Jiang You froze. When she’d told him to be her boyfriend, she meant for the mission. He was supposed to *act* as her boyfriend, not actually perform any boyfriend duties.
’I only said it because of the mission... but we *are* boyfriend and girlfriend now, so it’s not wrong for Xi Cheng to interpret it this way, is it?’
’If I try to explain, it’ll just make things weirder.’
Jiang You’s lips parted, but in the end, she swallowed the words she wanted to say.
She looked up at Xi Cheng as he slowly leaned in. She could clearly see the captivating allure in his silver eyes. His lingering, affectionate gaze slid slowly, ambiguously, from her pink eyes down to her lips, then drifted back up to meet hers again. Their gazes intertwined, creating a throbbing, palpable tension that stretched between them.
Jiang You’s pink eyes shifted ever so slightly. Her heart seemed to pound in a slow, heavy rhythm, and her eyelashes began to flutter.
Just as Xi Cheng was about to lean in for a kiss, a knock sounded at the door.
Startled, Jiang You shoved Xi Cheng away and scrambled back several steps, putting distance between them. She looked around nonchalantly, as if trying to hide something.
Xi Cheng’s narrow eyes tightened, and a clear flash of annoyance at being interrupted crossed his silver irises.
"Ahem, someone’s here. Go see who it is." Though inwardly flustered, Jiang You still spoke in a commanding tone.
"Mm." Xi Cheng gave her a look before responding.
Jiang You went into the adjoining break room.
Xi Cheng slowly peeled off his lab gloves. He hadn’t been planning to run any experiments anyway; he was just playing along to help Jiang You with her mission.
He placed the gloves on the lab bench. "Come in."
The laboratory door pushed open.
A female student walked in.
Her face was pale. She walked up to Xi Cheng and immediately dropped to her knees. "Chairman Xi, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted the academic credits for being the group’s top contributor. Zhou Yan was working so hard, and it looked like she was about to surpass me, so I..."
She had resorted to underhanded means.
Before she could finish, Xi Cheng cut her off. "That’s enough. I know."
In a research group, there was competition among the members. Those who contributed more received more bonus points, which led to a higher overall grade for the semester. And the students with the top grades at the end of the term received scholarships.
This student was also on a special scholarship.
Zhou Yan wanted the end-of-term scholarship, and so did this student.
"Chairman Xi, considering all the contributions I’ve made to the group’s research, can’t you please not kick me out of the group!" the student begged, crying.
"It is a fact that you delayed the progress of our research." Xi Cheng leaned his tall frame slightly against the lab bench behind him, his tone perfectly calm. "Since you’ve come to confess on your own, I won’t pursue the matter. Pack your things and leave."
"Chairman Xi!" The student’s eyes were red as she tried to say more.
"Don’t make me say it twice," Xi Cheng stated curtly.
The student looked into the young man’s cold, detached eyes. In the end, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she said nothing more and turned to leave.
When the others in the work area saw the student come out to pack her things, they all knew what had happened and remained silent.
Zhou Yan realized it was the student who, like her, was on a special scholarship, and someone she’d gotten along with fairly well. She never thought she would be backstabbed.
She couldn’t stop herself from rushing over to confront her. "Why?"
"You want the scholarship, and so do I. That’s all there is to it." The student glared at Zhou Yan with disgust, then shoved past her shoulder as she left. "Zhou Yan, you’re such a hypocrite. You’re disgusting."
Zhou Yan stood frozen in place.
Jiang You and Xi Cheng emerged, hand in hand, just in time to see this unfold.
She said nothing.
Xi Cheng didn’t even spare them a glance, simply leading her away by the hand.
The others hadn’t even recovered from the previous scene when they were stunned by this one.
No wonder that Jiang You girl could go in there and not get kicked out. So, she was already with Chairman Xi.
Compared to everyone else’s shock, Li Yu seemed quite calm. After all, he’d already seen the two of them leaving together intimately before.
Jiang You and Xi Cheng went to get a meal together.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Shen Lan had come looking for her again.
He knew Jiang You’s schedule and which classroom she was in. Without telling her, he went straight to her class to find her. But when he arrived at the classroom, he didn’t see Jiang You—only her little group of followers.
Yu Lin was in the middle of her lecture when someone suddenly sat down next to her. She frowned, but when she turned her head, she saw Shen Lan.
Shen Lan got straight to the point. "Where’s Jiang You?"
Yu Lin’s eyes darted away. ’Sister You obviously skipped class to go find Xi Cheng.’ She stammered, "Sister You... Sister You..."
Shen Lan’s gaze sharpened, and his tone grew icy. "Speak."
"I... I don’t know either." Yu Lin looked away, growing nervous and apprehensive.
Shen Lan’s gaze then fell on Lin Xue and Chen Yu, but they both looked away as well.
"My baby sure has raised some loyal dogs." Shen Lan didn’t press them. After making that detached comment, he stood up and left.
He raised the terminal on his wrist. He didn’t need them to tell him; it was easy enough for him to find someone on campus.
Yu Lin and the others didn’t react to Shen Lan’s words. They were well aware of their position—they were Sister You’s dogs, after all.
Instead, they quickly sent a message to Jiang You.
Yu Lin: [Sister You, Shen Lan came to the classroom looking for you! I didn’t tell him where you were, but it looks like he’s going to ask someone else. He’ll probably find out where you are soon!]
Jiang You and Xi Cheng were just coming down from the Science and Technology Building. As she read Yu Lin’s message, she spotted Shen Lan in the distance.
She sent a simple reply to Yu Lin: [Got it.]
Shen Lan was standing just outside the main entrance, his blue hair slightly tousled by the wind. It was hard to say how long he’d been waiting there. When he noticed them emerge, his dark gaze landed squarely on Xi Cheng.
When he found out his girlfriend had gone to see Xi Cheng, his first reaction was that the bastard had seduced her and was trying to steal his girl!
Shen Lan was wary of others, but he never thought he’d have to be wary of his own brother.
Xi Cheng saw Shen Lan too. His eyes glinted. "Looks like our secret affair is about to be exposed."
Jiang You nearly choked when she heard that.
The two of them stopped. Outside, a cold smile touched Shen Lan’s lips as he strode inside, radiating an icy aura.
His expression was grim as he marched straight toward them.
Jiang You’s eyelid twitched as she watched him approach.
’Didn’t he say he didn’t care if I had other "dogs"?’
’Why does he look so furious?’
’Maybe it’s because this other "dog" is his brother?’
’He looks like he’s about to start a fight.’
Shen Lan stopped in front of Xi Cheng. His hands at his sides were clenched into fists, veins bulging. He grabbed Xi Cheng by the collar, his tone unreadable. "Xi Cheng, the whole reason I introduced her to you all last time was so you wouldn’t get any funny ideas. Is this how you backstab me?"