“Brother Jiang, isn’t that Yu Yingying?”
“Did she really get herself kept by someone? She got out of a Maybach!”
“And she has the nerve to look down on us, calling us lewd, debauched rich kids! Fine, whatever about me—but Brother Jiang, you’re obviously a virgin!”
Jiang He: “…?”
Jiang Chengyu’s shocked, noisy voice was like a power drill during renovations, forcibly jolting Jiang He awake from his doze.
What virgin? Virgin what? Is that something to brag about? Why shout it so loudly?!
He first gave Jiang Chengyu a hard smack, then pinched the bridge of his nose and lazily looked out the car window.
On the bustling street, a girl with cold, beautiful features and shabby clothes stood beside a luxury car, talking to someone inside. As if she sensed his gaze, she suddenly lifted her eyes and looked over. From more than ten meters away, he clearly saw a flash of disgust pass through her clear, limpid eyes.
Tch! Mutual dislike!
Jiang He withdrew his gaze.
The light turned green. Seeing Jiang Chengyu still fiddling with his phone, he said irritably, “Drive.”
“Oh!” Jiang Chengyu started the car. “Brother Jiang, I took a video—and the license plate! I’ll look it up later and see who she’s hooking up with!”
“Stop doing such boring things.”
“What?” Jiang He took Jiang Chengyu’s phone and deleted the video and photos completely.
“Damn!” Jiang Chengyu was miserable. “We finally caught dirt on Yu Yingying, and you don’t want to get back at her? Every time she sees us, she looks at us like trash.”
“I don’t.”
“She even laid hands on you! In the Beijing circle, who dares raise their voice in front of you? Only her! Just thinking about it makes me mad!”
“Will you die if you don’t bring that up?” Though unwilling, Jiang He said flatly, “She’s aloof and cold, rigid, sharp-tongued—but she’s not that kind of person. Don’t spread rumors with others.”
Jiang Chengyu was unconvinced. “But…”
“That’s enough. Once we graduate, we’ll go our separate ways. Not worth the effort.” Jiang He lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers without smoking. The face worshipped by many girls as god-tier handsome carried obvious fatigue. He said hoarsely, “Less nonsense. Go back and finish the project.”
“Alright.” Jiang Chengyu’s chubby face was full of regret.
He himself didn’t matter; he just felt indignant for his buddy. Brother Jiang was such a good young man—chaste, a paragon of male virtue. What right did Yu Yingying have to look down on him and call him a purebred scumbag?
…
Yu Yingying returned to the dormitory.
Sitting at her desk, she took out her ledger and recorded today’s income: two hours of tutoring, income 400.
Her savings were already 2,300. If she saved a bit more on food this month, she should be able to buy a decent secondhand computer by the end of the month. With a computer, studying would be much more convenient, and maybe she could find some online part-time work.
Without family support, she relied entirely on herself. She had to increase income and cut expenses.
Thinking of this, someone unexpectedly came to mind…
In a bright, high-profile yellow sports car, a handsome, unrestrained young man rested one hand on the window. When those peach-blossom eyes, tinged with fatigue, glanced over, he looked frivolous and dissolute, with an air of careless ease. That kind of noble bearing could only be raised in extreme wealth.
It was said he was the crown prince of a top-tier Beijing family. Jiang He and someone like her—a commoner, even a poor person—were not the same species at all.
…Definitely not short of money.
Just a pity—morally corrupt!
Yu Yingying closed the ledger. Suddenly, the dorm door was pushed open with a loud bang.
Yu Qing rushed in, face full of panic, crying, “Yingying, something terrible happened! Baby’s been beaten!”
“What?”
Yu Qing rattled on.
Today’s incident was entirely innocent on Qian Baobao’s part. Half a year ago, she went to the provincial library to borrow books and met Wang Lei. They fell in love at first sight and got together in less than two months. Their relationship had been great. Who would have known that after dating for nearly half a year, something like this would happen today!
“Wang Lei has a wife and child at home—he pretended to be unmarried! If his wife hadn’t shown up today, Baby wouldn’t have known she’d been the third party! And he even knelt down begging his wife for forgiveness, saying Baby was the one who seduced him!”
“Did they get physical?” Yu Yingying asked.
“They did!” Yu Qing was furious. “I couldn’t find Baby anywhere, and I couldn’t get through to you either. I had no choice but to come back to the dorm and try my luck—thank goodness you’re here!”
Couldn’t get through the phone?
Yu Yingying took her phone out of her backpack. The secondhand old phone she’d bought over two years ago had a weak battery and had long since shut down.
“You should replace your phone already—it’s basically scrap,” Yu Qing said. “Didn’t Jiang He compensate you with one?”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Hearing Jiang He’s name, Yu Yingying’s eyes showed disgust. She plugged her phone into a power bank and said, “Let’s go.”
“Huh?” Yu Qing didn’t react. “Go where?”
“Split up and look for Baby.”
…
By May, the weather had already started to get hot.
Yu Yingying searched from six in the afternoon until nine at night, without finding even a trace of Qian Baobao. Afraid that delaying any longer would lead to something serious, she called Yu Qing to discuss it and decided to report to the counselor and call the police.
After hanging up, she realized she was terribly thirsty. She pressed her dry lips together and subconsciously looked at the bottled water in the convenience store freezer by the street.
The shop owner immediately greeted her with a smile. “Miss, what would you like?”
Yu Yingying smiled and shook her head, signaling no need.
She’d just go back to the dorm and drink boiled water—endure for a few more minutes.
She walked toward the campus. When she passed a narrow alley, a sharp female scream suddenly reached her ears.
She turned her head and at a glance saw a girl in the dark alley whose figure looked very much like Qian Baobao. She was struggling desperately, crying as she grabbed anything she could and hurled it at the two street thugs who were tearing at her clothes.
Qian Baobao? The voice didn’t quite sound like her—but whether it was Baobao or not, there was no way she could turn a blind eye to something like this.
Yu Yingying first took out her phone and called the police, then raised her lagging, ancient secondhand smartphone to record evidence of the thugs’ misconduct. After that, for safety’s sake, she randomly stopped a stranger who looked kind and well-built and quickly asked, “Hey, classmate, someone’s being bullied in that alley. Could you come with me to take a look?”
The stranger met her clear, beautiful almond eyes and flushed, stammering, “N-no problem.”
Things went smoothly. Seeing someone enter the alley, the two drunk punks immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at the pair warily.
Before Yu Yingying even reached the girl who was being bullied, she had already realized it wasn’t Qian Baobao. Still, without a word, she walked over, took off her jacket, draped it over the girl’s shoulders, and half-embraced her as she prepared to take her away.
The girl sobbed softly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Yu Yingying replied.
However, just as they were about to reach the mouth of the alley, one of the thugs suddenly, in grief and rage, swung a wooden stick and shouted furiously, “Put down that woman who cheated on my own brother, was messing around with my sworn brother, used my money to tip male streamers, and even went around telling people I was quick!”
The next second, the wooden stick came crashing down with a whoosh of air.
A piercing scream rang out.
Yu Yingying’s mind went buzz—it felt as though her head exploded. A wave of searing pain surged through her skull. Her eyes closed weakly, and her body went limp, collapsing toward the ground.
At the same time.
A flashy, bright yellow sports car happened to pass by and stopped at the intersection for the traffic light.
The handsome, unrestrained young man rested one hand on the steering wheel and, tired, rubbed his temple. He casually glanced back toward the mouth of the alley.
When his gaze fell on a certain spot, he frowned.
The light turned green.
The bright yellow sports car roared to life and sped away.