Although He Ying and Ding Yunyun had no classes together, their morning reading classrooms were quite close, so they would walk together for a stretch every morning.
For the past few days, Ding Yunyun had been perfectly normal, but today, He Ying noticed that Ding Yunyun was constantly vigilant about something around her.
He Ying thought back to what Ding Yunyun had just said and questioned, “Is it really that serious?”
Her identity wasn’t a secret. Usually, people’s attitude toward her, aside from using the embarrassing nickname “young lady” and being somewhat afraid of her, didn’t involve anything else.
There was no scenario like in novels where a young lady wielded power and had a bunch of followers around her.
Hongru Academy’s school ethos was top-tier. The school’s psychological education teachers were always ready to subtly teach students through various unexpected methods.
For example, one statement that remains revered as one of Hongru Academy’s classic teachings: “Humility is based on strength; humility without strength is merely worthless flattery. Others’ miracles will not become relevant to you because of your worthless flattery.”
The reason this statement emerged was that there was a student destined for business in the school. Due to his family’s upbringing, he believed that the most important thing for a businessman was connections, and to build connections, one must socialize.
He struggled to enter Hongru Academy solely because it was the top gathering place for connections. He didn’t really care much about other aspects of learning; graduating smoothly was enough.
His responsible teacher talked with him many times, hoping he would value other courses, but he remained focused only on networking within the academy and set a goal to build good relationships with everyone.
Then, a psychological teacher emerged. This teacher was famously sharp-tongued and approached counseling students from extremely unconventional angles. For instance, to lure this student, he deliberately revealed his affluent background. Sure enough, the connection-seeking student soon found an opportunity to approach him.
The student had done thorough homework, knowing what he liked and how to get close to him. But as a psychological counselor, the teacher didn’t accept the student’s goodwill at that moment. Instead, he directly pierced the veil between them.
“Student, interpersonal relationships aren’t as simple as you think. You think it’s about face and feelings, but it’s actually about value exchange.”
“Do you think you have that value right now?”
“Don’t actively try to please anyone, nor fawn over anyone. Relationships are about pleasant cooperation. You’re assessing others’ value, and others are assessing you.”
The student’s mind was spinning until he finally thought of a point to rebut the teacher. He said he wasn’t fawning over anyone; he was just humble, and that’s why everyone liked him.
Thus, that classic teaching emerged.
【Humility is based on strength; humility without strength is merely worthless flattery. Others’ miracles will not become relevant to you because of your worthless flattery.】
Since then, students entering Hongru Academy have prioritized self-improvement above all else. Others’ superior family backgrounds have nothing to do with oneself.
Everyone is just classmates, peers, fellow travelers on the journey ahead. Whether they become companions in the future depends on how oneself and others grow.
The school had already done a lot. Although the phenomenon of favoring the strong and bullying the weak still existed, such behavior was looked down upon by most students and gradually disappeared from the surface.
For this reason alone, He Ying still had some faith in the quality of the students at Hongru Academy.
But this faith only lasted until she was suddenly bumped into by a student whose face she couldn’t see clearly, and then found a note in her hand.
He Ying was still marveling to Ding Yunyun about how a student at the school could possess such skill, slipping the note into her hand without leaving a trace. Hongru Academy truly had hidden talents.
The moment the note appeared, she had only felt the paper itself.
Ding Yunyun’s expression was complicated. “Don’t open it carelessly.”
He Ying nodded. Naturally, she wouldn’t foolishly open something of unknown origin.
She looked around, borrowed gloves from a gardener who had just arrived at his post, held the note as far away from herself as possible, and then carefully opened it.
The good news was that there were no special powders or anything like that inside the note. The bad news was that the words on it were extremely aggressive.
【Miss, I want to be your slave. My WeChat is #￥^^&%$*(&＞44%@】
He Ying: Hiss.
She turned to look at Ding Yunyun, who wore an expression that said, “See? I knew it.”
“News spreads quickly in the school. If you don’t refuse, more and more people will come.”
He Ying immediately added the person as a friend, and they accepted instantly.
Then He Ying sent a message to the other person: 【Don’t say such things again! There are no slaves in New Xia!】
After seeing this message, the other side began to show “typing…” but typed for a long time without producing anything.
Seeing this, He Ying was satisfied and continued walking with Ding Yunyun.
Everyone they encountered along the way stared at her, and a few even suddenly shouted as He Ying passed by: “Hello, Miss!”
Those classmates who had previously seemed ordinary, with whom she had barely spoken, now seemed eager and restless.
“Miss, your hair tie is so beautiful. Where did you buy it?” This was the version of trying to get closer through praise.
“I don’t know. My butler bought it.”
“Miss, look, I bought this phone because you said it was good.” This was the version of trying to get closer through shared items.
“That’s not what I meant when I said it was good… but if you like it, that’s fine.”
“Miss, there’s a horse riding competition during this month’s holiday. Would you like to go together?” This was the version of trying to cater to her interests.
“Thank you for the offer, but I won’t have time that day.” And so on, with many more examples.
There were even cunning male students who deliberately allowed themselves to be surrounded by a few girls on He Ying’s path, then cast pleading glances at her. Their expressions couldn’t be described as pitiful—only as heart-wrenching.
Enough! He Ying said enough!
How much crazier could this world get?!
He Ying moved closer to Ding Yunyun. Since Ding Yunyun knew why this was happening, she would just ask directly. With her current logic, she couldn’t deduce how much crazier this world could become. Didn’t the System say it had been corrected?
Ding Yunyun also leaned close to He Ying, whispering in her ear: “The strict inheritance conditions of the He family are no secret in our circle. Before, when you were chasing after Shangguan Mingyu, everyone thought you had no chance and would probably just end up as an ordinary wealthy person. But what your father did yesterday seems to indirectly tell others how much he dotes on you. You know how our fathers’ generation is—they blindly idolize your dad. They believe that as long as your father favors you, he’ll make sure you meet the inheritance conditions no matter what.”
“Last night, my father sent me a list of your preferences and told me to use it to please you. My brother even received something else… Anyway, it’s probably not just our family doing this.”
At this moment, He Ying finally realized she had overlooked something.
Was the young lady who managed to escape unscathed from F4’s siege just an ordinary wealthy person? What exactly was the standing of 1.3 trillion in monetary value in this world?