Deluge

Xu Juan did initially intend to look for Pei Yu at Hong Uni the next day, but some work kept him held up and he didn’t get to go.

In the end, this delay extended up to a week. On the tenth of August, he finally remembered Pei Yu. It would have been better if he didn’t; Once he thought of Pei Yu, he dramatically had the impression that he was about to fall ill from pining, he needed to see his deity immediately. 

He abandoned the fiery red Ferrari he usually drove for a car that felt more lowkey and reliable. To match with his car, he even switched up his style; Before he headed out, he glimpsed himself in the mirror and felt he was basically a gentleman… No, in better words, he should be the older gege-next-door, or the innocuous campus hottie. Whichever it was, he was definitely the sort that others would like.

Xu Juan directly drove his car towards Hong Uni, but halfway there, he suddenly realized that something felt off. He sent Tang Sisi a belated text on Wechat, asking: “Hey, has the semester started at your school yet?”

“Nope,” Tang Sisi said, “What’s wrong, Director Xu, are you looking for Pei laoshi? Then just go, he’s at the faculty dorms. Apart from when he goes on business trips, he’s in school all year round.”

“Got it, thanks.” 

Xu Juan transferred a sum of money to Tang Sisi. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it just so happened to match the price of a lipstick brand that had been trending recently. Tang Sisi was a little hesitant and tried to refuse, but Xu Juan told her to accept it, it was for her to buy lipstick with. She then happily accepted it and sent Xu Juan a cute sticker in the chat to express her thanks.

Cheerfully humming a tune, Xu Juan thought to himself, little girls like her were the easiest to coax. They believed themselves to be mature, but hadn’t actually been exposed to the various aspects of society — they were really so foolish.

Then who would be difficult to coax? To Xu Juan, such a person did not exist.

As long as a person had weaknesses or preferences, he only had to figure out and poison these roots; There wasn’t a beauty he couldn’t seduce. Of course, the prerequisite was that Xu Juan’s qualifications were good enough. Honestly, the majority didn’t need him to do anything; Countless people wanted to plaster themselves to him every day.

Hong Uni was quite a distance from his villa. Xu Juan drove for a long time, absentmindedly chatting with Tang Sisi.

Tang Sisi said that when Pei Yu took her back the other day, he gave her a lecture. He was stern on the surface, but still let her go and didn’t escalate the matter to the school. When he heard this, Xu Juan laughed: “So your Pei laoshi has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, he’s so easygoing.”

“I wasn’t expecting that either.” Tang Sisi said, “I thought that would be the end of me. Thank you, Pei laoshi. Pei laoshi truly is a person with both good looks and a kind heart.”

This was something Xu Juan liked to hear. He laughed for a while, then kept his phone. He stopped the car at the front gate of Hong Uni, but didn’t get off. 

Xu Juan was feeling somewhat hesitant.

There were two routes he could take to pursue Pei Yu. The first would be to use unscrupulous methods to coerce the other into submission; The other was to take it slow, pursuing him with every passing day until this iceberg melted down. He had tried both ways before; The results varied between good and bad, but if he were to set the end goal as seducing them into bed, then he had succeeded every time, without a single failure. And of course, the other party was always willing, too.

It might be due to recent events wearing him out, but he felt that the past few days passed by rather listlessly. Coincidentally, it would be his birthday in a few days and going by convention, it would be made into a big deal. However, he wasn’t in the mood for it this year and was even feeling a little fed up about it.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Why so? 

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Li Mengzhou liked him, and so was willing to bear the humiliation, not minding how Xu Juan chose to label their relationship.

Xu Juan, too, never really liked Li Mengzhou. At least, it wasn’t the sort of like in a dating sense. 

He truly hadn’t dated in ages; He couldn’t even recall who his last partner was.

But then again, what exactly is love?

Others’ definitions of love might be alluring, but for someone like Xu Juan, the difference between dating and sponsorship depended solely on, if he were dating, then he would be more invested. He would be willing to experience the ups and downs of the process, to express jealousy at the appropriate times. But if he were to become unwilling someday, he would likewise be able to promptly withdraw.

So, in Hou Shijie’s words: “There’s no difference, they’re all a scumbag’s playthings.” 

They merely differed in gameplay.

Hou Shijie didn’t have the guts to say this to Xu Juan upfront, though, and Xu Juan shamelessly continued to have the impression that he himself had good intentions and was earnest.

Thus, he decided he would seriously pursue Pei Yu for a while. He would work hard to let this budding relationship blossom into something substantial, so that the kindhearted Pei laoshi could bring warmth into the lonely atrium of his heart.

Once Xu Juan sorted out his feelings, he finally got out of the car. 

Hong City University was ranked quite high among the country’s higher learning institutions, and their liberal arts faculty was especially established.

Xu Juan was very familiar with Hong Uni; It was his mother He Xiangzi’s alma mater. He Xiangzi had been invited back to give speeches and Xu Juan had tagged along several times, so he could drive there with his eyes closed.

But at most, he knew where the library was, and maybe the auditorium — that sort of information. If he were asked which building in the faculty dormitory Pei Yu was staying at, that exceeded his scope of awareness.

But Xu Juan didn’t feel any sense of urgency, nor did he ask anyone for help. 

He spent some time basking in the sun against the door of his car, then got back in and drove to the front gate. Since it was summer vacation, no one stopped him and he drove in without a hitch.

Hong Uni was very big. The faculty dormitory was at the northern side, with decent surroundings. In actuality, it shouldn’t be considered a part of university grounds, but management was strict and entry was only allowed through the school’s front gate. Xu Juan wasn’t familiar with the road, so he drove several rounds with the GPS navigation system before turning in.

Although he did come to look for Pei Yu, it was his first time here, so he didn’t have the intention of absolutely needing to see Pei Yu. On the contrary, it was more like scouting out a location before committing a crime — first, he would familiarize himself with Pei Yu’s lifestyle and living environment. Then, he would be able to accurately position himself the next time and devise the perfect “chance encounter”.

Although he had low expectations, it seemed he had pretty good luck. 

He hadn’t even stopped his car, he was just approaching the outside of the residential estate when he saw someone walk out the gate.

That person was very tall and looked unbothered by the August sun, wearing conventional formal clothing. The shirt collar was tidy and clean, not one wrinkle to be found.

While walking out the gate, he seemed to have met with bad news, gaze lowered to his wristwatch with a small frown. Xu Juan thought to himself, he’s so captivating even when frowning, I have such impeccable taste.

“Pei laoshi?” Xu Juan rolled down the car window, feigning surprise, “What a coincidence, we meet again.” 

Pei Yu was momentarily stunned, the expression frozen on his face for a couple of seconds; He was clearly deep in thought.

Xu Juan wasn’t worried that the other didn’t remember him; He had enough self-confidence to ensure that the people who’d met him wouldn’t forget him. Moreover, the incident from that day had been rather exciting, how could it be so easily forgotten? What could Pei Yu possibly be pondering over, then? He was probably recalling the matter of deleting him from Wechat.

Xu Juan gave a small smile. Since Pei Yu wasn’t saying anything, he’ll take matters into his own hands.

He packed away his usual frivolous attitude and assumed a deadly serious front: “I had some business to attend to at Hong Uni, I never expected to see you. Is Pei laoshi staying here? Then this is really such a coincidence.” 

“Mn.” Due to his good upbringing, Pei Yu didn’t want to put the other in an awkward spot and gave a perfunctory response. However, he didn’t want to engage in deeper conversation with him either, so he prepared to leave.

Xu Juan immediately got out of the car and blocked Pei Yu’s way. Keeping his expression in check, he let slip a smile that could be considered sheepish. He lowered his head and rubbed at his nose, taking on an innocent tone: “Ahem, actually on Wechat the other day, I was making a joke. I didn’t get the opportunity to explain myself before Pei laoshi deleted me, it’s too awkward…”

Pei Yu watched him pointedly.

Xu Juan said: “I was in the wrong. Since we’re not familiar with each other, how could I just make inappropriate jokes like that? I apologize.” 

“It’s fine.” The corner of Pei Yu’s lips twitched and he plastered on a short, fake smile. “I have something to attend to, so I’ll be going first. Goodbye, Director Xu.”

“Goodbye.” Xu Juan stayed calm and didn’t try finding an excuse to hold him back. Coming on too strong would make things seem intentional.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yu didn’t walk far, and remained standing at the side of the road.

Xu Juan understood at the first glance; He was most likely waiting for his ride. Wow, this was indeed one destitute intellectual. From what Tang Sisi had sent, he had won numerous awards and participated in quite a few projects. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t be lacking in his finances?  So why didn’t he buy even a car? Having to rely on hailing a ride whenever he had somewhere to go was way too inconvenient. 

But time that Pei Yu spent waiting for his ride, was time that Xu Juan could use to set his plan in motion.

Xu Juan’s acting was exceedingly realistic; He made some conversation with the guard at the entrance of the residential estate, pretending to ask about the whereabouts of someone he was looking for. After receiving the news, he made a disappointed face, pulled the car door open and got in.

Xu Juan turned his car around, and when he drove back out, passed right by Pei Yu’s side. The ride Pei Yu was waiting for still hadn’t arrived and he had his head down as he looked at his phone. It looked as if the driver had cancelled on him, or as if he was about to cancel his ride.

Deliberately, Xu Juan drove past, then reversed to stop in front of him. He lowered the window, feigning benevolence: “Where does Pei laoshi want to go? If we’re headed in the same direction, I’ll give you a ride.” 

“There’s no need, thank you.” Pei Yu was clearly trying to keep a respectable distance from him, and replied without a moment’s hesitation.

This made Xu Juan laugh: “Need you go to this extent? Am I that terrifying, Pei laoshi? You’re not a little girl, so why are you afraid that I’ll plunder you of wealth and body?”

Pei Yu remained silent, sizing him up with an icy gaze. Though frosty, those eyes were really beautiful; The chill ran crystal clear, like a cold, deep pool.

Xu Juan’s heartbeat was in chaos, he felt that the weather was making him increasingly parched. Pei Yu truly deserved the recognition as a human iceberg, undaunted by the heat. 

Since he didn’t say anything for a long time, Xu Juan decided to first retreat and continue another time: “All right then, I’m leaving. See you again, Pei laoshi.”

While he restarted his car engine, Pei Yu finally lowered his guard and opened the door, getting into the passenger seat: “I’m going to Qingjing Gallery. If it’s out of your way, you can just drop me off at the subway entrance further in front, thank you.” 

“Okay.”

Xu Juan loosened his collar and felt he deserved a perfect score for his performance today. He thought to himself, this has been quite a breeze. Indeed, the ones who appeared untouchable are all paper tigers. Innocent with a low line of defence, how adorable.

“Your seatbelt.” He gave Pei Yu a smile.