Chapter 25: Sigh! Romantics & Capitalism

The afternoon air carried a faint, intoxicating warmth, and even the sunlight seemed thick and rich.

Lin Zhiyan stood by the door. The breeze swept a strand of hair across her lips, and as she brushed it aside, the smile on her face was fully exposed to Jiang Yi’s gaze.

There was no denying that she was beautiful.

Yet perhaps because there were always faint shadows beneath her eyes, or because her gaze was often lowered, people noticed the weariness and aloofness about her before they noticed her looks.

Even now, when Jiang Yi saw her smile for no reason, the first thing he noticed was her eyes.

They were pure black.

Together with her dark hair, they gave her a melancholy, fragile aura.

“If you don’t want to smile, then don’t.”

Jiang Yi suddenly spoke.

Lin Zhiyan had just finished closing the door. She turned back to look at him.

“What?”

Jiang Yi suddenly didn’t feel like repeating himself.

The words felt overly nosy, so he fell silent.

Lin Zhiyan sensed the awkward silence and smiled reflexively.

At once, Jiang Yi’s fingers twitched.

Leaning back against the sofa, he lifted his chin.

Even seated, even looking upward at her, he somehow still gave off the impression that he was looking down on everyone else.

Staring at her, he asked,

“What’s so funny?”

Lin Zhiyan looked surprised.

She couldn’t understand his sudden irritation. Her eyes widened slightly.

Since she currently needed to stay on his good side, she thought for a few seconds before asking,

“Are you in a bad mood?”

Seeing her expression, Jiang Yi pressed his lips together.

“I wasn’t losing my temper.”

A strange irritation rose in his chest.

“Forget it. It’s nothing.”

Why was he even saying such pointless things?

Even Jiang Yi found himself inexplicable.

“So.”

He decided not to waste time on irrelevant matters.

“Why are you resigning?”

“The teaching assistant position gives extra credits. The pay is also quite good. Given your abilities, it shouldn’t be particularly difficult. If you’re giving up this opportunity because you’ve found another job—or because you’re taking shortcuts—then it’s a pity.”

Lin Zhiyan sat down in the armchair opposite him.

“What do you consider taking shortcuts?”

The phrase immediately put her on alert.

Maybe he knew something.

That wasn’t good.

Especially since she was planning to deceive him.

Sure enough, Jiang Yi met her eyes directly.

His gaze was calm, and his tone carried no warmth.

“Focusing your attention on other people. Relying on others to give you better things.”

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

Wonderful.

She’s doomed.

He definitely knows about her and Le Mans.

What now?

Originally, she’d planned to make up a story to cover the Louis situation first, then gradually find a way to act closer to Jiang Yi in front of Zeffy.

But if Jiang Yi already knew about her and Le Mans, then even an idiot would become wary of her motives.

Damn it.

She’d wanted both the substitute-teaching pay and the teaching assistant salary.

Now she might lose both.

Though anxious, Lin Zhiyan decided to adopt a shameless approach.

She returned his stare.

“You don’t have to be so indirect. I thought your style was to hurt people directly.”

“How direct would you like me to be?”

One eyebrow lifted.

His voice turned colder.

“I have no right to comment on your private life. But I can tell you that people—especially people in this place—will never give any relationship a future.”

“Maybe someone is gentle and considerate toward you. Maybe they’re willing to pay for everything. Tomorrow, they might demand every cent back with interest.”

He paused.

“Anything obtained by relying on others will eventually have to be repaid.”

“And usually with even more.”

Lin Zhiyan’s brain buzzed.

Not because she’d just received some life-changing wisdom.

No.

She simply couldn’t understand why Jiang Yi was saying all this.

In her impression, he barely spoke to people he didn’t care about.

And ninety percent of humanity belonged in that category.

Then—

Oh.

She understood.

Her “poor girl” character setting had kicked in.

Jiang Yi was trying to save a fallen woman.

A poor student deceived by love.

The moment she followed that logic, the whole thing became hilarious.

She couldn’t help laughing.

This time, she saw Jiang Yi’s brows knit together.

His face clearly said:

This is not funny.

Suppressing her laughter, Lin Zhiyan looked at him.

“Do you even hear what you’re saying?”

Jiang Yi remained expressionless.

“I assume you’re capable of understanding.”

“I understand perfectly.”

She looked straight at him.

“You’re telling me that if you’re poor, you should stay in your own class.”

“You’re saying that if poor people try to climb upward, they’ll be deceived.”

“Anything they gain will eventually be taken away.”

“You’re very good at arguing.”

Jiang Yi laughed coldly.

Mockery filled his dark eyes.

“But reality isn’t something you can debate away.”

“When school first started, you chose your self-respect over easy money.”

“And now you’re resigning from a job that’s entirely beneficial to you because of a relationship.”

“But I only asked one question.”

Lin Zhiyan stood up.

She walked toward him and stopped one step away.

Leaning down slightly, she looked directly into his eyes.

“I asked what you consider taking shortcuts.”

“From beginning to end, you’ve already reached your conclusion.”

“You’ve already decided that I latched onto some rich guy.”

“That I’ve stopped wanting to work hard.”

“That I’m about to drop out, get pregnant, and be abandoned.”

The more she spoke, the funnier it became.

“Tell me something.”

She asked,

“Do you think people are naturally inclined to work hard?”

“Or naturally inclined not to?”

Jiang Yi didn’t answer.

His expression only grew darker.

Lin Zhiyan raised her brows and stepped closer.

Her black hair fell along the sides of her pale face.

Her voice remained calm.

Simply stating facts.

“You know the answer.”

“Some people don’t even have the opportunity to work hard.”

“Some people struggle desperately their entire lives.”

“And some people only need to stamp a gold foil label onto themselves, add a few gemstones, and suddenly their value doubles.”

Straightening up, she turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yi rose to his feet.

He grabbed her shoulder.

“You—”

Then his arm suddenly jerked.

A strange tingling sensation traveled from the back of his hand up his arm.

His words stopped abruptly.

Looking down, he discovered a strand of her hair resting against his skin.

Apparently that was what had caused the strange sensation.

The next second, he became aware of the warmth beneath his palm.

He released her immediately.

Lin Zhiyan turned around.

“What’s wrong with me?”

For a moment, Jiang Yi’s thoughts went blank.

Even what he’d intended to say became unclear.

Several seconds later, he finally managed:

“I wasn’t trying to argue with you.”

“Besides, I never seem to win arguments against you.”

He lowered his gaze before looking up again.

His expression had already returned to its usual cold composure.

“Perhaps I made assumptions.”

“So let me ask again.”

“Why are you resigning?”

After he finished speaking, he noticed the smile was still on her face.

Her brows remained raised.

That artificial curve still lingered at the corners of her lips.

Her voice was so soft it seemed ready to drift away with the wind.

“You weren’t wrong.”

“You guessed correctly.”

“It’s because of a relationship.”

“That’s all.”

A complicated emotion flickered through Jiang Yi’s eyes.

Looking down at her, he suddenly realized how close they were.

Close enough to feel her warmth heating the air.

He stepped back and exhaled softly.

“I didn’t mean to anger you.”

“What if I’m already angry?”

Lin Zhiyan asked.

“Would you apologize?”

Jiang Yi opened his mouth.

“I—”

“You wouldn’t.”

She smiled.

“So there’s really nothing more to discuss.”

The moment she finished speaking, she began praying internally.

Come on, get angry!

She’d already figured out her story.

All she needed now was an argument, followed by tears, followed by a stubborn confession of the truth to earn sympathy points.

Heart pounding, she stared at Jiang Yi and waited for war to erupt.

But after a long silence, Jiang Yi lowered his eyes.

His voice was heavy.

“I’m sorry.”

Jiang Yi said,

“I apologize.”

Then he added,

“Can you tell me the reason now?”

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

Wait.

Wait wait wait.

What the hell?

How did this happen?!

Jiang Yi’s apology hit her like a truck.

The entire performance she’d carefully prepared instantly collapsed.

Still, she quickly took a long breath.

Her lips trembled.

“I think I should reject your apology.”

Jiang Yi’s brows twitched.

The next second, however, he noticed moisture gathering in her dark eyes.

Soon the mist became real tears.

Drops rolled down one after another.

Yet her expression barely changed.

“But I can’t reject it.”

“Because no matter how much you dislike me, or how poorly you’ve treated me, you’ve genuinely helped me.”

“Maybe that’s exactly what you meant.”

“Anything gained through relying on others eventually has to be repaid.”

She seemed determined to remain calm.

Yet her thin shoulders trembled.

“As for why I’m resigning…”

“I’m dropping out.”

“So I wanted to settle my personal affairs before leaving.”

“I came to tell you in person because I felt I owed you that much.”

“Dropping out?”

Jiang Yi froze.

Several seconds passed before he found his voice.

“Why?”

Then he added,

“You haven’t relied on me.”

“The teaching assistant position was yours because you’re qualified.”

“Nothing more.”

“Thank you.”

Lin Zhiyan wiped away her tears.

Seeing her like that, Jiang Yi felt something clogging his chest.

He pulled out a handkerchief and simply pressed it against her face.

Lin Zhiyan’s carefully cultivated emotions immediately fled in terror.

She yelped and snatched the handkerchief away.

Jiang Yi withdrew his hand.

“Why are you dropping out?”

Lowering the handkerchief, Lin Zhiyan remained silent.

Her eyes were red.

The friction from his wiping had left a faint flush across her pale cheeks.

Seeing her reaction, Jiang Yi’s pupils contracted.

He immediately arrived at his own conclusion.

Lin Zhiyan began,

“My relationship with Le Mans—”

At almost the same moment, Jiang Yi interrupted.

“Your relationship with Li Siheng?”

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

Her mind went completely blank.

What?

What?!

What the hell was he talking about?

Li Siheng?!

Wait.

Did Jiang Yi think she was involved with Li Siheng?

But where had he even gotten that idea?

Louis?

Questions crashed through her mind one after another.

But she knew she had to repair the lie immediately.

Sure enough, Jiang Yi looked at her suspiciously.

His brows lowered over his eyes.

“So you also have a relationship with Le Mans?”

Help.

Help!

Brain, start working!

Should she claim Li Siheng was just a cover for Le Mans?

No.

She still didn’t know how Jiang Yi had learned about Li Siheng in the first place.

“I… Le Mans and I…”

Throwing caution aside, she looked directly at him.

“Both received notifications.”

Jiang Yi looked down at her.

For a moment he seemed exactly like the interrogator from the questioning room.

But once Lin Zhiyan started talking, the lies came more and more smoothly.

“It was a notice from Zeffy.”

“I don’t know how much you know about me and Li Siheng.”

She paused.

“But our relationship isn’t what you think.”

“It wasn’t that he treated me well and paid for things, so I fell in love with him.”

“But your apartment fees were paid by him, weren’t they?”

Jiang Yi paused.

“I happened to see it once.”

Lin Zhiyan immediately countered:

“So based on that alone, you concluded that I was with him for money?”

Jiang Yi fell silent.

Several seconds later:

“…Sorry.”

The moment the word left his mouth, even he found the situation absurd.

Jiang Yi knew he was sharp-tongued and arrogant.

What he hadn’t known was that once the first apology was spoken, the second and third came much more easily.

Today alone, he’d apologized to her twice.

He couldn’t understand it.

In fact, it irritated him.

Lin Zhiyan, meanwhile, had only three words in her head:

I’m saved.

So that was how he’d reached his conclusion.

Which meant he hadn’t investigated her.

Steadying herself, she continued.

“Several years ago, Li Siheng came to District Sixteen for an academic project.”

“The topic was educational conditions in District Sixteen.”

“Looking back, treating us like monkeys in a zoo and observing us from above was pretty ridiculous.”

“That’s when you met him?”

Jiang Yi asked.

“He transferred into my class and became my deskmate.”

“I didn’t know who he was.”

She smiled faintly.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have entered this academy.”

Disbelief appeared in Jiang Yi’s eyes.

“…You entered this academy because of him?”

“Yes.”

Lin Zhiyan lowered her head.

Bitterness filled her expression.

“Even after he left, I still didn’t know his real identity.”

“But we promised we’d get into this academy together.”

“Later, when I found out the truth, I still never intended to rely on him.”

“I never even moved into the apartment he paid for.”

“Zeffy has decided to transfer Li Siheng away.”

“He also told Le Mans that they’re considering expelling me.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks again.

This time she didn’t wipe them away.

Clutching the handkerchief, she looked up at Jiang Yi.

“Maybe that’s why I was so angry when you assumed I’d attached myself to Li Siheng for money and power.”

“I simply happened to fall in love with someone from an influential family.”

“But even though I never asked him for anything, I’m still going to be expelled.”

She shrugged, trying to appear relaxed.

Instead, it only revealed the heaviness and irony beneath her words.

“Because I have no power and no influence.”

“So apparently the only acceptable romance for someone like me is between a maid and a servant.”

“And because I have no power or influence, when someone decides to expel me, all I can do is submit.”

Jiang Yi remained silent for a very long time.

Finally he said,

“I understand.”

Several seconds later:

“But that isn’t proper procedure.”

“Zeffy doesn’t have the authority to do that.”

“People like you always find ways to make power look legitimate when you use it.”

Lin Zhiyan smiled faintly.

“Anyway, class is about to start.”

“Even if I’m about to be expelled, I still remember what you said.”

“Teachers and students should avoid impropriety.”

“You’re right.”

Jiang Yi looked at her.

Lin Zhiyan was about to respond.

Instead, Jiang Yi suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek.

She froze.

Completely stunned.

What the hell?

Wait. Is this some kind of romantic signal?

No way. I just finished establishing the tragic-heroine character arc!

Lin Zhiyan stared at him blankly.

Yet Jiang Yi’s expression contained nothing remotely romantic.

He looked cold and serious.

“When one side has power, anything can be justified.”

“When both sides have power, it’s just a matter of whose fist is bigger.”

“Clearly.”

“My fist is bigger.”

“So I won’t allow my teaching assistant to be expelled for no reason.”

Staring directly into her eyes, he added,

“Stop smiling.”

“You’re not happy anyway.”

Lin Zhiyan’s eyes widened.

“You—”

Jiang Yi released her cheek.

“Let’s go.”

“You should get to class.”

He could tell she was still shocked.

Still confused.

But she said nothing.

Turning around, she left.

Jiang Yi checked the time and resumed straightening his clothes.

But as soon as he lowered his head, he realized his hand was still clenched.

Slowly, he opened it.

A single strand of black hair lay in his palm.

Jiang Yi stared.

And froze.