No one had expected Shen Yuze to curse out loud, and in such a blunt, vulgar way without any regard for face.
The moment Lu Ping, hiding behind the bookshelf, clearly heard those two words, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck his heart. A tingling sensation rose from the depths of his soul and quickly spread through his limbs, even making his fingers tremble slightly from the lingering numbness.
Shen Yuze had done what Lu Ping wanted to do but had never dared to.
This was the first time someone had chosen to stand up firmly for Lu Ping instead of ignoring it.
The boy standing in front of Shen Yuze immediately flushed red. Boys his age cared the most about saving face, especially with two buddies behind him. He’d already lost enough face by shamelessly trying to cozy up to Shen Yuze, and now he was getting a head-on scolding…
“Shen Yuze, who the hell are you talking to—” As he cursed, the glasses-wearing boy actually raised his fist!
But Shen Yuze didn’t dodge at all. He stood straight there, the mockery in his eyes undiminished, as if saying: Come on, try it if you dare.
He looked down at the boys condescendingly, with contempt like he was gazing at a pile of non-recyclable trash.
Even though the surroundings buzzed with voices and the scene was lively, the glasses boy inexplicably felt a chill.
Shen Yuze’s family background was a mystery, but it was said that even the principal treated him with a smile; if they got into a public brawl and the school found out, whose side the principal would take was obvious.
Wang Bin’s expulsion was still posted on the school’s bulletin board. No one wanted to follow in his footsteps.
With that in mind, the glasses boy backed down.
Though his heart was already beating a retreat, his mouth was still tough: “Shen Yuze, don’t get too cocky! For a piece of… For Lu Ping, you’re falling out with all the guys from our classes. You think it’s worth it?”
This made Lu Ping, hiding behind, tense up immediately. He practically plastered himself to the bookshelf, perking up his ears. He both anticipated and feared the answer he would hear.
Soon, he heard a scoff—
“Whether it’s worth it is my business.” Shen Yuze said coldly. “I’d like to ask your parents instead: after spending all these years raising a rude, brainless retard, do they think it was worth it?”
Lu Ping: “!!!”
Holy shit, Shen Yuze was this good at cursing people?!
Normally, Shen Yuze was quiet and terse, as if saying one extra word was too much trouble. But when it was time to fire, he didn’t hold back at all. A few simple words left the other drenched in spit.
The boys’ faces turned from red to green and back again. At this point, they had no rationality left; they completely abandoned any human dignity and charged like rabid dogs.
Lu Ping was anxious to death and wished he could rush out to help, but he saw Shen Yuze calmly sidestep the first fist, dodge the second pounce, then step back and kick—the foot landed squarely on the glasses boy’s lower abdomen!
“Ah!” The glasses boy let out a pained cry, clamping his legs together, eyes rolling back as he dropped to his knees.
Lu Ping: “—Hiss!!”
Everything happened too fast. The other two boys hadn’t even reacted before their companion went down.
The trash lay at Shen Yuze’s feet. The young man lifted his sharp phoenix eyes slightly, fixing them on the remaining two, a contemptuous arc hooking his lips: “Hurry up, come at me together.”
“!!!”
Should they charge? Or not? Dare they? Wouldn’t they die if they did????
Who could have imagined that Shen Yuze, who looked cold and aloof like some out-of-touch young noble, had such savage skills at cursing and fighting.
He made no extra moves and wasted no energy. Every attack and dodge was effortless.
Their commotion quickly drew the attention of the signing event organizers. The orderly reader queue got disrupted, and the scene soon descended into chaos.
By the time the publisher’s editor arrived with several security guards, the four-man brawl had already ended… No, this wasn’t a “four-man brawl.” It was clearly Shen Yuze unilaterally abusing noobs!
The publisher had put massive effort into promoting this signing event, and now it was ruined like this. The editor’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
His gaze fell on Shen Yuze, the only one still standing.
“You…” The editor wanted to point and curse him out but shrank back from the handsome yet dangerous youth. He raised his hand only to lower it, putting on a fierce front while cowering inside. “…You, what do you do? Why did you hit people?”
Shen Yuze didn’t answer.
The editor suddenly thought of a possibility: “Are you Miss Wang’s fan?”
If he was a fan, it made sense! Wang Shiya was so stunningly beautiful, her fans spanning all ages of men. A few hot-blooded male students fighting over the signing queue—though it disrupted order, using it for PR would boost Wang Shiya’s fame even higher…
Before the editor could figure out how to spin the incident, Shen Yuze shattered his illusions: “No, I was just passing by.”
“Just passing by?”
The editor gaped in shock. He looked at the three youths sprawled haphazardly on the ground, then at the readers who had nearly all fled, and he wanted to curse!
Suddenly, a soft, beautiful female voice sounded behind him: “Editor Liu, you go handle your business. I’ll take care of this.”
With the voice came a wave of perfume. A woman in an elaborate gown had descended from the stage at some point and approached them.
Wang Shiya lived up to her host background. Tall and elegant, she was like a blooming rose, radiating allure. From the moment she appeared, everyone’s eyes stuck to her.
Editor Liu: “But…”
“No worries,” Wang Shiya said. “I know this classmate.”
Editor Liu: “？!”
Editor Liu left full of suspicion, of course not forgetting to have the security guards haul away the three beaten guys on the ground.
Once the unrelated people left, Wang Shiya looked at the stern-faced Shen Yuze, flashing a bright, charming smile. She said softly: “Little Ze, I heard from Mr. Shen earlier that you transferred to Jiao River for school. Sis is from Jiao River too. There’s so much good food and fun here—Sis will take you around later. Oh, right, are you here to buy books? I’ll have the editor grab a few for you in a bit…”
As she spoke, she approached Shen Yuze, her delicate hand reaching out to rest on his arm.
But Shen Yuze gave her no face and directly stepped back, avoiding her hand.
“I already said, I was just passing by.” Shen Yuze spoke bluntly. “Don’t give me those pages of nonsense. My family’s trash bin is already full.”
“Little Ze, Sis just wants to…”
“Also, the seniority’s wrong. Given your relationship with my dad, shouldn’t I call you ‘Auntie’?” The youth sneered. “In ancient times, you’d barely qualify as a concubine—at best, an outside mistress.”
The word “outside mistress” stabbed like a dagger into Wang Shiya’s sore spot. Shen Zong had been a playboy his whole life with countless lovers, but only three women had ever married him. The one currently in the “Mrs. Shen” seat was Shen Yuze’s birth mother.
Wang Shiya had started as an intern reporter at the provincial station. After latching onto Shen Zong, she’d rocketed up, dreaming of becoming a phoenix. He’d given her money, a company, fame opportunities—but never brought her home, no matter what.
For a youth ten years her junior to mock her like this, Wang Shiya’s pretty face instantly drained of color.
But she knew well that as Shen Zong’s lover, she could throw tantrums, but she absolutely could not clash with his only son!
She bit her teeth inwardly, nails digging into her palm. She still wore the expensive custom gown for this signing, but next to Shen Yuze’s innate nobility, she seemed tacky. She didn’t dare raise her voice to him and could only lower her head meekly, forcing an awkward smile before fleeing in panic.
The only silver lining was that they were speaking in a corner off the side of the signing area, with no bystanders around. So no one knew that the glamorous Wang Shiya in the public eye was just a sugar baby kept by a big boss.
…No, wait—that wasn’t right. There was still one “bystander” here.
Once Wang Shiya’s figure completely vanished, Shen Yuze turned to the towering bookshelf behind him.
Behind the bookshelf, a skinny boy was trying his best to hide.
Shen Yuze’s foul mood instantly brightened at the sight of a certain little mouse.
He raised a brow: “Stop eavesdropping. Come out.”
The person behind the bookshelf froze, followed by a flurry of chaotic sounds from that side. The guy hurriedly ducked his head, holding up an open book to block his face in a poor attempt to cover it up.
The cover bore a glaring line of big letters—How to Pursue Beautiful Rich Women.
Shen Yuze: “…” He was speechless and simply reached over the shelf, yanking the book forcibly from the little mouse’s hand.
Who knew that after pulling away How to Pursue Beautiful Rich Women, another book tucked inside was revealed—the second one was called How to Pursue Handsome Young Men.
Shen Yuze was both annoyed and amused, and simply called out his full name: “Lu Ping, how long are you going to hide?”
Lu Ping, still holding How to Pursue Handsome Young Men, sheepishly lowered the book, revealing a fawning yet awkward smile: “…Hey, what a coincidence?”
“Coincidence?” Shen Yuze’s lips curved. “Wasn’t it you deliberately hiding here to eavesdrop?”
“W-Who was eavesdropping!” Lu Ping hastily protested. “It’s not like you suddenly disappeared, and I got anxious looking for you, and then… and then…”
And then, he’d personally witnessed Shen Yuze beat the crap out of those idiots for him. Whoosh whoosh whoosh—Shen Yuze struck like lightning, whoosh whoosh whoosh, and those guys went down! Then whoosh whoosh whoosh, Wang Shiya appeared, and next they dropped that jaw-dropping bombshell gossip!
—Lu Ping hadn’t wanted to know that Wang Shiya was his dad’s mistress, but that soap-opera-level elite family drama had poured straight into his ears!
He stammered as he circled back to Shen Yuze’s side from behind the bookshelf, looking every bit the honest little wife. Weird—he hadn’t eavesdropped on purpose, so why did he feel so guilty?
Shen Yuze frowned at the book in his hand: “Where did you even find these ridiculous books?”
“This shelf is all success guides.” Lu Ping swore he’d just grabbed two at random from the shelf; he hadn’t expected the titles to be this explosive.
“Success guides?” Shen Yuze reverted to his cool, detached demeanor, mocking: “Then I’ll wish you success in pursuing handsome young men ahead of time.”
Lu Ping scratched his head: “Huh? Why not wish me success with beautiful rich women?”
“…” Shen Yuze laughed in exasperation. “Fine, success guides it is. Looks like you’re really planning to learn success.”
Even if Lu Ping was dense, he could tell at this point that Shen Yuze was in a bad mood.
He hurriedly threw down the two books in his hands and raised both hands to show his innocence. “Let’s not talk about all that messy stuff. Um…” He coughed once, lifted his head, and looked sincerely at the handsome boy in front of him. He spoke word by word with utmost sincerity, “—Shen Yuze, I’m not capable of much, but I can keep my mouth shut! I’ll pretend I neither heard nor saw anything that happened today!”
“Neither heard nor saw?” Shen Yuze said. “I taught those bullies a lesson for you, and you’re just going to pretend it never happened with one sentence?”
Lu Ping shook his head like a rattle. “No, no, no! I have the fact that you beat them up for me etched in my heart! What I meant was the thing with Wang Shiya!”
“What’s with Wang Shiya?”
“Huh? I mean, just now she…”
“Lu Ping.” Shen Yuze interrupted him. Those deep amber eyes resembled bottomless pools filled with danger and coldness. “I’m asking you, what’s with Wang Shiya?”
Lu Ping: “…”
Under that gaze, Lu Ping finally understood.
He mumbled a few words. “Nothing… Nothing happened… We just came here to buy reference books, and it has nothing to do with her.”
Damn, I already said I’d keep it secret for him. Why was Shen Yuze getting so aggressive?
……
After the incident settled down, Lu Ping and Shen Yuze left the third floor. In the stairwell leading from the third floor to the fourth, they ran into Chen Miaomiao, who had been waiting for them.
There had been too many people earlier, and Chen Miaomiao had been squeezed out of the crowd. With no phone on her, she had simply waited here in the stairwell.
Seeing the two of them appear safe and sound, Chen Miaomiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s great! You’re okay!” She chattered on. “I don’t know what happened earlier. The book signing clearly wasn’t over yet, but it suddenly ended. I stopped someone to ask what was going on, but they couldn’t explain clearly either. They just said there was a fight inside… Senior Wang Shiya is so impressive. To think there were guys fighting over her at the book signing!”
Lu Ping, who knew the truth: “…”
Shen Yuze looked at the bubbly girl and felt she looked familiar. He asked, “You’re…?”
Lu Ping knew trouble was brewing the moment he heard that!
He had guarded against everything, but in the end, he couldn’t prevent Shen Yuze and Chen Miaomiao from meeting!
In Chen Miaomiao’s eyes, Shen Yuze was @fake-diaond, and they had already exchanged private messages online before. To her, this was like meeting an online friend in person for the first time—equivalent to a stranger.
Lu Ping hurriedly shouted to drown out Shen Yuze’s voice. “Ah!” His voice was exaggeratedly loud, echoing through the stairwell. “Shen Yuze, you don’t know how much I owe to Chen Miaomiao. That’s how I found you so quickly on the third floor!”
He had deliberately emphasized Chen Miaomiao’s name.
Shen Yuze thought he was acting strange but went along with it. “Chen Miaomiao, thank you.”
“No problem. I was just doing what a love matchmaker should do.” Chen Miaomiao waved her hand shyly.
Shen Yuze: “?”
Lu Ping: “?”
Chen Miaomiao quickly backpedaled with a laugh. “Hahaha, just kidding. What I mean is, we’re all classmates anyway, so helping each other out is only natural.”
Her personality was lively, and with a turn of her eyes, she had a new idea. “You guys are here to buy reference books too, right? Have you decided where to study this afternoon? How about the milk tea shop at the school gate? We could study together!”
Lu Ping was shocked. What was up with Miss Chen Miaomiao today? She was arrogant by nature and usually only hung out with girls. She never paid attention to the boys in class. Could it be that Shen Yuze’s charm was too great, and she wanted to chase her ‘idol’ up close?
Just thinking about it made Lu Ping’s heart tremble.
Lu Ping’s brain spun at 180 RPM as he desperately racked his mind for how to turn down the young lady’s invitation.
Just as he was mulling it over, Shen Yuze unexpectedly spoke up. “No.”
Chen Miaomiao: “Huh?”
Shen Yuze’s expression was grim. “I saw the grade sheet posted at the entrance of the Teaching Building. You ranked fourth from the bottom on the last monthly exam. I’m afraid you’ll drag me down to dead last.”
Lu Ping: “…”
