TFS | Chapter 25

“He said it and then couldn’t be bothered to pay anyone any attention. Leaning back on the sofa, he played with his phone. Unlike the other boys, his icy expression carried an indescribable air about it.

Just looking at his profile, and those occasional glances he cast over, made him seem unusually striking.

The blond guy did not dare to bother him when he looked so uninterested. After all, this brother’s reputation as the school bully at Yizhong was not for show.

Instead, the pretty girls at the table across from them kept sneaking glances from time to time, clearly interested.

That was pretty normal. After all, the boy’s own conditions were not bad. Aside from his confidence being beaten down by Xu Linruan to the point where not even a shred was left, his looks were still extremely handsome.

His skin was fair, his features exquisite, his jawline sharp and clear. One hand held his phone while he leaned on the sofa with his long legs bent, and all over him was an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

The pretty girl who had held herself back for a long time at the neighboring table finally could not stand it anymore. After tidying up her appearance a little, she carefully stepped forward to strike up a conversation. “Handsome, can we exchange contact info?”

Qi Yue lifted his eyelids and looked up at her, his tone flat as he asked, “Why do you want my contact info?”

The pretty girl was a little nervous. She could smell a faint mix of smoke and alcohol on Qi Yue. It was not strong, but blended with the hormones of youth, it gave off a cold, abstinent air.

Most girls had a sort of admiration for the strong. When they saw bad, cool boys, they would feel a natural kind of admiration. It was a very normal psychological phenomenon.

Clutching her phone, the girl’s face flushed a thin red. “I don’t really want to do anything. I just… really want to be friends with you. Is that okay?”

Qi Yue took out his phone and glanced at it before asking lazily, “You like me?”

The pretty girl’s face turned bright red. She had not expected him to be so direct. After freezing for a few seconds, she wanted to say that she liked him, but that did not seem very likely. After all, Qi Yue had a notoriously bad reputation, a rich second-generation wastrel who did nothing but loaf around.

But if she could win this guy over and sweet-talk him into buying her food and drinks, it would be pretty impressive to tell people about later.

The girl tucked her loose hair behind her ear, revealing her lovely side profile, and said shyly, “I… like you, so… can I?”

To her surprise, the boy across from her suddenly let out a scoff. Lifting the corner of his eye, he sized her up a few times and said in a rather amused tone, “Tsk, you really like me? That’s rare.”

“But what do you like about me?” Qi Yue was extremely calm, with not a trace of joy on his face after being confessed to by a girl.

He rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while, then suddenly asked offhandedly, “Do you like me because I’m bad? Or because I smoke, drink, and chase girls? Mm… if that’s the case, then your taste is pretty heavy. Someone like me, a hopeless good-for-nothing who can’t be turned around, you can actually like?”

The way Qi Yue spoke was rather intimidating.

The little girl had clearly only come to ask for a contact, but after being bombarded by him like that, she was so scared she no longer dared to speak. In the end, with red-rimmed eyes, she ran off.

The yellow-haired lackey beside him watched his boss verbally crush a pretty girl like that, and could not help feeling a bit of pity for the fairer sex. “Bro, are you in a bad mood today? Look how you talked to that girl, she’s practically about to cry!”

Seeing that even he felt a little bad for her, Qi Yue only gave him a sideways look. The meaning on his face was obvious, if you like her, go for it yourself. Don’t drag me into this.

The blond guy gave an awkward laugh twice and scratched his head a little embarrassedly. “Heh heh, how can that be the same? She’s so pretty, how could she possibly look at me?”

“Besides, boss, don’t be too self-conscious. Even though you broke up with the school beauty, I think that was her loss. Boss, you’re so handsome, and besides, it’s hard to find a three-legged toad, but aren’t women with two legs all over the place? Tomorrow I’ll have the brothers find you an even prettier girl!”

The blond guy thumped his chest, and a feeling of grand ambition rose in his heart. His boss’s future happiness would depend on him.

Qi Yue glanced at him, his eyes chilly.

“Heh, of course I know the breakup was her loss. But make yourself clear, who did you just say was a three-legged toad?”

The lackey instantly felt a chill down his neck and hurried to beg for mercy. “Bro, I was wrong. That’s not what I meant. How could the school beauty be a toad…”

Qi Yue only sneered. He was deliberately picking a fight to vent the irritation in his chest, and the blond guy had just run straight into the line of fire.

“Oh? Then you’re saying I’m the toad that wants to eat swan meat?”

“No, bro, how can you even interpret it like that…” The lackey looked like he was about to cry, shaking his already not-so-smart head as hard as he could. Boss, how can you be like this? More unreasonable than a woman.

Qi Yue did not bother listening to the explanation. After giving him a brutal beating, he instantly felt much better.

It seemed the way to ease unhappiness was to make someone else unhappy too.

Qi Yue curled the corner of his mouth. Thinking of an old score he still had not settled with that bunch of bastards from the neighboring school, he flexed his wrist and decided to go out and stretch his muscles that night.

…………

The lackey beside him saw that expression and grew anxious. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, he quickly slipped out the back door. Then he rubbed his butt and limped to the bathroom. After handling life’s major business, he slowly made his way back.

As it happened, he ran into a girl he did not recognize in the hallway.

The girl grabbed his sleeve. “Hey, classmate…”

The blond guy turned to look at her, his expression blank. “Huh, are you looking for me?”

“No, I mean… aren’t you pretty familiar with Qi Yue? Do you know which private room he’s in?” The girl’s voice sounded a little familiar. After sizing her up, the blond guy finally recognized her as the girl who had snatched his boss’s phone last time.

He stroked his chin, and his expression instantly turned roguish. “You’re looking for our boss… for what?” Seeing how anxious she was, could she be here to confess too?

Looks like the boss really had plenty of romantic luck. Girls came looking for him one after another. No wonder the school beauty had broken up with him.

The blond guy shook his head and silently sighed in pity.

Jiang Mian did not know what he was thinking. She had only been here once, the last time she came with classmates. This time, she had not figured out the way and accidentally gotten lost. She had come to apologize to Qi Yue. After all, it was because of her that he had broken up with Xu Linruan, so no matter what, she had to say sorry to him.

She had asked around for a long time before finding out about this place. They said that when that guy was in a bad mood, he liked coming here to blow off steam.

Jiang Mian tightened her grip on the package in her hands, looking a little embarrassed. Although she did not know whether that guy would forgive her, she felt that these things were private and not very convenient to tell other people, so she asked again, “I… have something I need to make clear with him. Can you show me the way? Thank you.”

The moment the blond guy saw the girl’s coy expression, he became even more certain. Thinking of the precedent set by the girl from earlier, he could not help giving a few kind warnings. “Girl, you should give up. My bro is annoyed right now. He just scolded a girl into tears, he won’t accept your confession.”

Jiang Mian froze. Then, thinking of how the handsome boy had been so considerate and obedient in front of Xu Linruan, her fair little face immediately turned red. “W-what are you talking about? I really do have something to find him about. It’s not what you think!”

It could not be denied that when the blond guy mentioned Qi Yue, Jiang Mian had been momentarily moved, but she was not here to look for him because of that.

She had always felt that a boy like Qi Yue, who did not study properly, had no future, and her family had warned her since she was little not to get involved with boys like that.

But that day, seeing how miserably he had been rejected and toyed with by Xu Linruan, she felt that this cold-faced but warm-hearted boy was actually not so bad. After all, youth was reckless. Maybe if someone helped him, he could still turn over a new leaf?

But clearly, Xu Linruan was not the girl who could help him.

The girl took a deep breath and felt that there was no point talking to the guy in front of her, so she planned to keep looking on her own.

As soon as she turned around, however, she saw the private room door across the hall open, and a tall, long-limbed boy walked out from inside.

Jiang Mian stared a little blankly. Especially with the boy’s chilly temperament, the black shirt and his pale skin creating a sharp visual contrast, she was momentarily unable to react. She just stood there, staring dumbly at him as he carried a black coat in his right hand, draped over his shoulder, and then walked past her without changing expression.

“…Left.”

The boy casually swept a glance in her direction.

Jiang Mian thought he was speaking to her. Just as she was about to smile and say something, the blond guy behind her greeted him shamelessly. “Hey, boss, are you going back to school? Should I go with you?”

His reply was a single, lightly tossed-out word. “Scram.”

Jiang Mian suddenly felt hot in the face, a little embarrassed. Was he blind? She was standing here as a whole living person, and he had not even seen her?

“Hey, Qi Yue, wait a moment…”

Qi Yue stopped and turned back with his coat in hand. After clearly seeing who it was, the already expressionless face of the boy suddenly turned somewhat cold.

“Annoying. Why is it you again? Didn’t I tell you to stay far away?”

When Jiang Mian was pinned by that icy gaze, she subconsciously took a step back. A faint smell of smoke and alcohol drifted over from the boy’s body. After not seeing him for a few days, the aura around him had become even more frightening.

The lights in the hallway were not very bright, and with his tall figure blocking the way, it seemed even dimmer.

“I’m here to return something to you.” Jiang Mian took a carefully cultivated orchid out of her cloth bag. The roots of the flower had been trimmed again, and it had even grown new shoots. It was obvious she had put a lot of effort into it.

But the boy in front of her did not cherish her kindness, or rather, what he cherished was not her kindness.

“You think I’m short on that little bit of money?” Qi Yue sneered impatiently. He could not learn the gentlemanly act other boys put on. Especially not toward the instigator who had ruined his relationship.

In Qi Yue’s heart there was only one thought, get lost, can’t you? Just looking at you annoys me. If you keep pestering me, I’ll fuck you up, believe it or not?

Jiang Mian saw the tall boy with the gloomy face fishing a cigarette out of his pocket. His handsome face tilted slightly downward before he averted his eyes carelessly.

She said, somewhat embarrassed, “Qi Yue, I really came to apologize to you sincerely. About you and Xu Linruan breaking up, I really didn’t do it on purpose… And I know, your nature isn’t bad. Since you could become better for Xu Linruan, why can’t you become better for yourself?”