Su Hao lowered his head slightly, his expression looking rather vulnerable.
He began to tell her about all the foolish things he had done “for love.”
“Ever since the Yu family’s inheritance competition began, I’ve constantly heard you say that your youngest sister uses underhanded tactics.”
Yu Lingyi frowned slightly…
Had she really said that?
She had complained about Yu Xiaxing, certainly. Her methods were so unconventional that it was genuinely difficult for a normal person to imagine them, and perhaps there had been a trace of jealousy in the way she described her.
Because Yu Lingyi knew very well that thinking logically was a capacity possessed by ordinary people, while thinking against the logic was what made someone truly clever.
A person who had been thoroughly conditioned by their family and society to be obedient would also have their thinking restricted by rigid logic.
She could never come up with any of those self-destructive dirty tricks.
But she didn’t think she had ever directly called Yu Xiaxing’s methods “underhanded”…
Had something she said unintentionally caused Su Hao to misunderstand?
Su Hao failed to notice his girlfriend’s inner turmoil.
He continued, “I did something dishonorable because I wanted you to win.”
“I bribed a cafeteria worker at Yu Xiaxing’s school—someone she had bullied—to falsely accuse her… But don’t worry. I knew from the start that this wouldn’t become a major incident.”
“I just wanted to delay her for half a day, so she wouldn’t be able to do anything during the final stretch to turn things around.”
“Even if the truth came out, nothing would happen to her… I only wanted to help you win Task Two.”
Yu Lingyi stared at him, her eyes wide.
She had never expected Su Hao to do something like this behind her back.
Wasn’t this what truly counted as underhanded?
Yu Lingyi immediately pulled her hand from his grasp, her brows tightly knit. “Xingxing is still a member of the Yu family, no matter what. We may be competitors, but I never intended to use such methods against her! And have you considered how much damage it would do to the Yu family if something really happened to her? Hurry up and have someone withdraw the case!”
Su Hao’s face was filled with pain and remorse. He grabbed Yu Lingyi’s hand again, holding it even more tightly, his voice choked with emotion.
“I know, Lingyi. I know I was wrong. I wanted you to win so badly!”
“Seeing how exhausted you’ve been over this competition breaks my heart!”
“I’m only an actor. I don’t have much ability, so all I could do was use this sort of disgraceful method to try to clear away one small obstacle for you…”
“I’m sorry, Lingyi. I’ll bear all the consequences myself! Even if Yu Xiaxing takes revenge on me afterward and tries to drive a wedge between us… I’ll accept it!”
He was devoted, and utterly humble.
The reason Yu Lingyi always tried to smooth things over was that she lacked both the ability and the mentality to deal with conflict.
As long as she was given sufficient motivation, she would certainly choose to mediate.
Sure enough, Yu Lingyi’s heart softened, and she could no longer bring herself to reprimand him.
After a long while, Yu Lingyi sighed and her tone gentled. “I understand that you meant well, but don’t ever do this again.”
Still, she felt somewhat ashamed of herself for using such a dirty tactic this time.
If she could win this task and obtain the ten million yuan in funding, she would help Yu Xiaxing…
As it happened, a campus drama was about to begin filming. She could rent Saint De under the pretext of using its facilities, then give Yu Xiaxing two million yuan to use toward running the school.
Just as she was thinking this, a soft, delicate voice suddenly drifted over.
“Boss Yu, Director Su, you haven’t left yet?”
Yu Lingyi looked up and saw Qiao Tang smiling brightly at the two of them.
Yu Lingyi answered, “We’re just about to leave.”
Qiao Tang’s gaze paused for an instant on the hand Su Hao had wrapped around Yu Lingyi’s arm, then she shifted her eyes away as though nothing had happened. Her voice was full of envy.
“You two are so close. I’m really jealous. Are you discussing the details of next month’s wedding?”
Yu Lingyi felt a little embarrassed at her words, but her heart was filled with sweetness.
She and Su Hao stood up, and he gazed back at her tenderly.
Lost in that sweetness, Yu Lingyi smiled at Qiao Tang. “You and your husband are very loving too.”
Qiao Tang smiled. “Our production has such a wonderful atmosphere. Every couple here respects the sanctity of marriage. I won’t disturb you two any longer. I’ll head back first.”
“Mm.” Yu Lingyi nodded.
As Qiao Tang passed by Su Hao, her little finger swiftly hooked around his.
An unspoken intimacy passed between them.
Yu Lingyi noticed nothing.
—
At dusk, the bell for evening self-study had yet to ring at Saint De High School, but the atmosphere in the teaching building was already completely different from usual.
Nearly every class with students involved in smoking had just been punished.
As the principal had announced, some students had been ordered to write self-criticisms, some had been told to call their parents, and others had received major demerits…
Now that they had finished, the students came out of the teachers’ offices and headed back toward their classrooms.
Many of them grumbled under their breath as they walked.
“Damn! We got played!”
“I knew there was no such thing as a free smoking room! It was all a trap!”
“The school board director is way too devious! This was entrapment!”
“And I actually thought she was cool. A few days ago, I was praising her all over the internet…”
That single compliment had helped bring countless netizens’ insults down upon Yu Xiaxing.
Many of the students were furious.
Especially when they thought back to how smug they had been a few days earlier, believing they had finally found a group they could belong to. Once they imagined that every move they made had been under the teachers’ surveillance, they were so angry they could have exploded.
But there were also differing opinions.
At the very back, two skinny boys muttered quietly.
“To be honest, I stopped wanting to take part a long time ago. This is actually great. I don’t have to be dragged there anymore.”
“Same here. If I hadn’t been afraid they’d call me antisocial, who would want to smoke that stuff? It’s harsh and expensive.”
“Exactly. I do feel bad for the school board director, though. She was clearly trying to crack down on this, but look at how badly people have been cursing her online! Some of those things they said were awful. I heard the police even took her away this afternoon…”
The atmosphere in Class Two of Grade Eleven was especially tense.
Zheng Wenhao, who smoked cigars, sat in the last row. The Notice of Major Demerit in front of him had been crumpled into a ball.
Several boys who usually followed him were gathered around him, all looking indignant.
“Brother Hao, are we really just going to accept this?” one of them asked in a low voice.
“Accept my ass!” Zheng Wenhao cursed.
His father had told him that the Green Gloves matter might be exposed, and that their good days could end because of Board Director Yu.
If they could use the anti-smoking incident to drive Board Director Yu out of the school, he would still be able to continue studying there.
If they failed, and his father lost that source of income, he definitely wouldn’t be able to attend a school like this anymore. He might not even be able to stay in school at all.
That was why he had been cursing nonstop.
“Using sneaky tricks like these—what kind of ability is that? I really despise such a sinister coward!”
His outburst stirred up several students in the class who had already been harboring resentment.
“The school board director got taken to the police station herself, and she still thinks she can control us?”
“Let her try! If she’s got the guts, she should expel us all!”
Outside the classroom, Lu Yanzhao happened to pass by and saw Zheng Wenhao.
Then he remembered that the person who had paid to bribe someone into framing Yu Xiaxing had the surname Zheng.
He also recalled how Yu Xiaxing had specifically sent him a screenshot of Zheng Wenhao yesterday and asked him for information about the boy.
A sudden realization struck Lu Yanzhao, and everything became clear.
He quietly walked away, found the teacher in charge of the class, and reported something to him.
