YMW CH 22

Promiscuous

As soon as Cen Wu and Xie Guilan stepped out of the police station, Cen Xiao’s car arrived. Cen Wu was still unwell, and Cen Xiao wasn’t at ease—after all, even if Cen Wu wasn’t sick, he wouldn’t feel comfortable after visiting the police station.

He drove over himself to pick Cen Wu up.

“Look at you,” Cen Xiao raised an eyebrow, ruffling Cen Wu’s hair lightly. “Getting into a fight and ending up at the police station. You’ll have to explain this to Dad yourself.”

In the late night, with the damp chill in the air, Cen Wu’s pale skin had a faint flush, his nose also a bit red. He tugged at Cen Xiao’s sleeve, pleading, “Brother.”

Cen Xiao: “…”

Cen Xiao sighed in defeat. “I’m not going to say anything.”

It wasn’t a big deal, really. Cen Xiao had kept far worse from their parents since they were young. But tonight felt different. Cen Wu didn’t rush over to hug him or cling to his neck like he usually would. Instead, he simply smiled a little, a grateful look in his eyes.

Cen Wu was his little brother, and Cen Xiao loved him as much as their parents did. It was never a relationship that required thanks. He would never stand to see his brother wronged.

“Wu Wu.” Cen Xiao looked at him and suddenly called his name.

Cen Wu, a bit confused, looked up. He held onto Xie Guilan, stopping him from leaving, and asked hesitantly, “Brother, are you… aren’t you tired from driving all the way here so late?”

“No, I’m not tired,” Cen Xiao replied, clearly not knowing what else to say.

Cen Wu looked up at him, his eyes filled with hope. “Then… could you maybe drop my classmate off at home first?”

Cen Xiao: “…”

He was clearly being a little troublemaker.

Xie Guilan didn’t really want to, but Cen Wu wouldn’t let go of him. Xie Guilan furrowed his brow, not wanting to keep arguing, so he reluctantly got in the car and said, “Thanks, Mr. Cen.”

Cen Xiao didn’t respond. He just went around to the driver’s seat and started the car.

Meanwhile, the man with the flower tattoo on his arm was bleeding heavily. One of his teeth had been knocked out by Xie Guilan, and he was wailing in pain. The police had to take him to the hospital. As he was leaving, he happened to see Cen Xiao and the others getting into the car.

The man’s eyes suddenly widened, his swollen eyelids straining. He didn’t know Cen Wu, but he recognized Cen Xiao.

The only person in the world who could get Cen Xiao to drive this late to pick someone up, aside from their parents, was undoubtedly Cen Wu.

Cen Wu turned his head, his eyes cold like deep winter fog. The man’s blood ran cold. Cen Wu wasn’t threatening him directly, but he knew—everything that happened tonight would stay locked in his stomach.

He didn’t know Xie Guilan, and Xie Guilan had never done anything to him. It was probably for the best that he hadn’t run into Cen Wu either.

The police station wasn’t far from Huaijing High School, so Cen Wu asked Cen Xiao to park the car at the school’s back gate. This location was only an eight-minute walk from Xie Guilan’s rental apartment.

Cen Wu had never been there, but everything mentioned in the original text remained fresh in his memory.

Once Xie Guilan left, Cen Wu sent him a message from the car.

【Cen Wu: Let me know when you get home.】

Xie Guilan didn’t respond.

Cen Wu followed up with a cat emoji, its eyes darkened by circles.

【Cen Wu: If you don’t tell me, I won’t sleep.】

Xie Guilan: “…”

Xie Guilan felt a cold, mocking amusement. At such a young age, Cen Wu already knew how to charm people. He wondered how many others had fallen for it. Was he the next in line?

It was well-known in Huaijing that Cen Wu was a flirt. His “fishing pond” stretched so wide that even he didn’t know its limits.

Xie Guilan thought Cen Wu worried too much, spreading himself too thin. Could he really handle it all?

A faker, so good at pretending.

Xie Guilan thought that if he said he wanted to see Cen Wu right now, Cen Wu would drop everything and come to him without hesitation.

Cen Wu waited and waited, and finally, ten minutes later, he received a message from Xie Guilan. It was just a cold, indifferent period, but it was enough to put Cen Wu’s mind at ease.

It was already past 1 AM. Cen Wu hadn’t fully recovered from his fever, so he took some medicine at home and went back to sleep.

He had planned to go back to school the next day, but Cen Xiao insisted he take a few more days off. He didn’t return until Friday.

When Cen Wu arrived at school, he saw that Xie Guilan’s desk was once again piled with trash. The papers Xie Guilan had handed out the night before had torn and scattered across the floor, soaked in dirty water and wrinkled.

A few duty students nearby quietly complained. “Why am I so unlucky? I have to share a class with him. There are so many top classes in second year, and he had to be in Class 3?”

“Exactly. He barely comes to class anyway. He should just stop coming and save us the trouble.”

Song Lingwei had just had surgery, and Xie Guilan had to go to the hospital to take care of her, arriving at school right before class started every day.

The duty students usually checked the cleanliness before morning study, but since Xie Guilan hadn’t shown up, they faced penalties for not cleaning, though they resented having to do it.

No one knew about Xie Guilan’s sick mother. They assumed being a top student meant he could come and go as he pleased.

Both the original protagonist and Xie Shangjing had allowed this bullying, but this time would be the last.

Cen Wu, pale and still recovering, started wiping down Xie Guilan’s desk to make sure it was spotless. He didn’t want to trouble the duty students, so he took a bucket and ran downstairs to fetch water, back and forth several times.

When he had only the last bucket of dirty water left, he grew too tired to continue. He rested his head on the desk, planning to take a short break before finishing.

But just a few minutes later, someone poked him on the shoulder. He looked up to see a female classmate.

She had a beautiful face, one that could belong to someone on screen.

“Second Young Master,” the girl said, “I’ll take your trash out for you. Should I throw this water out now too?”

“Huh?” Cen Wu paused, realizing she was one of the duty students for the day. He quickly waved his hand, stammering, “It’s too much trouble, I… I’ll go throw it out myself.”

He felt numb. The original protagonist had been so attention-grabbing that, except for Lu Wang, everyone in the class referred to him as “Second Young Master.”

Every time he heard it, he wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

The girl didn’t mind, though. She had been in a different class in freshman year, and after the classes were reorganized in the second year, she hadn’t seen much of Cen Wu. She knew him because every day, he arrived early, wiped down Xie Guilan’s desk, and then quietly lay down to sleep or did his homework.

On summer mornings at 6 AM, when sunlight filtered into the classroom, his side profile looked peaceful and beautiful.

He didn’t look like someone who was arrogant or domineering.

She had long disliked the way the others bullied Xie Guilan, trampling on someone’s dignity. It served no purpose. But she didn’t dare say anything, fearing the kind of trouble it might bring her.

“It’s fine,” the girl smiled slightly, then bent down and lifted both buckets at once. “I’ll help you.”

The buckets used for fetching water in the class were made of iron, and so were the trash bins—both were heavy and large. Cen Wu always struggled to carry them down.

Cen Wu: “…”

So strong.

In the whole class, or even the whole of Huaijing, he was the only small fry like this. Was this really fair?

Cen Wu ran after her, taking the heavier bucket from her and nervously saying, “I’ll go with you.”

“My name’s Xu Lingling,” the girl introduced herself.

Cen Wu: “???”

Cen Wu hadn’t really looked at his classmates much since he’d transmigrated, so he didn’t recognize many of them. But when he saw Xu Lingling’s face, a suspicion began to form in his mind.

In the original text, Xie Guilan ended up alone, a solitary king.

When Xu Lingling appeared, Cen Wu had thought she might be the female lead, but Xie Guilan’s path had always been a lonely one.

Xu Lingling came from a poor family but was very beautiful. A few years later, she was signed by Xie Guilan’s company, where she changed her name to Yin Rong. After debuting, she became the most popular actress of the next decade.

Xie Guilan’s path was dark, and Yin Rong, as his subordinate, wasn’t innocent either—cold-hearted and flashy.

In short, she was someone you couldn’t afford to offend.

Xu Lingling was headed to the cafeteria, and Cen Wu went to buy breakfast for Xie Guilan. By the time he returned to class, it was almost time for morning study, but Class 3 was in chaos. Many students crowded around the back door.

Cen Wu ran over and saw Xie Guilan standing by the door. His face was emotionless, but his eyes already frosted with cold anger.

Zhou Ye kicked Xie Guilan’s chair hard, sneering, “Top student, you took my watch and still won’t admit it? This isn’t right, is it?”