around. Please leave. Do not disturb the Student Council meeting, and don’t come over casually to waste my cousin’s time in the future.”
Shi Jing argued self-righteously, “His dad told him to take good care of me. I’ve been bullied now, so he must stand up for me, or else I’ll tell my dad.”
Im. Poss. I. Ble. To. Communicate.
Qi Yuan squeezed his eyes shut tight, slowing his breathing, pretending he was air.
The office fell silent for a long time until Zhou Xie turned back. “You’ve said so much, isn’t it all just for a Special Recruit?”
Shi Jing seemed to have his thoughts exposed. He said awkwardly, “It has nothing to do with Brother Wen Rong.”
“Don’t you go on the forums? Everyone online is saying the Special Recruit’s boyfriend is Shi Ye.”
“Impossible. Shi Ye wouldn’t like Brother Wen Rong. Besides, Shi Ye already posted on Blue Book clarifying it, and he doesn’t follow Brother Wen Rong’s Blue Book.”
Zhou Xie pulled the corner of his mouth. “It seems you still don’t know that Wen Rong is carrying a Red Card. The only reason no one in the whole school touches him right now is entirely because Shi Ye is protecting him from the shadows.”
“What does that matter?”
“Aren’t you filming? Have you never acted out this kind of plot?”
“…” Shi Jing thought for a moment, then said, “Even if he likes Brother Wen Rong, it’s useless. My dad said he’s going to make him enter an arranged marriage in the future.”
At the words “arranged marriage,” Zhou Xie frowned, and even Li’ao couldn’t quite control his expression.
After a long while, Zhou Xie said, “I’ll teach you a way to get revenge on Leon.”
“I don’t want revenge. I want you to expel him now.”
Zhou Xie ignored his words and continued, “You can chase the Special Recruit and win him over. That way, you get revenge on Leon and on Shi Ye at the same time.”
Whether Zhou Xie was doing it intentionally or not, mentioning Wen Rong with every word seemed to stomp on Shi Jing’s sore spot. Shi Jing suddenly seemed able to understand human language. “But Brother Wen Rong said he doesn’t like me.”
“If I have to teach you even how to be likable, isn’t that a bit too incompetent?” Zhou Xie looked at Li’ao. “Li’ao, show him the News Club’s practice application process.”
Li’ao tapped on his tablet and showed the application process initiated by Zhang Jincheng to Shi Jing.
The process showed that the News Club was going out to collect data this weekend.
Shi Jing seemed to understand something and left the office in high spirits. Qi Yuan followed behind, afraid of leaving a bad impression on Zhou Xie, so he bowed respectfully and apologized before gently closing the office door.
Bang.
“Does Shi Changyuan really intend to let someone like this inherit the Shi family? Working with him will be exhausting,” Li’ao put down the tablet and couldn’t help complaining.
“Mhm.”
“I can’t imagine Shi Changyuan making such a decision.”
“Standing at the typhoon’s eye, even a pig can fly. Shi Changyuan flew to the sky relying on Shi Ye’s mother, so he thinks Shi Jing can just copy the pattern. It’s normal.”
Li’ao was puzzled. “Doesn’t the rest of the Shi family try to stop it?”
“If I told you the entire Shi family hopes Shi Jing takes the position, would you believe it?”
Li’ao couldn’t figure these things out. He had always listened to his cousin’s arrangements and didn’t know the conflicts of interest involved.
“When one whale falls, ten thousand things are born. Only if Shi Jing sits in that position can they feast on the Shi family’s assets.”
Li’ao’s pupils constricted. “So Uncle is also—”
Zhou Xie’s eyes darkened slightly. He opened the drawer again and lit another cigarette. “Let’s not talk about this. Find someone to leak the news that the News Club is going out to collect data. Let Shi Jing see exactly how many love rivals he has.”
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