Chapter 75: Feng Ru (33)
Jiang Li took a seat and then looked at Tang Lan.
At that moment, she finally noticed that his gaze contained despise, the kind that human would always give to a lowly bug. Emotionless. Cold. Unfeeling. Full of disgust. That greatly bothered her and made her livid. Yet at the same, it put her at a loss.
'Why is he being like this? ... No way... I, I must be hallucinating... There is no way that He Chen will look at me like that... No way! No way! No freakin' way!' She secretly shook her head, trying to convince herself.
After this, Tang Lan once again became angry. She was used to seeing him looked at her as if she was his whole world. When she realized that it was no longer the case, it was hard for her to accept it. Not this time when Gu Feng had just lowered her self-esteem by half. Her cousin and friends were also nearby. She wouldn't want to bear shame while also feeling downhearted!
'He must be acting! This annoying guy! Why is he always giving me trouble?!' For a mystery-thriller writer whose forte was logic and facts, the female lead had a severe case of narcissism and weird way of thinking that impedes her from applying her strong point in real life. It was simply a mystery.
The other boys at the table had no expression on their faces, busy guessing the exact situation. Having a hunch was not enough. They could see that their brother was not in the best mood and it was surely not simply for being made to come here. What did the b*tch do then?
'Brother He is obviously mad.'
Na Yu had something else in mind. Before, she thought the accomplishment of their university's beautiful mystery-thriller was quite admirable for their level and age. But now that she encountered the woman in person, despite knowing the other's exploits, it was simply hard not to feel dislike towards her. What did He Chen see and like about her anyway? Though she knew she was in no position to judge since she was also previously head over heels for a stupid closet flasher, she couldn't stop the thoughts from popping up.
'I'm prettier than her. Her writing skill is okay. But it's not as rare as my photographic memory. She's not that great in my eyes.'
'Then again, while she has made a fool out of herself last time... Is it more embarrassing than having suicide records? In other words, I have done something way more foolish...'
'Wait... Why am I comparing myself to her? Something's wrong with me.' Na Yu stared blankly at the table's elegant patterns.
"Sit down, Tang Lan. Don't mind my bandmates. After all, I don't mind dining with your friends. You can't possibly be thinking of starving Pesticide's members, right? I'm afraid you'll get into the newspapers faster that way, becoming more popular than me," said Jiang Li who was sitting in front of the female lead, his arms crossed over his chest.
Catching the hesitation on her face, Xie Delan sneered and pushed his eyeglasses up. "Bro, seems like your ex doesn't want to."
Tao Ping, the second most jealous of Tang Lan in the place for being her idol's 'girlfriend', exclaimed loudly and questioningly, "Ex?!"
Tang Lan couldn't stand the doubt-filled glances. She awkwardly chuckled while hurriedly explaining, "It's probably just him joking. He doesn't know I and He Chen had already made up."
'Catch my signals, He Chen!'
Jiang Li laughed at her half-pleading, half-warning gaze. Instead of answering, he chose to evade the questioning glances. He called the waiter and ordered food. The manner he did it was so smooth the manager who became aware of his real background through some occasional talks with the band began to doubt if he was really a farmer's son.
Those not from well-off backgrounds would usually appear intimidated at this kind of place. If he could act like this, was he just pretending he couldn't see the four digits prices next to the dishes or he was actually frequently dining at expensive restaurants like this?
Tang Lan's friends did not think much of it and just assumed he was from a prestigious family.
Weren't most impossibly good-looking artists like that?
They were from a rich-old-fashioned clan who disliked drama and showbiz so they had to run away and do stuff without any support from their supposed backer. The story would then become dramatic and awe-inspiring once it was revealed how they only counted on their own effort, talent, and looks to persevere through the hardships and achieve stardom.
'He Chen's looks, skin, and mannerisms are so marvelous. Why am I not his Cinderella?' Tao Ping once again burned in jealousy.
As for the supposed Cinderella of the 'runaway prince', she was busy sighing in relief to notice her cousin's roommate's reaction. She was thus unaware the naive and easily-led-around-the-nose He Chen had almost planned to first fatten her up, and make her think that she was really floating towards the sky for being a celebrity's girlfriend. Fly higher. And higher. And higher. Feel the air and the clouds. Soar more. So she'll turn into unrecognizable mess once she falls from the skies!
At first, the table was filled with conversation. It started when Jiang Rou suddenly talked to Su Xuefeng, then Tang Ya and Tao Ping did the rest to the other members. The band members were confident with themselves and was quite used to interacting with fans and admirers so they did their part and occasionally answered the questions thrown at them.
However, they were not that enthusiastic. They would never forget that they were people Tang Lan brought over.
"Food's here, let's eat." It was Tang Lan who spoke, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere. She had not said anything ever since. Yet her attempt immediately elicited discontent from all the boys apart from the ever-smiling He Chen.
"My dear Lord, things are still bearable earlier..." Little Nian complained. "What the heck! The air suddenly became so suffocating!"
"Yeah. I feel like suddenly throwing up when I hear a certain shameless someone speaking. Why didn't that shameless one continue shutting her mouth up. Damn!" Rascal Su immediately said next.
Cheng Du and Xie Delan didn't forget to add their snide remarks and sneers.
'What's happening here?' The cousin was very puzzled. As for the other two, they were smarter to figure that He Chen's friends didn't like Tang Lan. In fact, it was not the normal type of dislike. It was as if the girl did something very unforgivable enough for them to forget that she was a member of the opposite sex who should be treated with at least the minimum amount of respect.
'This is why I know them being here means trouble!' Tang Lan's face turned dark and she signaled He Chen to do something about his gang or at least say something to divert their attention.
'You wish!' She received a silent treatment from her 'boyfriend'.
When Jiang Li joined the conversation, he treated Tang Lan as air, laughing with everyone but her. Seeing that she was approaching her limit, he excused himself first for the restroom. At the hallway, a corner of his lips rose after seeing her leave her seat too, saying she needs to retouch her makeup.
'A liar left those who know her lies with those who don't?'
Given his faith in his gang, Jiang Li didn't have to guess what would happen.
As for him, he realized, he was not patient enough to wait for her damnable ego to become so bloated. Waiting for her to rise to the skies then fall to the ground was not easy.. Especially when he knew it was very doable to just push her downright from earth to hell and have her not rise from there ever again...
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FallenBlue
FallenBlue I'll do my best to at least upload 7 chaps this week. But I can't say a definite sched/time of release since this week I am quite busy IRL. (In fact, I'm barely awake typing this, so forgive the typos and grammar errors, will edit tomorrow when I wake up).
Most likely it will be the same next week.
I'm sorry in advance and thanks for all the support. <3
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