299 Amiability Begets Wealth
“I agree. Guan Lei’s situation would not allow him to keep Shen Xi as a mistress. Whoever is posting these things is spouting nonsense. Don’t be fooled, everyone!”
“That’s right! How could Guan Lei afford to support Shen Xi? What kind of joke are they playing?”
Guan Lei grew more furious as he read the comments.
What did they mean by saying he could not afford to provide for Shen Xi?
Using his account, Guan Lei penned a response to the comments.
“I am Guan Lei. Of course, I can afford to support Shen Xi!”
“I sponsored 200,000 yuan to the upcoming exams as a prize reward. My family isn’t that poor.”
A veritable storm of posts drowned Guan Lei’s words. “It’s another fake! It’s not Guan Lei himself!”
Guan Lei was outraged. It did not matter what he posted or tried to say. Since he had set himself up as a poor student, making ends meet, no one would believe he had the kind of wealth to do as he had done.
Shen Xi’s vacant seat shook Guan Lei from his violent stupor. He needed to find Shen Xi.
Meanwhile, Shen Xi had been led by Zheng Huai and Lu Lin to one of the school’s offices reserved for its doctors.
“Xixi, it’s safer for you to stay here,” Zheng Huai said to Shen Xi. “Lu Lin’s fans are fanatics. You’ll need to be careful that they don’t hurt you. Some people are just troublemakers!”
Lu Lin was displeased with Zheng Huai’s insinuation and growled, “What do you mean? Would we have been dragged into such a mess if not for the Shen family’s incompetence?”
“Alright, alright. That’s enough. Stop fighting,” Shen Xi groaned, rubbing her forehead.
Zheng Huai wisely kept quiet. He asked Shen Xi, “Xixi, how should we handle this mess?”
“Why don’t we reveal our relationship? We’re cousins, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched for us to keep an eye out for each other,” Lu Lin suggested.
Zheng Huai’s eyes lit up. “That’s an idea.”
Shen Xi immediately rejected the suggestion. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Once my identity is known, and our relationship is made public, Father and Mother’s identities will also come to light. It was not easy for them to hide from the public eye. I don’t want their efforts to be in vain.”
Lu Lin and Zheng Huai sighed.
Eventually, Lu Lin said, “Things shouldn’t be too difficult on my end. I’ll make a statement, and that’ll be it. I’ll say that Grandpa received assistance from the school in the past, so we decided to reciprocate.”
“My position is a little more tricky,” Zheng Huai managed to say after some thought. “Rumor has it that I’m with Xixi.”
Lu Lin glared at Zheng Huai in annoyance. “You’re nothing but a failure; you never get anything right!”
Zheng Huai bared his teeth at Lu Lin in a warning. “It seems I’ll have to trouble Xixi for now. All I can say is that there’s nothing romantic or sexual between us.”
“It’s fine. I’ll head back for now,” Shen Xi said. “Call me if you need anything. Every time either of you appears, you cause a commotion.
Shen Xi pouted, her eyes trained on the window and the scene developing outside.
Zheng Huai and Lu Lin followed her gaze. Heavens! Plastered against the glass were scores of curious faces, gossiping intently with wide, sparkling eyes.
Guan Lei followed the gossiping crowd to the school doctor’s office. He was just in time to see Shen Xi step out, Zheng Huai and Lu Lin following a step behind.
Guan Lei grabbed Shen Xi’s hand, glad she had come out in one piece.
Lu Lin frowned. He reached out to grab Shen Xi’s other hand and chided Guan Lei, “Let go.”
Guan Lei snorted. “You’re the one who should let go!”
Lu Lin did not expect a high school student to be so overbearing. He shifted into a fighting stance and warned, “If you don’t let go, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Guan Lei met Lu Lin’s fiery stare fearlessly, his eyes filled with disdain. “Don’t hold back!”
Zheng Huai quickly restrained Lu Lin, preventing him from acting rashly.
As the vaunted Young Master Guan of Beijing, Guan Lei had practiced boxing since he was young. Lu Lin, an actor with barely any training, was no match for him.
Zheng Huai tried to pry Lu Lin’s hand away from Shen Xi’s as he said, “Peace begets wealth. Why must you take such a heavy-handed stance with a student?”
Lu Lin looked at Zheng Huai like he had grown a second head. “Are you crazy? Xixi is being dragged around like this, and you want me to smile and shake hands with him?”
Guan Lei could not be bothered with Lu Lin and Zheng Huai. He silently led Shen Xi back toward their classroom under the glimmering eyes of students decorating the hall.
Lu Lin was about to give chase when Zheng Huai stopped him.
“Trust me; he won’t do anything to Xixi.” Zheng Huai did his best to persuade Lu Lin.
“Are you sure?” Lu Lin asked, only half convinced.
“I swear on my name,” Zheng Huai said, raising his hand in a scout’s salute. “Xixi might not be pleased if you were to take matters into your hands. She’s a grown woman, and as her cousins, we can’t control her whole life.”