So What If the Beautiful Campus Belle Loves Money? (24)
A friend who worked part-time at the Yunding Club had something to do today, so she had asked her to fill in.
She never would have expected to catch sight of those two people who should never have been here at the same time.
Su Qingqing's heart instantly began to race, and she instinctively held her breath.
She saw Gu Yanshen forcibly pull Shi Zheng into a corner.
They were too far away for her to hear exactly what they said, but the tension between them, so charged it could almost throw sparks, left her utterly stunned.
Malicious guesses whirled wildly through Su Qingqing's mind.
The thought that she might have caught Shi Zheng in something serious filled her with a flicker of excitement.
From her particular position, their profiles appeared, for one moment, to be extraordinarily close.
The slight tilt of Shi Zheng's head even made it look as though she was about to lean on Gu Yanshen's shoulder.
Now!
Her heart pounding like a drum, Su Qingqing whipped her phone out of her bag, quickly switched it to silent, and aimed it in their direction, tapping the screen repeatedly.
She deliberately adjusted the angle, focusing the camera more on Shi Zheng's face.
Gu Yanshen, by contrast, was deftly placed at the boundary between light and shadow, his face blurred in the darkness.
But anyone familiar with him would have had no trouble recognizing him.
As for the actual distance between them, her camera deliberately created an ambiguous, intimate illusion.
Shi Zheng... oh, Shi Zheng...
As she took the pictures, Su Qingqing muttered through gritted teeth in her mind, If you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck for running into me.
She looked at the carefully taken photos in her phone's gallery, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Su Qingqing let out a low, cold laugh and gripped her phone tightly in her palm, as if she were holding a weapon sharp enough to destroy Shi Zheng.
"Just you wait, Shi Zheng."
"That exposé on the Forum was just an appetizer... What will everyone at school think when they see these? This time, let's see how you talk your way out of it!"
"President Gu belongs to me. The embarrassment and humiliation you inflicted on me... I'll pay you back double!"
With the private room just ahead, Shi Zheng only wanted to quickly shake off the gaze that followed her like a shadow.
However.
A tall, upright figure stood outside the private room.
The corridor's overhead lights fell on his short red hair, casting a dim halo around it.
He leaned against the wall, a half-burned cigarette between his fingers.
Its crimson ember flickered in the dim light, while wisps of smoke rose and blurred the outline of his profile.
His head was slightly lowered, the loose strands over his forehead concealing part of his face and making his expression hard to discern. A forbidding air surrounded him, warning strangers to stay away.
It was Hua Jinchen.
Shi Zheng's heart sank sharply, and she nearly went mad.
Why was he here?
Wasn't he drinking in the private room?
How could it be such a coincidence that he caught her red-handed?
It made her look as though she and Gu Yanshen were having an affair behind his back.
At the same time, Hua Jinchen seemed to sense the gaze on him and slowly raised his head.
His eyes lingered on Shi Zheng's face for a moment before settling on Gu Yanshen, a few steps behind her. A flash of malice passed through his eyes.
He took a deep drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. Smoke curled around him as he spoke with undisguised hostility. "Well, what a rare guest."
"Isn't our President Gu always so careful to keep himself above reproach? Don't you look down on this kind of den of smoke and filth most of all? What put you in the mood to condescend to visit Yunding today?"
Gu Yanshen stopped beside Shi Zheng, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
His expression was calm as he met Hua Jinchen's aggressive gaze without flinching. "I was passing by on business."
"Passing by?" Hua Jinchen scoffed as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, but his gaze grew colder and colder.
"Passing by the women's restroom? President Gu, that's quite a peculiar route you took."
The remark was outright mockery.
Gu Yanshen said mildly, "You're reading too much into it."
"I'm reading too much into it?" Hua Jinchen laughed in anger at his words.
He ground out his cigarette on the lid of the nearby trash can, producing a faint sizzle.
Then he straightened up, held out a hand to Shi Zheng, and ordered, "Baby, come here."
The atmosphere, tense as drawn bows and unsheathed swords, left Shi Zheng so nervous she didn't know what to do.
She glanced at Hua Jinchen, then instinctively looked at Gu Yanshen out of the corner of her eye.
That tiny movement completely ignited the anger pent up in Hua Jinchen's chest.
"Baby, be good and come here!" he called again, his tone more forceful.
Shi Zheng didn't dare hesitate any longer and walked toward Hua Jinchen.
As soon as she reached his side, Hua Jinchen threw an arm around her and pulled her into his embrace.
It was a gesture of possession.
Caught off guard, Shi Zheng collided with his chest.
So hard...
Hua Jinchen warned, "Gu Yanshen, take a good look, and listen closely."
"Shi Zheng is my girlfriend now. She's mine."
"So stay away from her, and don't come after her."
"Gu Yanshen, don't make me look down on you."
Gu Yanshen stood there quietly, watching him hold Shi Zheng possessively in his arms.
He paid Hua Jinchen's warning no heed.
He slowly raised his eyes and met Hua Jinchen's hostile gaze.
"What if I insist on going after her?"
His words were like a spark tossed into a barrel of oil, instantly setting Hua Jinchen's reason ablaze.
Hua Jinchen said, "Gu Yanshen, just try it."
Two equally outstanding men faced each other in silence over the same woman.
Their gazes clashed, sparks flew, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder and undisguised rivalry and hostility between males.
Shi Zheng said, "Don't be like this. It's all my fault..."
What a sight. I love it. More, please—come on, fight!