Chapter 8
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After leaving Pei Yu’s house, Xu Juan didn’t go home. He was in a good mood, high in both spirits and energy. He called up Guo Shao, who was about to head home to bed. Their group of five or six went to a club, playing until dawn before they disbanded.
Then, Xu Juan went home and slept until two in the afternoon. After waking, he washed up for a bit and left for work.
This was just another ordinary day for him.
Xu Juan lived very self-indulgently, but that didn’t mean he didn’t do proper work. There was a time when people on the internet joked that if one worked hard and didn’t achieve their desired outcome, they should just stop working hard. Then, when others brought up your failures, you would be able to defend your reputation by giving the excuse that you didn’t work hard, instead of having to admit that you lacked ability.
This joke felt quite like dark humour, and was quite accurate in pinpointing Xu Juan’s state of mind during a period of time in the past.
–– His company was really not doing well.
He was a man, after all. He would more or less harbour some wild ambitions to accomplish great things.
Xu Juan’s father, Xu Jiren, was born of the grassroots. Even without attending university, he relied only on his own abilities and braved the ups and downs of the business world for decades, expanding his small shop into an international conglomerate. He was a successful entrepreneur who made waves in the financial industry, with influence over the national economy.
Xu Jiren was a legendary figure. Xu Juan wouldn’t be able to match him in his achievements even in his next life. His father aside, he would not surpass even his older brother. His only strong points were probably his skills in “all show and no go”. When it came to doing proper business, although he wasn’t terrible at it, he couldn’t be considered good either.
A few years ago, when Xu Juan was twenty, he had never considered these things. He only yearned to make a name for himself, to have his freedom.
But after squandering a part of his youth away without restraint, he suddenly felt that freedom was meaningless. It was too hollow, so after contemplating for a while, he started a company.
People tend to have the misconception that they would do no wrong: Once I’ve had enough fun, I’ll set myself back on the right path and work hard. I’ll be fucking amazing then.
Xu Juan’s misconception was very severe. At that time, it was as if he were on drugs and had even started hallucinating.
He began to earnestly venture into his work, personally handling all matters from registering his company to developing it into a legitimate business with proper scale. He didn’t make one cent of profit, exhausting himself to the point of losing quite some weight.
But he wanted to keep up appearances, especially in front of his social circle; They were all good-for-nothing children from rich families who had no dreams and aspirations. It would be embarrassing if he let them know he worked this hard for such a long time, only to lose so much capital that even his mother wouldn’t recognize him. He could only feign nonchalance, saying that starting a company was just for killing time, since life was too dull.
Guo Shao laughed out loud, saying that’s true. My dad gave me two million to practise with, but I lost it all within two months, hahaha.
Xu Juan was absolutely stumped.
He knew he had a better headstart than most, neither did he fear failure, so he shouldn’t feel this pressured.
But even if one did not fear losing everything, they would fear their aspirations. The more aspirations one had, the more they would think themselves worthless. Xu Juan’s standard of reference was too high; His father was too successful, his older brother was too outstanding. Compared to them, what insignificant little thing was he?
Xu Juan struggled with his mental state for a period of time, but continued to work on his company.
But the more he tried the more he realized the limits of his own capabilities. To carve out his own place in the world just like how his father had done in his youth, was truly no easy feat.
Ojafg, jr atf sfjgr qjrrfv, tf kjr yfjafc vbkc rb wjcs alwfr atja tf yfmjwf wbgf bqfc-wlcvfv. Pc batfg kbgvr, tf uba erfv ab la.
Olof kjr wfgfis j ofk rtbga vfmjvfr, la kbeiv qjrr cb wjaafg tbk la kjr ilnfv. Ejatfg atjc qegrelcu atf “wfjclcu bo ilof”, kts cba ilnf wbgf mbwobgajyis jcv yf tjqqs fnfgs vjs?
Thus, after experiencing this period of torment, Xu Juan “returned to his roots”, once again becoming the playboy who found pleasure in clubbing and fraternizing with beauties.
This time, he no longer felt hollow. He had learnt how to enjoy himself.
Needless to say, enjoying himself was also a life skill.
Xu Juan calmly accepted his “shortcomings” and also understood his “strengths”. He began to make use of what he excelled in to play himself up. For example, he was good at playing with others’ feelings. When it came to affairs of the heart, that was a skill that brought with it a sense of accomplishment.
Anyway, emotions were also a part of the arts and humanities. Xu Juan thought himself an artist, free-spirited and romantic.
Therefore, after forcibly tooting his own horn, Xu Juan’s conscience felt all the more at ease whenever he messed around.
Regrettably, as the saying went, what goes around comes around. He slept an entire day away, only lazily coming in to work in the afternoon. When he arrived at the entrance to his office, his secretary Xiao Lin’s face was full of gossipping intent while she informed him of a piece of unfortunate news: “Director Xu, you made it to the hot searches again!”
“……”
Xu Juan briefly froze. Xiao Lin said: “It’s still Li Mengzhou. The two of you met up last night, didn’t you? You were photographed.”
Xiao Lin looked down to use the computer, copied a few links off of the hot search and sent them to his Wechat.
Xu Juan nodded, went into his own office and closed the door. He took out his phone for a look.
It would have been fine if he didn’t look, but once he did, he was startled ––
The paparazzi had not only photographed him and Li Mengzhou messing about in front of the restaurant, they had also photographed Pei Yu. He reckoned it was because the paparazzi didn’t leave after Li Mengzhou did, continuing to photograph him in secret. How devoted, just how big of a grudge did they hold against him?
The news headline was very caricaturistic:《The popular Li Mengzhou humbled himself to make peace after getting dumped, but the ruthless rich playboy immediately two-timed him with a mysterious hunk》
Xu Juan: “……”
It even rhymed pretty well.
But from the first sentence of the Weibo exposé, it was already highlighted that “this rich playboy” was Xu Jiren’s second son. Once again, Xu Juan’s entire family was dragged out and debated. Xu Juan’s temper rose as he read it, but the moment he opened the comments section, his anger immediately quelled.
The first top comment was: “Can someone enlighten me, who is that mysterious hunk, is he also from the entertainment circle? Why do I find him better-looking than Li Mengzhou?”
Xu Juan laughed, thinking to himself that the eyes of these people were sharp indeed. Pei Yu was not only better-looking than Li Mengzhou, he basically outshone the entire entertainment circle, okay? Him not debuting was the entire country’s loss.
But that article was too high up the hot search and Pei Yu’s face had been fully photographed. There were so many university students using Weibo, if his students were to see it, how terrible would that be? Pei Yu’s reputation would be greatly affected.
Xu Juan forked out his own money and had someone remove the article from the trending topics.
Then, he sent Pei Yu a message.
He said on Wechat: “Pei laoshi, are you busy? I’m very sorry about today, I never expected an incident like this to happen.”
Pei Yu’s reply came a few minutes later, unexpectedly, he asked him: “What incident?”
“……”
Of course, he didn’t dabble on Weibo. Xu Juan had no choice but to simply explain the matter to him. He thought that such a traditional and conservative person like Pei Yu would care a lot about his reputation, and if he didn’t handle it right, he would be angry at him. Instead, Pei Yu said: “It’s fine, it’s not a big deal anyway. The innocent have a clear conscience.”
This sentence carried quite the double entendre; On the surface, it was a response to Xu Juan’s message, but underneath, it was a clear dividing line: “You and I have nothing to do with each other.”
Xu Juan pretended not to understand, smoothly redirecting the conversation in another direction: “That’s right. Nowadays, entertainment news sites are all trying to bait traffic. They’ll take some random photos and start weaving stories. Actually, Li Mengzhou and I don’t even have anything to do with each other, they’re all rumours.”
“Oh.” Pei Yu’s reply was plain and concise.
Xu Juan stared at this word for a long time. It was clearly an ordinary word that could not be more ordinary, but it oozed indifference and disinterest. He could even imagine Pei Yu’s distaste.
Heck, imagination was what made pursuing someone most delightful. The ambiguity that his own delusion brought about –– Who cares if he likes me or not? It’s fine as long as I think he likes me.
But of course, that alone was not enough. Only when their relationship became more intense, would he be able to enjoy a more “intense” happiness.
Xu Juan thought for a bit, then typed: “Pei laoshi, I’ve realized that you have some misconceptions about me.”
Pei Yu didn’t reply, so he went ahead to say: “Our first meeting happened at a less-than-ideal place, so you probably have a prejudiced first impression and slapped that sort of label onto me. But I’m really not that kind of person…”
Again, Pei Yu didn’t reply.
Xu Juan said: “You can’t stereotype me based on my family background, I’m an ordinary person, too! I also have moral integrity, a bottom line and a sense of shame. Except sometimes during drinking sessions, I can’t act like I’m above the rest. Even if I don’t enjoy it, I have to grit my teeth and oblige, that’s the nature of social events. Of course, I’m not trying to find excuses for myself. I just want to say, though I may not be blameless, you don’t have to think of me as despicable. If I had the choice, I would definitely show you my best side, then slowly change the parts of me that are lacking, becoming a good person while you remain unaware. It’s a pity I have terrible luck. It wasn’t easy for me to finally meet someone I like, but that person hated me at first glance. No matter what I do, in his eyes, I’m only making matters worse.”
“……”
After Xu Juan sent his long string of text, he saw “the other is typing” on the chat interface. But after typing for a while, Pei Yu didn’t respond with anything.
Xu Juan waited a couple of seconds, then sent another text: “I’m sorry. I’m being so straightforward, does it repulse you? I wasn’t going to be this direct initially, I wanted to sound like I was joking, then get close to you while being both honest and jesting. Genuine and proper, so I wouldn’t be pushed away… but I couldn’t control myself. I apologize.”
Pei Yu’s status changed to typing again.
This method of Xu Juan’s was called, putting himself down to play up his misery.
If he had said these the previous afternoon, Pei Yu would definitely have gotten impatient and not listened to a single word.
However, last night, they had spent some time together as fellow calligraphy enthusiasts. Pei Yu’s impression of him improved tremendously after that, he had even collected his calligraphy scroll. Although appreciating the calligraphy scroll didn’t equate to liking Xu Juan himself, when one liked something, it would naturally extend to its involved parties. He would at least feel the slightest bit of good vibes from Xu Juan.
Besides, if Pei Yu really despised him, he should be unable to like anything related to him at all, so why would the other collect his calligraphy?
Bluntly put, this meant that he and Pei Yu now had at least a bit of friendship going on.
Xu Juan put his phone down and leaned back in his seat, giving a lazy stretch. As he had expected, on account of this friendship, Pei Yu didn’t directly block him the way he had previously. In a few seconds, the phone on the table vibrated and he picked it up. Pei Yu said: “I’m not gay.”
Xu Juan: “……”
So after typing for such a long time, he only managed to squeeze out this one sentence. He had thought Pei laoshi was intending to give him a lecture.
Xu Juan sighed. After using all the showy tricks he had up his sleeves, it was clear that the simple-minded and upright Pei laoshi was unable to handle them. Even Xu Juan himself could feel his hardened heart begin to soften.
But to grow tender was a big no-no when it came to affairs of the heart, so Xu Juan hardened his up again for the sake of pursuing Pei Yu.
“I’m not gay either.” Xu Juan said, “I am me, you are you. To like is to like, to dislike is to dislike. There’s no need to classify yourself into a certain group of people, then follow their rules and copy their way of living. What do you think, Pei laoshi?”
He rerouted the argument with his eloquent tongue, and unexpectedly, Pei Yu accepted his words. Swayed by his line of thought, he rejected: “I don’t like you.”
Xu Juan smiled a little, tapping his finger on the emoticon keyboard, choosing a cute crying emoji to send over: “It’s okay if you don’t like me, it’s enough that I like you.”
Pei Yu replied with a string of ellipses.
“I will like you very sincerely.” Xu Juan said these simple words elaborately, as if utterly infatuated, “I’ve finished explaining myself. Now, may I formally begin to pursue you, Pei laoshi?”
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
After leaving Pei Yu’s house, Xu Juan didn’t go home. He was in a good mood, high in both spirits and energy. He called up Guo Shao, who was about to head home to bed. Their group of five or six went to a club, playing until dawn before they disbanded.
Then, Xu Juan went home and slept until two in the afternoon. After waking, he washed up for a bit and left for work.
This was just another ordinary day for him.
Xu Juan lived very self-indulgently, but that didn’t mean he didn’t do proper work. There was a time when people on the internet joked that if one worked hard and didn’t achieve their desired outcome, they should just stop working hard. Then, when others brought up your failures, you would be able to defend your reputation by giving the excuse that you didn’t work hard, instead of having to admit that you lacked ability.
This joke felt quite like dark humour, and was quite accurate in pinpointing Xu Juan’s state of mind during a period of time in the past.
–– His company was really not doing well.
He was a man, after all. He would more or less harbour some wild ambitions to accomplish great things.
Xu Juan’s father, Xu Jiren, was born of the grassroots. Even without attending university, he relied only on his own abilities and braved the ups and downs of the business world for decades, expanding his small shop into an international conglomerate. He was a successful entrepreneur who made waves in the financial industry, with influence over the national economy.
Xu Jiren was a legendary figure. Xu Juan wouldn’t be able to match him in his achievements even in his next life. His father aside, he would not surpass even his older brother. His only strong points were probably his skills in “all show and no go”. When it came to doing proper business, although he wasn’t terrible at it, he couldn’t be considered good either.
A few years ago, when Xu Juan was twenty, he had never considered these things. He only yearned to make a name for himself, to have his freedom.
But after squandering a part of his youth away without restraint, he suddenly felt that freedom was meaningless. It was too hollow, so after contemplating for a while, he started a company.
People tend to have the misconception that they would do no wrong: Once I’ve had enough fun, I’ll set myself back on the right path and work hard. I’ll be fucking amazing then.
Xu Juan’s misconception was very severe. At that time, it was as if he were on drugs and had even started hallucinating.
He began to earnestly venture into his work, personally handling all matters from registering his company to developing it into a legitimate business with proper scale. He didn’t make one cent of profit, exhausting himself to the point of losing quite some weight.
But he wanted to keep up appearances, especially in front of his social circle; They were all good-for-nothing children from rich families who had no dreams and aspirations. It would be embarrassing if he let them know he worked this hard for such a long time, only to lose so much capital that even his mother wouldn’t recognize him. He could only feign nonchalance, saying that starting a company was just for killing time, since life was too dull.
Guo Shao laughed out loud, saying that’s true. My dad gave me two million to practise with, but I lost it all within two months, hahaha.
Xu Juan was absolutely stumped.
He knew he had a better headstart than most, neither did he fear failure, so he shouldn’t feel this pressured.
But even if one did not fear losing everything, they would fear their aspirations. The more aspirations one had, the more they would think themselves worthless. Xu Juan’s standard of reference was too high; His father was too successful, his older brother was too outstanding. Compared to them, what insignificant little thing was he?
Xu Juan struggled with his mental state for a period of time, but continued to work on his company.
But the more he tried the more he realized the limits of his own capabilities. To carve out his own place in the world just like how his father had done in his youth, was truly no easy feat.
Ojafg, jr atf sfjgr qjrrfv, tf kjr yfjafc vbkc rb wjcs alwfr atja tf yfmjwf wbgf bqfc-wlcvfv. Pc batfg kbgvr, tf uba erfv ab la.
Olof kjr wfgfis j ofk rtbga vfmjvfr, la kbeiv qjrr cb wjaafg tbk la kjr ilnfv. Ejatfg atjc qegrelcu atf “wfjclcu bo ilof”, kts cba ilnf wbgf mbwobgajyis jcv yf tjqqs fnfgs vjs?
Thus, after experiencing this period of torment, Xu Juan “returned to his roots”, once again becoming the playboy who found pleasure in clubbing and fraternizing with beauties.
This time, he no longer felt hollow. He had learnt how to enjoy himself.
Needless to say, enjoying himself was also a life skill.
Xu Juan calmly accepted his “shortcomings” and also understood his “strengths”. He began to make use of what he excelled in to play himself up. For example, he was good at playing with others’ feelings. When it came to affairs of the heart, that was a skill that brought with it a sense of accomplishment.
Anyway, emotions were also a part of the arts and humanities. Xu Juan thought himself an artist, free-spirited and romantic.
Therefore, after forcibly tooting his own horn, Xu Juan’s conscience felt all the more at ease whenever he messed around.
Regrettably, as the saying went, what goes around comes around. He slept an entire day away, only lazily coming in to work in the afternoon. When he arrived at the entrance to his office, his secretary Xiao Lin’s face was full of gossipping intent while she informed him of a piece of unfortunate news: “Director Xu, you made it to the hot searches again!”
“……”
Xu Juan briefly froze. Xiao Lin said: “It’s still Li Mengzhou. The two of you met up last night, didn’t you? You were photographed.”
Xiao Lin looked down to use the computer, copied a few links off of the hot search and sent them to his Wechat.
Xu Juan nodded, went into his own office and closed the door. He took out his phone for a look.
It would have been fine if he didn’t look, but once he did, he was startled ––
The paparazzi had not only photographed him and Li Mengzhou messing about in front of the restaurant, they had also photographed Pei Yu. He reckoned it was because the paparazzi didn’t leave after Li Mengzhou did, continuing to photograph him in secret. How devoted, just how big of a grudge did they hold against him?
The news headline was very caricaturistic:《The popular Li Mengzhou humbled himself to make peace after getting dumped, but the ruthless rich playboy immediately two-timed him with a mysterious hunk》
Xu Juan: “……”
It even rhymed pretty well.
But from the first sentence of the Weibo exposé, it was already highlighted that “this rich playboy” was Xu Jiren’s second son. Once again, Xu Juan’s entire family was dragged out and debated. Xu Juan’s temper rose as he read it, but the moment he opened the comments section, his anger immediately quelled.
The first top comment was: “Can someone enlighten me, who is that mysterious hunk, is he also from the entertainment circle? Why do I find him better-looking than Li Mengzhou?”
Xu Juan laughed, thinking to himself that the eyes of these people were sharp indeed. Pei Yu was not only better-looking than Li Mengzhou, he basically outshone the entire entertainment circle, okay? Him not debuting was the entire country’s loss.
But that article was too high up the hot search and Pei Yu’s face had been fully photographed. There were so many university students using Weibo, if his students were to see it, how terrible would that be? Pei Yu’s reputation would be greatly affected.
Xu Juan forked out his own money and had someone remove the article from the trending topics.
Then, he sent Pei Yu a message.
He said on Wechat: “Pei laoshi, are you busy? I’m very sorry about today, I never expected an incident like this to happen.”
Pei Yu’s reply came a few minutes later, unexpectedly, he asked him: “What incident?”
“……”
Of course, he didn’t dabble on Weibo. Xu Juan had no choice but to simply explain the matter to him. He thought that such a traditional and conservative person like Pei Yu would care a lot about his reputation, and if he didn’t handle it right, he would be angry at him. Instead, Pei Yu said: “It’s fine, it’s not a big deal anyway. The innocent have a clear conscience.”
This sentence carried quite the double entendre; On the surface, it was a response to Xu Juan’s message, but underneath, it was a clear dividing line: “You and I have nothing to do with each other.”
Xu Juan pretended not to understand, smoothly redirecting the conversation in another direction: “That’s right. Nowadays, entertainment news sites are all trying to bait traffic. They’ll take some random photos and start weaving stories. Actually, Li Mengzhou and I don’t even have anything to do with each other, they’re all rumours.”
“Oh.” Pei Yu’s reply was plain and concise.
Xu Juan stared at this word for a long time. It was clearly an ordinary word that could not be more ordinary, but it oozed indifference and disinterest. He could even imagine Pei Yu’s distaste.
Heck, imagination was what made pursuing someone most delightful. The ambiguity that his own delusion brought about –– Who cares if he likes me or not? It’s fine as long as I think he likes me.
But of course, that alone was not enough. Only when their relationship became more intense, would he be able to enjoy a more “intense” happiness.
Xu Juan thought for a bit, then typed: “Pei laoshi, I’ve realized that you have some misconceptions about me.”
Pei Yu didn’t reply, so he went ahead to say: “Our first meeting happened at a less-than-ideal place, so you probably have a prejudiced first impression and slapped that sort of label onto me. But I’m really not that kind of person…”
Again, Pei Yu didn’t reply.
Xu Juan said: “You can’t stereotype me based on my family background, I’m an ordinary person, too! I also have moral integrity, a bottom line and a sense of shame. Except sometimes during drinking sessions, I can’t act like I’m above the rest. Even if I don’t enjoy it, I have to grit my teeth and oblige, that’s the nature of social events. Of course, I’m not trying to find excuses for myself. I just want to say, though I may not be blameless, you don’t have to think of me as despicable. If I had the choice, I would definitely show you my best side, then slowly change the parts of me that are lacking, becoming a good person while you remain unaware. It’s a pity I have terrible luck. It wasn’t easy for me to finally meet someone I like, but that person hated me at first glance. No matter what I do, in his eyes, I’m only making matters worse.”
“……”
After Xu Juan sent his long string of text, he saw “the other is typing” on the chat interface. But after typing for a while, Pei Yu didn’t respond with anything.
Xu Juan waited a couple of seconds, then sent another text: “I’m sorry. I’m being so straightforward, does it repulse you? I wasn’t going to be this direct initially, I wanted to sound like I was joking, then get close to you while being both honest and jesting. Genuine and proper, so I wouldn’t be pushed away… but I couldn’t control myself. I apologize.”
Pei Yu’s status changed to typing again.
This method of Xu Juan’s was called, putting himself down to play up his misery.
If he had said these the previous afternoon, Pei Yu would definitely have gotten impatient and not listened to a single word.
However, last night, they had spent some time together as fellow calligraphy enthusiasts. Pei Yu’s impression of him improved tremendously after that, he had even collected his calligraphy scroll. Although appreciating the calligraphy scroll didn’t equate to liking Xu Juan himself, when one liked something, it would naturally extend to its involved parties. He would at least feel the slightest bit of good vibes from Xu Juan.
Besides, if Pei Yu really despised him, he should be unable to like anything related to him at all, so why would the other collect his calligraphy?
Bluntly put, this meant that he and Pei Yu now had at least a bit of friendship going on.
Xu Juan put his phone down and leaned back in his seat, giving a lazy stretch. As he had expected, on account of this friendship, Pei Yu didn’t directly block him the way he had previously. In a few seconds, the phone on the table vibrated and he picked it up. Pei Yu said: “I’m not gay.”
Xu Juan: “……”
So after typing for such a long time, he only managed to squeeze out this one sentence. He had thought Pei laoshi was intending to give him a lecture.
Xu Juan sighed. After using all the showy tricks he had up his sleeves, it was clear that the simple-minded and upright Pei laoshi was unable to handle them. Even Xu Juan himself could feel his hardened heart begin to soften.
But to grow tender was a big no-no when it came to affairs of the heart, so Xu Juan hardened his up again for the sake of pursuing Pei Yu.
“I’m not gay either.” Xu Juan said, “I am me, you are you. To like is to like, to dislike is to dislike. There’s no need to classify yourself into a certain group of people, then follow their rules and copy their way of living. What do you think, Pei laoshi?”
He rerouted the argument with his eloquent tongue, and unexpectedly, Pei Yu accepted his words. Swayed by his line of thought, he rejected: “I don’t like you.”
Xu Juan smiled a little, tapping his finger on the emoticon keyboard, choosing a cute crying emoji to send over: “It’s okay if you don’t like me, it’s enough that I like you.”
Pei Yu replied with a string of ellipses.
“I will like you very sincerely.” Xu Juan said these simple words elaborately, as if utterly infatuated, “I’ve finished explaining myself. Now, may I formally begin to pursue you, Pei laoshi?”
After leaving Pei Yu's house, Xu Juan didn't go home. He was in a good mood, high in both spirits and energy. He called up Guo Shao, who was about to head home to bed. Their group of five or six went to a club, playing until dawn before they disbanded.Then, Xu Juan went home and slept until two in the afternoon. After waking, he washed up for a bit and left for work.This was just another ordinary day for him.Xu Juan lived very self-indulgently, but that didn't mean he didn't do proper work. There was a time when people on the internet joked that if one worked hard and didn't achieve their desired outcome, they should just stop working hard. Then, when others brought up your failures, you would be able to defend your reputation by giving the excuse that you didn't work hard, instead of having to admit that you lacked ability.This joke felt quite like dark humour, and was quite accurate in pinpointing Xu Juan's state of mind during a period of time in the past. His company was really not doing well.He was a man, after all. He would more or less harbour some wild ambitions to accomplish great things.Xu Juan's father, Xu Jiren, was born of the grassroots. Even without attending university, he relied only on his own abilities and braved the ups and downs of the business world for decades, expanding his small shop into an international conglomerate. He was a successful entrepreneur who made waves in the financial industry, with influence over the national economy.Xu Jiren was a legendary figure. Xu Juan wouldn't be able to match him in his achievements even in his next life. His father aside, he would not surpass even his older brother. His only strong points were probably his skills in all show and no go. When it came to doing proper business, although he wasn't terrible at it, he couldn't be considered good either.A few years ago, when Xu Juan was twenty, he had never considered these things. He only yearned to make a name for himself, to have his freedom.But after squandering a part of his youth away without restraint, he suddenly felt that freedom was meaningless. It was too hollow, so after contemplating for a while, he started a company.People tend to have the misconception that they would do no wrong:Once I've had enough fun, I'llset myself back on the right pathand work hard. I'll be fucking amazing then.Xu Juan's misconception was very severe. At that time, it was as if he were on drugs and had even started hallucinating.He began to earnestly venture into his work, personally handling all matters from registering his company to developing it into a legitimate business with proper scale. He didn't make one cent of profit, exhausting himself to the point of losing quite some weight.But he wanted to keep up appearances, especially in front of his social circle; They were all good-for-nothing children from rich families who had no dreams and aspirations. It would be embarrassing if he let them know he worked this hard for such a long time, only to lose so much capital that even his mother wouldn't recognize him. He could only feign nonchalance, saying that starting a company was just for killing time, since life was too dull.Guo Shao laughed out loud, sayingthat's true. My dad gave me two million to practise with, but I lost it all within two months, hahaha.Xu Juan was absolutely stumped.He knew he had a better headstart than most, neither did he fear failure, so he shouldn't feel this pressured.But even if one did not fear losing everything, they would fear their aspirations. The more aspirations one had, the more they would think themselves worthless. Xu Juan's standard of reference was too high; His father was too successful, his older brother was too outstanding. Compared to them, what insignificant little thing was he?Xu Juan struggled with his mental state for a period of time, but continued to work on his company.But the more he tried the more he realized the limits of his own capabilities. To carve out his own place in the world just like how his father had done in his youth, was truly no easy feat.Ojafg, jr atf sfjgr qjrrfv, tf kjr yfjafc vbkc rb wjcs alwfr atja tf yfmjwf wbgf bqfc-wlcvfv. Pc batfg kbgvr, tf uba erfv ab la.Olof kjr wfgfis j ofk rtbga vfmjvfr, la kbeiv qjrr cb wjaafg tbk la kjr ilnfv. Ejatfg atjc qegrelcu atf wfjclcu bo ilof, kts cba ilnf wbgf mbwobgajyis jcv yf tjqqs fnfgs vjs?Thus, after experiencing this period of torment, Xu Juan returned to his roots, once again becoming the playboy who found pleasure in clubbing and fraternizing with beauties.This time, he no longer felt hollow. He had learnt how to enjoy himself.Needless to say, enjoying himself was also a life skill.Xu Juan calmly accepted his shortcomings and also understood his strengths. He began to make use of what he excelled in to play himself up. For example, he was good at playing with others' feelings. When it came to affairs of the heart, that was a skill that brought with it a sense of accomplishment.Anyway, emotions were also a part of the arts and humanities. Xu Juan thought himself an artist, free-spirited and romantic.Therefore, after forcibly tooting his own horn, Xu Juan's conscience felt all the more at ease whenever he messed around.Regrettably, as the saying went,what goes around comes around. He slept an entire day away, only lazily coming in to work in the afternoon. When he arrived at the entrance to his office, his secretary Xiao Lin's face was full of gossipping intent while she informed him of a piece of unfortunate news: Director Xu, you made it to the hot searches again!Xu Juan briefly froze. Xiao Lin said: It's still Li Mengzhou. The two of you met up last night, didn't you? You were photographed.Xiao Lin looked down to use the computer, copied a few links off of the hot search and sent them to his Wechat.Xu Juan nodded, went into his own office and closed the door. He took out his phone for a look.It would have been fine if he didn't look, but once he did, he was startled The paparazzi had not only photographed him and Li Mengzhou messing about in front of the restaurant, they had also photographed Pei Yu. He reckoned it was because the paparazzi didn't leave after Li Mengzhou did, continuing to photograph him in secret. How devoted, just how big of a grudge did they hold against him?The news headline was very caricaturistic:The popular Li Mengzhou humbled himself to make peace after getting dumped, but the ruthless rich playboy immediately two-timed him with a mysterious hunkXu Juan: It evenrhymedpretty well.But from the first sentence of the Weibo expos, it was already highlighted that this rich playboy was Xu Jiren's second son. Once again, Xu Juan's entire family was dragged out and debated. Xu Juan's temper rose as he read it, but the moment he opened the comments section, his anger immediately quelled.The first top comment was: Can someone enlighten me, who is that mysterious hunk, is he also from the entertainment circle? Why do I find him better-looking than Li Mengzhou?Xu Juan laughed, thinking to himself that the eyes of these people were sharp indeed. Pei Yu was not only better-looking than Li Mengzhou, he basically outshone the entire entertainment circle, okay? Him not debuting was the entire country's loss.But that article was too high up the hot search and Pei Yu's face had been fully photographed. There were so many university students using Weibo, if his students were to see it, how terrible would that be? Pei Yu's reputation would be greatly affected.Xu Juan forked out his own money and had someone remove the article from the trending topics.Then, he sent Pei Yu a message.He said on Wechat: Pei laoshi, are you busy? I'm very sorry about today, I never expected an incident like this to happen.Pei Yu's reply came a few minutes later, unexpectedly, he asked him: What incident?Of course, he didn't dabble on Weibo. Xu Juan had no choice but to simply explain the matter to him. He thought that such a traditional and conservative person like Pei Yu would care a lot about his reputation, and if he didn't handle it right, he would be angry at him. Instead, Pei Yu said: It's fine, it's not a big deal anyway.The innocent have a clear conscience.This sentence carried quite the double entendre; On the surface, it was a response to Xu Juan's message, but underneath, it was a clear dividing line: You and I have nothing to do with each other.Xu Juan pretended not to understand, smoothly redirecting the conversation in another direction: That's right. Nowadays, entertainment news sites are all trying to bait traffic. They'll take some random photos and start weaving stories. Actually, Li Mengzhou and I don't even have anything to do with each other, they're all rumours.Oh. Pei Yu's reply was plain and concise.Xu Juan stared at this word for a long time. It was clearly an ordinary word that could not be more ordinary, but it oozed indifference and disinterest. He could even imagine Pei Yu's distaste.Heck, imagination was what made pursuing someone most delightful. The ambiguity that his own delusion brought about Who cares if he likes me or not? It's fine as long as I think he likes me.But of course, that alone was not enough. Only when their relationship became more intense, would he be able to enjoy a more intense happiness.Xu Juan thought for a bit, then typed: Pei laoshi, I've realized that you have some misconceptions about me.Pei Yu didn't reply, so he went ahead to say: Our first meeting happened at a less-than-ideal place, so you probably have a prejudiced first impression and slapped that sort of label onto me. But I'm really not that kind of personAgain, Pei Yu didn't reply.Xu Juansaid: You can't stereotype me based on my family background, I'm an ordinary person, too! I also have moral integrity, a bottom line and a sense of shame. Except sometimes during drinking sessions, I can't act like I'm above the rest. Even if I don't enjoy it, I have to grit my teeth and oblige, that's the nature of social events. Of course, I'm not trying to find excuses for myself. I just want to say, though I may not be blameless, you don't have to think of me as despicable. If I had the choice, I would definitely show you my best side, then slowly change the parts of me that are lacking, becoming a good person while you remain unaware. It's a pity I have terrible luck. It wasn't easy for me to finally meet someone I like, but that person hated me at first glance. No matter what I do, in his eyes, I'm only making matters worse.After Xu Juan sent his long string of text, he saw the other is typing on the chat interface. But after typing for a while, Pei Yu didn't respond with anything.Xu Juan waited a couple of seconds, then sent another text: I'm sorry. I'm being so straightforward, does it repulse you? I wasn't going to be this direct initially, I wanted to sound like I was joking, then get close to you while being both honest and jesting. Genuine and proper, so I wouldn't be pushed away but I couldn't control myself. I apologize.Pei Yu's status changed totypingagain.This method of Xu Juan's was called, putting himself down to play up his misery.If he had said these the previous afternoon, Pei Yu would definitely have gotten impatient and not listened to a single word.However, last night, they had spent some time together as fellow calligraphy enthusiasts. Pei Yu's impression of him improved tremendously after that, he had even collected his calligraphy scroll. Although appreciating the calligraphy scroll didn't equate to liking Xu Juan himself, when one liked something, it would naturally extend to its involved parties. He would at least feel the slightest bit of good vibes from Xu Juan.Besides, if Pei Yu really despised him, he should be unable to like anything related to him at all, so why would the other collect his calligraphy?Bluntly put, this meant that he and Pei Yu now had at least a bit of friendship going on.Xu Juan put his phone down and leaned back in his seat, giving a lazy stretch. As he had expected, on account of this friendship, Pei Yu didn't directly block him the way he had previously. In a few seconds, the phone on the table vibrated and he picked it up. Pei Yu said: I'm not gay.Xu Juan: So after typing for such a long time, he only managed to squeeze out this one sentence. He had thought Pei laoshi was intending to give him a lecture.Xu Juan sighed. After using all the showy tricks he had up his sleeves, it was clear that the simple-minded and upright Pei laoshi was unable to handle them. Even Xu Juan himself could feel his hardened heart begin to soften.But to grow tender was a big no-no when it came to affairs of the heart, so Xu Juan hardened his up again for the sake of pursuing Pei Yu.I'm not gay either. Xu Juan said, I am me, you are you. To like is to like, to dislike is to dislike. There's no need to classify yourself into a certain group of people, then follow their rules and copy their way of living. What do you think, Pei laoshi?He rerouted the argument with his eloquent tongue, and unexpectedly, Pei Yu accepted his words. Swayed by his line of thought, he rejected: I don't like you.Xu Juan smiled a little, tapping his finger on the emoticon keyboard, choosing a cute crying emoji to send over: It's okay if you don't like me, it's enough that I like you.Pei Yu replied with a string of ellipses.I will like you very sincerely. Xu Juan said these simple words elaborately, as if utterly infatuated, I've finished explaining myself. Now, may I formally begin to pursue you, Pei laoshi?
