CIATB Chapter 24 is over! The vinegar jar has overturned!
Chapter 24 is over! The vinegar jar has overturned!
A hangover is no pleasant experience.
Especially that cloyingly sweet aftertaste.
When Zhang Yan woke up, it was already bright outside the window.
The room still seemed to retain the aroma of the red wine stewed soufflé from last night, mixed with Nie Qingcheng's unique cool woody scent, like an invisible net, stickily covering her face.
He pulled back the covers without any expression.
Take a shower.
Change clothes.
The cold water splashed over my head, forcefully washing away the image in my mind of that woman calling me "little brother" when she was slightly drunk.
Go to school.
Only a dry economics curve can make his rationality regain its footing.
……
Jiangda University, early morning.
"Brother Yan, you are now a living legend."
Wang Hao stuck to me like a pendant, his mouth never stopping from the moment I entered the school gate.
"The forum server crashed twice last night. Now the homepage is full of your high-resolution pictures. I don't even dare to look at the titles, like 'Abstinent God' and 'Fingertip Magician'..."
Wang Hao paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"There's also the story of 'the man who is exclusively favored by the richest woman,' which has the highest popularity."
Zhang Yan kept his eyes straight ahead and walked at a steady pace.
"Very free?"
"I'm so excited!" Wang Hao exclaimed, his eyebrows dancing. "You didn't see it, Zhao Yu was carried out yesterday. I heard he took sick leave today, probably too ashamed to face anyone."
The two turned down the corridor and entered the lecture hall.
The previously noisy space became eerily quiet for a second the moment Zhang Yan stepped in.
Immediately afterwards, countless gazes shone upon us like searchlights.
Zhang Yan walked to his seat.
He paused in his steps.
The once empty desks are now piled up into a colorful little mountain.
A pink envelope.
Chocolate tied with a ribbon.
Imported milk.
There was even a thermal lunchbox with a bow tied around its neck, steaming gently.
These things took up every inch of the desk, leaving no room for even a book.
The whispers all around were buzzing like flies.
Envy, jealousy, and that fervent desire to take their place.
"Holy crap..."
Wang Hao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he reached out and poked the lunchbox that looked very expensive.
"Yan-ge, you've stirred up a rabbit hole! It's like every girl in the department is interested in you, right?"
Zhang Yan looked at the pile of things.
His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
trouble.
He dislikes the feeling of being overly noticed, and he dislikes even more this cheap, self-indulgent disturbance.
He stepped forward, his movements swift and efficient.
The envelope was swept into the schoolbag.
He pushed the snacks towards Wang Hao.
He didn't even touch the lid of the steaming lunchbox.
"Get rid of it."
His voice was cold and flat.
"Huh? Brother Yan, this is a love-filled bento box..." Wang Hao was a little confused, holding a bunch of chocolates.
"If you don't want to eat it, just throw it away."
Zhang Yan sat down, took out his textbook, and opened it.
The whole process was smooth and effortless; he didn't even give the expectant girls around him a second glance.
indifferent.
Yet it's damn charming.
The bell rang to signal the end of the first class.
The real disaster began.
"Zhang Yan, I'm Lin Weiwei from the Music Department..."
A girl in a white dress rushed up, her face flushed, and shoved her phone's QR code almost into Zhang Yan's face.
Before Zhang Yan could even speak...
Another person squeezed in from the side.
"Hey junior, ignore her, add me! I'll help you rank up!"
"Zhang Yan, try some of my cookies!"
Perfume.
It has a powdery smell.
The various sweet flavors mixed together, fermenting in this enclosed classroom, were even more suffocating than the soufflé from last night.
Zhang Yan sat in the center of the crowd.
His expression was cold and aloof, like an emotionless sculpture.
"No."
"I won't eat it."
Excuse me.
Three words shut down all enthusiasm.
He stood up and walked straight out of the classroom amidst countless resentful gazes.
His back was straight, yet he exuded a chilling aura that kept people at a distance.
……
At the same time.
Jinghai City, Qingcheng Group Headquarters, Top Floor Conference Room.
The projector was humming.
A vice president was standing in front of the curtain, his shirt back soaked with sweat.
He was presenting the quarterly financial statements, his voice trembling like a leaf.
At the end of the long table.
Nie Qingcheng wore a black haute couture suit, her long hair neatly pinned up at the back of her head.
She didn't look at the screen.
He was toying with a Montblanc fountain pen in his hand, tapping the cap lightly on the solid wood table.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
The voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like a countdown to the end of everyone's career.
Linda stood behind her and glanced down at her phone, which had just vibrated.
The pupils constrict slightly.
She hesitated for a second, then bent down and brought her lips close to Nie Qingcheng's ear.
"President Nie."
The voice was kept extremely low.
"News from the school. Mr. Zhang's desk... is completely crammed together."
Hey.
The knocking stopped.
The vice president giving the report suddenly shut his mouth, almost biting his tongue.
Nie Qingcheng remained expressionless.
The only difference was that the speed at which the pen spun in my fingertips slowed down.
"continue."
Two words, and you couldn't tell if he was happy or angry.
Five minutes later.
Linda's phone vibrated again.
This is a photograph.
In the photo, the aloof young man is surrounded by a group of beautiful women, like Tang Sanzang falling into the Spider Cave.
Although his face was full of resistance.
But the girls' hands and their adoring gazes were practically glued to him.
Linda felt a chill run down her spine.
She steeled herself and bent down again.
"President Nie... someone sent a homemade lunchbox. And... dozens of love letters."
The air pressure in the conference room instantly dropped to zero.
Just as the vice president was about to turn the page of the PowerPoint presentation, his hand trembled, and the remote control fell to the ground.
pat.
The sharp sound was particularly jarring in the deathly still air.
Nie Qingcheng lowered her eyes.
His gaze fell on the back of his long, slender, fair hand.
There, holding a fountain pen.
"love letter?"
She repeated the two words softly.
A very faint smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.
next second.
Click.
That limited-edition fountain pen, worth six figures, broke in two between her fingers.
The black ink burst open.
It splattered on the back of her fair hand, flowing between her fingers like some kind of black, viscous blood.
shocking.
The vice president's legs went weak, and he slumped into his chair.
All the executives buried their heads in their chests, wishing they could disappear on the spot.
Nie Qingcheng pulled out a wet wipe.
He slowly and methodically wiped away the ink stains, one finger at a time.
The movements were graceful.
Yet it exudes a chilling ruthlessness.
Meeting adjourned.
She tossed aside the ink-stained wet wipe and stood up.
The sound of high heels clicking on the floor was breathtaking.
"Prepare the car."
"Go to Jiangda University."
……
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of get out of class.
This was the first time Zhang Yan had found the ringtone so pleasant to hear.
He packed his things twice as fast as usual, and before Wang Hao could react, he had already rushed out of the classroom.
This day was more tiring than delivering a hundred takeout orders.
The schoolbag was heavy.
It was stuffed full of envelopes that hadn't been processed yet.
He just wanted to get back to his dorm as soon as possible and throw all this trouble into the trash.
Just left the school gate.
The evening breeze dissipated some of the heat.
Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and was about to take a step.
But his feet were rooted to the spot.
Right in the center of the school gate.
A massive, black vehicle, like a lurking beast, domineeringly blocked the way.
Rolls-Royce, Cullinan.
A woman was leaning against the car.
She changed out of that stiff black suit.
A burgundy fitted long dress, with a beige trench coat draped over it.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed her in its light, making her stunningly beautiful face even more breathtaking.
She was wearing sunglasses.
Arms crossed.
He just stood there casually, creating a vacuum zone within ten meters around him.
The students passing by glanced at him frequently, but no one dared to take a single step closer.
That aura.
It is a natural suppression of ordinary organisms that comes from being raised in a high position for a long time.
Zhang Yan felt a chill run down his spine.
My first instinct was to turn around.
But the gaze hidden behind the sunglasses had already locked onto him precisely.
Can't run away.
Zhang Yan steeled himself and walked over.
"Why are you here?"
Nie Qingcheng remained silent.
She slowly took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of narrow, fox-like eyes.
There was no smile in his eyes.
There was only a bottomless, icy pool.
Her gaze moved down past Zhang Yan's face.
Finally, it was firmly nailed to the backpack on his back.
There.
Because it was stuffed too full, the zipper wasn't zipped up properly.
A corner of pink letter paper, oblivious to its fate, was sticking out and swaying gently in the evening breeze.
Nie Qingcheng narrowed her eyes.
The beauty mark at the corner of her eye was a bewitching red in the sunset.
She reached out and pointed her fingertips at the pink corner in the air.
Her red lips parted slightly.
His voice carried a sickeningly sarcastic tone, along with a hint of dangerous murderous intent.
"Business is quite busy."
"Zhang, Da, Cai, Zi?"