A Male Green Tea Makes His Move

The worse the school, the more extraordinary people it had; the better the school, the more extraordinary those people were.

Xingnan University was neither good nor bad, so it had plenty of extraordinary people who were extraordinary in every way.

The two fish Liu Tingting had hooked were extraordinary people too. When they learned they both had a green hat on their heads, they didn't go looking for Liu Tingting first. Instead, they started tearing into each other.

I had to admit, sometimes the little head reacted faster than the big one.

But after trading one "Let me ask you this" after another, their brains quickly landed a few elbows on them, bringing their intelligence back to normal.

"Bro, I misunderstood you earlier."

"You called me bro, so what else can I say? You can have Liu Tingting."

"Man, I don't have a taste for that kind of thing. I didn't know the chocolate was coated in shit before. Now that I know, how am I supposed to eat it?"

The two put on a Yodeling-style drama, united on the same side and determined to take fierce revenge on Liu Tingting, that green tea.

Onward to the east! Down with tea!

The two quickly exposed Liu Tingting's various bad-girlfriend antics across social media.

College students loved gossip, especially when it involved men and women. Every last one of them was a bloodthirsty spectator.

And so, the news that Liu Tingting was two-timing spread like wildfire.

So, what was Liu Tingting, the woman at the center of the storm, doing about it?

The answer was: practicing.

These past few days, Liu Tingting had been practicing nonstop, preparing for the Four-School League.

She was even brushing off Jiang Linyuan's advances.

"Seriously, she doesn't care at all?"

Jiang Linyuan furrowed his brow slightly.

When something was this out of the ordinary, something had to be up. Had Liu Tingting given up on herself?

"Is this Four-School League so important to her? Or is she planning to wait for the storm to blow over?"

Jiang Linyuan looked thoughtful as he glanced at Su Muzhi, who was brimming with enthusiasm beside him.

"Su, what do you think?"

"Does the reason matter? Didn't you get what you wanted?"

Su Muzhi stared into Jiang Linyuan's eyes and gently wagged her index finger with a smile.

"Liu Tingting's in the middle of a storm right now. It's the perfect chance to take advantage of her vulnerability."

"What do you mean, take advantage of her vulnerability? I'm offering her a helping hand!"

Jiang Linyuan corrected Su Muzhi's choice of words.

That's right. It was time for me to rescue Liu Tingting from her troubles!

Don't ask how she got into them.

Su Muzhi watched Jiang Linyuan's righteous expression and pursed her lips.

Just as Jiang Linyuan was about to go find Liu Tingting, Su Muzhi suddenly laughed.

"Zhuang Yan told me Liu Tingting hurt her foot while playing. She might not be able to compete in the Four-School League."

Jiang Linyuan raised an eyebrow. Now that was interesting.

She got injured at a time like this?

"Where is she now?"

"Liu Tingting or Zhuang Yan?"

"Of course Liu Tingting! Why would I ask about Zhuang Yan?"

"Hehe, I thought you were interested in Zhuang Yan too."

"...I think you're sexually repressed."

Jiang Linyuan didn't banter with Su Muzhi for long. He found out that Liu Tingting was in the infirmary.

He hurried over. As soon as he walked in, he heard a surprised voice.

"Well, look who came to visit her. Don't you know about that bitch's little scandal?"

That was Sister Zhuang for you: ruthless, and foul-mouthed to boot.

Jiang Linyuan turned his head and saw Zhuang Yan looking at him with disdain.

"Want me to tell you about it?"

"No need."

Jiang Linyuan waved a hand and asked:

"How bad is Liu Tingting's injury?"

Zhuang Yan paused, then snorted.

"She sprained her ankle. It's nothing serious."

Jiang Linyuan looked at her, his expression odd.

"You brought her here?"

Zhuang Yan turned her face away.

"She got hurt while playing with me. Of course I brought her here."

As she spoke, her tone grew agitated, and she stamped her foot.

"Fine, now that her devoted admirer is here, I won't get in the way. I'm leaving."

Why was she acting all tsundere now? Like a little kid.

Jiang Linyuan shook his head with an amused smile and walked into the temporary lounge, where he saw Liu Tingting half-reclining on a bed.

Her long black hair spilled down her back like a waterfall.

When she saw Jiang Linyuan, she froze for a moment, then gave him a faint smile.

"Oh, it's you, junior."

At a glance, it was obvious: that was a fake smile.

That made sense. Word of Liu Tingting's bad-girl reputation was spreading everywhere. No matter how she acted on the outside, she couldn't be happy about it.

"I heard you were injured, senior, so I came to see you."

Jiang Linyuan said.

Liu Tingting nodded.

"It's not a big deal. I just sprained my ankle. A few days' rest and I'll be fine."

"It just means I can't compete in the Four-School League."

As she spoke, she smiled faintly, her voice soft.

"That's a bit of a shame."

"Is it really a shame?"

Jiang Linyuan asked again.

Liu Tingting's gaze sharpened, then she lowered her eyes.

"Didn't you hear what people outside are saying about me, junior?"

"A two-timing bad girl? A green tea bitch?"

Jiang Linyuan pulled up a chair and sat down, answering as casually as could be.

"So you know."

Liu Tingting didn't so much as change her expression as she asked outright:

"Then why are you still coming to see me?"

"Maybe those things are just other people's prejudices. I believe—"

"They're true."

Liu Tingting cut him off, her expression turning cold.

"All of it is true."

Jiang Linyuan fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

"I know."

"Then did you come to laugh at me?"

Liu Tingting continued.

"If I wanted to laugh at you, I would've come sooner."

Jiang Linyuan gave her a confident smile.

"After all, I knew from the beginning that you were keeping a stable of admirers."

Liu Tingting paused. She looked him over as if seeing him for the first time, then laughed.

"You came here just to tell me that?"

"No."

Jiang Linyuan shook his head.

"From the start, I said I'd heard you were injured, so I came to see you."

"Hmm? You've seen me. Can you leave now?"

Liu Tingting said casually, looking a little impatient.

"No. Now that I've seen you, I want to talk with you about leading the team in the Four-School League."

Jiang Linyuan spoke calmly.

"Huh?"

Liu Tingting tilted her head back, smiled, and pointed at her leg.

"I sprained my ankle. Can't you see? How am I supposed to compete?"

"Why can't you?"

Jiang Linyuan glanced at her.

"You're not injured at all."

Liu Tingting slowly stopped smiling and turned her face away, her voice stiff.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

As if he hadn't noticed, Jiang Linyuan continued:

"You know, senior, whenever you play badminton, you tie your hair up in a high ponytail. But when I saw you this time, your hair was down."

As she listened, Liu Tingting instinctively touched her loose hair and lowered her eyes.

"I just didn't feel like tying it up today."

After a while, when she heard no response from Jiang Linyuan, she looked up in confusion.

A simple black hair tie with a nameplate came into view.

"I think you look better with your hair tied up, senior."

Jiang Linyuan gently set the hair tie down and said:

"Every year, the school team recruits some of its standout members from the relevant clubs. This year's Four-School League is your chance to prove yourself."

"It's also your chance to return to the school team. It'd be a shame to give up."

Liu Tingting didn't look up at Jiang Linyuan. She was silent for a moment, then said:

"A lot of people in the Badminton Club don't want to see me stand out. If I compete, they'll just say I don't deserve it."

Jiang Linyuan gave a soft snort and said calmly:

"In sports, what matters is ability, not your private life."

"And as far as ability goes, senior, you've been ranked first for a long time."

He paused there, then gave her a faint smile.

"At least in my heart."

Liu Tingting froze. She looked into Jiang Linyuan's eyes, unable to say a word.

Jiang Linyuan said nothing more. He stood and walked away, leaving Liu Tingting alone with some space to herself.

The cramped room fell completely silent.

Liu Tingting's gaze drifted toward the hair tie Jiang Linyuan had left behind.

Beneath the fluorescent light, the nameplate on the hair tie caught a glint.

The two engraved words, "Keep it up," shone brightly, lighting up her eyes.