The young nobles of Wuling, east of the Golden Market, ride white horses with silver saddles through the spring breeze. Chapter 50: Jealousy and Rivalry (1)

With Fang Yu interrupting, the atmosphere in the room returned to normal. He hurried to the next door and knocked, "Cheng Chen, save it for the evening, what are you doing in broad daylight?"

The sounds inside stopped abruptly. After a moment, Cheng Chen opened the door, grinning sheepishly with a lewd expression. "You guys go out and wander around first, I'll chat with Li Jing for a bit."

"Chat with your sister! Get up, you still have to cover my shift this afternoon."

As they spoke, Xia Churan walked up from behind. "Oh right, Fang Yu, are you going to join the sports meet?"

"The sports meet? When is it?"

"When else? Right before the holiday, usually lasts two days."

He thought for a bit and shook his head. "I'm not going. There's nothing in it for me, and as you can see, my business is busy—I can't get away."

At this, Xia Churan ground her teeth in irritation. "Don't give me that! A few days ago you helped your class monitor play in that basketball game, but now you say you have no time when it comes to me."

He spread his hands innocently. "Basketball is basketball, the sports meet is the sports meet. It's not the same. I have no interest in competing with a bunch of students."

"Hmph, you sound so old-fashioned for someone who just started college."

Fang Yu realized he’d said the wrong thing and waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, I’m not going. Besides, the sports meet means my place will be even busier—I won’t be able to leave."

No matter how she tried to persuade him, seeing that he wouldn’t budge, Xia Churan could only huff and swing her arm angrily. "Are you going home for the holiday?"

He glanced at Cheng Chen. "Not sure yet. Cheng Chen, are you going home?"

Cheng Chen shook his head quickly. "Definitely not. My parents drive me crazy at home—I'd rather stay here and enjoy myself."

"True enough. When the holiday comes, some students will go home, but those on break will still come spend money. Alright, I'll tell Lu Zhen and Zhao Bin to stay too."

"I swear, you’re obsessed with money," Xia Churan said, pulling Li Jing along, tossing her long hair in a huff as she headed downstairs.

In the afternoon, while everyone was in the shop, Fang Yu brought up the holiday plans. Zhao Bin and Lu Zhen immediately said they wouldn’t go home either—they’d only been in Xianjiang for a month or so.

"Great, thanks for the hard work, brothers. When the month ends, everyone gets an extra five hundred as a bonus." Fang Yu waved his hand enthusiastically.

"Nice! The boss is generous." The three grinned, full of cheer.

A few days later, the sports meet arrived. Fang Yu and Cheng Chen, curious, went to the stadium. Blue Sea College had no shortage of students, crowding the place to the brim.

"Tsk, this level of athleticism and they’re out here competing?" Fang Yu muttered, watching the hundred-meter dash. Not a single runner finished under thirteen seconds.

"What’s your hundred-meter time?" Cheng Chen, almost devoid of athletic ability, turned with interest.

"Um, back in high school it was under twelve seconds, but that was hand-timed—so probably a bit slower in reality."

Cheng Chen nodded indifferently; he’d never understood the distinctions between athletic levels.

The two wandered around the track when Cheng Chen suddenly pointed ahead. "Hey, isn’t that Xia Churan and Li Jing? Who’s the guy with them?" Cheng Chen was a bit nearsighted but refused to wear glasses.

"Let me see—oh, that’s Xia Churan’s little puppy, the one we ran into at the restaurant last time, remember?"

He nodded, recalling the scene. "Yeah, right, I remember now. So attentive!"

Zhu Wei, looking like a lapdog, carried bubble tea and snacks, half-squatting by Xia Churan’s seat with a fawning grin.

But the girl seemed utterly uninterested, her face full of reluctance as she turned to whisper secretly with Li Jing, while a few girls from the foreign language department egged them on.

"Alright, stop staring, before Xia Churan spots me," Fang Yu said, not wanting to get involved.

"You go ahead, I’m fine. Heh, I’ll go find Li Jing." Cheng Chen tossed his hair and gleefully rushed over.

Fang Yu quickly turned to leave, but after a few steps, he heard a girl’s playful call behind him.

"Fang Yu, Fang Yu, come here! Stinky Fang Yu!"

He stopped, adjusted his breathing, and turned around. "What is it? I was just passing by."

With a smile, Xia Churan stood up and hopped over. "Didn’t you say you wouldn’t come? Are you missing me?"

He was about to shake his head when Zhu Wei, furious, charged up.

"Churan, it’s that guy again! Damn it, get lost!"

Fang Yu’s face darkened. "If you need help speaking proper words, I can teach you. But if your ears are still so useless, I’ll slap you awake."

Zhu Wei’s face turned crimson. "Damn, you’ve got guts! This isn’t the snack street. Just wait—I’ll get some people!" With that, he pulled out his phone.

Xia Churan grew anxious, grabbing Fang Yu’s arm. "Fang Yu, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you. Please leave—Zhu Wei is a troublemaker."

His blood rose. He waved at her. "It’s fine. I’d like to see what kind of ‘daddy’ he can call over." With that, he dragged a small chair over and sat down.

Cheng Chen was a bit worried. "Fang Yu, should we call Zhao Bin and Lu Zhen? I’m worried these people won’t hold back."

Though used to such scenes, Cheng Chen was still uneasy.

"No need. We’re not cowards—why should we fear this lot?" Fang Yu replied casually, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting up.

Since it was the sports meet, almost all the students were near the stadium. Soon enough, a dark, burly student strode over, flanked by two skinny sidekicks.

Zhu Wei, seeing his savior, hurried up and whispered with the leader.

Two minutes later, Zhu Wei swaggered over. "You’re Fang Yu, right? That’s my big brother, A Tai. He wants to talk to you."

"Oh, still mute? Can’t speak for yourself? Or did you rent your mouth and it’s overdue?" Fang Yu fired back in rapid succession—when it came to trash talk, he’d never lost.

Zhu Wei was dumbstruck, and the guy called A Tai must have heard it. He stepped forward, patting Fang Yu’s shoulder.

"Fang Yu, right? I know you. I heard you’re the new star in the foreign language department. My girlfriend’s in your department too. Zhu Wei told me what happened. There’s always a pecking order—sure, you look good, but poaching someone else’s girl isn’t right. How about this: hang out with me from now on and I guarantee you’ll find a girlfriend in this school."

Fang Yu was amused. Standing up, he looked down at the not-quite-175cm short, dark guy. "So many turtles in shallow water. What’s a vocational college brat acting tough for? Did your hair even finish growing?"

With that, Fang Yu struck first, pressing the lit cigarette right onto the guy’s face.