When she heard the words "poor boy," the image that automatically sprang to Zhan Nanqing’s mind was of Chi Yuhang holding crumpled money in his hand.
She quickly shook her head, feeling somewhat baffled.
Why would she think of Chi Yuhang at this time?
It must be because the three words "poor boy" naturally matched with Chi Yuhang’s identity.
Zhou Yunze assumed that Zhan Nanqing’s silence was an admission of guilt and finally found an opportunity to belittle Qiao Jing.
"Nanqing, even if you don’t reconcile with me, you don’t need to pick a poor boy just to spite me, do you? My Zhou Family in the capital is only slightly lower in status than the Zhan Family, and yet you choose a poor boy? Are you looking down on me? Also, does Aunt Su know about your dating a poor boy?"
Qiao Jing furrowed her brows, and, to appear more masculine, she deliberately lowered them a bit, making her look more aggressive.
Her gaze was like ice blades, piercing straight at the other person, and her red lips slightly parted.
"Another’s background becomes your reason to belittle them? No wonder Nanqing broke up with you. Someone like you doesn’t deserve her."
Now she was somewhat curious about why Zhan Nanqing had ever been with Zhou Yunze.
But... thinking back on how Zhan Nanqing had treated her before,
she could understand why Zhan Nanqing would have been with Zhou Yunze. Fortunately, Zhan Nanqing had since changed for the better.
It was only then that Zhan Nanqing snapped back to reality and immediately continued along with Qiao Jing’s words.
"Exactly, what business is it of yours what my boyfriend’s background is? Does your family live by the sea? You’re sticking your nose into everything. As long as I like him, even if he’s an alien, that’s fine. And there’s no need for you to worry about my family matters. Okay, now that you’ve met my boyfriend, you can give up. Stop bothering me from now on, will you?"
In the past, she did somewhat look down on children from poor families, but she hardly ever encountered such people, since the places she frequented simply didn’t bring her into contact with them.
However, after getting to know Qiao Jing, she realized that one’s background should not be a reason to judge others, because from the very beginning, she had belittled Qiao Jing as a country bumpkin who knew nothing.
As it turned out, Qiao Jing had two hidden powerful statuses, and it was her own prejudice against others’ identities that caused her past discourtesy towards Qiao Jing.
Not just Qiao Jing — when she saw Chi Yuhang, who more closely fit the identity of a poor boy, she no longer felt superior, because after all, he was very filial.
Zhou Yunze clenched his teeth and glared fiercely at the two people sitting opposite him.
"I won’t give up that easily. Nanqing, since you won’t reconcile with me, then I’ll just have to court you anew. Is that alright?"
He had previously been bewitched and played around, not cherishing his girlfriend Zhan Nanqing who had such an impressive background and who was also good to him, and now it was too late for any regrets.
Qiao Jing’s eyebrows were tightly knitted, her expression cool, and she looked at Zhou Yunze with a gaze sharp like a knife’s edge as she slowly opened her mouth.
"You want to interfere in our relationship?"
Now, through chatting with Zhou Yunze, she understood that he was not some pushover, so she had to do everything possible to help Zhan Nanqing cut off any contact between the two.
Especially Zhou Yunze with his distorted values who continued to harass others persistently.
Zhou Yunze felt a cold shiver run down his spine under Qiao Jing’s gaze, and a sense of fear began to rise within him.
"I’m not, I just want to court Nanqing anew."
He was unwilling to give up on Zhan Nanqing easily, as she was the best of all the girlfriends he had ever had.
Qiao Jing slightly raised her arching eyebrows and said coldly,
"She now has a boyfriend. Don’t bother Nanqing anymore, or else——"
She deliberately paused, the temperature around her dropping abruptly, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly, and her sharp gaze lingering on Zhou Yunze’s face for a few seconds.
In those few seconds, Zhou Yunze felt as if he was being executed on the spot, the chill on his back intensifying as he subconsciously swallowed.
Qiao Jing pursed her red lips and slowly uttered four words.
"You’ll bear the consequences."
If Zhou Yunze harassed her again, she would suggest to Zhan Nanqing to consider calling the police to handle it.
There’s absolutely no need to show any courtesy in this kind of situation.
Having said that, Qiao Jing stood up, holding Zhan Nanqing’s hand.
Zhan Nanqing picked up her bag and leaned her entire body against Qiao Jing’s shoulder.
"Oh dear, I’m so annoyed," she said. "Tell me, how can some people be so clueless?"
Seeing Zhan Nanqing acting so dramatically, Qiao Jing couldn’t help but smile.
"It’s fine now, isn’t it?"
Only then did a smile appear on Zhan Nanqing’s face. She hugged Qiao Jing’s arm and whispered, "Thanks a lot. I have no idea why he suddenly had a brainwave to want to get back with me. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know whom to pretend was my boyfriend."
Zhan Nanqing spoke so softly that only Qiao Jing could hear her.
Zhou Yunze, who was behind them, watched the scene and was so angry his teeth itched.
But he was not one to give up easily!
Just as the two were about to head to the hall to leave, Zhan Nanqing suddenly let go of Qiao Jing’s hand and clutched her stomach with both hands.
"It’s terrible, my stomach hurts so much. Qiao Jing, you go with me to the washroom first?"
Qiao Jing nodded and accompanied Zhan Nanqing to the ladies’ room.
She instinctively wanted to follow her in but suddenly remembered that she was dressed as a boy and had to wait in the corridor.
Shortly after, the sound of handwashing came from the restroom.
Qiao Jing put down her phone, looked up toward the bathroom door, and quickly walked to the doorway, ready to return with Zhan Nanqing.
She hadn’t finished speaking when she saw someone she had only met once before.
Qiao Jing held back the step she was about to take, quickly muttered an apology for mistaking her for someone else, and leaned against the corridor wall to continue waiting.
She had not expected to run into Lu Yingying here by such a coincidence.
When Lu Yingying saw Qiao Jing, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Qiao Linting? What are you doing here?"
Ever since the last gathering ended, she had asked around but couldn’t get any news of Qiao Linting’s whereabouts. She almost started to believe that he might be a nonexistent person.
To investigate Qiao Linting’s identity, she even went as far as to ask a private detective, but still couldn’t find him. She was too embarrassed to ask Zhan Nanqing.
And here he was today!
Qiao Jing simply nodded lightly in response, not wanting to have much interaction with Lu Yingying.
She sent a text to Zhan Nanqing asking when she might come out and soon got a reply.
"You go wait for me in the hall where there are sofas. I might be a while, and it must be tiring for you to stand."
Only then did Qiao Jing put away her phone and walked out.
Seeing this, Lu Yingying bit her lip and hurried after her.
"Qiao Linting! Wait for me!!"
Qiao Jing frowned slightly, not wanting to deal with her, and quickened her pace.
As a result, Lu Yingying chased Qiao Jing all the way to the hall and stopped her just she was about to leave.