Chapter 150: Clearly Putting on a Show of Pretentiousness

When Jiang Yingying and Shen Xiaoqing returned, it was already past ten at night. Surprisingly, they had brought supper for Qin Tian and Tong Botao. Tong Botao accepted the food with delight, and Qin Tian smiled, thanking them repeatedly.

“Seven days of national holiday with no plans, right? Come with me—I’ll take care of you!” Shen Xiaoqing said arrogantly, pointing her thumb at herself.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble Sister Xiaoqing to take me along,” Qin Tian replied with a smile, shaking his head.

The next day, the four went to school separately, and Qin Tian could clearly feel that the campus was much emptier than usual.

Because tickets for trains and flights were hard to come by during the national holiday, many people took a day or two off in advance to return home early.

At university, the management of leave requests was quite lenient. If you asked for a day or two off with a reasonable excuse, it was easy to get approved.

On his way to class, Qin Tian unexpectedly ran into Gong Miaomiao, the campus belle universally acknowledged by others but not by him.

Gong Miaomiao’s popularity was inseparable from her expertise in sorcery.

In fact, she hadn’t earned her campus belle status purely through her looks but had used some crafty tricks.

It was similar to those who buy trending topics online; when one’s own strength isn’t enough, alternative methods like money or special tactics fill the gap.

“Watch yourself! The Third Young Master is coming back soon!” Gong Miaomiao sneered at Qin Tian as she brushed past him.

“The Third Young Master?” Qin Tian was momentarily stunned. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it before.

He paid no mind to Gong Miaomiao’s verbal threat, practically blocking it out with the wax in his ears.

What a joke—was Qin Tian the type to be afraid of threats?

He could clearly tell everyone: yes, he was afraid! But not of someone like Gong Miaomiao.

After the morning classes finished, the afternoon was set for the entire school’s monthly summary meeting. All teachers and students present on campus had to attend.

This was a long-standing tradition at Virtue University: weekly meetings for the leadership, biweekly for all teachers, and monthly for the entire faculty and student body.

First, a representative from the leadership gave a speech filled with the usual clichés that made one’s ears numb. Qin Tian’s mind drifted to the upcoming trip to Bubble Island the day after tomorrow.

Bubble Island was said to be an artificial island, originally a patch of sand in the sea. A wealthy tycoon had flown in tons of earth by plane over more than twenty years, transforming it into a tourist paradise.

The island spanned about five hundred square kilometers, featuring a single large hotel with a peak daily visitor capacity of around two hundred thousand.

Though the numbers sounded intimidating, most visitors were transient.

The only way to reach Bubble Island was by sea, and this route was exclusively controlled by the island’s owner.

In other words, he alone operated the ferry line. Anyone else ferrying tourists there was breaking the law.

Thus, every year, the fees from these vehicles and boats alone earned the island’s owner a hefty profit.

Though the owner’s daily income flowed like a river, he had invested huge sums in the first twenty years—sums unimaginable to ordinary people.

Creating an island from a jutting sandbank in the sea was truly an act of moving mountains and filling the ocean.

“Qin Tian, I’m calling you,” Shen Xiaoqing poked him, snapping him back to reality.

“Huh?” Qin Tian blinked and turned toward the stage.

“Director Jia is calling you!” Shen Xiaoqing gestured toward the stage.

Qin Tian looked up and saw Jia Ren smiling at him.

“Qin Tian, are you so stunned by this sudden honor that you’re speechless? Let’s give a warm round of applause to our outstanding student representative, Qin Tian, to come up and speak,” Jia Ren said, leading the applause.

Qin Tian’s eyes widened in disbelief. This wasn’t in the script! Since when had he become the outstanding student representative?

And if he really had to speak on stage, shouldn’t someone have informed him beforehand and given him a speech?

“Just read it out loud; don’t say I didn’t look out for you,” Jia Ren said after Qin Tian stepped onto the stage, handing him a small piece of paper no bigger than a palm, just enough to fit in his hand.

“What’s going on?” Qin Tian looked distressed. He hadn’t planned to be exposed in front of everyone.

Jia Ren’s move was actually an attempt to curry favor with Qin Tian—after all, he had leverage over him.

But he didn’t realize his action would cause Qin Tian some trouble.

“Damn it! How did this little bastard become the outstanding student representative?” Gong Miaomiao gritted her teeth angrily below.

She sneered coldly, “It’s fine. The Third Young Master will be back soon. If Qin Tian dares to show his face again, the Third Young Master will make sure he gets what’s coming to him!”

“Look at those two exchanging glances—it seems there’s more going on,” Cao Azheng observed, looking at Qin Tian and Jia Ren.

“Definitely something fishy. Qin Tian has no reputation at school, yet Jia Ren is pushing him on stage,” Xiang Chuchu nodded.

“I heard the Third Young Master is coming back. I wonder what sparks will fly when he meets this newcomer,” Cao Azheng mused, stroking his chin.

“He’s just a second-rate heir from a semi-aristocratic family. He’s always been arrogant and will eventually pay the price. Maybe he’ll fall at Qin Tian’s hands,” Xiang Chuchu shook her head.

“Their family is barely making it into the first-tier now,” Cao Azheng said.

“Let’s wait until they lose the ‘semi’ before talking. Until then, he’d better learn to keep his tail tucked,” Xiang Chuchu shrugged.

“You always set the bar too high for others,” Cao Azheng smiled helplessly.

Qin Tian read aloud from Jia Ren’s paper for more than ten minutes.

He felt like he was about to fall asleep. How could such a small piece of paper hold so much content?

When he finished, Jia Ren was about to come forward, but Qin Tian quickly covered his face and turned sideways, letting out a big yawn.

Jia Ren’s expression twitched. To doze off in front of such a crowd!

“Alright, thank you very much, Qin Tian. Please step down,” Jia Ren said.

Qin Tian got down from the podium, returned to his seat, and stretched widely.

Giving speeches was really no fun. He resolved to tell Jia Ren not to push him up there again.

“Next, let’s welcome Li Sanshao back to school!” Jia Ren announced.

“During this time, Li Sanshao has been abroad, bringing honor to our school and country!”

“He has achieved very impressive results! Let’s welcome Li Sanshao!” Jia Ren said, leading the applause again.

“Everyone, quiet down. It’s been a long absence, and I’ve missed you all terribly.”

“So, I’ve prepared a little treat for you.”

“Next month, on the first Sunday after the national holiday, my good friend Mi Xue will hold a private concert here at our school!”

“No need to doubt it! She’s the superstar Mi Xue you all imagine!” Li Sanshao said proudly, lifting his head high.

The crowd immediately erupted. Most students were fans of Mi Xue, and even those who weren’t had a favorable impression of her.

So, the news of Mi Xue’s concert thrilled them immensely.

“This guy is as arrogant as ever—comes back and starts showing off again!” Shen Xiaoqing scowled, seeming to hold some grudge against Li Sanshao.