Chapter 118: Innocent Infatuation

He Jingxuan scorned him with great disdain, "Even the brother himself hasn't said a word, so why are you so anxious? Right, Li Zhe?!"

"If I don't say anything, I'll just lock the door and bleed you all out one by one!" Li Zhe pulled his newly bought Tibetan dagger from his jacket and grinned viciously.

Ren Jiaxuan laughed even more ferociously than him, pointing his rice bowl at him and clamoring, "I haven't even settled scores with you for this matter yet! If you don't explain yourself clearly today, I'll have you bleeding within five steps!"

Zhang Dawei sighed idly and lamented, "Fighting amongst brothers! We were born of the same root, why be so eager to roast each other... Where are you going, Jiaxuan?"

"I'm going to find your aunt!" Ren Jiaxuan threw this back over his shoulder and stormed off.

***

The afternoon was Mr. Chen’s drafting class. He had already finished teaching the required material, so the students were left to review on their own while Mr. Chen sat beside Liu Siying, chatting with her incessantly.

Dong Yanyan studied her notes for a while, then picked up a pencil and a sheet of white paper, sketching the front, left, right, and top views of the classroom. After she had her fill of that, she asked Leng Yue to face her directly, then turn sideways, as she drew top and right views of her. Leng Yue held the pose for a long time, only to lean over and see nothing but a round circle.

"You spent all that time just to draw me like this?" Leng Yue teased with a smile.

"Wait, wait, that’s just the top view. Let me draw the front view for you!" Dong Yanyan used her pencil to add eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears to the circle, then topped it off with a short, chin-length bob. Proudly, she asked, "How is it? Pretty, right?!"

Leng Yue snatched the paper and stuffed it into her desk. Just as Dong Yanyan was bewildered, she suddenly felt a black cloud passing over her head, bringing with it a sense of pressure. Oh no! When did the teacher get here? Feeling deeply embarrassed, she grabbed her book and began to pretend to study.

"Dong Yanyan. Come out with me for a moment," Mr. Chen said, tapping her desk.

Dong Yanyan obediently followed him out into the hallway.

Mr. Chen habitually checked his surroundings before saying to her, "Dong Yanyan, don't have any hard feelings about the selection of the League branch secretary this time. As long as you do well on your final exams, there will be opportunities in the future."

Dong Yanyan nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Teacher. I understand."

"Good. Now go back and study hard. Aim to get into the top ten this time," Mr. Chen said with a smile.

For the first time, Dong Yanyan felt that having a taciturn homeroom teacher wasn't so bad. Even if his way of expressing concern was clumsy, at least he didn't drone on with long-winded, meaningless lectures.

It hadn't been long after class ended before someone came over to show off. However, it wasn't directed at her, but at Yang Ruining behind her. Dong Yanyan truly couldn't understand what had gotten into this little vixen to make her run over to her classroom to flaunt things today.

"Ningning, look at this lipstick color, isn't it pretty? Li Zhe bought me a whole set of cosmetics today; it cost several hundred! This bag is also new, over three hundred! Isn't it pretty?" Zhao Jing sat in Leng Haoyang’s seat, dangling the new bag in front of Yang Ruining.

Dong Yanyan couldn't help but chuckle: little girls were so easy to please. A single bag could make her this happy; in a few years, this girl wouldn't even look twice at a car worth a hundred thousand. Truly, times change.

"This bag is a bit out of season. Leng Haoyang bought me a new model today. I'll show it to you when we get back to the dorm," Yang Ruining said with a dismissive smile. "What’s one bag? Look at Yanyan. Ren Jiaxuan has been buying her bracelets and necklaces for days, and she doesn't even care, just throwing them back at him. That’s what you call having class."

Zhao Jing shot a glance at Dong Yanyan, raised her eyebrows, and said provocatively, "Ren Jiaxuan is so generous. He hasn't bought any less for Du Jingxuan either; almost everything she wears is bought by him. You, as his girlfriend, are so stingy."

Dong Yanyan seemed to understand now. This wasn't showing off to Yang Ruining at all; it was clearly showing off to her.

"Just to clarify, I'm not his girlfriend yet. But if you think I'm stingy, I'm starting to doubt your taste. Guess how much this outfit I'm wearing cost? I bought it myself," Dong Yanyan posed and smiled triumphantly. To frustrate a shallow woman, the most direct method was to be even better at boasting and showing off than she was.

"Yanyan, what are you saying?" Ren Jiaxuan asked, standing at the door.

Dong Yanyan shrugged indifferently.

"I lent Du Du money; that was an emergency favor. Your Li Zhe hasn't spent any less on her either, and it's not like she didn't pay it back," Ren Jiaxuan walked in through the front door, sat in the chair opposite Dong Yanyan, and turned to smile at Zhao Jing.

"Is that so? How did Du Du end up in such a miserable state?" Dong Yanyan asked curiously.

"Her boyfriend is in college in Beijing, a top student at Tsinghua, and she sends all her living expenses to him," Ren Jiaxuan laughed. "But she won't have to suffer so much once she gets her New Year's money."

Dong Yanyan smiled dismissively, "It's bad enough for a woman to ask a man for money, but for a grown man to reach out and take a woman's money? That’s just top-tier pathetic. I have a feeling little Du Du is headed for tragedy; she's the classic 'dumb, rich, and easy to fool'."

"What's wrong with that? When two people are in love, why distinguish between yours and mine? Whoever has more money just spends it," Ren Jiaxuan said, unconcerned.

Dong Yanyan shrugged, noncommittal: it was normal for kids who grew up in honey pots like them to have no concept of money.

Ren Jiaxuan, seeing her disapproving look, grabbed her hand and smiled, "Yanyan, you just think too much. You have to believe that love is beautiful. If you like someone, of course you should treat them with all your heart, just like I treat you."

"That's true!" Dong Yanyan agreed with a smile, then pulled a large apple wrapped in cellophane and tied with a ribbon from her desk and handed it to him, "Tonight is Christmas Eve; this sister will reward you with an apple."

Ren Jiaxuan was left speechless by her attitude. He took it, stared at it for a long while, and then silently accepted it.

Dong Yanyan was very dissatisfied with his reaction, "What, you don't like it? If you don't like it, I won't give it to you!" As she started to take it back, Ren Jiaxuan quickly protected the apple and laughed, "No, no! I like everything you give me, it’s just that the way you're talking to me makes me feel like you're hitting on me."

"How could it be hitting on you? You have to believe that love is beautiful. Of course, as someone who values looks, I must first be infatuated with your face before considering dating you. You satisfy almost all my dreams of a man—handsome, cool, and charismatic. Being with you makes it convenient for me to act like a fangirl anytime, anywhere. Are you satisfied with this answer?" Dong Yanyan rested her chin in her hand, looking at him with a rogue-like smile.

"Satisfied~~ Of course I'm satisfied~~~ You can act like a fangirl however you want," Ren Jiaxuan grabbed her hand and said, looking incredibly lecherous.

"You two are too mushy! That's it, I'm going to vomit!" Yang Ruining joked.

Dong Yanyan turned her head and asked with a concerned expression, "What does that have to do with me? Are you pregnant? Do you want something sour or something spicy?"

"You're so annoying!" Yang Ruining shouted in embarrassment and rushed over to hit her. Dong Yanyan wailed and shouted for help.

Gu Xiaohan held her books to the side and complained, "Saying all these things every single day, the good kids are all learning to be bad from you two. I can't live like this anymore."

Zhao Jing gave them a look of utter disdain, gave her waist a little twist, and walked away.

"Let's all just calm down. If she goes upstairs and tells the teacher, we'll be in trouble," Gu Xiaohan said worriedly.

Dong Yanyan frowned and shook her head, "I thought she was a pretty normal kid before. Why has she been so strange lately? Like a vixen—has she been stimulated by something?"

"Girl, why are you talking about your sister-in-law like that? Watch out, or your brother will beat you," Ren Jiaxuan laughed. "She's just jealous because she sees how Li Zhe treats you."

My sister-in-law...

Sister-in-law...

Sister-in-law...

Dong Yanyan felt black lines cascading down her forehead.

"Zhang Dawei calls me Aunt, but I don't see him calling Li Zhe 'Dad'; so why should I call Li Zhe's girlfriend 'Sister-in-law'? It sounds so messy, like we don't have anything serious to do every day," she argued in a last-ditch effort.

Then she saw the black lines cascading down Ren Jiaxuan's forehead as well.

"Well, tonight is Christmas Eve, why don't you get ready? Our dorm is having a dinner party tonight, and then we're going to the cinema to watch a movie. Let's go together," Ren Jiaxuan cleverly changed the subject.

"But I don't have much time tonight," Dong Yanyan said, looking troubled. "How about this: I know a really good milk tea shop on Guilin Road. How about I treat you to milk tea after dinner?"

"Then what are we waiting for after dinner? Let's go right now!" Ren Jiaxuan said with a doting smile.

***

Because of the festive cheer, it didn't seem quite so cold outside. Dong Yanyan took a deep breath of the air that tasted of fresh snow and felt her head lighten significantly.

"The air outside is just better. I like winter nights like this; they're very nostalgic and make me think of a certain day in a certain month of a certain year." She ran happily through the snow. Ren Jiaxuan caught up to her, put his arm around her shoulders, and laughed, "I think it's not that you don't have time at night, but that you just want us to be alone so you can run wild, right!"

Dong Yanyan nodded heavily, "You're the only one who understands me. I just want to be with you. As for your dorm's dinner party, since someone will be jealous, why should I go and spoil the mood? But you guys really play too hard. Those young girls are very innocent; don't go teaching the kids bad habits." She knew that those guys in his dorm were incredibly proper at school, but in private, they were worse than thugs. For instance, the time before last at the cinema, or two days ago at the KTV—she had seen and heard it all with her own eyes and ears.

"That doesn't include me, because you're already bad enough; you don't need me to teach you." Ren Jiaxuan opened the car door and laughed, "Get in!"

The two drove all the way to Guilin Road. Along the way, Dong Yanyan was already so excited seeing Christmas trees set up at every shop entrance, hung with glittering colorful balls and lights. She kept urging Ren Jiaxuan to find a place to park. Once they got out and started walking on the sidewalk, she was simply reluctant to leave.

Ren Jiaxuan watched her with a smile as she walked along with her head tilted, constantly pulling her back and reminding her not to stray too far.