Feigned Pity - CH 14

She was temporarily stunned and her first unconscious response was, ‘Is he trying to provoke me?’

Gu Jing Yuan straightened up with the cue stick beside him, the youth was bursting with pride.

But before he had time to brag, she swiftly readjusted her expression. The corners of her lips arced in a very familiar way, her fair face had her usual perfunctory smile.

“Ge-ge, you’re amazing.”

Gu Jing Yuan’s raised lips dropped with her words.

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“Hmph!” She wasn’t sincere at all! Did she really think that he could not see through her hypocrisy?

“Boring. You guys continue playing.”

He tossed the cue stick to Qi Yue and walked to another corner to play with his phone. It was on the opposite side of her.

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**

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Grryaldvzu, asxrkdt yaswde vbl obszl eyu oyp dsv ldswtb. Mblu pvkzz xyel rzydp qsa vbl lhldkdt.

“Fkpvla Zk Dk, ol’zz cakdt usw vs ldaknb uswa zkql lmrlakldnl vsdktbv.” Xdl sq vblx okdjle yv bla, vaukdt vs nalyvl y pldpl sq xupvlau.

“Txx?”

“A good student like you haven’t been to a bar before, yes? How about it? Exciting, right?”

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“…”

Tao Yi Xi just smiled without replying.

The charming lady was fair and clean, from her hair down to her feet she looked tidy and scholarly as if never stained by dirt before.

Overhearing that, Gu Jing Yuan, who had been indifferent all day long, frowned and kept his phone away.

“Go to what bar? Not allowed to go.”

“What?… Brother Yuan, why so strict today?”

“Brother Yuan, your favorite band will be playing tonight!”

Unlike others, Gu Jing Yuan really goes to the bar to listen to songs.

He enjoyed immersing himself in the lively environment, amidst the raucous singing to relax and empty his mind.

Unfortunately, tonight, this ruse didn’t work.

“Not going.”

Turning to her, “Hey, you done eating?”

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“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”

Gu Jing Yuan paused and reminded her, “oh ya, before we leave, you remember to…”

His eyes conveyed the rest of his sentence, ‘you know right?’

“Got it.”

Tao Yi Xi, who still had a bunch of things to revise, could finally free herself from this situation. Hurriedly, she grabbed her bag and went to find the service staff.

“Hello, can I get the bill?”

The service staff faltered for two seconds, “ah? Please give me a moment.”

He led her to the cashier and watched as the girl took out a black card from her worn-out schoolbag and swiped it nonchalantly. Behind her, stood a tall and fairly handsome boy dressed in well-known brands, even his sneakers were limited-edition. But the boy only watched on as she paid like it was only natural.

This scene was quite off-putting.

It was only after receiving strange stares from a few passers-by that Gu Jing Yuan finally realized something was off.

Fuck, did they think that he’s a little white face who munched off woman’s money!?

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But as he watched Tao Yi Xi effortlessly pay the expensive bill, he had no way to defend himself.

“Okay, we can go home now.”

“Hmph.” He turned his head and left first.

Tao Yi Xi: ?

What pissed off this Young Master again?

The cashier kindly reminded her, “Little lady, do be careful and don’t get scammed out of your money.”

“…”

Tao Yi Xi smiled, “I understand, thank you.”

No wonder his face turned so green.

The sky had already darkened and the neon lights flickered along the streets. He stood under the lamppost, and the bright light shined on his handsome face.

Seeing her step out, his eyes lightly swept to her figure. After confirming that she had indeed come out, he retracted his gaze. There was no other meaning in his gaze, he was simply just waiting for her to exit the establishment.

Tao Yi Xi momentarily faltered before chasing after him.

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In the end, she had to pay for their ride home too.

For the second time that night, Gu Jing Yuan felt aggrieved.

The two returned to the villa.

On the second floor, before they parted, Tao Yi Xi benevolently took out a worn-out notebook from her bag. The cover was frayed showing that it had been flipped through many times.

“Um, this has all the key points jotted down. If you memorize a few of them, you won’t end up last in class.”

She gave him an encouraging smile, but he could sense her condescension.

Gu Jing Yuan’s face turned cold. So what if he was last in class? If he was not last, did she think she could be first? His grades offset hers okay?

Oh, how could he forget? She was a good student who only wanted to date someone who surpassed her.

Entering the room, he carelessly threw the notebook on the table.

With only one day left of their study break, she practically holed herself inside her room.

On the day of the exam, Gu Jing Yuan casually carried a couple of pens to school, without additional preparation. Tao Yi Xi could only sigh at this brave display of aloofness. How could a person look so carefree despite being last in class?

“What are you staring at?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking that Ge-ge is amazing, not the slightest bit worried at all.”

“What’s that to be nervous about? It’s just a stupid exam.” The boy who had handed in blank papers before could not give a damn.

The two really lived in two different worlds.

Seated in the exam hall, after Tao Yi Xi received the papers, she quickly looked through them before she started. So far, everything went swimmingly, until she reached the question that could put distance between her and the rest.

She was stuck.

She remembered seeing a similar question previously, but for the life of her, she just could not recall it.  She shut her eyes, hoping to remember something by using the forward recall retrieval strategy.

The last time she saw that similar question was on the day Gu Jing Yuan dragged her out. She was seated in a chair at that corner with her notes trying to memorize them carefully. The picture in her mind was vague, it was mostly filled with their rowdiness.

“Time’s up. Everyone stop writing and stand up. Please hand in your papers at the front. That student over there, put down your pen or you’ll be given a zero.”

Tao Yi Xi stopped struggling. Placing down her pen, she handed in her papers.

Her heart fell into deathly stillness as she stared at her paper with only a half-completed answer. At that instant, she wanted to complain.

She would have finished the papers.

If only he did not always bother her.

He was really, really annoying…