Arriving at the girls’ dorm, off-limits to males, Wen Ying told Xie Qian to wait downstairs, suggesting he buy her a megaphone if he got bored.
“Don’t be too impulsive.”
“Relax, relax, I’ve got this under control!”
As a minor, even if Wen Ying did something outrageous and got caught, she’d face no more than a lecture, what was there to fear?
She could hire someone for this, but where’s the satisfaction in that compared to doing it herself?
Xie Qian didn’t approve but couldn’t sway her, agreeing to fetch the megaphone, as she charged upstairs, he added, “If you can’t win a fight, run fast, don’t be dumb and go head-on.”
Wen Ying wasn’t there to fight, she grabbed snacks from the dorm’s shop before heading up, Pan Li wasn’t in her room.
She wasn’t too disappointed.
Having just “triumphed” over Chen Li, Pan Li was likely off boasting to Yu Wenhao.
Wen Ying, sweet-talking and sly, chatted with Pan Li’s roommates, digging up more dirt than Detective Luo’s files.
Despite Pan Li’s night gig at a club, at school she was an untouchable campus goddess, plenty of guys pined for her openly or secretly, doing her chores, yet none truly won her, she neither pursued nor rejected, basking in the perks of ambiguity—a textbook green tea, Wen Ying almost laughed.
Straight guys fell for her games, but girls were natural detectors of fakery, Pan Li’s roommates disliked her antics, spilling disdain when Wen Ying probed.
Thanks to them, she learned Pan Li had a crucial 2 PM class with a strict professor who took attendance religiously, miss it, and you’d fail.
This professor’s class mattered to everyone, not just Pan Li.
Her husband led the provincial TV station, and she held internship quotas each year, a golden ticket for music college grads, even in 2019, let alone 2004, for someone like Pan Li, obsessed with snagging a rich guy, the station’s platform was a dream.
With that connection, students crammed her class to get noticed, the room always packed.
Knowing Pan Li wouldn’t skip this key lecture, Wen Ying headed downstairs cheerily.
After she left, Pan Li’s roommates exchanged looks:
“Who was that girl we talked to forever?”
“Huh, I thought you knew her!”
Comparing notes, none knew her, yet Wen Ying had waltzed in, calling them “sister,” bearing snacks, so natural they’d spilled about Pan Li, only realizing afterward.
Had they just trashed Pan Li?
They vaguely sensed this girl meant trouble for her.
Glancing at each other, they silently agreed to say nothing, not warning Pan Li, eager to see her flop.
Downstairs, Xie Qian returned with the megaphone.
Wen Ying shoved leftover snacks at him, “I saved these for you, this bag’s the best!”
Xie Qian didn’t want them, she’d handed him “potato crisps,” a girly snack he avoided, but her insistence that she’d kept the tastiest for him made him pause, then take it.
Wen Ying tested the megaphone.
Xie Qian opened the bag, popped one in, the heavy MSG taste nearly floored him!
Spit or swallow? Both tough, he suspected Wen Ying wasn’t after Deng Shangwei’s fling but him—why, he hadn’t even annoyed her.
Gritting his teeth, he swallowed, stuffed the rest in his bag, and changed the subject, “You didn’t find her upstairs, huh?”
Wen Ying grinned, shaking her head, “Nope! Let’s grab lunch here at the college, Pan Li’s out now, but she’ll be at her afternoon class, I’ve got it confirmed, I’ve got a big gift for her, she’s gotta sign for it in public for the full effect.”
Xie Qian wasn’t so sure.
Pan Li attending class assumed she still cared about school.
Now pregnant, pushing Deng Shangwei to take responsibility, and after provoking Chen Li today, she’d gone all-in… Xie Qian wondered if Deng Shangwei’s promised 350,000 yuan compensation had come through, to some, with that cash, failing a class was trivial.
Doubts lingered.
Seeing Xie Qian tag along without question, loyally joining her at the college, Wen Ying couldn’t keep treating him like a fool, she explained a bit, “Remember the Longtan Lake ‘accident’? I said there was more to it, Pan Li and my uncle’s mess ties directly to that, she’s a honey trap set for him, not just an affair, it’s a business feud… long story short, my uncle won’t take responsibility, Pan Li’s stunt with my aunt today was orchestrated, she’s burned that bridge, the kid’s got no one, she can’t afford to ditch school now.”
That was what disgusted Wen Ying most.
Pan Li would profit from this, land a decent job, pose as an urban professional, outsiders oblivious to her past, she’d marry well, clean slate achieved.
With that, Xie Qian got it.
A pawn, then.
He eyed the megaphone, “What’s your plan?”
Wen Ying smirked, “Trash like her staying here ruins the school’s vibe, I’m getting her expelled!”
…
In one of Yu Wenhao’s properties, Pan Li nestled against him, cooing, then sneezed.
Yu Wenhao pushed her away in distaste, she leaned closer, purring about her feats, “Wen哥, I followed your orders, confronted Deng Shangwei’s wife today, she’s a pushover, though their maid’s a shrew, yanked out a chunk of my hair.”
Yu Wenhao praised her efficiency, Pan Li giggled, “Wen哥, Deng Shangwei promised me 350,000 to leave his wife alone, but at your word, I’d ditch that cash, you can’t just toss me a few compliments and call it done!”
Yu Wenhao sneered inwardly.
Even praising her strained his conscience.
If Pan Li had skills, she’d have locked Deng Shangwei down, now it’s a mess, he knew the kid wasn’t Deng Shangwei’s, time was tight.
He couldn’t ditch her yet, so he humored her, asking what she wanted, Pan Li skipped cash, demanding a three-bedroom condo and a job, “Our department’s Professor Fang, her husband’s a provincial TV bigshot, Wen哥, help me out, I want her connection to land a gig there.”
