Chapter 18: Sigh! Conspiracy & Capitalism

The terminal kept vibrating nonstop.

Le Mans’s calls rang endlessly, Lu Weixi’s threatening messages kept reminding her to check them, and at some point, Li Siheng’s calls had joined the siege of notifications bombarding Lin Zhiyan.

The terminal buzzed like a weapon on the verge of exploding, filling the entire room with clattering sounds.

Lin Zhiyan sat cross-legged on the bed in complete serenity, smiling faintly, while her soul had already left her body quite some time ago.

She realized that when it came to handling relationships, she was nowhere near as capable as she was at studying. At the same time, she also realized that she relied too much on past experience—people from the Central District and people from District 16 were fundamentally different in temperament.

She kept smiling stiffly for a while longer before dizziness hit her brain.

Calm down. Bring out the mindset of a top test-taker!

Turn everything into exam questions and solve them step by step!

Skip the hard ones first—do the easy questions first!

Very quickly, a clear line of thought formed in her mind.

That meant—

Giving up the tiny benefits right in front of her.

All these problems existed because she had grown attached to the comfort of this house, and because she had secretly hoped for that cliché “being thrown a check to leave” scenario. That had stimulated Li Siheng, led to Lu Weixi threatening her, and perhaps even Aiwen’s low mood had something to do with Le Mans.

So as long as she cut things off decisively, all these troubles would be resolved.

Although she did not want to face Li Siheng, the truth was that she could not avoid him anyway. She might as well rekindle things with him directly. After all, her stress levels were skyrocketing again, and sleeping with him could relieve stress while also solving this bizarre love triangle—or quadrilateral—and the stomach pain that came with it.

That way, Lu Weixi would also lose leverage over her.

Of course, Le Mans might retaliate against her.

So first, she had to placate Li Siheng.

Lin Zhiyan took a deep breath, her eyes sharpening.

She answered Li Siheng’s call first.

Though the ringing had sounded urgent, once the call connected, all she heard was prolonged breathing.

Li Siheng’s breathing was uneven and hurried.

Several seconds later, he finally said, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“I was waiting for you to speak first.” Lin Zhiyan sighed. “I don’t want to make you angry again.”

“You wish I’d get angry, stop caring about you forever, and disappear from your life.” Li Siheng’s voice was hoarse, trembling faintly. “I looked at your admission medical report.”

Lin Zhiyan paused a few seconds. “You even have clearance for that?”

“I only checked the basic parts.” Li Siheng was silent for a long while before continuing, “There’s still residue in your lungs. Haven’t you ever thought about getting it cleaned out at a hospital?”

Thank goodness he only checked the report.

If he investigated further, she’d be doomed.

“It’s just a tiny amount.” Lin Zhiyan relaxed slightly before asking, “Didn’t you say you didn’t believe me? Then why check?”

“Because I didn’t believe you.”
Li Siheng replied softly.

Lin Zhiyan laughed quietly, lowering her voice. “Then what about now? Do you believe me?”

On the other end came another long silence.

Then he asked, “Did it hurt badly?”

“What about you?” Lin Zhiyan countered. “When I didn’t recognize you, did it hurt?”

Li Siheng finally seemed unable to suppress his emotions any longer. His voice turned rough, laced with accusation and ridicule.

“And now you’re acting fake again? Yes, it hurt. But didn’t you still decide to leave me suffering alone? You know now—and then what? Apologize guiltily, then go be with that red-haired bastard instead, right? I saw you first. I understood you first. I was with you first. So why him instead of me?”

Question after question spilled from him, his breathing growing more frantic, as though all the resentment pent up inside him was finally erupting.

Lin Zhiyan said, “Does it make a difference? None of it would’ve had any result in the end.”

“How could there not be a result?” Li Siheng laughed in fury. “You would never say that to Le Mans.”

“I would say the same thing.” Lin Zhiyan went quiet for a moment before adding, “I’ve already thought it through.”

She continued, “Whether it’s you or him, I won’t stay involved with either of you anymore.”

“You—” Li Siheng stopped abruptly, stunned. “What did you say?”

“You’ve made it impossible for me to keep avoiding this,” Lin Zhiyan said, her voice deliberately weary. “I can’t compensate you, but I also can’t keep pretending nothing happened. So this is it. I’ll explain things clearly to Le Mans. From now on, there won’t be any connection between us.”

A faint sound escaped Li Siheng’s throat, as if no words could properly come out.

Several seconds later, he said, “You’d better mean what you say. And what’s between us is far from resolved. You think this can just be brushed aside?”

Lin Zhiyan lowered her eyes. “I’ll deal with things with Le Mans first over the next few days. You calm down too. Then we’ll meet again and settle everything completely.”

Li Siheng replied, “Fine.”

Then he added:

“At your house.”

Lin Zhiyan froze.

“No, I don’t think that’s—”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it.” Li Siheng laughed coldly. “Unless you never intended to be sincere.”

He hung up.

Lin Zhiyan let out a breath and rubbed her forehead.

The moment that call ended, Le Mans called again.

She hurriedly answered, only to be immediately met with an accusation:

“Who were you talking to?!”

“At first you weren’t answering, and after that it was constantly busy!” Le Mans sounded furious beyond endurance. Wind roared into the terminal from his side. “Why haven’t you replied to my messages?!”

“Because I don’t really know how to face you right now.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the explosive Le Mans abruptly stopped detonating. He even sounded dazed.

“What?”

“I saw your messages.” Lin Zhiyan lowered her voice. “The one where you talked about… the future.”

Le Mans instantly panicked.

“W-what are you talking about? I was just saying things casually! Why would you take it seriously? I—anyway, it’s just—”

He completely lost the ability to continue speaking, only low frustrated growls remaining in his throat.

Lin Zhiyan almost laughed.

But when she looked at the soft bed beneath her, the carefully arranged layered curtains, and the decorative plants in the corners, she ultimately couldn’t laugh.

Finally, she let out a long breath.

“I just think… we really can’t keep going like this.”

“What are you even talking about?” Le Mans finally realized something was wrong, his voice rising emotionally. “Everything was fine this afternoon! Why are you suddenly saying this tonight? Did I upset you somehow? Did I send too many messages? Because I—”

“It has nothing to do with you,” Lin Zhiyan interrupted. “Maybe your personality is terrible. Maybe the things you say aren’t pleasant. But I still think you’re different. I’ve just realized I can’t continue like this with you.”

She continued:

“Le Mans, there was never going to be any outcome for us. We just both avoided thinking about it. Isn’t that true?”

Le Mans fell silent.

Several seconds later, his trembling, agitated voice rang out.

“What do you mean there’s no outcome?! You haven’t even tried and you’re already saying this? You’re the one truly disappointing me right now!”

“That’s right. I am disappointing.” Lin Zhiyan did not waver in the slightest. “Maybe in the future, I’ll disappoint you even more. Let’s stop here. Don’t contact me anymore.”

She closed her eyes, forcing tremors into her own voice.

“I’ll also change the locks to the house. Of course, since you own the place, if you want me to move out, I’ll do that too. Goodbye.”

“You bastard, explain yourself properly!” Le Mans screamed, panic thick in his voice. “No! Don’t hang up! You haven’t explained anything clearly! How dare you do this?!”

“Le Mans.” Lin Zhiyan smiled faintly. “I’m sorry. I have to.”

“How dare you dump me so casually over the phone?!”

His voice was hoarse now, full of disbelief—and almost sounding tearful.

Lin Zhiyan stayed silent a few seconds before hanging up, then immediately blacklisted him.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Good. Next problem: Lu Weixi’s threats.

First, negotiations could never lose momentum.

Second, she needed to force out the other party’s true intentions.

Lastly, if negotiations failed, she would drag things out. The more she cared, the more it would become leverage against her.

After mentally preparing herself, Lin Zhiyan sent a message.

[yzy: Using someone’s privacy to threaten them is immoral.]
[yzy: I won’t accept any threats from you.]
[yzy: Send it to whoever you want. Go ahead.]

Buzz buzz buzz—

The terminal vibrated again.

At that moment, Lu Weixi was lying inside a gaming pod. Hearing the sound, he paused the game lazily and stretched out a hand to grab the terminal.

When he saw the messages, he suddenly laughed. The light from his eyebrow piercing flashed across his face.

Crossing one leg over the other, he typed with one hand.

[.: You’ve got some brains after all.]
[.: But you forgot—I can send it to more than one person.]
[.: In case you didn’t know, Li Siheng’s older brother won’t allow his little brother to get involved with you.]
[.: Guess what he’ll do to you?]

Lin Zhiyan: “……”

Crap. She forgot about Zephi.

Sure enough, she should’ve skipped the difficult question instead of giving Li Siheng hope first.

Holding her head, Lin Zhiyan felt her thoughts descend into chaos.

Soon, another message from Lu Weixi arrived.

[.: Noticed you went silent for three minutes.]
[.: Looks like you’re wavering. Want to hear my conditions?]

[.: I don’t care whether you’re gold-digging or juggling several guys.]
[.: But I care a lot about my elective grades.]

[.: 【File】]
[.: The electives marked in red—you’ll attend them for me.]
[.: Eight thousand per class. I’ll transfer the money.]
[.: Think about it?]

Lu Weixi waited awhile without receiving a reply.

He wasn’t worried.

He knew she was capable enough—and poor enough.

Even without the photo, he could still force her agreement somehow. The photo merely gave him more insurance.

He closed the gaming pod and played games a while longer.

Half an hour later, he finally received a response.

[yzy: Why me specifically?]

[.: Because you happened to get caught by me.]

[yzy: …Fine.]

[.: Good. I’ll transfer half first, the rest at the end of the semester.]

[yzy: I’m curious about one thing. What do the courses marked in green mean?]

[.: None of your business. Fishing for information won’t work. I just like marking things green.]

Seeing Lu Weixi’s reply, Lin Zhiyan knew further questioning would get nowhere, so she stopped.

She reopened the file and carefully reviewed the courses marked in green.

Soon, she spotted a familiar class:

Modern District 16 Customs and Cultural History Studies

…Wasn’t this that class with extremely high credits but very few hours?

At that moment, a guess formed in Lin Zhiyan’s mind.

Could this also be one of those “easy GPA booster” classes for the privileged kids?

Or had Lu Weixi already arranged someone else to attend it, or planned to go himself?

But that didn’t make sense either. For a cultural theory course like this, there was no reason for him not to let her substitute.

Lin Zhiyan had no way to verify her guess, but she decided to remember it anyway. She had to stay wary of Lu Weixi. If anything changed, she would immediately start making anonymous accusations about academic corruption and abuse of power—even if she had to exaggerate wildly.

At any rate, she refused to suffer losses.

She grumbled inwardly, but the thought of eight thousand per class quickly sweetened her mood into a radiant smile.

Starting tomorrow, she’d reward herself with a week of ice cream bread!

Pulling the blanket over herself, a rare anticipation for the next day appeared on Lin Zhiyan’s usually indifferent face.

The quiet night slept peacefully.

After a long while, the sun rose, tearing open the darkness and revealing a clear blue sky.

Le Mans had barely endured until dawn before hastily throwing on clothes and heading outside.

Last night had been too late—if he went out then, he would definitely alarm his parents, so he forced himself to endure it. He had tried sleeping, but every time he closed his eyes, her words echoed in his ears, making sleep impossible.

His red hair was messy, his green eyes exhausted, and his chest burned like fire.

He hurried downstairs without stopping, but the moment he stepped outside the building, a group of servants blocked his path.

Anger appeared on his face.

“What are you doing? I’m going to class!”

“Young Master Le Mans,” a servant bowed respectfully. “There are many matters concerning the family banquet these next few days, so Madam hopes you will assist her in hosting.”

Le Mans gritted his teeth. “But I still need to go to school, I—”

“Madam has already requested leave for you.” The servant continued politely, “You may remain at home without worry.”

Le Mans said again, “Then what about Aiwen—”

“Miss Aiwen will also be helping.” The servant replied, “She left this morning with the butler to purchase supplies.”

“But I feel suffocated. Can’t I at least go for a walk?”

“This is Madam’s order.”

The servant lowered his head.

This time, Le Mans truly had no excuse left.

Everything felt absurd.

He had been discarded like a fool, yet now he didn’t even have the chance to see her once.

Flames rose from his chest to his face. Finally, he turned around, his eyes beginning to sting again.

Le Mans didn’t understand.

He only knew that it hurt terribly.

—

In Esela’s study, a servant soon entered to report:

“Young Master Le Mans has already returned to his room.”
“He doesn’t seem to suspect anything.”

Madam Esela nodded and looked toward the other side.

A holographic projection floated there.

Within it, Zephi sat upright on a study sofa. Beneath gray-white hair, his ice-gray eyes curved with gentle amusement. Dressed in a white suit, his posture was elegant, every word graceful and aristocratic.

“Thank you for trusting me,” he said. “I believe I can handle Le Mans’s matter properly.”

Madam Esela’s expression remained calm.

“There’s no helping it. These children keep making a mess, but it would be inappropriate for me to intervene personally. You and Le Mans grew up together, and he strongly recommended that we invest in your proposal before. Although the results weren’t ideal, we still believe you’ll handle the aftermath properly. So this time, we’ll have to trouble you with Le Mans’s issue as well.”

“He’s like a younger brother to me. It’s no trouble.” Zephi set down his teacup, steam moistening his lips as he smiled. “It just requires you to harden your heart a little.”

“Locking him up for a few days hardly counts as harsh.” Esela dismissed it lightly. “I just hope it works as you say and completely kills off these ridiculous thoughts of his.”

“Some matters shouldn’t alarm the target too early.” Zephi’s voice was soft, his beautiful face impossible to look away from as his eyes curved gently. “No matter how much you question Le Mans now, he’ll always find excuses, and he’ll still secretly want to contact her.”

“But since he’s already thinking about confessing, if you keep him confined a few days and then release him, he’ll definitely rush to find her. At that point, once you bring him back again and discipline him properly, he won’t be able to argue anymore, nor continue contacting her privately. The relationship will definitely end.”

Esela said, “I’m only worried this will damage his spirit.”

“I’ll bring him away in a dignified manner,” Zephi replied gently. “But environment-wise, they should also be separated completely.”

Esela paused, looking at him.

“You mean…”

“Have her withdraw from school.” Zephi took another sip of tea, his tone calm. “I think the right bargaining chip will convince her to leave willingly. We can transfer her to another school. After all… she doesn’t seem very suited for the United Military-Political Academy. Otherwise, why would she become entangled with Le Mans?”

Esela pondered for a long time.

Finally, she said:

“When the time comes, you can speak with her yourself.”

Soon after, the hologram vanished.

The meeting ended.

—

Meanwhile, Lin Zhiyan felt life becoming smooth again.

Since the night of the terminal bombardment incident, three days had already passed.

Le Mans had not sent messages. Aiwen said she was busy. Li Siheng had also kept his promise and not sought her out again.

Lin Zhiyan wandered through school alone like a solitary hero, enjoying the peacefulness of loneliness—

Aside from having to attend various elective classrooms every day to answer roll call for people.

God, how could life be this peaceful?!

And how could it make this much money?!

Assistant work money, plus attendance-substitute money.

Looking at the steadily growing amount in her savings account, she couldn’t stop smiling.

But soon, Lin Zhiyan received another message.

From Li Siheng.

[Li Siheng: I’m coming to see you tomorrow night.]

Lin Zhiyan’s head immediately started hurting again.