Zhan Yu was at the library when he received the text. Unaware Zhong Qing was talking about the Lu Bai's graduation; he replied: "Not to go where?"
"I was trying to take pictures with Lu Bai! Oh my god, we stood under the sun for an eternity before we found out that he wasn't even coming!"
Zhan Yu couldn't help but laugh, replying "Yeah."
In the book, Lu Bai also didn't attend the graduation ceremony. The villain also had the same expectations as Zhong Qing and went to wait for him, only to never see him. Then he went to his apartment, but Lu Bai also wasn't there. Feeling it was unusual of him not to appear, the villain went straight to his company to visit him. However, the personnel at the front desk refused to let him in, saying he can't meet with the CEO without an appointment. The villain started to cry and make a scene, forcing Lu Bai's assistant to come down and instruct security to take him home.
Zhan Yu thought it was fine being alone in A City since he wasn't constantly forced to find excuses to avoid those kinds of situations. He was still trying to calm a forever complaining Zhong Qing while picking out his books.
Zhong Qing typed for a while and sent a voice message. Zhan Yu, having left his wallet at his seat, went back for his earbuds. He bumped into someone as he walked out of the aisle.
Zhan Yu didn't have time to look, but from the person's height, posture, and body language, he could tell it was a boy. He quickly apologized and bent down to help pick up his books. As he picked up the first book, he heard, "No need to apologize," in a deep voice.
That voice...
Without a second thought, Zhan Yu looked up and blurted "Xia Qiao?"
Zhan Yu was lucky enough to be a guest at one of his events. The academy invited two famous online writers to A College to talk to students about their dreams and experiences; the event's sole host was Xia Qiao.
Zhan Yu witnessed his wit and unrivaled eloquence that day. His skill received much praise and admiration. At the end of the event, Zhan Yu was complimenting the host with his classmate Gu Tong.
"What did you expect? It's Xia Qiao," Gu Tong told him while smiling.
Zhan Yu was confused. "Who is he?"
"The number one academy host!" Gu Tong said in high spirits. "Have you heard of Senior Li?"
Zhan Yu shook his head.
"He's the senior who was hired by the City TV show," Gu Tong explained.
Zhan Yu vaguely remembered one of the professors mentioning the girl when she just joined A College. She heard that Senior Li was not only versatile but highly skilled in all facets. The academy recommended her as an intern at the show right after she graduated and, after her probationary period, she was officially hired. She was present on many TV shows even today.
"Senior Li is already superb, right? But when she came back to the academy last year and saw Xia Qiao's talent, even she praised him! She said that it'd be a piece of cake for him to get in with his talent. As long as he was willing, his success in the industry was inevitable," Gu Tong continued.
And now, Zhan Yu unexpectedly met the man himself. Zhan Yu blinked a few times, to be certain that he identified him correctly.
Everything about him was nice. His voice was already pleasant, but it sounded even more attractive when lowered.
'If Gu Tong heard what Xia Qiao said earlier, she'd be so excited that she'd never be able to fall asleep,' Zhan Yu thought. After that event, she also confirmed that Gu Tong was a total Xia Qiao fangirl.
Xia Qiao saw Zhan Yu looking around nervously, and couldn't hide his smile anymore. The sunlight shining through the window made Zhan Yu's smile look even more attractive in his eyes. Xia Qiao stretched out his arm to organize his books.
Zhan Yu looked a bit embarrassed as he stood up. He had stopped picking up his books because he was lost in thought. With only one book in his hands, he awkwardly placed it on top of his stack and said, "Sorry, I got distracted."
Xia Qiao stared at him, raising his eyebrows and smiling. "Could I ask if you were thinking about me?"
"Huh?" The corner of Zhan Yu's mouth twitched, as he found himself at a loss.
"You're an exchange student from Shenjing City, right? Do we share the same major?" Xia Qiao asked further.
Zhan Yu nodded, but he didn't expect Xia Qiao to continue. "If you were hosting a show right now, I think that reaction would have been a little too slow."
Zhan Yu was completely out of his element, and after that final comment, it showed. He was right.
"When we interview guests, we ask questions. But a lot of times, the answers will include rhetorical questions of their own, which are the hardest to answer. So, when you're conducting an interview, and you meet a guest who unexpectedly asks you questions, your reaction would only make the situation awkward," he said, breaking the silence of his long pause.
Zhan Yu admitted that he was correct, but to have someone so talented advising someone like him was a bit unexpected.
Without waiting for Zhan Yu to finish his sentence, Xia Qiao's smile grew bigger. He looked into his eyes and said, "I know you."
"Yeah?"
"You're Zhan Yu."
"Oh my god!" Zhan Yu thought. He knew everything! Even though he had never interacted with him before; even though this was his first time seeing he.
...how did he know?
Before he could even ask, Xia Qiao kept his smile and continued, "I still have things to do, so I'll talk to you next time."
Zhan Yu could only watch as the person left, unable to figure out how he knew him.
Distracted by the run-in, Zhan Yu forgot that he needed to listen to Zhong Qing's voice message.
Meanwhile, Lu Bai had finished work and was dropping by the school to discuss his upcoming project with the principal, when someone bumped into him from behind. He had a sturdy frame, so he wasn't hurt, but the smell of perfume made him frown. Not bothering to even to turn around; all he heard was laughter coming from behind him. Then, he heard a clear female voice calling his name, "Lu Bai!"
Still unconcerned, Lu Bai kept walking until the person rushed in front to block his path. He looked at the girl in front of him, with long hair, wearing a long dress that resembled a woman's sailor uniform from the torso up. "This person doesn't look as good as him." It was the first thought that crossed his mind. After realizing who "she" was, he suddenly frowned. After seeing his demeanor change, the freshman girl who blocked him simply stood and said nothing. Lu Bai decided not to bother with her and kept walking. But the girl was persistent enough to block him again.
Lu Bai finally spoke. "I hate women who don't know how to tell good from the bad. Just like that."
"If you say it a third time, I'll personally make you pack your belongings and leave," Lu Bai growled without even looking in her direction.
The girl was stupefied and started crying.
Lu Bai left as if nothing had happened.
Upon arriving at the principal's office, Lu Bai didn't say a word. He simply seated himself with a particularly nasty expression from his earlier encounter.
Principal Zhao, who wore glasses, finally lifted his head to examine him. He was curious about where Lu Bai's anger originated. "What happened? Your anger is so intense, it's spreading to my side of the table," He asked earnestly.
Lu Bai never knew why he couldn't control his emotions when he was at school. He massaged his temples, and finally calmed down a little. "Nothing," he answered coldly.
Without giving his opinion on the matter, Principal Zhao decided to change topics and asked, "We'll be cutting the ribbon for A College's new building in the next couple of days. Do you think I should go?"
As soon as Lu Bai heard "A College," he turned to look at Professor Zhao with an intense gaze. "Now that you mention it, when did we become so well acquainted with A College?"
For obvious reasons, Lu Bai grew even moodier.
But Principal Zhao became more excited.
Being a youth was so much fun.
"CEO Lu Bai, would you do me the favor of joining me in A City?" Principal Zhao asked with a smile.
Lu Bai thought of how ungrateful the principal was, noting the man's attitude and disregard for his feelings in the principal's comments. He rejected almost immediately. "I don't have time to waste."
Principal Zhao didn't bother trying to change Lu Bai's mind, instead, he continued to smile and said, "That's unfortunate."
After leaving school, Lu Bai received a call from his childhood friend when entering his car. There were only a few people in Shengjin City who were both close to him and in the same age group. Other people called his friend 'Zhuan Zi,' but Lu Bai never wanted to use that name. Zhuan Zhu was curious as to why, and even asked him once.
Lu Bai glanced at him lazily and chuckled. "Are you philosophical like Zhuan Zi?"
Zhuan Zhu nearly choked. 'Was he being sarcastic?' But when he thought of his barely passing grades, he relented.
After Lu Bai picked up the phone, he heard Zhuan Zhu speaking in a spirited voice.
"Bei Zi is returning today, and we're planning a welcome home feast. Are you coming later?"
Lu Bai thought it over and asked, "What time?"
"Tonight at 8."
"I'll be there."
Lu Bai thought there was still time until dinner, so he returned to his old house. He hadn't gone back to see his grandfather for months because of his busy schedule. Of course, the real reason was that his grandfather was trying to force him to meet with the Lai Family. He wasn't planning on forgiving him just yet. That's why even after Weng Yinlin called Lu Bai so many times, telling him to go back to the old house to eat dinner, he refused. She thought that if she ignored him, he'd only act more reckless in the future.
As Lu Bai's car pulled in front of the old house, he saw another white car. The model was clearly one that a woman would drive.
Lu Bai, his father, and his grandfather were all the only children of their respective generations. He also didn't have many female relatives. But despite all that, the car's owner was most likely a young woman. While entering the house, his mind filled with guesses of who the visitor was. Before he arrived at the lobby, he saw his Aunt Song walking towards him from the garden. "Aunt Song, who's visiting grandpa?" he asked.
Aunt Song had been working in the Chen family for more than ten years, and she saw Lu Bai as her own child. When she saw him, she was overjoyed that he finally came back after so long, and what a coincidence! Miss Lai was also over. "Miss Lai is here to accompany your grandfather. We didn't think you would also come back today, but perfect timing! I'm preparing dinner now, so you should stay," she said cheerfully.
The Lai family?
Lu Bai thought for a while and remembered the existence of this "Miss Lai", but he couldn't remember her face.
Lu Bai could hear her gently complaining to his grandfather as he walked in. "Grandpa, you're being too hard on me! How can I win like this?!"
"Hmph. Only that fellow can beat me a couple of times in this world. Other people? Don't even think about winning."
Lu Bai's first impression of the uninvited guest was far from good, especially when he heard her acting shy. "Grandpa, are you talking about Lu Bai?" she asked coyly.
"Who else?!"
After he finished, his grandfather saw Lu Bai standing out of the corner of his eye. Speak of the devil.
He took a single glance at his grandson. "You still know the way back?" he asked mockingly.
"I intended to come back, but now that I've seen someone so insignificant here, I guess there wasn't any need to," Lu Bai coldly stated.
Grandpa Lu decided to ignore Lu Bai.
Miss Lai saw that Lu Bai finally came back, and became so happy that joy was practically oozing from her face. After all her persistence, after every day she came to his old house to make his grandfather happy...it finally happened! Lu Bai wasn't moved by her advances. He didn't even look at her, choosing not to reply either. "I see that you're living a pretty good life, don't let me disturb you," he replied to his grandfather, instead.
Grandfather Lu badly wanted to beat him with his cane but held back. He didn't want to embarrass Lu Bai in front of a guest. "You unfilial thing!" he bellowed.
"Same to you," Lu Bai replied softly. With that final comment, he gave his grandfather a murderous look and walked out.
Aunt Song caught him leaving early, and urgently asked, "Why are you leaving so early? Why don't you leave after dinner?"
"It's fine. I don't feel like eating with an outsider." The sentence was basically a slap in the face to Miss Lai.
Aunt Song carefully examined Miss Lai's expression; the entire situation could only be described as awkward.
"But..." Aunt Song knew that she couldn't make Lu Bai stay, and decided to let it go.
She saw Miss Lai leave right after Lu Bai. It was obvious she was chasing after him.
Aunt Song was worried that Miss Lai would make things worse after she caught up with him. "Master, should I stop her?" she asked Grandpa Lu.
Grandpa was resting on his wicker chair, and aggressively shook it as he proudly replied, "Why would you do that? He doesn't like her, so let her bother him all she likes!" After he finished speaking, he nonchalantly asked what the family was going to have for dinner.
Aunt Song saw that she couldn't help either of them, so she listed dish names without another thought for Miss Lai.
Whatever happened, Miss Lai was the one who brought the trouble to herself.
"Lu Bai! Wait!"
When Lu Bai heard his name called so intimately, he retracted his hand from the car door, turned, and said, "We're not that close, Miss Lai. You don't need to call out to me like we are."
"You don't like it when I do that?"
"I don't."
After seeing his total disregard for her feelings, Miss Lai could feel the rim of her eyes reddening as she stood in front of him.
Lu Bai could only say that he was entirely uninterested when he realized she was about to cry. Her eyes watered up, and the sight made him want to get in his car and drive off. However, to his surprise, Miss Lai leaped towards his torso. She was scared that he'd push her away, so she used all her might to lock her arms around his waist. Lu Bai didn't expect that the daughter of a respectable family would act so repulsively.
"Let go." He scowled, hesitant to break her grip. The thought of touching her skin, with his very own hands, made him shudder. He didn't want his hands to suffer.
Miss Lai held on as if her life depended on it. If she let go, she'd probably never have the chance to see him again. She could forget about ever getting close to him. She sobbed desperately. "Do you hate me that much? Do I look that ugly to you? Why do you have to avoid me! If you hate me, then why did you agree to meet me back then? Lu Bai, you stole my heart but treat me like this... What do you want me to do? I live in an endless world of sufferingーI think of you every day, and I always wonder how you're doing. Have you ever thought of me? Even just a little bit is fine..."
Lu Bai steeled himself and quickly grabbed both of her arms while forcing her backward. Miss Lai didn't expect him to push her away so rudely. She didn't pay attention for a split second, and suddenly she was sitting on the ground after landing right on her tailbone. She was stupefied. He turned to glare at her as she sat on the ground. She was crying so violently that her eyeliner was everywhere. "Don't pull something like this again. It's obvious you could never be with me, and I'm not someone you can just get close to," he said.
Miss Lai watched in fear as he threatened her without a single indication of emotion. She turned pale as she recalled everyone's warnings. What they say about him is true. He's immune to anything a woman would use on a man, she thought to herself.
Lu Bai drove off and left Miss Lai with a face full of dust. She sat on the ground, coughing loudly and feeling hopeless. Her status had held her high above the masses, so she was always well received. She was praised by her elders since she was a child, and countless men wanted her, yet somehow she was utterly humiliated! After standing upーtears still in her eyesーshe rushed into her own car and fixed her makeup. She sorted her torrent of thoughts and made a call. "Shi Shi, your idea was completely idiotic! Lu Bai didn't even fall for it!"
The voice on the other side of the phone responded calmly. "You saw him?"
"Yeah."
"Have you made him hate you because of your usual haphazard behavior?"
Miss Lai suddenly fell silent.
"I told you to get his grandpa to like you first, but you decided to throw yourself at him the moment you saw him. How is any of that my fault?"
Ms. Lai was aggravated by the indifferent tone she received, and the first thing she would have done was to snap back at her cousin; if not for the fact that she was at a loss for words. Maybe she was a bit impulsive.
"It's fine. But how was it that easy for that Zhan family bastard to get Lu Bai? All he did was act... weird, and drew everyone's attention in the process. Just look at Lu Baiーhe didn't show a hint of emotion. If you want to make him like you, then prepare for a long war. If you decide to give up after failing once or twice, you may as well quit like that bastard did."
Shi Shi was proud of herself whenever she remembered about Zhan Yu. Who told Zhan Yu to act so arrogant and full of himself? Zhan Yu became much more obedient after I taught him a lesson. I heard that he doesn't nag Lu Bai anymore, and went back to A City instead. Shi Shi thought about how she had traveled for so long, and how it was time for her to return.
"Well, I still have things to do, so let's end the call like this," she chimed happily.
Miss Lai had so much more to say but was robbed of the chance. Was it because she rushed? But with Lu Bai's attitude, how could she not? If she didn't hook him soon, there'd be even more obstacles. She would have to plan more carefully for the future.
To be continued...
...