Feng Yiyao threw herself into his arms.
“Brother Duo, they ganged up to bully me. Are you just going to watch your girlfriend get beaten?”
She cried pitifully, the corners of her eyes bright red, as if she had suffered a tremendous grievance.
Jia Duo pulled her out of his embrace.
With a look of deep sorrow, he said, “Uncle Qiao is my benefactor. You shouldn’t have insulted him.”
With one sentence, he built himself up as a noble figure who repays kindness with gratitude.
Yet he pushed his dear girlfriend into the crosshairs of everyone’s criticism.
Feng Yiyao’s face instantly turned the color of liver.
Qiao Shutang had originally wanted to expose Jia Duo’s hypocritical mask, but now, she would rather see the couple turn against each other.
And she wouldn’t mind adding fuel to the fire.
“Jia Duo, thank you for speaking up for my father. It wasn’t for nothing that he sponsored you for over a decade. I believe your girlfriend’s erroneous remarks were not made at your behest.”
Jia Duo gave a slight nod, wearing the air of an honorable gentleman.
“Yaoyao, apologize.”
“Brother Duo, you want me to apologize to her? She called you trash, and I was standing up for you! Why should I apologize to her?”
Feng Yiyao’s long nails dug into the flesh of Jia Duo’s palm.
Jia Duo bowed to Qiao Shutang.
“Tangtang, I’m sorry. I apologize to you on behalf of my girlfriend.”
Tangtang was Qiao Shutang’s childhood nickname.
Qiao Siyuan had long sponsored the children of the orphanage, often bringing his two children along to deliver supplies. Qiao Shutang had been close with Jia Duo and Liang Jiaxin since childhood.
Jia Duo was a good student and had tutored Qiao Shutang for a long time, always affectionately calling her by her nickname, Tangtang.
He was subtly reminding her of how close the two of them had once been.
“We were destined to be together but fated to part, but I will silently watch over you like a brother.”
He deliberately made his words ambiguous—it could be interpreted as a man pursuing a woman, or a woman pursuing a man.
Feng Yiyao, who knew the inside story, naturally understood it as the former.
She immediately kicked up a fuss: “Brother Duo, you don’t—mmph—”
To shut her up, Jia Duo actually kissed her in public.
After the kiss, Feng Yiyao obediently let him lead her away.
Jian Chu spread both hands: “Love-brained. Just bury her.”
Qiao Shutang’s taut nerves finally relaxed, and a thin mist rose over her dark eyes.
She hadn’t expected her roommates to stand up for her like this.
Everyone had worked together and fought a beautiful battle.
“Thank you all! Mwah!” She made a heart gesture at each of them.
Liang Jiaxin said, “Silly girl, why didn’t you tell me you were short on money?”
Zong Muli pushed Liang Jiaxin aside and squeezed in front of Qiao Shutang.
“Hey, seriously now, how much are you selling that Chanel fortune bag for?”
Qiao Shutang: /(= x=)\
“I’ll give it to you at a rock-bottom price.”
Another female classmate who had been watching for a long while hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask, but spurred on by Zong Muli, she picked up another bag and asked for the price.
“Classmate, I really like this one. Is it authentic?”
Qiao Shutang greeted her warmly: “Bought it at the boutique. The receipt is inside the bag. You can try it on if you like.”
Soon this place turned into a temporary stall.
“Pre-loved items for sale! The campus beauty’s taste is trustworthy—come take a look—”
Jian Chu was in charge of hawking and attracting customers.
Ning Zhenzhen and Liang Jiaxin handled sales.
Lv Boyuan kept order and prevented anyone from pocketing things.
Qiao Shutang handled the cash register.
Even the usually aloof Zong Muli helped by taking photos and posting them to her social media feed, selling two items remotely.
Unexpectedly, Feng Yiyao’s outburst had turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Qiao Shutang, allowing her to sell everything at a higher price.
Everyone’s faces were beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Qiao Shutang raised her arm and called out, “Great work, everyone! Let me treat you all to that self-serve hot pot place outside the north gate!”
Jian Chu: ( )
Ning Zhenzhen: ( )
Zong Muli: “That hot pot place barely has any meat dishes. I’m not going.”
Jian Chu and Ning Zhenzhen each grabbed one of her arms and walked off at a brisk pace.
“Li, aren’t you the one who hates the heat and never goes out? What’s the matter—can’t bear to be apart from us?”
“Don’t flatter yourselves. Can’t I just go eat at the cafeteria?”
Qiao Shutang called after them, “I’ll order you two extra plates of meat!”
At the dinner table, as they talked about what happened that day, Liang Jiaxin got a little worked up again.
“That ungrateful bastard Jia Duo! When the Qiao family was doing well, he chased after Tangtang like his life depended on it, acting so devoted. The moment the Qiao family hit trouble, he went straight to leech off some rich woman—gone so fast you couldn’t even see his taillights.
I must have been blind back then to be friends with someone like him.”
Lv Boyuan gently patted her back to soothe her.
Jian Chu chimed in, “The fact that Feng Yiyao could take a liking to him just goes to show her brain is like the U.S. economy in the 1970s.”
Ning Zhenzhen didn’t get it, so Zong Muli quietly explained, “Stagflation.”
That cracked Ning Zhenzhen up so hard she let out a honking laugh like a goose.
Qiao Shutang was a bit worried about Liang Jiaxin.
“Dear, you hit Feng Yiyao for me today. I’m afraid she’s vindictive and might pull something sneaky.”
Liang Jiaxin smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Besides, once Boyuan graduates, we’re moving into a place off campus.”
Lv Boyuan rolled his short sleeves up past his shoulders, revealing his sturdy biceps.
He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders with a big gesture. “24-hour personal bodyguard service provided.”
Qiao Shutang remembered the joke she’d made with Liang Jiaxin about “wake-up call service” and smirked mischievously.
“Sorry, but I can’t hear the word ‘service’ without laughing now.”
Everyone looked confused.
Except Liang Jiaxin.
She picked up half a peanut shell and threw it at Qiao Shutang.
“Shut up!”
Lv Boyuan pressed his lips to her ear. “What does that mean? Tell me secretly.”
Liang Jiaxin pushed him away, her face red.
“Ugh, it’s so hot!”
Ning Zhenzhen asked Qiao Shutang sincerely, “Are you short on money? I know some decent part-time jobs. Want them?”
Qiao Shutang nodded vigorously.
If she started doing part-time work, she could pay Ling Heng back sooner.
“Tutoring, café barista, supermarket promoter, and…”
Lv Boyuan said, “Sorry to interrupt, but one of my basketball teammates runs a voice-acting studio. He’s short on good voice actors and pays really well—perfect for Shutang.”
Qiao Shutang’s eyes lit up.
Voice acting did pay faster than ordinary part-time jobs.
Lv Boyuan scrolled through that guy’s Moments and pulled up a price list.
“Here, take a look yourself. Charged per line, and English voice acting pays even more.”
Qiao Shutang was seriously tempted.
Liang Jiaxin gave Lv Boyuan’s chest a playful punch.
“Didn’t know my Yuan Ge had connections like that.”
Qiao Shutang asked, “Do English voice actors have to be native speakers?”
“No idea. You can ask him in person.”
Lv Boyuan flipped through his phone calendar. “There’s a basketball game next Monday anyway. You and Jiaxin can come watch, and I’ll introduce you.”
Qiao Shutang: ( ° ° )
“Great, thanks, bro-in-law!”
Liang Jiaxin stared at her. “Qiao Shutang, something’s off about you…”
The old her would never have called Lv Boyuan “bro-in-law.”
“When you were battling with Feng Yiyao, I could feel it—you used to always want to smooth things over, but today you were so brave?”
The three roommates also chimed in, saying that Qiao Shutang had changed quite a bit.
Qiao Shutang placed her right hand on the left side of her face and pretended to peel off a mask from thin air.
At the same time, she lowered her voice and said, “Aha, actually I’m a fox spirit wearing painted skin!”
Zong Muli, feeling playful, pointed at her and laughed, “Then why didn’t you paint yourself prettier?”
Jian Chu winked, “Maybe she wanted to leave us ordinary humans a way to survive.”
“Hahaha…”
Amid the laughter, Qiao Shutang received a message from “Yaoyao.”
[It’s almost 520. I’m going to Universal Studios for a lovely date with Brother Duo, while you probably won’t even receive a single flower—so cold and lonely.]
Qiao Shutang looked at another message she had received ten minutes earlier and found the situation quite amusing.
Jia Duo: [Tangtang, I have my reasons. Let me explain in person, okay?]