Chapter 8

An indoor court at a high-end tennis club in Shanghai.

Jin Zhaolu and her close friend Xie Yang had just finished a match and walked to the sidelines to rest. Xie Yang picked up her water bottle and casually checked her phone notifications.

When she saw that “Xuan” had liked her own comment, she nearly choked.

“Holy crap!”

Xie Yang laughed out of sheer anger and thrust her phone screen in front of Jin Zhaolu’s face. “Zhaolu, look! Is this person mentally ill? She liked my comment! What is she playing at? Is she mocking me?”

Jin Zhaolu was tilting her head back to drink water. Her relationship with Zhou Zhenyao had been stable recently, and her birthday had been a grand success, so she was in a quite excellent mood.

At Xie Yang’s outburst, she glanced over noncommittally. “Who? Oh… her. Why pay her any mind? She’s just a clown jumping through hoops.”

She didn’t take it seriously.

“No,” Xie Yang said, sounding urgent. “I think you’ve met your match. This woman has skin thicker than a fortress wall. When people have no shame, they’re invincible. You better stay on guard.”

Seeing her friend so serious, Jin Zhaolu finally put down her water bottle and took the phone.

“Fine, fine, let me see what kind of demon she’s being now.”

She casually clicked into “Xuan’s” homepage. The first thing that met her eyes was the hotel bathrobe photo. Judging by the suite’s decor, it looked like the Rhine Mansion.

Jin Zhaolu curled her lip. But in the next second, her gaze was snagged by a line of small system text on the homepage—

[Z.Y., whom you follow, also follows her]

Her breath hitched. She thought she was seeing things.

Zhou Zhenyao followed her? How could he follow a woman of unknown origin like this?

Yet, the fact was right there. Refusing to give up, she clicked into Zhou Zhenyao’s following list. Previously, he only followed six people, including her and a few close friends.

But now… it had become seven.

Before she could even recover from this shock, she returned to “Xuan’s” homepage and discovered the post the woman had made, flaunting that she and Zhou Zhenyao were mutual followers.

Jin Zhaolu: …

The caption of the post was practically dripping with “tea” flavor:

“Mutual follows with the senior I’ve always admired! [Smiley face]”

What made Jin Zhaolu’s blood pressure soar even higher was that beneath this post, there was actually a crowd of ignorant fans expressing their envy.

“Has a CP fan finally gained recognition from the official boyfriend?!”

“The highlight moment of a CP fan, hahaha. Shipping them so hard the ‘real person’ actually followed back.”

To Jin Zhaolu, this was no longer a simple annoyance; this was a blatant provocation.

“Zhaolu? What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?”

Xie Yang sensed something was wrong and leaned over to look. When she saw the post, she was instantly stunned. “I… holy crap! Yao-ge followed this woman?! What is he trying to do?”

Jin Zhaolu gripped her phone tightly. Hadn’t he always been too lazy to pay attention to such things? Hadn’t he always thought Little Green Book was boring?

Then what was this supposed to be?

She was originally the one standing high above, watching a monkey show. Now, the monkey on the stage seemed to have slipped off unnoticed and might already be sitting right next to the audience.

“It’s nothing.”

She squeezed the words through her teeth and picked up her racket. “Let’s keep playing.”

Xie Yang hurried forward to grab her. “Zhaolu! Zhaolu, calm down!” She pressed her back onto the bench. “Stop playing for now. You’re likely to get hurt in this state.”

“Don’t overthink this by yourself! Don’t you know what kind of person Yao-ge is? If he really had something on his mind, would he follow her so openly?”

Jin Zhaolu bit her lower lip and remained silent.

“You should just go and ask him directly to clear up the misunderstanding! Whatever you do, don’t bottle up your anger and let that ‘Green Tea’ have the last laugh!”

Under her friend’s encouragement and urging, Jin Zhaolu opened her WeChat chat with Zhou Zhenyao.

[Zhaolu]: Yao-ge, do you know that ‘Xuan’ person on Little Green Book? I saw that you two are mutual follows.

After the message was sent, every second of waiting became excruciatingly long. Jin Zhaolu stared at the screen, with Xie Yang leaning in beside her.

Very quickly, his reply jumped out, simple and direct.

[ZY]: Mm. A junior from A-University.

Xie Yang was the first to breathe a sigh of relief. “See, what did I tell you? She’s just a junior from the same school.”

This reason sounded perfectly logical. Zhou Zhenyao’s great-grandfather was one of the founders of A-University, and he indeed held a special affection for the school. Occasionally helping out a junior seemed to make sense.

Jin Zhaolu’s tensed nerves relaxed slightly, but deep in her heart, that feeling of wrongness still lingered.

“Yangyang… I still find it weird.”

She frowned and clicked back into “Xuan’s” homepage. This time, she looked more carefully than ever before. Xie Yang watched with her.

A woman’s intuition is sometimes terrifyingly accurate. These two girls came from wealthy backgrounds and had been accustomed to the best things since childhood; their eyes were incredibly sharp.

As they scrolled through “Xuan’s” past posts one by one, they discovered—

In the earlier photos, the home decor caught in the shots—whether it was the bedsheets, curtains, or other furniture—all exuded a sense of cheapness. Even her previous outfits, the materials and cuts of the items, were clearly not high-quality goods.

“Looking at her past, she doesn’t seem like she comes from a family that can afford the Rhine Mansion.”

Xie Yang also pointed out a key observation. “This jump in consumption level is way too big.”

“Unless… she suddenly came into a sum of money,” Jin Zhaolu whispered.

A thought naturally surfaced in both of their minds. But in the next second, she and Xie Yang dismissed the suspicion simultaneously.

“Impossible,” Xie Yang said decisively. “Others might be shallow enough to spend money to win a beauty’s smile, but Yao-ge definitely wouldn’t.”

Jin Zhaolu nodded silently. She understood Zhou Zhenyao; he was such a proud man that he would never use money to curry favor with a woman.

In that case, who gave “Xuan” the money that allowed her to suddenly stay in a luxury hotel? This question actually made Jin Zhaolu feel strangely relieved.

If this “Xuan” had some other “sugar daddy” or used other means to get the money, it meant that there truly might not be any deeper relationship between her and Zhou Zhenyao.

Thus, Jin Zhaolu sent another message to Zhou Zhenyao, showing the genuine concern of a girlfriend.

[Zhaolu]: Yao-ge, I looked at that junior’s homepage… I feel like she’s a bit strange. In any case, be careful and don’t let her deceive you. [Concerned]

Zhou Zhenyao’s reply appeared on the screen quickly.

[ZY]: Thanks for the reminder.

While saying “thanks for the reminder” with his thumbs, he turned around and transferred another sum of money to Yu Xuan in the next second.

[ZY]: You just reported for duty. Are you settling in okay?

Yu Xuan had just finished liking that “momo” person’s comment and had taken a comfortable bath. She was now lying in her fragrant bed watching a show. When Zhou Zhenyao’s message popped up, she knit her brows, wanting to finish watching before replying.

[ZY]: [Transfer: 100,000.00] Startup funds for the semester. (t/n: Approximately $14,000 USD.)

[Xuan]: [Payment Received]

Only a fool wouldn’t take the money.

“Xuan: Yao Yao, why are you so good to me? [Kitten Surprised]”

“ZY: You’re a junior.”

“Xuan: Wrong, I’m not a ‘junior.’ [Kitten Unhappy]”

“ZY: ?”

Possessed by some strange whim, he actually saved her sticker.

[ZY]: [Kitten Unhappy]

“Xuan: Did you forget? What do friends call me?”

“ZY: Xuan Bao.”

“Xuan: Hehe, I want to take Yao Yao out for dinner.”

Dinner was a lie; Yu Xuan simply wanted to eat his mouth.

On the other end, Zhou Zhenyao was stunned. He hadn’t yet considered the matter of the two of them meeting.

Should he agree?