Zhou Nian had deliberately gone out of her way to buy Song Ze his favorite late-night snack before hurrying over to his study room to deliver it.
But the moment she reached the doorway, she saw Tang Tang sitting beside Song Ze, her head practically resting on his shoulder as the two of them leaned over the same workbook.
Tang Tang’s fingers even brushed lightly against the back of Song Ze’s hand from time to time. In a soft, gentle voice, she said, “Brother Song, I still don’t understand this problem. Could you explain it to me one more time? Am I just too stupid? I’m always troubling you.”
Zhou Nian set the late-night snacks down heavily on the table with a dull thud.
Tang Tang seemed badly startled. She immediately sat up straight and looked timidly at Zhou Nian, flustered. “Zhou, you’re here… I’m sorry. Did I take up too much of your time? I’ll leave right away.”
As she spoke, she hurriedly began gathering the papers and pens on the table. Song Ze quickly reached out and pressed down on her hand, then turned to Zhou Nian with an awkward smile and said gently,
“Nian-Nian, what brings you here? Come sit down. Tang Tang’s just weak in advanced mathematics, so I’m helping her with a couple of problems. We’ll be done soon.”
“Done soon? You’ve been explaining it for nearly an entire class period.” Zhou Nian’s voice was icy, and her eyes were filled with disappointment. “Song Ze, how long exactly are you planning to help her?”
“She just transferred here, and she’s having trouble keeping up with her studies. We’re only helping each other out as classmates.”
Song Ze took Zhou Nian by the wrist and handed her the grilled sausage she had just bought him. Lowering his voice, he coaxed her gently,
“Don’t be angry. I know you went all the way here to bring me a late-night snack. You must be tired. Let me finish explaining this problem, and then I’ll walk you back to the dorm, all right?”
As he spoke, he quickly signaled Tang Tang with his eyes to lower her head and work on the problem. Tang Tang obediently lowered her head. Beneath her lowered lashes, however, the corners of her lips curled into a smug smile that was almost impossible to detect.
Watching Song Ze deftly placate them both, Zhou Nian felt so overwhelmed by hurt and anger that she could barely breathe.
Yet every time things came to this, Song Ze would soothe her in that same gentle voice, telling her that she was overthinking things, that he and Tang Tang were merely ordinary classmates, and that he was only helping Tang Tang because he felt sorry for her.
She had been trapped in this relationship for too long. She had long since grown accustomed to deceiving herself. No matter how intense the unease in her heart became, she could only choose to believe him again and again.
What she did not know was that Song Ze had long been intoxicated by the vanity of being surrounded by two girls. He enjoyed Tang Tang’s gentle adoration, yet he was also unwilling to give up Zhou Nian’s thoughtfulness, devotion, and relatively well-off family background.
Tang Tang dressed plainly and always spoke with a hint of caution. On one occasion, Song Ze had even seen her outside the main entrance calling a fried-rice vendor “Mom.” From that, he realized that her family was ordinary—at the very least, nowhere near as well-off as Zhou Nian’s.
So he had never considered breaking up with Zhou Nian. Instead, he planned to remain in a relationship with Zhou Nian while carrying on a little flirtation with Tang Tang, hoping to have the best of both worlds.
He had never turned down Tang Tang’s advances. Whenever Zhou Nian grew suspicious, he could always smooth things over with a few gentle words. He was living an exceedingly comfortable life.
Everything that happened was being transmitted in real time to Zhang Yanyan by Eighteen.
She occasionally reviewed the surveillance footage, watching Song Ze’s hypocrisy and Tang Tang’s affected sweetness. It all struck her as laughable.
In her spare time, she used her hacking skills to break into the Tang Group’s internal systems. Cross-checking what she found with the information Eighteen had dug up, she soon uncovered all of the company’s dirty secrets.
Tax evasion, embezzlement of public funds, shoddy construction on property developments that had created serious safety hazards, and several murky transactions of uncertain origin—every last one of them could bring the Tang Group to ruin.
Zhang Yanyan organized the evidence and saved it to an encrypted USB drive. She stashed it in a still zone within Yunhua Space and waited for the right moment to deal the Tang Group a fatal blow.
Before long, the end of the month arrived. The class monitor of Computer Science Class Two was celebrating a birthday and had booked several tables at a barbecue restaurant near campus. Everyone in the class was invited, and the monitor had specifically said they could bring their partners.
Without a second thought, Song Ze took Zhou Nian by the hand and went with her. As far as he was concerned, Zhou Nian was his girlfriend in public, so bringing her along was only natural. Tang Tang was nothing more than an inconsequential flirtation—not someone he took seriously.
Tang Tang came too. She sat by herself in a corner, a glass of juice in front of her, her gaze fixed on Song Ze and Zhou Nian. She watched as Song Ze tenderly held Zhou Nian’s hand, peeled shrimp for her and carefully picked the bones from her fish. He placed the peeled shrimp in her bowl, poured her a glass of chilled plum drink, and even reached out to wipe sauce from the corner of her mouth. He had never once shown Tang Tang that kind of tenderness.
Tang Tang gripped her glass so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes reddened as anger and hurt surged through her all at once.
She had never imagined that no matter how hard she tried to win Song Ze over, no matter how carefully she drew closer, he would still value Zhou Nian more.
As the gathering was winding down, Tang Tang took a deep breath, suppressing the malice in her eyes. She pulled out her phone, sent a message, then rose and said softly to everyone, “Something’s come up. I’ll head back first. Have fun.”
With that, she turned and walked out of the barbecue restaurant, her figure seeming lonely and wounded. Song Ze glanced up at her, then turned back to chat and laugh with Zhou Nian, giving Tang Tang no further thought.
Less than two minutes later, a black Bentley Mulsanne pulled up slowly outside the restaurant, its glossy body gleaming beneath the streetlights.
The driver hurried out and approached Tang Tang, bowing slightly. His tone was deferential to the utmost. “Miss Tang, your father sent me to pick you up. It’s windy out here. Please get in.”
Tang Tang nodded. The hurt had vanished from her face, replaced by a blank expression as she bent and climbed into the car. The driver closed the door, returned to the driver’s seat, and started the engine. The car pulled away slowly.
Song Ze and Zhou Nian happened to step out of the restaurant just in time to see it.
Song Ze stared at the Bentley’s winged emblem, his pupils contracting as his heart pounded so hard it felt ready to burst from his chest.
Although he came from an ordinary family and might never be able to afford a luxury car of this caliber in his lifetime, he still recognized the badge.
A Bentley Mulsanne. Even the base model cost well over five million yuan on the road. Few ordinary families could afford one, and even middle-class families in Rongcheng would struggle to own such a top-of-the-line car.
What shook him even more was the driver’s respectful greeting: “Miss Tang.”
Miss?
Wasn’t Tang Tang’s mother the woman who sold fried rice outside the school?
And Tang Tang dressed plainly, seemingly from a family even less well-off than Zhou Nian’s. So how was he supposed to explain what he was seeing now?
He had no idea who Tang Tang really was. Rongcheng was full of wealthy families, and more than one of them bore the surname Tang. The only thing he knew for sure was that Tang Tang’s family was far more prominent than he’d imagined. The world she belonged to was a class he might never reach, no matter how hard he tried.
Song Ze’s breathing quickened. One thought filled his mind: He couldn’t let this opportunity slip away!
It wasn’t too late to change course.
Zhou Nian had also spotted the Bentley. Her face went deathly pale, then twisted with envy and contempt. She spat to the side, grabbed Song Ze by the arm, and said bitterly,
“See? I told you she was no good! A girl that young, riding around in such an expensive car—who knows which rich old man she’s attached herself to? She’s being kept, no doubt! What a disgrace. She’s always hanging around you, so maybe she’s just looking for a backup!”
The words poured out of Zhou Nian like bullets, but Song Ze didn’t hear a single one.
All he could think was how shrill and shallow she sounded. Tang Tang was obviously a proper heiress, yet Zhou Nian was calling her someone’s mistress. In that moment, Zhou Nian seemed even more low-class to him, and whatever affection he’d felt for her faded by half.
His hand loosened unconsciously around Zhou Nian’s. His gaze remained fixed on the direction the Bentley had gone, while his mind raced through the possibilities.
Even if Zhou Nian’s family was reasonably well-off, they were still just an ordinary middle-class household. They couldn’t do a thing for his future. Tang Tang was different. She was a wealthy heiress. If he could get close to her, his career would take off, and he could rise to the top overnight.
In that moment, Song Ze made up his mind: break up with Zhou Nian and pursue Tang Tang.
He would do whatever it took to seize this opportunity and climb his way up!
