After Shalan's dissatisfaction had built up for so long, it finally erupted. She said coldly—
"Hmph, you're still laughing and joking here. Looks like you never intended to win at all, did you? Well, of course. How could a fat woman like you possibly win? I think you should give up early and stop making a fool of yourself."
Originally, this was a perfectly ordinary remark. Well, compared to the things Ye Lang said, it was nothing at all. Yet these words provoked Zhen Xiaoyan, simply because they came from a different person.
No matter how cutting Ye Lang's words were, she would not take them to heart, because she knew he meant no harm. But it was different when it came from someone else—especially her rival in love.
"Don't worry, I won't give up. And I'll definitely win—not just beat you, but win the championship!!" Zhen Xiaoyan said, refusing to yield an inch.
"..."
Silence. At that moment, everyone fell silent.
"Ha ha..."
Then came a burst of uproarious laughter. Everyone knew Zhen Xiaoyan was entering the competition, but they also knew she had only done so because she had been provoked, so they had not laughed at her.
But now it was different. Zhen Xiaoyan had actually said she wanted to win—and even win the championship. It was so ridiculous that it felt like the funniest joke in the world.
"Ha ha, you? You think you can beat me? Win the championship? Unless everyone goes blind, just wait until your next life to be reborn looking different before you talk big. Ha ha..." Shalan laughed without restraint, grinding Zhen Xiaoyan beneath her heel.
But that was not the most hurtful part. At the end, Shalan continued to twist the knife. "In this life, you can only compete with pigs in beauty. You belong in a pigsty! Zhen Xiaoyan, you should be called Pig No-Beauty!"
"You..." Zhen Xiaoyan was so hurt that she could not say a word. Tears seemed ready to spill from her eyes.
At that moment, the entire classroom fell silent. They might have laughed at Zhen Xiaoyan, but they would not approve of such insulting words. After all, they had been classmates for many years and shared at least some affection.
This also showed that Zhen Xiaoyan got along fairly well with people. She had never offended anyone. A person's outward traits did not stand in the way of friendship between classmates; personality was the key, and everyone acknowledged that her personality was good. One only had to look at how she treated Ye Lang to see it.
"Yes, that's right. She's competing with pigs in beauty, which is why she's entering this competition." Ye Lang's indifferent voice rang out.
"..."
Everyone froze. For a moment, they did not understand what he meant, but very quickly, they all got it.
"Pfft..."
Some people could not help laughing, inwardly marveling at how perfect the counterattack was—it made the other side lift a rock only to smash her own foot.
"Ye Lang! Who are you calling a pig?!" Shalan snapped.
"You," Ye Lang answered bluntly. "I'm just interpreting your words literally. She's entering the Pigsty Competition because she wants to compete with you in beauty!"
"Ye Lang, stop talking. You'll offend people like this," Zhen Xiaoyan said.
Of course, the people she meant were not Shalan. Ye Lang had clearly offended her many times already. She meant that he had swept everyone into it, calling all the talented young ladies participating in the competition pigs.
"What's there to fear about offending people? Who dares mess with me? I'm the dignified Thirteenth Young Master Ye! If a tiger doesn't show its might, do they take me for a sick cat?" Ye Lang said arrogantly, displaying the side of himself that befitted a spoiled young master.
Those words also reminded everyone present that this brat was Thirteenth Young Master Ye, someone they could not afford to provoke. Even if he pointed at the noses of those noble young ladies competing and called them pigs, they could only swallow their anger.
In recent years, people had often overlooked Ye Lang's status. Aside from the fact that he had always kept a low profile, he also frequently acted muddleheaded, making people laugh and cry at the same time while feeling close to him. Most importantly, he rarely used his status to intimidate others like this.
The people in this classroom were even more likely to forget his identity. Having spent so much time together, they naturally did not treat Ye Lang as anyone special—he was simply a classmate.
At that moment, Shalan's expression turned ugly. She seemed to have realized that although her boyfriend Moya was one of the academy's Four Young Masters, the four of them together might not even carry as much weight as Ye Lang alone.
To put it in one sentence, Ye Lang was like a hidden BOSS!
"That's true. Ordinary people really can't afford to provoke you. But—others can scheme against you in secret, and you're often so muddleheaded that you could easily be set up!" Zhen Xiaoyan said bluntly and without mercy.
"Go, go! I'm sharp as a tack. How could I be muddleheaded? If anyone tries to scheme against me, they'll have to wait until their next life!" Ye Lang shook his head, denying it.
"Sharp as a tack? Then who was it yesterday that wandered into the women's changing room in a daze and got chased around as a pervert for half the day?"
"... That wasn't my fault. They didn't put the sign back up. I thought they were all for men."
"Anyone would know men and women each have their own room. If they were all for men, there would be no need to separate them into two rooms. You're muddleheaded. And this isn't even the first time!"
"Damn it, if you keep talking, I won't help you anymore. I was originally going to help you beat that pack of pigs, but now I need to think it over," Ye Lang said, embarrassed into anger.
Zhen Xiaoyan said irritably, "You're still calling them pigs. This will... Wait, what did you just say?"
"Nothing much. I said I need to consider whether I should help you or not." Ye Lang waved a hand.
"Help me? Do you have a way to help me?" Zhen Xiaoyan asked suspiciously.
"There are plenty of ways. It depends on what you choose." Ye Lang put on the airs of an expert, clasping his hands behind his back as he stood there and looked down his nose at everyone.
"What ways?" Zhen Xiaoyan ignored Ye Lang's antics at this moment and only asked nervously. Naturally, she hoped she could win, even if it seemed impossible.
"There are easy ways that take no effort, and complicated ways that make people suffer. Which do you choose?"
"The easy one!" Zhen Xiaoyan answered decisively. Everyone in the world would make that choice.
"The easy way is for me to spend money to bribe the judges and audience, then threaten them a little. With both the stick and the carrot, wouldn't that championship be yours for the taking?" Ye Lang offered a method so outrageous that everyone nearly collapsed. Only he would dare suggest it.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Zhen Xiaoyan said, "Let's change to another one. This one isn't good!"
Although this method left everyone speechless, no one doubted that Ye Lang could pull it off. With his spendthrift nature, this was exactly the sort of thing he loved doing, whether it succeeded or not.
Before you continue