It is just that the actions of the wealthy are often romanticized.
Setting aside the bizarre romantic plotlines for a moment.
Regarding Jiang Baixe’s persona as a gentle and kind person: the novel describes him that way, and Wu Hongzhou praises him as well, but Song Xingqiu always felt an indescribable sense of dissonance surrounding Jiang Baixe.
The F4 was a small clique composed of the four students with the most prestigious family backgrounds in school. Their daily tasks involved bullying scholarship students, while their primary mission was to launch precision strikes against Shen Qianyan.
Even the taciturn genius, Qin Xiushi, would use force to teach people a lesson when he was displeased, full of the superiority of a high-ranking socialite. In fact, because he rarely acted, he was even more terrifying when he finally did.
The book only ever excluded Jiang Baixe from the violence. He was the lubricant and the brake pads of the F4. If the F4 went too far, he was the first to stand up and stop them. He did not treat scholarship students with condescension but was approachable instead. In the book, Jiang Baixe was a completely positive character.
However, if one truly examined it, if Jiang Baixe were really such a gentle and kind person, why did he insist on joining a group like the F4? If the reason was to consolidate personal networks, then why did he not try to stop all the violence from occurring?
As the Student Council President, he possessed significant power. He might not have been able to completely overturn the situation for the scholarship students, but he could have fought for some slight improvements. At the very least, he should have saved Shen Qianyan, for whom he supposedly felt affection.
In fact, even in the book, from Song Xingqiu’s perspective, Jiang Baixe never attempted to resolve the conflicts. Logically, members of the Student Council, even scholarship students, should not be at the very bottom of the academy’s hierarchy. While it was an honor for noble students to join the Student Council, scholarship students who managed to enter despite their inherent disadvantages should have been held in even higher regard.
Yet, in reality, scholarship students who entered the Student Council received none of the prestige associated with it. Song Wenyue even frequently mocked Shen Qianyan, saying that joining the Student Council was just a poor commoner trying to give himself a cheap layer of gold plating.
This logic was very strange. Clearly, noble students also fought tooth and nail to join the Student Council. For a noble student, joining was proof of their ability; for a scholarship student, it was considered “gold plating.” It was a double standard so unreasonable it defied logic. Even a novel should follow some logic.
Jiang Baixe’s only friends were the members of the F4. The other students he worked with in the Student Council were merely “ordinary colleagues” or “ordinary classmates,” and their relationships could not compare to the F4. Friendships required a shared set of values to function. Therefore, Song Xingqiu did not believe Jiang Baixe was as good as he appeared on the surface.
Song Xingqiu would not underestimate any scion of a great family, aside from Song Wenyue, who grew up observing others and navigating a world full of calculated interests.
Thinking of this, Song Xingqiu could not help but complain to Wu Hongzhou, “Even though you guys formed this F4 group, according to your description, apart from Song Wenyue, the others rarely use their hands.”
There were only four people in total. Jiang Baixe was a supposedly kind person. Qin Xiushi was always immersed in his own world, indifferent to outside affairs. Mu Huaizhi was a lustful troublemaker who spent his time either hitting on classmates or fanning the flames of conflict.
In the end, the only one who actually went out to hit people and lead the bullying was Song Wenyue. Song Wenyue caused trouble everywhere with his three lackeys, and eventually, his character became the defining trait of the entire F4 group.
It was also the first time Wu Hongzhou had viewed the F4 combination from this perspective. He hesitated for a moment, thought it over carefully, and said uncertainly, “It seems to be the case.”
They called it the F4, but in the end, only “F1” was actually doing anything.
Song Xingqiu commented, “Idiot.”
Wu Hongzhou knew exactly whom he was insulting, but he did not dare to respond. The atmosphere turned cold for a few seconds.
Wu Hongzhou asked Song Xingqiu, “So, what should we do next?” He reminded Song Xingqiu, “Even if we know they are hiding in the dorm living room, if just the two of us go.” Wu Hongzhou shook his head. “Even if we are prepared, it will be hard to gain the upper hand against the three of them.”
He knew Song Xingqiu was capable, but he feared Song Xingqiu would become overconfident. Previously, Song Xingqiu had succeeded easily not just because of the gap in skill, but because he had launched a surprise attack while the others were unprepared. This time, they were waiting for him, had even prepared a sack, and who knew what other tricks they had up their sleeves.
What Wu Hongzhou could think of, Song Xingqiu naturally thought of as well. He was not a child like Song Wenyue who acted on impulse. Knowing the three of them were hiding in the living room to ambush him, he would not deliberately confront them head-on.
Song Xingqiu leisurely put away his phone. “If they like hiding there, let them hide. We have real business to attend to.”
Wu Hongzhou could not immediately think of what they had to do, until he heard Song Xingqiu say in a light tone, “First, we go to dinner.”
Wu Hongzhou: “…” He had been so distracted by the surveillance footage Song Xingqiu showed him that he had actually forgotten about eating.
During dinner, Song Xingqiu handled his company affairs as usual. When he had free time, he even had the mood to scroll through the news, as if he had completely forgotten about Song Wenyue and the others.
Wu Hongzhou originally thought Song Xingqiu would watch the surveillance of the dorm living room while eating, using the foolish behavior of Song Wenyue’s group as entertainment. To his surprise, Song Xingqiu did not pay them any further attention. If it had been Song Wenyue, he would have dragged Wu Hongzhou along to mock and insult them over and over again.
Wu Hongzhou sighed in his heart. Song Wenyue still believed his only disadvantage was his physical fighting ability, unaware that Song Xingqiu had already surpassed him in every possible aspect. If Song Xingqiu truly joined the fight for the Song family inheritance as he hinted, Song Wenyue’s only remaining advantage would be that he was Song Cheng’s son.
After dinner, Song Xingqiu slowly opened the surveillance footage on his phone. In the video, the three of them seemed tired; they were huddled together, whispering about something. Song Xingqiu turned on the audio, and the two of them immediately heard Song Wenyue’s grumbling.
“That idiot Song Xingqiu, why isn’t he back yet?” Song Wenyue’s frustrated voice came through the phone.
His two lackeys immediately joined in. “Maybe he isn’t coming back tonight and went out to party?”
“Do you think he’s Mu Huaizhi?!”
Jiang Xing sneered, and then, as if thinking of something, his tone became suggestive. “It’s hard to say. Isn’t he protecting Shen Qianyan? Maybe he’s taken a liking to that scholarship student.”
“Tsk,” Xue Chengyi said with sarcasm. “Then his taste is certainly unique.”
Xue Chengyi and Jiang Xing continued to complain. Song Wenyue sneered, “He just thinks he’s capable because he got lucky with a couple of surprise attacks. If we hadn’t been unprepared before, would he have stood a chance?” Xue Chengyi immediately agreed.
“Once we beat him into submission tonight, let’s see if he still dares to play the hero,” Song Wenyue narrowed his eyes, contempt nearly overflowing from his gaze. “Protecting scholarship students? That is indeed the ridiculous mindset unique to low-class people.”
Xue Chengyi laughed and added, “Do not forget, his mother was also a commoner. This is called ‘kindred spirits.'”
Jiang Xing hastily chimed in, frantically belittling Song Xingqiu. “Do not be fooled by how powerful he seems now; actually, no one in class wants to talk to him! It’s just superficial politeness. Who isn’t calling him a bastard in their heart? He can’t even find someone to flatter him.” He paused and turned flatteringly to Song Wenyue. “Song-ge, everyone only respects you.”
Xue Chengyi added one last blow: “Only someone like Shen Qianyan would treat him like a treasure.”
Hearing their words, Song Wenyue’s expression softened and looked much better. In just a few sentences, they had coaxed Song Wenyue into looking like a fool. After Xue Chengyi finished, the three of them laughed heartily.
When Wu Hongzhou heard their conversation, he understood why Shen Qianyan and Song Xingqiu knew each other, it turned out Song Xingqiu was just doing it to go against Song Wenyue. His tensed shoulders relaxed, and he felt a bit better. However, when he heard them insulting Song Xingqiu and his mother, his heart sank. These people were speaking far too harshly.
The students at this school were incredibly sensitive about background; they were essentially dancing in Song Xingqiu’s minefield. Wu Hongzhou quickly glanced at Song Xingqiu, fearing he would be angry, only to find the other man leaning his chin on one hand, his fingers tapping lightly against his cheek, with a faint, trace-like smile on his lips.
Song Xingqiu was watching the screen with great interest. He even had the mood to give Wu Hongzhou a critique: “Look at the three of them huddled together. Don’t they look like those posh delinquents in class who form cliques, specialize in bullying, whisper about people in corners, and then cover their mouths and snicker?”
It was the first time Wu Hongzhou had heard such a down-to-earth evaluation of Song Wenyue. In this noble academy, everyone had long been accustomed to viewing people like Song Wenyue as high-and-mighty “favored sons of heaven.” Even if they hated them, they unconsciously viewed them through the framework of “Young Masters” or “Heirs.”
But the term “posh delinquents” was too crude; it instantly shattered that gold-plated packaging. It turned out that once the family background was stripped away, they were fundamentally no different from the most low-class school thugs.
This sharp critique left Wu Hongzhou momentarily speechless. He looked at the three figures on the screen who were still chattering incessantly and suddenly felt that their carefully styled hair and expensive clothes all possessed an unspeakable sense of the ridiculous.
Seeing that Wu Hongzhou was silent, Song Xingqiu did not mind and added another sentence: “They also look like the old men at the village entrance; even a passing dog would get a critique or two from them.”
Tsk, tsk.
Indeed, humans are humans. Regardless of class, they are all the same at their core. It is just that the actions of the wealthy are often romanticized, while the actions of the poor are maliciously belittled.
Wu Hongzhou felt a critical hit! He felt this description was not quite right, as it did not fit the positioning of their noble school, but he actually could not refute Song Xingqiu.
Song Xingqiu’s description was too vivid. Wu Hongzhou stammered a bit and gave a dry agreement, “It is a little bit like that.”
Wu Hongzhou looked at the screen again. Watching the three people acting suspiciously and hiding behind the door, the “Young Masters” who were high and mighty in his mind automatically transformed into the “posh delinquents” of the class or the “village elders.”
He began to reflect, he had not acted like that before, had he?
Probably?