Chapter 39: The Self-Cultivation of the Third Party

In class, Jin Yi noticed that Lu Mengyao looked somewhat embarrassed.

“Come on! What were you really doing last night while we were on the phone? I was totally baffled—I had no idea you were so adventurous, Lu Mengyao!”

Running? Really? Why not just claim you were eating spicy snacks?

Chen Qian wore a peculiar expression. She’d always been the most awkward one in the dorm after getting involved with Wang Wenbo, but now that Lu Mengyao had her own scandal, some of the attention shifted, and Chen Qian could finally relax a bit.

With a teasing smile, Chen Qian asked, “Didn’t you say you were going to tutor someone? Don’t tell me you ended up playing stepmom instead?”

“Stop your nonsense…” Lu Mengyao shot her a glare and rolled her eyes, her cheeks burning.

“So you really are seeing someone outside. Who is he? What kind of man?”

“He’s more mature—suits my standards.”

“Already out in the real world?”

Lu Mengyao nodded slightly. “The guys at school are too childish.”

“Oh, weren’t you just talking about that handsome Cheng Yao from the business university? You’re moving faster than I did!”

Lu Mengyao replied, “Actually, I’ve known him for a while now.”

“No wonder—you just used tutoring as an excuse to go on dates, didn’t you? Those Chanel bags and cosmetics, and that Cartier watch on your wrist—did he give you all that?”

“Yeah, but the tutoring is real too,” Lu Mengyao admitted. After all, Cheng Yao did want her to be Cheng Cheng’s music tutor.

Chen Qian’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You mean that blue balloon watch is real? And the Chanel bag too!?”

“Mmm…”

“Oh my god, that Chanel goes for over twenty thousand, and the watch is even more expensive! You’ve landed yourself a real catch!”

The girls around her were all a little taken aback, fully convinced now. Who would suspect a student? Most college girls couldn’t afford such things themselves.

No one expected Lu Mengyao to snag a sugar daddy so quickly, and progress so fast.

Some of the others were a little envious; Chen Qian especially couldn’t help a sour note in her tone.

No wonder Lu Mengyao had introduced Wang Wenbo to her—she’d found someone even better herself. After all, Wang Wenbo had given her a few lipsticks in exchange for dozens of nights together!

Thinking of that, Chen Qian’s face burned, and she fell silent.

Lu Mengyao felt an overwhelming sense of superiority—she’d never felt this good. She didn’t even mention the Porsche—too outrageous. In truth, she’d been shocked herself when Cheng Yao bought her one.

Cheng Yao treated her so well that it left her with some illusions.

Am I really the other woman?

And if this is what being the other woman is like, she was willing!

Snapping back to reality, Lu Mengyao changed the subject: “Enough about me. Did you hear the top ten singers competition at the business university is starting soon? Should we go check it out?”

“Sure, as long as someone’s buying dinner.”

Later, during class, Lu Mengyao opened a book hidden in her textbook—“The Self-Cultivation of the Other Woman.”

To her surprise, the book was even more helpful than she’d thought.

It cited statistics: Ten percent of beautiful female college students become mistresses! In other words, out of every hundred attractive female college students, ten become the other woman—since the wealthy aren’t interested in the plain ones.

That made Lu Mengyao feel a little better. Without realizing it, she’d become one of them.

The book was meant to warn women, and it made a valid point: “The man who gives you money will ruin you in the end.” She found that especially true.

After spending time with Cheng Yao, Lu Mengyao worried she’d become nothing more than a pretty face; once he tired of her, she’d be cast aside.

But in the critical moment, few women could resist, or stick to their bottom line.

The book described three types of women, and Lu Mengyao knew she was the one who’d “tasted the sweetness of taking shortcuts and earning quick money,” so she chose to fall—but what did it really mean to fall?

She knew her values were skewed, yet she still made this choice.

Wasn’t this just how the times were?

At least, deep down, she was clear about herself and what she was doing.

So Lu Mengyao decided to use this opportunity to better herself—at the very least, not to become a useless ornament.

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Just like that, another day passed in the blink of an eye.

Campus life was easy—no need to care about the schemes and struggles of the outside world.

“Cheng Yao, wait a second,” Zhou Ziqing called out, walking over with something in her hand.

Wang Wenbo and the others grinned, “Hurry up, we’re waiting for you in the cafeteria.”

“Is the class president interested in Cheng Yao?” Wang Churu asked curiously.

Liu Hanyue glanced over and said, “Who knows? When she ran for class president, Cheng Yao helped her get votes…”

He likes them big!

Men really do think with their lower bodies!

Cheng Yao paused. “President, what’s up?”

“Here, I’ve signed you up. Take this for the competition. There are interview, preliminary, semifinal, and final rounds…”

Ever since Zhou Ziqing became class president, she’d been diligent and attentive to detail—the kind of thoroughness only a female class president could bring.

Cheng Yao quickly understood after listening. No pressure at all.

Over five hundred students had signed up; the interview round would eliminate more than four hundred, leaving a hundred for the preliminaries. He was sure he’d make it. Then forty would enter the semifinals, and twenty would reach the finals.

So the early rounds were just for fun. Only the top twenty would have any real ability—KTV karaoke champion level.

Cheng Yao took the registration form. “Am I the only one from our class?”

“There are three others with you…”

“Alright, got it. See you.” He didn’t care who else was competing—they were all opponents anyway.

After parting from Zhou Ziqing, Cheng Yao thought about asking a few friends to hit up a karaoke bar. If not, he’d just practice in the dorm.

In the cafeteria, Wang Wenbo, Liu Hanyue, and the others were chatting.

Liu Hanyue had her hair in twin ponytails, tied with ribbons, white socks and sneakers, a cartoon-print T-shirt under a jacket—still her cute style.

So, even from a corner, she was easy to spot.

Cheng Yao sat down with his Yangzhou fried rice. Wang Wenbo grinned, “What did Zhou Ziqing want with you?”

“A date.”

Pfft—Wang Churu sprayed soup everywhere.

Liu Hanyue shot him a look. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I’m sure it’s about the singing competition.”

“Oh.” Wang Churu wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked at Cheng Yao. “How’s it looking?”

“The interviews are next Monday. I’m ready to go all out. Want to hit up KTV tonight?”

“We have evening self-study, and there’s a lecture too.”

“Guess I’ll have to practice in the dorm, then.”

Liu Hanyue asked curiously, “How many people are competing in total?”

“Over five hundred. Campus competitions aren’t a big deal unless it’s a national contest or at a music college. For me, it’s a piece of cake.”

“Oh, listen to you boasting!”

Cheng Yao took a bite of his fried rice and joked, “You’ll see just how tough I am soon enough. Want to bet on it?”

“If this were a music college, you wouldn’t stand a chance!”

The more he talked, the more Liu Hanyue refused to concede, her bright eyes full of mischief.

“Alright, so what are we betting?”

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