Chapter 15  : Plastic Friendship

It was, coincidentally, at this time when Sister Liu summoned Ye Zhuo.

Ye Zhuo shifted her gaze to look toward Li Boyang. “I’m sorry. I shall head there first.”

Upon saying that, she trotted away.

“What did you talk about with her, Boyang?” Qian Lingyu walked over from the side with a displeased expression. “If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Be careful not to take on her undesirable traits!”

Qian Lingyu had never liked Ye Zhuo from the start, and she was afraid that Ye Zhuo would lead her precious son astray.

Meanwhile, Li Boyang chuckled and said, “Mom, I heard from Ye Zhuo earlier that she is studying in North Bridge High School; I think that… it’s possible that you might have misunderstood her.”

“North Bridge? Her?” Qian Lingyu said with a disdainful expression. “She might as well tell you that she is studying at Tsinghua University then, right?”

Tsinghua University was the ivy league equivalent university in Beijing! It was also the academic institution that many scholars dreamt of attending.

Yet, the admission requirements were so high that only a few students were accepted annually.

Qian Lingyu wanted to get Li Boyang accepted into Tsinghua University so badly that she even dreamt about it. She said sincerely, “Boyang, let me tell you this. The prettier a girl is, the better she is at lying. Why don’t you think about this... if she really did get accepted into North Bridge High School, is there a need for her to work for us?”

“Speak less to her from now on. I can see that she’s jealous of you having a good family background, so she wants to…” There was already no need for her to finish the rest of the sentence. Qian Lingyu added right away, “Boyang, you should understand that you and her don’t belong to the same world.”

Ye Zhuo was destined to work for other people for the rest of her life.

On the other hand, her son was going to get into a good university, and he would marry a city girl who was the only daughter of a family with a good educational background in the future! Ye Zhuo ain’t one!

Li Boyang found that what his mother said made sense. If Ye Zhuo was really in North Bridge High School, she should be studying at home. How could she possibly have the time to distract herself by working here?

Could it be that she did not wish to get into a good university? The most reasonable explanation was that she was lying.

In truth, Li Boyang did not want to interact with Ye Zhuo. After all, birds of a feather flock together. However, his heart was racing beyond control every time he laid eyes on her… he could feel that he was losing control of himself. It was very strange.

At night, Ye Zhuo headed to the gambling den with Ye Sen just the same. Like the previous night, she kept a low profile and did not show off her capability.

For the next few days, Ye Zhuo and Ye Sen headed to the gambling den every night; they won quite a lot of money through small winnings.

Li Qiandong and Cen Shaoqing were there every night as well.

Li Qiandong leaned against the guardrail and said with a smile, “Brother Fifth, see, I was right! She came every night! What sort of age are we living in now that she is still using the ‘play hard to get’ trick? What a joke!”

Cen Shaoqing looked toward the area and raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. “So, what do you think she will do next?”

Li Qiandong replied, “Next? She will be here at all times, rain or shine, until you notice her.”

Cen Shaoqing moved the prayer beads one by one, and the expression on his graceful face was indiscernible. Would the situation develop according to Li Qiandong’s theory? It seemed… to be quite interesting.

The business in the barbecue shop was unusually good over the past few days. The customers came and filled up the tables one by one. At their busiest point, there was even a line out the door.

Ye Zhuo was not fond of chatting when she was busy. Instead, she worked laboriously in silence.?Yet, she was so pretty that regardless of anything she did, she looked just like a painting that pleased the eyes and the mind.

“Miss, can we take a photo with you?” When she served the food, a bright, handsome-looking young man mustered the courage to speak to her.

He had already been coming to the shop for a few days in a row to have barbecued food and observe Ye Zhuo as well.

She was beautiful with her red lips and pearly whites even though she had no makeup on; she was truly irresistible.

In truth, there were quite a large number of people who came because of Ye Zhuo’s beauty, just like him.

Sadly for him, Ye Zhuo politely declined.?“I’m sorry; I’m not fond of being in photos.”

“Uh... uh, can we add each other on WeChat then?” The man asked straightforwardly, “My name is Wang Xu. The word ‘Wang’ is written with three horizontal strokes, and the word ‘Xu’ means rising sun. I’m a third-year student at Yunking University, and this is my student card. Don’t worry; I am really not a bad person!”

“I don’t have a phone.” Ye Zhuo told the truth.

A slightly embarrassed expression flashed past Wang Xu’s face. “Oh... my bad then.”

“It’s fine.”

Qian Lingyu could sense that there were much more customers in her shop over the past few days. Although the business was doing rather well in the past, it would not achieve the extent of a line out the door. Could it be that it was due to Ye Zhuo?

After all, the customers in the shop were growing by the day since Ye Zhuo’s arrival... It turned out that being pretty was not without its benefits too.

At the thought of that, Qian Lingyu looked at Ye Zhuo with a kinder expression. “Little Ye, take a short break if you’re tired. It’s fine. I’m not an inconsiderate boss.

“Alright, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Qian Lingyu patted Ye Zhuo’s arm.

Meanwhile, a young woman dressed in branded clothing walked past the street just in time to see Ye Zhuo, who was cleaning a table by the side. She used her elbow to nudge the short-haired girl next to her and said in puzzlement, “Look, Wuyue! Look who it is!”

Lin Wuyue covered her mouth and replied incredulously, “Oh my god! Is... is that Ye Zhuo?”

“Come, let’s walk over and find out.”

Both of them could not believe that it was Ye Zhuo. It had only been a couple of weeks, yet Ye Zhuo’s changes were so drastic.

“Ye Zhuo?”

Ye Zhuo looked up ever so slightly. Her long lashes were exquisite, akin to a butterfly’s wings. Both of them were dumbstruck in astonishment. It... it really was Ye Zhuo!

With a glance, the information on these two people emerged before Ye Zhuo’s eyes.

Both of them were known separately as Lin Wuyue and Zeng Rou.

The original owner of Ye Zhuo’s body used to put thick makeup on her face and dressed in revealing outfits all the time because she had a close-knitted friendship with both of them.

Lin Wuyue and Zeng Rou came from ordinary rich families in Yunjing Province that could not measure up to the Mu family. As a result, they had always been jealous because she not only came from a good family but also had good looks. As a result, they flattered the original owner of her body on purpose to gain benefits from her but also to use her as a stepping stone for themselves.

The original owner of Ye Zhuo’s body was a dumb fool, so she was easily influenced by them with just a few casual remarks.

They said that she looked good in thick makeup, so the original owner of her body put thick makeup on every day… They also told her that she had a good figure and looked great in some outfits, so the original owner dressed in revealing clothes all the time…

“What’s up?” Ye Zhuo looked up nonchalantly.

“Nothing. We’re just looking to catch up with you for a while.” The corners of Lin Wuyue’s lips curled up into a fake smile. “Zhuo Zhuo, Rou Rou, and I missed you since you left! Why have you changed so drastically these days? You don’t even put on makeup anymore? You look hideous this way!”

Zeng Rou realized what Lin Wuyue’s remark meant, so she immediately nodded and chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. You look really hideous now, Zhuo Zhuo! Wu Yue and I almost couldn’t recognize you earlier!”

Cynicism flashed past Ye Zhuo’s gaze for just a moment before it vanished. She raised her head to look at both of them before saying in a rather helpless manner, “Actually, I want to look pretty; I want to put on makeup as well! However, both of you are aware of my living condition now… Forget it. I’ll continue to look hideous.”

Continue to look hideous? How could they allow that!?

Lin Wuyue was so startled that she hastily took out a stack of Renminbi notes and stuffed it into Ye Zhuo’s hand. “Zhuo Zhuo, if you are having money troubles, I have some here! Take the money and use it to get some makeup products!”

Ye Zhuo declined by saying, “No, I can’t take your money.”

“Take it!” Zeng Rou took out money and stuffed it into Ye Zhuo’s hand as well and said without allowing her to turn down the offer, “We’re best friends! Wuyue and I hope that you can be as radiant as you used to be! You looked so beautiful before and always enticed so many men.”

It was hard for Ye Zhuo to turn down their kindness, so she was ‘forced’ to take the money. “Rou Rou, Wuyue, thanks a lot! Both of you are my besties!”

Noticing how Ye Zhuo behaved, Zeng Rou and Li Wuyue assumed mocking expressions on their faces. To them, she was a blockhead! She would remain a blockhead for the rest of her life.