He bought the outfits already, and they weren’t even wearing them. What a waste. He even bought them early just to get a first look.
He imagined it: three cute Lolita girls dancing around the office.
If life had such moments, what more could a man ask for?
Unfortunately, that rascal Han Rou always led the rebellion.
He’d have to find time to deal with her properly.
Jiang Zhou sighed, his face filled with defeat.
Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a call from Yan Weimin.
The message was short and direct: he needed to come to the school affairs office immediately.
Fang Youcai’s parents had arrived. They were slamming tables, accusing the school of condoning wrongdoing.
Jiang Zhou stood up as soon as the call ended.
“You all keep rehearsing. I’ll go meet Fang Youcai’s parents.”
The three girls turned around. “Are you really going to scam them out of five hundred thousand?”
Jiang Zhou thought for a moment. “Depends on their attitude.”
“What if they have a good attitude?”
“I’ll take a loss. Just five hundred thousand.”
“And if they’re rude?”
“Then it’ll be more. Who knows how much.”
With that, he turned and headed to the administrative building.
Before he even reached the reception room, he heard shouting from inside.
“What kind of students are you raising here? Look at what you’ve done to my son. He’s crying his eyes out!”
“Asking for five hundred thousand just like that, are you running a school or a gang?”
“He was just joking around with a classmate. Since when is that a crime?”
“If that student doesn’t apologize to our Youcai today, I’ll sit at your office door every day and cause a scene!”
Soon, Yan Weimin’s voice came through the door.
He sounded tired, clearly worn down from the argument.
“Sir, ma’am, this absolutely isn’t just a simple joke. It involves privacy invasion and defamation!
“But we truly didn’t know he was demanding money. Please, try to stay calm.”
Jiang Zhou paused at the door, thought for a moment, then messed up his hair, making it look like a bird’s nest.
He tugged his shirt until it tore at the collar, then smeared dust on his face from the windowsill.
Once he looked properly disheveled, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Yan Weimin stared blankly at him.
Was this kid traumatized or something?
Did he crawl through a doghouse? He looked fine just yesterday!
“You’re Jiang Zhou?!” Sun Yumei glared at him furiously. “Who do you think you are, scaring our son and asking us for money?!”
Jiang Zhou flopped onto the sofa. “No reason. So, did you bring the eight hundred thousand?”
“What?! You said five hundred thousand before!”
“I was already depressed and suicidal. Your yelling just now made it worse.”
Fang Hongguo stood up. “You little brat! Who do you think you’re threatening?!”
Jiang Zhou raised his head. “So what— you’d rather I take it to court than settle privately?”
“You even know where the courthouse is? You’re bluffing.”
“Nope, but I’d like to find out.”
Yan Weimin leaned in and tugged Jiang Zhou’s sleeve. “Didn’t you say you’d just expose the culprit? Why are you asking for money now?”
“My reputation’s been damaged. How can I not ask for compensation?”
“Still, isn’t eight hundred thousand too much? Are you robbing them?”
“I never said the price was non-negotiable.”
Yan Weimin narrowed his eyes. He was starting to realize that this student wasn’t some naive kid from an ivory tower. Naive students wouldn’t dare be this ruthless.
Jiang Zhou looked up. “Slander that publicly humiliates someone, invades their privacy, and causes serious impact on their life is criminally prosecutable. And I have solid evidence.”
Fang Hongguo growled, “Go ahead, sue us! I’ll sell everything to fight this!”
“Fine. But even if he only gets a light sentence — say three years — Fang Youcai’s record will be stained. His university status will be revoked. It’ll ruin his life.”
Fang Youcai panicked. “I don’t want to go to jail!”
Jiang Zhou shot him a cold look. “Now you’re scared? What were you thinking when you did it!?”
Sun Yumei slammed the table. “You little bastard! Don’t scare my son, he’s timid!”
“I’m not scaring him. I can call the police right now, and we’ll let them handle it. But if that happens, your son probably can’t stay in this school anymore. Think it through. This will follow him for life.”
Fang Hongguo slumped back into his seat.
They finally realized that this kid was about the same age as their son, but he talked like a hardened veteran of society.
Most kids would cower in front of adults like them.
But not him. He even raised the price.
“Say something, honey! Let’s take him to court. I won’t let our son be humiliated !”
“Shut up. And if we lose? What then?”
Sun Yumei was in disbelief. “It was just a joke! Does it really need to be this serious?!”
Jiang Zhou sighed. “Guess you’re not ready to settle. I’ll hand over the evidence to the police. You do you. I’m heading to the rooftop to enjoy the breeze.”
“Eight hundred thousand is too much. We can’t afford it. Lower the amount!”
“How much were you thinking?”
“Two hundred thousand?”
Jiang Zhou laughed. “You think this is a business deal? You can haggle?”
Fang Hongguo raged. “You’re clearly fine! Eight hundred thousand is way too much!”
“I have smiling depression. I look fine, but I’m not. Want me to smile for you?”
Sun Yumei shrieked, “Our neighbor Wang Erge died in a car accident, and they only paid 850,000!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhou’s eyes lit up with gratitude. He pulled out his phone.
“I’ve been recording this whole time. That last line of yours might count as a personal threat.”
“When did I threaten you?!”
“You said I’d have to be hit by a car to be worth 850,000.”
Fang Hongguo was losing it. “Can you just shut up?!”
Sun Yumei gritted her teeth but fell silent.
Yan Weimin turned to him. “Jiang Zhou, they really don’t have that much money. How about five hundred thousand? I’ll help them scrape it together. If you don’t accept, just call the police.”
Jiang Zhou thought for a moment. “Five hundred and ten thousand.”
“Why the extra one thousand?”
“Because your wife’s yelling really did scare me.”
Fang Hongguo clenched his jaw, but finally agreed.
Honestly, it was insane to pay that much for slander.
Even Wang Erge next door got hit by a car and only got 850,000.
But he had no choice. He couldn’t let his son go to jail. That would ruin his life.
In cases , it was always cheaper to settle privately.
So, Jiang Zhou smiled and shook hands with everyone in the room.
When it came to Fang Youcai, not only did he shake his hand, he patted his shoulder.
“Bro, you really are ‘Youcai’, worthy of your name. You, my friend, are a little angel that smells like money.”