Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The entire scuffle took place far from anyone else. Fortunately, Luo Ziling and Ouyang Huihui’s little ‘conflict’ happened near a small forest. With so many trees around, coupled with poor illumination from scarce streetlights, no one could see what they did.
Luo Ziling ran as fast as he could, like how a hundred-meter sprinter would. In the blink of an eye, the man vanished from her sight. Ouyang Huihui tried her best to chase after him but once she could no longer see even his shadow, she gave up.
While chasing after him, she had accidentally bruised her leg. The pain prevented her from running as fast as she could, thus she had to give up.
She slowed down and eventually stopped, squatting by the side of the road. Her leg was swollen. As she rubbed the swollen area, she cursed Luo Ziling in between her panting breaths.
…
After escaping from potentially being mauled by Ouyang Huihui, Luo Ziling rejoined his roommates at the end of the pathway. He quickly pushed them to leave the area as soon as possible.
The three boys were rather honest. In a sense, they walked past the two and did not even try to sneak a peek or eavesdrop on their conversation. With no context, they were curious about why Luo Ziling was running like he was being chased by a reaper.
“What happened, boss?” asked Cao Jianhui, holding onto Luo Ziling, “How do you know that lady? Who is she? What happened between the two of you? Why does she hate you so much? What did you do just now? Did she do anything?”
Annoyed, Luo Ziling answered, “She is the lady who was driving the red sports car yesterday.” He sulked. “I never thought she could be a student from our university. If I knew that earlier, I wouldn’t have made such a fuss about my phone.”
“What the f*ck?” barked Cao Jianhui. “She’s the beautiful lady who drove that luxurious car? Boss, are you sure about that?”
“How could I not be sure?” said Luo Ziling, shaking his head, “I can’t possibly be wrong about that.”
“You’ve misunderstood what I’m trying to say. I’m not saying that you might be wrong about her identity. What I’m trying to say is that you made the wrong move!” said Cao Jianhui.
He cringed painfully, as if he was having a heart attack, then launched into a passionate lecture.
“Whatever conflict the two of you may have, it is definitely destiny. There are only so many chances a man has to chase after a beautiful lady. You of all people must not waste that chance! I have to say, boss, you shouldn’t have made a fuss then and you shouldn’t make a fuss now. Take this chance and start pursuing her! Think about it. She’s beautiful. She has the body of Aphrodite. She is one of those beautiful queens on campus! Who wouldn’t want to make a move? Plus, she drives a sports car! That must mean her family is loaded! If you can get her to like you, you won’t have to worry about anything for the rest of your life!”
Luo Ziling could not respond then. The expression on Cao Jianhui’s face was one of intense envy and jealousy. Their other two roommates shared the same expression as well.
“That lady is a psycho b*tch. I have absolutely no interest in flirting with her. I wish she would just stop bothering me! If she could give me just that, I would be so satisfied. Go and flirt with her for all I care!”
“Come now. Why are you so bitter?”
Cao Jianhui continued to lecture. The way he talked was annoying, as if he was a benevolent man imparting precious knowledge to a commoner.
“Love happens, one way or another. Some start off well while others get off on the wrong foot. But eventually, after all the yelling, both will come to like each other. There is a saying that goes like this: happiness from conflicts. Confrontation and conflict is the glue that will bind the two of you together. Hence, you mustn’t waste this great opportunity. If you do, pray that you do not go through life as a single man.”
Wu Longjian chimed in, “Second Brother speaks the truth. That girl whom you called Ouyang Huihui is definitely a world-class beauty. She will definitely be one of the elected campus beauty queens. She comes from a good family. She has the body and the looks. She’s definitely a lady that you can never miss chasing! However, if you do, then congratulations for living the dream of being alone forever.”
Cao Jianhui smiled lecherously as he patted Luo Ziling’s shoulder. “How about this? Why don’t you pass the baton to me? Tell me her contact number, email, WeChat, QQ account, as well as other information about her, including what faculty she is from and what classes she will be enrolling in.”
“The only thing I know is her name,” said Luo Ziling, shaking his head.
Of course, he did know some other information about her, but he chose to never reveal it to anyone.
“Not possible!” barked Cao Jianhui in disbelief, “How could you not ask her about it?”
Luo Ziling shook his head determinedly. “I told you! I have absolutely no interest in chasing after her!” He reached out and patted Cao Jianhui’s broad shoulders, adding, “Let’s go. Supper and booze, remember?”
Cao Jianhui was done. With Luo Ziling’s arm around his shoulder, he called out to Wu Longjiang and Li Fuming. They proceeded to visit a small food stall outside the campus called ‘Fatty’s Bone Broth Hotpot’.
The four sat in one of the small booths inside the stall and ordered a large serving of the pork bone hotpot, some pork’s blood cubes, flat noodles, a few leafy green vegetables, rice vermicelli, and others, as well as a case of beer.
Cao Jianhui used a pair of chopsticks to pry open a bottle and handed it over to Luo Ziling. Opening another, he proposed a toast, “Boss, thank you for saving me today. If it wasn’t for you, I would have been beaten like a dog on the street. I salute you! I’ll finish this bottle! Feel free to follow, or don’t.”
He raised his bottle of beer and gulped down the whole thing. Luo Ziling paused for a while and chose to follow, drinking the entire bottle in one go.
“Woah. Slow down! You’ll be drunk in no time if you drink like that!” said Luo Ziling, waving his hands hard to stop Cao Jianhui from opening a second bottle right after he finished his first one, “Let’s take it slowly, alright? Let’s eat, drink, and chat about stuff!”
“Boss, where did you learn martial arts? You’re freaking good at it!” said Cao Jianhui, placing another opened bottle of beer in front of Luo Ziling.
He came in closer and whispered, “You looked like those martial fighters in movies! I mean… you literally just tapped him with your foot and the man was WOOSH! Off his feet! I once learned martial arts but I only lasted against them for three minutes. I learned a bit but not enough to call myself a martial artist.”
Luo Ziling answered simply, “My grandfather taught me. He’s pretty good himself.”
He did not want his other roommates to continue dwelling about him. Instead, he quickly came up with a new topic of conversation.
“Jianhui, who did you call back then? Did you call for help?”
“Oh! I called my brother. My elder brother. He has connections with some of the higher-ups here. He was reluctant to call and I couldn’t tell if he ever did.” He laughed bitterly. “If I knew that this trouble would be solved so easily, I wouldn’t have called him in the first place.”
The ceramic pot of hot pork bone broth was served, followed by the other dishes they ordered. The four of them picked up their chopsticks and began devouring their late night meal.
That night, beers were drunk, food was eaten, and conversations were had.
Under Luo Ziling’s constant ‘interrogation’, Cao Jianhui finally revealed his background. His parents were high ranking public servants in Ji Province, also known as the Hebei Province. His brother, Cao Jianming, had a position in the Ministry of Education. Due to his parents’ social status, they knew Yenching University’s president, as well as other board members.
Both Li Fuming and Wu Longjiang got the shock of their lives as they realized who Cao Jianhui really was. They were only commoners, regular old citizens from villages and towns.
Luo Ziling was the only one who was not taking it too hard. He had just returned from the Ouyang mansion. He was in the eye of the storm, in the epicenter of the rich and powerful. He was done being afraid of power. If he could call off an engagement with some like Ouyang Feifei, what couldn’t he do?
He believed that Ouyang Feifei’s influence was either the same or better than Cao Jianhui’s parents. There was no definitive way to gauge how powerful the Ouyangs were, but at the very least, Luo Ziling knew they were powerful enough to own a fancy mansion on the side of a hill.
Having had too much to drink, Cao Jianhui started to ramble on about jokes and nonsensical chats. He even talked about getting back at Li Jiaqing’s group of lackeys.
At that moment, Luo Ziling’s phone rang.
Besides the three people sitting here laughing and teasing each other drunkenly, as well as Li Jing, Luo Ziling had not passed his phone number to too many people. He was really surprised to have someone calling him.
Answering the call, he realized that the person on the other end was Ouyang Feifei.