Chapter 92: Head-On Encounter

p his defensive posture with the other, feeling flustered and only able to speak honestly."I still want to treat you this well in the future," said Xie Yujia with a smile.Hao Ren stared at her smiling...Chapter 92: Meeting on a Narrow Path

After breakfast, Zhao Guang drove Zhao Ziyu to school, while Zhao Hongyu also headed to her studio in her Ferrari.

Hao Ren did not want to inconvenience Zhao Guang by asking him to take a detour nor did he wish for Zhao Hongyu to drop him off at the school in her Ferrari and make a spectacle of herself. Therefore, he declined their offers and went to school by bus.

Sitting on the bus, he rolled up his sleeves and looked at the numerous bite marks, recalling how Zhao Ziyu had finally managed to free herself from his feet and pounced onto him, biting him with gritted teeth. It was both infuriating and amusing.

The 767 bus stopped in front of the school gate, and Hao Ren got off and walked towards the dormitory area for the south zone.

It was now the time when students who had classes early in the morning were getting up from their beds. In every dorm building, one could hear the sound of toothbrushes and cups being moved around.

Hao Ren walked towards his No. 7 dormitory building and was about to turn a corner when he suddenly heard Marin and Liu Yan talking about "Xie Yujia."

He looked around but found that Marin and Liu Yan were on the other side of the road, not noticing Hao Ren as they walked towards the main entrance of the south zone.

Judging by their appearance, it seemed like they had come to school early for breakfast and then planned to head straight to class to secure a good seat.

With his hearing improved after breaking through the second level of Concentration Technique, Hao Ren could now hear much more clearly. He listened carefully and picked up what they were talking about.

"I've noticed that Xie Yujia has been spending quite a bit of time with that Hao Ren lately," Liu Yan said as she walked beside Marin. "She must think his family is wealthy, so she's trying to get closer to him."

Marin shook her head, "Don't say such things. I share a dorm room with Xie Yujia; I know all about her. Xie Yujia isn’t that kind of person. Besides, when we used to stay up late chatting before, she often said that Hao Ren in our class is quite nice."

"Oh Does this mean Xie Yujia likes Hao Ren" Liu Yan sounded gossipy.

Marin shook her head again. "No, it's not like that. She just thinks he’s a decent person and there doesn’t seem to be any other reason."

"Tch, isn't it obvious," Liu Yan said with a sneer. "She didn’t like him before but now she suddenly spends so much time with him. Doesn't this show that all she cares about is Hao Ren’s family wealth"

Marin defended Xie Yujia. "I don't think Xie Yujia would do something like that... Besides, Wang Jia and the others checked it out; they said Hao Ren's background is quite ordinary. The cars that come to pick him up are sent by the pretty girls who hire him as a tutor. Back then, when Mercedes-Benz and Lincoln came to pick Hao Ren up, Wang Jia was the most excited about it, proclaiming she had to pursue Hao Ren, but once they found out those weren’t his family’s cars, she cooled down immediately..."

Hao Ren listened to their conversation and realized how the girls viewed him.

"That's true," Liu Yan nodded. "Wang Jia didn't say a word after learning about Hao Ren's ordinary background. If that is the case, Xie Yujia should know Hao Ren’s family circumstances as well."

“Yes, I think Xie Yujia is quite a nice person; she just studies too hard and takes things seriously, but certainly not like Wang Jia who covets empty glory…”

As they walked away, talking among themselves, Hao Ren, with his sharp hearing, couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Turns out that recently Xie Yujia had been seen too often in my company and was viewed by some girls as seeking to attach herself to someone of higher status. Ah, people can be so harsh... Hao Ren thought silently to himself.

He checked the time; it seemed like Xie Yujia would soon come out from her dormitory building and ride her bicycle to class. He was worried that he might run into her at this moment, so he quickened his pace and entered his own dormitory building.

Zhao Jiayin and the others were making a racket by the sink in the public restroom, washing their faces and brushing their teeth—Hao Ren could hear them even from the staircase.

Those guys... Hao Ren picked up his toothbrush and cup inside his room, then went into the bathroom.

"Holy crap! You’re just here now I wanted to play cards with you yesterday!" They shouted louder when they saw Hao Ren appear.

"Come on, spill it! What did you do this weekend Your face is so rosy. It must be because you were around some beautiful girls!" Zhou Liren approached Hao Ren and put an arm around his neck, a towel slung over one shoulder.

Seeing these noisy guys who liked to get physical with each other, Hao Ren’s mood suddenly improved.

This weekend, I went for a stroll at "Loong Palace." You won’t believe me if I say it out loud. Hao Ren thought in his mind.

The four of them washed up and collected their books; then they started heading down the stairs, chatting and joking along the way.

When they stepped outside their dormitory building, they suddenly noticed Xie Yujia standing there waiting for them. She was wearing a loose checkered shirt and carrying a clean and dried-out jacket which Hao Ren had lent her on Friday.

"I washed your clothes for you and left them out to dry. Thank you for the jacket on Friday," she stepped forward and handed the garment to Hao Ren, speaking cheerfully.

“Oh! Oh!” Zhou Liren standing beside Hao Ren couldn’t resist making a comment which was immediately stifled with Zhao Jiayin’s hand over his mouth.

But Xie Yujia felt rather embarrassed by Zhou Liren's teasing; her face flushed and she quickly mounted her bicycle and rode away, clattering off into the distance.

"Actually, Xie Yujia is quite cute," Cao Ronghua remarked as he watched Xie Yujia disappear from sight.

Holding the clean jacket in his hand, Hao Ren wasn’t sure what to say. In fact, lending his jacket to Xie Yujia was something he had already forgotten about long ago.

"If there’s a chance, you should develop your relationship with her!" Zhao Jiayin elbowed Hao Ren and suggested.

“It was just returning a piece of clothing. It's not worth such fuss!” Hao Ren shot them an annoyed look and put on the jacket. “Let's go! Let’s head to the cafeteria for some food now!”

"No way! Ah Ren, with your good luck with girls, you should treat us to breakfast!" Zhou Liren called out as he chased after him.

"Oh great! You only care about eating! I'll treat then," Hao Ren shouted back loudly.

After breakfast and classes in the morning till 10 am, there was a two-hour gap before the next class at noon.

Whether to go to the internet cafe or return to their dorm for card games, they were indecisive. They felt that running around would be too troublesome; minus lunch time, two hours weren’t sufficient.

"I heard there are many girls in short sleeve sportswear climbing at the sports hall. Today is also the recruitment day of their club, so there should be plenty of pretty ladies. Why don't we go take a look" Zhou Liren suddenly suggested.

"Rock climbing Wouldn’t that be Huang Xujie’s turf" Zhao Jiayin said.

"Fear not, Zhao Jiayin, isn’t your family very powerful Even the basketball team members have to apologize to you. Let's go take a look, he can't do anything," Zhou Liren said.

Zhao Jiayin rolled his eyes but thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let’s check it out. We’ll spend an hour there, come back in time for lunch and class. Ah Ren, shall we go together"

"Sure! Let's check it out!" Hao Ren nodded.

It was just to take a look, even if Huang Xujie himself were present, they didn’t think he could make waves!

"We won't call Yu Rong and the others. Just us four going over there," Zhou Liren said slyly as though having more people around would reduce his chance of seeing a pretty lady.

The moment was set, they grabbed their belongings and headed for the sports hall.

When they arrived at the open square outside the sports hall, they found it already surrounded by over a hundred people.

Yu Rong and company were also there on tiptoe with necks stretched out.

"Damn! They came to look at pretty ladies too, why didn’t they tell us!" Zhou Liren saw Yu Rong and grumbled loudly in dissatisfaction.

Hao Ren was speechless towards him.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jiayin nudged Hao Ren with his elbow and pointed his chin towards another corner of the crowd.

Hao Ren followed the direction of his gaze and saw Xie Yujia and Maria among the crowd too.

Cao Ronghua also nudged Hao Ren and pointed in a different direction.

Amidst the crowd stood Xie Wanjun, who was as imposing as a giant. His height of over two meters made him stand out like a stone pillar amidst the throng, unmoving.

Hao Ren felt somewhat disdainful seeing Xie Wanjun, usually very busy, also here: As expected, the basketball team and rock climbing club are all from the same nest.

Xie Yujia also spotted Hao Ren's figure and cast a glance over. When she saw Hao Ren staring at her brother among the crowd, her heart sank slightly.

Seeing more and more students rushing in after classes ended, Huang Xujie, standing below the rock climbing wall, picked up an amplifier and said, "Today is our rock climbing club’s recruitment event. Our club is the largest at Donghai University with over 300 male members and 200 female ones. Students who join us are passionate about sports; we can train both indoors and outdoors in the gymnasium and occasionally organize some outdoor adventure activities. Also, purchasing corresponding sports equipment from our club will get you even cheaper prices than at regular sporting goods stores…"

His voice was loud and his tone calm. With an attractive appearance, he seemed to be a polite and graceful senior if judged by surface appearances.

However, Hao Ren knew how arrogant Huang Xujie usually was and how furious he’d get after losing a competition.

Hearing the various benefits offered by the rock climbing club, some freshmen who were unaware of the situation were somewhat tempted but didn’t rashly sign up.

"Haha, don’t worry everyone. We can demonstrate our rock climbing club’s specialties for you today." Huang Xujie put down the amplifier and gave a signal to a thin, dark-haired guy beside him, handing over the amplifier to him.

This guy picked up the amplifier and continued speaking, "I’m Luo Bo, vice-captain of the rock climbing club. Next, I’ll show you various techniques in rock climbing."

He held the microphone while explaining and putting on various climbing gear, then climbed to the bottom of the rock wall, put down the amplifier, raised his voice, and demonstrated the standard postures for rock climbing with gestures.

Many students who had never tried rock climbing found it quite fresh and listened attentively. Zhou Liren was impatient, "Why haven’t the beauties come out yet…"

Pat! Pat! Pat! Huang Xujie suddenly clapped three times.

Four girls in sports vests walked out from behind the rock wall. Their graceful figures and beautiful faces made all the boys’ eyes light up.

"Next, four of our club’s members will demonstrate the process of rock climbing," Huang Xujie picked up the amplifier and said.

The appearance of the beauties lit everyone's eyes up. At that moment, Hao Ren spotted Lin Li in sports attire among their rock climbing team.

So she also joined the rock climbing club… That’s to be expected; if she persistently pursued Huang Xujie, she would definitely join his rock climbing club. And for Huang Xujie to attract more members with pretty girls, he’d naturally let her in.

The four beauties on the stone wall used their hands and feet, hanging safety ropes, gripping colorful protrusions one by one, and climbed upward.

Gradually, they climbed higher and higher. The students watching below had to tilt their necks increasingly higher.

"This is really good…" Zhou Liren watched these beauties displaying youthful physiques, staring at various parts like thighs and waists, marveling softly while looking. the East Sea on Saturday with heavy gifts hoping for reconciliation. However, the East Sea only sent an equivalent-level Vice Chancellor Xia to entertain him and adopted a cold approach; Ru Vice Chan...