Chapter 31

Meanwhile, Zhao Qijun, standing nearby, keenly noticed Yu Meijia's subtle switch between calling him "Student Li" and "Young Master Xiu." Watching Yu Meijia's confident, composed expression, Zhao Qijun curled his lips in amusement. Based on what he knew of Li Rongxiu, he felt that the beauty queen was probably about to be disappointed.

Yu Meijia had originally thought that her heartfelt, logical persuasion would surely convince Li Rongxiu. Yet Li Rongxiu merely curved his lips regretfully and said apologetically, "I'm truly sorry. As a Diwan student, I'm very willing to respect Diwan's traditions. And Article Three of the Diwan School Regulations tells us that we must be honest and trustworthy. I already had plans with someone tonight, and that arrangement was made before yours. So there's nothing I can do... I can't stand someone else up in order to respect your Student Council's traditions. I can only wish you all the best and a pleasant evening."

Having said that, Li Rongxiu ignored the dumbfounded Yu Meijia. He merely gave her a polite nod and walked past her. Seeing this, Zhao Qijun could only spread his hands helplessly and say to Yu Meijia in a low voice, "But don't worry. Since Young Master Xiu entrusted this matter to me, I'll definitely be there at seven tonight. I hope you can send me the gathering location later, Senior Yu."

After saying that, Zhao Qijun also nodded to Yu Meijia, then hurried after Li Rongxiu ahead of him.

Yu Meijia felt as though her mind had gone blank. She abruptly turned to stare at Li Rongxiu's retreating back, unable to believe that he had truly ignored her. Who did he think he was? He was nothing more than an idle young master living off the Li family's influence, yet he did not even take an invitation from the Student Council seriously. What a...

Yu Meijia stood where she was, fuming on her own. Cheng Mufeng, the Student Council president, had been watching from the end of the corridor. Seeing this, he strode over, grabbed Yu Meijia by the arm, and pulled her aside before asking in a low voice, "So? He'll come tonight, right?"

Yu Meijia came back to her senses. Thinking of Li Rongxiu's behavior just now only made her more stifled. She shook her head viciously and said in a deliberately restrained, low, steady voice, "No, he refused. He thinks his date with someone else tonight is more important than meeting with the Student Council directors."

"How could that be? Didn't you make our position clear to him? Did you tell him that all the Student Council directors and all the officers from the school clubs would be attending this gathering?" The Student Council president frowned with some displeasure. As Yu Meijia's longtime partner in the Student Council, Cheng Mufeng understood her tendency to be overly confident in her looks. He did not want the social night he had painstakingly planned to be ruined by Yu Meijia's little schemes.

Cheng Mufeng felt somewhat annoyed. Had he known this would happen, he might as well have come to invite Li Rongxiu himself.

As Cheng Mufeng's longtime partner, Yu Meijia saw through his thoughts at once. Growing even more upset, she flung off Cheng Mufeng's hand and said angrily, "I know what you're thinking. But I didn't... I'm not someone who mixes public and private matters. I know what attitude I should have when handling serious business. But clearly, the young master of the Wancheng Li family isn't the same kind of person as us. Maybe he simply doesn't understand what this meeting means. Don't forget, he's Diwan High School's famously useless playboy. Maybe he really thinks having dinner with some pretty little girl is more important than meeting us. Who knows? He isn't his older brother, Li Rongyu. The Wancheng Li family won't need him to inherit anything in the future. After he graduates from college, he won't even need to look for a job. All he has to do is act cute with his parents and older brother, and he'll have everything he wants."

Watching Yu Meijia fly into such a rage, Cheng Mufeng found it rather baffling. But with his intelligence, he would not provoke a woman who was already furious. So Cheng Mufeng did not say anything to the agitated Yu Meijia. Instead, he pointed at his wristwatch and reminded her, "The first class is about to start. You'd better hurry back—"

"I don't need you to remind me. I know how to keep track of time!" Yu Meijia snapped stiffly. After a pause, she added resentfully, "Also, send the gathering location to Li Rongxiu's lackey, Zhao Qijun, later. The main person won't show up and sends some underling to make up the numbers instead. What does he take our Student Council for?"

Watching Yu Meijia's angry, complaining back as she stormed away, Cheng Mufeng shook his head. Sure enough, he had been right. He could not say even one extra word to a woman caught in a fit of rage. Still, he decided to find someone to ask for Zhao Qijun's phone number, then look for a chance during lunch break to speak with Li Rongxiu himself.

No matter what, no matter who it was, anyone trying to make it in this circle needed to do everything possible to expand their connections and meet more outstanding, capable, ambitious people. Burying one's head in work was never advisable. He believed he would make Li Rongxiu and his friends understand that.

Of course, the premise of all his efforts was that Li Rongxiu and his circle had something worth cultivating.

He believed Li Rongxiu was worth pursuing—or rather, the Li family behind Li Rongxiu, and the social class represented by the Li family, were what Cheng Mufeng had been striving so hard to enter.

Chapter 31

For the entire morning, Cheng Mufeng studied Li Rongxiu's file, which he had retrieved from the school archives. He believed that where there was a will, there was a way. He believed even more that there was no fortress that could not be taken, only soldiers who did not try hard enough. Now, Cheng Mufeng had made Li Rongxiu his target. Before meeting him at lunch, he wanted to learn as much as possible about Li Rongxiu's academic life at school—of course, that was because Cheng Mufeng's social circle gave him no way to learn about Li Rongxiu's life outside school.

Furthermore, considering the Li family's influence in Wancheng and their longstanding emphasis on privacy and personal safety, carelessly asking about Li Rongxiu through other channels might attract the Li family's attention. If the Li family then thought he harbored ill intentions and developed some unpleasant ideas, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Thinking this, Cheng Mufeng pursed his lips with mixed feelings. He envied the Li family's wealth, yet also disapproved of how excessively guarded they were. As for Li Rongxiu's unremarkable performance since enrolling—as Cheng Mufeng discovered from his records, Li Rongxiu had barely participated in any active or worthwhile school activities.

He had never submitted an application to join any club, nor had he ever organized a group activity. Apart from the annual spring and autumn outings, the only club activities he had attended were the mandatory volunteer services every student had to complete each semester—Li Rongxiu had chosen to help at a stray animal shelter.

In Cheng Mufeng's view, Li Rongxiu had made that choice merely for convenience. Perhaps he simply sent the family servants to do the work on the required volunteer day, then put on a show by lingering at the shelter for a while, holding freshly cleaned animals for a few photos and pretending to love them. And if that was not enough, there was always the educational sponsorship money the Li family donated to the school every year. That would be more than enough to appease the school administration.

...What an idle rich man, content to coast through life without ambition.

Looking at the documents tucked beneath his textbook, Cheng Mufeng shook his head bitterly. The world was simply unfair. Some people schemed and struggled, studying hard just to earn a better opportunity. Others had to do nothing at all, as long as they were born into the right family. They had everything.

The homeroom teacher, who was also the math teacher and was teaching at the front of the class, saw his favorite student frowning and constantly shaking his head. Thinking Cheng Mufeng did not understand the lesson, he immediately called on him. "Cheng Mufeng, what's wrong? Is there something you don't understand?"

When the math teacher called his name the first time, Cheng Mufeng was too immersed in his own thoughts to react. It was only after the student behind him poked him with a pen that he came back to his senses. Cheng Mufeng paused, hurriedly stood up, and still had a trace of confusion on his face.

By then, the math teacher could tell that Cheng Mufeng was not struggling with the lesson, but had unusually let his mind wander in class. He felt somewhat displeased. But he also understood that as the Centennial School Anniversary drew nearer, the members of the Student Council and students competing for Top Student would be under increasing psychological pressure.

That tense, distracted atmosphere would gradually spread throughout the school as well. It was not Cheng Mufeng's fault alone. So the math teacher generously decided to spare his prized student some dignity. He did not expose Cheng Mufeng for daydreaming. Instead, he waved for Cheng Mufeng to sit down and continued explaining the lesson.

Cheng Mufeng sat down with a flushed face. He seemed to feel the curious gazes of his classmates all around him. He vigorously shook his head, trying to focus on the teacher's lecture. Unfortunately, it was not long before Cheng Mufeng's mind wandered again—for the sake of striking with one blow in the upcoming meeting, Cheng Mufeng could think only about how to begin the conversation once he sat down with Li Rongxiu, how to make his points, and how to use the charm of language to win over the young master of the Li family. Then, after successfully becoming friends with Li Rongxiu, how he would persuade him to introduce the Li family's decision-makers, or simply recommend him for an internship at Li Meihua during the summer or winter break. Given their relationship, they would surely arrange a position as a general manager's assistant for him...

After letting his imagination run wild all morning, Cheng Mufeng finally endured the wait until school ended at noon. He could not even be bothered to pack up his desk or schoolbag. He stood, passed through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd in the corridor, and arrived outside Li Mufeng's classroom. Yet it was already empty—there was no one inside.

Cheng Mufeng froze briefly, then quickly grabbed a student passing by and pointed at the vacant classroom. "Where is everyone from this class?"

What he had really wanted to ask was where Li Rongxiu was, but he felt that would be too direct and not quite fitting for his status, so he phrased it more tactfully. Clearly, however, the male student he had stopped could not understand Cheng Mufeng's delicate thoughts. Somewhat impatiently, he shook off Cheng Mufeng's arm and said, "This class has PE right now. They've probably all gone to the cafeteria to eat."

With that, he slipped away. His tall, thin figure weaved through the packed corridor a few times before vanishing completely into the sea of students wearing identical uniforms, impossible to find again. Cheng Mufeng could only shake his head with a wry smile. No wonder they said those involved could not see clearly—he had studied Li Rongxiu's pitifully few files for so long, yet had forgotten to check his class schedule.

Cheng Mufeng felt somewhat depressed, and his steps grew more sluggish. He knew that wealthy young masters like Li Rongxiu rarely ate lunch on campus. Even if the school cafeteria's food did not taste bad, these rich young men, who spent money like water, were accustomed to driving their sports cars out of the school gates and reserving private rooms at five-star hotels. Perhaps, in the eyes of people like them, only five-star hotel chefs knew how to cook, and only dining in such places suited their status.

Feeling frustrated after this unsuccessful start, Cheng Mufeng undid the top two buttons of his constricting shirt and slowly headed toward the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Li Rongxiu and the others, whom Cheng Mufeng imagined to be enjoying a lavish meal in a private room at a five-star hotel, were summoned by a call from the academic affairs office to Diwan High School's VIP reception room. Principal Zhang Yaolin smiled at the several students who had brought such honor to the school and introduced them to several blond, blue-eyed men and women in their thirties and forties who carried the air of officials. "These are Li Rongxiu and his companions. They are students with great compassion who also understand the importance of hard work. The charity fundraising campaign they launched for the Brown Sea Pollution Incident was planned and carried out by these few."