Chapter 29

Since taking out the Ninth Prince, we have been invincible in the first-year range. Of course, as far as I know, Monkey and Huang Jie’s ambitions extend far beyond this. It’s just that there’s no current opportunity, and they wouldn’t go looking for trouble without a reason. So, our little lives have been quite peaceful.

If there’s any trouble, it’s my own. I need to figure out how to handle the situation with Wang Yao and Lin Ke'er. My mind is definitely on Wang Yao, and I often send her text messages for no reason, even though she never replies. So, I naturally became distant with Lin Ke'er, planning to wait until we have no contact before confronting Wang Yao. That way, no one will gossip. This might take a long time, but I can wait.

But strangely, after I ignored Lin Ke'er, she started to contact me more often. She would send me text messages asking what I was doing, and sometimes even come to my class after school to chat with me. This made me feel that she might be hinting at confessing her feelings. Lin Ke'er is beautiful, and it’s hard not to be attracted to her sometimes. However, I keep thinking about Wang Yao and try to avoid any inappropriate words or actions with Lin Ke'er.

In the past, I restrained myself with Wang Yao, and now I restrain myself with Lin Ke'er. Isn’t that funny? I find it funny too.

People are truly contradictory. Or perhaps, people are just cheap.

One day, a successful person from society came back to our alma mater to give a speech. Monkey and the others weren’t interested, but Lin Ke'er invited me, so we went together. Wang Yao, Zhang Xuan, and other girls also came. The classroom was small, and we arrived late, so we had to stand. After the speech, there was some chaos as everyone rushed out, and the teachers couldn’t maintain order. I got separated from Lin Ke'er in the crowd.

I pushed through the crowd and saw Wang Yao ahead. She was also frustrated and cursing, but it did no good because everyone was packed together, leaving no extra space. As a girl, she was like a leaf in the wind, swaying with the crowd and almost falling several times. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I took a few steps forward and grabbed her hand. Wang Yao turned around, ready to scold me, but when she saw it was me, she fell silent and tried to pull her hand away, but I held on tightly.

Eventually, she accepted it, and we held hands as we left the multimedia classroom. Although it only lasted a minute, it made me feel incredibly sweet, and I didn’t want to wash my hands when I got back to the dorm. That night, Wang Yao texted me, telling me not to do that again. I asked why, since there was no possibility between me and Lin Ke'er. Wang Yao said, "Don’t be silly, can’t you see that Lin Ke'er still has feelings for you?" I got a bit angry and said, "Why involve Lin Ke'er in our relationship?" Wang Yao didn’t reply.

That noon, Monkey found me and said we were having dinner with Ding Sheng and Liang Qi from the second year. This was something we had planned before but had been delayed for over a month. I didn’t want to go, but when I heard Wang Yao was coming, I immediately agreed. In the evening, Monkey, Huang Jie, Zheng Wu, and I went to the Blue Moon Restaurant, the most upscale place near the school. As soon as we entered, Monkey sighed, "Finally, I can eat my fill tonight." Huang Jie chimed in, "Yeah, I haven’t eaten all day for this."

I was used to their jokes and ignored them, but Zheng Wu said, "You should eat well then." When we entered the private room, Wang Yao was already there, but Ding Sheng and Liang Qi hadn’t arrived yet. Wang Yao greeted us without any special treatment, and her gaze passed over me indifferently.

Wang Yao said, "This time, Brother Sheng and Brother Qi are here to make friends with you. Give me some face and don’t start any fights. Let’s put the past behind us."

Monkey said, "That’s a shame, I was planning to take them down and unify the second year tonight."

"Try it, and I’ll make sure you regret it."

Monkey laughed, "Don’t worry, Wang Yao, we know you’re close."

While they were chatting, I couldn’t take my eyes off Wang Yao, feeling completely infatuated with her. After a while, Wang Yao said she was going to the bathroom. A few minutes later, I followed her. In the bathroom, I saw Wang Yao washing her hands at the sink, and no one else was around.

I couldn’t resist, walked up behind her, and hugged her, whispering in her ear, "I miss you so much."

Wang Yao was startled and quickly turned around to push me away, "Zuo Fei, are you crazy?"

I nodded, "I am crazy, I want to hug you." Without her consent, I hugged her again.

This time, Wang Yao didn’t resist but let me hold her. I kept saying, "I miss you, I miss you." Wang Yao didn’t react for a while, and then I saw that her face was covered in tears.

"What’s wrong?"

"I miss you too..."

I hugged Wang Yao again, feeling incredibly secure, as if I was holding the whole world.

"Let’s go public, let’s be together," I said firmly.

"No," Wang Yao pushed me away, "I need to be sure that Lin Ke'er doesn’t like you anymore. I’m the leader of the Thirteen Roses, and I can’t take my sister’s man. That’s my principle and my bottom line!"

In Wang Yao’s heart, it seemed that nothing was more important than her sisters.

"Okay, I’ll confront Lin Ke'er tomorrow and tell her I like Wang Yao!"

After saying that, I didn’t care about Wang Yao’s reaction and left the bathroom.

When I entered the private room, I saw a few strangers. Well, not all strangers, at least Xiao Wei was there. Monkey immediately introduced me, "Zuo Fei, this is Brother Sheng, and that’s Brother Qi." I looked at them; Ding Sheng had clear features and looked scholarly, while Liang Qi had thick eyebrows and a fierce expression. I had heard that Ding Sheng was strategic and Liang Qi was strong, and it seemed true from their appearances.

They weren’t divided into older or younger brothers, both were called "Brother," and they had a great relationship.

"Brother Sheng, Brother Qi," I called out.

Both nodded, but I sensed a bit of hostility.

"Brother Sheng, Brother Qi, you’re here!" Wang Yao came in and smiled at them.

"Hey, Wang Yao," they both stood up and greeted her warmly, showing a good relationship.

"Waiter, bring the food!"

Wang Yao called out and asked, "I just went out for a bit, have you all met?"

"Met," Ding Sheng said happily, putting his arm around Monkey’s shoulder, "This is Monkey, he’s so funny, made me laugh, now we’re good brothers!"

"Right, good brothers!" Monkey patted Ding Sheng’s shoulder, "Good brother, can you lend me five yuan?"

Ding Sheng laughed, "Look how funny he is, he tells the same joke over and over!"

I, Huang Jie, and Zheng Wu all had a "..." expression because we knew Monkey wasn’t joking.

Wang Yao waved her fist, "Monkey, don’t talk nonsense, they’re all my brothers!"

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was great. The food and drinks came, and Monkey and Huang Jie ate like they hadn’t eaten for three days. They also drank heavily, as if they hadn’t had a drink in three years. Everyone ate and drank happily, and soon they were calling each other brothers. Wang Yao smiled like a flower, clearly delighted by the scene.

During the meal, Ding Sheng suggested working together to take on the third year, which Monkey was very enthusiastic about. He immediately agreed, and it was clear that their relationship was good.

Just as they were chatting, Liang Qi asked a strange question, "Wang Yao, who do you get along with the best?"

Wang Yao blinked, "All of them, why?"

"There must be one best, right?" Liang Qi continued.

My heart raced, not knowing why Liang Qi was asking this. Logically, it should be me and Wang Yao, but she might not admit it. Sure enough, Wang Yao said, "Of course it’s Monkey, we’ve known each other for a long time."

"Okay," Liang Qi nodded, "So, do you get along better with Monkey or with us?"

The question became stranger, and everyone froze, except for Ding Sheng. He smiled, like a cat, with a hint of cunning.

Wang Yao blinked again, "Brother Qi, why are you asking this?"

"Just curious."

"Of course, I get along better with you guys." Wang Yao smiled, but it was forced, and she sensed something was wrong.

"Among these four, one is our enemy, and we hope you don’t get involved."

"Brother Qi, that’s not right, they’re my friends," Wang Yao’s face turned serious.

"Don’t worry, I won’t make it hard for you, he’s just a minor character."

At that, Zheng Wu sighed in relief, "Good, I’m not a minor character."

"Are you talking about me?" Huang Jie pointed to himself.

Zheng Wu said, "Of course not, you’re not a minor character."

"Then who is?"

"Zuo Fei, among the four of us, he’s the only minor character." Zheng Wu said, then suddenly slapped the table, "Even if Zuo Fei is a minor character, you can’t touch him!"

"Right, it’s Zuo Fei," Liang Qi said, "Tonight, we’re only targeting him, and we hope the others don’t get involved. After this, we’re still friends."

Ding Sheng put his hand on Monkey’s shoulder, "How about it, just a minor character in exchange for our friendship, isn’t that a good deal?"

"No!" Wang Yao shouted suddenly.

"Wang Yao, you just need to stay neutral," Ding Sheng said seriously, "Let us handle it."

Wang Yao seemed to fear Ding Sheng and fell silent, frowning.

I finally understood the purpose of this dinner. After all the twists and turns, it still came back to me.

Without a doubt, Yi Zhen had bribed them. Because of Wang Yao, they couldn’t touch Monkey, but they could touch me, as I was a minor character in their eyes and in Yi Zhen’s eyes.

"How about it, Monkey?" Ding Sheng patted Monkey’s shoulder again.

Monkey didn’t say anything.

He was eating a plate of Yangzhou fried rice, taking big bites as if he hadn’t eaten for three days.