Zhou Feng knew perfectly well that Ye Yun could be cunning and slippery in every other aspect of life. Yet when it came to Wu Jiarui, he had still fallen completely into her hands.
Ye Yun had been her bootlicker ever since high school, and he had continued doing so until now. He naively believed that as long as his feelings were sincere enough, he would eventually move Wu Jiarui’s heart.
And what had he gotten in return?
Wu Jiarui had treated him like an easy mark.
After pursuing her for so long, Ye Yun had not even managed to hold her hand. Instead, Wu Jiarui constantly claimed that she was slow to develop feelings and still needed more time to observe him.
Whenever Ye Yun showed the slightest sign of slipping out of her control, Wu Jiarui would suddenly take the initiative to show him some concern. Sometimes, she would simply chat with him about everyday matters, giving Ye Yun just enough hope to keep him going.
In reality, she was merely stringing him along and keeping him as a backup.
Whenever Ye Yun tried to take their relationship a step further, Wu Jiarui would immediately find an excuse to reject him. Even this time, when she had agreed to go shopping with Ye Yun, she had insisted on bringing her roommate along.
She simply refused to give Ye Yun any real opportunity.
However, later in the novel, when Ye Yun soared to prominence, Wu Jiarui immediately took the initiative to confess to him, claiming that she had liked him for a very long time.
Unfortunately for her, by then, Ye Yun was already surrounded by beautiful women, so Wu Jiarui’s position among them had fallen considerably.
Even so, Wu Jiarui had willingly accepted becoming one of those women.
After all, there were simply too many benefits.
“If you don’t like me, then why are you asking me to be your girlfriend?!” Wu Jiarui demanded indignantly.
She had always considered herself extremely attractive. Back in high school, she had been universally acknowledged as the Campus Belle. Even after entering university, she still had countless admirers.
On Wu Jiarui’s very first day at university, numerous senior students had approached her to confess their feelings. However, she had rejected every single one of them.
She was far too experienced to fall for the tricks of those playboys.
Those so-called senior students merely wanted to have some fun. Once they graduated, they would simply walk away without looking back.
What Wu Jiarui wanted was a man who could remain by her side for the rest of her life.
More importantly, she wanted someone capable of giving her a life of wealth and luxury.
To be fair, Zhou Feng’s circumstances were excellent, and he had once been among the candidates Wu Jiarui had considered.
She had even thought about taking the initiative and establishing a relationship with Zhou Feng while they were still in high school, securing this wealthy and desirable husband as early as possible.
However, after hearing about Zhou Feng’s terrible reputation, Wu Jiarui had abandoned the idea.
Ye Yun, in particular, had constantly whispered things into her ear about how Zhou Feng had harassed this girl or bothered that girl.
What Wu Jiarui had never expected was that Zhou Feng would now set his sights on her.
“I just want to have some fun,” Zhou Feng said with a shrug.
His blunt answer nearly made Wu Jiarui cough up blood from frustration.
Even if that was genuinely what Zhou Feng thought, did he really have to say it so directly?
‘Then what does that make me?!’
“No. Pick another condition. I’ve already said that I don’t date,” Wu Jiarui replied through gritted teeth.
“Oh, I understand now. You’ve spent all these years telling everyone you don’t date because you’re planning to fetch a better price for yourself later, aren’t you?” Zhou Feng said with a look of sudden realization.
“You bastard!”
He had exposed the very thoughts hidden deep inside her heart!
Wu Jiarui was an intelligent woman. She had learned early on how to manipulate a man’s psychology.
Men liked women who appeared pure and flawless, like an untouched white lotus. They especially adored women who looked exceptionally innocent.
There had even been women who successfully marketed themselves that way and eventually married powerful business tycoons.
Wu Jiarui constantly publicized the fact that she did not date precisely because she wanted to increase her own perceived value.
What she had never expected was for Zhou Feng to see straight through the deepest thoughts she had kept hidden inside her heart.
Humiliated and furious, Wu Jiarui swung her fist at Zhou Feng’s chest.
However, Zhou Feng did not react in the slightest.
Instead, pain shot through Wu Jiarui’s fist.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Feng immediately grabbed her hand.
“If you don’t want to be my girlfriend, that’s fine. Just kiss me once.”
“O-Only on the cheek!”
Wu Jiarui suddenly felt that this condition was not such a big deal.
After all, no one was around to see them.
Even if Zhou Feng went around telling everyone afterward, as long as Wu Jiarui refused to admit it, no one would believe him.
Besides, Zhou Feng was undeniably handsome and fell well within the range of men she found attractive.
“Fine, then.” Zhou Feng nodded reluctantly.
“Lower your head…” Wu Jiarui said coldly.
Zhou Feng leaned his face closer.
“You! Don’t look at me!”
Wu Jiarui had never expected Zhou Feng to stare directly at her like that. She had never kissed anyone before, much less while the other person was watching her so intently.
“If you’re not going to kiss me, forget it. I’ll call the police.” Zhou Feng curled his lips and pretended to leave.
“Don’t…”
Wu Jiarui immediately panicked and grabbed Zhou Feng’s arm.
Then she closed her eyes and slowly leaned toward Zhou Feng’s cheek.
At that exact moment, however, Zhou Feng turned his head.
Their faces met directly…
Wu Jiarui instantly realized what had happened and desperately tried to pull away.
But Zhou Feng had no intention of giving her that opportunity.
One of his arms wrapped around Wu Jiarui’s waist, leaving her unable to move.
Several minutes passed before Zhou Feng finally released her.
Wu Jiarui’s eyes were blurred with tears.
Her first kiss had been taken just like that by the person she hated most.
“You were the one who leaned in voluntarily. It’s not like I forced you,” Zhou Feng said with a shrug.
At the same time, he handed the bottle of foundation back to Wu Jiarui.
Wu Jiarui immediately snatched it from him and stuffed it into her backpack.
That was her property!
“What an unforgettable memory. I suppose everyone will soon know about our relationship.”
Zhou Feng raised his phone and showed Wu Jiarui what was displayed on the screen.
His other hand had not been idle just now.
He had been recording the entire time.
From the moment Wu Jiarui voluntarily leaned toward him until the moment she became lost in the kiss, everything had been captured clearly on video.
“You actually recorded it!”
Wu Jiarui felt her legs go weak.
If that video spread, the image she had carefully maintained would be completely ruined.
She reached out desperately to snatch the phone, but all she could do was helplessly bump against Zhou Feng.
As long as Zhou Feng raised his arm, she could not reach the phone at all.
“Waaah…”
Overwhelmed by anger and frustration, Wu Jiarui crouched on the floor and burst into tears.
Her composure had finally shattered.
She had originally thought that kissing Zhou Feng once would resolve the entire problem. She had never imagined that he would end up gaining even more leverage over her.
At that moment, Ye Yun appeared at the other end of the corridor carrying two cups of milk tea.
One of them had already been opened, obviously by Ye Yun himself.
There were three people, yet he had bought only two cups of milk tea.
Clearly, Zhou Feng’s share did not exist.
‘Was that even something a decent person would do?’
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you two. Why are you here…? Wu Jiarui, why are you crying?”
However, Ye Yun no longer cared about anything else. The moment he saw Wu Jiarui crying, anxiety immediately appeared on his face.
“She saw a rat just now and got frightened,” Zhou Feng said as he put away his phone.
Then he casually reached out, took the other cup of milk tea, and began drinking it.
“There are rats in a place like this too? Wait, that milk tea…” Only then did Ye Yun realize what had happened.
Zhou Feng had drunk the milk tea that had originally been meant for Wu Jiarui.
“Ye Yun, where’s my milk tea? What is the meaning of this?!” Wu Jiarui had already risen to her feet, her eyes still red from crying and now burning with anger.
Unable to vent her fury on Zhou Feng, she unleashed all of it on Ye Yun instead.