Chapter 15: A Strange Turn of Events

"If you have something to say, hurry up and say it."

In the Finance Institute's first cafeteria, He Yulin and Yang Tianxing sat opposite each other, but there was also a tall figure at this table—it was actually Liu Jiaoyue, who was so low-key that people tended to overlook her.

It turned out that Yang Tianxing had just been explaining for a long time, making it clear that he had no intention of pursuing He Yulin at all, and only wanted to talk to her about this "class monitor" matter.

Unfortunately, Student He did not trust Yang Tianxing, and just happened to see,

Liu Jiaoyue eating silently in the corner; she hurriedly pulled Liu Jiaoyue over to act as a witness, indicating that she and Yang Tianxing were innocent.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

He Yulin looked at Yang Tianxing in confusion, because he had suddenly become somewhat quiet.

The reason Yang Tianxing was not speaking was because he had seen what Liu Jiaoyue was eating: a twenty-cent steamed bun and free seaweed egg drop soup, sitting far away in a corner of the noisy cafeteria.

"Jiaoyue's family situation isn't good; since you're the class monitor, you have to help her apply for student loans and financial aid for impoverished students," He Yulin said from the side, feeling a pang of sympathy.

When she first saw Liu Jiaoyue's meal, she had also felt very sad; she hadn't expected there to be such poor families in 2002.

"He Yulin, I'll treat you to a meal. Since you pulled Student Liu Jiaoyue over to be a witness, I'll treat her as well."

Yang Tianxing suddenly spoke up and gave He Yulin a wink.

He Yulin's reaction was not slow, and she immediately said, "That's for sure, Jiaoyue and I must really fleece you once!"

"No, no need."

Liu Jiaoyue hurriedly waved her hands and whispered a refusal; ever since He Yulin and Yang Tianxing suddenly sat down next to and opposite her, she, having almost no social skills, felt very uncomfortable.

But there was still half a steamed bun left to eat, and Liu Jiaoyue did not have the habit of wasting food; the two of them were her classmates, so it would be impolite to just walk away.

She could only put down her chopsticks, keeping her head low and remaining silent.

He Yulin urged her from the side, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm: "I heard Class Monitor Yang treated all the boys in our class to a meal on the first day; what's wrong with him treating us to one?"

"You just sit here, you're not allowed to leave."

After He Yulin said this "bossily," she took Yang Tianxing's meal card with a sense of venting her anger; it was estimated that this dinner would not be cheap.

Yang Tianxing did not care about such things at all; he was now only focused on looking at the "treasure" before him.

In fact, if one observed carefully, one could still discover from the clues that Shen Youchu was a rare beauty, such as her smooth forehead, the peach-blossom eyes revealed when she occasionally looked up, her rosy little mouth slightly parted when she was flustered, and of course, the figure beneath her military training uniform.

"Damn, at 1.7 meters tall, even if she were a bamboo pole, she'd be beautiful, not to mention she's a 36D."

Yang Tianxing muttered in a low voice.

Liu Jiaoyue had perhaps never eaten with a boy from childhood to adulthood, especially since Yang Tianxing's gaze was very aggressive, making her feel as if she weren't wearing any clothes at all.

"You won't say a word to me; am I that annoying?" Yang Tianxing said, tapping the table.

"No... no," Liu Jiaoyue replied in a weak voice.

"Look up! Look at me when you speak."

Listening to the tap-tap-tap of the table, Liu Jiaoyue's heart trembled with each sound, and she slowly raised her head just a little.

Those peach-blossom eyes, charming yet full of innocence, were already misted with water.

"Are you sick, Yang Tianxing? Why are you bullying Jiaoyue!" He Yulin scolded.

She placed the dishes she was holding onto the table; there was fish, meat, shrimp, and eggs—it looked like she had bought almost all the most expensive meat dishes in the cafeteria.

"It's 125 yuan in total."

He Yulin said with a hint of pride.

Liu Jiaoyue was very surprised; this amount was almost her monthly food budget.

"Whatever, as long as you're full."

Yang Tianxing said indifferently.

"Now hurry up and say it, what did you want to see me for?"

Only then did He Yulin feel her anger subside a little.

"He Yulin, why do you want to be class monitor?" Yang Tianxing asked.

Upon hearing this, He Yulin had wanted to use a reason like "to serve the class and train myself" to brush him off, but Yang Tianxing seemed to have anticipated this, waving his hand to interrupt: "If you're going to come up with some boring reason, then just eat your meal in silence, and pretend I never looked for you."

He Yulin was silent for a moment, then spoke: "I want to take the civil service exam in the future; the experience of being a class monitor is somewhat helpful."

Yang Tianxing sneered in his heart; He Yulin still hadn't told the truth. In fact, her goal was to be a selected graduate (xuan diao sheng), but those spots were very few, and she was likely afraid that Yang Tianxing would compete for one.

However, being able to say this much was enough; at least it showed that He Yulin had the willingness to continue the conversation.

Yang Tianxing pretended to believe her and nodded: "No wonder you want to be class monitor; so you're planning to pursue an official career in the future."

"What about you? Don't think I don't know about the tricks you've been pulling behind the scenes."

He Yulin said disdainfully.

She still refused to let go of the face she had lost at this moment, but since Yang Tianxing was now trying to negotiate terms with her, this attitude was still tolerable.

"I won't pursue an official career in the future; to be honest, I don't like it. I just want to do business and make money," Yang Tianxing answered sincerely.

In the future, when Yang Tianxing started his business, not only would he be unable to hide it from the school, he might even need to borrow the school's power, so it was better to be honest now and exchange it for a foundation of trust in their communication.

"Do business?"

He Yulin frowned: "Doing business doesn't have much to do with being a class monitor."

"If I have the status of class monitor, many things will be more convenient to do, and other people's recognition of me will also increase," Yang Tianxing explained simply.

"Fine, so you were just using the class monitor position as a tool," He Yulin said indignantly.

Yang Tianxing smiled without minding, and asked in return: "Aren't you the same?"

"At least I'm willing to contribute to the class!"

He Yulin retorted.

That was indeed the truth; He Yulin was indeed more dedicated, and Yang Tianxing did not intend to refute it, because words were meaningless.

In any case, in reality, he was the winning side, the victorious side that could set the terms.

"At most, by the start of sophomore year, this class monitor position will have no appeal to me; you can take over then."

Yang Tianxing spoke slowly; this was also his purpose in seeking out He Yulin.

He Yulin was stunned for a moment: "You're going to resign when the time comes?"

"If after one year, I still need the student position of class monitor to add points to my record, that would mean I've failed too miserably, and I should rightfully step down to let a worthier person take over."

Yang Tianxing said with a smile, that look of unruliness and frivolity appearing on his face once again.

"What do you plan to do?"

He Yulin thought for a moment and asked; Yang Tianxing clearly hadn't come specifically to talk about this matter, he definitely had his own intentions.

However, Liu Jiaoyue, who had heard these "confidential" conversations, was very restless on the side; Yang Tianxing and He Yulin were both prominent figures in Public Management Class 2, and Liu Jiaoyue felt she shouldn't get involved.

"I, I'm full, I'd like to head back first..."

Liu Jiaoyue endured the heartache of putting down half a steamed bun and prepared to take her leave in a low voice.

"Wait a second."

Yang Tianxing suddenly spoke up and stopped her.

Liu Jiaoyue was startled, stole a quick glance at Yang Tianxing, and then lowered her head again in a flash.

"Sit down."

Yang Tianxing said in a deep voice.

Liu Jiaoyue did not sit down; she swung her arms slightly, and it was clear she really wanted to leave.

"Hurry up, sit down."

Yang Tianxing emphasized his tone.

Only then did Liu Jiaoyue slowly sit back down; perhaps because she had been frightened, her body was trembling slightly, and He Yulin, feeling that Yang Tianxing's tone was too fierce, was just about to stand up for Liu Jiaoyue.

Little did she know, Yang Tianxing sighed softly, took the largest shrimp from the plate, peeled it, placed it in Liu Jiaoyue's bowl, put away the arrogance on his face, and said gently: "Since it was bought for you, you have to eat it properly."

He Yulin stared blankly at Yang Tianxing, thinking this change in demeanor was too fast; the scene before her eyes seemed like something that only appeared in romance novels.

All sorts of romance novel male leads kept stirring restlessly in He Yulin's mind.

"Could it be 'The Overbearing Class Monitor Falls in Love with Me'?"