Chapter 7: Gossip
Author: Little LYTA
last update2025-06-19 12:00:31

Chapter 7: Gossip

"Enough, enough. That’s more than enough already."

Inside a quiet private room near the university’s fourth cafeteria, Jiang Chen finally set the menu aside after Luo Peng waved the waiter away.

“We’ll start with these,” Luo Peng said, his tone exasperated. “If it’s not enough, we’ll order more.”

Bai Zheli leaned back without saying a word. He still hadn’t come to terms with the transformation of the once down-bad simp into today’s casual big spender.

It was surreal.

Brother Chen, of all people, had turned into a walking money tree.

Money gained without effort truly burned the fastest.

“Jiang Chen… that six thousand—are you seriously saying Li Shuru just handed it to you for nothing?” Li Shao finally asked, voice low, tone skeptical.

“What else would it be?” Jiang Chen replied calmly, his lips curling into a carefree smile.

As absurd as it sounded, none of them could come up with a better explanation. What reason did Li Shuru have to give him that kind of money?

"What are you planning to do now?" Luo Peng leaned in slightly, wary.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… are you really planning to keep chasing Li Shuru?”

“Of course I am.” Jiang Chen’s voice was firm, almost righteous. “Giving up halfway? That’s not in my DNA. Besides, I haven’t even really started yet. Why would I back down before the game’s even begun?”

Bai Zheli hesitated. “But Brother Chen… you’ve taken her money. If you keep pestering her, that’s just… I don’t know. Isn’t that kind of scummy?”

Jiang Chen’s eyes didn’t flinch. “So, because she gave me six thousand, I should give up on my right to pursue happiness? That’s a bit cheap, don’t you think? No way. I’m not throwing in the towel.”

Luo Peng nearly choked on his drink.

He had seen shameless before. But this? This was entering world-class levels.

Li Shao tried to intervene. “If you’re serious, then at least return the money. Don’t let her think you’re the kind of guy who’d just take the cash and—”

“She already thinks the worst of me,” Jiang Chen interrupted. “Giving the money back won’t change that. Besides…”

He smirked.

“…she’s going to be mine eventually. Her money is just future shared assets. Why draw lines that’ll fade anyway?”

Silence fell over the table.

Luo Peng stared at him like he was trying to see if an alien had replaced his roommate.

How could someone be this boldly delusional and this absurdly confident at the same time?

“Forget the beer. I’ll get something better.”

Jiang Chen stood, strolled over to the mini-fridge, and pulled out four bottles of ‘Happy Fat Otaku Water.’ As he poured the fizzy drinks, he turned to Luo Peng with a grin.

“Pengzi, you’re well-connected, right? Do me a favor.”

Luo Peng narrowed his eyes. “What kind of favor?”

“Help me get Li Shuru’s contact info.” Jiang Chen slid a drink in front of him.

It wasn’t an impossible ask. Luo Peng wasn’t close with Li Shuru, but he knew people who were.

Still… “You sure about this?” he asked.

“Completely.”

Jiang Chen’s gaze didn’t waver. “You were right, Pengzi. There are countless girls better than Ai Qian. Li Shuru is just one of them. Now, are you helping me or not?”

Luo Peng sighed, then downed his drink in one bitter gulp. “I’ll try.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Jiang Chen beamed and patted his shoulder approvingly.

“Brother Chen, you’re famous!” Bai Zheli suddenly exclaimed, staring at his phone.

“Famous?” Li Shao leaned over.

“The whole campus is buzzing,” Bai Zheli muttered, handing over his phone. “People are saying Li Shuru paid Brother Chen to leave her alone. It’s blowing up on campus social media.”

Li Shao scrolled through the posts.

The ridicule was everywhere.

> “Jiang Chen? That simp again?”

> “He couldn’t even win over Ai Qian, and now he’s targeting someone two leagues above?”

> “Li Shuru must’ve been terrified—paid him to vanish! Smart move. Ai Qian should’ve tried that.”

> “Saw them by the men’s dorm last night. Bro, I thought it was a prank.”

Li Shao’s expression darkened. “Ignore them, Jiang Chen. Don’t let it get to you.”

Luo Peng didn’t even look at the screen. He didn’t need to. He already knew what kind of venom it held.

But Jiang Chen?

He sipped his Otaku Water calmly and smiled. “They’re just jealous.”

“…”

“…”

Even his roommates didn’t know how to respond to that.

By the end of dinner, Luo Peng had somehow managed to get Li Shuru’s number. He even learned that she’d be rehearsing in the Art College’s dance studio that afternoon.

“Wait—don’t tell me you're actually going to—”

“She’s there now?” Jiang Chen asked, already rising to his feet.

“You’re really going to show up?!” Li Shao stared after him.

“It’s Jiang Chen,” Luo Peng muttered. “When he was simping over Ai Qian, we tried everything to stop him. Did he ever listen?”

Li Shao fell silent.

“He doesn’t turn back until he’s slammed face-first into a wall,” Luo Peng added, sighing. “Let him go. Once he feels the pain, he’ll quit.”

But Luo Peng had underestimated just how far Jiang Chen was willing to go for a slice of that trillion-yuan pie.

---

The Art College sat like a European castle perched on a grassy slope. Its domed glass entrance, filled with sculpted arches and subtle curves, radiated artistic elegance.

Today, being a weekend, the campus was quiet. Yet, even in silence, whispers trailed Jiang Chen like smoke.

Students pointed. Murmured. Scoffed.

He didn’t blink.

He strode up to the gate, asked for directions to the dance studio, and walked in like he owned the building.

Inside the mirrored studio, girls twisted and turned in rhythm. Their bodysuits clung like paint to canvas, tracing every elegant curve as they danced under the pale wooden beams.

None noticed him at first. Until the music cut.

Clap, clap, clap.

Applause.

The girls stopped, startled.

A young man stood at the doorway, arms crossed, an easy smile on his face.

“The dancing was really impressive,” Jiang Chen said sincerely.

A few girls froze.

“It’s you—Jiang Chen?”

His name had spread like wildfire after last night’s stunt. Li Shuru’s reputation. The six thousand. The nerve.

“What are you doing here?” one girl asked, voice tense.

“What else? He’s here for Shu Rui,” another said, smirking. She had been at KIMI the night before.

“Shu Rui, we’ll leave you two alone.”

The girls smirked as they left, casting glances at Jiang Chen as they passed, whispering to each other with interest.

Some even winked.

Soon, the large dance studio was quiet again.

Only Jiang Chen and Li Shuru remained.

The scandalous duo.

To be continued...

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