The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

“An’an, why did you remain silent all this while?” Shu Xiaoman asked eagerly.

“Xiaoman, don’t be so hasty.” Zhang An’an sighed. “Don’t you know what Wanxin is capable of? Gu Xi told me that she hired some people to create difficulties for Lin Wenxi when he was doing his part-time job and then managed to upload photos of her and Zhao Yuan to the computer that Zhao Yuan bought for Lin Wenxi. Lin Wenxi smashed the computer to pieces upon seeing the photos. Do you think you’re able to outwit her?”

“What? How did you know these things I never heard of? It looks like Wenxi is more intimate with you…” Shu Xiaoman was surprised and somewhat annoyed.

“You care about Wenxi. So do I. He’s also my friend. But you just focus on acting against Wanxin. By doing so, you can’t help Wenxi and will probably get yourself into trouble. I seldom talk to Wenxi. Instead, I often talk with his best friend Gu Xi and he’ll tell me something about Wenxi. Besides, I always remain neutral. As such, Wanxin won’t pay much attention to me or consider me her enemy,” Zhang Anan said gently.

“Are you suggesting that Wanxin will consider me her enemy?” Shu Xiaoman couldn’t help but feel surprised. “But she didn’t do anything to me except sending her thugs to ruin my things.”

“As she has just said, she only considers those who help Wenxi as her enemies. When Gu Xi spoke for Wenxi just now, Wanxin immediately said that thing to break his heart. He must be crying alone in the garden now. You said that she never did anything to you. Do you forget how she made you tell that thing to Lin Wenxi? After you told him about the bet between her and Zhao Yuan, he began to estrange himself from you. No matter how hard you try to help him, he seldom talks to you now. He doesn’t hate you. He’s just afraid of being hurt by you again. By making you divulge the secret to Wenxi, Wanxin got close to Zhao Yuan again and hurt both you and Wenxi without doing anything by herself. What a meticulous plan! Don’t you feel afraid of such a scheming girl?” Zhang An’an said seriously.

Shu Xiaoman could not help but gasp. “I… I want to move to another dorm.”

“Really? If you move to another dorm, can you stop yourself from helping Wenxi from time to time? As now you live in the same dorm room, she won’t go too far. Once you live in another dorm, who knows what will happen in the future?” Zhang An’an frowned slightly and said.

After a moment, she added, “If you can stop yourself from caring about Wenxi and acting against Chen Wanxin, she won’t do anything to do when you move to another dorm. Perhaps she’ll even try to rope you in!”

“What? That’s impossible! She hates my guts!” Shu Xiaoman said indignantly.

“She doesn’t hate you. You don’t deserve that. Neither of us does. She hates only Wenxi and all those people who help Wenxi to act against her. Think about Zhou Nannan. She’s also a friend of Wenxi but she always stays neutral. “Among the four girls in our dorm, Nannan is the most innocent and pure-minded girl. She acts like a child, and everyone likes her. To be frank, Chen Wanxin is not a mean girl. She treats Zhou Nannan sincerely and always gives her good snacks and nice clothes. When Zhou Nannan got beaten up, she turned to Chen Wanxin first instead of Wang Zhengjuan. Now both Wang Zhengjuan and Zhou Nannan are grateful for her,” Zhang An’an said and then asked Shu Xiaoman to sit down together with her in a quiet corner. She drank some water and then looked at Shu Xiaoman while sighing inwardly, “Sigh, this girl is really not smart enough.”

Shu Xiaoman lowered her head and asked, “What if Wanxin knows that you…”

“She treats me friendly and at the same time guards against me, since she knows that I’m able to guess her thoughts. She treats Wang Xiang very well too. She sent him a signed jersey and a pair of brand sport shoes on his birthday. Wang Xiang readily accepted all the gifts. I dare not tell him any secret now, in case that he’ll divulge it when he get drunk,” Zhang Anan said dejectedly.

“Yes, you’re right. All the girls in our class like Wanxin. She often gives us a treat and always behaves modestly in the dancing team. She gives us chances to lead a dance, pick clothes or even gain more credits. She never competes with us. She treats all the boys nicely too no matter whether they’re her suitors. Once anyone needs her help, she’ll never refuse. In this sense, she’s somewhat like Zhao Yuan,” said Shu Xiaoman.

“You’re quite observant now. As to Zhao Yuan, he’s popular among the boys since he often teaches those martial arts for free and help them mend things. His family is poor, so he can’t receive any financial aid from his family. Gu Xi also takes pity on him for that. He’s such a capable young man and exceptionally good at playing basketball. All the boys in our class think highly of him. As they’ll usually accept his advice, he has helped the university counselor solve many problems. Because of this, he has been promoted from the head of the sports department to the vice president of the student union. He has organized many different activities and made great achievements in soliciting investment funds for the university. By doing so, he must’ve accumulated many business connections. His people skills are as good as those of Wanxin. The only difference is that Zhao Yuan has achieved this all by himself. He’s not as rich and powerful as Wanxin. He can rely on only his ability and… appearance. When I first met him, I thought that he was too masculine. I used to think that his future partner had to be very submissive, but to my surprise, Lin Wenxi is not such a person. I’ve been proved wrong this time,” said Zhang An’an.

“So do you… like Zhao Yuan?” asked Shu Xiaoman.

Zhang An’an slowly shook her head and said, “Girls who like him probably owed him something during their previous lives. He often coaxes those girls into helping him by smiling at them or hugging them. After he gets what he wants, he’ll get rid of them quickly without giving them any chance to pester him. What a jerk! I can’t like such a guy. Lin Wenxi really did a good thing by subduing this jerk!”

“Haha, how did Wenxi manage to do that?” Shu Xiaoman asked gleefully.

“If you want to know more about it, you can talk with Gu Xi. He enjoys talking about the things between Zheng Kai and himself and those between Zhao Yuan and Wenxi. Wenxi is usually quiet, but he’s actually well-versed in debating. Zhao Yuan seldom outwitted him.” Zhang An’an said with a smile.

“Zhao Yuan seems to get much closer to Wanxin this year. Even Wenxi feels jealous,” said Shu Xiaoman.

“Yes. Before the New Year vacation, they treated each other like strangers, but after the vacation, his attitude suddenly changed. Considering what happened to his father, I guess there are many things that we don’t know,” Zhang An’an said while smiling faintly. “Do you remember the senior military instructor named Luo Yang? Wanxin often contacts him and asks him to do all kinds of things for her. Her family must be very powerful. I guess that Lin Wenxi’s family is powerful too, although he never talks about it.” Zhang An’an said.

Shu Xiaoman was intrigued and asked, “What makes you think so?”

“Look at the certificate posted on the school’s official website. It’s written according to the story that Wenxi made up. What does that mean? Do you really think that Wenxi is able to persuade the dean and the president of the university to issue such a certificate?” Zhang An’an said with a meaningful smile.

“So how did he do that?”

“He managed to do that with the help of his Identity! Sometimes, your identity is even more important than your ability,” said Zhang An’an.

“What’s your background? You’re such a smart girl. You can’t be a child of an ordinary family,” Shu Xiaoman asked with a smile.

“My background? You’ll know about it in the future.” Zhang An’an said mysteriously.

“What should I do in the future?” asked Shu Xiaoman.

“Firstly, you have to control your temper and don’t deliberately act against Chen Wanxin again. That being said, you can still occasionally express some dissatisfaction with her in a proper way. Secondly, don’t be impulsive and think well before you act. What Wanxin did recently was not a big deal. Remember what she said over the phone that day. She’s clearly up to something. Once we notice that she’s going to do something to Wenxi, we have to stop it or ask someone else for help without exposing ourselves,” said Zhang An’an.

“You don’t have to be so smart,” Shu Xiaoman pinched Zhang Anan’s flabby stomach and said.

“There’s another thing you need to remember. No matter whether Lin Wenxi and Zhao Yuan will end up being together or not, this thing is between them. You can’t change it. Given this, stop caring so much about them. Besides, if you sincerely hope that Lin Wenxi will end up with Zhao Yuan, you should get over Lin Wenxi as soon as possible,” said Zhang An’an.

“What do you mean? I never like…” said Shu Xiaoman.

“Save it. Don’t tell me that you never feel a thing for him. If so, why did you get used by Wanxin and tell Wenxi the bet between Wanxin and Zhao Yuan?” Zhang An’an said seriously.

Shu Xiaoman was rendered speechless and blushed a little, after some thought, she said, “An’an, you see through everything, but what about your own relationship with Wang Xiang? I don’t think that he loves you very much. He seems to have written a poem about some girl named Ziping recently. Who knows if he falls in love with another girl? He’s somewhat unfaithful and deceptive.”

Zhang An’an shook her head. “He’s a romantic guy. I know it. I can tell that he loves me. Once we get married and have children, he’ll change.”

“What? Do you begin to think about marrying him now?” Shu Xiaoman asked in surprise.

“Somehow I think that I’m destined to love him. He has many shortcomings, but he’s kind and sometimes very obedient like a child. Besides, he’s also a responsible guy,” Zhang An’an said with a smile.

“Are you sure that you love him as a man instead of a child?” Shu Xiaoman teased.

“Hey!” Zhang An’an cuffed Shu Xiaoman.

“Even if Wenxi does have a special background just like you said, is he really able to bear all the consequences? Do you think that he’ll be alright?” Shu Xiaoman asked worriedly.

“I think that he’ll be alright. If he doesn’t get strictly disciplined by someone from his family, he won’t let Wanxin bully him like that in the university,” said Zhang An’an. “I don’t think that his family will be hard on him after knowing this thing.”

“I hope so. Sigh…”

The two girls slowly walked back to their dorm while chatting.