The Unveiling Truth and Distorted Rumors

Jiang Zhe’s unwavering refusal made Wang Chunmei frown. She couldn’t fathom his intentions. The initial agitation she felt upon their meeting was now barely suppressed, her face no longer fierce, but rather a facade of gentle warmth.

She typically presented herself as gentle and harmless, yet behind that facade, sharp claws and venomous fangs lay in wait.

It was only Jiang Zhe’s sudden report that had shocked her, coupled with his usually submissive demeanor, that made Wang Chunmei neglect to take her stepson seriously. Consequently, she hadn’t bothered to hide her true self.

However, the moment she noticed a new change in Jiang Zhe, a sense of crisis immediately dawned on Wang Chunmei.

Although his handsome face remained the same, his entire demeanor had shifted dramatically. It was as if a sharp sword had been half-drawn from its sheath, its edge now unstoppable.

“Jiang Zhe, you don’t trust me, and I don’t trust you. Therefore, a written guarantee is essential!”

Wang Chunmei’s stance was equally resolute. She couldn’t possibly leave this ticking time bomb unchecked, especially when the trigger was in Jiang Zhe’s hands.

This implied that Jiang Zhe could threaten her again at any moment!

Absolutely not!

“If you haven’t started recording, then writing a guarantee isn’t entirely out of the question.”

Jiang Zhe’s smile held a hint of mockery as his eyes fixed on the brooch pinned to Wang Chunmei’s collar. His languid words pierced directly through to the truth, causing Wang Chunmei’s pupils to contract instantly. She gazed at Jiang Zhe with a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

Though she managed to control her facial expression, the astonishment in her eyes was impossible to conceal. Clearly, she hadn’t anticipated how Jiang Zhe could have known.

Before coming, Wang Chunmei had been worried, but she had habitually brought her recording brooch, just as an extra precaution.

After all, a crime involves not only the principal offender but also accomplices. Regarding the embezzlement of public funds, Jiang Zhe, by knowing and not reporting it, would also be implicated as an accomplice.

Even if his share of the culpability was small, only leading to a brief stint in prison, his reputation would be ruined once he entered. By then, not to mention Fenghua High School, no other high school would accept him!

However, Wang Chunmei wouldn’t use the recording unless absolutely necessary. Besides Jiang Zhe, she herself was also involved; it was a move that would harm the enemy a thousand, but damage herself eight hundred.

It was meant to be a last resort for leverage.

Initially, Wang Chunmei had intended to deliberately trick Jiang Zhe with her words the moment he appeared. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhe took an unconventional route; he spoke first, before she even had a chance to open her mouth.

This disrupted Wang Chunmei’s plan.

Reflecting carefully now, ever since Jiang Zhe began speaking, he hadn’t once mentioned Jiang Chengcai or embezzlement. His words were ambiguous and evasive.

Apart from Wang Chunmei, who knew the situation, no one else would understand the hidden meaning, leaving no handle for anyone to grasp.

Realizing this, Wang Chunmei gnashed her teeth in frustration. This time, she was certain Jiang Zhe had truly changed!

He had as many tricks up his sleeve as a sieve has holes!

Upon seeing Wang Chunmei’s flustered expression, Jiang Zhe knew his guess was correct; she was indeed being dishonest.

Before transmigrating into the game, Jiang Zhe had navigated several significant company crises and encountered commercial spies. The tricks they employed were countless, far beyond what someone of Wang Chunmei’s low caliber could manage.

Firstly, their meeting had been unpleasant, and his stepmother was clearly not a good person, so Jiang Zhe naturally harbored some caution.

A recording device placed in a pocket would significantly degrade the audio quality, possibly failing to record if the sound was too faint. Therefore, it needed to be positioned openly for clear and complete recording.

Wang Chunmei’s elegant long dress and accessories were all perfectly chosen, yet the noticeably large brooch disrupted the aesthetic, appearing conspicuously out of place.

Ultimately, Jiang Zhe merely tested her with words, and she exposed herself in a panic.

All these factors combined made his suspicion reasonable. Jiang Zhe withdrew his gaze, bored, his face conveying a desire to end the conversation. He didn’t linger, turning and walking towards where he had parked his vehicle.

Even if the recording hadn’t been an issue, Jiang Zhe would never have written such a bothersome guarantee, leaving himself vulnerable.

Jiang Zhe’s silent, casual departure, however, unnerved Wang Chunmei. Unable to maintain her composure, she quickly hurried after him. “Jiang Zhe, there’s no need for a guarantee! I agree to your terms!”

Jiang Zhe, with his long legs, mounted his electric scooter in a few strides. He watched Wang Chunmei, flustered and scrambling to block his path, and a slight arch appeared in his brows. He hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.

He had initially thought he’d only recover half the amount, but now it seemed he could reclaim the full sum.

“The subsidy from last year totaled fifty thousand yuan. Transfer it to my bank card tomorrow.”

Jiang Zhe broke his silence, delivering a final statement that eased Wang Chunmei’s mind. She understood that Jiang Zhe wasn’t looking for a complete fallout at the moment, so she no longer tried to stop him.

Watching Jiang Zhe’s retreating figure on the scooter gradually shrink into the distance, Wang Chunmei clenched her fists in fury. Today, she had truly suffered a double loss, not only failing to secure the subsidy but also having to pay out a sum.

That damned Jiang Zhe!

****

After sleeping in the dormitory, Jiang Zhe woke up early the next morning. He quickly washed up, then put on a black baseball cap and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Fenghua High School’s curriculum wasn’t as intense as typical high schools. Instead, it adopted a university-style schedule, with subjects not crammed together, which was why Jiang Zhe had no classes yesterday afternoon.

However, checking his phone’s schedule today revealed a full day of classes. Missing roll call counted as truancy, resulting in a deduction of academic credits.

While rich second-generation students who paid for their education didn’t care about credits, special enrollment students, after a certain number of deductions, would be advised to withdraw from school if they couldn’t recover their credits by the end of the semester.

With such restrictions, even if the Jiang Zhe in the game disliked studying, he would still attend classes on time every day.

Fortunately, poor academic performance didn’t lead to credit deductions…

“Hey, hey, hey, did you guys hear? Something big happened yesterday!”

Jiang Zhe sat in a corner of the cafeteria with his soup dumplings and lean meat porridge. Just as he was about to taste his breakfast, a small group of girls nearby were excitedly exchanging gossip, their animated expressions prompting the bored Jiang Zhe to discreetly eavesdrop.

“Ooh, I know! It was the two campus heartthrobs fighting over the campus belle, right!”

“Hehehe, that’s right! Even though Ning Ran has a bad temper and a sharp tongue, her beauty is absolutely top-tier. No wonder Lin Moshu and Jiang Zhe got into a big fight over her. The scene was incredibly thrilling! It’s such a shame I couldn’t witness it firsthand!”

“No, that’s not what I heard. I heard it was because Ning Ran secretly liked Jiang Zhe and wanted to forcibly take him, to toy with the impoverished campus heartthrob. She was pulling at Jiang Zhe in public, and then a girl named Su Lianlian intervened.”

“Tsk, tsk. No matter how powerful the Ning family is, Ning Ran can’t just forcibly seize a civilian man, can she? Even though Jiang Zhe is indeed very handsome… Su Lianlian did the right thing! It’s just that Ning Ran has a bad temper, so she’ll definitely retaliate against Su Lianlian.”

???

Listening to the students’ gossip, Jiang Zhe was utterly bewildered, a string of question marks floating above his head.

The facts were far too distorted!