Even though I knew it was a trap, I decided to play along and see what the sly foxy dude was up to. So I nodded.
"What do you need help with?"
"Can you stand on the stage and help with the props?"
"Sure, but how exactly do I help with the props? You need me to move something?"
"No, I just need you to stand there. Ah, Yi Hao and Er Hao are already there. They'll tell you what to do."
I could have sworn that Yi Hao and Er Hao were Fu Er Dai's cronies, but apparently, they had switched allegiances and employers. I no longer saw Fu Er Dai anywhere, for some reason. Instead, his burly former underlings were standing on stage wistfully and appeared to be waiting for something. When they spotted me, they gestured for me to stand to the far end.
Without glancing back, I realized what was going on. Underneath the happy birthday banner, there was a "I LOVE YOU" spelled out in English. Since Yi Hao and Er Hao were huge and…uh, round because I didn't want to be tactless, they perfectly fitted the missing "O's." On the other hand, the absent "I" was to be filled out by my relatively skinny figure.
I was pretty sure I saw this in Dragon Raja, so I was going to skip this part instead of launching an emo and edgy monologue with Arondight where he mocked me for not being decisive or some bullshit like that. Instead, I smiled and played along, even as Hui Zhang practically pranced onto the stage, holding a bouquet of flowers.
"Huang Xiang Jun," he announced, much to her delight as he held the flowers to her right in front of the whole school. Or the whole group of third year students who had now officially graduated after receiving their Gao Kao results yesterday. "I love you."
"T…thank you." Blushing furiously, Huang Xiang Jun accepted the flowers and hid her red face behind the white roses.
"Also…happy birthday."
Getting on one knee, Hui Zhang presented her a tiny box. Opening it, he revealed a glittering ring with a precious gemstone embedded into it. Huang Xiang Jun gasped, almost dropping the bouquet of flowers.
"T…this is too much…I can't accept this…!"
"Nothing is too much for the woman I love. Please accept it."
"Take it! take it!" the rest of the former third year students began chanting, and there was thunderous applause from guys and girls alike. The guys were cheering excitedly and the girls were screaming in delight. Tears of joy running down her face, Huang Xiang Jun took the ring and slid it on, while I had to step forward and hold her flowers for her.
She then embraced Hui Zhang, who chuckled happily. The moment they separated, he turned to me.
"What did you bring as a present for Xiang Jun?"
"Huh?" I was almost caught off guard. "Me?"
All at once, I felt the eyes of everyone on me, watching in anticipation. Hui Zhang's smile grew wider, and though invisible to everyone else, I caught a sinister glint in his eyes.
"I always respected you as a rival, Li Tian Xing. Didn't you like Xiang Jun as well? I thought we should compete fairly for her. But don't tell me you didn't know it was her birthday? You didn't bring a gift for her? I'm disappointed."
Ah. So this was what it was. I finally understood why Hui Zhang went through such lengths to invite me here, why he was so…desperate to the point he had Liu Zhi Yong search for me or wait until I returned from my intergalactic expeditions. This was a Hong Men Banquet. They had laid out a trap to humiliate me in front of the whole third year population.
How childish.
Shaking my head, I smiled wryly and returned the flowers to Huang Xiang Jun before pulling out the bottle of fruit juice from my bag. The same one that Vivian had given me.
"I think you're misunderstanding something. I was never your rival, and while I do have some affection for Huang Xiang Jun, I do not possess any romantic feelings for her. I simply admire her as the vice-president of the student council. Obviously, someone like me is not worthy enough to ever think I have a chance."
"You know your place. I suppose that's a good thing." Hui Zhang chuckled. There was uncomfortable laughter from the audience, many of the students looking confused as to where he was going with this. Not all of them was on with this farce. Most of them were here to have a good time, and obviously it wasn't as if the whole world was out to get me or crush me for no reason other than because I was the protagonist.
While I didn't have many close friends, I was still a fairly sociable person and had developed superficial friendships with a lot of schoolmates in high school. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't some ostracized loner. A lot of people liked me because they thought I was a nice, helpful guy. At least when I wasn't creeping girls out with my socially awkward behavior, of course.
"Also, I did bring a gift." I held out the fruit juice. "It's an imported bottle. Well, to be honest, it's not a gift for Huang Xiang Jun directly, but it's for everyone. It'll be a good idea to share it around so that everyone can have a toast to you and her new relationship. And to celebrate her birthday too."
"Oh?" Hui Zhang tried not to scoff as he all but snatched the bottle out of my hands to look at it. Then he sneered. "How cheap. I booked an entire ballroom, bought flowers and an expensive diamond ring, and all you did was bring a single cheap bottle of low-grade fruit juice? There's not enough for everyone to drink from it and make a toast."
With a single swing of his arm, he tossed the bottle off the stage. I watched in dismay as the glass shattered against the floor, the yellowish juice spilling out of the fragments and staining the velvet carpet.
"Hey!" One of the students below shouted. "Don't you think you're going too far?"
"That's right!" This time, it was a female schoolmate. "That's too much! Even if you don't want the drink, there was no need to smash his bottle like that!"
"It might not be expensive, but at least he has the right sentiment in bringing it!" A guy yelled. "It's the thought that counts!"
However, any other protests that would have arisen were silenced when Hui Zhang glared at them. An awkward silence fell upon the audience and they glanced away uncomfortably. The former student council president then turned back to me with a grin.
"Also, I heard that you're not going to Tsing Hua or any of the prestigious universities? You're still intending to go to some no-name university?"
"Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I heard about it. I will admit, I was surprised by your grades. I didn't think you would perform so well. Yet you're wasting them by going to some weird university none of us have ever heard of before." Hui Zhang threw his head back and laughed. "Chao University for Special Students? Do you have a disability? Probably a mental one, given how stupid and perpetually clueless you are. It fits you perfectly. Oh, I also heard that it's overseas? Excellent. I'm glad I won't get to see your ugly mug in our great Hua Xia again."
How did he know all that? When I glanced at Liu Zhi Yong, he turned away guiltily. Ah. My so-called best friend had ratted me out and told Hui Zhang everything that I had shared with him. It wasn't a problem. It wasn't as if I was intending to keep that a secret anyway.
"Once a loser, always a loser. I'm glad you know your place and gave up any hopes of going to Tsing Hua and the like. You'll probably drop out after the first few months because your disabled brain can't handle it. Go to that institution for 'special' people. you certainly have special needs!"
Hui Zhang's cruel laughter rang through the ballroom. Several of the other students joined him, but the majority were bewildered, whispering to each other in disbelief.
"Was our student council president always like that?"
"Why is he insulting Li Tian Xing? What did Li Tian Xing ever do to the student council president?"
"What's going on? Did he invite all of us here to watch him make fun of that guy?"
"I don't even know who that guy is."
But mob behavior was mob behavior, and once a few laughed, more and more joined in, their laughter echoing throughout the ballroom.
"Get off the stage!"
"Why haven't you disappeared yet?"
"You're not fit to stand in the same place and breathe the same air as the student council president!"
Even Huang Xiang Jun, who looked uncomfortable at first, had finally adapted to the aggressive atmosphere. She smirked.
"I'm glad I didn't choose you. If you had confessed to me, I would have dumped you anyway. It's good that you weren't audacious enough to tell me your feelings."
…wasn't she listening? I said I no longer possess romantic feelings for her.
Only Liu Zhi Yong was standing to the side, his shoulders sagged and his face ashen. Tears were leaking from his eyes and he mouthed an apology. I shook my head, disgusted. What was the use of apologizing now? If he was truly guilty, then he shouldn't have backstabbed me and joined Hui Zhang's ploy in the first place.
Well, whatever. They had their fun. I had long anticipated that something like this would happen, and I had made preparations of my own. That was why I was able to continue smiling politely, patiently waiting until the jeers, insults and laughter were over.
"What are you still doing here?" Hui Zhang scoffed and waved me off the stage. "The event is over. You can get lost now."
"Yeah. I'm leaving now. Goodbye, everyone." I sighed and shook my head in disappointment. They were just so predictable. "You're right, though. This is a good thing. I'm glad I got to see the true faces of so many of you, and it's best for me to sever ties for you forever. For the rest of you who didn't laugh and spoke up for me, or are aghast at this situation, thank you. And I apologize that you have to see such a joke."
"Shut up and disappear!" Someone from the audience bellowed.
"Yeah, just leave already." Hui Zhang couldn't hold back his guffaws, his expression filled with triumph because he thought he had brought down a rival and crushed him under his foot. "You can make all the grand speeches you want, but it's useless. Nobody will miss you. You are a nobody."
I cocked my head to the side and waited for a few more seconds before I turned and stalked off the stage. Just as I did so, the doors to the ballroom opened and my smile widened when I saw that I had timed it to perfection.
"Li Tian Xing, are you still wasting your time here?"
Striding in on high heels and in a flowing, luxurious gown, Vivian Nymanne Morgan entered the ballroom. Her long blond hair had been tied into an exquisite bun, and her beauty caused guys to drop their drinks and girls' jaws to drop. In an instant, every single pair of eyes in the vicinity was riveted upon her gorgeous figure.
Vivian ignored every single one of them, focusing solely on me. She beckoned for me impatiently and I nodded, doing my best not to smirk. Many of the students turned pale with envy or disbelief as they watched our exchange.
"Yeah. I was just about to leave because I'm clearly not welcome here. Let's go."