Chapter 54: Her Heart Was as Sweet as a Mango

Encountering the two beauties, the familiar feeling returned. Cheng Yao no longer paid attention to Wang Churuo. He turned to Liu Hanyue and asked, “What did KFC ever do to you?”

“Bubble tea! I swear I’ll never buy KFC’s bubble drinks again. Pearls with paper straws—truly the deadliest combination of the twenty-first century. Even if a drop-dead handsome guy could be sucked out by me, the pearls just wouldn’t budge!”

Liu Hanyue fumed with indignation.

Cheng Yao looked bewildered. “I could gag. What on earth are you talking about?”

“Hahaha, what a miserable metaphor,” Wang Churuo laughed carelessly, as if she was used to such banter.

Liu Hanyue’s expression froze. Only then did she realize Cheng Yao was also present. This was how she usually chatted with Wang Churuo… In her urgency, she’d spoken without thinking.

With a dazed look, Liu Hanyue babbled, “Did I… say something?”

“Come on, Yueyue, drop the act—you’re exposed!” Wang Churuo gleefully fanned the flames, the very picture of mischief.

Cheng Yao patted Liu Hanyue’s delicate shoulder. “We’re all friends here. Let’s just talk freely from now on. The real problem is KFC’s. Junk food! I guarantee, if you tried to ‘suck’ me out, you’d surely succeed.”

“Get lost, you pervert!” she snapped.

“Ha ha ha…”

And thus began a game of chase across the campus.

Who’d have thought that Liu Hanyue, who seemed so prim and proper on the surface, could be so wild at heart?

Tsk tsk. To think, I’m a proper person myself.

Beneath the ancient trees of the campus, students chased and played. Boys ran circles around their crushes, trying to catch their attention—a vivid display of youth.

In the corridor outside the classroom, vice class monitor Fu Yujie asked with a smile, “You’re Qiu Wan from Class Two, right?”

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

“I heard someone from your class is entering the Top Ten Singers contest?”

“Yes.”

“Um… Could you help me find Cheng Yao?”

Fu Yujie felt a sharp pang, as if Cupid’s arrow had been replaced by a rocket launcher. Just when he thought love was coming his way, reality struck hard.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Cheng Yao isn’t here yet.”

“Oh… alright.”

Watching her leave in disappointment, Fu Yujie felt a pang of bitterness. He wanted to change seats.

“Excuse me, do you know Cheng Yao?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Could you call him for me?”

“He’s not here yet.”

“Oh, thank you.”

...

“Excuse me, do you know Cheng Yao?”

Within half an hour, it was already the third girl asking for him. Don’t you people have classes? And each girl, more beautiful than the last—even upperclassmen. Fu Yujie felt he might fall in love. Sure, Cheng Yao was handsome and played the guitar, but still—was this really necessary?

After a pause, Fu Yujie mustered up some courage. “I don’t know him, but I could get to know him.”

The upperclassman glanced at his face, smiled without saying a word, and walked away.

...

Chasing all the way to the cafeteria, after keeping Wang Churuo company for breakfast, Cheng Yao changed the subject. “Alright, let’s stop. Let me tell you something interesting.”

“What is it?” Liu Hanyue already had her fists clenched, showing her little tiger teeth, fierce as could be.

Wang Churuo grinned wickedly. “Give him your fiercest look, go on, howl at him…”

Cheng Yao shot her a look, as if she were crazy, then leaned in closer to Liu Hanyue and whispered, “A senior from our school got drugged at a bar.”

“Serves him right. No sympathy!” Liu Hanyue’s big eyes shone with anticipation. “And then? What happened?”

“He got… um, violated.”

“Oh my god, by whom?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Tch. You know what I hate most? People like you, who stop halfway through a story. Can’t you have a little more stamina?” Liu Hanyue huffed.

Cheng Yao saw she’d dropped all pretenses. “As for stamina, you’d have to try it to find out.”

When they reached the classroom and Cheng Yao had just sat down, he heard Zhang Lei waxing poetic from his seat. “Tell me, what is love?”

“Love? Nonsense. I’d sooner believe pigs could climb trees.”

“So, you’ve found a girlfriend?”

“No…”

Cheng Yao opened his book and said nonchalantly, “Everyone sees it differently. But love at first sight is really just lust at first sight. Love that grows over time often comes down to weighing pros and cons. Love begins with looks, deepens with talent, stays loyal to character, becomes infatuated with the body; and finally, collapses for material reasons—lost to reality.”

“Classic!”

“Absolutely classic!”

“Cheng Yao, I don’t think you’ll ever find love,” Fu Yujie piped up from behind.

Cheng Yao blinked. “You’re… the vice class monitor?”

“Hello.”

“Yeah.”

Fu Yujie pushed up his glasses and said, “Just now, several girls were looking for you. Even the class belle from next door.”

“What for?”

“They wanted your contact information!”

“Tsk tsk,” Zhu Huiyang shook his head. “The vice monitor’s right, Cheng Yao. You’ll never find love.”

Cheng Yao just smiled, saying nothing. What do you single dogs know about love?

Love can be bought, after all.

And the purest love—he’d already experienced it. The love during student days is the most genuine; after graduation, who knows what it becomes.

Fu Yujie asked softly, “Could you give me some tips on how to woo girls?”

Cheng Yao, not one to turn on a friendly face, replied, “If you’re not good-looking, then flattery is key.”

“A bootlicker?”

“Yes. If you don’t flatter her, do you expect her to flatter you? Are you the heir to some vast fortune, or do you have billions waiting to be inherited?”

Fu Yujie nodded lightly, finding sense in his words.

Cheng Yao continued, “But I’m not saying you should go overboard. What if she has athlete’s foot?”

“I’d still do it!” Zhang Lei declared.

“I’d even cure her athlete’s foot with my tongue!” Zhu Huiyang added.

Fu Yujie: “…?”

What kind of people are these?!

Even he, trying hard to hold his tongue, couldn’t help but sigh. No wonder I don’t have a girlfriend.

Cheng Yao chuckled helplessly. “Ignore them. You have to cater to her preferences, but don’t be too eager to please, or you’ll end up like them—just a bootlicker.”

“You need to make it clear that you’re only good to the girl you like, and keep your distance from others; be witty, but not lewd, or you’ll come off as a creep. Dress neatly, not sloppily. And if you can balance being proper with a hint of mischief, without crossing the line, that’s even better.”

“Got it,” Fu Yujie nodded in enlightenment.

At this moment, Wang Wenbo sat down with a burrito in hand. “What useless advice are you giving?”

Cheng Yao glanced at Zhang Lei and the others, then looked at Fu Yujie. “Don’t say that. They’re pitiful enough!”

“…?”

Fu Yujie, exasperated, stood up and left. He realized these guys were all a little unhinged.

Wang Wenbo laughed and said, “It’s really not that hard. As long as you’re not too ugly and your standards aren’t sky-high, just take the initiative and ask her out to eat. If she agrees, you’re already halfway there—at least with ordinary girls. As for the pretty ones who keep you as a backup, forget it. That’s years of experience talking.”

“No wonder you’re the expert. So, where did you spend your weekend?”

“Heh~”

...