Chen Xiaozheng, the Bad Guy

Chapter 18: Chen Xiaozheng, the Bad Guy

Wang Yue often came over to eat, but he always paid. At first, they refused to take his money, but Wang Yue insisted. He wanted to keep a low profile, and after asking them over and over to keep it secret, Zheng Wei still accepted the money and gave him his change without batting an eye.

Thanks to the bun shop, Wang Yue had gotten to know Zheng Wei's roommates. Zhu Xiaobei in particular had become his biggest fan ever since she saw him play basketball with such wild abandon.

Wang Yue knew what was really going on. This proud little girl simply didn't know how to express her gratitude.

Wang Yue had once heard from Zhu Xiaonan, during a chat, that ever since other people had made fun of her sister in middle school, Zhu Xiaobei had usually kept her distance from her in front of outsiders.

After years of this, Zhu Xiaobei had called her "Big Sister" affectionately in front of her classmates again. Zhu Xiaonan had been so happy that she'd secretly cried.

Wang Yue didn't know how to comfort her. Zhu Xiaobei had actually been raised quite well by her sister. Aside from being a little proud, she was an excellent friend.

Zheng Wei wasn't as dedicated to her job as Zhu Xiaobei and Ruan Wan. She kept asking for time off now and then, but everyone knew what she was like, so nobody said anything.

As for Wang Yue, the hands-off boss, he was even less likely to say a word. At the moment, he was fretting over the money that had just come in. There were tens of thousands more in his account, and he couldn't just leave them sitting there.

Wang Yue agonized over it for a few days, but the knack for managing his expressions that he'd picked up from Xiao Nai kept everyone from noticing anything was wrong. After all, Wang Yue always seemed so aloof. Only the few people who knew him well understood what he was really like.

Zheng Wei was always calling him a weirdo. One moment he seemed warm, the next cold; sometimes he was diligent, sometimes lazy. He was a walking contradiction.

After Zheng Wei started working, it wasn't as easy as before for Xu Kaiyang to use his old tricks to lure her into hanging out with him. Zhang Kai also stopped seeing the Ruan Wan he thought about day and night.

The topic of conversation at Xu Kaiyang's dorm meetings was usually Zheng Wei or Ruan Wan. Chen Xiaozheng, meanwhile, seemed to live in his own world.

Lately, they were still talking about the girls, but their conversations had taken on a distinctly gloomy tone. Chen Xiaozheng never joined in. Perhaps, in his eyes, there was nothing but studying and making money.

One day, they specifically checked the first-year civil engineering course schedule and saw that there were no classes that afternoon. They hurried to invite Zheng Wei to their dorm to watch a movie.

After being so busy for so long, Zheng Wei had been itching to get out and relax. Zhang Kai's invitation came at just the right time, but Ruan Wan declined to go with her, so Zheng Wei happily set off on her own.

When she arrived at Xu Kaiyang's dorm, he had gone to another dorm in his class to retrieve his VCD player. The others also happened to be out, and she spotted a model in the dorm...

That evening, Wang Yue heard about Zheng Wei's afternoon ordeal at the bun shop.

"Wang Yue, don't you think Chen Xiaozheng is a real jerk?" Zheng Wei was venting to Ruan Wan and Zhu Xiaobei. She looked up and saw Wang Yue and several of his roommates eating wontons at a little table by the door, so she decided to rope in one more person to share her grievances with. She'd never run into anything like this before.

"Yeah, you're right!" Wang Yue saw the look on her face that said she'd never forgive him if he didn't agree, so he quickly played along. Besides, who was Chen Xiaozheng anyway? It wasn't as if Wang Yue knew him.

Seeing his reaction and noticing that Wang Yue's roommates were all reacting the same way, Zheng Wei quickly told them what had happened that afternoon.

Zhang Yang, Han Wen, and Liu Lei acted like a trio of lackeys, joining in to denounce Chen Xiaozheng.

"You're not even taking my side!" Zheng Wei had been enjoying the way they were all agreeing with her, but then she suddenly realized Wang Yue hadn't backed her up. She immediately got upset, her big, aggrieved eyes silently protesting.

"Didn't Xu Kaiyang say? That's how the guy makes a living. You smashed his rice bowl, then expected him to apologize?" Wang Yue shook his head.

"But he could've just said that! Why shove me? He has no idea how to treat a girl!" Zheng Wei wasn't unreasonable. She'd just never been treated like that before, and she couldn't get over it.

"Do you know where the phrase 'cherish the fragrance and admire the jade' comes from?" Wang Yue asked helplessly.

"How would I know? Ruan Ruan, do you?" Zheng Wei turned to ask.

"Jin An Shou. 'Two hearts stir with feelings they ought to understand; cherishing fragrance and admiring jade, the phoenixes dance, in a brocade-lined lane.'" Ruan Wan thought for a moment before answering.

"See? Right after 'cherishing fragrance and admiring jade' comes 'the phoenixes dance.' The ancients already told you: anyone who wants to cherish and admire you is definitely lusting after your body!" Wang Yue declared with certainty.

Then Wang Yue added, "The ancients also said that the poor don't pick their wives, and once people have enough to eat and wear, they think about sex. Chen Xiaozheng is still working his way out of poverty. Wait until he gets past this first stage, and he'll come apologize to you himself. I assume you're pretty confident about your looks."

"How long will that take?" Zheng Wei was focused on something else.

"Let's see... until he graduates. Once he's working—with how hard he studies, he's bound to be a white-collar worker." Wang Yue gave his own estimate.

Ruan Wan and Zhu Xiaobei watched them from the side, trying not to laugh. They both thought Wang Yue's twisted logic actually made a bit of sense. Zhang Yang and the other two stared at him, dumbfounded. They couldn't believe how awesome their boss was.

"That'll take forever! By the time he graduates, we could be at opposite ends of the country. If he wants to apologize then, I won't even hear about it!" Zheng Wei was thoroughly frustrated.

"That's easy. Just don't give him a chance to apologize. Let him spend the rest of his life regretting that he missed his chance to get close to a beautiful woman." Wang Yue still looked like he had her best interests at heart.

"Exactly! With that personality, he'll never find a girlfriend!" Zheng Wei proudly lifted her chin and even shook her little fist.

"That's right. He'll never find a boyfriend either!" Before Wang Yue had finished speaking, someone behind him burst out laughing.

Wang Yue looked over and saw Zhang Kai, Xu Kaiyang, and Gong Cheng. He refused to feel awkward. As long as he kept his composure, he wouldn't be the one feeling embarrassed.

When Zheng Wei saw the three of them arrive together—and realized Chen Xiaozheng wasn't with them—her face immediately lit up. She said to Xu Kaiyang, "Xu Kaiyang, nice work! Don't be friends with him!"

That sent the boys into peals of laughter. Ruan Wan and Zhu Xiaobei were also covering their mouths, giggling, while Zheng Wei alone looked completely baffled.

Her silly, sweet look found its way straight into some people's hearts. Zhang Kai was the only one secretly watching Ruan Wan's cheeks turn rosy as she laughed, warmth spreading through his heart.

Wang Yue also felt a little flutter in his heart. Girls like her were rare in his own time. Some girls were so worldly that even he couldn't keep up with them.

What a wonderful time this was! What a wonderful thing youth was!

Xu Kaiyang had originally come to apologize because inviting Zheng Wei to watch a movie had ended so unpleasantly. But when he saw she was in a decent mood, he felt relieved. Still, this was the first time he'd taken note of the name Wang Yue.