Journey

Journey

Being a rich second-generation heir was just a label.

It carried no inherent praise or criticism. Just as there were good people and bad people, there were naturally people of both high and low character among rich second-generation heirs. And honestly, compared with ordinary people, this group had access to better educational resources, so the proportion of people with good character was actually higher.

But why did rich second-generation heirs have such a bad reputation in society?

The reason was simple. The harm caused by ordinary people doing evil was relatively limited, perhaps affecting only a few people around them. But rich second-generation heirs controlled more resources, and once they did something bad, the consequences were often far worse. In some cases, they could even trigger a series of social problems.

Take Cheng Cheng, for example. He had not reached that level yet, but plenty of people at school already had complaints about him. After joining the student union in his freshman year, he had quickly turned it into his own territory. Within a few months, he had seized control of every election and forced several older department heads who disliked him to resign. By his sophomore year, when he became president, all the newly promoted department heads were his people. He basically ruled the student union with an iron fist. And birds of a feather flocked together—when recruiting new members, his group specifically targeted pretty girls.

After they joined, they would often have their underlings find excuses to make things difficult for the girls, then use their position in the student union to help settle those problems for them. Before long, many innocent girls who had just arrived at the university would take the bait.

And somehow, while they were dating, things would end up in bed.

Rumor had it that more girls than he could count on one hand had gotten abortions for Cheng Cheng during his sophomore year. One had even threatened suicide before he paid her off in a private settlement. Of course, those numbers were surely exaggerated, since plenty of people disliked Cheng Cheng.

Chen Huadong, who had originally wanted to stand up for them, hesitated after hearing this. He did not work at Cheng Cheng's family hotel, so he did not particularly care whether Cheng Cheng was a rich second-generation heir. But upon learning that Cheng Cheng controlled the student union, he had to weigh his options. Their school did not have a student clubs federation. Funding for every club activity had to be approved by the student union before being submitted to the teachers, and the student union was also responsible for regularly evaluating the clubs.

Chen Huadong and several boys had founded an anime club in their freshman year called Tiger Shark. It was doing fairly well now. Although hardly any girls had joined, a bunch of gay guys often gathered to exchange mysterious little codes and various uncensored resources, and everyone got along happily enough. Chen Huadong had to consider whether Tiger Shark could continue to exist if he offended Cheng Cheng.

The school also required students to attend morning exercises. Everyone had to check in a certain number of times each semester, and the student union was responsible for keeping those records as well.

In short, the student union was the kind of organization you normally would not notice, but it could be quite troublesome if you really offended it. There were also quite a few people around Cheng Cheng. Chen Huadong was planning to fall in love with Xu Jing, and he did not want to spend every day worrying about getting sucker-punched.

Shen Xixi also looked somewhat helpless. She had said everything that could be said. An ordinary person would have given up long ago, but Cheng Cheng showed no intention of backing off. The girl beside him, Wang Huan, seemed to realize that she had done something wrong as well. She kept her head lowered and did not say a word.

Just then, Zhang Heng spoke up. "Classmate, your fly is open."

"..."

Cheng Cheng looked down and indeed saw a gap at a certain private area. His underwear was not visible, but it was still highly improper.

And it would have been fine if Zhang Heng had not said anything—he could have pretended not to notice. But now that it had been pointed out in front of everyone, he could neither zip it up nor leave it alone. It was extremely awkward.

Cheng Cheng gave Zhang Heng a long look, then said to Shen Xixi, "Xixi, one day, sooner or later, I'll make you understand my feelings."

After saying that, he quickly returned to his BMW. Looking closely, one could see that his walking posture was a little unnatural, as if he did not dare take too wide a step.

"Go, go, go!" Xiaoxiao hurriedly said when she saw this. "Once he zips up, he'll definitely come bother us again."

Everyone immediately scrambled into the van, shutting the doors while urging the driver to get moving.

Xu Jing had already burst out laughing in the vehicle. "Hahahaha, did you see that guy's expression just now? It was absolutely hilarious!"

Then she imitated Cheng Cheng's tone. "Xixi, one day, sooner or later, I'll make you understand my feelings..."

The legal loli gazed lovingly at Shen Xixi as she spoke.

Everyone in the van was amused by her.

Xiaoxiao curled her lip. "Stop talking about it. It's disgusting. He's a hooligan who specializes in deceiving freshman girls, yet he wants to play at being pure and devoted."

But Shen Xixi looked at Zhang Heng with a hint of apology. "Sorry, I dragged you into this because of my problems."

Zhang Heng shook his head. "It's fine. I don't join clubs."

Among the girls, Xiaoxiao was closest to the people in Zhang Heng's dorm because of her boyfriend. She had even gone out for barbecue with them several times last semester. But perhaps Wei Jiangyang had rubbed off on her, because she was also very invested in her roommates' love lives. Her eyes spun as she said to Shen Xixi, "Xixi, weren't you thinking of forming a band? Consider Zhang Heng. He's amazing at piano. You know Paganini's La Campanella, right? He can just play it whenever he wants."

Zhang Heng was rather helpless about such rumors. If they kept spreading them, Lang Lang would probably become his defeated subordinate someday.

But before he could deny it, Wei Jiangyang chimed in as if echoing his wife, "Exactly, exactly. And Zhang Heng loves sports. He runs ten kilometers every morning, joined the climbing association, and his goal is to challenge K2. He's also practiced archery since he was five, never leaves home without his bow, and his Archery Skill is now superb. People call him Zhang Shun, the White Stripe in the Waves."

"Ahem, ahem. It's Hua Rong, the Lesser Li Guang." Xiaoxiao covered her face.

The legal loli was also someone who loved stirring up trouble, and she joined in, "I knew it. The moment I saw Zhang Heng, I could tell he was brave and resourceful. He's so much better than Cheng Cheng, who can't even zip up his fly."

Chen Huadong was a step too late. Everything he could have said had already been stolen, and after holding it in for a long time, he finally squeezed out, "Zhang Heng also loves small animals. Every time he finishes eating fish in the cafeteria, he collects the remains and finds a place to give them a proper burial."

"..."

"Hey, that's enough. At least put a little effort into making up stories."

Everyone laughed themselves silly. The somewhat gloomy mood caused by Cheng Cheng's unexpected appearance immediately became lively again.

At their age, boys and girls naturally teased and egged each other on, openly showing their youthful sides without too many ulterior motives. After hearing the introductions, Shen Xixi did become a little more curious about Zhang Heng, but that was all. She gave him a friendly nod, then turned to chat with Wang Huan, who had been left out at the side.

Zhang Heng had no particular feelings for Shen Xixi either. She was a good girl who made people feel comfortable around her, but he did not feel his heart stir.

Zhang Heng looked out the window as the reflections along the street sped past.

Sometimes, he was curious about what kind of girl he actually liked. Chen Huadong had always been into legal lolis, while Wei Jiangyang liked girls like Xiaoxiao, who seemed strong on the outside but were gentle in private. Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they liked. Only he could not say what his type was.

Yet Zhang Heng did not know why, but he had always believed that when he met the right person, he would recognize her at first sight.