N-M Chapter 113 Zhang Xueling
Chapter 113 Zhang Xueling
Xia Anqi has always had many suitors. Although few dare to openly confess their feelings to her, behind her back, no one can bear to see her actually get together with someone.
Among these admirers, some openly and some secretly, the appearance of one person surprised Lu Yuan.
Zhang Xueling, the top student in Class Two, is the only student in the entire school who can rival Xia Anqi in academic performance.
His appearance was both unexpected and reasonable.
Having been rivals with Xia Anqi for so long, it's no wonder that a sense of mutual respect and camaraderie has developed. And this camaraderie, through long-term rivalry and interaction, inevitably ferments and transforms into a different kind of affection.
Zhang Xueling deliberately appeared on Lu Yuan's inevitable route, clearly indicating that she had ill intentions and was intentionally blocking his way.
"Can we talk, Lu Yuan?" Zhang Xueling looked at Lu Yuan and asked with a complicated expression.
He tried his best to maintain the respectable demeanor of a top student; at least on the surface, he was polite.
"Okay."
Lu Yuan did not refuse and followed Zhang Xueling to a quiet corner of the teaching building.
"Do you know why I contacted you?" Zhang Xueling asked.
Lu Yuan smiled faintly, "I guess it's because of Xia Anqi."
"That's right," Zhang Xueling said bluntly, then curiously followed up, "How did you manage to win Xia Anqi's heart?"
"I didn't pursue her. You should be able to tell that."
"But she still only has eyes for you, as if she's bewitched."
"Perhaps, this is the charm of a man."
"..."
Lu Yuan even had the leisure to joke, indicating that the current situation hadn't reached the point where he was helpless.
Zhang Xueling's face darkened, her eyes filled with resentment.
He was completely baffled. What was it about him that Lu Yuan lacked? Why couldn't he gain even the slightest bit of Xia Anqi's favor?
Moreover, in the long run, he was clearly the one most compatible with Xia Anqi.
The two are academically very similar and will most likely be admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University together through the recommendation system. Their future social circles will largely overlap, making them a perfect match.
Zhang Xueling never questioned Lu Yuan's current talent, but the time for the college entrance examination is limited. No matter how hard Lu Yuan tries, there should be a limit. In the end, he definitely won't be able to go to Tsinghua or Peking University with him and Xia Anqi. This means that their future circles will be vastly different.
Zhang Xueling stared at Lu Yuan, pondered for a long time, and then said in a deep voice, "So what do you plan to do? Xia Anqi is acting like she can't live without you."
"Are you concerned about me, or about Xia Anqi?" Lu Yuan countered.
Zhang Xueling's expression stiffened, somewhat embarrassed, and she didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Lu Yuan had already seen through his thoughts: "You don't care about me, and you don't care about Xia Anqi. What you really care about is whether I can resist Xia Anqi's advances, right? Because deep down, you don't want me to be with her at all."
Zhang Xueling felt incredibly embarrassed, as if she had been stripped naked and seen through. Her expression was extremely unnatural, and after a long while, she forced herself to say, "Xia Anqi is just an immature little girl, too willful. Everything she's doing now is just acting on impulse. To her, it's probably just something fun, something to add some excitement to her boring school life. Once she gets tired of it, she'll naturally ignore you."
"You mean, you're encouraging me to hold on and not let her win me over so easily?" Lu Yuan asked with a half-smile.
Zhang Xueling felt that something was wrong with what he said, but the core meaning was indeed so, so she could only nod stiffly.
Lu Yuan seemed unconcerned: "Of course I know what kind of person she is. She says she likes me, but she's really just resentful—I used to be a terrible student, and the first thing I did after turning my life around was to pull her down from her most prized position of first place in English composition."
"To put it bluntly, she's just sulking with me right now, trying to control and interfere with me in this extreme way. She's mistaking this obsession with winning for affection. Do you understand?"
Zhang Xueling wholeheartedly agreed with Lu Yuan's analysis: "I understand, I understand all of this. I've known her since junior high, and I know very well what kind of person she is. To be honest, I like her just the way she is. If she were pursuing me... I probably would have fallen for her long ago."
Zhang Xueling's tone was filled with shame; to be honest, he was jealous of Lu Yuan.
When he heard that Xia Anqi liked Lu Yuan and was even willing to pursue him, his heart almost shattered.
The treatment Lu Yuan is currently enjoying is something Zhang Xueling has always dreamed of but could never obtain.
Lu Yuan looked at Zhang Xueling calmly, seemingly lost in thought.
Zhang Xueling asked, puzzled, "How did you manage to resist Xia Anqi's advances? Isn't she good enough?"
In Zhang Xueling's view, setting aside subjective biases, objectively speaking, Xia Anqi is intelligent, beautiful, and poised, which is simply irresistibly attractive to teenage boys.
Lu Yuan is just a peer, how could he possibly resist such temptation?
Although there are rumors circulating on campus that Lu Yuan and Xia Anqi are already dating, Zhang Xueling is convinced that they are all false.
Because if Xia Anqi really got together with Lu Yuan as she wished, given her high-profile personality, she would never be so calm.
Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Objectively speaking, she's a good person. Apart from being a little immature and willful, there's nothing wrong with her."
"Then why...?"
Zhang Xueling really couldn't understand it.
Lu Yuan explained, "It's because of her kindness that I have nothing to do with it. A person's heart can be very big, big enough to hold the stars and the sea; or it can be very small, small enough to only hold one person."
"one person?"
Zhang Xueling was even more frustrated, never expecting Lu Yuan to say something like that. "Is the person you're talking about... Xu Lingjing, or Ye Yixian?"
Zhang Xueling had, of course, heard about Lu Yuan's past.
Lu Yuan answered without hesitation: "Ye Yixian."
Zhang Xueling was puzzled: "Why Ye Yixian? Is she very pretty? Is she academically excellent? Does she come from a good family?"
In Zhang Xueling's opinion, Lu Yuan was considered a campus heartthrob, a star player almost everyone at the school knew. Everyone thought it was fine that he pursued Xu Lingjing, but his pursuit of Ye Yixian was a bit baffling.
Surely Lu Yuan wouldn't fall so low as to not be liked by any outstanding girls?
Lu Yuan smiled calmly and looked at Zhang Xueling, saying, "Zhang, it seems you're the same."
"The same? The same as what?" Zhang Xueling asked, puzzled.
"Just like Xia Anqi, Xu Lingjing, and the others," Lu Yuan said unhurriedly. "You don't understand liking at all, or rather... you don't understand love. You're too fixated on the other person's 'conditions'—pretty, academically excellent, with a prestigious family background—but you've completely overlooked the fact that love needs to be reciprocated."
"Just like you've liked Xia Anqi for so many years, you must have shown her care and given her hints, right? She's so smart, how could she not notice? But did she reciprocate? Did she genuinely smile when you showed her concern? Did she offer you comfort when you were unhappy?"
"this……"
Zhang Xueling fell into deep thought, trying hard to recall the various interactions she had with Xia Anqi over the years.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find a single moment when Xia Anqi responded to him; his concern was like casting pearls before swine.