Ch. 1171..1180

Chapter 1171: 1170 has a spy now

After the first opposing speaker finished, it was the turn of the second opposing speaker, Zhuang Liu. While listening to his teammate rebut Tan Rou, he wished he could seal his teammate’s mouth right then and there to prevent him from speaking anymore.

“The second speaker for the opposition?” the teacher called Zhuang Liu again, “If you don’t have any points to rebut, you may choose to skip and let the third speaker for the opposition respond.”

Since the teacher mentioned skipping was an option, Zhuang Liu didn’t insist anymore. Every minute and second he sat there was torture. If it hadn’t been impossible to leave, he would have jumped to Tan Rou’s side of the debate bench.

After the opposition had stated their viewpoint, it was the proposition’s turn again to make a rebuttal based on the opposition’s points. If the opposition failed to respond and couldn’t find the most suitable evidence, they would lose.

Fortunately, Tan Rou and her teammates were quite adept, not only rebutting the opponent’s evidence but also presenting new evidence to prove their points.

However, the opposing team wasn’t doing well at all. Apart from the first speaker constantly presenting evidence, the other team members were all talking nonsense, especially Zhuang Liu. Every time he forfeited his turn, if the teacher hadn’t stated they couldn’t completely skip, he probably wouldn’t have provided any evidence at all.

“I think it’s not suitable to date during college, because… because…” Zhuang Liu racked his brains and finally thought of a reason, “because once you’ve dated, you don’t feel like doing anything else.”

His argument silenced everyone in the classroom, even the teacher didn’t react immediately to what he was saying. About a minute later, the teacher started laughing, covering her mouth, “The reason given by the second speaker for the opposition is really amusing. Having organized so many debates, I have asked this question many times, and this is the first time that I’ve heard such an argument.”

An audience member then asked, “Shouldn’t the argument presented by the second speaker for the opposition belong to the proposition?”

Others chimed in, “I feel like the proposition could use this point.”

The first speaker for the opposition angrily said, “Second speaker, whose side are you on exactly?”

Zhuang Liu replied calmly, “There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. I think being in love makes one blind, and once in love, you find that nothing else seems interesting. Is there anything wrong with this argument?”

The first speaker for the opposition was about to explode with frustration, “Your argument is flawed, and such flawed arguments should not appear in a debate. Please present another argument.”

Zhuang Liu refused to say another, having struggled to come up with that one, and he certainly wasn’t going to replace it.

The first speaker for the opposition glared at him, baffled, “You aren’t a spy sent by the other side, are you?”

Zhuang Liu responded, “I may not be a spy, but we might all be traitors. Haven’t you noticed that aside from you, no one else has put forward a solid argument? It seems everyone agrees with the proposition, so you might as well stop talking and choose to forfeit.”

The teacher reminded, “Second speaker for the opposition, our debate does not allow persuading one’s own team and the opposing debaters to forfeit. Therefore, considering your remarks, I need to deduct points from your team. Do you have any objections?”

Zhuang Liu didn’t care about the score at all, believing that besides his teammate, the first speaker, no one else really cared either.

The first speaker for the opposition felt like vomiting blood out of rage. Initially confident, he wanted to convince everyone of the downsides of dating in this debate, but his teammates, especially the good-looking young man beside him, were definitely spies sent by the other side.

As it was, there was only one debater on their side seriously defending their viewpoint, the rest were all disengaged, so they had no hope of winning.

Zhuang Liu kept glancing at Tan Rou after he had finished, as if seeking her approval.

From her position, Tan Rou could not only see Zhuang Liu but also the first speaker for the opposition beside him. Zhuang Liu wore a triumphant smile, while the face of the first speaker for the opposition was full of anger. Tan Rou thought if the teacher hadn’t been watching, the first speaker might have jumped up and punched Zhuang Liu.

Tan Rou smiled briefly and then stood up to state her team’s final argument.

Following the proposition’s final argument, the first speaker for the opposition chose to give up. He no longer wanted to waste time and, if possible, wanted to catch the next debate where he hoped the teacher would give him another chance.

 

Chapter 1172: Regret 1171

The moral education teacher’s lesson today was a debate competition. After the first debate ended, she gave the students a ten-minute break and then wrote the topic for the next debate on the blackboard.

The second match started. The teacher smiled at Tan Rou and her teammate, and just as Tan Rou thought the teacher was going to call them up to debate again, the teacher shifted her gaze away.

She didn’t choose any of the students who had already participated, but picked a fresh group of eight instead. This really infuriated the first speaker for the opposition from the previous debate. He glared at Zhuang Liu, blaming him for ruining his debate.

In reality, their team’s failure couldn’t all be pinned on Zhuang Liu. Aside from him, the other two debaters showed little interest in arguing their case, speaking carelessly and without evidence. The only thing was that Zhuang Liu’s indifference was far too apparent. He chose to skip whenever it was an option and when skipping wasn’t possible, he would offer a vague answer.

Zhuang Liu had no intention of engaging in a staring contest with the first opposition speaker because all his attention was on Tan Rou. Tan Rou watched the debaters on stage intently; she seemed to really enjoy the debate competitions.

“Do you really enjoy debates?” Zhuang Liu asked, moving closer.

Without turning her head, Tan Rou replied, “During my four years of college, I spent two years in the debate club, and I was the ace debater of our school’s team. You should know, students in the sciences are often not good at debating, but I am an exception. My eloquence is excellent. Even students from the literature department can’t get the better of me.”

Zhuang Liu couldn’t help but laugh, “Tan Rou, you’re truly amazing!”

Tan Rou said, “You don’t seem to like debates much, I hardly saw you speak just now.”

Zhuang Liu replied with a smile, “Just like you said, we science students are not particularly good at debates. Also, because of my leg injury in university, I didn’t like participating in group activities and never took part in debates. The stand up, sit down format of speaking in debates was simply too difficult for me.”

He’d been in a wheelchair for many years. Those days in the wheelchair caused him to miss out on a lot of the joys of life. When other guys were sweating it out on the sports field in college, he could only have Xiao Mo push him around the perimeter of the court.

Most guys like sports, and Zhuang Liu was no exception. Before the wheelchair, he enjoyed extreme sports—bungee jumping, rafting; he loved them all. Unfortunately, after his legs became a problem, he never participated in those activities again.

“Does it make you feel regret?” Tan Rou asked, “I mean, having been in the wheelchair for so many years, missing out on so much, does it make you feel regret?”

Zhuang Liu answered honestly, “Back then, I did feel a lot of regret. Being a teenager full of energy, while others could stand and run, I was confined to a wheelchair, which was incredibly painful for me. In order not to worry my mom, I always maintained a detached attitude towards what was happening in the outside world. My mom even thought I didn’t like sports.”

Tan Rou felt a pang in her chest, “What sports did you like? When the weather gets warmer, I will accompany you to play.”

“It’s okay, the painful past is long gone. After meeting you, I no longer consider those missed experiences as regrets,” Zhuang Liu said with a smile. “If the pain I suffered back then was so I could meet you, I’d rather have had double the pain just so you could have come into my world earlier, to save me.”

“No!” Tan Rou interrupted, “I don’t want you to suffer. If possible, I wish you had never been hurt, and I had always lived with the Tao family. That way, we could have met earlier.”

At this, Zhuang Liu felt a renewed sense of regret. If Tan Rou had always lived with the Tao family, being Tao Zhi’s sister, she would definitely have been around him. He fantasized about such a scenario—one day after school, Tao Zhi and he would walk out of the campus together, and a little girl with twin pigtails would be waiting at the school gates, greeting them with a “Hi, Brother Zhuang Liu!”

With that thought, a happy smile spread across Zhuang Liu’s face.

Tan Rou thought today’s shooting had made Zhuang Liu very happy, so she suggested, “Let’s continue with the shoot; I still have a lot of things I haven’t done yet.”

Zhuang Liu nodded, “Alright, I’m all ears.”

 

Chapter 1173: under 1172 desks

“Mm-hmm!” the ethics teacher on the podium coughed a few times, “Some students have been whispering below. If you also want to participate in the debate, I can invite you up next time. For now, please stay quiet and listen to what others are saying. When it’s your turn to come up, you won’t be allowed to skip.”

As she spoke, her gaze returned to Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu and she also made a “silence” gesture, meaning they shouldn’t talk anymore.

Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu consciously closed their mouths. The female teacher was more tolerant, agreeing to let them film here; if it had been one of those rigid old professors, they probably would have been sent out already.

Not being able to talk didn’t bother Zhuang Liu, in fact, he felt that their earlier behavior was somewhat inappropriate. This was a classroom, and apart from the discussion times, they were supposed to remain quiet. They hadn’t done that just now, but now they had to follow the classroom rules properly.

He extended a hand and slowly covered Tan Rou’s hand with his. She was startled but didn’t make a sound. She aligned her palm with his and they interlocked fingers, holding each other tightly.

Perhaps feeling that this action was too eye-catching, they slowly moved their joined hands under the table. In a place where others might notice, they held hands, conveying their love.

After a while, Tan Rou felt Zhuang Liu’s fingers move, so she loosened her hands slightly.

Zhuang Liu smiled at her, then drew circles on the palm of her hand with his finger. Initially, Tan Rou couldn’t make out what he was drawing, just feeling a tickle in her palm.

Zhuang Liu saw she didn’t react, so he slowed down. After finishing one, he paused briefly, then repeated the motion, almost in the same spot in her palm.

Tan Rou finally realized what Zhuang Liu was drawing; it was a heart, just that Zhuang Liu drew it in one stroke, so without seeing it, it felt like a circle.

Upon understanding what Zhuang Liu was drawing, Tan Rou drew a heart in the palm of his hand, and Zhuang Liu immediately realized it was a heart, his lips curving into a smile.

Initially, Tan Rou found this behavior very childish, thinking that only elementary and middle school students did such acts of writing secret messages by hand, as they were adults and shouldn’t be doing such things. But when she saw Zhuang Liu seriously writing on her palm, her heart melted.

Love often makes people foolish, and being a little silly was no big deal.

Then they began to write words in the palms of their hands and let the other guess the words, and if guessed correctly, they would draw it on the desk.

The movements under the table were invisible to others. From the teacher’s perspective, it seemed these two were just whispering and not visible what they were actually saying. From the photographer’s perspective, their hands were also out of sight, let alone capturing them writing on each other’s palms.

But by this time, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu had forgotten about the filming, seeing themselves as not yet adults, writing on each other’s palms, playing a very juvenile game.

For them, such wonderful moments were far too rare.

Tan Rou had been training since she was four years old, with no time for play. Later, when she returned to the Tan family, the Tan family members weren’t kind to her, and by then she was past the age for playing.

Zhuang Liu was similar, although he grew up in the Zhuang family with relatively more freedom. But being intelligent from a young age, the head of the Zhuang family had high hopes for him and arranged many courses, so he had no time for play either.

These two, lacking a childhood, had come together, their IQs reduced considerably, playing such a childish game for so long, which would undoubtedly be laughed at by others if known.

The debate was almost over, and they had to leave the classroom soon, so this was the last round of writing.

Zhuang Liu wrote “I love you” in the palm of Tan Rou’s hand. Tan Rou had already guessed that he would write these three words, so she replied, “I love you too, always have.”

Not to be outdone, Zhuang Liu immediately followed up by writing “I love you forever” in her palm.

Tan Rou wanted to end the game, as if they continued, it probably would be time for class to end. She nodded and responded, “Yes, love you.”

 

Chapter 1174: Chance Encounter 1173

After class, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu went to the cafeteria for a meal. Since the purpose was to experience campus life, how could they miss out on dining there?

Capital found the food quite delicious, and as long as you were willing to spend money, there were plenty of good things to eat. The seafood that Tan Rou liked was also available in the cafeteria, but since it was still the end of winter and the beginning of spring, it wasn’t the season for seafood, so the seafood counter wasn’t open, and they had to settle for stir-fried dishes instead.

“The clay pot rice noodles at this place are really tasty,” Tan Rou introduced the cafeteria’s delicacies to Zhuang Liu, “When Tian Tian, Li Li, and I don’t feel like eating home-cooked meals, we come here for rice noodles. Moreover, the noodles are cooked to order, so by the time they are served, they’re still piping hot, which is perfect for winter.”

Zhuang Liu didn’t have much interest in exploring food, but he found anything Tan Rou thought was delicious to be tasty as well.

So, Zhuang Liu ordered two of the most expensive sets, and then swiped Tan Rou’s card.

Zhuang Liu covered his forehead, embarrassed, “I forgot that you can only use the campus card to pay in Capital University’s cafeteria.”

Tan Rou had been smiling since the moment she paid, “I kept telling you that I would treat you, but you wouldn’t listen, so what could I do?”

Zhuang Liu’s ears turned red, “I just wanted to be like those male students who spend money on their girlfriends.”

“It’s the same for both boys and girls. As long as you’re spending money on someone you like, you’ll be very happy,” Tan Rou urged Zhuang Liu to try the rice noodles, “Quick, give it a try. Their beef brisket rice noodles are delicious. The beef brisket is so tender and flavorful, it melts in your mouth.”

Zhuang Liu took a bite, but ended up scalding his tongue with the steaming hot beef brisket, “Hiss—”

Tan Rou felt very distressed, “Did it burn you? I’ll go buy a bottle of water to cool it down for you.”

Zhuang Liu didn’t want to trouble Tan Rou, so he took her card and offered, “I’ll go buy it. What would you like to drink?”

Tan Rou replied, “Mango juice.”

While Zhuang Liu was away getting drinks, Tan Rou continued sitting there, eating. She had just picked up some rice noodles when she noticed some commotion at the entrance. Listening carefully, it turned out people were arguing.

“Are you guys sick? It’s mealtime now, and with so many of you blocking the door, are you even letting people eat?” Li Li, with her hands on her hips, spoke up, “Also, this is a cafeteria, a public area. Can you please move your cameras back? If we end up damaging your equipment, are we supposed to compensate for it?”

The photographer, just another person working his job, saw the fuming girl on the other side and apologized, “Sorry, classmate. We need to film a TV series here. If we’ve disturbed your mealtime, we apologize.”

Seeing his sincere attitude, Li Li’s anger subsided a bit, “I understand your work is tough, but you can’t disturb our meal, can you? This cafeteria only has two doors. The other door is very small, and it’s very crowded during meal times, practically impossible to get through. If you occupy this door, how are we supposed to go in and eat?”

Li Li’s words gained the support of the other students. Those with shorter tempers started pushing through, “Move, move, I have an experiment at 7:00 PM. If you delay us and cause losses, will you compensate for it?”

Li Li also had an experiment to run that evening, and the pump she was using was still heated up. If she couldn’t get back within an hour, her experiment would be ruined. More than twenty minutes had passed, and she had no time to eat in the cafeteria; she could only grab something quick and eat in the lab.

But the TV crew was blocking the entrance—how was she supposed to go in and buy food?

“I am so sorry.” The photographer apologized once more, “We’ll clear out right now.” He looked towards the lead actress in the center, saying, “Miss Yu, could we make way, please? People here are in a hurry to eat, and we shouldn’t disrupt the students’ meal times.”

The woman known as Miss Yu glared at him, retorting in irritation, “Do you know how tight my schedule is? Let me tell you, I only have today to shoot. If you don’t finish filming today and the director blames it on us, it’s your own problem to bear.”

The photographer was in a bind. They wanted to shoot as well, but the current situation was not permitting!

 

Chapter 1175: 1174 Tan Rou is really great!

Li Li really disliked Miss Yu’s attitude when she spoke, and she also disliked her behavior of blocking the way to her meal. “Miss Yu, is our time not as urgent as yours? If you don’t have free slots, why accept this drama? Wouldn’t it be better to leave the opportunity to someone who’s prepared? Besides, I find you not pretty and your acting seems subpar. What gives you the right to pollute the viewers’ eyes by acting in a drama?”

People nearby laughed at Li Li’s words and there were whispers among them.

“This beauty just said what I didn’t dare to say. I also think this actress isn’t good-looking, not even as pretty as the beauty who spoke.” Student A chuckled. “If I were the photographer, I’d only shoot the beauty who spoke, not the actress with the bad temper.”

“Did you just hear her speak?” Student B continued to mock. “Her speech was weak, and she made several punctuation errors. I guess they’ll have to hire a voice actor to dub her lines.”

“I say, the dramas are getting worse, with such actors involved, how can the drama possibly be good?” Student C said unhappily.

Li Li summarized, “Did you hear that? We just want to eat, we don’t want to know how you act in dramas, nor do we care how precious your time is. Can you please let us through and stop blocking the way here?”

Miss Yu’s face turned dark with anger, “You dare say I’m ugly and that I can’t act? Do you know who my dad is?”

“So what, is your father some country’s king?” Li Li said with a mocking smile. “I can’t see any princess traits in you. No princess traits, but full of princess syndrome, quite funny indeed.”

Miss Yu felt so enraged that she pointed a finger at Li Li’s face, “You peasant, I’ll go tell my dad right now to kick you out of Capital, and you’ll never be able to study at Capital University again!”

Li Li frowned slightly, then stroked her chin and asked, “Miss Yu, I have a question for you. Are you a student at Capital University?”

Miss Yu was stumped. Her academic performance wasn’t good, scraping through high school with difficulty, and she had not been admitted to any college. So her father spent some money and sent her abroad to study. After returning from studying abroad, Miss Yu didn’t learn anything except how to lose her temper.

Her father doted on her, whatever she wanted, she got. To pursue good-looking men, she eventually entered the entertainment industry.

“I am an international student!” Miss Yu proudly said. “Unlike you peasants, even if you peasants try for another 100 years, you won’t catch up to me.”

After dealing with Miss Yu, Li Li felt even more that Tan Rou was perfect. In terms of wealth, few in Capital were richer than the Tao family; in terms of looks, Tan Rou was definitely in the top three in Capital; in terms of talent, there was no one else in Capital who could start a major renowned company at such a young age.

Based on these three points, Tan Rou was ten thousand times better than Miss Yu. After meeting Tan Rou, Li Li realized that such powerful yet humble people were incredibly rare in this world.

What has Tan Rou been up to lately? She seemed to be working on a new robot, truly impressive, truly worthy of her and Tian Tian’s idolization—a once-in-a-lifetime talent!

Thinking of the present, Li Li’s mind went blank. She hadn’t seen Tan Rou for a long time. Their research directions were different, their departments were different, and since Tan Rou hadn’t been coming to school recently, her chances of seeing Tan Rou were even slimmer.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, what are you pretending to be dumb for?” Miss Yu stamped her foot. “You better apologize to me quickly. If you apologize, I’ll forgive you and won’t let you be expelled from the school.”

Li Li answered with a laugh, “Then I really should thank you!”

Miss Yu snorted, “Now that you know, you better apologize quickly!”

Li Li deliberately put on a thoughtful face, “Actually, I have a question for you. I wonder if I may ask it?”

Miss Yu magnanimously said, “Go ahead, ask.”

Li Li smiled and asked, “Is there something wrong with your brain?”

 

Chapter 1176: 1175 Tan Rou is what?

Miss Yu’s smile froze on her face, but the onlookers couldn’t help but laugh out loud, holding their bellies in mirth. They had originally thought the girl would be afraid of Miss Yu, but to their amusement, she had outright accused Miss Yu of being out of her mind.

The crew members who had followed Miss Yu over couldn’t help but chuckle as well. They were fed up with her: not only was her temper terrible, but her acting skills were lacking too. Every scene required multiple takes, constant touch-ups, and lighting adjustments, just wasting their time. And even though Miss Yu’s face wore more makeup than a wall does paint, it hardly made her any more attractive.

The crew dared not utter a word, since Miss Yu was a relative of the chief director and had a very rich father. They had no choice but to endure her scolding on an ordinary day. Seeing her being put down today was a delight they couldn’t express.

“You dare say there’s something wrong with my brain?” Miss Yu hissed with gritted teeth, “Then don’t even think about making it in the Capital!”

Li Li glanced at the clock, growing impatient. “Excuse me, could you please move? I don’t want to argue with you here. And could you hurry up and clear these props? After we finish our meal, you can film however you want. Even if you tear down this canteen and build a new one, we won’t have any objections.”

“How dare you order me around,” Miss Yu threatened, “believe it or not, I can have my dad take you away? I’m going to erase you from the Capital! No, from the whole world!”

Li Li was truly speechless. How did such an idiot enter the entertainment industry? Weren’t the people in the industry supposed to be talented actors with a silver tongue? How could there be such an idiot?

Oh, right, this idiot had a rich dad. He must have paid a fortune to get her into the entertainment circle.

“You still won’t admit there’s something wrong with your brain? There are so many witnesses here, and you’re talking about making me disappear from the face of the earth. That’s a personal threat. Just a few testimonies and your actions could lead to detention,” Li Li said with a sly smile. She was bluffing Miss Yu. Though Miss Yu was threatening her, there was no real danger, so even if Li Li went to the police, they would likely just mediate the issue.

Miss Yu didn’t understand the law and had no clue what Li Li was talking about, so when she heard she could be detained, she instantly backed down, “I was just talking nonsense earlier.”

“I know,” Li Li replied calmly, “Can you move aside now?”

But Miss Yu refused to move. “Why should I make way for you? You should know, in all my years in the Capital, others have always made way for me. There’s never been an instance where I had to give way.”

Li Li was truly getting a headache. She muttered, “Both are daughters of influential families, so why is Tan Rou so pleasant? No, I shouldn’t compare you to Tan Rou. You don’t deserve it.”

“Who are you talking about?” Miss Yu demanded. “Who’s Tan Rou? Is there such a person in the Capital?”

“Of course!” Li Li chuckled, “The eldest daughter of the Capital’s Tao family, haven’t you heard of her?”

Miss Yu’s face grew even uglier. She had certainly heard of Tan Rou, not just heard, but was reminded every couple of days. Whenever she talked to her mother, her mother would mention Tan Rou, talking about her latest invention or collaboration with some company, often focusing on her marriage to Zhuang Liu.

The Yu family held sway in the Capital, second only to the Meng family. When the Meng family went bankrupt, the Yu family quickly rose in prominence, taking the Meng family’s former position and becoming one of the Capital’s prominent families.

However, the only real families that could claim the title of great families in the Capital were the Tao and Zhuang families. The younger generation of the Zhuang family had no girls, so there was no basis for comparison with Miss Yu. But the Tao family was different, with the eldest daughter Tan Rou being a prodigy. If not for her early engagement, there would likely be a line of suitors circling the Capital to marry her.

Miss Yu detested being compared with Tan Rou, “Humph, what’s so great about Tan Rou? Isn’t she just born a little better than me? Once our Yu family prospers, I’ll certainly surpass her.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Li Li replied, shaking her head. “You’re too ugly; even plastic surgery wouldn’t make you more beautiful than her.”

“You!” Miss Yu was so enraged that her eyes nearly popped out.

Chapter 1177: The number 1176 really is Li Li

“Why are you staring at me?” Li Li glared back, “Am I wrong? Compared to the eldest daughter of the Tao family, you’re like dirt on the ground, while she’s a fairy in the sky.”

Miss Yu was furious. She grabbed a tripod nearby and tried to hit Li Li with it. Li Li had studied self-defense techniques with Tan Rou for a few years and did not even need to pay close attention to dodge, as Miss Yu’s movements were full of openings. She simply stepped aside.

Many people were standing around watching, and when they saw Miss Yu pick up the tripod, they all moved away in fright, worried about getting hit. They were just there for the excitement, not to endanger their lives.

“You dare to dodge?” Miss Yu was livid, swinging the tripod at Li Li as if playing “Whack-A-Mole.”

Li Li elegantly dodged to the side and said, “You really lack manners. I only said you can’t compare to Tan Rou, and you try to hit me with a tripod. If it were Tan Rou, she would have just laughed it off upon hearing this. From this perspective, you will never match up to her.”

Miss Yu hated being compared to Tan Rou the most. She knew she couldn’t surpass Tan Rou, but she didn’t want to admit it. That’s why she would rage when others thought she was inferior.

Hearing the disturbance, Tan Rou didn’t rush over to see the commotion; instead, she was waiting for Zhuang Liu to join her.

When Zhuang Liu returned with water, he saw the crowd at the entrance and asked, “What’s going on over there? Why are so many people crowded around? Don’t they need to eat?”

After wiping her mouth with a tissue, Tan Rou said, “It seems someone is fighting at the entrance, and the others are just there to watch. Our country’s people are very curious, from eighty-year-old seniors to three-year-old children. As soon as there’s a fight, they all gather around to watch.”

Zhuang Liu didn’t like such scenes. “Let’s wrap up our video and leave.”

Tan Rou nodded and said, “Hmm.”

Just as they sat down to eat seriously, someone in the crowd shouted, “Tan Rou is a thousand times better than you!”

Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu both heard it, as the person’s voice was loud and slightly familiar.

“I think I heard someone calling your name,” Zhuang Liu said. “Could it be someone with the same name?”

After listening carefully, Tan Rou guessed, “Don’t you think that voice sounds a lot like Li Li?”

Hearing Tan Rou say this, Zhuang Liu felt the voice was familiar too; it did sound a bit like Li Li.

Li Li had a loud voice but had a good relationship with Tan Rou and was a very good friend. Although Zhuang Liu hadn’t seen Li Li in a long time, he was sure the person who had just called out Tan Rou’s name was Li Li.

“Is Li Li involved in a fight?” Tan Rou worried. “She has a bit of a volatile temper. It wouldn’t be good if she conflicted with someone. Let’s finish eating later and go over to see if it’s Li Li talking first.”

The two put down their chopsticks, instructed their cameraman to stay put, and then headed toward the place of the commotion.

The young university students loved a spectacle. Even though there hadn’t been many people here before, once they heard the shout, they all gathered around.

People who had just been complaining about unfinished homework were no longer in a hurry to eat but stood by to watch the scuffle, guessing who would come out on top.

Some said Miss Yu with the weapon would win, while others, recognizing that Li Li had some skills, speculated that Li Li would be victorious.

Those who were not very tall and stood on the periphery jumped up to get a view of the situation.

Although Tan Rou was relatively tall among girls, there were many boys here, and her height didn’t give her an advantage. Zhuang Liu, from his angle, could see a bit inside; however, he recognized a few staff members but did not see Li Li.

“Let’s go inside and take a look,” Tan Rou suggested as she began to squeeze through the crowd. Miraculously, wherever she passed, the crowd automatically parted, and they quickly made their way inside.

Glancing inside, Tan Rou was sure she hadn’t misheard; it was indeed Li Li who had spoken.

 

Chapter 1178: 1177 Tao Yue’s friend

But Li Li’s current pose was quite unique; she had her two hands grabbing the ends of a tripod, which lay horizontally across Miss Yu’s collarbones. Miss Yu was sprawled on the ground, with her hands pinned behind her, while one of Li Li’s legs kneeled on the ground and the other pressed down on Miss Yu.

Li Li’s attention was entirely on Miss Yu; she didn’t even notice someone approaching. Like a victorious rooster, she said proudly, “Our Tan Rou is 1,000 times better than you, you little trash, fit only to lie on the ground.”

Tan Rou was speechless in an instant; she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into right then, but the people around her wouldn’t allow it—they had already recognized her.

It wasn’t surprising that they recognized Tan Rou, as she was quite famous, with her photograph even printed on the school’s promotional posters.

Moreover, their school had a bulletin board promoting outstanding students, and almost every board featured Tan Rou’s name and picture, although the accompanying text was different. Tan Rou had achieved so much that each board highlighted a different accomplishment of hers.

“Hey, isn’t that senior Tan Rou?” asked a direct junior of Tan Rou’s, “Senior Tan Rou, you are my idol; can I get your autograph?”

Tan Rou’s popularity at Capital University was indeed very high, and numerous students from Capital University wanted to join her TR Company after graduation, not to mention the company of the Tao family behind her.

Tan Rou bowed her head slightly and said in a low voice, “We can talk about that later, I have something else to handle right now.”

The junior was very understanding and said, “Okay, Senior, then you go ahead and take care of your things; just let me know if you need my help, don’t be shy and just tell me.”

Tan Rou smiled politely, “Okay, thank you.”

When Li Li heard Tan Rou’s voice, she immediately jumped off Miss Yu, tossed the tripod aside, and after dusting off her hands, said, “What a coincidence, Tan Rou, you’re having dinner in the cafeteria tonight too?”

She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Zhuang Liu, then flashed a meaningful smile, “Oh, Brother Zhuang Liu is here too!”

Zhuang Liu gave a light smile and nodded, “Mm. Tan Rou heard your voice, so she came over to see if you were okay. You’re not hurt, are you?”

Before Li Li could even speak, the photographer who had been standing nearby lamented, “My limited edition luxury tripod! It cost me 10,000 yuan, and now it’s completely ruined!”

Upon hearing about the tripod, Li Li nervously glanced to the side where one leg of the tripod was now broken and seemed to be beyond repair.

“I’m really sorry for getting a little carried away; you send me the link for that tripod, and I’ll buy you a new one.” Li Li was ready to take responsibility. Although she wasn’t the one who took the tripod and might not be responsible for breaking it, she still chose to compensate for the tripod.

Having worked part-time over the summer holiday, she knew the hardships of working, so she wasn’t going to cause the photographer any trouble.

Moreover, since the tripod was personally purchased by the photographer who looked rather young, probably having just started working not long ago, it was unclear how long he had saved to afford such a good-performance tripod, which now they had destroyed.

Miss Yu finally struggled to her feet; her delicate makeup was ruined, her long hair sticking to her sweaty face, making her look quite a mess.

“Cough cough cough…” Miss Yu, pointing at Li Li, said viciously, “You just wait, my dad will never let you get away with this!”

Li Li stuck her tongue out and made a face at her, “Let your dad come and beat me then!”

“Don’t be so arrogant; my dad is very powerful!” Miss Yu said angrily.

Zhuang Liu interjected, “Aren’t you the third young lady of the Yu family? What are you doing here? Oh, now I remember, isn’t your uncle the chief director of the TV series that Tao Zheng is funding? No wonder some of the crew members looked a bit familiar; they’re from the drama crew, right?”

Tan Rou asked, “You know her?”

“Mm, her name is Yu Xian, she’s the third young lady of the Yu family, taking her mother’s surname,” Zhuang Liu explained. “You might not have heard of her, but you must have heard of her best friend’s name.”

“Who is it?” Tan Rou inquired.

Zhuang Liu said with a smile, “Tao Yue.”

Chapter 1179: She’s still a child

Tan Rou’s buried memories were jogged open by these two words. If Zhuang Liu hadn’t mentioned it, Tan Rou would have almost forgotten she had a sister named Tao Yue. However, Tao Yue was no good at heart and had been driven out of the Tao family long ago.

Second Aunt Tao did once feel pity for her adopted daughter and even visited her, but Tao Yue harbored deep hatred for the Tao family, especially for Tan Rou, and constantly cursed Tan Rou and the other family members.

Second Aunt Tao eventually became disappointed and never visited Tao Yue again, leaving her to her own devices, not even knowing if Tao Yue was still alive, since she had never returned to the Tao family.

“So, she’s a friend of Tao Yue’s, no wonder,” Tan Rou said scornfully, “Tao Yue is a lunatic. I suppose those who hang out with her can’t be normal either.”

“Who are you calling a lunatic?” Yu Xian shouted, “It’s all because of you, this malicious woman! If you hadn’t driven Yue Yue away, she would still be the eldest daughter of the Tao family now!”

“Sorry, but I am the eldest daughter of the Tao family,” Tan Rou said, “Even if Tao Yue were still in the Tao family, she could only be the Second Miss, never the eldest.”

The current Yu Xian wasn’t much smarter than Meng Xiao used to be, always defending Tao Yue as soon as her name was mentioned. Unfortunately, Meng Xiao had already reformed, while Yu Xian was still struggling in the mire.

“Shut up, just shut up!” Yu Xian, clearly not the brightest, even knowing what Tao Yue had done, still defended her, “In my heart, only Tao Yue is the real eldest daughter of the Tao family, you impostor, I will teach you a lesson sooner or later!”

“Slap—” a loud slap bloomed on Yu Xian’s face. After being struck, she instinctively covered her face, taking a long time to speak: “You… you dare hit me?”

Li Li shook her right hand and said, “Didn’t you say you were going to teach Tan Rou a lesson? Now you can see who is teaching whom a lesson.”

Tears instantly filled Yu Xian’s eyes, and she blubbered, “You hit me, I’m going to tell my uncle.”

“And who is your uncle?” Li Li said disdainfully, “Your family sure has a lot of relatives, huh? Are your aunt and your aunty also going to show up soon?”

Zhuang Liu did know Yu Xian’s uncle, and he introduced him, saying, “You might know Yu Xian’s uncle, he’s very good at directing youth campus and ancient romance dramas, nicknamed ‘Mama Yu’ because he always adds a very dominant mother character in the stories.”

Tan Rou looked at Zhuang Liu in surprise, “How do you know all this?”

Zhuang Liu felt a moment of tension. He couldn’t exactly say he had crammed school dramas because he wanted to shoot a perfect campus dating vlog.

“I heard it from your brother. The day I was looking for a cameraman, he started talking about the director’s information, so I remembered it,” he explained.

“Well, that’s quite a coincidence,” Li Li said, “If it were me, I certainly wouldn’t remember that clearly. Brother Zhuang Liu, you have a good memory.”

“Yeah,” Zhuang Liu said proudly, “My memory is indeed quite good.”

Tan Rou didn’t want to expose Zhuang Liu’s lie; she guessed that he had been secretly watching something over those days, probably dramas on television, but he didn’t want anyone else to know.

Actually, Zhuang Liu’s behavior could be quite adorable at times, like how he loved sweets and would secretly watch TV dramas, which didn’t match the image he portrayed at all.

Just as they were speaking, several people hurried over, led by a middle-aged man in a tank top vest who bore some resemblance to Yu Xian, and he must be Yu Xian’s uncle.

Yu Xian’s uncle, Yu Zhen, was quite famous in the industry, with many people seeking him out to direct TV dramas every year.

“Mr, Zhuang, Miss Rou, please don’t be angry with us. Our Xian Xian is immature, and we hope you can forgive her!” Yu Zhen called out as soon as he saw Zhuang Liu and Tan Rou, “Xian Xian is just a child, please don’t mind her!”

Upon hearing Yu Zhen’s words, Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu felt their molars starting to ache; although Yu Xian was Tao Yue’s friend, she was several years older than Tao Yue, seemingly twenty-seven this year. A twenty-seven-year-old child, that really is rare.

 

Chapter 1180: 1179 spoiled

“Director Yu really knows how to talk,” Zhuang Liu said. “If I remember correctly, your niece is already twenty-seven this year. Although that’s not very old, she’s surely not a child anymore, is she? If you call her a child, then what should all these students here think? Are they kindergarten children?”

A look of embarrassment crossed Yu Zhen’s face, and he said with a smile, “Mr. Zhuang is right in his admonition; our Xian Xian really isn’t a child anymore. It’s just that her parents spoiled her too much, making her extremely willful and disrespectful. Please, Mr. Zhuang, in consideration of her parents, let’s not hold it against her.”

“I have no issues to hold against her personally because the ones she has offended are not just me, but all the students here,” Zhuang Liu said gravely.

“It’s time for lunch, and she has blocked the main gate. How are the other students supposed to eat? I remember Principal Zhang did indeed agree that the film crew could shoot inside the campus, but he also said that the filming absolutely must not disrupt the normal life of the students.”

Principal Zhang was actually in a tough position; Capital University was an institution of higher education and shouldn’t have been used as a filming location.

However, this TV show was funded by the Tao family, who donated a lot of money to the school every year. Moreover, students from Capital University often ended up working at the Tao family’s company after graduation. Refusing this request could potentially offend the Tao family.

In the end, Principal Zhang signed the agreement under significant pressure; if the film crew caused any trouble on campus, Principal Zhang would be in hot water.

Yu Zhen was well aware of this, so he tried to keep his trouble-prone niece within his sight as much as possible. However, he couldn’t always keep an eye on Yu Xian since he was the chief director and had many things to manage. Just when he was not paying attention, Yu Xian had wandered off with the photographer and makeup artist, and he had no idea where she had gone.

It wasn’t until a makeup artist called him, informing him that Yu Xian was involved in an altercation in the cafeteria, that he even knew where to start looking for her.

Yu Zhen said, “Mr. Zhuang, how about this? I invite you and Miss Rou for a meal as an apology, what do you think?”

Zhuang Liu frowned slightly and said harshly, “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Your niece has not just offended me, but all the students here. Her actions have disrupted the normal mealtime routine, so you should apologize to them.”

Yu Zhen glanced around and saw there were at least a few hundred students. If he had to buy them all a meal, that would cost tens of thousands, which he definitely didn’t want to spend.

“Uncle, why should you invite them to a meal?” Yu Xian said dissatisfiedly. “It’s clear they offended me. Why should we treat them to a meal?”

She stretched her neck out, revealing several red marks, “Look, this is what that woman did. She just had me on the ground, trying to strangle me to death.”

Li Li was not with Tan Rou and her group, and she was dressed very casually, not appearing to come from a wealthy family. Yu Zhen could stand up against Tan Rou and Zhuang Liu, but he was not afraid of this girl with no backing at all.

“Was it you who strangled my niece’s neck?” Yu Zhen said angrily. “Do you know how precious my niece’s neck is? She is about to endorse a necklace, and if you injure her neck, it could affect how the necklace looks when worn. Can you afford that?”

Li Li didn’t want to deal with him. Seeing how unreasonable this middle-aged man was and that such a person could become a famous director made her think the entertainment industry was really doomed.

“Hmph!” Tan Rou couldn’t stand seeing Li Li bullied and thus spoke, “Director Yu, it seems not only her parents have spoiled your Miss Yu, right?”

Yu Zhen asked, “Miss Rou, what do you mean by that?”

Tan Rou said, “I’ve also learned about the situation just now. According to eyewitnesses, it was your 27-year-old ‘child’ who first hit my friend with a tripod. If my friend hadn’t fought back, she would have been the one injured now.”

“Is this your friend?” Yu Zhen’s attitude suddenly changed. “I apologize, I didn’t realize earlier that this lady is a friend of Miss Rou. Then let me invite you both for a meal, and we can consider this matter settled.”