Chapter 16: Hooligan

Facing this sudden gentleness from Yang Tianxing, Liu Jiaoyue was startled and nervously waved her hands to decline: "No need, no need."

While refusing, Liu Jiaoyue looked up in unease, only to bump right into Yang Tianxing's meaningful gaze; she immediately shifted her eyes away in a panic, like a frightened little deer.

Yang Tianxing couldn't help but sigh; Liu Jiaoyue's upbringing was the primary cause of her low self-esteem, and even if she realized she might be prettier than other girls, such physical attributes might have even become a psychological burden.

That Liu Jiaoyue tried hard to hide in her own little world was perhaps a subconscious form of self-protection.

"Take it slow; as long as her heart can open a crack for me to slip into, it won't matter even if it closes up again."

Yang Tianxing thought to himself, and from his angle, he could see her high, straight nose bridge beneath her long eyelashes, as well as her well-defined lips.

"No matter what method it takes to open that crack!"

Yang Tianxing added silently.

Although Liu Jiaoyue kept her head down, she could feel a burning gaze from across the table fixed on her; not knowing how to respond, she could only quietly extend her index finger and push the bowl containing the shrimp further away, trying to distance it from herself, drawing a line in the sand like someone burying their head in the sand.

"Tch, why doesn't Class Monitor Yang peel one for me?"

He Yulin, who was watching from the side, pouted and said.

"Sure."

Yang Tianxing responded indifferently.

"Forget it, there's no sincerity in that at all!"

He Yulin didn't want this kind of scrounged-up attentiveness.

Yang Tianxing gave a "hehe" laugh, then said as if with deep emotion: "I actually thought the best-looking girl in the class was Deng Yidi."

"Hmph."

He Yulin let out a cold snort; this attitude showed she didn't agree with that opinion at all.

Suddenly, her expression turned serious: "Hardly anyone in our dorm has discovered Jiaoyue's true appearance, and I only noticed it these past two days. She's so pretty and has such a soft personality; you have to keep it a secret, lest a bunch of perverts set their sights on her."

"That's absolutely no problem, but what do you mean by staring at me whenever you say 'perverts'?"

Yang Tianxing said with dissatisfaction.

"Men are all the same; you know that well enough yourself."

He Yulin said in a tone of someone who had seen through the vanity of the world.

Yang Tianxing felt somewhat helpless; these girls who had never been in love always felt they had seen through all the men in the world, yet once they encountered love, they would throw themselves into it like moths to a flame, often ending up covered in wounds.

As for those women who treated love like drinking water, they wouldn't have so much bullshit sentiment, because they knew exactly what they wanted.

Hearing the two of them discussing her, Liu Jiaoyue's cheeks turned as red as peach blossoms, but she dared not leave for fear of Yang Tianxing.

Fortunately, Yang Tianxing quickly changed the subject: "Let's talk about business."

"Fine."

He Yulin also wanted to know what exactly Yang Tianxing was up to.

"In my sophomore year, I will step down from the position of class monitor, and you will take over; this way, it won't affect your future plans to take the civil service exam. What do you think?"

He Yulin thought about it; as long as she could ensure she was the class monitor when applying for the selected graduate program, it didn't really matter if it was sophomore or junior year, but why was Yang Tianxing kindly giving up his seat?

"How can you guarantee a smooth transition to me?" He Yulin asked.

Just as the two "conspirators" were discussing the deal, Liu Jiaoyue extended her finger again and pushed the bowl of shrimp further away, as if the further away it was, the safer she felt.

After noticing this action, Yang Tianxing immediately abandoned He Yulin, who was still asking questions, and turned to ask Liu Jiaoyue: "Disgusted by me? So you won't eat?"

"No, no, I can just eat the steamed bun."

Liu Jiaoyue didn't know when she had picked up that half of a cold steamed bun again, and had already taken two bites.

Seeing Liu Jiaoyue's uncooperative attitude and her action of eating the cold bun, for some reason, a fire ignited in Yang Tianxing's heart.

"Is that bun really that good? Let me try!"

After saying this, Yang Tianxing snatched the half-eaten cold bun from Liu Jiaoyue's hand and, to her shocked gaze, stuffed it directly into his mouth and swallowed.

After chewing it a few times and swallowing it, Yang Tianxing wiped his mouth and said like a hooligan: "It's just like that; the taste is average."

"You, you..."

Liu Jiaoyue was stunned for a long time before she reacted; forgetting to hide her appearance, she opened her small mouth in shock and looked at Yang Tianxing, stuttering.

"You hooligan!"

In the end, it was He Yulin who finished the sentence.

"What are you saying? We're still talking about our cooperation."

Yang Tianxing pulled the topic back, extended his index finger, and tapped the table with his knuckle, making a "thump-thump" sound.

"As for how to transition the class monitor role to you, I have a method: in your freshman year, you can serve as the Youth League branch secretary, gradually taking on the daily affairs of the class and building an image in the minds of the students and Old Xie. Once I resign in my sophomore year, you can take over smoothly."

"Besides, being the Youth League branch secretary can also help you join the Party early, which is a great help for your civil service exam," Yang Tianxing added.

Although He Yulin didn't consider things comprehensively and was a bit naive, she wasn't a fool, and immediately said loudly: "I get it, you want me to take on the responsibilities of the class monitor while you go off to do other things; in the end, the achievements will all be yours, and the hard labor will all be mine."

"How could there be such a good deal!"

He Yulin was very angry; she felt that Yang Tianxing was just occupying the latrine without doing anything, yet still wanted to order her around.

Yang Tianxing smiled: "The achievements belong to everyone; they are mine now, they will be yours later, and in the end, they will still be yours."

"It's not like I won't do anything; you handle the small matters, and I'll only step in for the big ones."

Yang Tianxing added another sentence.

"Then what counts as a big matter?"

He Yulin wanted to clarify this concept.

"Whatever you can't solve is a big matter," Yang Tianxing said with a shrug.

He Yulin was a bit unhappy; Yang Tianxing meant that his ability was stronger than hers, even though that was likely the truth.

Sitting on the side, Liu Jiaoyue only felt her head buzzing; first, she never expected Yang Tianxing to eat the bun stained with her saliva—didn't that mean they had kissed? Second, he was actually using the "class monitor" position as a bargaining chip to make a deal.

She glanced at He Yulin and found that her roommate was still seriously considering the proposal; Liu Jiaoyue felt that Yang Tianxing was truly too dangerous, actually leading He Yulin astray.

Taking advantage of the moment He Yulin was thinking, the "dangerous person" Yang Tianxing spoke up again, though this time very calmly: "Shrimp meat is high in protein and not as greasy as meat, so it's fine for you to eat a bit more."

Seeing that Liu Jiaoyue still hadn't picked up her chopsticks, Yang Tianxing simply picked up a shrimp and held it to Liu Jiaoyue's lips: "Come, I'll feed you."

Liu Jiaoyue's face flushed red, her mouth tightly shut, and she turned her head to dodge.

Yang Tianxing grinned and said shamelessly: "If you don't eat it, I'll just keep holding it there."

People were coming and going in the cafeteria, and they might run into classmates at any time; besides, given Yang Tianxing's determination and thick skin, he could absolutely keep holding it there forever.

Tears had already welled up in Liu Jiaoyue's eyes, but she was worried about being seen by others, so in the end, she could only open her mouth and eat the shrimp fed to her by Yang Tianxing as if it were poison.

"What if I don't agree?"

At this moment, He Yulin was still unwilling to give up and struggled a little more.

"Then I'll just have to work a little harder, taking care of class affairs while doing business, and I can look for other partners, but you definitely won't have a chance; it's very rare for a university class to change its class monitor."

Yang Tianxing said unhurriedly, then added fuel to the fire: "I can arrange for you to take the position of Youth League Branch Secretary first; as for whether you do it or not, that's up to you."