by Dragon King
49 Hammered
“Ren, when will your parents come back to China?” Zhao Hongyu asked Hao Ren unexpectedly while driving.
Hao Ren paused for a moment and answered, “Em… I’m not sure.”
Zhao Hongyu, seemingly able to read his mind, said, “You wouldn’t tell me even if you know, right?”
The look Hao Ren’s face turned awkward. Actually, he didn’t want to talk about the issue of Zhao Yanzi. First of all, he wasn’t sure what his parents would think. Second, he didn’t feel like this matter was concrete enough to mention yet.
“Fine, I’m not going to make it hard for you,” Zhao Hongyu smiled understandingly and said, “We’ll find a chance to talk about it after your parents come back.”
Hao Ren almost told her that his parents had their careers, and all the family issues were up to his grandma. As long as his grandma accepted Zhao Yanzi as her granddaughter-in-law, it wouldn’t matter how hard his parents try to object.
Apparently, Hao Ren didn’t think that Zhao Yanzi’s personality would gain any adoration from his grandma. If his grandma could like anyone, it would be Xie Yujia.
Zhao Hongyu parked the car in the garage after they got back home, then she brought Hao Ren into the house. Hao Ren could barely imagine how a senior designer who drove a Ferrari to work could also do the grocery shopping at a local market every day and go home early to prepare dinner.
After going into the kitchen and putting on an apron, Zhao Hongyu turned from an office lady to a kind and virtuous housewife. Hao Ren also went to the kitchen to help since he didn’t have anything else to do, and Zhao Hongyu didn’t stop him.
In a few moments, Zhao Yanzi got home. She casually said hi to her mother and Hao Ren when she saw them in the kitchen, and she went upstairs to do her homework.
After a while, Zhao Guang also came back home from work. He saw Hao Ren in the kitchen helping Zhao Hongyu wash vegetables and cut meat. He nodded approvingly and then went back to his study room to take care of more business.
Inside this two-story ordinary-looking house, Zhao Yanzi was in her room doing homework miserably, Zhao Guang was seriously reviewing some documents in his study room, Zhao Hongyu was standing in front of the pot cooking food, and Hao Ren was beside Zhao Hongyu preparing the next dish.
The entire atmosphere was so harmonious as if they were a real family.
Delicious dishes were brought to the dinner table one by one. Hearing Zhao Hongyu’s call, Zhao Yanzi put away her homework and happily went downstairs for dinner. Zhao Guang also came out of his study room and steadily walked towards the dinner table.
The four of them sat around the dinner table, enjoying the delicious meal together. During dinner, Zhao Hongyu kept speaking well of how considerate Hao Ren was and how good he was at housework, and that made Zhao Yanzi pout out of jealousy.
Not only Zhao Hongyu but also Zhao Guang who was observing Hao Ren was feeling more and more satisfied with this son-in-law he had “picked”.
Zhao Yanzi was the only one who still had heavy hostility against Hao Ren. She really didn’t like the feeling when she thought about marrying this guy who was good at “flattering” her parents.
However, when she thought of that pretty Class President in Hao Ren’s class, she wasn’t willing to give Hao Ren away. She believed that the Class President would take Hao Ren if she didn’t want him.
As usual, Hao Ren had to tutor Zhao Yanzi after dinner. He spent an hour systematically explaining the important English concepts to her and another hour on solving problems in other subjects.
He no longer found the questions given by Zhao Yanzi unfamiliar or tough since he had already read some of her textbooks last night. He solved a bunch of questions continuously, and that impressed Zhao Yanzi a lot.
“This guy seems to have a smart brain…” secretly staring at Hao Ren’s smooth and round forehead, Zhao Yanzi concluded.
She hated stupid people the most, but it seemed that Hao Ren wasn’t that type.
The two-hour tutoring session was over, and Hao Ren had to go back. Zhao Guang offered him a ride, but Hao Ren refused kindly. He packed up his tutoring materials and planned to hail a taxi. He didn’t want to trouble Zhao Guang every time.
“Em…” Zhao Yanzi suddenly rushed downstairs as Hao Ren was about to walk out. She handed a few books to Hao Ren and said, “I don’t need them tomorrow, so you can bring them with you to read. Remember to bring them back tomorrow!”
Hao Ren looked down and found out they were Biology and Geography textbooks. Seeing Hao Ren looking up at her, Zhao Yanzi’s face blushed. She turned around and ran up the stairs as she shouted, “Read carefully! Read seriously! It would be your fault if I get any questions wrong!”
“This girl…” Zhao Hongyu, who stood at the door with Hao Ren, shook her head and smiled, “I was about to ask her to walk you out…”
“Don’t worry. I’m going back now. There is no need for Uncle to drive me back; I know he is very busy with work,” Hao Ren waved his hand at the door before he turned around and walked to the road.
Zhao Hongyu nodded delightfully, feeling more and more satisfied with Hao Ren.
When Hao Ren was on the taxi heading back to the university, he suddenly realized that the little girl Zhao Yanzi had never called him by his name; it was either “hey”, “this”, or “that”…
Ah, what a failure…
As soon as he got back to the dorm and stepped onto the third floor, he heard someone yell, “Hao Ren is back!”
Immediately after that yell, all the guys rushed out of their dorms as if they had just heard there was an emergency. They surrounded Hao Ren and started bombarding him with their questions!
“What is your relationship with Su Han!”
“She actually put the necklace on for you, we all saw that!”
“That is the necklace! The one on his neck!”
“Let me see! Let me see!”
While holding the plastic bag with all the tutoring materials in it, Hao Ren was tightly surrounded by them and was unable to move by a single step. They were so interested in the necklace that they tried to grab it one after another.
Luckily this necklace was made out of some special material that could bear all the tugs and pulls. However, Hao Ren’s neck couldn’t take the painful pulling anymore. In this situation, no one could say for sure that some of them didn’t do it out of jealousy and didn’t want to take this opportunity to get their revenge.
“Move out of the way! Move!” at this critical moment, Zhao Jiayi showed up with Zhou Liren and Cao Ronghua to rescue Hao Ren.
They saved Hao Ren and walked him back to their dorm as if they were guarding an emperor. When they closed the door, the guys from the other dorms didn’t give up that easily and continued to smack the door like crazy.
“The news about Su Han giving you the necklace had already spread throughout the entire university! It is definitely a breaking news! You are screwed, dude!” pushing Hao Ren against a chair, Zhao Jiayi said as he stared at Hao Ren.
“What the hell? It is just a necklace given by Su Han, how did it become such a big news?” Hao Ren asked while rubbing his throbbing neck.
“Don’t try to quibble! Have you ever seen Su Han give a necklace to any other guy?! Plus… do you know what the biggest news is?” Zhao Jiayi showed an extremely bright smile all of a sudden. “Huang Xujie had heard about this news, and he went crazily mad! It turned out that bastard likes Su Han a lot!” he shouted.
He hooked his arm onto Hao Ren’s neck and cheered, “Good job Ren! You run faster than him, and you are even better at picking up girls than him!”
Seeing the extremely excited and gloated look on Zhao Jiayi’s face, Hao Ren had no idea what to say.
“Su Han is a distant cousin of mine… probably nobody would believe in an explanation like this now…” he thought.
“Beautiful Su Han! Beauty Su! I know you have never cared about anyone else’s opinion or thought, but ple
ase don’t throw me into the fire…”
50 Height Couldn’t Endure the Coldness*
“Open the door, Zhao Jiayi! It’s me, Yu Rong!” Yu Rong, from room 303 across the hall, banged on the door and yelled at the same time, “We’re brothers! Don’t close the door! Let me in to know the truth!”
“We’re not opening the door!” Zhao Jiayi yelled from the other side of the door, “We’re not opening the door for anyone today. If you want to know, ask tomorrow!”
Zhao Jiayi continued to yell when he heard them continue banging the door, “Okay! Okay! Go back! Eight o’clock tomorrow morning, room 302 will have a press conference! We’ll explain everything clearly then!”
There were still a lot of noises outside when they heard Zhao Jiayi’s words. However, all the guys outside actually dispersed after hearing an answer.
The hallways of the dorm were still filled with the discussions of the incident, but the overall situation started to die down. The female dorm manager was finally relieved because she was about to call security to control the situation.
“We’re all in the same dorm room, Ren. Tell us the truth, what’s the relationship between Su Han and you?” Zhao Jiayi faced Hao Ren and asked as the noises stopped outside.
Cao Ronghua and Zhou Liren also dragged two chairs and sat across from Hao Ren. Two of them and Zhao Jiayi surrounded Hao Ren and were about to start the interrogation.
“Su Han is a distant cousin of mine,” Hao Ren said helplessly.
“How come you never mentioned this to us before?” Zhao Jiayi immediately detected the flaw and asked.
Hao Ren thought for a bit and said, “I just found out recently as well. A relative came from overseas and treated me to a meal…”
Zhao Jiayi raised his arm and said, “Okay, okay! This reason is outdated! How do you have so many relatives? Is the principal your relative too?”
Hao Ren couldn’t answer but smiled bitterly. “The vice-principal is somehow related to me, and you got half of that right…” he thought.
Certainly, Zhao Jiayi and the other two knew Hao Ren for two years and definitely wouldn’t think that Hao Ren came from a wealthy family with a significant background. Zhao Jiayi thought for a while and said, “Anyhow, it is a fact that many people saw Su Han putting a necklace on for you. Even if she is your cousin, people won’t buy it. It is better for you to say quiet and accept the rumors and dubious claims, or you’ll create even more misunderstandings.”
He continued to analyze, “The situation as of now is that unless Su Han explains everything herself, they wouldn’t believe anything you say…”
“Yup, yup, yup!” Cao Ronghua and Zhou Liren stood beside Zhao Jiayi and agreed with what he had said.
“It’s impossible that Su Han will clarify this type of mess for me. I doubt that she would give a damn even if the fire was burning her house as long as it doesn’t affect her cultivation,” Hao Ren thought to himself.
“So, let’s announce this tomorrow: you and Su Han are on good terms, but it’s not exactly what they think it is. The crucial part of this statement is to piss off Huang Xujie. Afterward, when you have a chance to treat Su Han to dinner, we’ll also tag along and get to know her…,” Zhao Jiayi followed up with the suggestion slowly.
“What the hell! That is what you guys are aiming for!” Hao Ren understood what was going on as he listened to the very end.
“Fine, we’ll talk about treating her to dinner later,” Zhao Jiayi didn’t want to startle Hao Ren and quickly added.
Hao Ren looked at them and knew that these three guys were up to no good. After all, they wanted to utilize his connection to approach Su Han.
However, Hao Ren would like to see Huang Xujie in frustration. He also understood why Huang Xujie provoked him before the Athletic Games. The fact that Su Han called Hao Ren to her office caused Huang Xujie’s extreme resentment.
“Humph, you think you can pursue Su Han as the son of the Deputy Mayor? You think Su Han is only an ordinary lecturer?” Hao Ren thought.
He knew that many third and fourth-year students had pursued Su Han publicly or privately. He also knew that some first and second-year students who were self-obsessed and had a wealthy family background wanted to go after Su Han as well.
After all, Su Han was beautiful and otherworldly. Also, she was only two to three years older than them, and she actually looked much more youthful than those third and fourth-year female students.
However, he didn’t know that Huang Xujie had pursued unapproachable Su Han when she hadn’t graduated and was the most popular girl at East Ocean University.
Despite Huang Xujie’s effort, Su Han ignored him. Additionally, because she didn’t live in the dorms and was hard to find, this made Huang Xujie’s pursuit end without a result.
He initially thought that he wouldn’t be able to see this beauty again after Su Han graduated. Unexpectedly, Su Han chose to stay at East Ocean University as an ordinary lecturer, and this allowed Huang Xujie to see hope again.
Huang Xujie’s pursuit of Su Han happened before Hao Ren’s enrollment, and he hid this failure of his very well. Therefore, Zhao Jiayi and the junior students were very surprised when they found out that Huang Xujie liked Su Han.
Huang Xujie went after Su Han for many years and didn’t even receive a response, but Hao Ren, a new student, obtained Su Han’s attention. How could Huang Xujie not be pissed off?
The current most popular girl in the school, Lin Li, who got her title from the hypes and headlines, was much worse than Su Han.
“Also, uh…,” Zhou Liren asked, “Who’s the woman who drove a Ferrari to pick you up today? She’s so pretty… She also seemed prettier and more mature than Su Han… Ren, tell us, do you have a sugar mommy? You didn’t even return to the dorm a few days ago…”
As he kept talking, his expression became nastier. Hao Ren quickly blocked his mouth with one hand as the other hand formed a fist and hit him on the head. “She’s the mother of my student. Quit your dirty thoughts!” he scolded.
Zhou Liren got hit, but he didn’t back off. Instead, he got closer to Hao Ren, rubbed his hands together, said in an obscene tone, “Brother Ren! Brother Ren! I didn’t know you are so good at getting girls. Teach me a few tricks!”
“Get lost!” Hao Ren kicked him away.
The next day morning, room 302 hosted a “press conference” as promised. As the “official spokesman”, Zhao Jiayi raised both of his hands and stood at the highest point in the room— the upper berth close to the balcony.
Hao Ren crossed his legs and sat on the upper berth, and Cao Ronghua and Zhou Liren tried to maintain order down below. Other curious guys stood in the narrow room, looked up at Zhao Jiayi and Hao Ren in their slippers.
What press conference is this? No matter how one looked at it, the scene resembled that of migrant workers gathering to ask for their salaries.
Zhao Jiayi utilized the art of language well and indicated that Hao Ren and Su Han’s relationship was developing in a “good direction”. He also tugged on the emotions of the guys and said that if Hao Ren and Su Han were on good terms, Su Han would come to the dorm often, especially the third floor. This turned the mood of the guys from jealousy to expectancy.
Hence, the press conference had a perfect ending, and No.7 dorm’s atmosphere was in great harmony. As a result, the guys were either washing their faces, brushing their teeth, or returning to their rooms for more sleep.
The four people in Hao Ren’s dorm room went to class together because today was Thursday. After Advanced Mathematics, it was Su Han’s lecture on Weak Optical Signal Processing.
Compared to before, the guys were more excited today because they wanted to see how Su Han would treat Hao Ren.
However, to their disappointment, Su Han was as cold as before in the two-hour lecture and didn’t make any eye contact with Hao Ren.
After the lecture, Su Han packed up her notes and left as usual.
“The Iceberg Beauty is
still cold after all. You are too amazing to have the ability to approach someone like her!” Zhou Liren gave Hao Ren a thumb up, and Zhao Jiayi and Cao Ronghua also admired him.
As they packed up their textbooks, Class President Xie Yujia walked towards them and put something down on Hao Ren’s desk.
Hao Ren picked it up and looked at it. It was an envelope.
Zhou Liren’s heart was pounding crazily as he stood beside Hao Ren. “Oh my god! No way! Hao Ren’s peach blossom fortune is blooming! The Class President also gave Hao Ren a love letter?! What kind of world am I living in?” he thought.
Hao Ren didn’t even think of it in that direction. While confused, Hao Ren opened up the envelope in front of Xie Yujia and drew out a piece of paper.
There were only a few words on it.
“See you on the field at 8 PM. - Huang Xujie.”
* Height Couldn’t Endure the Coldness is a Chinese idiom that means as the higher status the person becomes, the true friend that he/she has will decrease.
51 Not Enough Talent?
“Huang Xujie asked someone to deliver this to you,” Xie Yujia said while observing Hao Ren’s facial expression.
Hao Ren’s face was emotionless as he knew this trouble was eventually going to come to him. However, he didn’t expect it to happen this soon and this direct.
“What’s this?” Zhao Jiayi took the note from Hao Ren’s hand as he felt something odd was going on.
After he read the note, he shouted angrily, “F*ck! He really dares to cause trouble! Ren, don’t be scared. I will call a few of my guys to go with you tonight!”
“Shhh!” Xie Yujia immediately stopped Zhao Jiayi and told him not to shout. She then turned to Hao Ren and said, “I think I know why he is trying to talk to you. However, this thing between you and him can be fixed. Why don’t I come with you tonight so that I can explain it peacefully to him and we can resolve it as quickly as possible?”
“It will be alright. Let’s wait until tonight and see,” Hao Ren took the note back from Zhao Jiayi and ripped it into pieces. Then, he threw it into the garbage bin behind the classroom.