Chapter 1901 — Meeting the Young Miss: Bai Weituo Thought That Had He Known, He Would Have Taken Zhang Duopan's Bet—Whoever Lost Would Keep Away from He Meiyue!

"All right, let's get back to singing. The contest is over, and now you know, Zhang Duopan—there is always a stronger hand, and always a peak beyond the peak?" He Meiyue looked at Zhang Duopan's deflated face and shook her head helplessly. What she detested most was that spoiled-rich-boy air of his, as though he were the greatest man under heaven. Watching him be taken down a peg did feel good.

Zhang Duopan's face was black with displeasure. He was unconvinced. Yes—he had lost unfairly. He could have won, but Fan Ganhe had botched it. He still had no idea that Wei Zhao was the one who had pulled the strings; had he known, he probably would not have been this angry.

But as things stood, he assumed his own side had simply fumbled it, so he was thoroughly sulky. Hearing He Meiyue say that, he felt all the more that he must not lose face in front of Bai Weituo, so he stiffened his neck and said, "How about this—drinking and such are petty tricks, no proper contest. If we are going to compete, let us compete on something big. Dare you?"

"Oh? How?" Bai Weituo had won the drinking match and was brimming with confidence; naturally he would not show weakness now.

"Like this: at the freshman gala, each of us puts up one act. Whosever act places higher wins. And the loser gives up Meiyue of his own accord. How about it?" At the risk of being cursed out by He Meiyue, Zhang Duopan once again used her as the prize.

Of course, he had his reasons. Bai Weituo had just won, and his pride was swelling; if he made the demand again now, perhaps Bai Weituo would agree in a fit of hot-headedness, and then even if He Meiyue objected, it would be too late. A man of honor does not go back on his word—and then Zhang Duopan would have all the more grounds to needle him.

Though what Bai Weituo was drinking was water, Fan Ganhe had still had the waiter leave some liquor in the bottle to make it look real. That was nothing to Zhang Duopan, but Bai Weituo was a little tipsy; hearing Zhang Duopan's words, he immediately declared with great bravado, "Fine, let's compete. Who's afraid of who?"

Whatever else one might say of Bai Weituo, he had some confidence in his voice—otherwise he would not have started off singing duets with He Meiyue. It was his strong suit: in high school he had always gone onstage at the school arts festival, and he had even taken first place in the solo competition, so he was not the least bit afraid of Zhang Duopan.

"Good. A gentleman's word..." Zhang Duopan said quickly, delighted at heart.

"...is his bond!" Bai Weituo finished.

"Careful—I said each of us puts up one act, not that we perform it ourselves. Meaning, so long as the act is planned by me and I take part in it, that is fine!" Zhang Duopan looked at Bai Weituo smugly. Wasn't this fellow full of confidence? He did not mind knocking him down a bit, sapping his morale.

"Hmph, so what?" Bai Weituo knew too that Zhang Duopan had played a word game—one person putting up an act and one person performing an act were different. Putting up could mean putting up an act the whole group completed together, so long as he was involved; but performing alone meant just one person...

But the words had already been said, and Bai Weituo could not take them back; he could only grit his teeth and say it.

"Good. Meiyue, this time it was his own choice—and it is not as if I pressured him. Brother Bai's voice is quite good; who knows, perhaps he really will get a fine result?" Zhang Duopan said with a chuckle.

He Meiyue shook her head. She wanted to speak, but it really was too late now; the two of them were already squared off, and for her to say anything more would be a bit unreasonable. One was an old classmate, and the other a new classmate she rather liked; had He Meiyue been utterly sick of the two of them, she would certainly have stopped them.

But the key point was that He Meiyue did not dislike them, so she simply let them carry on.

"Don't look at me. I have no interest in betting with you." Wei Zhao glanced at Fan Ganhe and said mildly, "I only matched you drink for drink on Bai Weituo's account."

Fan Ganhe seethed. Wei Zhao was taking people far too lightly—it was as though he did not exist at all! Fan Ganhe was already turning it over in his mind: should he find a chance to trip Wei Zhao up, to let the kid know just how formidable he was?

"All right, all right, let's sing..." He Meiyue did not want to waste time. There was department business tomorrow, and the day after, military training would begin—there would be no time left to practice singing.

Despite the earlier unpleasantness, He Meiyue's voice was truly lovely. At this moment Bai Weituo and Zhang Duopan were, for once, in perfect agreement, both singing her praises...

That evening, Wei Zhao drove his dorm mates and Wang Xinyan and the others back to campus, while Zhang Duopan and Fan Ganhe had no choice but to take a taxi back themselves...

"Boss, how did you do it—swapping that Erguotou for plain water?" Bai Weituo said excitedly, then suddenly remembered that He Meiyue was still sitting in the back and felt embarrassed at once. "Uh, Meiyue... I..."

"You were drinking water?" He Meiyue was surprised.

"I didn't swap the water—Fan Ganhe did," Wei Zhao said. "When Xinyan went to the restroom, she happened to overhear Fan Ganhe and the waiter talking, so I quietly swapped yours for you. That water was originally meant for Zhang Duopan."

"No wonder!" He Meiyue said, realization dawning. Wei Zhao had been sitting in the private room the whole time; no matter how capable he was, he could not have switched the liquor in the Erguotou bottle for water in front of everyone. But quietly switching the positions of two bottles—that was quite possible.

"I knew it! So it was their own doing. No wonder Zhang Duopan poured the last of the liquor from my bottle into his cup and sniffed at it, then said nothing, looking like he had eaten shit. He had swallowed a bitter pill in silence!" Bai Weituo laughed heartily, greatly pleased. "Brother Lin, you're amazing—truly without a trace, without a sound."

"Just a little trick..." Wei Zhao said mildly.

Wang Xinyan only smiled. She had long known Wei Zhao was capable of such things—had he not, on the train, quietly lifted all the money from those swindlers without anyone noticing?

When they reached the school, Wei Zhao and the other three first saw Wang Xinyan, He Meiyue, and Chai Xiaoling to their dormitory before heading back to the men's dormitory. But at the entrance to the women's dorm, who should they run into, face to face, but the Young Miss and Xiao Shu...

Wei Zhao was walking shoulder to shoulder with Wang Xinyan; at the sight of Gu Mengyao, he froze.

Wang Xinyan was somewhat taken aback, not knowing what those two pretty girls wanted. She could tell their looks were less than friendly... only she did not know how she had offended them—or rather, whether they had come for Wei Zhao.

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