Methods

Jimo could no longer reach the investor.

They had clearly agreed to meet another day, but it had kept getting put off. Now the man had vanished altogether.

No matter how many messages Jimo sent, the man never replied. Strangest of all, it wasn't just him. Almost every investor on the forum had changed their minds at the same time. As soon as Jimo told them his project topic, they vanished.

Jimo frowned. He was certain there was nothing wrong with the project. He was confident because he had seen it put into practice in his previous life and had copied it directly.

So where had things gone wrong?

Zhuang Zhe was equally worried. "How about I ask my dad to be our investor? He can afford it."

Jimo shook his head. "No. Professor Xiang explicitly said we have to find an investor on campus."

At Easton Academy, aside from the few special-class students, almost everyone came from a wealthy family.

If parents could act as investors, there would be no point in having the class.

"We'll just have to think of something else."

That was what Jimo said, and what he did. He already had an idea.

He took all the materials and went straight to the entrepreneurship park to catch the investor. Even if the man wouldn't invest in their project, Jimo at least wanted to know where things had gone wrong.

Work ended at four thirty, and Jimo was standing at the entrance by four.

He stood in the cold wind until a little after five, when the investor finally came hurrying out.

Jimo stopped him. "Hello, sir. My name is Jimo. We spoke on the forum before."

The investor paused in surprise, then immediately held out his hand as he realized who Jimo was. "Hello, hello. What brings you here?"

"Well, we had a very pleasant conversation last time, and you sounded very interested in our project. But lately..."

The investor smiled cheerfully. "Ah, it's unfortunate. Another project came along that interested me more than yours. There was nothing I could do."

The man looked amiable, but he was an old fox.

Jimo didn't believe him. "Sir, I'm young, and sometimes I really can't tell where I've gone wrong. I hope you can give me some advice."

The investor paused and studied him for a moment. "You're a straightforward young man, so I'll put it this way: think about whether you've offended anyone lately."

He left it at that and walked away.

Jimo was left standing there, thinking with a frown.

Who did I offend?

There seemed to be quite a few, but someone capable of going this far...

Jimo's breathing quickened.

That bastard, Ke Yueyi!

It couldn't be anyone else.

That day, Ke Yueyi had called him to the lounge and mentioned investing in his project. Putting it all together, Jimo knew what Ke Yueyi wanted.

Whether it was that student council member or this assignment,

wasn't Ke Yueyi just trying to force him to lower his head and beg him?

He had even told Jimo where to find him.

Still, the trip hadn't been a complete waste. At least he had found out who was pulling the strings.

A chill settled between Jimo's brows.

He clicked his tongue. Why did this feel so unpleasant?

Jimo slung his backpack over his shoulder and planned to take a shortcut, but when he turned around, he saw someone standing a short distance away, staring at him.

Judging by the snow on the man's shoulders, he seemed to have been standing there for some time.

Jimo's expression remained blank. The moment they passed each other,

the man raised a hand to stop him. "You saw me and were going to leave without saying hello? That's not very polite, is it?"

Jimo looked at him and curled his lips. "Didn't get beaten enough?"

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from me last time?"

Chen Ziwu quietly put some distance between himself and Jimo before continuing, "I'm not here to fight you today."

In that case, they had nothing to talk about either. Jimo started to walk away.

At the same time, he quietly lowered the hand he had been holding at his waist.

"Wait! I have something to ask you."

Chen Ziwu was simply too curious about Jimo. For the past few days, the curiosity had been eating at him. Whatever he did, a nimble figure kept appearing in his mind.

Jimo was always smiling in front of Ke Yueyi, yet he always wore a cold expression around Chen Ziwu. Aside from being a little better at fighting, he didn't seem to have any good points. His looks were ordinary, his family background couldn't compare to Chen Ziwu's, and his grades were terrible. Chen Ziwu really didn't know what he was being so arrogant about.

That look of his, as though he thought nothing of other people, was really infuriating.

Jimo ignored his shout, too lazy to pay him any attention. He didn't know what had gotten into these people lately, always coming up to him one after another to make their presence known.

Though Jimo had rejected him, Chen Ziwu didn't leave. He fell silent and followed a short distance behind him, making enough noise that it was as if he was afraid Jimo wouldn't know he was there.

When they were almost at the dormitory building, Chen Ziwu finally stopped him again.

"Aren't you even a little curious about what I want to tell you?"

Jimo said flatly, "If you have something to say, say it."

"You..."

"Fuck! I knew you'd run over here again. Haven't you ever been beaten before? Don't you even know how to dodge?"

An angry voice in the distance cut Chen Ziwu off.

Jimo looked over. A group of people had surrounded someone and were punching and kicking him. The man's gaze was somewhat numb, and he didn't fight back. He held his head and let them beat him.

Chen Ziwu watched with interest for a while before pointing and asking, "Know the guy lying there?"

Jimo had been about to enter the dormitory building, but he paused when he heard that. "Should I?"

"Wang Ming, from the student council. He's the one who pulled those little tricks in the cafeteria before. Things haven't been going well for him lately."

Jimo took a closer look and recognized him.

Chen Ziwu clicked his tongue twice, sounding eager to watch the commotion. "He was too flashy before. Some people in the student council already disliked him; they just couldn't find a chance to go after him. Now that this has happened, I'm afraid he won't make it through the winter."

Jimo froze, his brows drawing into a deep frown. "Your student council dares to kill someone, and you're telling me because you're not afraid I'll call the police?"

Chen Ziwu's expression changed, becoming somewhat strange. He looked Jimo up and down. "What are you think—" He seemed to think of something else and stopped himself in time, changing tack. "Didn't he ask you for help? That doesn't make sense..."

Before he could finish, he saw Jimo walk over.

"Stop!"

The student council members paused and stopped what they were doing. They turned around, their faces still full of hostility, wanting to see who was reckless enough to interfere. Their expressions changed when they saw Jimo.

They looked at one another, but no one made a sound.

Jimo said coldly, "Go back and tell that person I've forgiven him for what happened that day."

One of the student council members smiled at Jimo and lowered his hand. "I don't know what you're talking about. I beat him simply because I don't like the sight of him. If you have something to say, you should go say it yourself."

The man paused, then snorted coldly at Wang Ming, who was curled up on the ground. "You're lucky today."

With that, the group swaggered away.

For some reason, Wang Ming didn't rush over and beg Jimo for help as he had the last time he saw him. Instead, he shot Jimo a resentful glare.

He turned and limped away.

Jimo stood there silently, watching him.