"You tell me, what kind of background does Lao Jiang have to make two campus beauties willing to fight each other to the death over him? I really can't figure it out."
"I can't figure it out either. Isn't he just a little more handsome, a little fairer-skinned, more ruthless with money, and better at spouting cheesy lines? What else does he have? How can he compare with good boys like us?"
School of Finance, Boys' Dormitory 302.
After Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao returned from the restaurant, they had been studying this matter as if it were some secret martial arts manual.
They really couldn't imagine it. Girls at the level of campus beauties should have been as aloof as moonlight. How could they become so pitiful in front of Jiang Qin, while he remained indifferent and annoyed, looking so cool that even their tongues tingled?
Shouldn't girls like that be treated like treasures, with you afraid they might break if you held them too tightly or melt if you kept them in your mouth?
Yet Lao Jiang could simply get up and leave without showing the slightest consideration, while those girls chased after him in tears, begging him not to go.
If they could learn this technique, wouldn't they be able to swagger through the entire school?
Cao Guangyu thought the two of them were complete idiots. They hadn't even learned the other man's internal cultivation method and had only seen three moves and two tricks. They could study for eight lifetimes and still never figure it out. Had they never heard that taking enough beatings could turn someone into a Martial Arts Expert?
"Lao Cao."
"What?"
Zhou Chao looked over with burning eyes. "You're a rich second-generation heir and have seen more of the world. Tell us why."
Cao Guangyu had looked dispirited all afternoon, and he still seemed half-dead, his voice weak. "You already figured out the reason. Why are you asking me?"
"When did I figure out the reason?" Zhou Chao looked at Ren Ziqiang in confusion.
Ren Ziqiang was equally bewildered. "What reason? Why don't I know about it?"
"He's handsome, fair-skinned, ruthless with money, and good at spouting cheesy lines. Isn't that enough? Four things. Do either of you have even one?"
Zhou Chao fell silent for a moment. "But I think I have all four."
Cao Guangyu's mouth twisted. "Get lost."
"No, Lao Cao, something's wrong with you."
"What's wrong with me?"
Ren Ziqiang scrutinized him, growing more certain of his judgment. "Losing is one thing, but you've always refused to admit defeat to Lao Jiang. Why are you acting like someone beat the stuffing out of you today? You don't even dare brag. Why are you building up someone else's morale while destroying your own?"
Cao Guangyu grew irritated at those words. He told them to get lost over and over, then turned around, climbed into bed, and pulled the blanket over his head.
The meal that afternoon hadn't hurt Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao very much. At most, it had let them experience life's inequalities a little ahead of schedule. They would feel that disparity sooner or later anyway, and it wasn't going to kill them, so it didn't really matter.
But Cao Guangyu was different. What he had felt wasn't disparity, but a devastating blow.
Even if Jiang Qin won over Song Qingqing, won over Jiang Tian, or even won over both of them, Cao Guangyu still wouldn't admit defeat. He was a rich second-generation heir. How could he possibly be inferior to Jiang Qin?
But Hong Yan was different, because Hong Yan had once been the dream of every boy at Hangcheng No. 1 High School.
That included Cao Guangyu.
Hong Yan was his most beautiful unrequited love, the one pure white jasmine in his heart, and the beautiful vision of his youth, when his mind was still immature but his heart had already begun to stir.
Throughout his three years of high school, Cao Guangyu had never had a girlfriend. In truth, he had been nothing more than a timid little chick who only dared to greet Hong Yan on QQ. So when he learned that Hong Yan liked Jiang Qin, his heart shattered like a pure-love warrior collapsing on the battlefield.
Since the start of the school year, Jiang Qin had bested Cao Guangyu in everything. Cao Guangyu had refused to admit defeat no matter what, but this time, he had truly been hammered into a daze.
"Lao Cao, what's wrong? Did that bastard Jiang Qin shatter your confidence?"
"Lao Cao, don't be sad. When Jiang Qin gets back, the two of us will teach him a proper lesson!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door to Room 302 suddenly opened. Jiang Qin stepped inside, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Ren Ziqiang and Zhou Chao approaching with solemn expressions.
Then one pulled out a chair, the other handed over slippers, and they were only one step away from helping Jiang Qin take off his socks.
"Dad, when are we starting the lecture?"
Cao Guangyu threw off the blanket and glared furiously at his two roommates. "Lao Ren, Lao Zhou, did the dogs eat your dignity?"
Zhou Chao looked up at Cao Guangyu, who was sitting on the bed. "What's dignity compared to having a wife?"
"Lao Ren, are you worthy of your own name?" Cao Guangyu switched targets.
Unexpectedly, Ren Ziqiang immediately puffed out his chest and raised his head. "I objected when my father gave me this name, but I had no say in the matter!"
Jiang Qin didn't even need to ask to know what they were thinking. They had simply been dazzled awake, and after waking up, they couldn't accept the disappointment. They kept questioning others, then started questioning themselves.
"All right, then. Bring over some chairs. Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll explain it all to you properly."
Zhou Chao and Ren Ziqiang hurried off to get chairs. After putting on an act for quite a while, Cao Guangyu couldn't hold back either. He jumped off the bed and leaned against the wardrobe. But he didn't bring over a chair, because refusing to bring one was the last shred of dignity he had left.
Then Jiang Qin sat down and told them about how he had liked Chu Siqi for three years in high school, only to be rejected on the spot after confessing.
To be honest, there was nothing embarrassing about it.
What was the greatest strength of a man approaching forty? Knowing how to make peace with himself.
Making peace with his younger self by saying that falling for the wrong person wasn't his fault. Making peace with his middle-aged self by saying that failing to make money wasn't his fault. He could even make peace with his elderly self by saying that leaving behind so many regrets wasn't his fault.
Eight or nine out of ten things in life went wrong, while fewer than two or three could be told to others. If you couldn't make peace with yourself and acknowledge your own mediocrity and failures, you simply couldn't survive in this rotten world.
In an instant, light returned to Cao Guangyu's eyes.
"Lao Jiang, you've also failed at an unrequited love?"
Jiang Qin curled his lip. "Why do you sound like you're taking pleasure in my misfortune?"
Cao Guangyu immediately felt his back straighten. He grinned with shameless delight. "You should've said so earlier! So you also liked someone for three years. Then we're all brothers in misery!"
At that, Jiang Qin realized there might be some gossip hiding in this corner of the world too.
"Lao Cao, your use of 'also' is rather interesting. You've got a story too?"
"All right, then. I'll tell you mine."
With Jiang Qin's story as an introduction, Cao Guangyu no longer held anything back. He thoroughly recounted how he had liked Hong Yan, even admitting that he had never had a girlfriend. By the time he finished, he was almost smug, feeling that he had finally found something in which he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Qin.
He didn't know what there was to be proud of about standing shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Qin, but he felt proud anyway.
After he finished, Zhou Chao and Ren Ziqiang glanced at him, and their expressions suddenly became much stranger.
"What?" Cao Guangyu asked, somewhat bewildered.
"That's it? You think you're worthy of calling yourself Lao Jiang's sworn brother? I'm embarrassed for you!"
"How did I embarrass myself?" Cao Guangyu immediately refused to accept that.
Ren Ziqiang curled his lips. "You both liked someone for three years, but look at Jiang Ge. With just two sentences, he could make Chu Siqi suffer so badly she'd want to die. And you? You sat in that restaurant for two hours, and Hong Yan didn't even know who you were."
Zhou Chao came over and patted him on the shoulder. "Jiang Ge might not have gotten together with Chu Siqi, but Hong Yan likes him. What do you have? A feather duster?"
Jiang Qin added a fatal blow. "Lao Cao, I'm a little disappointed in you."
"?????"
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