Chapter 9 Covetous Heart

Jiang Li had just paid for Liang Zhouyue and Fang Zirui's breakfast when he stood up to leave.

"Take your time eating, I have to step out for a bit."

Fang Zirui, who had been out of sorts, smiled and nodded her head, showing her gratitude. Liang Zhouyue, who had a class with him soon, couldn't manage a smile and directly stopped him, "Are you going to skip class again?"

Jiang Li paused in his steps, turning around slowly, his puppy dog eyes looking woefully innocent, enveloping Liang Zhouyue. In his deep, dark pupils, she felt an intense hope.

"Do you want me to attend your class?"

"..."

Liang Zhouyue, of course, wanted him to attend her class. She hoped that every student meant to be in that classroom would attend.

But the focal point of Jiang Li's words was clearly not what she had imagined; she vaguely sensed that he had an ulterior motive.

The woman made a nervous swallowing gesture. Despite just having had soy milk, her throat was still dry: "Yes."

A single dry word, but one that fermented into something significant.

Afraid he might misunderstand, Liang Zhouyue cautiously added an explanation, "My class requires attendance; I hope you all attend on time."

Jiang Li, unflinchingly, hooked up his thin lips, nodding in understanding, all-knowing.

The next second, he pointed at the spot over his heart, rarely smiling mischievously, "Then I'll attend the class later, and you eat your meal nicely."

His tone was particularly doting, and Fang Zirui almost spat out her porridge. Her expression was as if she had seen a ghost, watching Jiang Li's tall figure disappear into the cafeteria.

Liang Zhouyue's gaze was also hazy, her mind quickly flashing through an indistinct ripple, which disappeared before she could grasp it.

"Is he pursuing you?"

Even Fang Zirui, as slow as she was, could feel something different in Jiang Li's behavior towards Liang Zhouyue.

Liang Zhouyue was new to teaching class and didn't understand it, but Fang Zirui, having taught at this school for four to five years, had completely experienced Jiang Li's journey from freshman to junior year.

From what she heard from the alumni and other teachers, Jiang Li was not a personable, approachable man. On the contrary, he was arrogantly unattainable, usually keeping to himself, with only Chen Dan as a close friend, accustomed to keeping others at a distance.

Such a man, who did not mix with the crowd, was unexpectedly enthusiastic about Liang Zhouyue and even took the initiative to act coquettishly.

Fang Zirui was triple shocked.

Having shaken off her previous daze, Liang Zhouyue carefully considered Fang Zirui's question, paused for a moment, then softly answered, "How could he possibly pursue me? I am much older than him."

Liang Zhouyue sincerely felt this way, especially since she was five years older than Jiang Li. It's often said that each three years marks a generational gap; between them lay almost two generational gaps, so how could they possibly share common topics? Besides, she was a teacher, and he was still studying; even their statuses didn't match.

"It's only a five-year difference. Nowadays, don't all the rich cougars have little wolf pups and puppy lovers?" Fang Zirui clicked her tongue, her tone surprisingly envious.

Liang Zhouyue couldn't help but laugh silently, starting to imagine the daily life of a rich cougar and her puppy lover. Thinking and pondering, she belatedly shook her head, rejecting Fang Zirui's proposition, "I'm not a rich cougar; I don't want to date a little brother."

She didn't like relationships with younger men; her criteria for a partner had always been slightly older men, those more mature than her.

Fang Zirui neither agreed nor disagreed, "You might not be a rich cougar, but you look young and pretty, and you match him well, you can't even tell the age difference."

Liang Zhouyue looked annoyed, clearly disliking the direction of the conversation, "Zirui, I have a boyfriend now."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zirui sulkily tilted her head, her tone became cold, and she murmured an insincere apology, "Sorry."

Liang Zhouyue helplessly shook her head, not knowing what to do with her.

She had always known that Fang Zirui did not think highly of He Jinsheng, always saying that he had a smile that hid a knife and that his intentions were too complicated.

Every time, Liang Zhouyue would correct her, but she would not pay much attention to it afterward. After all, many girls' friends did not like their boyfriends.

...

At eight in the morning, when Liang Zhouyue got to the classroom, all the seats were taken.

She stood at the podium, her searching gaze sweeping over each face until it finally settled on an exceptionally handsome one.

Jiang Li sat in the last row, not exactly sitting straight, slightly leaning back with his legs crossed, exuding a carefree air.

He was always smiling at her, making one fall into those tender, overflowing black pupils, unconsciously sinking into them.

Suddenly coming to her senses, Liang Zhouyue looked down somewhat flusteredly and opened her attendance book.

The smile on Jiang Li's face turned increasingly devilish as his eyes, never tainted by worldly desires, were now clearly filled with possessiveness and longing.

A rare beauty indeed!

But this facial expression, whether cool or sexy in front of everyone, appeared to Chen Dan as if filled with spring feelings. He clicked his tongue three times, his skin crawling, feeling physical and mental discomfort.

He himself was not a pure-hearted man; akin to a crow seeing everything as black, he felt that Jiang Li was not smart, secretly harboring a careful crush here. If it were him, even if it was just a momentary desire, he would take the initiative and claim it as his own.

Hearing the mocking tone beside him, Jiang Li slowly turned his head, looking up and down at the other person, a cold laugh escaping his throat, "Did dad not hit hard enough, or did your sister not suck you dry, letting you come to class so early in the morning?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dan smiled ambiguously, shifting his posture at the desk to move closer to Jiang Li, and whispered so that only the two of them could hear, "Sister is indeed good, gentle and independent, too bad you don't have one."

"..."

"As if you're that in love," Jiang Li mocked Dan's view on love, but it didn't affect their friendship as closest friends, brothers in life and death.

Chen Dan knew his emotional state was problematic, but how could someone who has never seen the sun provide warmth to others? Better to sink together, deeply entangled in the darkness, indulging to the death.

How delightful!

Jiang Li did not understand, nor did he want to.

Looking at his wristwatch, he spoke nicely to Chen Dan, "Bo Yang has a race with Ah Lan today, are you going?"

Bo Yang is one of the most famous racetracks in City B, and also a national-level racetrack that meets the Formula One standards of the International Automobile Federation. It offers drivers extremely challenging curves, combining excitement and professionalism, and is well-received by various racing teams.

Apart from international races, Bo Yang also hosts the Touring Car Championship, Formula 3 Challenge, Super Supercar Championship, ZIC Motorcycle Championship, and more.

And the motorcycles were what interested Jiang Li, as he was also a participant.

Chen Dan, not a fan of watches, glanced at his phone to check the time. "It's already 9:30 after class; why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Hearing this, Jiang Li subconsciously looked in the direction of the podium, and couldn't help but reminisce about the touch of Liang Zhouyue grabbing his arm that morning in the cafeteria.

After two seconds of silence, he softly gasped, his smile somewhat indulgent, "Went for breakfast and forgot the time."

At that time, he was about to leave, but when he heard that Liang Zhouyue wanted him to come to class, he had already shoved the race he cared about to the back of his mind.

Chen Dan thought he had developed a habit of eating breakfast, continuously expressing admiration, "Damn impressive!"