All strategies

"Qiqi, who's calling you this early? Can't they let a girl sleep?" complained Wu Xiaofei, her best friend, looking groggy and annoyed.

"It's Chen Yuan. He wants to meet me at the school gate at 9:30. Apparently, he has some explanation for standing me up yesterday," Zhao Yuqi replied truthfully.

"Wait, Chen Yuan? The guy finally shows his face, huh? Listen, Qiqi, you can't just let this slide! If you do, he'll think he can get away with anything in the future. You have to teach him a lesson—especially since he stood up our school beauty. That's unforgivable!" Wu Xiaofei declared, gritting her teeth, clearly fired up.

"So, what should I do?" Zhao Yuqi asked.

"Simple. He wants to meet at 9:30, right? Well, show up at 10:30, or better yet, 11:30. Let him wait for hours and see if he's truly sorry!" Wu Xiaofei suggested mischievously.

Zhao Yuqi nodded in agreement, finding the idea quite reasonable.

"Fine, let's do it. He stood me up yesterday, so today I'll make him wait two hours to vent my frustration!" she said angrily, getting up to start her makeup routine.

Meanwhile, it was already 9:30 a.m., and Chen Yuan had just woken up. After a quick face wash and brushing his teeth, he sent a casual text to Zhao Yuqi.

"Hey, beautiful! I'm at the school gate. When will you arrive?"

Moments later, Zhao Yuqi replied, "Almost there, be there soon!"

Chen Yuan smirked, half-expecting this. He had stood her up yesterday, and there was no way she would show up on time today. This wasn't his first rodeo. Back when he was pursuing Lin Shutong, she often showed up late without any warning. Sometimes it was just 15 minutes, but if she was in a bad mood, he'd wait two to three hours easily.

He'd become immune to these tricks by now.

After freshening up, Chen Yuan dried his hair, changed into a nice outfit, and spent a solid ten minutes admiring himself in the mirror.

"Still got it," he thought with a smirk.

Checking the time, it was already 10:00 a.m. He sent another message to Zhao Yuqi.

"Miss Zhao, my dear Yuqi, why aren't you here yet? I've been waiting for half an hour already!"

Again, she responded, "Almost there!"

Chen Yuan chuckled. Yeah right, he thought. I'd be crazy to believe that.

Taking his time, Chen Yuan headed to a noodle shop near the back street of the school, where he ordered a hefty breakfast: two bowls of hot dry noodles, two cups of soy milk, two boiled eggs, and a basket of steamed dumplings. His appetite had been quite large recently, and this meal was enough for three people.

As he ate, he sent another message to Zhao Yuqi, pretending to grow impatient.

"Yuqi, darling, it's been almost an hour. Are you really going to make me wait this long? I know I messed up yesterday, but this is getting a bit much, don't you think? I have something important to discuss with you today!"

Meanwhile, back at Zhao Yuqi's apartment, she was starting to soften.

"Xiaofei, Chen Yuan has been waiting for almost an hour. I think he's learned his lesson. I shouldn't be too harsh. I'll head out now. It'll take me about twenty minutes to get to the school gate," Zhao Yuqi said.

"Not so fast!" Wu Xiaofei interjected. "An hour? That's nothing! You can't give in this easily. If you let him off the hook now, he'll do this again. You're the school's top beauty—he should know better than to mess with you. Chen Yuan may be rich, but money doesn't give him a free pass. You need to make him prove that he's genuinely sorry."

Zhao Yuqi hesitated but eventually nodded in agreement. "Alright, I'll make him wait another hour. I want to see if he really cares about me. If he does, he won't mind waiting a bit longer."

On the other side, Chen Yuan had already finished his meal and was taking his time. A few minutes later, his phone buzzed again with another message from Zhao Yuqi.

"I'm almost there this time, really! Just a little longer."

Chen Yuan grinned as he read it. Yeah, right. She's probably still putting on makeup. At least another half-hour to go.

Feeling completely unbothered, he strolled over to an internet café nearby, logged into his League of Legends account, and queued up for a match. If she was going to make him wait, he might as well enjoy a game or two.

Of course, if Zhao Yuqi showed up early, he could always claim that he had gotten hungry after waiting for so long and went to grab a quick bite. After all, it was just a ten-minute walk from the noodle shop to the school gate.

School beauty or not, everyone's just a pawn in the game.

Just as his match started, an unknown number flashed on his phone. He answered.

"Hello, is this Mr. Yan? I'm Liu, Mr. Hong's driver. I've arrived at the location you sent, near the university. When should I expect you?"

"Great! Just park by the school gate. I'll be there in about 40 minutes to an hour," Chen Yuan replied casually.

"Understood, Mr. Yan. My car's license plate is Hubei A12345," Liu responded respectfully, knowing the importance of this client. He was driving a Rolls-Royce Phantom and had been instructed to be on his best behavior, no matter what Mr. Yan requested—even if it meant waiting all day.

After hanging up, Chen Yuan picked Malphite for his top lane and dove into the game. The early game was rough, but in the late-game team fights, Malphite's ultimate turned the tide, especially when his well-timed engage wiped out the enemy's ADC, leading his team to victory in a 40-minute match.

As he finished, Chen Yuan checked the time and sent another message to Zhao Yuqi.

"Yuqi, I've been waiting forever! Are you close yet?"

"Almost there! I just left!" she replied.

If I had actually waited this long, I'd be fuming, Chen Yuan thought with amusement. But his mood was perfectly calm.

Logging out, he shut down his computer and headed toward the school gate. Upon arriving, he didn't see Zhao Yuqi. Instead, he ran into two familiar faces: Li Yang and He Zhiying, who seemed to have reconciled.

"Li Yang, look at that car! A Rolls-Royce Phantom! I think it's worth over six million yuan!" He Zhiying exclaimed, snapping photos on her phone.

"So what? It's probably just the driver. The real boss always sits in the back," Li Yang muttered, clearly envious.

"I wonder what kind of rich person owns that car," He Zhiying said in awe, still snapping away.

At that moment, Li Yang noticed someone approaching—the person he detested the most. It was none other than Chen Yuan.