82: Chapter 82 The Fox Disrupts My Dao Heart

"But they aren't you."

This sentence from Zhao Qingyan left Shen Weiyue completely stunned. He sat blankly in front of his computer, motionless for a long time.

What did she mean?

She... she doesn't actually like me, does she?

She must like me!

Oh no, what do I do?

If that's the case, wouldn't I have lost my top-tier School Beauty girlfriend?

Shen Weiyue suddenly remembered that two days ago, when he was chatting with Zhao Qingyan about the word 'hope', he had said he hoped to find a School Beauty as a girlfriend.

At that time, Zhao Qingyan replied: "You don't even try to look, how do you know it won't come true?"

Could she have been hinting at me back then?

Shen Weiyue's mind began to wander.

Every single boy in Class 6, without exception, would loudly claim that the School Beauty was too fierce and that they didn't like her or want her.

But damn it, who isn't actually tempted?

This fox has a tall figure, a slender waist, a stunning face, and is a high-IQ genius girl—the standard definition of a human beauty.

Aside from being a bit cold, she had no other unacceptable flaws.

What if she's cold on the outside but warm on the inside?

Even if she's cold inside and out, one could always warm her up.

If one could find a girlfriend like that, they'd wake up laughing in their sleep.

Shen Weiyue guiltily glanced at Brother Crow, then steadied his nerves, gritted his teeth, and asked: "Zhao Qingyan, do you like me?"

Zhao Qingyan had been feeling melancholy, but upon seeing this sudden question, she jumped in fright.

She felt like a child caught by her father while drawing on her textbook, mixed with the panic of having a secret hidden deep within her exposed.

"No!" Zhao Qingyan kicked a throw pillow away and instinctively scolded, "Did you get cocky just because you got into Jianghai University?"

"You really don't like me?"

"It is impossible for me to like you!"

Zhao the Fox retorted, and fearing that her attitude didn't seem strong enough to Shen Weiyue, she quickly added: "Look in the mirror, what part of you could possibly make me like you?"

"Your looks? They're barely passable, but I don't care about looks..."

"Your talent? Your writing is barely acceptable, but your grades are too atrocious to look at..."

"And your family background? Forget it, let's not talk about that."

"In short, you are as stupid as a donkey, so stop being so narcissistic!"

Zhao the Fox sent six messages in one go, appearing to have a very strong reaction.

"Alright, alright, you scared me. This is the Zhao Qingyan I'm familiar with. You just think of me as a very good friend and feel reluctant to see me go, right?"

Shen Weiyue let out a breath of relief, feeling melancholy. At least he hadn't lost his School Beauty girlfriend.

Damn, I got ahead of myself. The clown was me all along.

Seeing that he had already taken the initiative to explain for her, Zhao Qingyan felt a bit of regret. Was what she said too harsh?

It was just that the rare surge of emotion in her heart had already calmed down in this instant, and her habitually cold and arrogant nature reflexively crushed that impulse.

She didn't have the excess emotional energy to explain, so she replied with one word:

"Mm."

"Sigh, don't be so reluctant. Out with the old, in with the new. When you come to Jianghai later, I'll be your tour guide."

"Oh."

"By the way, isn't it a coincidence? Ning Xi actually went to Jianghai University too, and she was admitted through her C-choice application. It's too ridiculous..."

Shen Weiyue tried to change the subject to ease the atmosphere, but Zhao Qingyan didn't reply.

At this moment, Feng Jiayue sent a message.

The belt victim rubbed her butt, which had long since stopped hurting, and told him that orders for the online shop had doubled again, and she was preparing to go to the electronics market to talk to vendors about long-term supplies.

Shen Weiyue hurriedly called her to give instructions on precautions and negotiation techniques.

So, by the time he hung up the phone and returned, Zhao Qingyan's avatar had already turned grey. She had taken the initiative to end the chat.

Shen Weiyue didn't know that Zhao the Fox was feeling extremely conflicted at that moment.

...

Invasion is a subtle thing.

Zhao Qingyan didn't know—or rather, it's hard for eighteen or nineteen-year-olds to know—that besides hot and direct pursuit, the establishment of a relationship also involves silent, imperceptible infiltration.

Pursuit is direct and rapid; breaking through the heart's door happens in an instant. If you can't break through, you end up bruised and return without success.

Anyway, it comes quickly and goes quickly.

But infiltration is a subtle habit. When a person gets used to the presence of another, they have already planted a seed in their life.

Slowly, it will take root and sprout.

Take Zhao Qingyan, for example.

For three years of high school, she always sat at a desk alone. No one bothered her, no one annoyed her, and her aura could isolate everything external.

Once Shen Weiyue became her desk-mate, the wind they blew together would carry the scent of each other.

The words exchanged in their banter would also be remembered in her mind.

Even the hair he snapped was a little bit of tsundere that would make her frown when she thought about it.

These subtle things would quietly invade, making her habitually adapt to this person.

If one day this person suddenly disappeared, she would feel unaccustomed to it.

Of course, forming a habit takes time, and time can also make a habit disappear. Once time smooths out the traces of the habit, she would return to her original self.

As for how long this time cycle is, it varies from person to person.

Zhao Qingyan didn't know she had been invaded by Shen the Donkey, but she felt somewhat uncomfortable about the fact that Ning Xi had also gone to Jianghai University.

Heh, what C-choice admission? Only a silly dog would believe that.

Shen Weiyue is a silly dog, a stupid donkey, so he believed it.

As soon as Zhao Qingyan heard it, she knew that Ning Xi had chosen Jianghai University on purpose; she was going there specifically for Shen Weiyue.

She forgot when or from whom she had heard it, but Ning Xi's dream when entering high school was to get into West China Medical Center.

Moreover, Ning Xi had once specifically asked her which university Shen Weiyue wanted to attend. How could it be such a coincidence that she ended up in the same place?

Ning Xi, oh Ning Xi, what is so good about Shen Weiyue that would make you so proactive?

Zhao Qingyan was feeling annoyed when she heard someone knocking on the door.

Lu Chunyue called from outside the door: "Yanyan, I cut some fruit. Rest your eyes for a bit."

"Mom, I told you not to call me Yanyan. It gives me goosebumps," Zhao Qingyan replied irritably.

"Then can I come in?" Lu Chunyue opened the door and walked into the study with a fruit platter.

She saw her daughter looking listless, her mood not quite right, curled up in her chair without moving, so she asked: "Baby, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?"

"No," Zhao Qingyan said coldly.

"Then go change your clothes, let's go out for a walk. Locking yourself in the study every day is too stuffy and bad for your health."

"I don't want to go out."

"Your father said we're going to Uncle Li's house at noon. Li Yunjie is back, and the two families are having a meal together."

Zhao Qingyan frowned. The Uncle Li that Lu Chunyue mentioned was her father's superior, the current Deputy County Magistrate of Lingshan County, Li Ji.

And Li Yunjie was his son, a spoiled rich kid among the county's elite.

Zhao Qingyan had never liked Li Yunjie since she was a child.

This boy was always making noise behind her back. Wherever she went, he followed, insisting on pestering her to play house and marriage games.

In middle school, the rowdy Li Yunjie announced to all the boys in the school that Zhao Qingyan was his woman and that anyone who dared to have designs on her would have their whole family killed.

He was like an idiot—feeble-minded and impulsive—just looking at him was disgusting.

Fortunately, Li Yunjie had poor grades later on, and in high school, he was sent to Australia to take the path of 'saving the nation by a devious route'.

Couldn't he just stay in Australia and watch kangaroos? Why did he have to come back?

"What does his return have to do with me? I have no interest in attending!"

"You used to play together often when you were young. I heard Li Yunjie passed the Joint Entrance Exam for Overseas Chinese Students and got into the University of International Business and Economics. Your Uncle Li said that since you'll both be in Beijing in the future, he definitely wants to take you along to get familiar with things."

Heh, so that idiot really did succeed with his devious route.

Sure enough, children from wealthy and powerful families can always find various shortcuts.

A university that requires scoring several dozen points above the key university threshold in the domestic College Entrance Exam was easily gotten into by changing one's status.

Think of the students in Class 6 who were working their hearts out, think of Shen Weiyue's one hundred days of sleeplessness and his haggard appearance.

What right does Li Yunjie have?

A wave of inexplicable anger rose in Zhao Qingyan's heart.