Chapter 24: Two Pairs of Best Friends Discuss He Chen Late at Night

Tong Wenjie felt quite pleased, believing her son had taken her words to heart and that her performance had been spot on. Little did she know, no one understands a mother better than her own son; her passionate exhortations were entirely ineffective.

Don't let Fang Yifan’s vocal rejection of repeating a grade fool you—he would shout that he was willing to do anything to avoid the humiliation, including studying hard. But if he were actually required to put in the effort, or even just hear about being signed up for various tutoring classes, he would surely lose his nerve immediately and suggest, "How about I just repeat the year when the time comes?"

He was just that flexible and evasive!

Seeing that his mother’s anger had mostly subsided, he quickly crept up to her, acting all affectionate. He told her not to worry and to go ahead and pick up his cousin, assuring her he would be perfectly fine home alone.

Tong Wenjie was determined to retrieve her nephew, Lin Lei'er. Not only was it necessary to avoid neglecting this gifted son of her older sister, but it was also a way to demonstrate her own virtue. After all, if she didn't act, how could she maintain the moral high ground when criticizing her ex-husband or disparaging men in general?

She instructed her son to stay out of trouble, adding that she would have her best friend, Qiao Yingzi’s mother, keep an eye on him. Once her son agreed and returned to his room to study, she called her friend. After discussing the necessary arrangements, the conversation quickly turned to gossip and complaints.

"I know that He Chen; one look and you can tell he's no good!" Song Qian, Qiao Yingzi’s mother, fired the first shot on the other end of the line.

"Exactly!" Tong Wenjie agreed emphatically, hoping to hear her friend tear into He Chen some more.

"Of course!" Song Qian ranted. "He hit it off with that scumbag Qiao Weidong the moment they met. Despite their age gap, they were chatting away like old friends. Birds of a feather flock together! It’s clear he’s rotten to the core. What happened later just proved my intuition right. He had no manners at all, openly mocking me for how I discipline my own daughter. What kind of person is that? I wasn't the least bit surprised that he was capable of such a wicked act as getting Fang Yuan sent away!"

"You really need to be careful then!" Tong Wenjie said, feeling gratified and fanning the flames. "This He Chen is even more handsome than Qiao was when he was young, and since he hit it off with him and dared to mock you, you should be wary of him having ill intentions toward Yingzi!"

"He wouldn't dare!" Song Qian exploded on the other end. "Yingzi is my everything, my life! If he dares to go near her, I’ll fight him to the death!"

The two friends spent a long time tearing He Chen apart before Song Qian regained a shred of composure, boasting, "My Yingzi would never be so shallow as to be attracted to a jerk like him who has nothing but looks. I have confidence in that."

"That’s true! I’ve watched Yingzi grow up; she’s just as excellent as you!" Tong Wenjie was delighted. In her mind, Qiao Yingzi—who stood to inherit her mother’s four properties and the vast wealth of her father, Qiao Weidong—was already her designated daughter-in-law. She had even joked about it while drinking with her friend, saying that when Yingzi married into her family, she’d have to share a few of those apartments with her future mother-in-law.

After praising Yingzi, she once again asked Song Qian to keep an eye on her son. As for why she didn't ask her son's grandparents in the city? That was out of the question! If she asked them, they would just nag her, especially since she was bringing her nephew to Beijing and enrolling him in the prestigious, 150,000-yuan-a-year Chunfeng High School, just like their grandson. She didn't want to hear their snide remarks.

Compared to those two old fossils, her older sister's son was her true family. This was precisely why she kept emphasizing to her son that he and Lin Lei'er were as close as brothers, sharing a quarter of the same bloodline.

After hanging up, she checked on her son one last time before packing her bags, heading straight for the airport to personally escort her nearly grown nephew. He had lived such a hard life that he had never even flown on a plane; she couldn't rest easy unless she flew over to accompany him on the journey back.

Meanwhile, Song Qian left her room after the call and went to the soundproofed room she had spent a fortune decorating for her daughter. Looking through the window, she saw Yingzi obediently working on the practice tests she had assigned and smiled with satisfaction.

Though she claimed to be confident that her daughter wouldn't fall for He Chen, she felt insecure deep down. Even a strong-willed person like her had been deceived by her ex-husband, Qiao Weidong, in her youth. She had married him, had a daughter with him, and then watched him cheat. Though she hated to admit it, she had originally chosen him because he was truly handsome when he was young; even when he had nothing, she was happy to work hard to support him. It was a pity that his later success and newfound wealth had shattered their happy life.

He Chen was even more handsome than her ex-husband had been, and her daughter lacked her own decisive, ambitious nature. How could a mother not be worried?

Although the soundproofing was as good as a professional recording studio, Yingzi sensed her mother’s presence the moment she appeared at the window. The room, which felt like a prison cell, was so oppressive that she had become highly sensitive to the "prison guard's gaze" from outside. Without the heavy soundproofing, she could at least judge her safety by the sound of footsteps, but now, she had no warning of when her mother would appear, which left her feeling suffocated.

Not to mention that after finishing one set of papers, her mother—acting as her tutor—would immediately assign several more, forcing her to work under strict high-school-entrance-exam time limits. By the time she finally finished her day and drew the curtains to sleep, she was too restless to rest. She hid under her covers with her phone, venting to her best friend, Huang Zhitao.

"Do you think He Chen did it on purpose?" After complaining about her mother’s high-pressure tactics, Yingzi realized something. "He must have guessed how Fang Yifan would react and intentionally provoked him!"

"So what if he did?" As top students, they were both sharp. Huang Zhitao had already realized what Yingzi had, but she asked dismissively, "If Fang Yifan didn't have that kind of personality, how could he have played right into He Chen's hands? At the end of the day, it was Fang Yifan's own choice. He Chen just gave him a chance to show his true colors, and his performance was very disappointing, wasn't it?"

"You can't blame him entirely," Yingzi teased. "After all, you're his goddess, and He Chen is the undisputed school heartthrob. He was just nervous because of you, which is why he reacted so strongly."

"Stop it," Huang Zhitao said with disgust. "You know I’ve never been interested in him! It’s all just his own wishful thinking!"

"Then who are you interested in?" Yingzi laughed. "Ji Yangyang? Or maybe He Chen, now that he’s in the picture?"

"You have room to talk about me! Fang Yifan has been your childhood sweetheart; you’re the expert on him. Why do you keep bringing up He Chen?" Huang Zhitao retorted quickly. "Could it be that the look you two shared today really made your heart skip a beat?"

"How could that be... He Chen isn't like Fang Yifan. Like us, he doesn't seem interested in that sort of thing... I don't even know what kind of girl he likes."

"What kind? Someone beautiful, obviously! We’re not even close to that standard. Just look at who he spends his time with—not to mention the gorgeous Professor Ruan, even Ruan Liuzheng is a top contender for school beauty!"

As the two friends giggled and gossiped, all their pressure and unhappiness seemed to vanish. Only joy and a hint of something strange—something they both refused to admit—lingered in their hearts, accompanying them into sleep.