In one obscure corner of the lively hall, Ye Xinya watched as the grumpy-looking Han Su led Ren Lian, away from Jiang Li and her after a talk. Her gaze then went back to the indifferent man by her side, her thoughts wandering all over the place.Eventually, her curiosity prevailed, so she looked around for a bit then brought her lips near his right ear after making sure n.o.body was looking at their direction. While loud cla.s.sical music was pouring into the whole place, she asked in a hushed whisper, "Hey. Why did you refuse to cooperate with them to find out and punish the one behind the internet rehabilitation school? Is it because you already know who they are?"
The man first shook his head and then walked towards the open side entrance. The girl ignored her mom"s call and followed him.
"How much do you know about the place where your brother is sent?" he asked the moment they arrived at the verandah which only had the most minimum amount of lighting.
Ye Xinya squinted her eyes to get used to the sudden darkening of the place. She then turned her head to the back of the tall boy leaning forward on the white-painted bal.u.s.trade there. What should she reply to him? What she knew was different from her guesses. Which one should she disclose?
She sunk into silence and contemplation, remembering something which she found out when she got curious about the other students that had escaped from that place. Everyone"s records were tampered with. None showed they got admitted to the mysterious and notorious disciplinary school.
Now that she thought about it, there was also him sending the files and evidence of the admins and teaching personnel"s misconduct to the police.
She gave him a complicated look before shaking her head and answering, "I think there"s no point asking what I know since I"m sure it"s way lesser than what you know."
Jiang Li tilted his head a bit toward the girl who crossed her arms after walking to his side. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
"Well, if my sometimes unreliable cheat memories are factored into the equation, then yeah." He chuckled.
Ye Xinya asked, "If you know who the mastermind is, why are you not making a move then? Is the person somebody even you, with your "backer", cannot touch?"
"Nah. It"s simply because it"s a mystery the leads have to solve by themselves to deepen their relations.h.i.+p in the absence of a villainess pressuring them in the romance side. I"m turning into a new leaf by not meddling with them." Of course, he couldn"t say this out loud.
He glanced down to the ground below. But, apart from the shadowy silhouette of the plants and leaves there, he really did not see anything more. For such a sight, depending on who was looking at it, the meaning would also differ. Others would relate it to something else, mostly negative. While he only saw it as his figure obstructing the light from the hall, thus, the lack of visibility on what the world looked like there.
After shrugging off the useless thoughts and wearing that same nonchalant face, he spoke. "No. That backer is like a time-limited extra rare item in a game. It"s even the type that has many locks on its features. It"s good for decorations and could deter minor people. But in front of those with real power, or once those with a bit of ability learned it"s a limited-use talisman, it wouldn"t be able to cover up the fact that I"ve always been powerless."
The villainess widened her eyes at him, her mouth gaping. She couldn"t believe the helpless and self-mocking smile he flashed at her for a brief second. "You..."
He looked away, returning the look of nonchalance in his face. "Ye Xin. After this day, I supposed your elders will use my name to pull your branch ahead of whatever internal compet.i.tion is happening in your family. Your engagement with the Han"s eldest son is not yet announced so they will take advantage of that to link you to me. Are you okay with that?"
"Link?" Knowing what he was referring to, Ye Xinya took a deep breath and asked herself if she was really okay with it.
Starting today, especially with the recognition of the Senator, the media people who managed to sneak into the party would surely broadcast to the world about Zuckerberg"s son and the ambiguous relations.h.i.+p he had with the little lady by his side. The Hans would most likely question her family for the sake of formality but even they wouldn"t do a thing since they were no match to Jiang Li"s family. Jiang Li hinted that the whole thing was just a deal, but the world doesn"t know. All they were aware of was that the girl from the Ye family had won the heart of some big shot boy.
Was she alright with that setup?
When no discomfort or reluctance sprung forth from her heart, she hung her head low, hiding her reddening cheeks. For a moment, she forgot even if she didn"t do that, he wouldn"t see the change in her face"s color due to the lack of illumination in the place.
Questions were running in her head. It was so shameful and annoying.
How could she have that burst of happiness for being mistaken for an item with somebody she only truly knew for a month? No, the question should be, why did she fall for a liar who only knew how to anger her?
Jiang Li was oblivious to the girl"s raging emotions and even if he knew about it, he would just laugh it off and think she was making a big deal out of nothing.
Hearing her asking about clarification, he said, "The aristocratic world might be sparkling with gold and wealth in the common people"s eyes, but it is actually a very cruel place. It"s all about utilitarianism. Both boys and girls had to enter marriage arranged for the family"s welfares. Even couples are regularly using each other for their benefits. It"s all for fame, wealth, and status. Those enslaved by these three words don"t know they"re already being demons to others, especially once they think those inferiors to them have no more purpose or merit in existing in their world."
Ye Xinya kept her silence and merely listened. It was actually not the first time that she heard or thought of his statement.
"Anyways, all I want to say is that since my newly gained father"s name is useful, your mother, at the least, will take advantage of it."
"Are you angry? About it?" After holding her peace for some time, she voiced out. "And... aren"t you too lax in revealing to me that Mr. Zuckerberg is more like a G.o.dfather?"
Disregarding her nervous stares, Jiang Li turned around and leaned his back there while crossing his arms above his chest. "Well, n.o.body"s around. I"m not worried. And no. I"m not angry. I"m too used to the system to get angry at something that negligible."
Her eyes lost focus for a moment, wondering if what he meant was the beatings and embarra.s.sing stuff he did to survive. When the kids in the school whined about the battering and punishments they got there, was he also thinking the same? Negligible compared to what he already went through?
"If Jing Mo could impress James Zuckerberg to the point he would adopt him as his son, maybe that"s the heaven finally smiling and making up to him." Gaze softened, she secretly thought.
"By the way, I"ve called you Ye Xin earlier, don"t tell me you didn"t notice?" he jokingly asked, that familiar sneering face put on.