Chapter 171: Chicken Feather Costume

"What are you talking about? I'm ignoring you," Feng Yunchen said. The study committee member couldn't help but frown upon hearing her words.

She had liked Tian Chou since junior high, and everyone knew about it... Well, maybe Jiang Hai didn't, because he didn't react quickly to these things. Back then, he was more focused on sleeping and playing games.

In truth, she was quite pretty. She became friends with Feng Yunchen in junior high, likely because they both had good academic records. Later, as they grew older and learned how to dress, the reason might have been because Feng Yunchen was rather plain back then.

A beautiful girl, or rather, a relatively beautiful one, often likes to befriend someone who isn't as attractive as herself, as it makes her own beauty stand out. But unfortunately, while she remained the same, Feng Yunchen had transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan. Whether this swan was natural or not didn't matter to outsiders—she was now the one who outshone the rest.

Watching her friend leave quickly, Feng Yunchen smiled and whispered in a voice only she could hear, "Have you ever seen a poor person who raises cattle and wears a Patek Philippe 5002g platinum watch? You're so ignorant."

As her voice faded, she turned and left the bathroom, heading back into the box.

When she entered, she saw Fuyuan and Xianghua sitting next to Jiang Hai. Perhaps they were worried he'd leave due to boredom, so Fuyuan had given up his plans to flirt and was now trying to persuade Jiang Hai.

Feng Yunchen straightened her clothes and walked toward Fuyuan and Xianghua, smiling.

"It seems you're sitting in my seat. Could you give it up?"

"You say it's yours... well, then it's yours. This kid is a bit sleepy. You can talk to him," Fuyuan said, initially planning to retort, wondering who Feng Yunchen thought she was. But once he realized it was her, the second half of his sentence changed. Despite his distorted aesthetic views, even he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. It didn't hurt that his gut feeling told him he couldn't afford to provoke her. Of course, she didn't like him either. That was the most important point. If Feng Yunchen beckoned him now, he'd probably run, pants off. Of course, that was an exaggeration, but he still gave up his seat and let Feng Yunchen sit next to Jiang Hai.

"What? You're sitting next to such a beautiful woman and you're still sleepy?" Feng Yunchen said in a delicate voice, glancing reproachfully at Jiang Hai. Hearing her words, Xianghua and Fuyuan, who hadn't walked far, couldn't help but shiver. This woman was intimidating.

"Well, what can I say? Who's sitting next to me? I should be sleepy. I took a thirteen-hour flight from the United States to the capital, and then flew back to Ice City from there. It'd be weird if I wasn't sleepy." Despite Feng Yunchen's seductive tone, Jiang Hai didn't seem to react. He just leaned back in the chair, yawning as he spoke.

"Hey, then go sleep after eating. By the way, your manor is beautiful, isn't it? Is the air nice?" Feng Yunchen asked with a smile, blinking her big eyes.

"The air is good, and as for whether it's beautiful, it depends on personal preference. If someone likes blue skies, forests, seas, beaches, and grasslands, my place is beautiful. But if they prefer modern buildings, then it might be a bit boring—there's nothing to do." Jiang Hai was quite satisfied with his manor, regardless of how others saw it.

"Wow, a beach? And a forest? I thought you just raised cattle, and it'd be nice to have a grassland. But there are so many other things!" Feng Yunchen said, surprised by what she heard.

"Oh, I raise cattle and fish. You don't think I just raise fish by digging a pond, right? People in the U.S. don't eat freshwater fish. I have a sea, and it's quite big. I'm currently spreading live bait, and I'll release fish fry next month. I raise grouper, Atlantic salmon, and so on." Jiang Hai explained to Feng Yunchen.

The more Feng Yunchen listened, the brighter her eyes became, clearly interested.

"By the way, we work in the modeling industry, and sometimes we have to go abroad for photoshoots. It's possible to take pictures in China, but it's better abroad—it helps build popularity. Since you have a beach, is it convenient for us to take some pictures there?" Feng Yunchen asked with a smile.

"Oh, that's fine with me..." Jiang Hai thought about it briefly and didn't mind letting them take photos.

"Then it's settled!" Feng Yunchen said, delighted.

At that moment, the door to the box suddenly burst open, and a man walked in, dressed... quite bizarrely. This man stood over 1.8 meters tall, almost the same height as Jiang Hai. It was hard to tell what he looked like, but it was clear he was wearing makeup. While Jiang Hai generally thought makeup on men made them look effeminate, this man seemed to think quite highly of himself. His hair was strangely styled—short everywhere except for his bangs, which were deliberately made into a single white strand.

His face was greasy, and his outfit—a white fur coat with black stripes resembling tiger skin—was outlandish, though everyone knew it wasn't real tiger skin. The most eye-catching detail, however, were the two pheasant feathers sticking out from his chest, which looked incredibly tacky.

"Hi, Aiwu Ruibodai, Happy New Year!" The man strutted in, floating forward a little, then landed and greeted the three tables in front of him loudly, revealing his bright white teeth.

"Hey, why are you just showing up? We've been waiting for you to start the meal! But your English has really improved!"

"That's right, without Mr. Tian, we're not in the mood to eat."

"Come on, Mr. Tian, sit over here! There's an empty seat." Upon hearing his voice, the whole room fell silent for a moment before bursting into unusual enthusiasm. Most of the men eagerly approached him, wanting to pull him into the seat, while the women, still gossiping, adjusted their clothes and flirted with him.

There were nearly thirty people in the venue, but only Jiang Hai, Fuyuan, and a few other men remained unmoved. The rest flocked around him like flies to honey. Jiang Hai raised an eyebrow. He had thought this kind of spectacle wouldn't happen, but clearly, he had underestimated the situation. "What the hell?" he muttered.

"You don't recognize him? Seems like your memory's as short as a goldfish's. This is Tian Chou—you fought with him back in junior high," Feng Yunchen explained with a smile when she saw Jiang Hai didn't remember the man.

"Tian Chou, 'Big Head Tian'? Well, it looks like his head's only getting bigger," Jiang Hai said, recalling the name. He remembered the rivalry from school.

Tian Chou was an average student, slightly better than Jiang Hai. He enjoyed basketball and was tall. His father had been the deputy director of a police station, so his family had some influence.

Back in junior high, like most kids, they played games at Internet cafes. One day, they played a game of CS, and Jiang Hai wiped the floor with him, killing him 42-1. Tian Chou got so mad that he turned off Jiang Hai's computer and fought with him.

Despite his tall frame, Tian Chou was pretty terrible at fighting. After getting beaten, he went to the teacher, trying to use his father's influence to get Jiang Hai in trouble. But in the Northeast, where they were, punishments were usually mild—at most, the parents would lecture their kids.

Jiang Hai was no stranger to fights. Every time he beat someone up, their parents would complain, but his own parents wouldn't do much, often treating him to a meal instead.

Still, he knew Tian Chou wasn't the type to fight back. He was one of those who would admit defeat.

"Looking at his ridiculous appearance, it really reminds me of a poem—going to a banquet wearing chicken feathers, and all the classmates pretending to be chicken feathers!" Jiang Hai muttered as he watched Tian Chou flaunting himself. Feng Yunchen couldn't help but laugh at his words.

(To be continued.)