At the badminton court, Jiang Linyuan listened as Liu Tingting finished telling a tearful story.
According to her, a guy who was especially fond of her had been pursuing her relentlessly lately, and it was giving her a headache.
Liu Tingting had turned him down many times, but he kept at it. He'd evolved from a sweet, caring guy into a lovesick doormat, all in the name of devotion.
Hearing this, Jiang Linyuan instinctively sensed something was off. With Liu Tingting's experience, could something like this really trouble her?
Hmph. Not much heart, but plenty of schemes.
That was what he thought, but he still put on a concerned expression and asked,
"Do you need me to help, Senior?"
Liu Tingting sighed again and shook her head.
"It's not really the troublesome part. The problem is that boy's girlfriend."
Jiang Linyuan froze.
Well, well—so he had a girlfriend! What kind of weirdo was this?
"Do you mean the guy pursuing you has a girlfriend?"
Liu Tingting nodded.
Jiang Linyuan leaned back in shock.
As the saying went, you couldn't hide loving one person, but if you loved two, you had to keep it under wraps.
"Hasn't his girlfriend broken up with him?"
he asked.
Liu Tingting's eyes shifted.
"He told me he was already done with that girl, but she doesn't seem to think so. She's been coming to the Badminton Club to give me trouble these past few days."
She sighed again, watching Jiang Linyuan out of the corner of her eye.
"She's a freshman who only joined the Badminton Club recently. I've been worrying about this for a while now."
Oh, now he got it.
The wronged long-distance girlfriend had come straight to her rival's door.
Jiang Linyuan looked at Liu Tingting, still puzzled.
After spending this much time around her, he had a pretty good sense of Liu Tingting's level.
What sort of hero could have put her through this?
"Is that girl hard to get along with, Senior?"
Jiang Linyuan asked, voicing his confusion.
Liu Tingting looked troubled.
"It's not that she's hard to get along with. She's... pretty distinctive."
"You're coming to watch the Badminton Club's training tomorrow, right? You'll see for yourself then."
Distinctive?
Jiang Linyuan frowned. Was she another Su Muzhi?
The next day, when Jiang Linyuan arrived at the badminton court, he finally understood what Liu Tingting had meant by distinctive.
As soon as he walked in, he saw a brash woman standing in the middle of the court with a cigarette between her lips. She seemed to be arguing with Liu Tingting.
"Zhuang Yan, smoking isn't allowed here. A lot of students can't stand the smell. Could you put it out?"
Looking at the burly woman in front of her, Liu Tingting forced a smile and tried to persuade her gently.
The woman took a deep drag, then sneered.
"What's it to you? I'll smoke if I damn well want to. Keep yapping and I won't smoke—I'll smoke you."
Liu Tingting's expression stiffened, her face turning grim.
Jiang Linyuan stared, dumbfounded.
Damn, she was a general! No wonder Liu Tingting couldn't handle her. Hell, even Sister Yu of the Northeast might not be able to subdue her!
Let's see her level.
[Target: Zhuang Yan; Bad Woman Rating: D]
Whoa, there was a contrast too!
Even though I smoke, have tattoos, and swear like a sailor, I'm still an innocent, romantic girl.
Was that really a contrast?
Jiang Linyuan couldn't bear to watch. He shook his head and sighed.
"Hm? The first thing you do when you see me today is sigh, Jiang?"
Standing beside him, Su Muzhi fluttered her lashes and blinked her big eyes, putting on the air of a proper teacher.
"That won't do. I'll have to deduct a lot of points."
Deduct a lot of shit? That's a pretty extreme taste, sis.
Jiang Linyuan turned to look at Su Muzhi.
Short skirt, slim waist, willow-leaf eyebrows—a real beauty.
She might be a Downer Girl, but she was still easy on the eyes.
"Ugh, male objectification is disgusting."
As if she'd noticed Jiang Linyuan's gaze, Su Muzhi covered her chest with both hands, striking a guarded pose as she looked him up and down.
Jiang Linyuan laughed.
"Su, when we first met, you used splashed water as an excuse to sneak a look at my abs. Your gaze was a lot hotter than mine is now."
Su Muzhi raised an eyebrow.
"But I spilled the water by accident that day. Besides, I didn't want to see your abs."
"You splashed water on my stomach! If you didn't want to see my abs, what did you want to see?"
Jiang Linyuan retorted.
Halfway through, he stopped and looked down at his stomach, then followed his clothes downward.
Then he looked up and stared at Su Muzhi in horror.
"You weren't hoping to see..."
Su Muzhi's mouth twitched at his expression.
How could someone be this ridiculous?
"Hmph. I'm not interested in toothpicks."
"Have you even seen it? How can you call it a toothpick?"
In the end, Su Muzhi was still a girl. She couldn't match Jiang Linyuan's shamelessness and was the first to crack, trying to end the conversation.
"Jiang, if you keep saying things like that, I'll put you on Little Red Book and say you sexually harassed me."
I knew it. You're a keyboard warrior online too.
"Sure. Put me on Little Red Book, and I'll put you on Tieba."
Jiang Linyuan shrugged indifferently.
Just then, Su Muzhi glanced to the side and suddenly broke into a smile.
"Sounds like you do this kind of thing a lot, Jiang. Have you exposed other people before?"
As she spoke, she seemed to think of something. Her expression changed, her bright eyes darting around as she tugged on Jiang Linyuan's sleeve and whispered,
"Tell me quietly—did you expose Shen Wanyu?"
Fine, now she was slandering him too!
Seeing Su Muzhi act like that, Jiang Linyuan shook his head scornfully.
Then he caught sight of a familiar figure entering the badminton court from the corner of his eye. Shen Wanyu!
Damn it, Su Muzhi, were you trying to get me killed?
Bad woman! You're the real bad woman!
Jiang Linyuan pushed Su Muzhi aside and declared righteously,
"Don't slander me! When it comes to the Department Head, there are only two words that describe me!"
"And those are..."
"Loyalty!"
Only after saying it did he seem to notice Shen Wanyu. He lowered his head in feigned embarrassment.
"Oh, isn't that the Department Head? You didn't hear what I just said, did you?"
Shen Wanyu simply watched Jiang Linyuan without saying a word.
After a while, as if she hadn't heard anything, she said calmly,
"I'm just here to take a look."
Then she pointed to the group behind her.
"You're free to help these new members get familiar with the External Relations Department's work."
Only then did Jiang Linyuan notice the few people following behind Shen Wanyu.
One of them had a familiar face.
Oh, Binary Sister.
Lin Yilin spotted Jiang Linyuan too. Smiling, she eagerly waved at him.
Shen Wanyu noticed and frowned, speaking bluntly.
"I don't care what you and Su Muzhi are up to, but don't make a move on someone who just joined the department."
Jiang Linyuan waved a hand.
"Department Head, what kind of person do you take me for? Even rabbits don't eat the grass by their burrow!"
Shen Wanyu gave a cold laugh, stared him in the eyes, and left him with a curt reply.
"See that you don't."
With that, she turned and walked away without even looking at Su Muzhi.
Before you continue