Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Xu Jun was jealous

After these words fell, the office was dead silent.

Tao Ning's expression was bewildered, while Song Yucong's eyes were pierced, his entire body ablaze with energy. He quickly rose from the sofa and approached the boy with the innocent, clear gaze. He spoke each word between his teeth, "Your teacher said you should make friends with foreigners, but Chinese people who grew up abroad also speak well."

Tao Ning nodded in agreement: "Yeah."

"You still dare?"

Everything he said would annoy the Second Young Master. Tao Ning found Song Yucong very baffling, but his peripheral vision caught sight of the English books on the table. He then thought of what the Second Young Master had just said, and when he connected the two, he frowned slightly. "...Are you going to teach me how to speak English?"

The baffled Second Young Master snorted coldly, but his handsome face no longer twisted. He said dryly, "If you beg me, I'll teach you."

Tao Ning was silent for a few seconds, thinking of her own strategy mission and the high medical bills. She sighed helplessly inwardly. Her light brown eyes turned to Song Yucong, her butterfly-like curled eyelashes blinking. Her voice was soft and gentle, "Song Yucong, please, teach me how to speak English, okay?"

Tao Ning was a head shorter than Song Yucong. When he said this, he raised his palm-sized face and looked at him with clear and clean eyes. His pupils only reflected the appearance of the person being looked at. This gave people the illusion that Tao Ning could only see Song Yucong in the whole world.

The man who had been sneering just now had his ears reddened instantly. He glared at Tao Ning and said, "Stop seducing me."

Tao Ning: “…”

He stared at Song Yucong's red ears and asked bluntly, "Are you shy?"

Song Yucong's eyes widened even further, and he angrily said, "What nonsense! Which eye of yours saw that I was shy? I tell you, Tao Ning, don't try to seduce me."

Tao Ning said, "I saw it with both eyes." She pointed at his ears with her slender fingers. "Your ears suddenly turned red just now."

Song Yucong stepped back, covering half of his ear with one hand. His narrow, long phoenix eyes glared fiercely at the aggressive Tao Ning, gritting his teeth and saying, "This lousy office is too hot! Next time I'll have someone install five air conditioners."

"But......"

"Shut up! If you say another word, get out."

Tao Ning silently shut up. Seeing that he had regained his submissive demeanor and no longer spoke words that made him feel heated, Song Yucong snorted coldly and sat back on the sofa. He raised his chin proudly towards the English book on the table and said, "Give it to me."

Tao Ning took it.

"sit down."

Tao Ning sat next to him.

Song Yucong was very satisfied with Tao Ning's obedience. He casually pulled an English book from Tao Ning's hand, flipped through a few pages with his bony hands, and cleared his throat a few times, "Country bumpkin, listen carefully."

Tao Ning looked at him and said "hmm" softly.

Song Yucong was holding "Pride and Prejudice" by British writer Jane Austen. Tao Ning had read the original work.

He lowered his head slightly, his deep features like a sculpture carved with every stroke of a knife, giving him a hint of mixed-race. His eyelashes were thick, and his phoenix eyes, always filled with arrogance, were now calm. Tao Ning watched silently, thinking to himself, this second young master was the most handsome man he had ever seen.

If he weren't stupid or willful.

The man's low and magnetic voice slowly uttered, instantly bringing Tao Ning back to reality. Song Yucong's English had a thick but elegant London accent. The clip was from "Pride and Prejudice" where the heroine Elizabeth asked the hero Darcy when he fell in love with her.

Song Yucong paused, glancing at the person beside him. The young man sat quietly beside him, as beautiful as a person in a painting. The sweet lemon scent on his body had already unconsciously disturbed his thoughts. And he, like the hero Mr. Darcy in the book, continued to read in English -

"...it had been so long that by the time I realized it, I had already fallen in love."

A low, hoarse voice ended with this sentence. Song Yucong closed the book with a "snap", folded his arms, looked at Tao Ning openly, and snorted: "Read it according to my pronunciation."

Tao Ning retracted his gaze, picked up the book and turned to the previous page, trying hard to recall Song Yucong's tone and pronunciation, and read it word for word. However, as he read, there were some unnatural changes, and the occasional local accent made the words seem funny.

It's a bit rustic, but... it's pretty good.

Song Yucong's lips curled slightly, then he quickly pretended to be impatient and frowned, interrupting him: "What the hell are you reading? It's terrible."

Tao Ning, somewhat discouraged, closed the book and remained silent, staring at him with clear, yet somewhat aggrieved eyes. Song Yucong's entire body stiffened, the blush on his ears, which had just faded, flaring up again. He turned his head away from the boy's direct gaze and snorted, "I'll read it again. Listen carefully. If you read it so poorly again, you're dead."

This was the second time Tao Ning was doomed to fail at the hands of this second young master, but he ignored her, nodded, handed the book over, and looked well-behaved.

Song Yucong snorted coldly, pulled the book over and read it again. This time he read slower than the first time, his pronunciation was more deliberate, and he paid more attention to the tone, each word after another was very clear.

Tao Ning instantly understood what was missing just now, so she made rapid progress the second time. Her soft voice imitated the man's low accent, and the words she read out were slow and long, like the flow of spring water.

Song Yucong stared at his rosy lips intently, his heart beating rapidly unconsciously as if it had been gently tickled by the words he read. After a long while, until Tao Ning glanced at him inquiringly, he folded his arms and snorted coldly, "It's barely understandable."

Tao Ning was stunned for a moment, and her beautiful eyes curved behind her glasses. "Thank you."

Song Yucong suddenly said fiercely: "Shut up and don't seduce me."

Tao Ning: “…”

After lunch, Tao Ning went to class, but Xu Jun still hadn't come. He was a little worried, but he didn't have Xu Jun's phone number. He thought he would write down his number when Xu Jun came back that night. However, after he finished lunch in the cafeteria, Song Yucong called him over for English speaking lessons.

He also played other types of games and ate a lot of cakes that he had never eaten before.

Night fell quietly. Song Yucong snorted coldly as he followed Tao Ning to the dormitory building. Before leaving, he suddenly threw a cell phone to Tao Ning and warned him, "My phone number is saved here. If you dare not answer my call for no reason again, you're dead."

This was the third time Tao Ning felt like he was doomed. He hugged his phone, confused. Did he really like receiving phones as gifts now? He said, "Thank you."

Song Yucong snorted coldly and left without looking back, but his steps were a little messy and his ears were a little red.

Tao Ning, holding a beautifully packaged cake in one hand and a cell phone case in the other, pushed open the dormitory door. Xu Jun was eating at his desk. It was already around ten o'clock in the evening, and he was just starting to eat? And Xu Jun never ate anywhere other than the dining table.

Xu Jun heard the sound of the door opening. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his cold gaze fell on the cake and mobile phone box in Tao Ning's hands. He didn't say anything, but calmly looked away and continued eating.

Tao Ning put away the cake and phone. He had a hunch that Xu Jun seemed to be in a bad mood.

"...You didn't go to class for a day. Did something happen?"

Xu Jun said calmly, "Yeah."

Tao Ning opened her eyes wide, "What's going on? Can I help you?"

Xu Jun put down his chopsticks, raised his cold eyes, and looked seriously at Tao Ning, whose face was filled with worry. He suddenly said, "Song Yucong instructed his friends to falsely accuse me of cheating to win the prize. I'm going to deal with this difficult matter today."

His tone was light, but the question was directed at Song Yucong.

Tao Ning was stunned. He had heard these rumors today, but he believed that Xu Jun could not have won the prize by cheating. However, he did not expect that Song Yucong was behind this. He just thought that this second young master was not a bad person.

The exquisite little cake and phone on the table suddenly became hot potatoes. Xu Jun lowered his eyes and said slowly, "I know you are a student sponsored by the Song family and need to maintain a good relationship with him, so don't feel embarrassed for me." After a pause, he continued calmly, "Your close relationship with him will also be beneficial to your development in Oxente."

Tao Ning spoke with some difficulty: "I...my relationship with Song Yucong is...average."

Xu Jun glanced at the cake and mobile phone on the table without saying anything.

This is his second phone. If this one was given by that idiot, then who gave him the previous one? How many secrets does this dumb lemon have?

Xu Jun suddenly felt an unprecedented surge of jealousy, a jealousy that felt like it was soaking in acid, his usual rationality instantly vanishing. He had deliberately said that to provoke a conflict between Tao Ning and Song Yucong, and he had deliberately sat here to eat, because he would be back in the afternoon. But when he went to pick Tao Ning up after class, he heard that Song Yucong had taken Tao Ning away.

Why did Song Yucong take Tao Ning away? Why did they spend so much time together? Why was Tao Ning so dull, so foolish? Why couldn't he understand the hidden desires he and others harbored for him?!

Xu Jun was extremely jealous. He unconsciously clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. Until the pain made him regain his senses, he tried his best to restrain himself. Finally, with what little rationality he had left, he pretended to say "hmm" in a cold tone.

If he had enough money, he could buy Tao Ning countless game consoles, cakes, and other things he liked. Would Tao Ning look at him more? So he needed to speed up his money making.

On one side was the capture target he already considered a good friend, and on the other side was the capture target he also thought was a good person. Tao Ning suddenly felt torn between the two, and finally realized the difficulty of this task of capturing these three people.

But at this moment, Tao Ning chose to believe Xu Jun because he was really a good person.

So the next day at class, Xu Jun gave Tao Ning his phone number, said goodbye with a tired look on his face, and said calmly before leaving, "You don't have to anger Song Yucong because of me."

After hearing this, Tao Ning felt more and more unfair for him, thinking that such a good person should not be treated like this, and that Song Yucong was too willful relying on his wealthy family background.

After class, he went to the office building, but did not see Song Yucong. At this time, someone said to Tao Ning respectfully, "Mr. Tao, the second young master is waiting for you on the rooftop. Please follow me."

Tao Ning followed the man to the rooftop of the tallest building in Oxent.

Half of the rooftop was indoors, and overhead was a vast dome dotted with tiny twinkling lights. At first glance, it felt as if one were standing beneath a starry sky, though by then, darkness had already fallen. A dim light came on, its rays concentrated in the center of the rooftop. Song Yucong, dressed in a black suit, leaned against a massive Steinway piano, his arms folded, exuding the elegance and disdain of a 20th-century aristocrat.

Song Yucong's handsome face showed arrogance, but his eyes were fixed on Tao Ning who came in. The road the boy was walking on was lined with gorgeous roses, and the sweet lemon scent in the air was mixed with the lustful fragrance of roses representing desire.

As the young man got closer, Song Yucong felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

It wasn't until Tao Ning stepped in front of him, stepping on the roses, that Song Yucong suppressed his joy and sat down gracefully in front of the piano. His bony hands rested on the piano keys and he snorted coldly, "You're walking so slowly. Were you a snail in your previous life? I'm in a good mood today..."

But before she could finish her words, Tao Ning took a deep breath, her soft voice firm and powerful: "Why did you find someone to falsely accuse Xu Jun of cheating to get the award? This is too much."

As soon as these words were spoken, the delicate and beautiful roses withered in an instant due to the cold atmosphere. It was as if a fire was instantly ignited in the air. Song Yucong stood up "whoosh", and his handsome face became distorted in an instant because of anger.

He approached Tao Ning and asked, "Who gave you the courage to speak to me like that?"

Grabbing Tao Ning's shoulders fiercely, Song Yucong was like an enraged trapped beast, his phoenix eyes staring coldly at the face of the person under him. However, Tao Ning no longer showed any fear, looking directly into his eyes and said, "Song Yucong, that's enough. Xu Jun won't cheat..."

"Shut up!" Song Yucong simply couldn't stand Tao Ning mentioning that name. His eyes instantly turned blood red as he stared at him, his chest heaving with anger as he roared, "How dare you be so mean to me for him?!"

Song Yucong suddenly pushed Tao Ning away, his sharp thorns erect, and said coldly: "I just framed him. Even if I kill him, what can you do to me? Others dare not even fart. I, Song Yucong, am rich and powerful. It's as easy to kill Xu Jun as an ant. And you, Tao Ning——"

He gritted his teeth and said the two words "Tao Ning", as if he wanted to eat the person in front of him alive.

"You're just as much trash as he is. Don't think that just because I showed you some color, you can do whatever you want and speak to me like that. I'm telling you, Tao Ning, the fact that you're standing in front of me right now is an opportunity I'm giving you. When I get tired of seeing trash like you, I'll find it disgusting even to look at you!"

As soon as those words fell, the rooftop, which had been as bright as the stars, fell into a deathly silence.