Chapter 48: Two-Faced Phoenix Man 7 Part 2

The esteemed Young Master Lu leaned back with a careless smile and said slowly to the young man before him, “Jiang Rang, let’s cut to the chase. I’m very interested in you.”

The man slid a black card across the table’s edge. His finely chiseled features took on a rakish charm as he smiled. “This card has a ten-million limit. On top of that, several of my properties and cars in S City can all be transferred into your name.”

Lu Xiang watched the young man’s expression shift in an instant, but he wasn’t rushed. He even picked up a silver fork with casual ease, spearing a piece of slightly cooled dish and bringing it to his lips.

The flavor was sweet, cool, and refreshing on his tongue. That sweetness seemed to seep into his vision, tinting the young man’s lowered face and sharp contours with its own gentle allure.

The outcome was almost a foregone conclusion.

Just as Lu Xiang felt certain of it, the young man across the table slowly raised his flushed, faintly damp face.

Jiang Rang wasn’t what one would call a conventional beauty by worldly standards, but his temperament was strikingly unique. By all rights, growing up in such a poor, ill-fated family, steeped in its influences from childhood, it should have been impossible to develop such a straight-backed poise—calm, gentle, and upright.

There was a captivating contradiction in the young man. His facades and little machinations weren’t repulsive; they evoked a small beast that knew exactly when to dial back its charms. Endearingly likable.

Lu Xiang assumed the other would give the smart answer he wanted.

After all, his circle of fair-weather friends had nailed it: Playing coy works only if the timing’s right—push too far, and you lose more than you gain.

But to his surprise, Jiang Rang lightly pursed his lips. After a long pause, he spoke in a faint voice, “Classmate Lu, what do you mean by this?”

The young man lifted his gaze, a flicker of displeasure crossing his eyes.

He wasn’t groveling—instead, he met the man’s stare squarely and evenly, his tone warm. “Actually, I know exactly what’s on your mind, Classmate Lu.”

“If I’m not wrong, you’ve probably heard some rumors, haven’t you?”

Lu Xiang’s eyes paused for a fraction of a second.

Jiang Rang thought, as expected.

Good thing he was always cautious. He lurked on the forums regularly, and just days ago, he’d run into a high school idiot he’d once scammed out of cash. His recent “pursuit” of Lu Xiang hadn’t gone unnoticed by many, so he’d anticipated someone would try to badmouth him. Better to air it out first and seize the initiative.

Sure enough, Lu Xiang’s reaction confirmed everything.

Jiang Rang put on a weary expression, his face paling as he said, “Classmate Lu, I’m no genius, but I’ve always known you can’t judge someone solely by hearsay—you have to spend time with them, get a real feel.”

“What you said today, Classmate Lu? I can just pretend I never heard it.”

“I really thought we could be friends.”

The young man’s voice carried a note of melancholy. With that, he rose slowly. The side of his face he turned revealed a sheen of moisture, his reddened eye corners vivid as if painted by a wandering artist.

“Sorry…” He masked the tears welling in his eyes, his lifted cheek resuming its habitual gentleness. Suppressing his voice, he added, “I’ll head out first. Thanks for the meal today, Classmate Lu.”

“As for that five hundred thousand you mentioned, I never really wanted it to begin with.” I just needed an excuse to get close to you.

Jiang Rang’s lips twitched as if he had more to say, but he didn’t linger another moment. He truly walked away without a backward glance.

His teeth ground together in frustration. Losing out on five hundred thousand stung, of course, but he knew greed had no place right now.

He walked slowly, counting the steps in his mind, waiting for the moment Lu Xiang would call him back.

But he’d misjudged—Lu Xiang had even more patience, or perhaps had seen right through the act and refused to play along.

Jiang Rang’s beautiful black eyes darkened abruptly, his nails digging deep into his palm in an instant.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

The young man whispered these words to reassure himself.

As expected of a discerning heir to a wealthy family—he wasn’t easy to fool.

But that was okay. Jiang Rang had dared to make this bet today, and he was even prepared to lose, because he had confidence on his side.

Jiang Rang was certain that Lu Xiang was interested in him, and that interest wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

As long as Lu Xiang still harbored those thoughts and desires toward him, then Jiang Rang hadn’t truly lost this round.

He knew he couldn’t completely dispel the man’s wariness just yet, so he would simply take a different approach.

A cold arc curved at the corner of Jiang Rang’s lips, his dark eyes glinting with chill. Things had progressed far too slowly—so slowly that Lu Xiang didn’t even feel a hint of crisis.

It seemed he needed to give the man a little jolt.

~~~

After that day, Jiang Rang hadn’t seen the man for quite some time.

But he wasn’t anxious, because Chen Ming—Lu Xiang’s close childhood friend—still came to school and classes as usual.

Jiang Rang quietly built a rapport with him. Chen Ming was an unexpectedly straightforward guy, the type who said one thing but acted the opposite.

He might complain with his mouth, but whenever Jiang Rang made a request, he almost always went along with it.

Chen Ming had even subtly probed about Jiang Rang’s relationship with Lu Xiang. To be honest, Jiang Rang had been waiting for him to ask.

Because, in a way, Chen Ming’s attitude toward him reflected Lu Xiang’s attitude.

If handled well, Chen Ming could even serve as a perfect messenger.

“Classmate Lu and I might just not be compatible,” Jiang Rang said, his eyes flickering as he smiled gently. “He seems to have some misunderstandings about me, but that’s okay. I do like Classmate Lu a lot, but friendships depend on fate. If he’s not willing, I can’t force it… I can’t ignore the people who are good to me right in front of me just because of him.”

As he spoke, a faint flush colored Jiang Rang’s pale face, and his downcast eyes gazed at Chen Ming with clear, limpid purity.

Stared at by those eyes, Chen Ming suddenly felt a rush of heat flare up on his face.

The heat came on fiercely, making him unconsciously avert his gaze from Jiang Rang’s, while an inexplicable dryness rose in his throat.

Jiang Rang shifted his eyes away slightly, a gentle curve rising at the corner of his lips.

“Junior Jiang!”

A pleasant male voice suddenly called from behind.

With the voice came a handsome man in a plaid shirt and glasses.

When Jiang Rang looked up, the man’s fair, refined face immediately flushed with a mix of shyness and delight.

“Senior, what brings you here today?”

Jiang Rang looked surprised at first, but his expression quickly softened into gentle warmth.

He shifted to make room beside him and smiled up. “Senior, have a seat. The professor will be here any minute.”

The senior’s face reddened even more, his earlobes practically steaming with heat.

The handsome senior sat down next to Jiang Rang, his gaze flickering as he didn’t dare look at him directly. He only murmured, “I-I signed up for this elective.”

Chen Ming, sitting in front of them, had already darkened his expression. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the pair for a long moment before drawling to Jiang Rang, “Hey, Jiang Rang, who’s this latest ‘good brother’ of yours?”

The senior’s entire face turned beet red at the words, but he didn’t deny it.

Jiang Rang pursed his lips. “This is a senior I met in the Photography Club. He’s a really nice guy.”

Chen Ming scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Nice guy? Or just nice to you?”

He then raised his voice mockingly at the plaid-shirted senior. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a thing for Jiang Rang, would you?”

“Don’t even think about it. A guy like Jiang Rang probably wouldn’t go for someone like you…” Chen Ming gave him an up-and-down look and chuckled. “You look like such a broke loser.”

The senior’s expression stiffened, his face paling for an instant.

But perhaps spurred on by Chen Ming’s words, the plaid-shirted senior mustered his courage. Seemingly unaware of Chen Ming’s status, he flushed red and said to Jiang Rang, “Jiang Jiang, Junior… I-I do like you. I’ve liked you since the first time we met. I was planning to wait a bit longer to confess, but every time I see you, it gets harder to hold back.”

“I don’t have much savings right now, but I’ll work hard. I swear, whatever you want, Junior, I’ll do my best to get it for you!”

Chen Ming felt a vein throbbing in his forehead, rage burning in his mind. He didn’t understand why he was so furious… or perhaps, he didn’t dare to understand.

All he could think was that Lu Xiang had told him to keep an eye on the young man. He couldn’t go against his good brother’s wishes.

Jiang Rang was someone his brother had set his sights on. Even if it was just a bet, the young man was still considered his brother’s territory. How could Chen Ming stand idly by and watch someone else confess to him right in front of his eyes?

But just as Chen Ming was about to make a move, he suddenly heard Jiang Rang’s clear voice, laced with amusement.

A flicker of surprise crossed the young man’s fair face. Then, as if only just realizing he was being confessed to, a soft blush quietly bloomed on his pale cheeks.

It was a beautiful shade, one that gradually spread to his delicately trembling eyelids and his plump, rosy lips.

Today, Jiang Rang wore a simple white shirt, the top two buttons left undone. With every subtle movement, it revealed the elegant curves of his creamy collarbone—dazzling to the eye.

The young man didn’t reject the confession immediately. He seemed to be mulling it over.

Then, in a soft voice tinged with shyness, he said, “Se-Senior, I… actually, I kind of like you too…”

“But Senior, this is all so sudden today. Can you give me a few days to think it over…?”

Jiang Rang’s face burned a vivid crimson, and it took a long moment for those final words to slip out, light as a butterfly fluttering from the curve of his lips.

In that instant, Chen Ming felt the taut string in his mind snap completely.

Only one thought echoed in his head.

“It’s over.”

Lu Xiang was never the type to back down until he got what he wanted. If he had declared he wanted Jiang Rang, then he would have him, no matter what.

The man had an intensely territorial nature. Even if it was merely a bet, the young man had long since been claimed as part of his domain.

How could he possibly allow someone else to steal his prize out from under him?