Even though Tang Meng could hardly conceal his awkwardness and rage, the greatest emotion he was feeling at that moment in his heart was shock. What was going on with Ling Yun? This was just too unbelievable!
Tang Meng could not help but re-evaluate the fatty before his eyes. This fat turd who was wearing a severely undersized uniform. The uniform was so tight that it clung to his body. It looked really comical.
His face looked the same. However, Tang Meng realized that the look in his eyes had changed.
The weakness in his eyes was gone. So was the inferiority complex that he had. Ling Yun no longer saw himself as a small and insignificant person. Replacing it was neither arrogance nor pride. Instead, all that remained was a calm and collected gaze. In Ling Yun’s pristine eyes, there was a sense of indifference to things and occasionally a flash of self-mockery. However, there was a sense of benevolence. It was as if Ling Yun had lived through countless ups and downs, having seen so many different ways of living that what laid before his eyes was nothing in comparison. That was what Ling Yun’s eyes seemed to be telling Tang Meng.
If Tang Meng were to spot another difference in Ling Yun, that would be that air around Ling Yun. There was a clean and refreshing feel around Ling Yun. It was a kind of charisma that attracted and made people want to interact with him.
In contrast, he also seemed to give off an image of detachment. This contradiction caused people to be in a dilemma.
This brat… Tang Meng cursed in his heart. With that, he decided not to talk anymore as he ate in silence.
Noticing that Ning Lingyu was crying, Ling Yun gently turned towards her. He put down his chopsticks and wiped her tears with his right hand.
“First you laugh, now you cry. You’re still the same as before! Now hurry and eat before the food gets cold…” Ling Yun directed towards his sister with a gentle and caring voice.
Ning Lingyu’s heart felt fuzzy and warm as she pouted playfully at her brother. She looked stunning.
Zhang Ling felt shaken as she questioned herself. Was this really the same useless Ling Yun from her class? The guy before her who schooled Tang Meng with every phrase that escaped his mouth. The guy who could make Ning Lingyu smile and cry with just a single phrase. Was this truly Ling Yun? The word ‘shock’ was an understatement.
If Ling Yun was just a bit slimmer, he would have been the ideal older brother!
Zhang Ling was so distracted by Ling Yun that she did not even notice that Cao Shanshan had sat down directly across her.
“What’s up? What are you daydreaming about?” Cao Shanshan asked Zhang Ling. At the same time, she waved her snow-white hand in front of her friend, trying to get her attention. It was then that Zhang Ling realized she was in a daze. She immediately sat up straight and pointed her index finger leftwards.
“Tang Meng? I already saw him, he comes here for lunch frequently. What’s new about…” Cao Shanshan replied halfway before stopping in shock. She noticed that Ling Yun was sitting beside her. After looking further, she saw that even Ning Lingyu was here.
What the h*ll was going on? Ning Lingyu rarely visited the second floor and she was actually eating with Tang Meng? What shocked Cao Shanshan the most was the fact that Ling Yun was actually sitting beside her. Ling Yun seemed undisturbed as he continued to wolf down his food.
After running 4.4 kilometers with a 25kg sandbag, Ling Yun was actually sitting there and enjoying his meal. If Cao Tianlong was here, he would surely have fainted on the spot for days.
Not far from where Cao Shanshan sat, light laughter and loud chattering could be heard. Some were trying to get the belle’s attention while others were just hoping for a show to watch.
“Have you ordered?” Cao Shanshan asked.
“Yes, Sichuan boiled fish with beef and ox tongue in chili sauce…”
“Hold on,” Cao Shanshan said with a nod of her head as she stood up. Her ripe and ravishing body dazzled the surrounding students. Unaffected by the eyes of others, Cao Shanshan held onto her exquisite LV handbag as she walked to Tang Meng.
“Move inside!” Cao Shanshan ordered Tang Meng, who was consuming his meal with wild fervor.
Such dauntlessness! Such bravery and such oppressiveness!
Tang Meng almost felt tears in his eyes. What an unlucky year! What sin had he committed to deserve such disrespect? He was still one of the four scariest young masters of the school even if it was just a name. Tang Meng had no choice but to relent. He heard that those that provoked Cao Shanshan’s wrath all suffered terrible consequences. Some were let off lightly with bruised and swollen faces while others were sent to the hospital to rest and for rehabilitation.
Thus, Tang Meng complied and moved his food to the very corner of that table. However, Tang Meng actually wanted to express his gratitude to Cao Shanshan. This was because he was directly facing Ning Lingyu now. He could enjoy his meal while having a good look at Ning Lingyu’s beautiful and innocent face. For Tang Meng, he was now in his own world. He imagined that he was alone with Ning Lingyu, having a candlelit dinner. Sadly, Cao Shanshan was not done with him yet.
Cao Shanshan took out an exquisite purse from her LV bag and counted $1000. Then, she slammed it onto the table and awakened Tang Meng from his daydream.
“Look! Here’s the $1000 I lost to you!”
He didn’t care about who the person was or the person’s status. As long as someone lost the bet, Tang Meng would collect their money without any hesitation. That was his motto as the Little Gambling God.
However, before Tang Meng even had the chance to collect the money, the same chubby hand stretched out really quickly and took the $1000 away.
“Gah…” Tang Meng uttered incomprehensibly with his mouth agape. The money belonged to him!
“Brother…” Ning Lingyu muttered as she felt a bit shameful of her brother. At the moment, the big, tall and perfect image she had of her brother vanished.
“You…” Cao Shanshan was at a loss for words. How is that different from robbery? Does this guy have no morals? Where is the respect I deserve? Cao Shanshan was screaming in her mind.
Cao Shanshan was boiling with anger. The incident that morning was not even over and now he had the guts to snatch her money?
Zhang Ling felt like laughing after seeing Cao Shanshan’s amusing surprised expression. She was also looking forward to seeing how this confrontation would unfold after experiencing Ling Yun’s stubbornness herself. Zhang Ling looked on as she wondered what would result from this battle.
Ling Yun, in contrast, was unresponsive to everyone’s expressions as he made sure that the money was comfortably in his pocket before picking up his chopsticks and continuing his meal.
Tang Meng wanted to be the first to confront Ling Yun but once he saw the two belle’s facial expressions, he knew doing so would only end up incurring their wrath. Thus, he chose to wait in silence.
“Return the money, brother! That really belongs to Tang Meng, he already returned every cent he owed me just now…” Ning Lingyu said anxiously as she tried to persuade Ling Yun to return the money. If what Ling Yun did was told to the whole school, she would be too ashamed to face anyone.
Tang Meng cried tears of joy in his heart. Finally, there was someone who was on his side!
With an unperturbed look, Ling Yun replied, “It is true that he has returned everything he lost to us in the bet?”
Then, he added, “But he has not given me the reward that I rightfully deserve yet. Am I right?”
Tang Meng was stunned. What was this fat bloke saying? What reward did he deserve?
Ling Yun smiled innocently as if to show everyone he meant no harm.
“I mean you did use me to set up a gamble so it’s only right for me, who ran for my dear life, to get some commission, right?”
What?! Tang Meng almost went crazy after hearing what came out of Ling Yun’s mouth. Ling Yun was the one that wanted to run and he had no hand in it. How could this fat turd be so thick-skinned and insensitive?
Even in a soccer match, the lottery firm that opens bets had no obligation to pay the soccer team any form of reward! (Of course, this was excluding those that fix matches.
Besides Tang Meng, even Cao Shanshan and Zhang Ling were dumbfounded by how thick-skinned Ling Yun was.
After hearing her brother’s argument, Ning Lingyu no longer knew who to speak for. Even though she knew her brother’s argument was unreasonable, he was still her brother!
“If you’re unhappy, you can just do the same thing as me. Finish eleven rounds with the same sandbag. With that, we would be even and I will return you the $1000!” Ling Yun exclaimed as if that was the most natural thing to do. Having finished his speech, Ling Yun resumed eating voraciously and ignored the two of them across the table. At the same time, the second and third dishes were served. The aroma of the dishes pervaded the whole table.
Cao Shanshan was consumed by rage. She was angry as Ling Yun had snatched the money and used an illogical reason to justify himself. However, the main reason she was so angry was the fact that she was being disregarded by Ling Yun. Ever since she sat there across Ling Yun, he did not even bother to look at her once. He ignored Cao Shanshan, who was from the prestigious Cao family renowned throughout China. She was also one of the belles in Qing Shui High. This was a humiliation that Cao Shanshan could not swallow. In anger, she straightened her back, puffed up her chest and glared at Ling Yun.
Cao Shanshan could not believe that this was the same timid Ling Yun that could only follow her quietly after they had finished their late night study yesterday. To talk to her with such contempt was unacceptable! Zhang Ling had the same thoughts but the person before them was truly none other than Ling Yun.
“Ling Yun! What’s the meaning of this?” Cao Shanshan hollered after seeing that Ling Yun was only interested in eating and did not even bother to give her any attention. Cao Shanshan was like an enraged lioness that could not wait to devour Ling Yun whole. Her voice resonated through the whole second-floor cafeteria. In a flash, everyone’s eyes were focused on her. Young Master Tang seemed pleased with the turn of events. You shameless and despicable brat! Now you have incurred the belle’s wrath! Let’s see how you wriggle your way out of this crisis, huh! Tang Meng thought with glee in his heart.
Ling Yun frowned and complained, “I finally got to enjoy a free feast but I can’t even eat in peace. Who is this crazy lady shouting at me for no good reason?” As Ling Yun lifted his head from his bowl to look at who was shouting at him, his eyes stopped at Cao Shanshan’s puffed up chest.
“Oh, nice… What big perky breasts you got there…” Ling Yun muttered as he continued chewing the pork ribs in his mouth. Even though his voice was muffled from the chewing, the phrase, ‘big perky breasts’ could not escape Cao Shanshan’s ears.
“What?!” Cao Shanshan exclaimed angrily in disbelief. As she followed the direction of Ling Yun’s gaze she immediately understood what he meant. She felt like she was going insane. The rumors were true after all, this scoundrel had lecherous thoughts towards her.
“What I said does not matter, what matters is who are you? Uhm… what’s your name again… Tang Meng, is this lady your girlfriend?” Ling Yun asked nonchalantly. In all honesty, Ling Yun was not feigning ignorance. Other than Ning Lingyu and their mother, everyone that the past Ling Yun had known was a blur. Even for those that bullied Ling Yun, all he could remember was their faces and the fact that he had been bullied by them in the past.
Now, the real show was finally starting!
There was an uproar as people gathered nearer to the cafeteria on the second floor to see the show unfold.
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