Chapter 100: The Dispute

Shen Qing was only trending on Weibo for the morning; by the afternoon, her search topic had been taken down.

“What’s up?” Shen Qing told Nie Huan briefly and walked outside the restaurant to answer the phone.

“Grandma, are you short on cash?” The voice on the other end was young and male.

“No, I’m not.” Shen Qing leaned against the utility pole outside, idly playing with her fingers.

“Not short? Then why did you go shoot for a company that’s about to go bankrupt? If you need money, just tell me. I’d sell everything I own to support you, Buddha. If you want into showbiz, I have connections with major companies—you can take your pick.”

“Oh, are you done?”

“Uh... yeah, I’m done.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No, wait, please! Grandma, I’m sorry, I meddled too much. Do whatever you want, I’ll support you a hundred percent.”

“Oh.”

The other side laughed. “When are you coming to the capital? The old man keeps talking about you—our ears are practically callused.”

Shen Qing made a sound of agreement, thought for a couple of seconds. “Maybe during the break. I still have classes.”

“Aren’t you the one who loves skipping class the most?” As soon as he spoke, he realized he’d slipped up.

“Get lost.”

***

The Scholar’s Restaurant was quite busy. Nie Huan and her friends had arrived early; all their dishes were already on the table. Yao Panpan was rubbing her chopsticks together when she overheard some girls at the next table.

“Any random stray can become a star these days. Even a little delinquent dares to debut. Aren’t they afraid she’ll corrupt the fans?”

“Someone who scores zero on an exam could never make it, not in a hundred years. Didn’t Teacher Cao call her a pig?”

“The actual words were, ‘Even pigs can write, but they wouldn’t score zero.’ Hahaha.”

“Even if she’s a pig, she’s a pretty pig—otherwise, how would she survive in the entertainment world?”

“How can idiots be fans of someone like that?”

“Hahaha…”

Yao Panpan slammed down her chopsticks. “If you’re going to talk trash, at least lower your voices. Clearly, you haven’t been taught a lesson by society yet.”

Ruan Yingying glanced lazily at Yao Panpan’s table and slowly picked up a piece of meat for herself. “Who’s talking trash? You’re so worked up, I’d almost think they’re talking about you.”

“Ruan Yingying, you’re really crossing the line now,” the chubby one snapped, throwing his chopsticks onto the table and glaring at her.

The girl sneered. “Is Class Three nothing but Shen Qing’s lapdogs? So loyal.”

Bang! A chair flipped over.

Several diners nearby were startled.

Nie Huan stood up, her face ice-cold. “Looking for trouble?”

Chu Yu righted the chair Nie Huan had kicked over. “Huan, don’t dirty your hands with people like that.”

Nie Huan pushed Chu Yu aside and strode over to Ruan Yingying, her voice colder than before. “Looking for trouble?”

Ruan Yingying was a head shorter than Nie Huan; being confronted like that, her face paled even more.

“Nie Huan, what are you doing? If you hit me, the school won’t let you off.”

“And why wouldn’t I hit you? Do you think you’re some kind of national treasure?” A clear, crisp voice came from the entrance. Hearing this, Ruan Yingying’s face turned even whiter.

“Shen Qing… why are you here?” She’d come here to eat before, but had never seen Shen Qing.

Shen Qing glanced at the girl before her; she seemed to be from Yu Min’er’s class. She rolled up her sleeves, exposing her snow-white wrist bones, and spoke lazily, “Am I not allowed to be here?”

Ruan Yingying’s face was ashen. She’d heard of Shen Qing’s reputation—if Shen Qing decided to get physical, she wasn’t sure she could win.

“What are you going to do? We just said something, are you really going to hit us?” Another girl from Class One spoke up timidly.

“I’ve hit plenty of people.” Shen Qing slid one hand into her pocket and strolled over with a relaxed air. A few timid students hurried out, afraid to get caught up in trouble.

Shen Qing stopped beside Nie Huan, hooked her arm around Nie Huan’s shoulder. “Go eat your lunch.”

Nie Huan nodded and returned to her seat.

Shen Qing turned her gaze back to Ruan Yingying. “You were having so much fun just now. What, all done?”

Ruan Yingying stepped back, her throat dry, unable to squeeze out a word for ages.

“Tsk.” Shen Qing curled her lips, raised her foot, and kicked the chair beside her.

“Ah!” Several girls, caught off guard, jumped at the sudden noise.

Ruan Yingying jolted, goosebumps rising all over, her eyes bloodshot as she looked up. “Shen Qing, don’t push us too far!”