Chapter 92: Am I the Only Outsider?
TL: Etude
Returning to Jizhou, the weather was clear and bright.
Jiang Qin briskly pulled his suitcase out of the station without a moments pause, leaving Sun Yanbin puzzled.
Why was this man so indifferent to the presence of such a beautiful girl? He seemed to be hurrying away as if fleeing, thought Sun.
Unaware of Suns thoughts, Jiang would have laughed had he known. Youre really walking into a trap with your eyes wide open, hed think.
Chu Siqi, watching Jiangs resolute departure, felt deeply hurt. She wanted to vent her frustration but didnt know whom to direct it at. Everything seemed irksome to her, culminating in a fierce glare at Sun Yanbin.
Did she just look at me? Sun was slightly startled.
Half an hour later, Jiang returned home. The long-awaited return of a child studying away was naturally met with enthusiastic reception from his parents. Yuan Youqin even took a day off to prepare a feast for Jiang.
However, this warmth and affection were often fleeting.
On October 1st, his mother was overjoyed, My son, youre back!
On October 2nd, she was still happy, Sleep in a bit, studying must be tiring.
By October 3rd, Mrs. Yuans mood soured, Could you tidy up your room?
And on October 4th, with a furrowed brow, she asked, When do you start school again?
Jiang knew the warmth of this reunion was fading. From the fifth day, he started getting up early and going out, avoiding any chance for his mother to find fault with him.
Uncle, youre here?
Yes, I am. Shuan, you seem to have grown taller, almost as tall as your uncle. Impressive.
At Yangs Lamb Soup Restaurant, Yang Shuan looked at his old classmate and now uncle with mixed feelings. Watching him chatting amicably with his father, shoulder to shoulder, calling each other brother, Shuan felt awkward.
Jiang had invested in the restaurant just for fun. When Yang Jianguo wanted to calculate his dividends, Jiang declined, advising him to use the money to open a third branch.
He also suggested diversifying the menu. Specializing in lamb soup was fine, but too much focus on a single item wouldnt take them far. After all, aiming for a national chain with just lamb soup seemed overly ambitious.
Yang Jianguo had always wanted to open a third branch. Hearing Jiangs suggestion, he was thrilled, playfully chiding his son, Look at your uncle, we were in the same class in high school. Why cant you be as mature as him?
Heh, Yang Shuans mouth twitched with a hint of regret.
He regretted not stopping the drunken pledge to become sworn brothers that day. If he had, he wouldnt be awkwardly calling Jiang uncle now.
Later, as Jiang prepared to leave, Yang Shuans father insisted he escort his uncle out.
Uncle, can we talk about something? Yang Shuan asked nervously.
Jiang turned with a radiant smile, Sure, my nephew, whats on your mind?
Can we just call each other by our names? You call me nephew, and Ill call you brother.
Nice try, but that would mess up the seniority, Jiang chuckled and strolled away, leaving Yang Shuan feeling uncomfortable. Having an overly brilliant classmate made even reminiscing about school days a cringe-worthy affair.
Returning home from the restaurant, Jiang checked the websites traffic. As expected, with university students away from campus, the school beauty contests popularity began to wane.
However, this decline was not continuous. From the fourth day, the websites traffic picked up again, probably because people were tired of playing and started surfing the web again.
The confession wall saw an increase in posts, even from students of other schools confessing to girls from Linchuan University. Titles like Encounter with a Goddess were common.
The anonymous forum was filled with rants, mostly about roommates and classmates. Complaints ranged from someone never buying shampoo and always mooching off others, to someone dressing flamboyantly but having body odor.
The school beauty rankings continued, with Chu Siqi firmly in first place.
Originally, Hong Yan was the number one in the school beauty rankings, but due to her transfer of major, she suddenly lost the support of the law faculty. Overnight, she fell behind in the rankings, allowing Chu Siqi and Liu Yiyi to surge to the top. The two fluctuated in their positions for three days, unable to clearly outdo each other.
However, just a few days before the holiday, Liu Yiyis fans, for some unknown reason, began to lose momentum, their votes dwindling. This allowed Chu Siqi to firmly overtake her.
Jiang Qin had no particular thoughts about this outcome. He was the one who initiated the artificial flower campaign, but he had no interest in influencing who would ultimately win. His focus was on the economic benefits behind the scenes, not the individuals involved.
Next, Jiang accessed the user backend to check the site traffic. Shi Miaomiaos account had broken ten thousand followers, a testament to the quality of her book, You are the Color of Fireworks in the World. However, what surprised Jiang was that Old Caos account had also amassed six thousand followers, closely following Shi Miaomiao.
But while Shi Miaomiaos followers were genuine fans, Old Caos were mostly detractors, criticizing his overblown ego and expressing a desire to bring him back to reality.
Notoriety is a form of fame, too. Old Caos current status was indeed earned through his own efforts.
Only two days left of the holiday. When are you guys heading to Linchuan? Shall we go together?
Suddenly, a message popped up in the bottom left corner of Jiangs computer screen from an unfamiliar group chat. Feeling puzzled, Jiang clicked on it and found himself in a five-person group he didnt recall joining. The message was from someone named Sun Yanbin, who used a non-mainstream profile picture with sunglasses.
Guo Zihang: How about leaving on the 6th?
Jiang casually replied: You dont have a partner. Whats the rush to go back so early?
So, when shall we leave?
Lets go on the 7th. I wont be back till the New Year.
Chu, when do you plan to leave? Sun Yanbin directly ignored their decision and asked Chu Siqi, as that was his real purpose for creating the group.
Chu Siqi: Then Ill also leave on the 7th. Shall we go buy tickets together in the afternoon?
Sun Yanbin: Great, Ill leave on the 7th too.
Jiang Qin:
Jiang Qin: I just remembered something. Ill leave on the 8th.
Upon seeing this message, Sun Yanbin inwardly celebrated. With Jiang, who was more attractive than him, out of the picture, his chances with Chu Siqi would be better: Then you go by yourself. Well stick to the 7th. Chu, what time will you be at the station? Ill join you.
Chu Siqi: Never mind, Ill also leave on the 8th.
Jiang Qin was speechless: Then I wont leave. I plan to rot at home.
Sun Yanbin was confused by the chat history, and before he could make sense of it, he noticed one less person in the group. Then he received a notification that Jiang had left the group immediately after his last message.
With one person missing, the change in the five-person group was too obvious, and the others quickly noticed Jiangs departure.
Chu Siqi: Since hes left, Im leaving too.
Sun Yanbin: ?????
Wang Huiru: If Siqis leaving, I guess Ill leave too.
Sun Yanbin:
Guo Zihang: Goodbye.
Sun Yanbin remained silent for a long time, unable to comprehend what just happened. What exactly went on in that group?
He pondered this until late into the night, then suddenly it dawned on him was he the only outsider in that group?
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