Chapter 8: They'll drag him down with them, making them both sink...

When Jin Zhao led Jiang Xiliu into the classroom, some people were already guessing who she was.

Jin Zhao was considered a prominent figure in their department. Initially, he attracted attention because of his outstanding appearance, but later...

Someone posted a photo of Jin Zhao working on the school wall, calling him a "poor wretch pretending to be high and mighty."

That post went viral, partly because the photos were eye-catching, and partly because it was a premeditated attack.

At that time, Jin Zhao had just enrolled in school and had no idea who he had offended.

His roommate saw it and subtly reminded Jin Zhao about what was on the campus wall. He nodded and said "thank you," and that was the end of it.

Jin Zhao doesn't seem to care.

He faced the impolite stares with composure and gently rejected all inexplicable kindness.

I've always been a loner, even now.

When someone suddenly appears in class with a member of the opposite sex, everyone is curious.

Upon hearing Jiang Xiliu's words, everyone else thought: "She really is my girlfriend."

This is a classroom, not a game. If the teacher doesn't call on him, Jin Zhao won't stand up on his own just because Jiang Xiliu said something.

However, the teacher in this class was easy to talk to: "Then sit down and listen to the lesson carefully. In the future, young couples can talk about these things, and have more in common."

The students burst into laughter, and one boldly remarked, "Teacher, nobody likes to talk about studying when they're in a relationship."

The teacher shook his head and said, "To make progress, one must learn to balance love and studies..."

When Jiang Xiliu sat down, her feet stepped on Jin Zhao's shoes. She snatched Jin Zhao's pen and book, wrote a few strokes, and then returned them to him.

She was furious. This guy not only ungratefully dragged her to sit in the front row, but he also just "left her to die"!

Jin Zhao looked down and saw that she had chosen an empty space and written: You're finished!

Her calligraphy must have been specially practiced; it's not the delicate type. With just a few strokes, it's powerful and elegant, full of spirit.

Jiang Xiliu is... a bit strange.

It's normal that she disliked him after their first meeting due to the accident, but her way of showing her dislike was to trick him into coming to her house and asking for money for medical expenses in order to get him to be with her.

At the time, Jin Zhao thought she was no different from those who were attracted to his looks, and that she would only be interested for a short time before giving up.

But he underestimated the ruthlessness that comes with absolute power.

Jiang Xiliu meticulously orchestrated a performance for him through others, making him realize how easily his resistance crumbled; at the same time, she used this opportunity to completely bind herself to him, but after binding herself to him, she left him aside.

On the positive side, she forced him to take on four million in debt and made him sign a sugar daddy/sugar baby agreement.

To say she's bad is one thing, but aside from sleeping with him once, she didn't do anything else. She even spent a lot of money importing a new machine from abroad, and that machine just happened to be able to help his grandmother with her illness.

Jin Zhao didn't believe it was a coincidence, but he also couldn't sense how much Jiang Xiliu liked him.

The feeling she gave him was more like... she wanted to drag him down with her and make him sink with her.

But the young lady's situation was clearly a hundred times better than his.

Beside her, Jiang Xiliu poked at the ball of light in her mind and angrily cursed, "Is Jin Zhao illiterate? Can't he even understand three words? He's staring at me so intently it's making me dizzy."

[System 0777: Hmm... Maybe it's because your handwriting is so beautiful that I took a few more glances.]

"Bullshit." Jiang Xiliu blindly poked at its non-existent eye. "Look at his expression, where is the appreciation?"

[System 0777: Miss, why don't you loosen your foot first before looking?]

From the moment she sat down until now, she has been exerting force with her feet, as if determined to break his toes.

Jiang Xiliu finally remembered that Jin Zhao could feel pain, and out of compassion for 777, she lifted her foot.

The moment she let go, Jin Zhao finally reacted. He turned his head toward her and asked, "Is the height wrong?"

Jiang Xiliu was stunned by his words, and she stretched out a slightly bent long leg from under her chair.

"Find a comfortable height for yourself."

[System 0777: ...Wow, Jin Zhao is so thoughtful~]

The stupid system is just mindless hype for the male protagonist.

Jiang Xiliu felt a surge of anger stuck in her chest, unable to subside.

Thoughtful? It's clearly a roundabout way of insulting her for having short legs!

But she couldn't say directly that he was insulting her; if she did, wouldn't that be admitting that her legs were really short?

Jiang Xiliu had no interest in or need of listening to the lecture, so she angrily grabbed her phone and searched for information on how to bully her kept lover.

The first and most important point: cut off his source of income and stop giving him money.

Jiang Xiliu recalled her extremely insulting sugar daddy agreement, um... it seems... it was for zero wages.

Is it because her sugar daddy is too stingy? Of course not! She's not a stingy person at all.

This person still owes her money, and she hasn't even asked him for interest. Isn't that enough?

Of course it's enough.

After successfully convincing himself, Jiang Xiliu went to look at the second option: raise another one to put him through the mental and physical torment.

If she were to adopt a new one, would Jin Zhao really suffer both physically and mentally?

No, he'll probably just be happy that he's finally going to regain his freedom.

Jiang Xiliu felt uncomfortable just imagining it. She patiently looked at the third option: beat and scold him in front of his family so that he would realize who the real king and queen are.

Jin Zhao only has her terminally ill grandmother left at home. If she really takes action and angers the old woman to the point of death, then... that would be a real feud.

After searching for ages without finding a way to retaliate, the young lady was so angry she wanted to smash her useless old phone again.

This long class was the last one in the afternoon. As soon as the bell rang, the students in the classroom walked out in small groups, discussing what to have for dinner.

Jin Zhao put away his books, reached out and grabbed the young lady's arm, pulling her up from her inexplicably listless state: "When are you leaving?"

To Jiang Xiliu, those words were no different from telling her to "get out of here," and she finally snapped: "Didn't I tell you? You're finished! I'm not leaving these next few days; I'll follow you around every day. You! You better watch out!"

"Okay, I got it." Jin Zhao tossed her empty drink cup into the trash can by the classroom door. "What do you want to eat tonight?"

Jiang Xiliu casually replied, "I have no appetite."

She was annoyed by his indifferent response and deliberately emphasized, "I told you to serve me, did you hear me clearly?"

Jin Zhao: "I heard you clearly."

Jiang Xiliu frowned even more deeply and began to dredge up old grievances: "Did you deliberately make me sit in the first row?"

No. I've been sitting there the whole time.

"Then why didn't you tell me the answer just now? Were you trying to make a fool of me?"

"We're sitting in the front row, do you really think the teacher is blind?"

Jiang Xiliu:......

The teaching building where they attend classes is a public building where students from all colleges take classes, and there are also some study rooms that are open all day.

It's lunchtime now, and many students are leaving get out of class, crowding onto the narrow staircase as they walk down.

Jiang Xiliu angrily shook off Jin Zhao by half a body length. As soon as she reached the stairwell, she was overwhelmed by the "human smell" that hit her and felt like vomiting.

Summer's tail end hasn't completely disappeared, and the sweltering heat makes the smell even more nauseating.

But people kept coming down from upstairs, and she was instantly blocked in front of and behind her. Jiang Xiliu could neither go in nor back, and could only follow the crowd down.

In order to get Jin Zhao to take care of her, she first let him hold all her belongings, including her phone.

Once he gets separated from the crowd, I doubt I'll be able to find him later.

Jiang Xiliu was a beat slow to react and felt a little flustered. As she was squeezed into a corner, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

She turned around—

It's unclear how Jin Zhao managed to get past those people and stand behind her.

It was at this moment that Jiang Xiliu realized that she was indeed short in front of him, with the back of her head forced to touch his heart.

The young lady always thought her height was perfect, so once they got away from the crowd and into an open space, her first question to him was, "Aren't you a little too tall? You're not 1.9 meters tall, are you?"

"It's not that high." Jin Zhao handed her a tissue. "Let's go."

After wiping away her sweat, Jiang Xiliu threw the trash to Jin Zhao.

She didn't know where Jin Zhao was going, so she just followed him, wandering around aimlessly in front of him, simply to annoy him.

So, the young lady followed him into the Kyoto University cafeteria.

There were long queues at each window. Jiang Xiliu felt dizzy and grabbed Jin Zhao's hand, not letting him leave: "Jin Zhao, I don't want to eat here."

Jin Zhao looked at her with his dark, deep eyes.

Jiang Xiliu reluctantly said, "Let's eat out, it's on me."

"There's not enough time." Jin Zhao found her a spot with a fan. "I have to go to work after I finish eating. You wait here."

He didn't expect Jiang Xiliu to join the queue, and after saying that, he walked into the queue alone.

Jiang Xiliu wanted to chase after him, but as soon as she stood up, she noticed someone eyeing her prime spot.

She glared at him reflexively, then sat down again.

[System 0777 pops up: Miss, since we're just killing time anyway, how about we play some games together?]

Jiang Xiliu politely declined the system's terrible technology: "Don't bother me, I'm contemplating life."

[System 0777: ? ? ? Hasn't your life already been clearly written in the novel?]

Jiang Xiliu sighed, "I'm wondering if staying here is just disgusting him, or torturing myself."

The little ball of light in my mind spun around, as if it were imitating her.

[System 0777: Detection shows that Jin Zhao's emotional fluctuations are far greater than yours. One hour ago, the task progress was changed to 15. Please continue your efforts.]

The fact that the mission progressed was a pleasant surprise.

Jiang Xiliu, who had initially considered changing her mind and leaving first, now sat firmly in her seat.

She began to recall what she had been doing an hour earlier.

Hmm... does it look like I'm stepping on Jin Zhao's foot?

How about we check it again tomorrow and see if we can move the task progress forward a bit more?

Jiang Xiliu was lost in thought when Jin Zhao returned with the food tray.

Although Jiang Xiliu said she wouldn't eat, he still took two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

The young lady glanced critically at the dishes.

Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of vegetable and meatball soup. The soup was free. There were no meatballs, only two pieces of green vegetables, which looked unappetizing.

Jiang Xiliu glared at him, chopsticks in hand, her round eyes full of reproach: "Jin Zhao, this is all you're giving me to eat?"

Compared to her usual meals, the food in front of her was truly appalling.

[System 0777 pops up: Miss, Jin Zhao usually only buys one vegetarian dish.]

Jiang Xiliu:......

So, it was because she was there that the meal was upgraded to two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes?

A note from the author:

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Young lady: How can someone grow this tall by eating vegetarian food every day? This bullshit world is truly unjust!