Drumming Up Connections

Lin Mo had been at the training base for two weeks now.

Two weeks was enough time for many things to happen, but many other things remained exactly the same.

For example, Zhou Nianqian and Ye Minghui's progress was basically zero.

No, saying it was zero wasn't entirely accurate.

At the very least, when the two of them stood at the classroom door now, quite a few more people would take the initiative to greet them.

Calling out Brother Qian and Brother Hui one after another, sounding very affectionate.

After all, these two were truly throwing money around.

Today one would treat the whole class to drinks, and tomorrow the other would treat everyone to snacks.

Money isn't everything, but when you throw enough of it around, you're bound to hear an echo.

However... Zhou Nianqian had actually discovered a problem.

The circle that he and Ye Minghui truly wanted to integrate into still kept its doors firmly shut to them.

The Class Eight locals, led by Fang Jun, looked at them with eyes similar to how one would look at two huskies that had broken into a vegetable garden—guarded and full of disdain.

The core of that circle was Lin Mo. With Lin Mo absent, they automatically erected an invisible wall.

Especially since Lin Mo had previously told them about what happened at Jiang Yunlu's birthday party.

Zhou Nianqian had also tried the money offensive, but it only slightly improved their favorability, not by much.

After all, this was still a school.

Furthermore, the academic performance of the two of them wasn't really considered good.

In the eyes of Fang Jun's group, that was probably an original sin.

Under this stalemate, a breakthrough had to be found.

Ultimately, Zhou Nianqian and Ye Minghui's gazes coincidentally landed on an inconspicuous figure in the corner.

Zhang Yuzhong.

"Zhang Yuzhong."

Ye Minghui's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough.

He leaned against the back door, holding a crisp new ten-yuan bill in his hand, and tilted his chin in that direction.

"Hey! Yuzhong, help me buy two bottles of cola, keep the change as a runner's fee."

Ye Minghui handed over the ten yuan.

In reality, he could have given a hundred-yuan bill, but then Zhang Yuzhong wouldn't have accepted the change.

That would actually make it harder to advance their relationship.

Zhang Yuzhong didn't resist this kind of errand either; after all, he wasn't stupid. Why not make money when the opportunity arises?!

Soon, Zhang Yuzhong returned carrying two bottles of cola emitting white vapor.

Ye Minghui took them, didn't even look, and casually shoved one of the bottles into Zhang Yuzhong's arms.

"For you."

The movement was crisp and clean.

Holding the ice-cold bottle, Zhang Yuzhong stiffened for a moment, subconsciously looking at Zhou Nianqian on the other side.

"Why look at him?"

Ye Minghui twisted off the bottle cap, tilted his head back, took a huge gulp, and let out a refreshing sigh. "He's into health preservation and doesn't touch this stuff. I'm just a regular guy, I love drinking this."

Even the American president loved drinking cola, why couldn't he?

Since things had been put that way, declining would seem pretentious.

Zhang Yuzhong silently accepted it.

Just as he was about to turn around and return to his seat, an arm suddenly draped heavily over his shoulder, carrying an undeniable sense of familiarity.

It was Ye Minghui.

Zhang Yuzhong's body instantly tensed up; he wasn't quite used to this sudden intimate gesture.

"Hey, buddy."

Ye Minghui's face leaned in, flashing a white-toothed smile. "I heard there's a lot of good food on the street behind the school? Take us to try some after class at noon. We've been here for a while and haven't eaten there yet."

"Ah?!" Zhang Yuzhong's brain short-circuited a bit. "Sure... sure."

The way he nodded even looked somewhat sluggish.

Not far away, Zhou Nianqian had been silently watching all of this.

At this moment, he leaned back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously spinning a pen, the corners of his mouth lifting into an almost imperceptible arc.

This impregnable city wall had finally been cracked open a sliver.

Everything was just the first step.

Fang Jun crept back, hunched over, his expression of gathering intelligence not yet faded.

As soon as he sat down, the soft flesh at his waist suffered a sneak attack.

It was Cai Junhuang's elbow.

"What did you hear?" she asked, lowering her voice, her eyes still fixed on her notebook, pretending to calculate something.

"What new tricks could there be?"

Fang Jun hissed, rubbing his waist. "The same old routine, throwing money around to build connections. But they've changed their approach this time and are planning to start with Zhang Yuzhong."

Fang Jun had seen every move of those two clearly.

The fake familiarity and pulling at each other looked incredibly artificial at first glance.

"Stupid beyond belief," Fang Jun finally concluded.

Cai Junhuang, however, gently shook her head, tapping the tip of her pen on the notebook as if her mind was wandering.

She had seen far more of the world than Fang Jun had.

In the dance studio, there were quite a few girls from good families, but there were even more rich men outside wanting to pluck the flowers.

Giving money was too tacky, but when it came to giving high-priced gifts that scratched just the right itch, very few young girls could resist.

Human hearts are made of flesh; being flattered so comprehensively, it was hard not to show favoritism.

"Jiang Yunlu is a tough nut to crack, but the people around her aren't."

Cai Junhuang's voice was very soft. "Fortresses are always breached from the inside. Don't you understand this principle?"

She glanced at Fang Jun, her eyes clearly saying: Little brat.

Fang Jun choked for a second, feeling a bit indignant. "Well, we can't let them succeed either. When the time comes, I'll just have a word with Yuzhong, tell him to eat the meat and throw the bones back."

"You," Cai Junhuang suddenly smiled, reaching out to lightly flick his forehead. "You're really worrying over nothing. Zhang Yuzhong actually has strong principles."

Fang Jun covered his forehead. The slight displeasure in his heart vanished into thin air with that flick, replaced by a rather sweet feeling.

......

The evening sunset cast long shadows of the desks.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, the classroom instantly returned to its usual noisiness.

Cai Junhuang neatly stuffed her books into her backpack, zipped it up, and said to the dawdling Fang Jun and Xie Yuling behind her, "I'm off, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Xie Yuling nodded calmly in farewell.

Fang Jun waved his hands vigorously, looking like a foolish idiot saying goodbye.

Only after watching the backs of Cai Junhuang and Xie Yuling disappear out the door did he slowly pack up his things.

He still had to come back for evening self-study after dinner.

Ever since becoming deskmates with Cai Junhuang, Fang Jun felt as if his high school life had been gilded with a golden edge.

His daily commute to school was much brisker, and even the most unbearable math classes didn't seem so hard to endure anymore.

The cool touch of her fingertips when she flicked his forehead earlier seemed to still linger.

This feeling was like taking a sip of iced soda, refreshing all the way from his throat to his heart, bubbling up.

There was something to look forward to in life now.

But at the thought of Zhou Nianqian's group, that bit of sweetness in Fang Jun's heart faded away again.

It was like a rat dropping falling into a pot of good soup.

Unfortunately, there was no way to solve it.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yunlu on the side was also packing her things, preparing to go home and continue her cultivation.

Over these two weeks, she had managed to condense a sliver of true qi, and she could now shatter a stone brick with a single palm strike.

It was just that after the strike, her true qi would be completely depleted.

Originally, she had wanted to learn some martial techniques first, but her mother said that while techniques were easy to learn, the core of the martial dao always lay in the cultivation method.

Moreover, cultivating true qi would actually strengthen the body as well, so Jiang Yunlu's focus remained on true qi.