206 Collecting Junk
“Love?” Guan Lei’s face, which had been unsightly just now, immediately brightened after hearing Zhao Yuan’s words, and his smile was filled with the sun’s warmth.
That’s right. Other people were jealous of his love for Shen Xi. Guan Lei laughed. His inward joy could not be contained, and he soon guffawed uproariously.
The crowd was confused by Guan Lei’s sudden laughter, and all eyes turned toward him.
Guan Lei realized he was making a scene, laughing at an inappropriate time, but he could not help it. He coughed, a little embarrassed. “Zhao Yuan is right. It’s funny when you think no one wants junk.”
His serious expression drew Zhao Yuan into a fit of laughter. Pleasantly surprised that someone agreed with her, she said, “Right? Liu Cheng is nothing more than damaged goods. As expected, great minds think alike!”
“Zhao Yuan, what are you trying to say?” Liu Cheng screeched furiously.
“What? Do you have something to say? Want revenge?” Zhao Yuan taunted, sarcasm thick in her tone.
Jiang Xue could no longer stand it and stepped between the two glaring women. “Zhao Yuan, Chengcheng was only showing her concern for Xixi. Why are you speaking in such an offensive manner?” Jiang Xue asked.
“Is that how she shows her concern?” Shen Xi scoffed. She felt that Jiang Xue’s words were funny and retorted, “Is that the type of concern you enjoy? How about this? I’ll show you my concern for once. I seem to recall you flirting with several people in the past…”
Shen Xi sized up Jiang Xue as she spoke.
Jiang Xue squirmed under Shen Xi’s intense scrutiny. She felt like she was standing naked before a crowd of hungry onlookers. That damned Shen Xi. She was threatening her again with the fact that she had been violated at the hotel!
Jiang Xue calmed herself down. Believing Shen Xi had no evidence, she firmed her resolve and prepared to lecture her coldly, “Shen Xi, don’t you have a shred of self-respect? You’re trying to please a man in front of so many people, yet you aren’t willing to put up with what others have to say about it.”
“If you had taken greater care, the incident in the observation room wouldn’t have happened. As your classmate, Chengcheng is trying to save you from yourself. She hopes that you won’t debase yourself like this. She did all this hoping you would wake up,” Jiang Xue preached.
The onlookers began to whisper among themselves, and discussions broke out regarding what had happened to Shen Xi in the observation room. So what if the school had clarified the situation? To those determined to read things into the situation, could they be stopped from thinking that Shen Xi was involved in some illicit affair?
“That’s right; I’m just showing concern for you, Shen Xi. Don’t treat my good intentions as ill will. Besides, even if you wanted to seduce a man to pay your tuition fees, shouldn’t you have picked someone with the capability to do so? What is a garbage collector going to do for you? Look at those bags under his eyes! Even if you were to squeeze him dry, you wouldn’t get much. You can’t expect a rock to produce water.”
Zhao Yuan rolled up her sleeves and was about to lunge at Liu Cheng when an unknown object whistled past, aiming straight at her foe. The smug Liu Cheng ended up covered in greasy vegetables and sticky juice.
“Argh! Guan Lei, how dare a measly garbage collector hit me!” Liu Cheng’s shrill voice reverberated throughout the canteen.
Shen Xi’s eyes narrowed as Liu Cheng continued cursing Guan Lei. She would not allow others to bully her friends! She grabbed a plate from the side and was going to smash it into Liu Cheng’s annoying face when a large hand stopped her abruptly.
Guan Lei was standing, and in his hand was the dish Shen Xi had picked up. Quietly, he said, “I’ll deal with this. There’s no need for you to sully your hands.”
Shen Xi was at a loss as she stared into Guan Lei’s limpid eyes. She subconsciously did as he bade and released the plate of food she wanted to use as ammunition.
Guan Lei spun on Liu Cheng, his gentility for Shen Xi replaced by a sudden ferocity. The change was so quick that it caught Liu Cheng flatfooted.
Liu Cheng glared at Guan Lei. “You’re just a lowly trash collector. How dare you get in my way! My parents won’t let you off when they hear about this!”
Although Guan Lei had never told anyone about his family background, Liu Cheng had discovered it due to a conversation she overheard between him and Shen Xi. She was so sure he and his family made a living by collecting waste that she did not believe Guan Lei would dare stand against her.
In her fury, Liu Cheng forgot a vital piece of information. Guan Lei was the new hegemon of the school, having beaten Xiang Cheng up shortly after the term began.
The people around her stared at Liu Cheng in wonder, then at Guan Lei. They had never imagined that Guan Lei, being as strong and overbearing as he was, would come from a family of garbage collectors.