Chapter Ninety-Eight: Reunion with Old Classmates

Su Tong’s sudden outburst had the same effect as yesterday’s jealous rage at the airport: Gao Litong and Li Wen were stunned on the spot.

Especially Li Wen, whose color drained; she nearly burst into tears, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Let me tell you this: when I get angry, even I’m scared of myself,” Su Tong said seriously. Thinking back to yesterday, he really had been frightened. That inexplicable fury had nearly driven him out of his mind. Thankfully, he had not flipped the table on the spot.

Li Wen and Gao Litong kept nodding again and again, too afraid to make a sound.

“That’s more like it,” Su Tong said at last with a laugh. “Getting along amicably is much better. All right, then, you can go. These next few days I’ll treat you to a meal and take you out properly. Not today, though. Today’s time belongs to Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao.”

Gao Litong and Li Wen looked at him pleadingly, wanting to speak but not daring to.

Su Tong paid them no further mind. He went back into the courtyard, into the house, and ate breakfast with his two younger sisters.

After the three siblings finished breakfast and dressed to go out, they discovered that the Maserati was still parked by the gate.

Seeing the three of them come out, Gao Litong and Li Wen hurried down from the car.

“Su Tong, I finally managed to borrow my mom’s car. Let Li Tong and me hang out with you today, okay?” Li Wen begged, her gaze on Su Tong even more fervent.

Su Tong was baffled. Why had these two girls not been scared off? Instead, they seemed even more well-behaved.

“Since you’ve shown such sincere devotion, I’ll give you a chance,” Su Tong said after thinking it over. He adjusted Xiao Xiao’s sun hat, pulled Xiao Yu closer, and said to Li Wen, “Open the door. We’re going to Fuwawa Children’s Amusement Park.”

Li Wen was used to bossing people around, and Su Tong’s tone nearly made her lose her temper again.

But when Su Tong glared at her, she had no choice but to obediently open the car door.

It had to be said: this girl needed someone stronger than she was to keep her in line. Su Tong was gentle and courteous with Gao Litong, yet with Li Wen he gave her no face at all.

That day Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao had a wonderful time. They bought piles of clothes, and even their hats, shoes, sunglasses, and the rest were all changed out for new ones.

The salesclerks in the mall were thrilled when they saw the two little sisters. They were simply too pretty, too adorable.

“When I was young, I wasn’t any worse than Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao,” Li Wen said jealously.

Su Tong laughed. “Don’t worry. When Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao grow up, they won’t end up looking like you.”

“Su Tong, you—” Li Wen’s brows shot up again. She was grown now and hadn’t turned ugly, had she? She wasn’t any worse than those movie stars.

Just as Li Wen was about to flare up again, Gao Litong quickly handed her a bottle of mineral water.

Glug, glug, glug—Li Wen took several long swallows in one breath. When she was done, her face fell. She leaned toward Gao Litong and whispered, “Tong Tong, I’m going to the restroom again.”

She had drunk several bottles of mineral water today just to cool herself down.

“In this heat, you haven’t even finished a 550-milliliter bottle yet. Drink a bit more water; it’s good for your skin and your stomach,” Su Tong said to Gao Litong after Li Wen left. “But don’t be like her either. Drinking that much for no reason isn’t good, either.”

Gao Litong was a fresh and lovely beauty. Whether she was simply standing there or smiling, she outshone the celebrated campus sweetheart by far. Especially when her little tiger tooth showed, she looked all the more adorable.

Su Tong had seen a photo of Gao Litong’s father. He was quite ordinary-looking, but then, he was rich.

Of course a wealthy man would want a beautiful wife.

And Gao Litong’s mother had very strong genes, which meant that the good looks Gao Litong inherited mostly came from her mother.

This was why the children of wealthy families often looked so striking.

“Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao have both bought everything they need. Why don’t you two each pick something as well? I’ll pay,” Su Tong said after they left the children’s clothing section.

But after saying that, he added, “Anything over a thousand, don’t come asking me to pay. I’m not that gentlemanly.”

Gao Litong and Li Wen were overjoyed. Clothes given by Su Tong? Let alone a few hundred yuan’s worth, even cheap street-stall bargains for a few yuan would make them happy.

Li Wen was especially bold and wanted to buy lingerie.

“I’m only paying a few dozen yuan. Are you sure you want to buy something that cheap? Aren’t you afraid it’ll affect your development?” Su Tong asked.

Looking at the way the two young ladies were dressed, everything they wore was clearly branded.

Li Wen had been very excited, but hearing him say that, she had no choice but to abandon the idea.

Recently she had been eating papaya and drinking milk, because supposedly that could lead to a second, third, and countless further rounds of development.

“I’ll buy pajamas,” Gao Litong said softly.

“Then I’ll buy pajamas too,” Li Wen said sullenly.

After they bought their clothes and left the mall, Su Tong felt that bringing Gao Litong and Li Wen out had not been without benefits. At the very least, with so much stuff bought, having a car made things far easier.

There was no way he could carry all of Xiao Yu and Xiao Xiao’s clothes, milk, toys, and the like by himself.

“Su Tong, why aren’t you buying anything for yourself? Should I buy you one too?” Gao Litong asked in a low voice.

“And me. I’ll buy you one too,” Li Wen added. Today she had been afraid to speak recklessly, worried she might say the wrong thing, but she figured it should be fine to follow Gao Litong’s lead.

“No need. I’ve got enough clothes. Three sets at school and three at home. That’s plenty,” Su Tong waved her off.

This was the north, not the south. In the north, clothes dried in a single day once they were hung out.

The south was another matter. If it turned cloudy and rainy, as his roommate Shao Sheng said, even a pair of underwear might not dry after a whole week.

“We’re not eating out for dinner. We’ll go home and eat. I’ll cook to reward you two,” Su Tong said after putting the bags in the trunk and closing it. Just then, he heard two male voices.

“Li Wen, Gao Litong.”

“Long time no see. You two campus belles are shopping together today?”

Su Tong looked over and saw two rather handsome boys walking toward Gao Litong and Li Wen.

Their eyes held only Gao Litong and Li Wen, and they did not notice Su Tong behind them.

They were both Su Tong’s classmates, one his high school deskmate, and the other also a high school classmate.

It was only when Su Tong stepped out from behind the car that the two noticed him.

“Well, if it isn’t the academic star Su Tong,” Chen Naikang said, twirling the car keychain in his hand, a hint of arrogance on his face. “I heard you got into Yandu. So how’s life there? After graduation, come back to our Seaside City. With your old classmates looking out for you, it won’t have to be so hard.”

“Su Tong, when did you manage to get friendly with two of our school’s top three beauties?” Zhang Bin also said with a smile, his brow heavy with pride. “You used to be such a closed-off guy, never talking to girls.”

The school Su Tong attended was an elite private school in Jinzhou District. There were many wealthy students there.

Su Tong’s family had once been well-off too, so he had entered that school in middle school. Later, when the family fortunes declined, if he had not skipped a grade, his father would not have been able to afford all three years of his normal high school tuition.

Su Tong was good-looking and aloof, which made the boys especially jealous of him, because every semester the class held activities to elect the most popular boy and girl, and he always took first place.

Gao Litong and Li Wen did not care much for Chen Naikang and Zhang Bin. Though the two were not as tall or striking as Su Tong, and not as handsome either, they were not terrible-looking. It was their manner that was frivolous despite their attempts to appear proper.

Su Tong was different. Though he had changed quite a bit this past year and seemed somewhat flippant, that was merely a pretense of being improper.

“Today I have the honor of playing escort to the ladies, and I’ll also use a man’s eye to help the two beauties choose pajamas. You two should have come earlier. What a pity—they’ve already bought theirs,” Su Tong said with a smile.

What? Help Gao Litong and Li Wen pick pajamas? Then wouldn’t that mean he could see what the two girls looked like in pajamas?

Su Tong’s words nearly made Chen Naikang and Zhang Bin spit blood. What right did Su Tong have to be so blessed? Wasn’t he just a bit better-looking? Yet his family was so poor they could barely pay his tuition.

Damn it, that was vicious: he had praised the two beauties and killed people without shedding a drop of blood.

In the first round, Chen Naikang and Zhang Bin were immediately driven back.