From the moment the girls began explaining how wrong he was for hanging up Jia's call and not listening to her requests, Lin Chen knew that there was no point in continuing to view them as people who are worthy of having a discussion with him.
In Lin Chen's eyes, they were people who were shallow and greedy, and were attempting to cover up their worthless reasoning with persuasive words and arguments. They utilized peer pressure and confidence in order to gaslight the other party into agreeing with their views.
Lin Chen's gaze then wandered over to Jia Sterling, his soon to be ex-girlfriend, and he let out a long sigh in his mind. Although she seemed and acted similar to these shallow minded people, the Jia that Lin Chen fell in love with was warm, sweet and caring. The total opposite of what she was today.
Although this was his third life, Lin could still remember his first few dates with her quite vividly. But of course, people change, and with her finding success in the modelling world, Jia became exposed to a world that was unknown to her. A world of money, fake smiles and an obsession with keeping up appearances.
And it is through this world that she became connected to the people that made her into what she was today.
'Of course, it's not like they're to blame for her transformation..' Lin Chen narrowed his eyes and shook his head. 'Nobody can make you change but yourself. The power to make the final decision lies within you, no matter how much you deny it.'
She was always the one responsible for ruining this relationship and allowing herself to change in such a manner.
And as such…
"I have something to say to you."
…. I have decided that this relationship is…
"Jia Sterling…"
….. Not worth my time.
"I want to break up with you."
-----------------------
"Wha- What?" Jia Sterling looked shocked by what she had heard. In fact, it was not only her who couldn't believe it. The entire classroom seemed to be in shock. No one was expecting Lin Chen to say that.
'I knew it was coming, but goddamn! That was straight to the point!' Fang Meng secretly gave a thumbs up to Lin Chen from under the desk. 'Mission passed. Respect earned!'
"Wh- What did you just say?" Jia asked once again, as she leaned forward, trying to grab Lin Chen's collar, but he instantly turned to the side, avoiding her attempt to hold onto him.
"I said that I wanted to break up with you," Lin Chen said as he moved a few feet away from Jia, and adjusted his collar even though she hadn't touched him. "It's not that hard to understand."
"What do you mean it's not hard to understand?! You just broke up with me!! Why!!" Jia screamed loudly as she stared at Lin Chen with an expression that was a mixture of confusion and anger present on her face.
"Don't tell me that it's because of what we just said right now?" Ginny, who had regained her composure from the sudden shock that Lin Chen had given them, spoke as she glared at him. Fiona took a step forward and after clicking her tongue, continued, "Is that really a really a reason to break up with someone? My goodness, were you really such a loser?"
"Oh dear god no, that wasn't the reason." Lin Chen made a disgusted expression as he responded. "I was already planning on breaking up with her before you guys showed up. Of course, it's not like your crappy argument helped."
"Wha- Crappy argument?!" Ginny seemed genuinely insulted by the comment, and a faint but sinister smile began forming on Lin Chen's face.
"Sounds like something that a manipulative, insecure, jealous person would say when met with constructive criticism," Fiona spoke while sneering at Lin Chen, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "That's a good joke. But are you sure that I'm the one who's jealous, insecure and manipulative?"
He raised his fist up into the air and opened it, revealing a smartphone in his hand, and Fiona's eyes widened as she searched her body, "That's my phone!"
"Acting like you're all saints, when really…" Lin Chen clicked on the gallery app and pulled up a photo before throwing it over to Ginny, who caught it instinctively. "... You're all pretenders."
"What?!" Ginny's eyes widened as she stared at Fiona with disbelief. "Ginny, I can explain." Fiona, who now looked nervous, tried to calm Ginny down, but to no avail.
Ginny brought the phone up and pointed at Fiona, beforesaying, "Is.. is this.. you and Wu.."
"She's been sleeping with your boyfriend." Lin Chen decided to explain it to the poor lady who was struggling to get words out of her mouth. He then turned to look at Jia, who flinched from his gaze. He then opened his mouth to speak. "Oh, and Jia! I broke up with you because you're a greedy, shallow, fake bitch who only cares about herself, and hangs around with a bunch of other bitches who'll most probably stab you in the back."
He waved his hands at her before jogging towards the doorway. "Goodbye!" He then eyed Fang Meng, motioning him to follow him before the fight between the two girls started to break out, and Fang Meng immediately sneaked out of the classroom right when Ginny leaped up and grabbed Fiona by her hair, pulling it with intense strength as she yelled out, "You bitch! How dare you!"
"Hohoho, that was the coolest rejection I've ever seen, Lin Chen!" Fang Meng gave a thumbs up and Lin Chen let out a short chuckle. "But how did you know that Ginny's boyfriend was cheating on her with Fiona? And how did you even know she'd have the proof in her gallery?"
"I have my sources." Lin Chen spoke with a mysterious tone, and Fang Meng pouted.
Of course, the source was his past self. As he had only broken up with Jia after the results of the third test were published, he had heard all about the fight between Ginny and Fiona from Jia, as the secret would've been out a few days from now anyways had everything gone the same way as before. According to Jia's words, Ginny had found the photos while she was going through Fiona's phone to look for something, which meant that she hadn't hidden it anywhere. Perhaps she was already planning on making it public soon.
'And I already knew Fiona's password.' Lin Chen scratched his cheeks as he remembered how these girls would often use each other's phones. Jia had opened Fiona's phone while she was right next to Lin Chen. He had acted like he wasn't looking at the password, but it was a simple number lock which was easy to remember.
"And why'd you not mention Jia cheating on you when you yelled out the reason for dumping her?" Fang Meng asked, and Lin Chen shook his head. "Because it'll make me look like a loser, idiot! I didn't just want to break up. I wanted to win. And I wanted to see her lose. That was the point."
He paused for a second, before continuing. "And besides, not mentioning the cheating would only make her more mad. It showed that I didn't even need to know that she cheated in order to dump her ass."
"... Lin Chen, I've never noticed this before…" Fang Meng made a serious expression before continuing, "... But you really like to think long and hard about the ways you could teach people a lesson, huh?"
"Hahahaha!" Lin Chen laughed out loud. "What can I say.. I hate backstabbing bitches with a passion!"