The senior brother’s surname was Jiang.
Peng Guoqing did not catch his full name. His mind was buzzing.
This Senior Brother Jiang was different from Xie Tang’s ex-boyfriend Yan Yuchuan. Yan Yuchuan’s sunny extroversion had seemed fake to Peng Guoqing and the others. A few words from them could shatter Yan Yuchuan’s pride. Senior Brother Jiang was neither sunny nor extroverted. He was polite and restrained, yet his speech and manner made people feel at ease, as though bathed in a spring breeze. His upbringing was at least eight leagues ahead of Yan Yuchuan’s.
Enemy alert, enemy alert, major enemy alert.
Peng Guoqing’s air-raid sirens were blaring at full volume.
When Xie Tang asked why he had come, Peng Guoqing struggled to stay calm. “My proposal has been approved. I wanted to tell you the good news right away.”
Xie Tang knew Peng Guoqing had been grinding away at the proposal. She gave a soft laugh. “Congratulations. But have you gone silly with joy? You could have texted or phoned me. That would have been easier than coming all this way.”
Peng Guoqing’s smile looked worse than a grimace.
Texting or calling would certainly have been simpler, but how could it compare to telling Xie Tang in person?
If not to show his feelings for her, Peng Guoqing would never have found the drive to write nine versions of the proposal.
Who could have imagined that bringing good news would turn into a shock? When had this Senior Brother Jiang appeared at Xie Tang’s side?
The two of them looked very close.
Peng Guoqing felt like crying. While he had been single-mindedly working on the proposal, someone had scaled the wall and stolen her away. Where could he go for justice?
Peng Guoqing usually had high emotional intelligence, but in front of Xie Tang he was easily swayed by his feelings. His disappointment was written all over his face, and Senior Brother Jiang saw it clearly.
This was a little brother secretly in love with Xie Tang.
Senior Brother Jiang reached his conclusion. With great poise, he took his leave. “Junior Sister, since you have a friend here, I will not disturb you. We can talk again this afternoon.”
They were meeting again this afternoon?
Peng Guoqing’s heart broke into two pieces.
Once Senior Brother Jiang left, Peng Guoqing subtly probed for information about him. Xie Tang thought Peng Guoqing was being too nosy and gave him a firm swat. “Why are you asking so much? Is that meddling habit of yours acting up again?”
Xie Tang flexed her hands, warning Peng Guoqing not to interfere.
Peng Guoqing looked crestfallen but forced a smile. “How would I dare meddle in your affairs…”
Xie Tang smoothly changed the subject. “Since your proposal has passed, filming will start soon, right? Xie Qian will probably let you take part in the shoot, given how much effort you put in.”
“Yes, it will start soon.”
Any joy Peng Guoqing had felt was long gone.
Did the start date even matter?
He had persisted with filming this sibling-romance drama only for Xie Tang’s sake. Now the drama could go ahead, yet Xie Tang seemed to have a new romantic interest.
Peng Guoqing felt his life was like a coffee table, covered in nothing but tragedies.
Peng Guoqing was listless, and Xie Tang was not in the mood to humour him. She said she had things to do that afternoon.
“You came all this way. I cannot let you go back on an empty stomach. Come on, I will treat you to lunch in the canteen.”
They ate a simple meal in the canteen, then Xie Tang sent Peng Guoqing on his way.
Peng Guoqing crouched behind a flower bed near the dormitory building and waited over an hour. Sure enough, Senior Brother Jiang appeared downstairs.
Then Xie Tang came down lightly.
She must have napped over lunch. There were faint creases on her cheeks. The jacket she wore was different from the morning one. A woman dresses for the one who pleases her. The phrase leapt into Peng Guoqing’s mind. His heart, already split in two that morning, cracked in several more places.
Xie Tang and Senior Brother Jiang walked past him, chatting and laughing. Peng Guoqing nearly burst into tears on the spot.
Once they were far away, Peng Guoqing wandered about like a lost soul.
“Peng Guoqing?”
A familiar voice called his name. He turned and saw Wen Ying.
Wen Ying was startled. “I heard from Xie Qian that your proposal passed. Why do you look so down?”
Wen Ying suspected the green-haired fool was a masochist.
When the proposal kept getting rejected, he had only grown more determined.
Now that it had sailed through, he looked distracted instead.
Peng Guoqing said glumly, “Sister Tang seems to have a new boyfriend.”
Wen Ying’s internal mockery instantly turned to sympathy. “A new boyfriend?”
Those involved are often blind, while bystanders see clearly. Everyone in Peng Guoqing’s circle knew he liked Xie Tang, except Xie Tang herself.
Was the reason he had insisted on filming a sibling-romance drama not precisely because of Xie Tang?
To learn on the very day the proposal passed that Xie Tang had a new boyfriend was a devastating blow to Peng Guoqing.
Peng Guoqing was lost. “I am not actually sure if he is Sister Tang’s new boyfriend. They just look very well-matched. She has endless things to say to him…”
Wen Ying had never even heard rumours of Xie Tang getting a new boyfriend.
The usually bubbly Peng Guoqing had turned self-pitying. Wen Ying truly felt exasperated. “So you are sighing here without even clarifying the enemy’s situation. Are you still the Peng Guoqing I know? If endless conversation makes someone a boyfriend or girlfriend, then I would have loads of boyfriends.”
Whenever Wen Ying felt like chatting, she could talk to a stray dog by the roadside. Did that make every stray dog her boyfriend?
That was hardly the standard for judging a romantic relationship.
Hypothesis: Stray dogs by the roadside could be Wen Ying’s boyfriends.
Known: Wen Ying’s boyfriend equals Xie Qian.
To prove: Stray dogs by the roadside approximate Xie Qian?
Wen Ying’s analogy left Peng Guoqing dumbfounded. The ingrained awe of a poor student for a top scholar snapped him out of his gloom. “You cannot compare it like that. But you are right. I need to find out where this Senior Brother Jiang sprang from. I have known Sister Tang since we were children. I refuse to lose to someone who appeared out of nowhere halfway through.”
“Come on. I will help you scout the enemy.”
Would Peng Guoqing end up with Xie Tang?
Wen Ying did not know.
But Peng Guoqing was her friend, and she did not know any Senior Brother Jiang. Naturally, Wen Ying would side with Peng Guoqing.
Senior Brother Jiang had said he was in the same research group as Xie Tang. Wen Ying asked Professor Shen about him. The professor thought for a moment. “You mean Jiang Wei?”
Wen Ying had never heard of Jiang Wei.
The professor mentioned another name. “You must have heard of Jiang Zhe. Jiang Wei is his older brother. The brothers both got into Fudan one after the other. Jiang Zhe is high-profile, Jiang Wei keeps a low profile. Few people on campus know they are siblings.”
Not only Wen Ying but even Peng Guoqing knew the name Jiang Zhe. He was the “richest student at Fudan” who had once bet with others that he would pursue Wen Ying.
Jiang Zhe was Fudan’s richest student. No matter how low-key Jiang Wei was, he could not possibly be poor.
Peng Guoqing’s heart turned ice-cold.
Much of Peng Guoqing’s confidence came from having a father who was very good at making money.
With a father like that, what did Peng Guoqing have to worry about? If he could not make it on his own, he could always go home and live off the family.
Living off his parents was nothing to be ashamed of. It simply meant he had won at the starting line of reincarnation.
Peng Guoqing had even planned it out. If he truly failed to achieve anything, he could live off his father to support his mother, live off his father to support Sister Tang, live off his father to support his children. Now, suddenly, a rival who did not lack money had appeared. His core competitive advantage was gone.
No wonder Senior Brother Jiang seemed more composed and confident than Yan Yuchuan.
Hmph. What was so great about it? Was it not just family money giving him confidence?
Peng Guoqing inwardly belittled his rival, but Professor Shen said Jiang Wei was outstanding academically, a promising talent highly regarded by several professors.
“Jiang Wei is neither arrogant nor impatient. He does not become flighty because of his good family background. He studies for his master’s steadily and conducts research steadily.”
The professor’s words were full of appreciation. Peng Guoqing’s gaze turned resentful. I worked steadily on my proposal too. How come no one praises me?
