Chapter 75: The Gathering of the Riches
Translator: Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated
“Ren, you really got a girlfriend?” Cao Ronghua asked when he saw Hao Ren texting continuously.
“No, it’s just a friend,” Hao Ren put away his cell phone as he said.
Zhao Jiayi, on the other hand, looked over at Xie Yujia who was in the front row. He noticed that she was keeping notes carefully and her phone screen never lit up on her desk. He knew that it wasn’t her who Hao Ren had been texting.
“If it isn’t her, maybe Hao Ren is talking to another girl? He didn’t come back last night… so it wasn’t Xie Yujia whom he spent the night with? The four of us always hang around at school, and we know who Hao Ren talks to… Who else could Hao Ren get in touch with?”
Zhao Jiayi was a bit confused as he noticed a secretive smile on the edge of Hao Ren’s lips when he checked his message. He knew it must have been a girl.
“Or…” Zhao Jiayi did not think of Hao Ren’s tutoring job at night; Instead, his thoughts headed in a completely different direction: Su Han.
“Would Hao Ren be that bold? People have been gossiping about him chasing after Su Han, but they were only gossips. No one would actually believe that Su Han would become Hao Ren’s girlfriend…”
Ding, ding, ding… the bell cut off Zhao Jiayi’s thoughts.
“Come on, let’s go eat!” Zhou Liren shouted.
It was raining outside, and none of them brought an umbrella. But “guys don’t need umbrellas” was a catchphrase they used. Therefore, the four of them lined up nicely and ran towards the cafeteria.
Yixin Cafeteria, which was between Academic Building E and Administrative Building F, was a great cafeteria with delicious dishes at a cheap price. Because of these factors, it was always packed during lunchtime. The lineup would take forever for the latecomers.
When the four of them sprang into the cafeteria, the lineup was already long.
“Hey…” Zhou Liren nudged Hao Ren and pointed at the door of the cafeteria with his chin.
Xie Yujia was swinging the rainwater off her body as she walked in the cafeteria. Half of her body was soaked; she probably didn’t bring an umbrella with her today because she didn’t expect there to be rain. The white shirt became a little transparent after being soaked in the rain, and her skin could partly be seen through her shirt.
“Class President!” Hao Ren waved at her.
Xie Yujia looked at Hao Ren and nodded. She walked over as she squeezed the water out of her hair.
“So sneaky…” Zhou Liren said lightly.
He thought Hao Ren called her here because he wanted to see her body under the wet transparent shirt from a closer distance. However, Hao Ren immediately took his dark-colored jacket off and put it around Xie Yujia after she had walked over.
Xie Yujia was stunned when the jacket landed on her. She was suddenly touched by the move again.
Having seen all that, Zhao Jiayi thought to himself, “Ren has his tricks with girls!”
“Your shirt is wet, and everyone can see through it,” Hao Ren explained.
Xie Yujia nodded in appreciation.
She thought since she already got wet, it would make sense to go back to change and grab the umbrella after lunch. Who knew…
After taking off the jacket, Hao Ren was only left with a thin white tank top. His almost naked body, as well as the wetness, made him seem weird amongst the crowd.
The good thing was that the weather wasn’t too cold. Although it was raining, the temperature wasn’t low. Even though it was a little inappropriate for Hao Ren to stand in the cafeteria like this, he wouldn’t catch a cold.
“Class President, you can stand in front of me,” Zhao Jiayi said to her affably as he secretly admired Hao Ren’s brilliant tricks.
“It’s ok. I shouldn’t cut the line. I’m here with Ma Lina, so I’ll just go get in line with her over there,” she said as she walked towards Malina who was not far from them.
She suddenly turned back after a few steps. “Thank you, Hao Ren. I’ll return your jacket on Monday!” she said.
Hao Ren waved generously. “It’s ok; you can take it. It’s just a bit dirty because I haven’t washed it for a few days,” he replied.
Xie Yujia laughed as she stiffed the jacket a little. Then, she walked over to Ma Lina.
“Atta boy! You’ve got some moves!” Zhou Liren punched on Hao Ren’s shoulder when he saw her walking away.
“What moves? She was soaked. Shouldn’t I have lent her a jacket?” Hao Ren murmured.
“You are interested in Xie Yujia, right?” Zhou Liren looked excited.
“Stop it. You have made it embarrassing enough yesterday,” Hao Ren glimpsed at him.
“She must be interested in you. Judging from my experience…” Zhao Jiayi joined their conversation abruptly.
“What experience. Aren’t you single too?” Hao Ren said.
Zhao Jiayi wasn’t happy about it. He patted his chest and said, “Who says I’m not experienced…while I was in middle school…”
Cao Ronghua, Hao Ren, and Zhou Liren immediately covered up their ears and started shaking their heads. Listening to Zhao Jiayi’s brilliant history was worse than watching a boring drama show!
Hao Ren got changed after lunch, and they headed to the Mechanical Drawing Class in the afternoon. The four of them chose the same class, but Xie Yujia didn’t enroll in this course. Therefore, she wouldn’t run into them and certainly wouldn’t be able to return Hao Ren’s jacket.
Their school week finished as the two-hour class came to an end. The Internet Cafe was their Friday afternoon’s “must-go-to place”. However, instead of joining them, Hao Ren said he needed to go home that weekend.
Zhou Liren and the guys knew about his grandma’s incident, and they thought he was in a hurry to go see his grandma. Therefore, they didn’t insist.
Hao Ren said goodbye to them and stuffed two umbrellas in his bag. Then, he took a bus to LingZhao Middle School, where Zhao Yanzi was.
It was almost two o’clock, and it was only about ten minutes from the end of their last mid-term exam.
The street outside was crowded with cars such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and Bentley…It was like a mini automobile exhibition.
LingZhao Middle School was the best middle school in East Ocean city. LingZhao Private School had both a middle school and a high school department. Mid-schoolers can directly enter the high school department after graduation, so this school not only had the smartest students in East Ocean City but also welcomed the children of the most wealthy and influential people in the city.
Hao Ren was the only one who came here to pick a student up with just an umbrella in his hand.
Pleasant music sounded from the school.
Then, the parents who were waiting got out of their cars and searched for their kids. In fact, even if it was only a typical Friday afternoon instead of the midterms season, this place would still be filled with cars. Since this was a semi-boarding school, most students could only go home on the weekends.
A large group of energetic mid-schoolers rushed towards the school gate in their blue uniforms. They were moving forward akin to the waves of the ocean.
The parents called out their children’s names, and the kids boarded the cars. Hao Ren also moved forward to look for Zhao Yanzi.
“Why are you here, Uncle?” Hao Ren didn’t find her in the “waves”. However, she appeared in front of him just like last time.
“Um…I’m here to pick you up,” Hao Ren tossed her the umbrella in his hand and said.
“Since when was it your turn to pick up Zi?” a cruel voice said beside them.
Hao Ren turned around and saw Third Uncle staring at him while standing beside a black Mercedes. His big eyes and bushy eyebrows stood out from the crowd.