Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 189: Chapter 177: Zhao Wenxuan Shows His Hand

”By the way, Shufan, you’re from Experimental High School, right? I’ve got quite a few little brothers at your school, and even a few more in junior high,” Lin Jiayou chatted with the Luo siblings with ease.

Luo Qianqian pouted, ”Is hanging out with gangs cool or something? Brother Lin, don’t lead my brother astray.” She said with a face full of disdain, ”It’s just so silly, all that swaggering around.”

”Hey, hey, it’s not just me. Big Brother Bai who’s sleeping over there has been in the mix too, okay?” Lin Jiayou said with an unhappy face. If he had been good at studying, he wouldn’t have joined a gang. Who else could he blame if not himself?

”How old is he? He’s already a ’Boss’.” Luo Qianqian spoke without pulling punches. ”He even has to support a brother who’s about the same age as mine.”

”Bai Yizhu needing support?” Lin Jiayou scoffed. ”Bai Yizhu used to be my boss, okay? He was really smooth in the area around Experimental High School.”

”Off you go, as if you’re afraid no one else knows, right? If my mom finds out about you, you’re done for,” Luo Qianqian pouted. ”Hanging out is not as good as joining the military. Direct that energy towards defending the country, and you could even be a hero.”

”Exactly,” Shufan nodded in agreement. Ever since he entered the military camp, he had been extremely fond of that shade of green.

”Conscript soldiers? Two years of just training without accomplishing much, and the country’s so prosperous and strong—where would we even be needed?” Lin Jiayou shook his head, clearly not in agreement.

Luo Qianqian sighed, ”Lin Brother, you’re in your second year of high school now. You could’ve aimed for a military academy through the college entrance exams. Why go through all this trouble? And a conscript soldier? A higher education is useful, you know?”

”Military academies have their requirements too, you know?” Lin Jiayou sighed as he looked at the wounds on his arms.

”What requirements? Being healthy, having good eyesight, no infectious diseases, no tattoos—you fit all of that, Brother Lin. And when it comes to height and weight, your height is definitely enough, and your weight isn’t too slim or too fat. If that’s not enough, what do you think the military academy is, a beauty pageant? Or a pilot selection, where you can’t have scars?” Luo Qianqian was grateful she knew some insider info since a classmate of hers from a previous life had been to a military school.

”Really?” Lin Jiayou’s eyes lit up, but then they dimmed again, ”I can’t make it. If I had good grades, I wouldn’t have joined a gang in the first place.”

”Brother Lin.” Luo Qianqian barely concealed her amusement, ”My brother is a freshman, and he was the top scholar of the middle school exams, currently number one in his age group. Even if it doesn’t work out next year, you could consider repeating a year to take the exams with my brother.”

Shufan nodded in approval, ”With my sister having tutored so many people, it shouldn’t be a problem for just one person.”

”Really?” Lin Jiayou was tempted, but then shook his head, ”If I quit the gang, there’ll be trouble.” On the streets, loyalty is everything. Quitting meant he wasn’t loyal, and besides, he had promised Bai Yixian he would protect the siblings.

”It won’t interfere. You can keep skipping classes and hanging out during the day, and study with us at night. Brother Lin, you’re not dumb,” Luo Qianqian suggested with a wink, hoping those around her would have a better life. Now that her mom was going to marry Lin Xu, and Lin Jiayou and Lin Xu would become family, it was natural for her to want the best for them. If they did well, her mom would be under less stress and happier.

”Can I really do it?” Lin Jiayou looked at Shufan with anticipation.

Shufan nodded and smiled, ”Two number ones in their grades can’t help you reign supreme, they can’t help you understand?”

”That’s right.” Luo Qianqian suddenly thought of something, ”You have little brothers at Experimental Middle School?”

”Yeah, what about it? Aren’t you from First Middle School?” Lin Jiayou looked puzzled.

”Help me keep an eye on two people,” Luo Qianqian said seriously.

”Who? Just tell me their names,” Lin Jiayou agreed readily.

”First year, He Wenyu and Zhao Wenxuan.” Luo Qianqian curved her lips into a smile, ”Especially Zhao Wenxuan.”

”Qianqian, you...” Why would you monitor Xiao Yu like that? Even if they’re not friends anymore, you can’t treat a former friend that way. But he stopped himself from saying it out loud.

”Zhao Wenxuan? He’s one of those who used to hang out with me,” Lin Jiayou took out his phone, glanced at his contacts, and his mouth fell open slightly.

Luo Qianqian narrowed her eyes and sneered. Indeed, he was one not to settle for the status quo, lured by the glamorous life of others. ”Silent surveillance is no trivial matter,” Luo Qianqian huffed disdainfully, her harsh assessment causing Luo Shufan to frown.

”Okay.” Having heard this, Lin Jiayou nodded in agreement.

”There’s no need to monitor He Wenyu anymore, just don’t let him come to harm. Whatever he should avoid, keep He Wenyu from it,” Luo Qianqian reminded him. He Wenyu was her good friend, whether in her past life, now, or in the future.

”Understood.” Lin Jiayou nodded again.

Luo Qianqian hadn’t expected Zhao Wenxuan to slip up so quickly, but it would surely take some time before He Wenyu stopped trusting him and left his side. Now, with Lin Jiayou’s help, she felt confident of victory.

”Qianqian.” Luo Shufan spoke with confusion, ”Haven’t you only met Zhao Wenxuan once? How do you know he’s not a good person?”

Luo Qianqian scoffed, ”Remember when I was hospitalized? With the rainbow hair incident? Do you recall the woman in red who went to the hospital?” Luo Qianqian watched her brother nod, then slightly pursed her lips. ”That was Zhao Wenxuan’s mother, his biological mother.”

”The red caterpillar?” Luo Shufan quickly made the connection. His sister wasn’t often hospitalized; if he couldn’t remember that handful of times, then he must have a problem with his memory. However, it seemed to be an incident from five years ago. Could his sister still remember something so trivial? ”How do you know that he is the son of that caterpillar?”

Luo Shufan was too disdainful to even refer to that woman as a person.

”Just came across it,” Luo Qianqian rolled her eyes, obviously unable to reveal her past life experiences. ”Like mother, like son. If the mother is that way, what good can the son be? I was worried for Xiao Yu, and of course, it turned out this way,” she said, spreading her hands as if helpless.

”I’ll go explain to Xiao Yu,” Luo Shufan said with a frown, looking at his sister and rising to his feet.

”Forget it, she won’t believe it now. Let time prove it, along with some human intervention,” she said, turning to Lin Jiayou and smiling slyly.

”Leave it to me,” Lin Jiayou, having caught on, was prepared to make life difficult for Zhao Wenxuan and to expose his true nature to He Wenyu. That would be easy: by elevating Zhao Wenxuan’s status, his arrogance would naturally surface, and everything else would fall into place. Just thinking about Luo Qianqian’s hospitalization and the rainbow hair made him uneasy, determined to handle the situation impeccably to atone for past wrongs.

”Take it slow, no rush, like my Monday slowly drawing near,” Luo Qianqian lifted the corner of her mouth, a shimmering light in her eyes.

”Should we simulate an injury?” Lin Jiayou proposed darkly.

”Good idea,” Luo Qianqian hurriedly nodded in approval.

”Beat it,” Luo Shufan said, flicking his sister on the forehead. ”Aren’t you afraid your good friend will worry?”

”That’s true,” Luo Qianqian reconsidered, especially since there were others in the class who knew the situation. For example, the person currently supplying fruit to their home—Pei Yuhao.

”Brother, if you don’t start cooking now, you’ll have to deal with Big Brother Bai once he wakes up,” she said, watching Luo Shufan, engrossed in the television program that was left on—Journey to the West.

”Ah, right.” Luo Shufan quickly headed to the kitchen.

Luo Qianqian whispered to Lin Jiayou, ”Zhao Wenxuan, I want him to fall from grace and be completely discredited!” Luo Qianqian’s eyes blazed with determination and were filled with revulsion for the name she spoke.

”As you wish,” Lin Jiayou felt indifferent; after all, this was part of the life he had chosen.

”Then I’ll be troubling Brother Lin,” Luo Qianqian said, concealing the hatred in her eyes and smiling sweetly at Lin Jiayou.

Lin Jiayou was briefly lost in thought. Was this the same girl who had just spoken such harsh words? A woman’s heart is impenetrable, truly daunting indeed.