Social skills

Although Li Lanxiang told her story with vivid, entertaining flair, Liu Xinyu shook his head, clearly seeing things differently.

Holding his glass, he looked at Li Lanxiang and said, "I've seen Captain Lanxiang in action on the court myself. You really are lucky, I won't deny that. But that luck owes a lot to your talent and hard work."

He paused, his gaze frank and even a little apologetic.

"And your beauty is a very important part of your luck, too."

Liu Xinyu paused again. "Sorry, I'm just being honest."

That was remarkably blunt. He praised Li Lanxiang's beauty without any reservation, right in front of her boyfriend, Zhou Qiang. His words plainly implied that the help she had received from her supposed benefactors had, to some degree, been influenced by her good looks.

Yet surprisingly, no one felt offended or awkward at his "honesty." Zhou Qiang remained as composed as ever, and Li Lanxiang herself showed no sign of taking offense.

Instead, everyone felt that Liu Xinyu was genuinely sincere.

Wang Xiaoliang had always known that Liu Xinyu had high emotional intelligence, but he had never imagined the gap between them was already this wide. The same truth could have vastly different effects depending on who said it. Perhaps this was the innate social talent of children born into immensely wealthy families. They knew how to say something that appeared offensive but was actually a compliment, with such sincerity that people gladly accepted it.

Wang Xiaoliang felt this was the highest art of paying a compliment.

Sure enough, Li Lanxiang was delighted by Liu Xinyu's praise. She smiled sweetly, dimples flickering in her cheeks.

"I'm very happy to hear you compliment me like that," she admitted openly. "Has my appearance helped me? Probably a little. But at least with my Brother Qiang, it didn't make much difference."

As she spoke, she tilted her head to glance at the silent Zhou Qiang beside her, her eyes brimming with affection.

"Did you know? I was actually the one who pursued him."

That revelation caught the interest of everyone at the table except Zhou Qiang.

"I pursued him for two whole years." Li Lanxiang held up two fingers. "Back then, I had no idea he already had his own business, let alone that he was so rich. To me, he was just an older student, a few years ahead of us, who was always collecting scrap around our school as a part-time job."

"I just felt so grounded when I was with him. So safe and at ease."

"After we became a couple, I foolishly asked him why he'd helped me in the first place. He said it was because he saw something of his younger self in me."

As soon as Li Lanxiang finished, Liu Xinyu turned his attention to Zhou Qiang with a mischievous grin.

"Brother Qiang, let me ask you straight out. Back then, did our Captain Lanxiang's beauty really have nothing to do with making you want to look after her and lend her a hand?"

Zhou Qiang smiled a little awkwardly. He glanced at Li Lanxiang before answering Liu Xinyu. "It really didn't, at first."

He paused, and just as everyone thought he was about to explain further, he changed tack.

"Later, though, her looks did turn my head."

"Hahaha!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Wei Zijin, who had been quiet all this time, couldn't help smiling behind pursed lips.

His answer was both honest and witty, and it made Zhou Qiang seem more approachable.

Once again, Wang Xiaoliang found himself admiring Liu Xinyu. A few simple words and a joke had quickly brought him closer to Zhou Qiang, and the whole exchange had flowed naturally, without the slightest hint of calculated flattery or insincerity.

Wang Xiaoliang couldn't hope to match that skill.

Smiling, Liu Xinyu raised his glass. This time, he turned toward Wang Xiaoliang.

"Come on, Xiaoliang, I have to toast you. Thank you for bringing me along today and giving us all a chance to meet. Honestly, getting to know friends like you on the last day before graduation means a great deal to me."

He added with another sigh of admiration, "Xiaoliang, you've really been hiding your talents. How did I never notice you were so good with people, or that you knew so many big names?"

They clinked glasses and drained their drinks.

Perhaps the Moutai was starting to kick in, or perhaps she was simply happy, but Li Lanxiang became thoroughly talkative, her lips never stopping.

Picking up on Liu Xinyu's words, she waved a hand. "We're hardly big names."

"Just a few days ago, I saw it with my own eyes. Wang Xiaoliang carried a gift over and knocked on Vice President Song Yi's office door."

"Vice President Song Yi?" Even Wei Zijin's interest was piqued.

"That's right." Li Lanxiang nodded firmly. "I happened to be helping sort graduation certificates in the Academic Affairs Office. A few of the younger teachers saw him and privately started taking bets on how many minutes it would be before Wang Xiaoliang got thrown out."

"Some even bet on whether Principal Song would throw his gift out of the office himself or toss it straight out the window."

At that, everyone's eyes turned to Wang Xiaoliang.

Wang Xiaoliang was a little bewildered by their stares.

Li Lanxiang continued, "In the end, every one of them lost. After a little over half an hour, the office door opened. Principal Song not only accepted Wang Xiaoliang's gift, he personally walked him to the door, with a smile on his face."

"The teachers in the Academic Affairs Office nearly dropped their jaws. They all huddled together, trying to find out who this student was and what kind of background he had to be so close to Principal Song."

As they listened to Li Lanxiang's vivid account, Zhou Qiang and Liu Xinyu kept glancing at Wang Xiaoliang to gauge his reaction.

Wang Xiaoliang himself didn't think there was anything improper about it, so he gave them a rough account of what had happened.

To him, it had been perfectly normal. He had lost his way, and Principal Song, as his teacher and elder, had pointed him in the right direction. Feeling grateful, he had given him a small gift to express his thanks. That was entirely reasonable.

"The gift wasn't worth much, either. It was just a bit of calligraphy I wrote myself."

After listening, Zhou Qiang slowly offered his opinion. "Giving a gift openly shows you have nothing to hide. You're expressing gratitude, not asking for a favor. Someone like Principal Song has seen everything. If he accepted it, that means he appreciated the thought behind it."

"As for personally seeing you out," Zhou Qiang glanced at Wang Xiaoliang, "you could take that as an elder showing appreciation for someone younger, or as courtesy between friends of different generations. Either way, it proves one thing: anyone Principal Song thinks highly of certainly can't be lacking in character."

Zhou Qiang's words were undoubtedly high praise for Wang Xiaoliang.

Yet Wang Xiaoliang was even more puzzled. He looked at Li Lanxiang. "What is it? Was there something very improper about what I did?"

"Improper? That's putting it mildly!" Li Lanxiang's voice rose a little. "You have no idea! Those teachers told me that back when Principal Song still held real power, he was notorious for being bad-tempered and stubborn. Several times, he threw expensive gifts brought by people asking him for favors straight out of his office, right in front of them!"

Zhou Qiang nodded and chimed in.

"Once, he threw them straight out of a fifth-floor window! The story went all around campus back then!"

"I think he did it deliberately, to scare off anyone who wanted to bring him gifts in exchange for favors."

Wang Xiaoliang froze.

"Song Yi is one of the people I admire most at this school."

Wang Xiaoliang could tell that Zhou Qiang knew Song Yi.

He simply couldn't reconcile the refined, gentle-eyed, approachable old man he remembered with someone "bad-tempered and stubborn."

"Surely not," he murmured. "Principal Song... is so mild-mannered."

Li Lanxiang let out a laugh.

"That's because he's your benefactor! When someone helps guide you, naturally everything about him looks good to you."

As she spoke, she happily linked her arm through Zhou Qiang's and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Just like my Brother Qiang. Everything about him looks good to me, too. Plenty of people say I'm a beautiful flower stuck in... well, you know what. But I feel like I'm the one who isn't good enough for him."

Zhou Qiang turned to look at Li Lanxiang resting on his shoulder. "I told you, save the compliments for when we get home."

Their three listeners laughed, taking the couple's constant displays of affection in stride.

Wei Zijin suddenly leaned close to Wang Xiaoliang's ear and whispered something only the two of them could hear.

"He really is Marshal Tianpeng."