Chapter 11, New Classmate
The Ji family had many members. Ji's father had three siblings, and they usually got along very well, often visiting each other even when it wasn't a holiday.
For the Chinese New Year, those studying or working out of town returned, making the home even livelier. A large group of people gathered around the dining table, chatting, and soon the conversation shifted to Ji Linxue.
His eldest aunt asked curiously, "I heard Linxue went to study in another city?"
Ji Linxue, "Yes, in S City."
"Is it that Deyin school?" his eldest aunt asked. "I heard there are many rich young masters who throw their weight around. You haven't been bullied, have you?"
Ji's mother immediately looked over, surprised, "Is that true?"
Ji Linxue put down his chopsticks, pulled out a tissue, and wiped his mouth, "No, Mom, Auntie, please don't worry."
The phone on the table vibrated. Ji Linxue opened it to see a New Year's text message from Shen Shaoyan, sent as a group message.
[Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden : On New Year's Eve, we long for reunion, coming from thousands of miles for reunion. We send no other blessings, only wish your whole family reunion, healthy body and good health, a year of joy and happiness, broad-mindedness for all things to go smoothly, a blessed reunion for the New Year! Wan Ming wishes you a Happy New Year! May all things be well!]
He had not only sent it to Ji Linxue individually but also posted it in their four-person dorm group.
Ji Linxue thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and reread the blessing, finding it somewhat amusing.
The next second, his phone vibrated again.
[Little Fish Eats Big Fish : Who is Wan Ming?]
[Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden : ? ,He's my cousin, do you know him?]
[Little Fish Eats Big Fish : No.]
[Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden : Then how do you know his name? [doggy head tilt confused.jpg]]
[Little Fish Eats Big Fish : ...]
Ji Linxue suppressed a laugh and typed.
[x : Take another look at the blessing you sent.]
At the same time, another message popped up.
[Heng : You don't even know how to delete someone else's name when forwarding?]
A few seconds later, Shen Shaoyan finally realized what silly thing he had done and awkwardly retracted the previous group blessing.
[Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden : Damn it, I knew something was off. So many people asked me who Wan Ming is. So embarrassing!!!]
[Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden : Heng Ge, you're finally out! Why haven't you replied to my messages these past few days?]
[Heng : Busy.]
After sending that message, Gu Hengzhi disappeared. No matter how much Shen Shaoyan stirred things up in the group, he didn't appear.
The winter break lasted a full month. Deyin was a rare school to have such a long holiday, but Ji Linxue didn't waste time, continuously self-studying at home.
When the holiday ended and he stepped onto the land of S City again, he had a fleeting illusion of having been in a different world.
There weren't many changes at school. The only difference was that Ji Linxue noticed a new teaching building under construction on the east side.
Classmates were also discussing this matter.
"Why is the school building a new building again? What's that building for?"
"It's for the new library. The entire building will be a library, it's very luxurious."
"Didn't the original library just get built? Although it's not that big, it should be enough, right?"
"I heard that another student donated the building."
Although their family backgrounds were not bad, they weren't rich enough to casually donate millions.
Ji Linxue listened in, but didn't pay much attention to it until he overheard Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu discussing it during class break.
Shen Shaoyan, "Does the Su family have so much money they don't know where to spend it? Donating a building to Deyin?"
"Who knows." Lu Yu glanced at him nonchalantly, "Maybe something's up."
Shen Shaoyan casually said, "No one from the Su family's younger generation attends Deyin."
As his words fell, Shen Shaoyan realized something, glanced towards Gu Hengzhi, and muttered, "No way."
Ji Linxue didn't understand their riddles until the next day during class, when Teacher Chen smilingly led a girl in, "Classmates, quiet down. This is our new transfer student, Su Muqing. Let's give her a round of applause."
The girl was wearing an off-white knitted cardigan, with a fair and pretty face. She stood confidently on the podium and introduced herself, "Hello everyone, my name is Su Muqing. From now on, I'll be a member of Class 1. I hope you'll take care of me!"
Youthful, vibrant, bold, and confident—this was Ji Linxue's first impression of her.
"Holy crap! It really is her!" Shen Shaoyan's face showed a strange expression, "I knew there was a reason the Su family donated a building to Deyin for no apparent reason. Turns out they wanted to place someone here."
Ji Linxue turned to look at Gu Hengzhi. He was staring at the girl on the podium, his gaze not moving away for a long time.
The girl had finished her self-introduction. Teacher Chen was very caring towards her and helped her find a seat in the middle of the classroom with an excellent view.
Su Muqing, however, shook her head, "Teacher, I want to choose my own seat, is that okay?"
Teacher Chen, "All other seats are taken. Only if another student is willing to swap with you."
Su Muqing walked down from the podium and looked directly at Gu Hengzhi.
Ji Linxue had a bad premonition the moment she came down. Sure enough, the girl didn't hesitate at all, walking directly to his side.
She smiled and bent down, her beautiful face full of confidence, "Classmate, can I swap seats with you?"
Su Muqing had indeed come for Gu Hengzhi.
When that name first appeared, Ji Linxue remembered it.
Su Muqing, the vicious female antagonist in "The Tycoon's Prince's Pampered Darling." She was the most beloved young lady of the Su family, with a bold and passionate personality.
In her student days, she fell in love with Gu Hengzhi and then always followed in his footsteps.
Although she was jealous of Gu Hengzhi's bed partners, she didn't care in the slightest, thinking their relationships were purely physical and nothing to worry about.
Until Bai Chutang appeared, and Gu Hengzhi began to help her repeatedly, making exceptions for her, and even falling for her.
Su Muqing watched, and her heart grew increasingly unwilling. So, she secretly stirred up trouble between them and did many malicious things. Even Ji Linxue's death had an indirect hand in it.
Of course, her final end was also very tragic. After Gu Hengzhi discovered what she had done, he mercilessly took action against the Su family.
Without family protection, Su Muqing lived a life of poverty and destitution, eventually starving to death on the streets.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, what are you daydreaming about?"
A dissatisfied voice pulled Ji Linxue out of his thoughts. He looked at the arrogant face in front of him and refused, "Sorry, I don't want to swap."
The girl probably didn't expect him to refuse, and she was so angry her nose was practically twisted. "How much money do you want?"
"It's not about money."
"You!" Seeing the surrounding classmates looking their way, Su Muqing felt she was losing face and huffily returned to her seat.
Su Muqing had been spoiled since childhood. Because of her good family background and her looks, few people refused her requests. For so many years, she had only ever faced setbacks with Gu Hengzhi.
She didn't expect to find another oblivious person now.
"Wow! You dared to refuse her, you're dead meat!" Shen Shaoyan's annoying voice came from the side.
Ji Linxue glanced at him, "Why do you say that?"
Shen Shaoyan patted his shoulder, "She holds grudges easily. Be careful she doesn't target you."
"Don't you like her? Why are you badmouthing her behind her back?"
"Don't bring that up with me. I was blind back then! Seduced by her appearance!" Shen Shaoyan, poked in his sore spot by Lu Yu, was so angry that he spluttered, "She actually used me as a stepping stone to get close to Heng Ge. I kindly celebrated her birthday, but what did she do? She stabbed me in the back directly, leaving me with great psychological trauma!"
Lu Yu shrugged, "I don't see any psychological trauma on you."
Shen Shaoyan had recently been getting very close with a freshman girl from high school, sending flowers and strolling around hand-in-hand. It was said they met at a bar during the winter break.
Shen Shaoyan, "...Don't expose me."
Ji Linxue originally thought that given Su Muqing's personality, she would come and pester Gu Hengzhi as soon as class ended. But unexpectedly, for the entire morning, she sat quietly in her seat, talking to the girls around her.
Su Muqing had an outgoing personality and broad knowledge, and she quickly mingled with the girls in the class.
She got a lot of the information she wanted from others. After school, she boldly followed Gu Hengzhi.
Gu Hengzhi didn't show her a good face, "Don't follow me."
"Hengzhi Ge, I just got here, I'm unfamiliar with everything and don't even know where the cafeteria is," Su Muqing pouted. She was very pretty, and this action, far from being annoying, had a naive cuteness. "Can you bear to see me starve to death?"
Gu Hengzhi walked forward without stopping, "Let Shen Shaoyan take you."
Shen Shaoyan, who was watching the show, was startled when he heard this, "Don't drag me into this, she's not interested in me."
Su Muqing wasn't disheartened at all, following closely behind Gu Hengzhi. When they entered the cafeteria, she was like a little tail, queuing behind him.
Shen Shaoyan and Lu Yu silently watched the show from the side.
If it were a man, Gu Hengzhi would have thrown punches directly, but he had always had no way with women. Girls who liked him in the past would give up after a few rejections. This was the first time he had met someone as thick-skinned as Su Muqing.
Yet, Su Muqing only followed him, never doing anything out of line like physical contact. After following him for a few days, Gu Hengzhi simply treated her as air, ignoring her existence no matter what she said.
This method actually worked. Su Muqing was very angry and decided to start by approaching those around Gu Hengzhi.
Shen Shaoyan became her target. After all, he was simple-minded, couldn't hide anything on his face, and was easy to appease.
Su Muqing sent him some gifts according to his preferences and apologized for what happened before. Shen Shaoyan indeed quickly let go of his anger.
"Actually, it's not that I won't help you, it's that Heng Ge isn't interested in dating," Shen Shaoyan waved his hand, "I've introduced so many girls to him before, but he hasn't liked any of them."
"It's okay, I won't give up," Su Muqing lifted her chin, "If Gu Hengzhi were that easy to catch, I wouldn't be interested in him. You just need to bring me along in the future."
Just bringing her along, Heng Ge definitely wouldn't be angry.
Thinking this, Shen Shaoyan quickly agreed.
So, one lunchtime, an extra person appeared at their table.
Gu Hengzhi looked up at Shen Shaoyan, his eyes questioning.
Shen Shaoyan said, "I think Su Muqing is quite nice. She was eating alone, so I called her over. You don't mind, do you?"
Lu Yu smiled, "Of course... we don't mind."
Gu Hengzhi frowned. Before he could speak, Ji Linxue also spoke, "Don't mind."
Gu Hengzhi glared fiercely at him, then picked up a beef ball from his bowl and placed it in Ji Linxue's bowl, "Eating can't even shut your mouth."
Seeing this, Su Muqing's eyes flickered, "Speaking of which, I've been here so long and still don't know this classmate's name. You and Hengzhi Ge seem to have a very good relationship?"
Shen Shaoyan's eyes darted about, and he said with a smile, "Of course, it's good. Heng Ge's first kiss was stolen by him."
The atmosphere at the table instantly solidified at those words.
Su Muqing's eyes widened. She looked at Gu Hengzhi, then at Ji Linxue, her mouth agape in surprise, her formerly rosy complexion turning pale.
The next second, chopsticks were slammed onto the table with a bang. Gu Hengzhi's eyes were sharp, "Shen Shaoyan, are you going crazy today?"
After saying this, he subconsciously wanted to see Ji Linxue's reaction, but his gaze inadvertently drifted towards the other's lips. At the time, he was only focused on saving someone and didn't feel anything at all. Thinking about it now, it seemed soft and cool.
Ji Linxue's expression was very calm, as if he wasn't one of the people at the center of the conversation.
Lu Yu quickly defused the situation, "Shen Shaoyan, what nonsense are you talking again? Hengzhi was just saving someone. Ji Linxue was drowning at the time."
Shen Shaoyan scratched his hair, feeling very guilty, "I just wanted to make a joke. Heng Ge, Xiao Xue, I'm sorry."
Gu Hengzhi merely snorted.
Ji Linxue was still eating his food, completely unaffected, "It's okay."
The atmosphere at the table quickly returned to normal. Su Muqing breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, "So that's what it was, I thought..."
Comments Box