Chapter 301 - 298: Teaching Old Wang a Lesson

Chapter 301: Chapter 298: Teaching Old Wang a Lesson

After work, the two of them walked out of Tsinghua Science Park. The cold air outside made them shiver instinctively.

"What should we eat?" Wang Ming asked, his breath fogging in the air as he rubbed his hands together vigorously.

Jiang Xia said, "It’s so cold. Let’s get some lamb hot pot. That’ll warm us up."

"Sounds good."

The two headed toward a nearby lamb hot pot restaurant. On the way, they passed a mobile service provider’s store, and Jiang Xia popped in to get a new SIM card.

In this era, you didn’t even need real-name registration to get a SIM card. As a result, there were many people who racked up huge bills and, unable to pay, would just get a new card. It was impossible to track them down anyway.

"What are you getting a SIM card for?" Wang Ming asked, confused.

Jiang Xia smiled mysteriously and kept him in suspense. "You’ll see in a bit."

They entered the lamb hot pot restaurant and sat in a private booth. A moment later, a server brought over the copper pot, side dishes, and several plates of sliced lamb.

Jiang Xia prepared a dipping sauce for Wang Ming, casually steering the conversation toward Shen Ying.

"Old Wang, how have things been with you and Shen Ying lately?"

"How have things been? Same as always. We chat occasionally about work and random day-to-day stuff."

Wang Ming picked up some lamb with his chopsticks and placed it in the pot. Once it was cooked, he retrieved it, dipped it in his sauce, and ate it in one bite.

"HSSS... Ah, so hot."

Jiang Xia, on the other hand, blew on his before taking a sip of the rich, white lamb broth. The bowl warmed his stomach, and he instantly felt much more comfortable.

"You never talk about romantic stuff?"

"Nope."

Wang Ming shook his head. After being rejected before, he wouldn’t bring up those topics himself.

When it came to having fun, however, the two of them chatted enthusiastically. He’d said that if Shen Ying ever came to the Imperial Capital, he would volunteer to be her tour guide. He’d show her the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, treat her to the most authentic Peking duck, and so on. Shen Ying had readily agreed.

Wang Ming had always felt that their current relationship was a little closer than just friends.

Jiang Xia nodded. "So, do you still like Shen Ying?"

"Of course I do. What kind of a stupid question is that?" Old Wang rolled his eyes. Even when faced with a girl who had stripped completely naked, his first thought had been of Shen Ying.

Hearing this, Jiang Xia stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "Then how come I heard you’ve been getting close to a girl from your university? Seems like it’s the same girl who got kicked out of the group chat last time. What’s up? Trying to two-time?"

Wang Ming’s heart tightened. ’How does Old Jiang know?’

’Could it be that he saw Zhang Yuanyuan at the company today?’

"No way. I only like Shen Ying," Wang Ming denied flatly. For Shen Ying’s sake, he’d even rejected a beautiful girl who threw herself at him. ’It hasn’t been easy for me, you know.’

"Then tell me, what’s the deal with that girl? Old Wang, be honest. Don’t think you can hide it from me," Jiang Xia said with a grin.

Seeing his expression, Wang Ming instantly realized what was happening. This guy had claimed he wanted to talk about work, but he was actually here to interrogate him.

Wang Ming immediately felt a bit intimidated. ’This bastard is asking like this; he must know something.’

"It’s nothing, really. We’re in the same department, just different classes. After you kicked her out of the group chat last time, she started asking me a lot of questions about animation."

"So, you got familiar over time, is that it?" Jiang Xia said casually.

Old Wang nodded and confessed honestly, "We’re just regular friends. She asks me some questions, and I help her out. Nothing more than that."

He paused, then added, "I’ve never initiated contact with her. It’s almost always her contacting me. I’m usually busy, so I don’t have that much time or energy to deal with her."

Jiang Xia nodded. ’So he’s kept some distance. Not bad.’ "Then what’s your attitude toward her? Have you had even the slightest thought of something more than friendship? Don’t worry, this conversation stays between us. I won’t go blabbing to Shen Ying."

Wang Ming frowned and hesitated for a few breaths. "How should I put it... I definitely don’t have any thoughts of being more than friends. But she likes me. She even confessed to me last night, but I didn’t accept. I told her I already have someone I like, and after that, she said she just wants to be friends with me."

He gave a brief description of their relationship but naturally omitted the details of last night, New Year’s Eve. He’d gone from his dorm to a bar to find her, taken her to get a hotel room, and even stood guard while she showered. Although nothing happened between them, the experience was undeniably risqué and ambiguous.

"Just friends? And you actually agreed?"

Old Wang scratched his head. "That shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

Jiang Xia revealed a playful smile. ’I have to say, Old Wang, this romantically clueless guy, is just too naive. How could he believe such an obvious lie? There’s a reason he got PUA’d by a manipulative woman in my past life.’

"Did she tell you that from now on, she’ll just be your friend? That she’ll even help you chase other girls? That if you have any romantic troubles, you can confide in her, just like a platonic best friend?"

Wang Ming was stunned. ’How does he know our chat history?’

"Looks like I guessed right," Jiang Xia sighed. "Old Wang, let me ask you, if you weren’t an artist for Cat and Mouse, do you think she’d still be this close to you?"

"I’ve thought about that too. She is really interested in the company’s business. She even wanted me to help get her a job at the company, but I refused."

"So, it never occurred to you that she might be a green tea bitch? She says she likes you, then says she only wants to be friends, all so she can use you and squeeze resources out of you. Once you’re no longer useful, she’ll drop you without a second thought," Jiang Xia said seriously.

Wang Ming’s body stiffened. He swallowed, his throat dry. "That... can’t be, right?"

’He actually thought Zhang Yuanyuan had an outgoing personality. Sure, she was a bit bold when she was with him, but as soon as she heard he had a girlfriend, she backed off on her own. She even came all the way to the company today to apologize.’

’The girl clearly knows her boundaries.’

"Can’t be?" Jiang Xia sneered. "Don’t be the fool who gets played and doesn’t even realize it! She could say she likes you yesterday and say she likes me today!"

He opened a recording file on his phone and tossed it over.

"Have a listen! Get a good look at what kind of person your ’platonic best friend’ really is! There are two clips. Listen to them both."

Wang Ming gave Jiang Xia a complicated look, took a shallow breath, and pressed the play button. Soon, Zhang Yuanyuan’s soft and delicate voice came from the phone, exactly the same as when she spoke to him.

"..."

"Then... would President Jiang like me?"

"President Jiang, could I get your contact information? I... I mean, if you’re free sometime, we could have a meal together."

"I’d love to have dinner with President Jiang too."

"Oh, right, President Jiang, my name is Zhang Yuanyuan."

"Oh, I... I don’t know either..."

Zhang Yuanyuan’s voice went from soft at the beginning to practically coquettish by the end. Though they couldn’t see her face now, they could almost imagine her expression at that moment.

Wang Ming’s expression grew darker and darker as he listened. The woman might as well have had "I want to sleep with President Jiang" written all over her face.

’Isn’t she just one of those damn sluts who’d sleep with any rich guy to chase a materialistic lifestyle? And to think he actually believed Zhang Yuanyuan was a good girl, loyal in love.’

"Heh, hear that loud and clear? But let me tell you, there’s something even more exciting."

Jiang Xia scoffed, took out his phone, swapped in the newly bought SIM card, and called Zhang Yuanyuan.

He put the call on speaker.