Chapter 532 - 199: A Familiar Face
Chapter 532: Chapter 199: A Familiar Face
De’an was really dragging the team down. When it came to polo, he either didn’t score at all, or he scored straight into his own team’s goal, making a complete fool of himself.
Sheng Saya was furious. She seriously suspected he was a spy sent by the opposing team.
To prove he wasn’t a spy, De’an swung with all his might. This time, the ball actually headed toward the opponent’s goal. But at that exact moment, Sheng Saya was tightly marking one of their players. De’an’s shot went wide, flying straight at Sheng Saya.
If Sheng Saya hadn’t been wearing protective armor, the ball would have hit her hard enough to make her cough up blood.
She didn’t cough up blood, but she wasn’t much better off.
Her chest ached unbearably. Furious, she grabbed De’an and gave him a merciless pummeling.
De’an didn’t dare to fight back, but he was terrified Sheng Saya would ruin his face, so he meekly raised his hands to shield himself. As he blocked left and right, his hands ended up touching somewhere they shouldn’t have.
Sheng Saya landed a solid blow, but De’an didn’t even register the pain. He just stared at his hand, flustered. After that, every time he saw Sheng Saya, he was a mess of love, hate, and a racing heart.
He wanted to say something, but the words would never come out. The moment he saw her enigmatic, half-smiling expression, his heart would start pounding all over again. It felt like his chest would burst, and in that instant, he was rendered completely speechless.
No one paid any mind to De’an’s strange behavior. Chen Wanqing took her mother’s arm and headed for the flower hall.
"What brings you here at a time like this?"
"Who else but that rascal De’an! He’s really gotten bold, hasn’t he? Learning to stage a sit-in protest to pressure the examiners. He’s lucky the officials are magnanimous and won’t stoop to the level of these young hotheads. Otherwise, a single stomp of their feet would be enough to put them in a world of hurt."
Xu Su Ying was truly furious. She went on and on, spilling all the details of the incident.
The moment Chen Wanqing heard her mother was here about this, she felt a pang of guilt.
Outsiders didn’t know that Jing and De’an had conspired together, but she had overheard a little.
The two of them had schemed while she was away making incense. They never expected her to return early. As she approached the window, she heard De’an clamoring that they had to find a way to take back the title of top scorer in the provincial examination. He couldn’t just swallow this injustice.
’Perhaps he’d already thought of it, but as the party directly involved, it was inconvenient for him to act himself. And with De’an so eager to help... well, who better to use?’
And spreading rumors just so happened to be De’an’s specialty.
And so, within days, the affair became a city-wide scandal. By today, it had completely blown up. Students were sitting at the entrance of the examination hall, demanding the examiners handle the matter with absolute impartiality, allowing for no favoritism whatsoever.
Chen Wanqing looked at Zhao Jing, who simply gave her an innocent look in return.
’He probably still thinks I don’t know about it, so he can just pretend it has nothing to do with him.’
Chen Wanqing cleared her throat, turned back to her mother, and racked her brain for a way to defend the two of them.
"As the old saying goes, ’Where there is injustice, people will step in to right the wrong.’ The Provincial Examination directly affects the students’ futures. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them protecting their own interests and the fruits of their hard work. On the contrary, I’m quite pleased that De’an was willing to step forward and seek a just outcome."
Xu Su Ying glared at her daughter. "Pleased about what?"
"I’m pleased that De’an has some backbone and refuses to bow to the powerful. I’m also pleased that he remained calm and rational, and that he knew to back down once he received assurances from the officials."
"Ha! The way you put it, I should be praising him instead?"
"A little praise wouldn’t hurt. After all, aside from being a bit impulsive, I don’t think De’an did anything wrong. He’s still young. If he doesn’t even have this much fire in him now, what hope is there for his future?"
Xu Su Ying laughed in exasperation, pointing first at her daughter, then at De’an, who looked so smug his tail was about to curl up to the sky.
Finally, she stomped her foot, stood up, and stormed out.
"I can’t handle you two anymore! You go ahead and deal with De’an. If he stirs up even more trouble in the future, we’ll see if you regret defending him today!"
Xu Su Ying was true to her word and left immediately. Chen Wanqing rose to see her mother out. Halfway to the door, she glanced back at Zhao Jing, who had been silent the entire time.
To her surprise, Zhao Jing was right behind her. When he saw her turn, he smiled and gave her a gentle wink.
His aura and smile were the very picture of noble grace—as pure and clear as a deep autumn lake under a bright moon.
’Too bad she wouldn’t be fooled by that facade anymore.’
’This man might appear as clear as day, but on the inside, he was all shadows and schemes.’
’His heart was completely black!’
Zhao Jing quickened his pace to catch up, reaching out and hooking his finger around hers.
Annoyed that he’d gotten his way and was still playing dumb, Chen Wanqing gave him a light pinch. It didn’t hurt, but it provoked another low, magnetic, and undeniably sexy chuckle from him.
Chen Wanqing lowered her voice, unable to resist turning back to glare at him again, warning him with her eyes. ’This is the first and last time! If you ever dare pull something like this again, if you dare to bully De’an like that again, I... I’ll move back home to my parents!’