After Transmigrating for the Third Time, the Real Young Master Decides to Slouch - Chapter 12

Song Jintong squeezed to the very front of the bulletin board, snapping photo after photo of the ranking list with her phone before stepping aside, satisfied, to pick out the best shots.

Fang Han walked past her, and she teased with a smile: “Young Master Fang, you’re sitting on top of everyone this time. You’ve got to treat us to a meal.”

Others heard this and joined the clamor: “Young Master Fang, such a grand occasion—it would be unreasonable not to host a celebration!”

Fang Han agreed readily: “Sure thing. It happens to be Friday. Tonight, I’ll arrange a full ‘one-stop’ night of eating, drinking, and entertainment for everyone!”

“Young Master Fang is a straightforward man!”

“I truly admire Young Master Fang’s generosity!”

“Why still call him Young Master Fang? Call him President Fang!”

“Right, right, President Fang!”

Fang Han smiled, then turned and leaned down toward Dai Chu, who was right in front of him: “Goddess Dai, I’m treating the whole class to dinner tonight. Will you do me the honor?”

“I’m going home,” Dai Chu refused without even looking up.

“Don’t be so cold,” Fang Han refused to give up. “You’re my desk-mate. You should at least give me this much face, otherwise, how can we do justice to our ‘friendship’?”

The word “friendship” ignited the gossiping souls of the onlookers. Some jeered, some whistled, and the gazes directed at the two were full of ambiguity.

Fang Han looked at Dai Chu, his eyes filled with playfulness.

Turning a deaf ear to the surrounding noise, Dai Chu repeated those same four words: “I’m going home.”

Fang Han didn’t persist. He straightened up and shrugged with a look of feigned regret. “Alright then.”

Song Jintong covered her mouth and laughed: “Young Master Fang, our Goddess Dai has high standards; she doesn’t think much of you.”

“Clearly,” Fang Han said, spreading his hands.

Dai Chu offered no reaction.

The jeering over there was so unrestrained that Jiang Tong’s train of thought while solving problems was interrupted. He looked up toward the door with a frown. A crowd was gathered around Dai Chu; although they called her “Goddess” with every breath, it was clearly out of malice rather than admiration.

Before he could look away, he was spotted by Song Jintong. She invited him with a beaming smile: “Monitor, Study Rep, Young Master Fang is treating tonight. Why don’t you two come along?”

“Ah, I…” Jiang Tong’s instinctive reaction was to refuse. His initial thought was that these people weren’t the friendly sort and it was best to keep his distance. But on second thought, this was a perfect opportunity to infiltrate their inner circle. He could seize the chance to gather intelligence for his brother; it might come in handy later.

And so, the words shifted at his lips to: “Sure, I’ll come.”

Song Jintong looked at Lu She: “What about you, Study Rep?”

Lu She glanced at Jiang Tong and nodded. “Mhm.”

Song Jintong laughed and said to Fang Han: “Young Master Fang, I’ve invited two heavyweight guests for you.”

Fang Han crossed his arms, retracted his gaze from the two, and shrugged. “Is that so? I suppose I should thank you.”

“You’re welcome, it’s only right,” Song Jintong giggled.

Only then did Jiang Tong snap out of his daze. He grabbed Lu She’s sleeve and asked in a low voice, “Wait, why are you going?”

Lu She countered in a flat tone: “Aren’t you going too?”

“I…”

Jiang Tong was momentarily stuck. After a long while, he scratched his cheek and said sheepishly, “No, it’s not that I want to go myself… I just want to help my brother gather intel…”

“I know,” Lu She said.

“Huh?” Jiang Tong was shocked. He knows?

Lu She gave a small smile. “You can’t handle them on your own. I’m coming to help you.”

Jiang Tong stared at him blankly for a good while before coming to his senses and breaking into a brilliant smile: “Mhm! Thank you, Lu She.”

“Mhm.” Lu She pushed the scratch paper back toward him, his smile vanishing. “Back to the problems.”

As soon as the 5:00 PM bell rang, Jiang Zao slowly finished his last sip of water, turned off his computer, cleared his desk, stood up, clocked out, and left the office.

Work finished. Time to go home.

The campus became lively at that moment, with crowds of people surging toward the school gates. Jiang Zao felt a bit of a headache; even though he had been this slow, there were still so many people.

If it weren’t for the requirement to clock out on time, he would have slipped away long ago.

Flowing with the crowd to the gate, the various luxury cars parked outside looked familiar to him. The scene at the gates of Jiayin Middle School at dismissal had always been this way; it hadn’t changed in over ten years.

Just as he was about to leave after his brief moment of nostalgia, Jiang Zao’s peripheral vision caught a figure. Dai Chu, carrying her backpack, boarded a black sedan parked by the roadside.

Jiang Zao raised an eyebrow. He knew Fang Han was treating the class tonight; did she not go?

But it was none of his business. There was no need for a teacher to meddle in students’ social gatherings. Speaking of which… Jiang Tong seemed to be going as well, right?

Jiang Zao restrained the urge to call and give instructions. If Lu She was going too, it should be fine—that kid was reliable.

Before stuffing his phone back into his pocket, Jiang Zao glanced at the screen. No calls, no messages; the interface was quietly on standby. He put his phone away and continued walking. The apartment was a five-minute walk from the school. After walking a short distance, the number of cars parked by the road significantly decreased.

Beep beep—

A car parked by the curb suddenly honked. The window rolled down, and Rong Jingcheng was inside, smiling: “Xiao Zao.”

Jiang Zao turned his head and kept walking.

The car followed him at a slow pace.

“Is Xiao Zao not happy to see me?” Rong Jingcheng asked, feigning sadness.

Jiang Zao kept his eyes straight ahead: “I told you, don’t come to the school to look for me.”

Rong Jingcheng defended himself: “But this isn’t the school. It’s outside the school.”

Jiang Zao turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “Was my wording incorrect?”

Rong Jingcheng admitted his mistake: “Fine, fine, my fault. There won’t be a next time—Xiao Zao, get in quickly. Let’s go have dinner.”

One second he was dejected, the next he was smiling brightly. Jiang Zao deeply admired his face-changing skills, but feigned deafness to his summons.

The car continued to follow Jiang Zao. Seeing that they were nearly at the apartment building, Rong Jingcheng leaned against the window and asked with a smile: “Xiao Zao, do you want me to get out of the car to invite you?”

Jiang Zao’s footsteps paused. He turned and got into the car.

The car came to a steady stop in the garage. The woman acting as the driver turned her head and said, “Xiao Chu, we’re home.”

Dai Chu took off her headphones, put them away, and got out. She didn’t enter the house directly through the small garage door, but instead went into a small side room.

After locking the door, Dai Chu began to change clothes. She took off her school skirt and pulled a set of simple trousers and a top from the cabinet. Once changed, she picked up a comb and a hair tie to tie up her loose hair. When everything was done, she looked at herself in the mirror.

The clothes were a bit oversized on her, completely obscuring her figure. With her hair tied up, she lost several degrees of pure charm, replaced by a sense of dorkiness and rigidity.

She then pulled out a pair of black-rimmed glasses and put them on. The person she had become was worlds apart from the radiant school beauty from before.

Dai Chu emerged from the small room. The waiting driver immediately opened the small door leading to the main house for her and handed over her backpack.

Dai Chu took the bag, said thank you, and went inside.

The driver shook her head gently behind her.

Dai Chu walked into the main hall. A radiant and glamorous woman was coming down the stairs. Seeing her, the woman broke into a smile: “Chu Chu, you’re back.”

She stepped forward and gave Dai Chu a hug, then looked her daughter up and down, nodding in satisfaction: “You look like this is good. Girls your age don’t need all that excessive dressing up; this natural look is best. Chu Chu, remember this: the prettier you are, the more trouble you’ll face. You must not be like Mama, do you understand?”

“Mhm, I know,” Dai Chu managed a smile.

The woman touched her face affectionately: “Chu Chu, Mama won’t talk your ear off, I have to go out—oh, by the way, I won’t be back at all this weekend. Stay home and be good. Mama will bring you a gift when I return.”

“Okay.”

Satisfied, the woman stepped into her high heels and walked away gracefully.

Dai Chu went upstairs, put down her bag, and sat at her desk. Having no heart for studying, she took out her phone. The class group chat was lively with messages coming one after another. She didn’t open it, going instead directly to an official account.

The messages from various official accounts were a dazzling array, but there was only one theme—Autumn New Arrivals: In Hot Demand.

Dai Chu scrolled through her phone, looking thoughtful. “Tomorrow… she won’t be home…”

Jiang Zao sneezed when he woke up. He thought to himself that the weather had indeed turned cold. Last night, after dinner with Rong Jingcheng, they had strolled by the lake; just being in the wind for a while had nearly given him a cold. It seemed he needed to buy a few sets of autumn clothes.

After washing up, he took a taxi back to the Jiang family home. Mother Jiang was about to start cooking and was pleasantly surprised to see him back. Without a word, she grabbed her vegetable basket and headed to the market; Jiang Zao couldn’t even stop her.

Jiang Tong said enviously from the side: “In Mom’s heart, you really are the most important. When it’s just me at home, her cooking is basically a ‘whatever’ effort—we eat whatever is there. As soon as you come back, she rushes out to buy groceries to make you something delicious.”

“Stop being jealous,” Jiang Zao said casually. Noticing his brother’s complexion, he raised an eyebrow. “What’s this? You look like you’re at death’s door.”

Jiang Tong’s face wasn’t exactly sallow, but it was at least a pale shade of green. He patted his forehead and said, “Last night, I went out for dinner and drinks with them. I drank too much.”

As he spoke, he felt a chill on his neck. Looking over cautiously, he saw his brother resting his chin on his hand, watching him: “Oh? You drank?”

“No, no, no!” Jiang Tong shook his head like a rattle, but under the stern gaze of the person opposite him, he tremblingly held up an index finger, attempting to defend himself: “It was them—they insisted on pouring me drinks. I couldn’t help it, so I drank. But only one cup! Seriously, only one cup. Lu She helped me block the rest…”

His voice grew quieter as he spoke, clearly feeling that this explanation wasn’t enough to get him off the hook. Jiang Zao sighed and said, “I don’t know why you’re messing around with them.”

Perhaps because the residual alcohol hadn’t faded, Jiang Tong became unhappy upon hearing this and retorted: “It wasn’t messing around! I had a purpose!”

“Oh?”

Jiang Tong blurted it all out: “I wanted to take the opportunity to infiltrate their inner circle and gather intel on them!”

Jiang Zao was confused: “What do you want their intel for?”

Jiang Tong had a look of pride: “To help you, of course! Bro, don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you gather lots of intel so you can get a firm footing in Class 19!”

After speaking, he looked at the half-smiling Jiang Zao and blinked: “What? Am I wrong?”

Jiang Zao asked him: “I only want to ask—when did I ever tell you I needed intel on them?”

“Huh?” Jiang Tong froze. “You don’t want it?”

Jiang Zao poured a glass of water, acting nonchalant: “I already have it.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Zao drank the water and said nothing. After dinner yesterday, Rong Jingcheng had given him a USB drive. Inside was the personal history and background of every person in the class, detailed down to the smallest detail.

“Are you busy this afternoon?” Jiang Zao suddenly asked.

Jiang Tong was caught off guard by the question just as he regained his senses. He thought to himself that his brother’s topics were so jumpy he couldn’t keep up. But he still answered truthfully: “I originally made plans with Lu She to study together, but he drank a lot of alcohol yesterday. I was afraid he wouldn’t feel well, so I canceled the appointment.”

Jiang Zao sighed inwardly. I just asked if he was busy, was all that extra detail necessary?

“So you’re not busy?” Seeing him nod, Jiang Zao announced, “Perfect. I’m taking you to buy clothes this afternoon.”