18: Chapter 18 The Little Nobody in a Pampered Novel 18

The group of four went straight to Yuming Pavilion, a three-star Michelin restaurant in City A.

"Little Academic God, after two years abroad, you must be tired of foreign food. You have to try the imperial feast passed down from our ancestors." Zhou Chi had used Father Zhou's name to book this table; otherwise, the wait would have been over a month.

"Sure."

"But after all these years, haven't you been eating well? Why are you still so thin?" Zhou Chi curled his lip in disapproval. "This physique won't do."

Just as he finished speaking, he was smacked on the back of the head.

"Brother Gu, you hit me again."

Cheng Yi pulled Zhou Chi to his side, leaving the front positions for Brother Gu and the Little Academic God. "Just shut up." The two slowed down, quickly creating some distance from the pair ahead.

If he kept being this noisy, he'd get beaten by Brother Gu sooner or later.

Whether she's fine or not, is it your place to judge?

Have some situational awareness, will you!

"Why aren't you wearing glasses? Can you see?" Gu Yunjing asked, just to start a conversation.

"I had a small surgery while abroad, so I'm no longer nearsighted. Wearing glasses is indeed a bit inconvenient sometimes."

"Mhm." She looks very beautiful this way, Gu Yunjing thought silently.

"I didn't expect you to show up at the airport today. I originally wanted to message you, but I heard that the National Defense Academy prohibits the use of mobile phones. However, when I had a video call with Auntie last month, I told her I was coming back. Did Auntie tell you about my return?"

"Mhm." Hearing the little tutor's explanation with his own ears, the knot in Gu Yunjing's heart finally loosened a bit.

Seeing that he wasn't talking much, Xu Zhao turned her head to look at him. "You seem to have changed a bit."

"How so?" Gu Yunjing turned his gaze toward her. Their eyes met, each seeing their own reflection in the other's eyes.

Gu Yunjing looked at her deeply, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.

Xu Zhao was momentarily stunned, her heart inexplicably racing.

She suddenly thought of that hug. Although neither of them had mentioned it since, it had been stuck in her mind.

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask him if he liked her.

But before she could speak, she heard the sound of an argument coming from the doorway of a private room ahead.

A girl with her back to them was wearing a slim-fitting white dress. Her figure was graceful, like a willow in the breeze, and she looked quite lovely.

At the moment, her slender wrist was being held firmly in a man's hand. The man's voice was cold and harsh as he said, "How dare you come out on a date with another man behind my back?!"

"What's wrong with me dating? Your parents don't agree to us being together anyway, so why can't I date someone else?"

The man standing next to the girl had eye-catching, ash-gray hair. He was currently angry; his perfectly good date with a beauty had been interrupted by this person. "Let her go!"

A melodramatic love triangle. Xu Zhao couldn't see the faces of the two with their backs to her, but she could clearly see the man questioning them. Heh—another acquaintance!

She hadn't expected Li Yan to return to the country so soon!

The girl with her back turned was most likely Xu Jiao.

Just as Xu Zhao was thinking this, the girl turned around, and Xu Jiao's familiar, pitifully beautiful face was exposed to everyone.

Wiping away tears, Xu Jiao didn't look where she was going and rushed out like a small cannonball. It just so happened that Xu Zhao and the others were standing right at the exit of the hallway.

Seeing that they were about to collide, Xu Zhao was pulled aside, her back pressing against a warm chest.

"Be careful," Gu Yunjing's voice came from beside her ear.

Only then did Xu Jiao notice she had almost run into someone. Just as she was about to apologize, she looked up and looked as if she had seen a ghost, her eyes fixed on Xu Zhao in shock.

"Zhao... Zhao Zhao!" Then she turned her gaze toward Li Yan behind her, her expression becoming somewhat intriguing.

"Zhao Zhao, is it because you still won't let go of A-Yan and me that you notified A-Yan to come and ruin my date with Brother Jie?"

Tsk... what a train of thought.

Where did she get the nerve to think Xu Zhao would care about her colorful love life?

"Xu Zhao!" Li Yan stepped forward, his voice sounding like he was speaking through gritted teeth.

That look was clearly one of enemies meeting with eyes full of hatred.

With sharp brows and starry eyes, he was quite handsome, but it was a waste of good looks; his heart was no larger than the eye of a needle.

"Does Li Shaoheng know you're back in the country?" Xu Zhao frowned and looked at him with an ambiguous gaze.

Li Yan's face stiffened. He had indeed returned secretly.

Actually, although he had gone abroad back then, he hadn't broken off contact with Xu Jiao. In the first year, they often video-called. Later, after Xu Jiao graduated from high school, she also went to study in the same country as him. The two of them had been together on and off ever since.

The university Xu Jiao attended was a diploma mill, so she had finished her studies six months ago and was called back to the country by the Parents of the Xu Family.

Since Li Yan hadn't graduated yet, he naturally couldn't return.

Unexpectedly, in just six short months, Li Yan saw a photo on a childhood friend's social media showing Xu Jiao drinking with another man at a bar. He had more than one rival.

Immediately, Li Yan stopped caring about his studies and bought a plane ticket to fly back that very day, catching Xu Jiao eating here with someone.

He had come straight to the address given by his friend after getting off the plane, so he hadn't had time to return to the Li Family at all.

"Xu Zhao, do you think I'm still the same person I was three years ago?" Li Yan took a step forward.

"I don't see any difference." Gu Yunjing pulled her behind him and took two long strides forward, standing in front of Li Yan.

He folded his arms across his chest, eyeing Li Yan with a half-smile. He was a weakling before, and he was still a weakling now. He bet that Li Yan wouldn't last a single move against him.

Hiding obediently behind him and not causing trouble wasn't an option. Xu Zhao immediately poked her head out and echoed, "I think so too."

Li Yan was already fuming over Xu Jiao's situation, and now, being provoked by Gu Yunjing and Xu Zhao, he had nowhere to vent his anger. With both old and new grudges, he had to teach them a lesson today.

Just as Li Yan threw a punch, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

Gu Yunjing's strength was terrifying. His hand was like an iron clamp, firmly gripping Li Yan's wrist, causing his face to contort in pain.

"A-Yan, A-Yan, are you okay?" Xu Jiao also saw the disparity. She rushed over, wanting to pound on Gu Yunjing's arm, but Gu Yunjing didn't let her touch him and released his grip.

Li Yan was immediately tossed aside.

"Hmph, truly all show and no substance. I thought people from the Li Family were supposed to be impressive," the young man with ash-gray hair standing next to Xu Jiao sneered.

This sentence provoked Li Yan to try and get up again, but Xu Jiao hugged him around the waist to stop him.

"Jiao Jiao, let go!" Li Yan's eyes were red with rage.

"Brother Jie, please stop talking," Xu Jiao pleaded, looking at Miao Jie.

Miao Jie wasn't the type to take things lying down. He glared fiercely at Li Yan. "Li Yan, what kind of man are you? Where were you during the Xu Corporation's crisis? When Jiao Jiao was being mocked by a group of fan girls, you were probably still writing your thesis abroad, weren't you? What right do you have to stand by her side? Jiao Jiao is so fragile; you can't protect her at all."

"Now you're acting tough with me? If it weren't for my Miao Family, the Xu Corporation would have gone bankrupt long ago, and Jiao Jiao would be living on the streets." Miao Jie grabbed Xu Jiao's arm and forcibly pulled her to his side. He extended his long arm, pinning her in his embrace, and looked at Li Yan provocatively.

"Jiao Jiao... is what he said true? Why... why didn't you tell me?" Li Yan looked at the two of them with a complex expression.

Xu Jiao's tears immediately began to pour down like rain. "I saw that you were already very stressed about your graduation thesis. I couldn't help you with your worries, so how could I disturb you further?"

In truth, Xu Jiao did resent Li Yan. While abroad, he only cared about his thesis and never gave her a chance to speak. She had once tentatively asked if he would help if the Xu Corporation faced a crisis, and Li Yan had told her that his third uncle was currently in charge of the Li Family and he was powerless.

That was why she had resolutely returned to the country, followed her parents' arrangements, and thrown herself at Miao Jie.

"Jiao Jiao..." Li Yan was moved.

Although pinned by Miao Jie, Xu Jiao still desperately reached out her hand, and Li Yan held her small hand tightly in his palm.

The three of them now looked exactly like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl being torn apart by the wicked Queen Mother of the West.

Xu Zhao and the others watched the whole drama. The male supporting character was truly pitiful—he spent money and coaxed his sweetheart, but as soon as the main guy returned, he was cast aside. He was a complete tool, a catalyst for the growth of the leads' relationship.

"Xu Jiao, what do you take me for! Don't forget, you were the one who took the initiative to tell me you liked me! You were the one who knelt before me and begged me to help you!" He was also born with a silver spoon in his mouth; how could he stand this? He spoke bluntly and harshly, "The Xu Family has already tacitly agreed to sell you to me."

—What a huge piece of gossip!

It had only been a few years; did her two brothers with their skewed values cause the Xu Family to go bankrupt? She hadn't expected to hear such explosive news right after her return.

"No, Brother Jie, you said you wouldn't force me and would give me time," Xu Jiao cried, looking as fragile as a pear blossom in the rain.

"I've changed my mind. Anyway, you're already mine." Miao Jie really did like Xu Jiao a bit; the girl perfectly matched his aesthetic. Otherwise, he wouldn't have begged his father to invest in the Xu Corporation. He had heard people mention that Xu Jiao and Li Yan had dated before, but he hadn't taken it seriously. Everyone has a past; as long as it's over now, it's fine.

The Parents of the Xu Family had also repeatedly promised him that they had broken off completely. He hadn't expected them to conspire to deceive him! To cheat the Miao Family of their money!

"Isn't it just money? My Li Family is the wealthiest in China. Who could be richer than me? Let go of Jiao Jiao. Whatever the Xu Corporation owes you, I'll pay it back on behalf of the Xu Family."

Xu Jiao stopped crying and looked at Li Yan with a moved expression. "A-Yan—"

Miao Jie loosened his grip, and Xu Jiao immediately threw herself into Li Yan's arms. Touching his face, she said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, A-Yan. I shouldn't have kept it from you. From now on, no matter what happens, I won't keep anything from you."

"Silly girl." Li Yan held Xu Jiao in his arms, his anger gradually replaced by tenderness.

"Fine, I was the fool here! Li Yan, you said you'd pay back the money for the Xu Family. If you dare not to pay, I'll go straight to your third uncle and ask for it!" After saying this, Miao Jie left immediately.

He even bumped into Zhou Chi and Cheng Yi at the door, but he didn't even greet them and left in a huff.

Zhou Chi gestured with his chin toward Cheng Yi and said, "The youngest son of the Miao Family, a childhood friend of mine, though we've never gotten along. How old is he, and he's still playing that alternative style? I'm much more mature than him."

Cheng Yi thought to himself, if you hadn't been lucky enough to meet the Little Academic God and have her lead you out of the quagmire, would you have turned out this well?

Xu Jiao leaned halfway into Li Yan's arms and said softly, "A-Yan, did I make things difficult for you?"

Li Yan shook his head. "No. Jiao Jiao, don't worry. I'll go and beg my third uncle. This small amount of money is nothing to him."

Xu Jiao nodded, moved, and buried her head in his chest.

On the 39th floor of the Zongheng Group building, in the CEO's office, Li Shaoheng sneezed twice in a row.