Xie Zhiyu found a way to send Meng Qingqing away, then pulled Shen Jinyao into an empty stairwell.
She crossed her arms and looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze. “Spill it. How did the two of you end up hugging?”
Shen Jinyao sighed. She knew she couldn’t hide it from her.
They had known each other for so many years—there was no way she wouldn’t recognize him.
She twisted her fingers together and said pitifully, “I was forced into it.”
Xie Zhiyu roughly understood. She rolled up her bare arm and said, “He really knows how to be disgusting. Such a despicable move.”
“I agreed to be his servant for two months. After two months, once I get the video and photos, I’ll be free.”
Xie Zhiyu’s tone suddenly shifted. She hooked her arm around Shen Jinyao’s shoulder and teased, “How’s He Zongye’s body? Does he have eight-pack abs?”
Shen Jinyao’s face flushed red. She pushed her away and stammered, “What are you talking about? I didn’t even get a good look.”
Xie Zhiyu squinted and pinched her cheek. “If you didn’t get a good look, then why are you blushing?”
Shen Jinyao let out an “ahh” and said, “You’re so annoying. Even if he had eighty-pack abs, they’d look like chicken breast to me.”
Xie Zhiyu didn’t doubt her. She knew exactly how bad the relationship between her and He Zongye was.
“Hey, we’ve known Old Meng for quite a while now. We never told her before because our relationship with He Zongye was bad. But now that you have this thing going on with him, it’s inevitable we’ll run into each other. Shouldn’t we tell her?”
Shen Jinyao had always kept a low profile at school. People outside their circle had no idea she was the heiress of the Shen family.
Dance students all came from well-off families, and the Shen Corporation was internationally famous—a massive conglomerate. People had never been exposed to that level, so naturally they wouldn’t connect her to the Shen family.
Sometimes they’d chat about family matters.
But Shen Jinyao would always brush it off lightly without saying much.
Shen Jinyao pressed her lips together and tightened her grip on her water bottle. “I’ll tell her when I find the right opportunity.”
If Meng Qingqing found out that they knew He Zongye—and had known him for years—she’d probably explode.
Her e-boyfriend seemed far away, but in reality, there were only two people between them.
Shen Jinyao immediately opened WeChat and sent He Zongye a message.
[Clean up all that stuff online yourself.]
HZY: [?]
[Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I mean. angry roar jpg]
HZY: [What are you afraid of? Or are you shy?]
Shen Jinyao: [Afraid of your head. I’m warning you to deal with it quickly. I don’t want to become your who-knows-which-number rumor girlfriend and ruin my reputation.]
HZY: [Oh, the little princess cares about her reputation now? How come you didn’t care about your reputation when you watched me shower?]
She could imagine that rogue look on He Zongye’s face through the screen.
Shen Jinyao angrily sent several meme stickers to vent her frustration.
[Shut up!]
[Who watched you shower? You were already done washing by then.]
HZY: [So you finally admit you saw my body.]
Shen Jinyao: …
There was no getting through to him. Shen Jinyao thought it over and decided to let it go. If it had been posted on the campus network, it would’ve been easier to handle.
But they’d posted it on Douyin, and she didn’t have that much power to delete the photos and videos.
Anyway, He Zongye was constantly surrounded by romantic rumors. It would soon be washed away, and everyone’s attention would be drawn to his new relationship.
Dormitory 402, male building. He Zongye sat lazily in his chair, long legs sprawled wide open, looking down at his phone with a casual smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Xie Zhiyi had been watching for a while, secretly taking photos with his phone tucked under his armpit.
He stood up and leaned over. “Bro, what are you doing?”
He Zongye casually put his phone away and gave him a cold look. “Are you done with your student council work?”
Xie Zhiyi scratched his head in frustration. “No. Bro, as vice chairman, you should help share the workload.”
He Zongye tossed his phone onto the desk and played with a rabbit keychain. “What, you dragged me in and now you want to drag me down with you? What are you thinking?”
Xie Zhiyi deflated.
At the start of the semester, Xie Zhiyi was curious about everything. He’d joined a bunch of clubs in one go and even dragged He Zongye along to sign up for the student council. Originally, it was just meant to be a formality.
Unexpectedly, He Zongye got in effortlessly with his unique aura and good looks.
Xie Zhiyi didn’t make the cut.
He Zongye wasn’t interested anyway and was about to quit on the spot. To keep him, the senior in charge also accepted Xie Zhiyi, which made him overjoyed.
After that, all the student council affairs fell on Xie Zhiyi. He was diligent, hardworking, and proactive, and he worked his way up to the position of student council president.
He never forgot the one who helped him get there, so he promoted He Zongye along the way.
But since joining the student council, He Zongye had never done a single real task—he dumped everything on Xie Zhiyi.
Now Xie Zhiyi deeply regretted it. He shouldn’t have joined in the first place. It was tiring and thankless.
Xie Zhiyi wiped his face, not wanting to think about these annoying matters.
He pulled a chair over and sat down. “That girl who sat in on class with you today—who is she?”
“No one.”
Seeing him being so secretive made Xie Zhiyi even more curious. “Was she willing?”
He Zongye cast a lazy glance at him with his casual demeanor. “Do I look like the kind of person who forces others?”
Xie Zhiyi instinctively started to nod, then quickly shook his head instead. “…Of course not.”
He Zongye’s lips curved in a careless smile as he pinched the soft ears of the rabbit plush. “I never force anyone.”
Xie Zhiyi pulled his chair a little farther away from him. Every inch of He Zongye screamed I want it, and I’m going to get it.
Better keep some distance, just in case it’s contagious.
Still, he was genuinely curious about who that girl was. After all, she was the first one He Zongye had ever been willing to keep by his side.
Shen Jinyao’s classes were all packed into the morning, and as a dance major she also had morning practice. Every day she had to coax herself out of bed early.
With no time to grab breakfast, she headed out the door with a slice of toast clamped between her teeth.
Meng Qingqing was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, wailing weakly, “Why did I choose this path? I’m totally not cut out for it, and I’m here suffering for nothing. It’s all my mom’s fault~”
Shen Jinyao laughed and rubbed her cheek. “Alright, you take a little nap. I’ll wake you when the teacher comes.”
Meng Qingqing made a heart with her fingers. “Thanks babe, love you~”
Meng Qingqing was the only one in the whole class who dared to slack off, curling up on the floor with a brick as a pillow.
Dance majors burned through a huge amount of energy every day, so at noon Shen Jinyao ordered a bowl of malatang to replenish her strength. She’d just taken a slurp of rice noodles when a voice reached her ears.
“Jinyao, can I sit here?”
Shen Jinyao looked up. Su Qian stood there in a long cyan dress, radiating a gentle temperament, her smile sweet.
Shen Jinyao lowered her eyes, her voice flat. “The cafeteria isn’t my house. No need to ask me.”
Su Qian kept her gentle smile, as if she had no temper at all, and was about to sit down when someone shoved her aside.
“This seat’s mine. Do you think you deserve it?”
Xie Zhiyu sat down directly. Su Qian’s expression faltered for a moment, then she said magnanimously, “Then it’s yours.”
The friend beside Su Qian couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Xie Zhiyu, why do you always pick on Qianqian? We’re all from the same circle. Don’t make things so ugly.”