Chapter 89: News

"You're the one who saved the little girl, said nothing afterward, left without leaving your name, right?"

"I also saw that news; if it weren't news, I'd have thought it was a movie shoot—really handsome!"

"With your hair all messy, if Lili hadn't said so, I wouldn't have recognized you."

"Several cheerleading girls immediately recognized Jiang Cheng, chattering away as they started discussing."

"A tall, fair-skinned male student from the basketball team walked over, patted a parent's arm, and said: 'Awesome, bro—back then, with so many people at the scene, nobody dared to rescue, only you dared to jump in the water!'"

"'Bro, you eating? Let's go together.' A person behind the male student also said."

"Su Peng stood nearby, grinning from ear to ear, as if everyone were praising him."

"The basketball team's vice-captain, Li Junhao, kept sizing up Jiang Cheng; seeing his girlfriend get excited upon seeing Jiang Cheng made her unhappy, so she stepped forward and said: 'Bro, are you Jiang Cheng? I'm Li Junhao—interested in joining our basketball team for a game?'"

"As soon as he said that, everyone stared at him in confusion."

"Their basketball team consists of tall guys, all seemingly professional—how someone like Su Peng even got in is beyond me."

"Although the news of Jiang Cheng saving someone in the water portrays him as a positive, energetic figure, why drag him into the basketball team? Jiang Cheng refused: 'Forget joining the basketball team—I don't play basketball, and I'm not a sports major.'"

"Li Junhui smirked: 'True, you look frail—you probably don't exercise much, usually just holed up in the dorm playing games and reading comics?'"

"Jiang Cheng glanced at him and then chuckled lightly: 'Not bad.'"

"He sensed the hostility in Li Junhui's tone, but for some reason had no idea what he'd done to offend this person."

"Su Peng immediately frowned, stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Cheng's hand, and said, as if explaining: 'How to put this—you're saying my brother's like a shut‑in, what's going on?'"

"'He's just a bit artistic, not one of those lazy shut‑ins.'"

"But a few cheerleading girls looked at Jiang Cheng's mountain, though they said nothing, their faces full of doubt."

"Li Junhao chuckled: 'Hey, it's obvious—you're indeed artistic and handsome.'"

"Ma Lili beside her sensed the off tone in her boyfriend's voice and tugged at his arm."

"But Li Junhui ignored her, stepped in front of Jiang Cheng—being a block taller, he spoke down from above."

"'Don't hole up in the big beautiful world out there—no girlfriend, huh? Let me set you up with someone.'"

"Jiang Cheng wanted to leave, but since Su Peng had brought him here, he didn't want to lose face for Su Peng, so he said: 'No thanks.'"

"Su Peng said: 'Don't worry, my brother totally doesn't need it—his girlfriend is gorgeous.'"

"The nearby girls heard Su Peng's words, smiled, and didn't speak."

"Obviously they didn't take Su Peng's words seriously, just saw him as defending his brother's pride."

"Li Junhao thought the same, brushed off Su Peng's words, and said to a cheerleading girl: 'Song Xiaolan, since you have no boyfriend, let me set you up—what do you think of Jiang Cheng? His brave act is really handsome.'"

"Song Xiaolan froze for a moment; he had already noticed Li Junhui's displeasure toward Jiang Cheng, but he hadn't expected Li Junhui to drag him out just like that."

"Then she reacted, immediately biting her hand in an attempt to avoid it: 'Especially, I don't like shut‑ins—no fun at all, and they're sloppy.'"

"'What the hell do you mean? You look good, don't you?!' Su Peng retorted directly; looking at that, if the other person weren't a girl, he might have already thrown down."

"Song Xiaolan was clearly startled, protesting: 'I'm just stating the facts.'"

"After saying that, she glanced at Jiang Cheng's bicycle. Ma Lili, the first to recognize Jiang Cheng and also Li Junhao's girlfriend, couldn't stand it, grabbed Song Xiaolan's hand and urged: 'All right, Xiaolan, say two less.'"

"Seeing his girlfriend speak up for Jiang Cheng again, Li Junhao felt a flicker of resentment, then forced a smile and said: 'Forget it, forget it, it's my fault—I shouldn't have brought up introductions.'"

"'Jiang Cheng, let's go get some skewers.' Su Peng was annoyed, pulled Jiang Cheng to leave, but Li Junhao blocked him."

"'Don't get angry, don't get angry—why argue with a girl?'"

"Then he sized up Jiang Cheng: 'You're riding a bike—what are you off to do?'"

"'Let me tell you, from now on, even if you have a bike, don't ride it out.'"

"To say Jiang Cheng doesn't know what game he's playing would be a joke."

"Just arguing with a college student, still not getting any jealous rivalry—completely pointless."

"Jiang Cheng looked at him with a faint smile, wanting to hear what he'd say."

"Then he saw Li Junhao pull a black object from his pants pocket—turns out it was a car key."

"Li Junhao pressed the key, and a Prado parked not far away flashed its yellow lights."

"Li Junhao pointed at the vehicle and said: 'See? Girls won't like you if you go out on a bike.'"

"'Next time you go out, you also need to get smarter—drive a car out, then you'll naturally never lack a girlfriend; take someone like Song Xiaonan, you could just pick anyone.'"

"His uncle's tone in teaching Jiang Cheng how to pick up girls was actually just showing off his car."

"Song Xiaolan, being used as a measuring stick nearby, immediately objected: 'What are you saying?! I don't like who I don't like—even if you have a car, I still won't like you!'"

"'All right, all right, just joking.' Li Junhao waved his hand."

"Song Xiaolan snorted and said nothing."

"She certainly wouldn't fall out with Li Junhao—otherwise wouldn't that just give Ma Lili an advantage? His gaze fell on Li Junhao's Prado parked by the roadside, and he thought the passenger seat should rightfully be his!"

"Having soothed Song Xiaonan, Li Junhao turned to Jiang Cheng and said: 'You think what I said is right or not?'"

"On the surface he seemed to be teaching Jiang Cheng how to pick up girls, but really, how many college students can actually drive a Prado?"

"'Not being able to drive one means I'm telling you, you can't learn it either—our levels differ!' Jiang Cheng still wore a half‑smile and said: 'I don't think so.'"

"Watch how I'll feed you a lump. Jiang Cheng thought."

"Standing beside Jiang Cheng, Su Peng also sneered: 'I also think not necessarily—can a girlfriend picked up with a car have genuine feelings? That kind of affection is only cherished by losers.'"

"If we really wanted to compare whose car is better, Jiang Chen would bring out his family's fleet—estimates say even if you added up all the cars in Modu Daxue's parking lot, they might not match the value of his garage."

"'Hmph, you're wrong about that.' Li Junhao said."

"But before his words had even faded, a soft female voice called out: 'Cheng bro, I'm here!'"

"(She said this to a cheerleading girl nearby.)"

"(End of chapter)"