Chapter 58: Sigh! The Telephone & Capitalism

Seeing that Zefi was genuinely about to have someone drag her away, Lin Zhiyan hurriedly sent him a message before he could block her.

This time, she didn’t dare tease him anymore and got straight to the point.

[yzy: Kui Furen came to the school!]

[yzy: Save me, save me! I can’t deal with him!]

After sending the message, Lin Zhiyan saw the status bar switch to Typing… for a few seconds before it disappeared. In its place came the vibration of an incoming call.

Good. Good. She was saved!

Like someone clutching a lifeline, Lin Zhiyan immediately answered. Not far away, Kui Furen was holding a teacup and chatting with a professor. Catching her glance from the corner of his eye, he smiled and took a sip of tea.

Biting her lip, Lin Zhiyan obediently turned her back to him and hid in a corner.

“Why do you have to deal with him?” Zefi asked calmly, cutting straight to the point. “What did you do?”

“Why does it have to be something I did? Couldn’t it be something he did?” Lin Zhiyan dodged the issue and quietly took a breath before enthusiastically stirring up trouble.

“Did you know? He said you two are the same age. He also said he’s not like you—he actually likes making friends around campus instead of refusing to graduate. And you know what? He said all of this in front of a bunch of people. He even said you like flirting everywhere and enjoy being the center of attention.”

She felt a little guilty after saying it and covered her mouth, peeking at Kui Furen with only her eyes visible. Only when she confirmed he wasn’t looking at her anymore did she relax.

A long exhale came through the terminal, as if Zefi were suppressing his emotions.

Several seconds later, his icy voice arrived.

“So what? He’s spent his whole life gossiping like the lowlife he is. What’s the point of you carrying tales to me? Did you harass me three times in a row just so I could hear this?”

He tried to sound as composed and mild as usual, but Lin Zhiyan noticed the excessive rhetorical questions and idioms.

So she said nothing.

She simply breathed.

After thirty seconds of deliberate breathing, Zefi finally snapped.

“Can’t you speak when you have something to say?”

Lowering her voice, Lin Zhiyan replied,

“You keep scolding me. I’m afraid to talk.”

“When have I ever—”

Zefi stopped himself.

Several seconds later, he said,

“Lin Zhiyan, the only reason I’m still keeping in contact with you is because you haven’t completed your assignment of breaking up with Li Siheng and Le Mans. I need to make sure you don’t try any tricks. That is not a valid reason for you to keep bothering me.”

Lin Zhiyan ignored everything after the first sentence.

He’d made too many threats already. They had completely lost their deterrent effect.

Instead, she raised her voice and complained pitifully.

“You said he wouldn’t do anything to me. But when I worked at the flower shop, he spent the whole day acting all suggestive and ambiguous around me. He even tried to feed me water. I thought…”

“You…”

Zefi sounded genuinely shocked.

Not letting him finish, Lin Zhiyan interrupted.

“I thought you didn’t know what he was really like, so I came to tell you. And then you started scolding me—”

“I didn’t.”

As if he could no longer stand it, Zefi cut her off again.

There was a brief silence.

Taking a deep breath, he said,

“If I were actually scolding you, you wouldn’t have the courage to keep bothering me.”

After saying that, he pushed the conversation forward.

“And then?”

Lin Zhiyan immediately acted as though she’d forgotten everything.

“And then what?”

Zefi snorted.

Only then did she continue.

“Oh. Then I got scared. I said I wasn’t feeling well and took leave, thinking I’d avoid him for a while. But this morning there was a tea gathering in the Literature Department, and I ran into him again. I’m afraid he’ll actually do something to me!”

Zefi sounded amused.

“Afraid? From what I can see, you’d be delighted if things went further.”

“That’s true, but desire and reality aren’t always compatible.”

Lin Zhiyan admitted it openly.

“No matter what, I don’t want to hurt Le Mans and Li Siheng anymore. At least before I break up with them, I don’t want to do something like that.”

Another cold laugh.

Then silence.

But surprisingly, Zefi broke it first.

“If you’re able to resist temptation, he can’t hurt you.”

“What kind of temptation?”

“Whatever you want, he’ll give it to you.”

Zefi’s voice was soft, distant, as though it were drifting from somewhere far away.

Then he added,

“The thing you refuse to tell me may very well be the temptation he’s offering.”

At that moment, he sounded remarkably like one of those gods in myths who offered cryptic guidance to their followers.

For an instant, Lin Zhiyan felt trapped inside a labyrinth.

Both Zefi and Kui Furen seemed to be seated high above it, watching every step she took.

Like a protagonist in a myth, she responded with a sly question.

“What do you mean by something I refuse to tell you?”

“For example, the real reason you took leave.”

Zefi laughed softly.

“Do you think I’d believe you skipped seeing him because you were scared?”

His voice was light, almost mocking, yet strangely complimentary.

“When have you ever been afraid of doing anything? Once you’re angry, you fear neither heaven nor earth.”

At this point, Lin Zhiyan understood.

If she wanted more answers, she had to be honest.

Zefi was the sort of businessman who didn’t mind bargaining with tigers, yet whenever it came to her, he always forced her to be truthful.

What a bastard who loved throwing his weight around.

Finally, she admitted:

“A newspaper invited me to visit and write an article. It’s this afternoon. That’s why I took leave.”

“As expected.”

Zefi sounded unsurprised.

“You want to ask whether Kui Furen did it on purpose.”

Before she could answer, he continued.

“The opportunity came from him. If he came to this tea gathering deliberately as well, then you’ll see him again at the newspaper office this afternoon.”

Lin Zhiyan closed her eyes and let out a mournful sigh.

She knew it.

There was no way her luck could suddenly become that good.

Turns out it wasn’t a lucky break.

It was a lucky truck.

Fortunately, she was naturally suspicious of coincidences and had asked first.

Otherwise, if she encountered Kui Furen again that afternoon, she might actually collapse.

“He really—”

Before she could finish, a bell rang, signaling the beginning of the tea gathering.

Students gradually assembled.

And Kui Furen started walking toward her.

Lin Zhiyan immediately lowered her terminal.

“Manager, I’ll be right there.”

“We’re not at the flower shop anymore. Do you still have to call me that?”

Kui Furen smiled warmly.

“Come on. The tea gathering is starting.”

“Uh, I—I’m almost done with my call.”

Feeling awkward, Lin Zhiyan lifted the terminal again.

“Are you still there?”

Zefi’s tone was impatient.

“I’ve already answered everything that needed answering. Stop bothering me.”

Lin Zhiyan immediately recognized the signs of an imminent hang-up.

Worse, if he hung up now, she’d probably spend another two or three days unable to contact him.

Without hesitation, she turned toward Kui Furen.

“Oh, right. Got it.”

Then she held out the terminal.

“Manager, Mr. Zefi wants to talk to you.”

Kui Furen looked surprised.

“Really? It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken.”

On the other end, Zefi had been about to disconnect.

Instead, he froze.

Under his silver-gray hair, those ice-gray eyes widened.

“Lin Zhiy—”

“Zefi.”

Before the rebuke could leave his mouth, Kui Furen’s gentle voice cut in.

“How rare. You actually wanted to talk to me.”

Zefi sneered.

“Talk about what? About how shamelessly and indecently you’re seducing a poor student? Or how unwillingly you drift around like a ghost, picking people for your stupid little games?”

Despite the naked contempt and insults, Kui Furen’s expression never changed.

His amber eyes curved gently.

His beautiful face remained serene.

“So which bothers you more? The former, or the latter?”

His tone was as casual as small talk.

At the same time, he reached up and adjusted Lin Zhiyan’s clothes.

“No matter what, though, you shouldn’t use such vulgar language.”

Lin Zhiyan nearly died of shock.

But like everyone who talked on the phone, Kui Furen seemed to need something to do with his hands.

When she stepped back, he stepped forward.

He brushed a fallen flower from her shoulder.

“Even vulgarity wouldn’t go so far as feeding someone water.”

Zefi sounded amused.

“I wonder who exactly taught you that behavior.”

“It seems the two of you are very close. You tell each other everything.”

Kui Furen’s hand slid from her shoulder to her collar.

When she retreated, he casually hooked a finger into her collar and tugged her back as if retrieving a small animal.

“Speaking of inheritance, I’ve always wondered whose genes you and Siheng inherited. The elder Sorent? The younger Sorent? Or perhaps Nosoi?”

The moment she heard the name Nosoi, Lin Zhiyan cautiously glanced at him.

Bent slightly forward, the terminal trapped between his shoulder and cheek, both hands occupied with fixing her collar, Kui Furen noticed her gaze and smiled.

“Your buttons are mismatched. Were you in a hurry when you left?”

“Uh… y-yes.”

The second he let go, Lin Zhiyan slapped his hand away.

“The tea gathering’s starting! I’ll go first! You two keep talking!”

On the other end, Zefi heard every word.

His fingers tightened around his pen.

His voice turned glacial.

“It seems you’re really enjoying fawning over a child these days. Is that your way of proving your pathetic charm?”

“Over a terminal, everything you say sounds like the helpless roaring of someone who’s angry.”

Kui Furen folded his arms and watched Lin Zhiyan’s retreating figure.

“After all, the very first time we met, you were furious simply because she kept looking at me.”

Then, half joking and half sincere, he added:

“Zefi, you’re beautiful. You’re popular too. So don’t be so hung up on this. Don’t take out your feelings on me just because you think you’re inferior.”

“I’m constantly amazed by the thickness of your skin.”

Zefi’s response was merciless.

“If I carried the surname Kui, I’d be ashamed of my family history. The difference between a person and a tool is that a person chooses what they want to become. A tool is made only for its master’s use and waits to be employed.”

Sunlight filtered through the office window.

Seated behind his desk, silver-gray hair falling over his shoulders, he looked almost angelic.

“If the past is already gone, why don’t you free yourselves from it? Or have you become addicted to being slaves?”

For a moment, Kui Furen was silent.

Then he smiled again.

This time, though, his eyes opened slightly wider, revealing too much of the amber irises.

“So you really do care about her.”

A smile appeared on Zefi’s lips as well.

“I care because of Li Siheng’s condition. Why do you care? To prove you’re better than me?”

Then he added:

“See you this afternoon. I’m looking forward to seeing exactly how shamelessly you flatter her in person.”

He hung up.

His chest rose and fell slightly.

A faint flush colored his face.

He knew he’d acted impulsively.

But he also knew that Kui Furen had always possessed this ability.

Ever since childhood, Kui Furen had been exactly like the pests in Zefi’s family—always capable of provoking others with only a few words.

In some ways, he resembled the media empire his family had built: forever stirring up trouble.

In others, he resembled the Kui family’s ancestors, who had survived as jesters and manipulators.

Only after calming himself down did Zefi feel the pounding in his temples subside.

He picked up his terminal, sent instructions to rearrange his afternoon schedule, and then immediately started resenting Lin Zhiyan again.

A few words from her, and he’d been dragged straight into this mess with Kui Furen.

Expression cold, he sent her several messages.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Lin Zhiyan’s terminal vibrated.

She didn’t dare check Zefi’s messages.

She knew exactly what had happened.

He and Kui Furen had argued, and now she was going to be blamed.

But what was she supposed to do?

She genuinely couldn’t handle Kui Furen.

Sigh.

Better to mess with Lu Weixi instead.

Glancing toward the outer edge of the tea gathering, where Lu Weixi sat with several security personnel, she opened her private messages.

His messages had already flooded her inbox.

Without reading any of them, she replied:

[I’ve been grounded recently and couldn’t get online. I just saw your messages.]

[Here’s my social code. Add me.]

The moment she sent it, she saw Lu Weixi suddenly lower his head.

Seconds later, her newly created account received a friend request.

Staring at the black profile picture, Lin Zhiyan grinned wickedly.

And thus, a brand-new disaster began… ending with Lu Weixi becoming convinced that the mysterious account owner had secretly bought and collected photos of him because they had a crush on him.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhiyan nearly died of embarrassment trying to maintain the lie.

At the end of the tea gathering, she buried her face in her arms and silently despaired.

Around her, students were enthusiastically discussing books and films as though they actually read them.

When she finally looked up, she found Kui Furen staring at her.

He was lying on the table too, chin propped in one hand.

His amber eyes met hers.

Then he winked.

Lin Zhiyan: “…”

Falling in love with a pig meant at worst you could eat pork.

If a parasitic vine like Kui Furen fell in love with you, you’d be devoured whole.

So… loving a pig was probably the better option.

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