Zhong Chufeng was a true gentleman. He was usually very kind and gentle with women. Even with those he didn’t quite like, he treated them all well.
Except for Wen Jingrou, a classmate of his who at one time stalked Yuchi Yishu all the way to their dormitory, and An Qian, who had just joined the list.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were related by blood, Zhong Chufeng would have probably laid a hand on An Qian. However, An Qian seemed to not notice, keeping up with her attitude and went on cursing.
“You pour all your affection and kindness in the expectation that it will be reciprocated by her. But, you fail to realize that she barely even notices your existence, what more to acknowledge your feelings for her. Being in such a position, you still dare to reprimand me? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m pretty sure if you were to look for a potential partner at your academy, you could very likely land yourself a decent girl. But here you are falling head over heels for a tubby fat girl. Really makes me wonder if you’re out of your mind!”
“An Qian, shut your mouth this instant!”
Zhong Chufeng couldn’t hold it in any longer, so much so that he stood up and banged on the table.
The landlord and her husband who were in the kitchen heard the commotion and scurried over to investigate.
As soon as they stepped out of the kitchen, they caught the sight of Zhong Chufeng and An Qian bickering. An Qian was even saying some nasty things. “Why should I shut up? So you can tell me off, but I’m not allowed to say anything? Also, what makes you think it is okay for you to slam the table in that manner? Did I make a false statement? Tang Yuanyuan is such a fat girl. You can’t actually have feelings for her, can you? With a figure like that, she is never going to find a partner even when she grows up—”
Smack!
Zhong Chufeng couldn’t restrain himself any longer and slapped An Qian hard across the face. Even after that, he continued to feel as if his stomach was twisted into knots.
Zhong Chufeng slapped her so hard that An Qian fell to the ground. Stunned over what had happened, she stood up in disbelief over the fact that he had just slapped her.
“How dare you raise your hand to me, Zhong Chufeng!” An Qian hissed at him after standing frozen for a good ten seconds. She touched her face and felt a soreness to match the buzzing in her ears.
“I’m going to call my dad right away. I’ll also tell your mother about how you have slapped me!”
“Be my guest!” Zhong Chufeng snarled back at her. “Go on then, the phone is right next to you. You make your call, and I’ll make mine. Once you’re done, pack up all your things because you are heading back home this very day. Also, don’t bother taking their car; take a taxi instead.”
An Qian was stunned. She did not see that coming from Zhong Chufeng. If I were to leave now over this squabble with Zhong Chufeng, would that mean Tang Yuanyuan will have Yuchi Yishu all to herself? She had come all this way for Yuchi Yishu. How could I return with not even some progress to show for? I am sure to become the laughing stock among the girls back at school.
After some thought, An Qian bolted upstairs, crying all the way.
The landlord and her husband who had witnessed the scene looked at each other blankly. They were not expecting the dispute to escalate to this extent.
After some time, the landlord went over to Zhong Chufeng and said to him, “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you; she is just a little girl. Naturally, it wouldn’t occur to her to think before she says something. You—”
“She is not a little girl anymore,” Zhong Chufeng cut her off coldly. He remained expressionless as he said, “Madam, can I trust you to keep what happened today between us? Let me handle it.”
The landlord nodded. “Okay, don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”
After hearing what An Qian had said earlier, the landlord did not have a good impression of her. She felt that the young lady was too quick to throw her words and spoke too bluntly.
It is not proper to speak that way, simply throwing out words with no consideration for other people. Tang Yuanyuan is a sweet, young girl. If she had heard those words, how would she feel?
All it would take was a single word to destroy the happy life of a person.
And so, the landlord decided that she did not like An Qian.
However, thinking back to how Zhong Chufeng had slapped so hard that An Qian fell to the cold hard floor, the landlord couldn’t help but feel sympathy toward her. Character and values must be nurtured from a young age, otherwise this is what would happen. Now, it was only her cousin who disciplined her with a slap. What would befall her if she met some truly evil people in the future?
“Thank you,” Zhong Chufeng said to the landlord as he turned to go upstairs to collect his emotions.
Meanwhile, Yuchi Yishu and Tang Yuanyuan were completely oblivious as to what took place.
Although the snowfall was not as heavy as the day before, the land was still covered by a thick layer of snow. Seeing this, Yuchi Yishu wanted to give Tang Yuanyuan a piggyback ride as they walked around. She happily agreed, but suddenly slipped off his back a moment later and wanted to walk by herself.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Tang Yuanyuan shook her head. “I just wanted to walk and see what it feels like to sink my own two feet in the snow.” She went on to jump around in excitement, her boots making crunching sounds in the snow. She even felt that it was quite therapeutic.
“You are going to get exhausted. Come on now, let me carry you.”
Tang Yuanyuan did not respond, nor did she hop onto his back.
At this point, Yuchi Yishu was positive that something was wrong with her. He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the back of her head.
“What exactly happened last night?”
Tang Yuanyuan was stunned and turned around to look at him, but quickly turned back. Did I say something to give myself away? Was I not putting on a good enough show with my excitement over the snow? Why is he suddenly asking me what had happened last night?
“Don’t be afraid. You know you can tell me anything, right? I will sort it out for you. Nobody can pick on you while I am around.”
Yuchi Yishu’s words made Tang Yuanyuan want to cry, however, the thought of Zhong Chufeng and his comforting words the night before, despite being in pain from ramming his leg into the table, made her hold back. The least she could do was to keep mum.
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head and said, “No one bullied me. It’s just that I don’t like An Qian very much.”
“Huh? Why?”
Tang Yuanyuan had always got along well with people. For her to say that she didn’t like An Qian made Yuchi Yishu suspicious.
Tang Yuanyuan quickly ran through her options till she finally settled with one and blurted, “I don’t like her sense of style. She’s not gentle enough, hence me not liking her.”
“Is that all?”
“Also, I don’t like the way she speaks. Remember when we all got out of the car and drank soy milk, while she sat in the car all by herself? I didn’t like that either!”
As she went on, Tang Yuanyuan suddenly realized that if one didn’t like someone, it was relatively easy to point out things that they didn’t like about them. It was something she hadn’t noticed previously.
“Yishu, long story short, I simply don’t like her, hence why I don’t want to share a room with her.”
